A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In August 2001, the administration announced competitive sourcing as one of five initiatives in the President's Management Agenda. Under competitive sourcing, federal agencies open their commercial activities to competition among public and private sector sources. While competitive sourcing is expected to encourage innovation and improve efficiency and performance, it represents a major management change for most agencies. This report describes the progress selected agencies have made in establishing a competitive sourcing program, identifies major challenges these agencies are facing, and discusses strategies they are using to select activities for competition."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In prior reports, GAO found differences in the percentages of foreign-controlled corporations (FCC) and U.S.-controlled corporations (USCC) reporting no tax liability. Based on concerns that FCCs could be avoiding taxes by improperly shifting income to lower tax countries, GAO was asked to compare, for the years 1996 through 2000, (1) FCCs and USCCs, based on the tax liabilities they reported on their U.S. income tax returns--including the percentages reporting zero liabilities--and (2) the differences in FCCs and USCCs in terms of age and industry concentration and the extent to which these differences might explain tax reporting patterns. The report provides information separately for large corporations--those with at least $250 million in assets or $50 million in gross receipts--because, while they account for only 1 percent of all corporations, they own over 93 percent of all assets reported on corporate returns."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Health insurance premiums have increased at double-digit rates over the past few years. While searching for affordable options, some employers and individuals have purchased coverage from certain entities that are not authorized by state insurance departments to sell this coverage. Such unauthorized entities--also sometimes referred to as bogus entities or scams--may collect premiums and not pay some or all of the legitimate medical claims filed by policyholders. GAO was asked to identify the number of these entities that operated from 2000 through 2002, the number of employers and policyholders covered, the amount of unpaid claims, and the methods state and federal governments employed to identify such entities and to stop and prevent them from operating. GAO analyzed information on these entities obtained from the Department of Labor (DOL) and from a survey of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. GAO also interviewed officials at DOL headquarters, at three regional offices, and at state insurance departments responsible for investigating these entities in four states--Colorado, Florida, Georgia, and Texas."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The University of California (University) operates the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The two research laboratories, with a combined fiscal year 2003 budget of $2.3 billion, have had problems in such mission support areas as managing projects, conducting business operations, and ensuring safe nuclear operations. GAO was asked to describe the actions taken to address mission support problems identified in 2001, as well as problems that have since emerged, and to assess the main challenges to sustaining mission support improvements."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the 1990s, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) undertook the Northeast High-Speed Rail Improvement Project to make infrastructure improvements that would enable Amtrak to meet a statutory goal of providing 3-hour intercity passenger rail service between Boston and New York City. Amtrak shared responsibility for implementing the project with commuter rail authorities and state governments, and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) developed a master plan for the project and provided federal funds to Amtrak. GAO reviewed (1) the status of the project, (2) Amtrak's management of the project, (3) FRA's oversight of the project, and (4) best practices for managing future large-scale rail infrastructure projects."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "No large U.S.-flagged cruise ships (ships registered in the U.S. that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and U.S. crewed) are in operation. Foreignflagged vessels cruising to foreign ports serve most of the U.S. demand for cruises. However, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) recently obtained an exemption from U.S. maritime law to operate three foreign-built ships under the U.S. flag in Hawaii. Cruise lines and others have raised concerns over the advantage the exemption might confer to NCL, since foreign-flagged competitors are unable to offer the same itineraries due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA), which prevents foreign vessels from transporting passengers solely between U.S. ports. Concerns have also been raised over the effect this exemption might have on future attempts to grow the U.S.-flag cruise vessel fleet, since potential U.S.-flag competitors would need to build ships in the United States, presumably at higher cost. GAO was asked to (1) review the original intent of the PVSA and rulings and decisions regarding it, (2) determine if the exemption will affect the implementation of the PVSA or other maritime laws, (3) assess the potential effects of the exemption on competition …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under Medicare's home health prospective payment system (PPS), home health agencies (HHA) are paid a fixed amount, adjusted for differences in individual patients' expected care needs, for providing an episode (up to 60 days) of care. For this payment, HHAs provide therapy, skilled nursing, medical social service, and aide visits to patients in their homes. GAO previously reported that PPS payments to HHAs were significantly above Medicare costs. GAO recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers Medicare, modify the PPS to mitigate extreme financial gains and losses. HHA representatives have raised concerns that Medicare's PPS financially disadvantages certain urban and rural HHAs. GAO was asked to examine (1) whether Medicare payments cover HHAs' costs and (2) what factors distinguished financially weak HHAs from financially strong performers under Medicare. To address these issues, GAO used Medicare cost reports and claims data for freestanding HHAs. GAO analyzed Medicare margins--the difference between Medicare payments and Medicare costs, divided by Medicare payments."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Public safety concerns require that criminal history records be accurate, complete, and accessible. Among other purposes, such records are used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to ensure that prohibited persons do not purchase firearms. Initiated in 1995, the National Criminal History Improvement Program represents a partnership among federal, state, and local agencies to build a national criminal records infrastructure. Under the program, the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) annually provides federal grants to states to improve the quality of records and their accessibility through NICS and other national systems maintained by the FBI. GAO examined (1) how states have used program grant funds, particularly the extent to which such funds have been used for NICS-related purposes; (2) the progress--using program grants and other funding sources--that states have made in automating criminal history and other relevant records and making them accessible nationally; and (3) the various factors that are relevant considerations for policymakers in debating the future of the program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) receives thousands of Clean Water Act permit applications from project proponents wishing to fill waters and wetlands. The first step in the permitting process is to determine if the waters and wetlands are jurisdictional. Prior to 2001, if migratory birds used the waters or wetlands as habitat, they were usually jurisdictional. In 2001, the Supreme Court--in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC)--struck down the migratory bird rule, leaving the Corps to rely on other jurisdictional criteria. GAO was asked to describe the (1) regulations and guidance used to determine jurisdictional waters and wetlands and related developments since SWANCC, (2) extent to which Corps district offices vary in their interpretation of these regulations and guidance, and (3) extent to which Corps district offices document their practices and make this information publicly available."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To ensure that essential government services are available in emergencies--such as terrorist attacks, severe weather, or building-level emergencies-- federal agencies are required to develop continuity of operations (COOP) plans. Responsibility for formulating guidance on these plans and for assessing executive branch COOP capabilities lies with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under the Department of Homeland Security. FEMA guidance, Federal Preparedness Circular (FPC) 65 (July 1999), provides elements of a viable COOP capability, including the requirement that agencies identify their essential functions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which (1) major civilian executive branch agencies have identified their essential functions and (2) these agencies' COOP plans follow FEMA guidance."

The John Day is the nation's second longest free-flowing river in the contiguous United States and the longest containing entirely unsupplemented runs of anadromous fish. Located in eastern Oregon, the basin drains over 8,000 square miles, Oregon's fourth largest drainage basin, and incorporates portions of eleven counties. Originating in the Strawberry Mountains near Prairie City, the John Day River flows 284 miles in a northwesterly direction, entering the Columbia River approximately four miles upstream of the John Day dam. With wild runs of spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead, westslope cutthroat, and redband and bull trout, the John Day system is truly a basin with national significance. The majority of the John Day basin was ceded to the Federal government in 1855 by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (Tribes). In 1997, the Tribes established an office in the basin to coordinate restoration projects, monitoring, planning and other watershed activities on private and public lands. Once established, the John Day Basin Office (JDBO) formed a partnership with the Grant Soil and Water Conservation District (GSWCD), which contracts the majority of the construction implementation activities for these projects from the JDBO. The GSWCD completes the landowner contact, …

This report responds to congressional inquiries concerning this process, and includes a historical examination and chronological list of these awards.

The purpose of this design calculation is to estimate radiation doses received by personnel in the Remediation Facility performing operations to receive, prepare, open, repair, recover, disposition, and correct off-normal and non-standard conditions with casks, canisters, spent nuclear fuel (SNF) assemblies, and waste packages (WP). The specific scope of work contained in this calculation covers both collective doses and individual worker group doses on an annual basis, and includes the contributions due to external and internal radiation. The results of this calculation will be used to support the design of the Remediation Facility and provide occupational dose estimates for the License Application.

Ferrite rods are installed inside the flying-wire cavity of the Recycler Ring and at entrance and exit beam pipes in order to absorb high-frequency electromagnetic waves excited by the beam. However, these rods may also deteriorate the vacuum pressure of the ring. An investigation is made to analyze the necessity of the ferrite rods at the entrance and exit beam pipes.

The purpose of this design calculation is to estimate radiation doses received by personnel working in the subsurface facility of the repository performing emplacement, maintenance, and retrieval operations under normal conditions. The results of this calculation will be used to support the design of the subsurface facilities and provide occupational dose estimates for the License Application.

In this reporting period, full disc prototype manufacturing tests continued. The disc size and HIP can problems were corrected. Unfortunately, cracking still occurred on insert interface, possibly due to oxidation film on the particle boundaries. This indicates improper off-gassing.

This paper provides a summary of some major physics issues and future perspectives discussed in the Mini-Conference on Laboratory Plasma Astrophysics. This Mini-conference, sponsored by the Topical Group on Plasma Astrophysics, was held as part of the American Physical Society's Division of Plasma Physics 2003 Annual Meeting (October 27-31, 2003). Also included are brief summaries of selected talks on the same topic presented at two invited paper sessions (including a tutorial) and two contributed focus oral sessions, which were organized in coordination with the Mini-Conference by the same organizers.

The purpose of this calculation is to estimate radiation doses received by personnel working in the Canister Handling Facility (CHF) performing operations to receive transportation casks, transfer wastes, prepare waste packages, perform associated equipment maintenance. The specific scope of work contained in this calculation covers individual worker group doses on an annual basis, and includes the contributions due to external and internal radiation. The results of this calculation will be used to support the design of the CHF and provide occupational dose estimates for the License Application.

To minimize movement of tritium into surface waters at the Mixed Waste Management Facility at the Savannah River Site, tritium contaminated seepage water is being retained in a constructed pond and used to irrigate forest acreage that lies above the pond and over the contaminated groundwater. Twenty five-year potential evapotranspiration and average precipitation are 1443 mm/year and 1127 mm/year, respectively, for the region in which the site is located. Management of the application of tritium contaminated irrigation water needs to be evaluated in the context of the large amount of rainfall relative to evapotranspiration, the strong seasonality in evapotranspiration, and intraannual and inter-annual variability in precipitation. A dynamic simulation model of water and tritium fluxes in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum was developed to assess the efficiency (tritium transpired/tritium applied) of several irrigation management strategies.

The program for International Collaboration on CO{sub 2} Ocean Sequestration was initiated December 1997. Preliminary steps involved surveying a suite of biogeochemical parameters off the coast of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. The preliminary survey was conducted twice, in 1999 and 2000, to obtain a thorough data set including measurements of pH, current profiles, CO{sub 2} concentrations, microbial activities, and water and sediment chemistries. These data were collected in order to interpret a planned CO{sub 2} injection experiment. After these preliminary surveys were completed, local environment regulation forced moving the project to the coast north east of Bergen, Norway. The preliminary survey along the Norwegian Coast was conducted during 2002. However, Norwegian government revoked a permit, approved by the Norwegian State Pollution Control Authority, for policy reasons regarding the CO{sub 2} injection experiment. As a result the research team decided to monitor the natural CO{sub 2} flow off the southern coast of the Big Island. From December 3rd-13th 2002 scientists from four countries representing the Technical Committee of the International Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Experiment examined the hydrothermal venting at Loihi Seamount (Hawaiian Islands, USA). Work focused on tracing the venting gases, the impacts of the vent fluids on …

The following report covers work performed at Ohio State on modeling the mechanical performance of dies. The focus of the project was development and particularly verification of finite element techniques used to model and predict displacements and stresses in die casting dies. The work entails a major case study performed with and industrial partner on a production die and laboratory experiments performed at Ohio State.

This report provides a brief overview of procedures involved in vetoing a bill and the ways Congress can respond to a presidential veto. Presidential vetoes are a rejection of legislation approved by majorities in both houses of Congress. Vetoes and congressional efforts to override them are often the reason for, or a reflection of, conflict between Congress and the President. The threat of a presidential veto can prompt the modification of bills moving through the legislative process. Tabular data are provided on the number of presidential vetoes exercised by each President from George Washington to William Clinton.

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