This report is categorized into three categories: (I) Previous authorizations of nuclear-powered naval vessels, (II) Present Policy toward nuclear-powered naval vessels and (III) CESA and naval nuclear populsion.

The ideas that led to the successful construction and operation of large multibeam fusion lasers at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory are reviewed. These lasers are based on the use of Nd:glass laser materials. However, most of the concepts are applicable to any laser being designed for fusion experimentation. This report is a summary of lectures given by the author at the 20th Scottish University Summer School in Physics, on Laser Plasma Interaction. This report includes basic concepts of the laser plasma system, a discussion of lasers that are useful for short-pulse, high-power operation, laser design constraints, optical diagnostics, and system organization.

We experimentally determined the pressure limits that can be used to autoclave-bond RTNS-II targets without crushing the internal cooling channels. The maximum pressures are 40 to 55 MPa (6 to 8 ksi) in the 300-to-450/sup 0/C temperature regime.

As a prerequisite to high accuracy measurements involving the bulk configuration of /sup 6/LiD we must have a good grasp of the details of the RTNS-I neutron source energy spectrum. Experiments to this end involving neutron yield vs deuteron energy, ratios of foil activation of selected elements, and pulse height distributions of a Si surface barrier detector are described. With this knowledge, the /sup 4/He-production cross sections for /sup 6/Li and /sup 7/Li are found experimentally to be 0.512b and 0.336b, respectively, at anti E/sub N/ = 15.0 MeV in free-field geometry. 14 references.

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This report is a letter about a review of the Quality Assurance Project Plan for the INEL Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Waste Characterization Project.'' The author of the letter recommended the approval of the quality assurance program. However in his review, several observations were made and were requested to be added to the program. Examples of these observations were safety of personnel involved in the program, safe characterization of hazardous materials studied, quality of calibrations required for measurement objectives, and reporting of hazardous sampling. (MB)

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In its analysis of the 2008-2011 beneficiary survey data, GAO found that nearly one in three nonenrolled beneficiaries experienced problems finding a civilian provider who would accept TRICARE and that nonenrolled beneficiaries' access to civilian primary care and specialty care providers differed by type of location. Specifically, a higher percentage of nonenrolled beneficiaries in Prime Service Areas (PSA), which are areas with civilian provider networks, experienced problems finding a civilian primary care or specialty care provider compared to those in non-Prime Service Areas (non-PSA), which do not have civilian provider networks. GAO found that the top reasons reported by nonenrolled beneficiaries for why they experienced access problems--regardless of type of provider--were that the providers were either not accepting TRICARE payments or new TRICARE patients. Additionally, GAO's comparison of the Department of Defense's (DOD) beneficiary survey data to related data from a Department of Health and Human Services survey showed that nonenrolled beneficiaries' satisfaction ratings for primary and specialty care providers were consistently lower than those of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) provides assistance for combating HIV/AIDS in 15 focus countries and elsewhere, with global targets for prevention, treatment, and care. The U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Act of 2003, which authorizes the $15 billion program, contains directives to guide the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator's (OGAC) allocation of this funding. The act expires in September 2008. The President announced his intention to ask Congress to authorize $30 billion for these efforts for the next 5 years. In 2007, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended eliminating the directives. GAO was asked to describe (1) the views of HIV/AIDS experts on these directives, (2) an alternative approach to allocating funds, and (3) potential challenges related to this approach. GAO interviewed 22 experts, surveyed PEPFAR officials in the 15 focus countries, and reviewed pertinent documentation."

This fact sheet tracks the current heads of government in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It provides the dates of the last and next elections for the head of government and the national independence date for each country.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As the first to respond to natural disasters, domestic terrorism, and other emergencies, public safety agencies rely on timely communications across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions. It is vital to the safety and effectiveness of first responders that their electronic communications systems enable them to communicate with whomever they need to, when they need to, and when they are authorized to do so. GAO was asked to determine, among other things, (1) the extent to which Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding and technical assistance has helped to improve interoperable communications in selected states and (2) the progress that has been made in the development and implementation of interoperable communications standards. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed grant information, documentation of selected states' and localities' interoperability projects, and standards documents."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 6 of its19 major information technology (IT) investments were within 10 percent of cost and schedule estimates during fiscal year 2013. The remaining 13 were reported as having significant cost and schedule variances for at least 1 month of the year. Specifically, IRS reported 8 investments as being below cost or ahead of schedule; 3 as behind schedule; and 2 as over cost (see figure). IRS reported a range of reasons for these variances, including cost savings from contract negotiations and scope deferrals for those below cost or ahead of schedule, and procurement delays for those behind schedule. It is important to note that the reported monthly cost and schedule variances are for the fiscal year only. IRS's reporting would be more meaningful if it were supplemented with cumulative cost and schedule variances for the investments or investment segments, consistent with the Office of Management and Budget's guidance for measuring progress towards meeting investment goals."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Between 1981 and 2010, the time it took the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop and issue safety and health standards ranged widely, from 15 months to 19 years, and averaged more than 7 years. Experts and agency officials cited increased procedural requirements, shifting priorities, and a rigorous standard of judicial review as contributing to lengthy time frames for developing and issuing standards. For example, they said that a shift in OSHA’s priorities toward one standard took attention away from several other standards that previously had been a priority."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with the aid of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), plans to procure the next generation of geostationary operational environmental satellites, called the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R series (GOES-R). GOES-R is to replace the current series of satellites, which will likely begin to reach the end of their useful lives in approximately 2014. This series is considered critical to the United States' ability to maintain the continuity of data required for weather forecasting through the year 2028. GAO was asked to (1) determine the status of the GOES-R program, (2) evaluate whether plans for the acquisition address problems experienced on similar programs, and (3) determine whether NOAA's plan will be adequate to support current data requirements. To do so, GAO analyzed contractor and program data and interviewed officials from NOAA and NASA."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO updated its previous reports on agencies' use of the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions to publish final rule notices, focusing on: (1) how many agencies had no Agenda entries that were characterized as Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980, section 610 reviews, whether agencies are interpreting the review requirements consistently, and why certain agencies that appeared subject to the requirements had no entries; (2) how many of the section 610 review entries in these Agendas appeared to meet the notification requirements in subsection 610(c); (3) if the section 610 review entries did not appear to meet the statutory requirements, why certain agencies' entries were characterized as section 610 reviews; and (4) whether any federal agencies had revised their section 610 review plans."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) the extent and seriousness of forest-health-related problems in national forests in the interior West; (2) the status of efforts by the Forest Service to address the most serious of these problems; and (3) barriers to successfully addressing these problems and options for overcoming them."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is the world's largest public engineering, design, and construction management agency. In fiscal year 2006 it began incorporating performance information into its budget process, but Congress raised concerns that the criteria used by the Corps to prioritize projects are not transparent and the budget formulation process could achieve a higher return on investment. GAO was asked to (1) describe the information the Corps uses in its budget formulation process and the implications of the process, and (2) evaluate whether the President's recent budget requests for the Corps are presented so that agency priorities are clear and proposed use of funds transparent. GAO reviewed the Corps' internal budget guidance, documentation of its project rankings and budget formulation process, performance review materials, and budget presentation materials. GAO also interviewed Corps and Office of Management and Budget officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to invest $109 billion in its tactical air forces between 2007 and 2013. Long term, DOD plans to replace aging legacy aircraft with fewer, more expensive but more capable and stealthy aircraft. Recapitalizing and modernizing tactical air forces within today's constrained budget environment is a formidable challenge. DOD has already incurred substantial cost and schedule overruns in its acquisition of new systems, and further delays could require billions of dollars in additional investments to keep legacy aircraft capable and sustainable. Because of the large investments and risk, GAO was asked to review investment planning for tactical aircraft. This report describes the current status of DOD's new tactical aircraft acquisition programs; identifies current impacts on legacy aircraft modernization programs and retirement schedules; and assesses DOD's overall investment plan for tactical aircraft."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under criteria for evaluating a tax credit design, both the performance-based and cost-based credits have advantages and disadvantages with neither design being unambiguously the better option based on current information. Both a cost-based and a performance-based credit are designed to reduce energy use and CO2 emissions by providing incentives for energy conservation investment. However, they differ in their relative effectiveness and costs. In general, a performance-based credit is more likely to effectively reduce energy use and CO2 emissions because it rewards energy savings from the investment rather than the cost-based credit’s rewarding of spending regardless of whether this spending results in energy savings. However, the performance-based credit may have significant up-front costs for energy audits, not required by the cost-based credit, which could reduce its effectiveness by discouraging investment. In addition, for taxpayers who do invest, these up-front costs may mean that a performance-based credit may have significantly higher taxpayer compliance and IRS administrative costs than a cost-based credit. A credit’s fairness depends on subjective judgments of how a credit varies with a taxpayer’s income level."

This report discusses federal employees with permanent appointments that may be eligible for retirement and disability benefits under either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).

This report provides government-wide, multi-agency, and individual agency analyses of the President's Fiscal Year 2015 request as it relates to R&D and related activities.

This report discusses the travel and tourism industry, which is an amalgam of business activities including transportation, lodging, entertainment, meals, and retail trade.

This report begins with the history, role, and scope of SBA's export promotion activities, and the creation of OIT. Next, quantitative data from SBA and qualitative data from other sources are used to provide performance analysis of SBA's international programs. This report concludes with a presentation of three issues for consideration during an era where concerns of fiscal responsibility and economic recovery are high priorities for many policy makers.

This report analyzes data from a variety of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) presentations, testimony, and other sources to present a historical overview of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) performance to date. It identifies an ongoing gap between the number of chemical facilities that have received final risk tier assignments and the total number of regulated facilities.

A detailed chemical kinetic model is used to explore the flammability and detonability of hydrogen mixtures. In the case of flammability, a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism for hydrogen is coupled to the CHEMKIN Premix code to compute premixed, laminar flame speeds. The detailed chemical kinetic model reproduces flame speeds in the literature over a range of equivalence ratios, pressures and reactant temperatures. A series of calculation were performed to assess the key parameters determining the flammability of hydrogen mixtures. Increased reactant temperature was found to greatly increase the flame speed and the flammability of the mixture. The effect of added diluents was assessed. Addition of water and carbon dioxide were found to reduce the flame speed and thus the flammability of a hydrogen mixture approximately equally well and much more than the addition of nitrogen. The detailed chemical kinetic model was used to explore the detonability of hydrogen mixtures. A Zeldovich-von Neumann-Doring (ZND) detonation model coupled with detailed chemical kinetics was used to model the detonation. The effectiveness on different diluents was assessed in reducing the detonability of a hydrogen mixture. Carbon dioxide was found to be most effective in reducing the detonability followed by water and nitrogen. The chemical …