The African Development Bank Group, including the Bank itself (AfDB) and its “soft-loan” affiliate, the African Development Fund (AfDF), is a development finance institution based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The Bank has 53 African members, as well as 24 non-regional members, including the United States. In the mid-1990s, the Bank faced management problems and difficulties arising from non-performing loans, but reforms launched in 1995 by a new Bank president, Omar Kabbaj, brought new pledges of support from the non-regionals. U.S. contributions to the Fund resumed in FY1998 and to the Bank in FY2000. This report will be updated as events warrant.

This report provides an overview of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spending on HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome) as well as budget numbers for other federal government programs targeting HIV/AIDS.

This report discusses the funds and material support the U.S. has contributed to help Colombia and the Andean region fight drug trafficking since the development of Plan Colombia in 1999.

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This report provides basic background information on current regulation of auditors and summarizes alternatives now under consideration. Reforms proposed by Congress and the executive branch focus on oversight of the independent auditor, whose responsibility (in the broadest sense) is to certify that a corporation’s accounting statements reflect its true financial condition.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) authorized the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to impose an Aviation Security Infrastructure Fee (ASIF) on air carriers to help pay for the costs of aviation security services. To impose the ASIF, TSA issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) and required air carriers to report their passenger and property screening costs incurred in 2000 on an attachment to the IFR referred to as Appendix A. The 2000 screening costs reported by air carriers were going to be used to establish the ASIF. Based on industry estimates of $1 billion, TSA had estimated that the costs incurred by air carriers in 2000 were $750 million, but the amounts reported by air carriers totaled $319 million, significantly less than expected. To provide the Congress with an independent assessment, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2005 required GAO to review the amount of passenger and property screening costs incurred by air carriers in 2000."

This is a select chronology of, and a finding guide for information on, congressional and presidential actions and documents related to major budget events in calendar year 2002, covering the FY2003 budget. Brief information is provided for the President’s budget, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations measures (regular, continuing, supplementals, and rescissions), budget reconciliation, House and Senate votes, line-item vetoes, publications, testimony, charts, and tables.

This annual report summarizes the activities of the Cornell Center for Pulsed-Power-Driven High-Energy-Density Plasma Studies, for the 12-month period October 1, 2005-September 30, 2006. This period corresponds to the first year of the two-year extension (awarded in October, 2005) to the original 3-year NNSA/DOE Cooperative Agreement with Cornell, DE-FC03-02NA00057. As such, the period covered in this report also corresponds to the fourth year of the (now) 5-year term of the Cooperative Agreement. The participants, in addition to Cornell University, include Imperial College, London (IC), the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), the University of Rochester (UR), the Weizmann Institute of Science (WSI), and the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute (LPI), Moscow. A listing of all faculty, technical staff and students, both graduate and undergraduate, who participated in Center research activities during the year in question is given in Appendix A.

This report addresses the differences among the tax-exempt organizations described in Internal Revenue Code subsections 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), 501(c)(6), and section 527. Each type of organization has a unique statutory definition, enjoy benefits from obtaining tax-exempt status, is subject to statutory limitations on its activities, and must disclose certain information to the IRS and the general public. At the end of the report is a chart that summarizes the organizations' characteristics and reporting requirements.

This report is on China’s Currency: A Summary of the Economic Issues.

When the U.S. runs a trade deficit with the Chinese, this requires a capital inflow from China to the United States. This, in turn, lowers U.S. interest rates and increases U.S. investment spending. On the negative side, lower priced goods from China may hurt U.S. industries that compete with those products, reducing their production and employment. In addition, an undervalued yuan makes U.S. exports to China more expensive, thus reducing the level of U.S. exports to China and job opportunities for U.S. workers in those sectors. However, in the long run, trade can affect only the composition of employment, not its overall level. Thus, inducing China to appreciate its currency would likely benefit some U.S. economic sectors, but would harm others, including U.S. consumers. Several estimates of the yuan’s undervaluation are evaluated in the report.

This report documents the results of the ORNL investigation into prime movers that would be desirable for the construction of a power system suitable for the United States Marine Corps (USMC) expeditionary forces under Operational Maneuvers From The Sea (OMFTS) doctrine. Discrete power levels of {approx}1, 5, 15, and 30 kW are considered. The only requirement is that the prime mover consumes diesel fuel. A brief description is given for the prime movers to describe their basic scientific foundations and relative advantages and disadvantages. A list of key attributes developed by ORNL has been weighted by the USMC to indicate the level of importance. A total of 14 different prime movers were scored by ORNL personnel in four size ranges (1,5, 15, & 30 kW) for their relative strength in each attribute area. The resulting weighted analysis was used to indicate which prime movers are likely to be suitable for USMC needs. No single engine or prime mover emerged as the clear-cut favorite but several engines scored as well or better than the diesel engine. At the higher load levels (15 & 30 kW), the results indicate that the open Brayton (gas turbine) is a relatively mature technology and likely …

An understanding of the mechanisms and kinetics of aerosol formation and ozone production in the troposphere is currently a high priority because these phenomena are recognized as two major effects of energy-related air pollution. Atmospheric aerosols are of concern because of their effect on visibility, climate, and human health. Equally important, aerosols can change the chemistry of the atmosphere, in dramatic fashion, by providing new chemical pathways (in the condensed phase) unavailable in the gas phase. The oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and inorganic compounds (e.g., sulfuric acid, ammonia, nitric acid, ions, and mineral) can produce precursor molecules that act as nucleation seeds. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Chemistry Program (ACP) has identified the need to evaluate the causes of variations in tropospheric aerosol chemical composition and concentrations, including determining the sources of aerosol particles and the fraction of such that are of primary and secondary origin. In particular, the ACP has called for a deeper understanding into aerosol formation because nucleation creates substantial concentrations of fresh particles that, via growth and coagulation, influence the Earth's radiation budget. Tropospheric ozone is also of concern primarily because of its impact on human health. Ozone levels are controlled by …

The ability to predict the transport and transformations of contaminants within the subsurface is critical for decisions on virtually every waste disposal option facing the Department of Energy (DOE), from remediation technologies such as in situ bioremediation to evaluations of the safety of nuclear waste repositories. With this fact in mind, the DOE has recently sponsored a series of workshops on the development of a Strategic Simulation Plan on applications of high perform-ance computing to national problems of significance to the DOE. One of the areas selected for application was in the area of subsurface transport and environmental chemistry. Within the SSP on subsurface transport and environmental chemistry several areas were identified where applications of high performance computing could potentially significantly advance our knowledge of contaminant fate and transport. Within each of these areas molecular level simulations were specifically identified as a key capability necessary for the development of a fundamental mechanistic understanding of complex biogeochemical processes. This effort consists of a series of specific molecular level simulations and program development in four key areas of geochemistry/biogeochemistry (i.e., aqueous hydrolysis, redox chemistry, mineral surface interactions, and microbial surface properties). By addressing these four differ-ent, but computationally related, areas it becomes …

This report gives background on the rent-to-own industry and the issues raised by rental-purchase agreements. Information of the FTC survey and the status of federal regulation and legislation is discussed.

This report discusses in detail the evolution of a national critical infrastructure policy and the institutional structures established to implement it. The report highlights three issues of Congressional concern: allocating resources based on risk; information sharing; and, regulation.

Nuclear data collected in an experiment performed at LANSCE/WNR with the GEANIE spectrometer to measure the cross sections for n + {sup 89}Y for E{sub n} < 20 MeV are reported. The estimated (n,2n) cross sections to the ground and isomeric states of {sup 88}Y differ significantly from those listed in the RADCHEM data base. Folded with a fast neutron spectrum, these results lead to integral differences of +15%, +2%, and -70% vs. the RADCHEM evaluation.

Glovebox HA-20MB is located in Room 235B of the 234-5Z Building at the Plutonium Finishing Plant. This enclosure contains mixers, mixer bowls, a crusher unit, an isolated inoperable conveyor unit, plutonium residue feed cans, cemented cans, and a feedwater container. Plutonium residue, not conducive to other forms of stabilization, is prepared for storage and ultimate disposal by cementation. The feed residue material cans can have plutonium contents of only a few grams or up to 200 grams. This evaluation accommodates this wide range of container fissile concentrations.

Many dairy farmer groups are concerned that imports of milk protein concentrates (MPCs) are displacing domestic dairy ingredients and thus depressing farm milk prices. S.560 and H.R. 1160 would impose tariff rate quotas on certain MPCs, and S. 40 would prohibit the use of dry MPC in domestic cheese production. Dairy processor groups are opposed to these bills. A dairy producer group challenged the Customs Service classification of MPCs, but Customs ruled that current classifications are correct.

The data set considered here is the borehole stratigraphic contacts data (DTN: M09811MWDGFM03.000) used as input to the Geologic Framework Model. A Technical Assessment method used to evaluate these data with a two-fold approach: (1) comparison to the geophysical logs on which the contacts were, in part, based; and (2) evaluation of the data by mapping individual units using the entire data set. Qualification of the geophysical logs is being performed in a separate activity. A representative subset of the contacts data was chosen based on importance of the contact and representativeness of that contact in the total data set. An acceptance window was established for each contact based on the needs of the data users. Data determined to be within the acceptance window were determined to be adequate for their intended use in three-dimensional spatial modeling and were recommended to be Qualified. These methods were chosen to provide a two-pronged evaluation that examines both the origin and results of the data. The result of this evaluation is a recommendation to qualify all contacts. No data were found to lie outside the pre-determined acceptance window. Where no geophysical logs are available, data were evaluated in relation to surrounding data and …

The data set considered here is the topographic grid used in the Geologic Framework Model (GFM). The grid has been used in each version of the GFM, and was extracted from GFM3.1 (M09901MWDGFM3 1.000, file name ''topography.2grd''). The grid was given a unique DTN (M00002SPATOP00.001). A Technical Assessment method was used to evaluate these data to determine the adequacy of the grid for use in three-dimensional modeling. The topographic grid was compared to qualified borehole collar survey data (DTN: M09906GPS98410.000) and the mismatches documented. An acceptance window was established for the topographic grid based on the needs of the data users. The grid was determined to be within the acceptance window, and was determined to be adequate for its intended use in three-dimensional spatial modeling and is recommended to be Qualified.

This report addresses the HIPC debt burden and the various debt relief initiatives, both bilateral and multilateral, that have been implemented and proposed. Following a brief background and a discussion of the economic literature on debt relief.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In January 2001, the congressionally chartered Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization--known as the Space Commission--reported that the Department of Defense (DOD) lacked the senior-level focus and accountability to provide guidance and oversight for national security space operations. Congress mandated that GAO provide an assessment of DOD's actions to implement the Space Commission's recommendations. Thus, GAO (1) updated its June 2002 assessment of DOD's actions to address the Space Commission's recommendations, (2) ascertained progress in addressing other long- term management concerns, and (3) assessed the extent to which DOD has developed a results-oriented management framework for space activities."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) spends more than $1.7 billion each year to move and store over 600,000 household goods shipments when relocating military personnel. It conducted and evaluated several pilot program studies aimed at fixing its problem-plagued program and, in 2002, issued a report to Congress with three recommendations. The 1997 Defense Appropriations Act Conference Report directed GAO to validate the results achieved by the pilot programs. In response, GAO examined the extent to which DOD's recommendations to Congress (1) offer solutions to long-standing problems in the current program and (2) are supported by the evaluation's findings and should be implemented. GAO also assessed the soundness of methodologies used by DOD to develop cost estimates to implement the recommendations."