This report discusses the seniority system in Congress used to select committee chairman and efforts to reform the system.

This report covers the progress made on the title project for the project period. Four major areas of inquiry are being pursued. Advanced solid state NMR methods are being developed to assay the distribution of the various important functional groups that determine the reactivity of coals. Special attention is being paid to methods that are compatible with the very high magic angle sample spinning rates needed for operation at the high magnetic field strengths available today. Polarization inversion methods utilizing the difference in heat capacities of small groups of spins are particularly promising. Methods combining proton-proton spin diffusion with {sup 13}C CPMAS readout are being developed to determine the connectivity of functional groups in coals in a high sensitivity relay type of experiment. Additional work is aimed a delineating the role of methyl group rotation in the proton NMR relaxation behavior of coals.

The Marlowe Monte-Carlo backscattering code has been used to calculate particle reflection coefficients and energy distributions for H, D incident upon Li, K, Ni, Cu, Mo, Ag, Cs, Hf, W, Pt, and U surfaces. The backscattered energy and angular distributions are combined with a model for formation and survival probabilities for H/sup -/, D/sup -/ leaving the surface. A least-squares fit of experimental measurements of H/sup -/ yields from the composite surface, Cs/Cu, has been used to obtain two semi-empirical constants, ..cap alpha.., ..beta.. which enter into the formation and survival probabilities. These probabilities are used to calculate the production probability which in turn provides an upper limit to the negative ion yield. The choice of electrode material is discussed as a function of atomic number.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. government annually controls billions of dollars worth of U.S. arms and dual-use items exported to its allies and partners through a system of laws, regulations, and processes. Weaknesses in this system led GAO in 2007 to include export controls as part of a high-risk area and called for a reexamination, including evaluating alternative approaches. Increasing international collaboration on defense programs also makes it important to understand how other countries control exports. Proposed treaties would change the process for the export or transfer of certain U.S. arms to the United Kingdom and Australia. Based on a request to review allies' export control systems and the proposed treaties, this report (1) identifies how selected allies' systems differ from the U.S. system, and (2) assesses how the proposed treaties will change controls on arms exports. To conduct its work, GAO selected six countries--Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom--based on factors such as whether they were major destinations for U.S. goods or significant arms exporters; conducted site visits in four countries; analyzed agency documentation on the foreign and U.S. systems and treaty related documents; and …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Supreme Court's June 2001 ruling, Zadvydas v. Davis, held that indefinite detention of certain removable aliens was unlawful if their removal was not likely in the reasonably foreseeable future, even if they were deemed to be a threat to the community or a flight risk. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducts post order custody reviews of removable aliens to determine if continued detention is in compliance with laws and regulations. ICE is to assure that aliens meet the conditions of their release. This report addresses (1) what information ICE has to assure that its custody reviews are timely and consistent with the Zadvydas decision and implementing regulations and (2) how ICE has assured that aliens released on orders of supervision have met the conditions of their release."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Globally, alien smuggling generates billions of dollars in illicit revenues annually and poses a threat to the nation's security. Creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in March 2003 has provided an opportunity to use financial investigative techniques to combat alien smugglers by targeting and seizing their monetary assets. For instance, the composition of DHS's largest investigative component--U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)--includes the legacy Customs Service, which has extensive experience with money laundering and other financial crimes. Another DHS component, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has primary responsibility for interdictions between ports of entry. In summer 2003, ICE announced that it was developing a national strategy for combating alien smuggling. Among other objectives, GAO determined the implementation status of the strategy and investigative results in terms of convictions and seized assets."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives the public the right to access information about the federal government. In addressing requests for information, agencies have the authority to assess fees for certain categories of requesters to cover the costs of locating and copying records, as well as discretion to waive fees if specific criteria are met. GAO was asked to determine, for fiscal year 2004, the volume and nature of FOIA request processing at the Department of Energy (DOE), to what extent DOE followed the act and related Office of Management and Budget and Department of Justice guidance in processing cases that involve fees, and to what extent DOE communicated its fee-related decisions to requesters."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To prevent medical errors, reduce costs, improve quality, and produce greater value for health care expenditures, President Bush has called for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and implement a strategic plan to guide the nationwide implementation of health information technology (IT) in both the public and private health care sectors. The Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA), along with other countries, have already taken steps to improve health care delivery and administration by implementing IT solutions. GAO was asked to provide an overview of HHS's recent efforts to develop a national health IT strategy for realizing the President's vision, and to identify lessons learned from DOD's, VA's, and other countries' experiences in implementing health IT."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, every 5 years the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to determine for at least five contaminants, such as chemicals, whether regulation is warranted, considering those that present the greatest public health concern. Since 1996, EPA had not recommended any new contaminants for regulation until February 2011, when it reversed its controversial 2008 preliminary decision to not regulate perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel and other products. GAO was asked to (1) evaluate the extent to which EPA's implementation of the 1996 amendments has helped assure the public of safe drinking water and (2) review the process and scientific analyses used to develop the 2008 preliminary regulatory determination on perchlorate. GAO analyzed relevant statutory provisions and regulatory determination documents and interviewed EPA officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Teen drivers ages 16 to 20 have the highest fatality rate of any age group in the United States. As a result, states have increasingly adopted laws to limit teen driving exposure, such as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) systems, which consist of three stages: a learner's permit allowing driving only under supervision; intermediate licensure allowing unsupervised driving with restrictions; and full licensure. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), within the Department of Transportation (DOT), supports state teen driver safety programs by researching teen driver safety issues, working to limit teens' access to alcohol, promoting seat belt use, and encouraging states to implement GDL systems. This requested report identifies (1) key GDL system requirements and the extent to which state programs include these requirements, and (2) challenges states face to improve teen driver safety and how states and NHTSA have addressed the challenges. GAO examined state GDL systems, visited six states, and interviewed federal and state traffic safety officials and other experts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an automated data-capture technology that can be used to electronically identify, track, and store information contained on a tag that is attached to or embedded in an object, such as a product, case, or pallet. Federal agencies have begun implementation of RFID technology, which offers them new capabilities and efficiencies in operations. The reduced cost of the technology has made the wide-scale use of it a real possibility for government and industry organizations. Accordingly, GAO was requested to discuss considerations surrounding RFID technology implementation in the federal government. Specifically, GAO was asked to (1) provide an overview of the technology; (2) identify the major initiatives at federal agencies that use or propose to use the technology; (3) discuss the current standards, including those for interoperability, that exist; (4) discuss potential legal issues that the 24 Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Act agencies have identified in their planning for technology implementation; and (5) discuss security and privacy considerations surrounding the technology and the tools and practices available to mitigate them. The Office of Management and Budget agreed with the contents of this report."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. government has spent at least $10 billion on communication efforts designed to advance the strategic interests of the United States. However, foreign public opinion polling data shows that negative views towards the United States persist despite the collective efforts to counteract them by the State Department (State), Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Defense (DOD), and other U.S. government agencies. Based on the significant role U.S. strategic communication and public diplomacy efforts can play in promoting U.S. national security objectives, such as countering ideological support for violent extremism, we highlighted these efforts as an urgent issue for the new administration and Congress."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A hallmark of efforts to implement the $862 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) is to be transparent and accountable about what the money is being spent on and what is being achieved. To help achieve these goals, recipients are to report every 3 months on their award activities and expected outcomes, among other things. This information is available on Recovery.gov, the government's official Recovery Act Web site. As requested, this report covers 11 federal programs focused on broadband, energy, transportation, federal buildings, and civil works activities, representing $67 billion in Recovery Act funding. Primarily, the report (1) describes how the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and federal agencies implemented the act to report funds' uses and (2) assesses the extent to which descriptions of awards meet GAO's transparency criteria. It also describes reported uses of funds for the 11 programs. GAO reviewed requirements for reporting in the act and OMB's guidance. Based on these requirements, GAO developed a transparency assessment and applied it to a probability sample of descriptions from 14,089 recipient reports. In addition, GAO reviewed 52 projects in …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In a period of significant budget constraints, it is more vital than ever for federal programs to have good performance information. The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 took a significant step in that direction by introducing greater accountability for employment and training programs than prior programs. WIA established performance measures to look at a broad array of participant outcomes such as job placement and retention, earnings, skill gains, and customer satisfaction. WIA also required 17 programs, funded by four different agencies, to centralize service delivery through a one-stop center system. More recently, as part of efforts to link program performance to the budget, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) introduced common performance measures--similar to some of the WIA measures--for most federally funded job training programs that share similar goals. The U.S. Department of Labor's (Labor) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) further defined the common measures for all programs it oversees and proposed a new, standardized reporting format, known as the ETA Management Information and Longitudinal Evaluation (EMILE) reporting system to facilitate reporting them. However, state workforce agencies and others raised substantial concerns about the …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The military services have owned and operated much housing on their installations but increasingly are privatizing housing, relying on the private sector to manage the renovation, construction, and maintenance of existing and new homes for military families. Funding to operate and maintain existing government-owned housing is provided through the family housing operation and maintenance (O&M) appropriations. The amount of funding required varies based on a number of factors, including how quickly privatization occurs to reduce requirements for government-owned housing. As requested, this report discusses the (1) services' assumptions and methods used to develop budget requests and how well their budget justifications explain the impact of privatization on family housing O&M funds and (2) the extent to which Congress has visibility over the services' reprogramming of family housing O&M funds."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Faced with an increase in disability claims, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is hiring a large number of new claims processing staff. We were asked to determine: (1) What training is provided to new and experienced claims processors and how uniform is this training? (2) To what extent has VBA planned this training strategically, and how well is the training designed, implemented, and evaluated? and (3) To what extent is the performance management system for claims processors consistent with generally accepted practices? To answer the questions, GAO reviewed documents including VBA policies and training curricula; interviewed VBA central office officials; visited 4 of VBA's 57 regional offices, which were selected to achieve diversity in geographic location, number of staff, and officewide accuracy in claims processing; and compared VBA's training and performance management to generally accepted practices identified by GAO."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States' growing dependence on space systems makes them vulnerable to a range of threats. DOD has undertaken a variety of initiatives to provide space situational awareness (SSA)--the knowledge and characterization of space objects and the environment on which space operations depend. GAO was asked to (1) review key systems being planned and acquired to provide SSA, and their progress meeting cost, schedule, and performance goals; and (2) determine how much an integrated approach is being used to manage and oversee efforts to develop SSA capabilities. To achieve this, GAO analyzed documentation and interviewed key officials on major SSA development efforts and oversight and management of SSA. This report is an unclassified version of a classified report issued in February 2011."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides medical care, disability compensation, and vocational rehabilitation to veterans. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA)--a component of VA--provides care to over 5 million patients in more than 1,500 facilities. VHA relies on an outpatient scheduling system that is over 25 years old. In 2000, VHA began the Scheduling Replacement Project to modernize this system as part of a larger departmentwide modernization effort called HealtheVet. However, in February 2009, VA terminated a key contract supporting the project. GAO was asked to (1) determine the status of the Scheduling Replacement Project, (2) determine the effectiveness of VA's management and oversight of the project, and (3) assess the impact of the project on VA's overall implementation of its HealtheVet initiative. To do so, GAO reviewed project documentation and interviewed VA and contractor officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the 8 years since a contract was awarded, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)--a tri-agency program managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)--has experienced escalating costs, schedule delays, and ineffective interagency management. The launch date for a demonstration satellite has been delayed by over 5 years and the cost estimate for the program has more than doubled--to about $15 billion. In February 2010, a Presidential task force decided to disband NPOESS and, instead, have the agencies undertake separate acquisitions. GAO was asked to (1) assess efforts to establish separate satellite programs; (2) evaluate the status and risks of the NPOESS components still under development; and (3) evaluate the implications of using the demonstration satellite's data operationally. To do so, GAO analyzed program management and cost data, attended program reviews, and interviewed agency officials."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To achieve efficiencies and respond to procurement reforms, agencies have consolidated their procurement contracts--that is, combined existing smaller contracts into fewer larger contracts. To ensure contract bundling--a subset of contract consolidation--does not unfairly disadvantage small businesses, the President tasked the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to develop a strategy that would hold agencies accountable for contract bundling practices. In October 2002, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) within OMB issued its strategy. This report discusses the extent to which contracts were bundled in fiscal year 2002 and assesses the potential effectiveness of regulatory changes that have recently resulted from OFPP's strategy."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Air Force's selection of a source of repair for depot maintenance work at the closing San Antonio Air Logistics Center, focusing on whether: (1) the Air Force's procedures for conducting the San Antonio competition provided a substantially equal opportunity for the public and private offerors to compete for the work without regard to performance location; (2) procedures for conducting the competition were in compliance with 10 U.S.C. 2469a and other applicable laws and regulations; (3) appropriate consideration was given to factors other than cost; and (4) the award resulted in the lowest total cost to the Department of Defense (DOD) for performance of the work."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The District of Columbia (D.C.) Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is responsible for protecting children at risk of abuse and neglect and ensuring that services are provided for them and their families. GAO was asked to discuss the extent to which CFSA has (1) met requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 and other selected performance criteria, (2) adopted and implemented child protection and foster care placement policies, and (3) enhanced its working relationship with the D.C. Family Court. To address these questions, GAO analyzed data from CFSA's child welfare information system, known as FACES; reviewed laws, regulations, and reports; examined case files; and interviewed officials."

This report discusses the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is a nonreciprocal trade preference program that provides duty-free treatment to U.S. imports of certain products from eligible sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.

This report tracks the FY2015 State Department, Foreign Operations and Related Programs appropriations process. It includes information about recent actions, current requests and past trends, state operations and related agencies, and foreign operations.