Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The accounting system's self-regulatory system for auditors, which largely depends on voluntary contributions from the accounting industry, is plagued by fragmentation, lack of coordination, poor communication, and conflicts of interest. In GAO's view, the current self-regulatory system is broken, and oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fallen short in protecting the public interest. Because of the important role played by independent auditors, GAO believes that direct government intervention is needed to create a new body to oversee the auditing of public companies by the accounting profession. Concerns about the timeliness, relevancy, and transparency of the financial reporting model could be addressed by closer cooperation between SEC and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), adequate and independent funding for FASB operations, and periodic reporting to Congress on FASB matters."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "TThe United States and Russia began an ambitious nonproliferation program, the Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), to create sustainable job opportunities for weapons scientists in Russia's closed nuclear cities and to help Russia accelerate the downsizing of its nuclear weapons complex in in 1998. The program, however, poses a daunting challenge. The nuclear cities are geographically and economically isolated, access is restricted for security reasons, and weapons scientists are not accustomed to working for commercial businesses. Thus, Western businesses are reluctant to invest in the nuclear cities. This report reviews (1) the costs to implement NCI, including the amount of program funds spent in the United States and Russia, as well as planned expenditures; (2) the impact of NCI projects; and (3) the status of the European Nuclear Cities Initiative. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE's Efforts to Secure Nuclear Material and Employ Weapons Scientists in Russia, by Gary L. Jones, Director Natural Resources and Environment, before the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, Senate Committee on Armed Services. GAO-01-726T, May 15 (10 pages)."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "One in 12 Americans participates in the federal Food Stamp Program, administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). States have begun offering individuals alternatives to visiting the local assistance office to apply for and maintain benefits, such as mail-in procedures, call centers, and on-line services. GAO was asked to examine: (1) what alternative methods states are using to increase program access; (2) what is known about the results of these methods, particularly on program access for target groups, decision accuracy, and administrative costs; and (3) what actions states have taken to maintain program integrity while implementing alternative methods. GAO surveyed state food stamp administrators, reviewed five states in depth, analyzed FNS data and reports, and interviewed program officials and stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On January 1, 2006, Medicare began providing coverage for outpatient prescription drugs through its new Part D benefit. Beneficiaries who enroll in Part D may choose a drug plan from those offered by private plan sponsors under contract to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers the Part D benefit. Beneficiaries have until May 15, 2006, to enroll in the Part D benefit and select a plan without the risk of penalties. GAO was asked to review the quality of CMS's communications on the Part D benefit. GAO examined 70 CMS publications to select 6 documents for review and contracted with the American Institutes for Research to evaluate the clarity of these texts; made 500 calls to the 1-800-MEDICARE help line; and contracted with the Nielsen Norman Group to evaluate the usability of the Medicare Web site."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Public opinion polls have shown continued negative sentiments toward the United States in the Muslim world. Public diplomacy activities--led by the State Department (State)--are designed to counter such sentiments by explaining U.S. foreign policy actions, countering misinformation, and advancing mutual understanding between nations. GAO was asked to examine (1) what public diplomacy resources and programs State has directed to the Muslim world, (2) whether posts have adopted a strategic approach to implementing public diplomacy, and (3) what challenges remain to be addressed."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This correspondence (1) discusses the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) report on mutual fund fee disclosures and (2) reviews SEC's response to GAO's recommendations on improving fee disclosure. The results of SEC staff's comprehensive analyses and other findings generally corroborate the findings of GAO's report and provide considerable additional information on the trend in mutual fund fees. The SEC staff's report also contains several recommendations to the agency's Commissioners, and the Commission has already approved recommendations on after-tax return disclosure and fund governance. In response to GAO's recommendation that mutual fund investors' quarterly account statements disclose the specific dollar amount of fees they paid, SEC staff recommends that investors receive additional fee information in funds' annual and semiannual reports. The SEC staff's proposal would provide investors with more information on fees in a form that allows comparison among funds. However, it will not provide information specific to each investor, nor will it be provided in the most frequent and relevant source--the quarterly statement. Therefore, it may be less likely to increase investor awareness and spur additional price competition among mutual funds to the same degree as GAO's recommendation …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As the Department of Defense's (DOD) most expensive aircraft program, and its largest international program, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has the potential to significantly affect the worldwide defense industrial base. As currently planned, it will cost an estimated $245 billion for DOD to develop and procure about 2,400 JSF aircraft and related support equipment by 2027. In addition, the program expects international sales of 2,000 to 3,500 aircraft. If the JSF comes to dominate the market for tactical aircraft as DOD expects, companies that are not part of the program could see their tactical aircraft business decline. Although full rate production of the JSF is not projected to start until 2013, contracts awarded at this point in the program will provide the basis for future awards. GAO was asked to determine the limits on and extent of foreign involvement in the JSF supplier base. To do this, GAO (1) determined how the Buy American Act and the Preference for Domestic Specialty Metals clause apply to the JSF development phase and the extent of foreign subcontracting on the program and (2) identified the data available to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) progress in implementing its modernization effort and the challenges that remain."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Weather-related events in the United States have caused tens of billions of dollars in damages annually over the past decade. A major portion of these losses is borne by private insurers and by two federal insurance programs-- the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which insures properties against flooding, and the Department of Agriculture's Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), which insures crops against drought or other weather disasters. In this testimony, GAO (1) describes how climate change may affect future weather-related losses, (2) provides information on past insured weather-related losses, and (3) determines what major private insurers and federal insurers are doing to prepare for potential increases in such losses. This testimony is based on a report entitled Climate Change: Financial Risks to Federal and Private Insurers in Coming Decades are Potentially Significant (GAO-07-285) released on April 19, 2007."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States is a world leader in scientific and technological innovation. To help maintain this advantage, the federal government has spent billions of dollars on education programs in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields for many years. However, concerns have been raised about the nation's ability to maintain its global technological competitive advantage in the future. This testimony is based on our October 2005 report and presents information on (1) trends in degree attainment in STEM- and non-STEM-related fields and factors that may influence these trends, (2) trends in the levels of employment in STEM- and non-STEM- related fields and factors that may influence these trends, and (3) federal education programs intended to support the study of and employment in STEM-related fields. For this report, we analyzed survey responses from 13 civilian federal departments and agencies; analyzed data from the Departments of Education and Labor; interviewed educators, federal agency officials, and representatives from education associations and organizations; and interviewed students."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended, authorized a new round of base realignment and closures (BRAC) in 2005, the fifth such round in recent years but the first since 1995. The legislation requires the Secretary of Defense to submit his list of bases recommended for closure and realignment to an independent BRAC commission by May 16, 2005. The Commission is charged with reviewing these recommendations and submitting its report with recommendations to the President for his acceptance or rejection of them in their entirety by September 8, 2005. Subsequently, the Congress has final action to accept or reject the recommendations in their entirety later this year. By law, GAO is mandated to review the Department of Defense's (DOD) process and recommendations and to report its findings by July 1, 2005. For the inaugural hearing of the 2005 BRAC Commission GAO was asked to address: (1) the status of implementing recommendations from previous BRAC rounds, (2) DOD's expectations for the 2005 BRAC round, and (3) the analytical framework for the 2005 BRAC round. GAO offers some suggestions for the Commission to consider as it …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report provides information on (1) the efficacy and adequacy of remedies provided by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 in addressing attempts to obtain financial information by false pretenses and (2) suggestions for additional legislation or regulatory action to address threats to the privacy of financial information, from financial institutions. As of March 2001, federal regulatory and enforcement agencies had not taken any enforcement actions or prosecuted any cases under Subtitle B. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice are still in the process of taking steps to ensure that the financial institutions that they regulate have reasonable controls to protect against fraudulent access to financial information. Although all of the federal regulators and privacy experts whom GAO contacted agreed that more time and experience are needed to determine if Subtitle B remedies adequately address fraudulent access to financial information, FTC staff and privacy experts suggested legislative changes to Subtitle B. GAO did not evaluate the potential impact or practicality of these suggestions because it found no consensus on these ideas."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Public opinion polls have shown continued negative sentiments toward the United States in the Muslim world. Public diplomacy activities--led by the State Department (State)--are designed to counter such sentiments by explaining U.S. foreign policy actions, countering misinformation, and advancing mutual understanding between nations. Since 2003, we have issued three reports on U.S. public diplomacy efforts that examined (1) changes in public diplomacy resources since September 11, 2001; (2) strategic planning and coordination of public diplomacy efforts; and (3) the challenges facing these efforts. We have made several recommendations in the last 3 years to the Secretary of State to address strategic planning issues, private sector engagement, and staffing challenges related to public diplomacy. For example, today's report recommends that the Secretary develop written guidance detailing how the department intends to implement its public diplomacy goals as they apply to the Muslim world. State has consistently concurred with our findings and recommendations for improving public diplomacy, and the department, in several cases, is taking appropriate actions. However, the department has not established a timetable for many of these actions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) administers the federal crop insurance program in partnership with private insurers. In 2006, the program cost $3.5 billion, including millions in losses from fraud, waste, and abuse, according to USDA. The Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 granted RMA authority to renegotiate the terms of RMA's standard reinsurance agreement with companies once over 5 years. This testimony is based on GAO's 2005 report, Crop Insurance: Actions Needed to Reduce Program's Vulnerability to Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, as well as new analyses this Committee requested on underwriting gains and administrative and operating expenses USDA paid companies. GAO discusses (1) USDA's processes to address fraud, waste, and abuse; (2) extent the program's design makes it vulnerable to abuse; and (3) reasonableness of underwriting gains and other expenses. USDA agreed with most of GAO's 2005 recommendations to improve program integrity. RMA agreed that GAO's new analyses were technically accurate."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Coast Guard is in the final stages of planning the largest procurement project in its history--the Deepwater Capability Replacement Project. This project will likely cost over $10 billion or more and take 20 years or more to complete. The Coast Guard has already spent about $116 million on the project's design and is asking for $338 million this year to begin the acquisition phase. This testimony discusses the major risks associated with the project. GAO found four major areas in which the project is vulnerable. They are (1) planning the project around annual funding levels far above what the administration has told the Coast Guard it can expect to receive, (2) keeping costs under control in the contract's later years, (3) ensuring that procedures and personnel are in place for managing and overseeing the contractor once the contract is awarded, and (4) minimizing potential problems with developing unproven technology. GAO also identified the following key areas that will need to be addressed. The Coast Guard needs (1) effective human capital practices, (2) a systems integrator to establish a management organization and systems necessary to manage the major …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the white-collar exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), focusing on: (1) how shifts in the American economy have affected the exemptions in today's work place; (2) how the regulations underpinning the exemptions have changed in the decades since the enactment of the FLSA; (3) why both employer and employee representatives believe that adjustments are needed to update the regulatory structure; and (4) why the need to balance the interests of both employers and employees suggests that comprehensive review is key to equitable regulatory reform."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Offshore tax evasion is difficult for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to address. IRS examines tax returns to deal with offshore evasion that has occurred. IRS's Qualified Intermediary (QI) program seeks to foster improved tax withholding and reporting. GAO was asked to testify on two topics. First, GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the length of, and assessments from, IRS's examination of tax returns with offshore activity and (2) the impact of the 3-year statute of limitations on offshore cases. Second, for the QI program, GAO was asked to address (1) program features intended to improve withholding and reporting, and (2) whether weaknesses exist in the U.S. withholding system for U.S. source income and QI external reviews and IRS's use of program data. GAO relied on prior work for the first topic. For the QI program, GAO used the latest data that were available and corroborated by IRS."

BRAC 2005 Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group Meeting Minutes of May 3, 2004. The document has is redacted and includes the Proposed New IJCSG Military Value Score Plan brief (PowerPoint slides).

Groundwater is sampled from 39 monitoring wells on the Nevada Test Site (NTS) as part of the Routine Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program. Many of these wells were not designed or constructed for long-term groundwater monitoring. Some have extensive completion zones and others have obstructions such as pumps and tubing. The high-volume submersible pumps in some wells are unsuitable for long-term monitoring and result in large volumes of water that may have to be contained and characterized before subsequent disposition. The configuration of most wells requires sampling stagnant well water with a wireline bailer. Although bailer sampling allows for the collection of depth-discrete samples, the collected samples may not be representative of local groundwater because no well purging is done. Low-maintenance, solar-powered jack pumps will be deployed in nine of these onsite monitoring wells to improve sample quality. These pumps provide the lift capacity to produce groundwater from the deep aquifers encountered in the arid environment of the NTS. The water depths in these wells range from 700 to 2,340 ft below ground surface. The considerable labor and electrical power requirements of electric submersible pumps are eliminated once these pumps are installed. Access tubing will be installed concurrent with the installation …

Some white light-emitting diode (LED) light sources haverecently attained levels of efficiency and cost that allow them tocompete with fluorescent lighting for off-grid applications in thedeveloping world. Additional attributes (optics, size, ruggedness, andservice life) make them potentially superior products. Enormousreductions in energy use and greenhouse-gas emissions are thus possible,and system costs can be much lower given the ability to downsize thecharging and energy storage components compared to a fluorescentstrategy. However, there is a high risk of "market-spoiling" if inferiorproducts are introduced and result in user dissatisfaction. Completesystems involve the integration of light sources and optics, energysupply, and energy storage. A natural starting point for evaluatingproduct quality is to focus on the individual light sources. This reportdescribes testing results for batches of 10 5mm white LEDs from 26manufacturers. Efficacies and color properties are presented.

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is a three mirror modified Paul-Baker design with an 8.4m primary, a 3.4m secondary, and a 5.0m tertiary followed by a 3-element refractive corrector producing a 3.5 degree field of view. This design produces image diameters of <0.3 arcsecond 80% encircled energy over its full field of view. The image quality of this design is sufficient to ensure that the final images produced by the telescope will be limited by the atmospheric seeing at an excellent astronomical site. In order to maintain this image quality, the deformations and rigid body motions of the three large mirrors must be actively controlled to minimize optical aberrations. By measuring the optical wavefront produced by the telescope at multiple points in the field, mirror deformations and rigid body motions that produce a good optical wavefront across the entire field may be determined. We will describe the details of the techniques for obtaining these solutions. We will show that, for the expected mirror deformations and rigid body misalignments, the solutions that are found using these techniques produce an image quality over the field that is close to optimal. We will discuss how many wavefront sensors are needed and the …

Historically, progress in high-energy physics has largely been determined by development of more capable particle accelerators. This trend continues today with the imminent commissioning of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and the worldwide development effort toward the International Linear Collider. Looking ahead, there are two scientific areas ripe for further exploration--the energy frontier and the precision frontier. To explore the energy frontier, two approaches toward multi-TeV beams are being studied, an electron-positron linear collider based on a novel two-beam powering system (CLIC), and a Muon Collider. Work on the precision frontier involves accelerators with very high intensity, including a Super-BFactory and a muon-based Neutrino Factory. Without question, one of the most promising approaches is the development of muon-beam accelerators. Such machines have very high scientific potential, and would substantially advance the state-of-the-art in accelerator design. The challenges of the new generation of accelerators, and how these can be accommodated in the accelerator design, are described. To reap their scientific benefits, all of these frontier accelerators will require sophisticated instrumentation to characterize the beam and control it with unprecedented precision.

A recent study indicated that the behavior of single-ended dislocation sources contributes to the flow strength of micrometer-scale crystals. In this study 3D discrete dislocation dynamics simulations of micrometer-sized volumes are used to calculate the effects of anisotropy of dislocation line tension (increasing Poisson's ratio, {nu}) on the strength of single-ended dislocation sources and, to compare them with the strength of double-ended sources of equal length. This is done by directly modeling their plastic response within a 1 micron cubed FCC Ni single crystal using DDS. In general, double-ended sources are stronger than single-ended sources of an equal length and exhibit no significant effects from truncating the long-range elastic fields at this scale. The double-ended source strength increases with Poisson ratio ({nu}), exhibiting an increase of about 50% at u = 0.38 (value for Ni) as compared to the value at {nu} = 0. Independent of dislocation line direction, for {nu} greater than 0.20, the strengths of single-ended sources depend upon the sense of the stress applied. The value for {alpha}, in the expression for strength, {tau} = {alpha}(L){micro}b/L is shown to vary from 0.4 to 0.84 depending upon the character of the dislocation and the direction of operation of …

A gated microchannel plate photomultiplier can be used as aneffective tool for measuring the longitudinal distribution of particlesaround most electron and high-energy proton rings. The broad availablewavelength range,low noise, and high sensitivity allow using such adevice for measuring the emitted synchrotron radiation and to extract thebeam intensity. The fast gate rise time can be used to reject strongsignals coming from filled RF buckets and avoid saturation of thephotocathode so that it is possible to monitor, with a high degree ofresolution, gaps in the machine fill and growth of parasitic bunches. Therugged characteristics of the device and its simplicity of use make itideal for all those applications where more complex and expensiveinstrumentation is not absolutely necessary. We present the experimentalresults obtained at the Advanced Light Source and on the Tevatron usingan Hamamatsu R5916U-50 series model.