A description is given of the ferrite biasing system for the four tuned radio frequency cavities of the synchrotron. Each ferrite loaded double cavity has a single turn bias winding which is driven to a peak current of 13,500 amperes by a push-pull transformer arrangement. There is automatic tap changing of the transformer to accommodate the variable impedance load (for power considerations). The programming and frequency response of the system have to be such that each cavity can operate as the reso nant circuit of a self tracking radio frequency amplifier over the frequency range 6.5 to 30 Mc at the 20 cps repetition rate of the synchrotron. Between acceleration cycles it is necessary to program the ferrite to a given magnetic state, near that of maximum radio frequency permeability. (auth)

A detailed 4urvey of the radiation from the N.S. Savannah shield was made. The study was accomplished with the reactor at its full power of 69 Mw during a cruise of 2821 miles. The results of the detailed shield survey show that the design dose rate of 0.5 rem/yr for passenger spaces is not exceeded in any region to which passengers have access. ln the area restricted to crew access the design dose rate of 5.0 rem/yr is nowhere exceeded except in a small region on D'' deck in a room to which entry can readily be controlled. Specifications for cargohold dose rates, 0.5 rem/yr at 1/5 full power, are satisfactorily met. Additional data obtained include measurements of special points for comparison with dose rates predicted in design calculations, and an experiment examining the result of loss of water from the Savannah's subreactor shield tanks. Predicted dose rates were conservatively higher than the dose rates measured, and the result of the water-loss experiment showed that even with a total emptying of the tanks a safe condition exists only a few feet from the shield. (auth)

Compatibility studies of type 304 stainless steel in helium containing low concentrations of CO and CO/sub 2/ were conducted. The oxidation rates were insensitive to impurity concentrations between 0.0006--0.3 vol% in the temperature range 400--1000 deg C when P/sub co2/P/sub co/ was less than 0.66. Ratios above this value resulted initially in a slow oxidation rate, but was followed by an accelerated attack. The incubation period for the break-away varied with the P/sub co2//P/sub co/ ratio and the pressure of the two gases. The oxidation reactions proceeded through a selective depletion of chromium from the alloy which increased the carbon solubility and depletion of nickel which led to the transformation of austenite to ferrite. Parabolic reaction rates were observed for the formation of the protective oxides. Arrhenius plots of rate constants versus 1/T indicated the presence of several oxides which was confirmed by other methods. Carburization or decarburization reactions occurred coincidentally with oxidation and depended upon temperature and (P/sub CO/)/sup 2/ /P/sub CO2/ and the P/sub co2//P /sub CO/. Neither was detected below 600 deg C. Between 600--900 deg C, only carburization occurred and appeared to be mainly dependent on the temperature. Above 900 deg C, both carburization and decarburization …

A thermal and hydraulic design investigation of the Pathfinder Reactor, including analytical and experimental determinations, as well as a complete set of performance calculations, was carried out. A detailed analysis of the reactor energy balance was conducted. Results of the analyses indicated that the reactor will perform within the limits of the material design criteria and operational requirements. Fuel element temperatures are not excessive under the worst combination of circumstances. Thermal stresses in the superheater were minimized by designing the annular element so that temperatures are kept as uniform as possible at every axial location. In all cases, sufficient heat dissipation capacity was found to exist to ensure an ample margin of safety. (M.C.G.)

This report presents the results of Task IA of the Energy Use in Office Buildings Project: an analysis in tabular form of the 1977 office building energy use data base of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA). BOMA's approximately 4000 members directly manage over 500 million ft/sup 2/ of commercial office space, which is approximately 16% of total commercial office building space. BOMA annually collects data on office building characteristics and operating performance for presentation in its Experience Exchange Report. Data are collected from BOMA member and non-member buildings electing to participate in the reporting process; and, in addition, a number of Federal, state, and local government buildings have been participating since 1977. Summaries of the data are published by BOMA on an aggregate basis; the summaries, which are developed on a city or regional basis, provide a benchmark for use by building managers in comparing the results of specific building operations with the industry's aggregate experience. Access to the 1977 BOMA data base was obtained under a subcontract with BOMA. Data for 1342 buildings - 1059 commercial office buildings and 283 government office buildings in the United States and Canada - were delivered. Of the 1059 commercial office …

This report examines debates regarding what constitutes an "unfunded federal mandate" and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995's (UMRA) implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in rules. It also assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions which currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities.

This report provides an overview of nanotechnology, the National Nanotechnology Initiative, possible reauthorization of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-153), and appropriations issues.

This report has four sections. The first describes recent developments in weather and policy. The second provides an overview of the current USDA disaster assistance programs: federal crop insurance, NAP payments, and emergency disaster loans. The third section discusses the now expired disaster programs under the 2008 farm bill, specifically Supplemental Revenue, Assistance Payments Program (SURE), and four other smaller disaster programs. The fourth section briefly reviews the potential reauthorization of disaster programs proposed in both House and Senate versions of the 2013 farm bill. An appendix reviews the recent history of emergency supplemental farm disaster assistance and USDA administrative actions.

Report that looks at actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) during its first year. The CFPB exists to implement and enforce federal consumer financial laws, ensure consumer access to financial products and services, and ensure that the markets for consumer financial services and products are fair, transparent, and competitive.

This report describes the current strategic context, the state of the campaign, next steps in the campaign, and what it would take to make campaign gains sustainable; and it offers questions that may be of help to Congress in providing oversight of further U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.

This report discusses the offshore areas of the Gulf of Mexico that provide a setting for domestic and international energy production, U.S. military training and border operations, trade and commerce, fishing, tourist attractions, and recreation.

Report that discusses some of the commercial and federal radio frequency spectrum policy changes required by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. It also summarizes new policy directions for spectrum management under consideration in the 112th Congress, such as the encouragement of new technologies that use spectrum more efficiently.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Between 2002 and 2012 nearly 850,000 jobs will open in the construction industry; experts predict that there will not be enough skilled workers to fill them. This has heightened concerns about program outcomes and program quality in the nation's apprenticeship system and the U.S. Department of Labor's oversight of it. GAO assessed (1) the extent to which Labor monitors registered apprenticeship programs in the states where it has direct oversight, (2) its oversight activities in states that do their own monitoring, and (3) the outcomes for construction apprentices in programs sponsored by employers and unions in relation to programs sponsored by employers alone."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) billed veterans millions of medical copayment charges totaling more than $1 billon. Witnesses at a 2009 Subcommittee on Health, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, hearing raised concerns about inappropriate copayment charges, including some associated with veterans' service-connected conditions. As a result, members of the Subcommittee asked GAO to review (1) VHA copayment charge accuracy, including error rates and related causes, and (2) VHA efforts to monitor copayment charge accuracy. To assess the accuracy of VHA's billed copayment charges, GAO evaluated samples of fiscal year 2010 billed and unbilled medical services to determine copayment error rates and related causes. GAO also reviewed VHA practices related to monitoring the accuracy of copayment charges.."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Carbon offsets--reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from an activity in one place to compensate for emissions elsewhere--are a way to address climate change by paying someone else to reduce emissions. To be credible, an offset must be additional--it must reduce emissions below the quantity emitted in a business-as-usual scenario--among other criteria. Assessing credibility is inherently challenging because it is difficult to make business-as-usual projections. Outside the U.S., offsets may be purchased on compliance markets to meet requirements to reduce emissions. In the U.S., there are no federal requirements and offsets may be purchased in the voluntary market. GAO was asked to examine (1) the scope of the U.S. voluntary carbon offset market, including the role of the federal government; (2) the extent to which mechanisms for ensuring the credibility of offsets are available and used and what, if any, related information is shared with consumers; and (3) trade-offs associated with increased oversight of the U.S. market and including offsets in climate change mitigation policies. This report is based on analysis of literature and data, interviews with stakeholders, and GAO's purchase of offsets."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to reduce the Air Force's operating and support costs, focusing on: (1) operating and support cost trends; (2) cost reduction initiatives; and (3) factors influencing the success of cost reduction efforts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determines current and future funding requirements for the Disaster Relief fund, focusing on the: (1) accuracy and timeliness of FEMA's estimates of costs for past disasters; (2) reasonableness of FEMA's approach to estimating the timing and cost of future disasters; and (3) impact of FEMA's initiatives on the rate of obligating disaster relief funds."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As part of verifying if farm and conservation program participants had incomes below statutory limits--making them eligible to receive certain 2009 and 2010 program payments--reviews of tax returns by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency's (FSA) state offices varied in quality. GAO's review of 115 tax return files from selected state offices found that some files met agency guidance and had no apparent errors. Other files did not meet agency guidance or contained errors, resulting in some potentially improper payments to participants whose incomes exceeded the limits. For example, GAO found errors in 19 of the 22 tax return files it reviewed from FSA offices in two states; one of these errors led to a potentially improper payment of $40,000. FSA headquarters does not monitor state offices' reviews of tax returns to ensure that the offices are applying program guidance consistently and making accurate eligibility determinations, even though federal standards for internal control direct agencies to monitor and assess the quality of performance over time. Also, 2008 Farm Bill provisions requiring a distinction between farm and nonfarm income make it difficult for agency …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2004 mandated that we assess the management of threat reduction and nonproliferation programs that the Departments of Defense and Energy each administer. The objective of this report is to assess how the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) implements management controls, which we define here to be the processes ensuring that work done under a contract meets contract specifications and that payments go to contractors as intended."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2006, the subcommittee concluded there was a need for increased accountability and transparency for unspent funds in federal programs and agencies, and requested GAO review the status of balances not drawn down by grantees by the time the grants' period of availability had ended. GAO was asked to answer these questions: (1) to what extent are there undisbursed grant balances in expired grant accounts and do they share any program characteristics?; and (2) do these expired grants share grant management challenges and how have federal agencies improved grant closeout and diminished undisbursed balances? To do this, GAO analyzed grant balance data from the largest federal grant payment system; reviewed grant management problems and corrective actions from more than 150 audit reports; and reviewed guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Code of Federal Regulations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2004, Congress directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish a comprehensive policy to prevent and respond to sexual assaults involving servicemembers. Though not required to do so, the Coast Guard has established a similar policy. In response to congressional requests and Senate Report No. 110-77, GAO evaluated the extent to which DOD and the Coast Guard (1) have developed and implemented policies and programs to prevent, respond to, and resolve sexual assault incidents involving servicemembers; (2) have visibility over reports of sexual assault involving servicemembers; and (3) exercise oversight over reports of sexual assault involving servicemembers. To conduct this review, GAO reviewed legislative requirements and DOD and Coast Guard guidance; analyzed sexual assault incident data; and obtained through surveys and interviews the perspective on sexual assault matters of more than 3,900 servicemembers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Multiple-award task and delivery order contracts were intended to streamline the acquisition of goods and services. Prior GAO reviews cited concerns that some agencies using these contracts were not attaining the level of competition Congress had initially envisioned. In response, Congress required that additional guidance be published in the Federal Acquisition Regulation and asked GAO if the guidance conformed to the law and agencies were complying with it. To evaluate compliance, GAO examined how agencies provided vendors with a fair opportunity to be considered for orders, clearly described the services or supplies needed, and complied with capital planning requirements."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent concerns about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) endangered species listing and critical habitat decisions have focused on the role that "sound science" plays in the decision-making process--whether the Service bases its decisions on adequate scientific data and properly interprets those data. In this report, GAO assesses the extent to which (1) the Service's policies and practices ensure that listing and critical habitat decisions are based on the best available science and (2) external reviewers support the scientific data and conclusions that the Service used to make those decisions. In addition, GAO highlights the nature and extent that litigation is affecting the Service's ability to effectively manage its critical habitat program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has long faced problems managing its grants, which constitute over one-half of the agency's annual budget, or about $4 billion. EPA uses grants to implement its programs to protect human health and the environment and awards grants to thousands of recipients, including state and local governments, tribes, universities, and nonprofit organizations. EPA's ability to efficiently and effectively accomplish its mission largely depends on how well it manages its grant resources. As requested, GAO determined (1) major challenges EPA faces in managing its grants and how it has addressed these challenges in the past, (2) extent to which EPA's recently issued policies and grants management plan address these challenges, and (3) promising practices, if any, that could assist EPA in addressing these challenges."