This report is categorized in four categories: (I) Power as Commander-in-Chief, (II) Power to appoint and receive Ambassadors,(III) Power by and with the consent of the Senate to make Treaties and (IV) Power as chief Executive.

The direct energy conversion efficiencies calculated for Cat-D and D-/sup 3/He fueled Tokamak reactors are summarized over a range of reactor designs, collector configurations, assumed T/sub e//T/sub i/ ratios, and power densities. The performance of a system of superconducting coils that produce those fields required to guide escaping plasma along the path between the bundle divertor coils and the direct converter is also discussed.

This report provides an overview of the potential federal tax implications for same-sex married couples of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor, with a focus on the federal income tax. Estate tax issues are also discussed. This report focuses on changes in the interpretation and administration of federal tax law resulting from the Court's decision. The decision itself did not amend federal tax law.

This report provides a background on federal marijuana policy as well as an overview of state trends with respect to marijuana decriminalization and legalization--for both medical and recreational uses. It then analyzes relevant issues for U.S. federal law enforcement as well as for the criminal organizations involved in producing, distributing, and profiting from the black market sale of marijuana. This report also outlines a number of related policy questions that Congress may confront. Notably, it does not discuss the legal issues associated with state-level initiatives to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

This report provides a primer on some of the fundamental aspects of the security clearance process using a "Frequently Asked Questions" format.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Norway, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States participate in the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC) program, a multilateral effort that seeks to reduce the environmental impacts of Russia's military activities through technology development projects. AMEC has primarily focused on Russia's aging fleet of nuclear submarines. Section 324 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 required GAO to review AMEC, including its relationship to the Department of Defense's (DOD) Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program. In accordance with the act, GAO (1) assessed the extent to which AMEC supports and complements the CTR program, (2) identified AMEC member countries' financial contributions to the program, (3) assessed AMEC's future program objectives, and (4) evaluated DOD's proposal to expand its technology development activities to Russia's Pacific region."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government has increasingly focused on linking affordable housing to transit-oriented developments--compact, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods located near transit--through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) housing programs and the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) transit programs. GAO was asked to review (1) what is known about how transit-oriented developments affect the availability of affordable housing; (2) how local, state, and federal agencies have worked to ensure that affordable housing is available in transit-oriented developments; and (3) the extent to which HUD and FTA have worked together to ensure that transportation and affordable housing objectives are integrated in transit-oriented developments. To address these issues, GAO reviewed relevant literature, conducted site visits, and interviewed agency officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Securing the nation's borders from illegal entry of aliens and contraband, including terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, continues to be a major challenge. In November 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the launch of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a multiyear, multibillion dollar program aimed at securing U.S. borders and reducing illegal immigration. Within DHS, U.S. Custom and Border Protection's (CBP) SBI program is responsible for developing a comprehensive border protection system using technology, known as SBInet, and tactical infrastructure--fencing, roads, and lighting. GAO was asked to provide periodic updates on the status of the program. This report addresses (1) the extent to which CBP has implemented SBInet and the impact of delays that have occurred, and (2) the extent to which CBP has deployed tactical infrastructure and assessed its results. To do this work, GAO reviewed program schedules, status reports, and previous GAO work; interviewed DHS and CBP officials, among others; and visited three SBI sites where initial technology or fencing had been deployed at the time of GAO's review."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "With trillions of dollars in cross-border financial activity, U.S. tax authorities and others around the world exchange information with each other to administer and enforce compliance with the tax laws of their respective countries. GAO was asked to (1) identify and describe all income tax treaties and other such agreements between the United States and other countries, (2) describe the volume of exchange activity, types of information exchanged between the United States and its treaty partners, and request processing times, and (3) identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness of current U.S. information exchange processes and procedures. GAO analyzed agreement documents, IRS data on information exchanges, and interviewed program officials and the users of exchanged information."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "One significant cost to Medicaid is prescription drugs, which accounted for over $23 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2008, or about 7 percent of total Medicaid outlays. Many of these drugs are susceptible to abuse and include pain relievers and stimulants that are on the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Schedule of Controlled Substances. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the Medicaid program will receive about $87 billion in federal assistance based on a greater federal share of Medicaid spending. GAO was asked to determine (1) whether there are indications of fraud and abuse related to controlled substances paid for by Medicaid; (2) if so, examples of fraudulent, improper, and abusive activity; and (3) the effectiveness of internal controls that the federal government and selected states have in place to prevent fraud and abuse related to controlled substances. To meet these objectives, GAO analyzed Medicaid controlled substance claims for fraud and abuse indications for FY 2006 and 2007 from five selected states. GAO also interviewed federal and state officials and performed investigations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's wildland fire problems have worsened dramatically over the past decade, with more than a doubling of average annual acreage burned and federal appropriations for wildland fire management. The deteriorating fire situation has led the agencies responsible for managing wildland fires on federal lands--the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture and four agencies in the Department of the Interior--to reassess how they respond to wildland fire and to take steps to improve their fire management programs. GAO reviewed (1) progress the agencies have made in managing wildland fire and (2) key actions GAO previously recommended and believes are still necessary to improve wildland fire management. GAO reviewed previous GAO reports and agency documents and interviewed agency officials. GAO prepared this report under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004, about two-thirds of the Department of Energy's (DOE) $26.9 billion in spending went to 28 major facilities--laboratories, production and test facilities, and nuclear waste cleanup and storage facilities. DOE spent about $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2004 to support the mission of its five largest laboratories. GAO was asked to examine (1) recent trends in indirect and functional support cost rates for these five laboratories, noting key differences in how contractors classify costs, and (2) the efforts of DOE and its contractors to reduce indirect and other support costs and identify additional opportunities for savings."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2008, the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program provided meals to 30.9 million and 10.5 million children, respectively. Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued the first estimate of improper payments due to meal counting and claiming errors in these programs, which was approximately $860 million (8.6 percent of federal program reimbursements) in school year 2005-2006. These errors include: (1) cashier errors, such as those made in determining if a meal meets the federal menu planning and nutrition requirements (meal counting), and (2) aggregation errors made when officials count and total meals for federal reimbursement (meal claiming). GAO was asked to review (1) actions taken by states and school food authorities (SFA) to identify and address meal counting and claiming errors; and (2) actions taken by USDA to help states and SFAs identify and address meal counting and claiming errors. GAO's steps included analyzing data on state administrative reviews of SFAs; surveying all states; conducting site visits; and interviewing federal, state, and SFA officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal policies establish the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the focal point for the security of cyberspace. As part of its responsibilities, DHS is required to coordinate cyber attack exercises to strengthen public and private incident response capabilities. One major exercise program, called Cyber Storm, is a large-scale simulation of multiple concurrent cyber attacks involving the federal government, states, foreign governments, and private industry. To date, DHS has conducted Cyber Storm exercises in 2006 and 2008. GAO agreed to (1) identify the lessons that DHS learned from the first Cyber Storm exercise, (2) assess DHS's efforts to address the lessons learned from this exercise, and (3) identify key participants' views of their experiences during the second Cyber Storm exercise. To do so, GAO evaluated documentation of corrective activities and interviewed federal, state, and private sector officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. passenger rail system is a vital component of the nation's transportation infrastructure, carrying more than 11 million passengers each weekday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) share responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of rail systems. In this report, GAO addressed (1) DHS actions to assess the risks to the U.S. passenger rail system in the context of prevailing risk management principles, (2) federal actions taken to enhance the security of the U.S. passenger rail system, and (3) security practices that domestic and selected foreign passenger rail operators have implemented."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which is operated by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), has experienced security lapses protecting information on its unclassified computer network. The unclassified network contains sensitive information. GAO (1) assessed the effectiveness of the security controls LANL has in place to protect information transmitted over its unclassified computer network, (2) assessed whether LANL had implemented an information security program for its unclassified network, and (3) examined expenditures to protect LANL's unclassified network from fiscal years 2001 through 2007. To carry out its work, GAO examined security policies and procedures and reviewed the laboratory's access controls for protecting information on the unclassified network."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has considered several courses of action for the placement of the headquarters for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) but decided in early 2013 to keep it in Germany. When AFRICOM was created in 2007, DOD temporarily located its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, with the intent of selecting a permanent location at a later date. DOD's initial goal was to locate the headquarters in Africa, but this was later abandoned in part because of significant projected costs and sensitivities on the part of African countries. Subsequently, in 2008, DOD conducted an analysis that found that several locations in Europe and the United States would be operationally feasible and less expensive than keeping the headquarters in Stuttgart. A final decision, however, was deferred until 2012, when the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office completed its analysis. Subsequent to this analysis, in January 2013, the Secretary of Defense decided to keep AFRICOM's headquarters in Stuttgart. In announcing the decision, the Secretary noted that keeping AFRICOM in Germany would cost more than moving it to the United States but the commander had judged it would be …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 has laid a foundation of results-oriented agency planning, measurement, and reporting in the federal government. Performance planning and measurement have slowly, yet increasingly, become a part of agencies' cultures. For planning and performance measurement to be effective, federal managers need to use performance information to identify performance problems and look for solutions, develop approaches that improve results, and make other important management decisions. According to GAO's periodic surveys, federal managers reported having more performance measures in 2003 than in 1997. However, the data also showed that managers' reported use of performance information for program management activities has remained essentially unchanged from 1997 levels. GAO was asked to identify (1) how federal agencies can use performance information to make management decisions and (2) practices that can enhance or facilitate the use of performance information to make management decisions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In its April 2013 report to Congress, the Department of Defense (DOD) did not provide any new analyses, but provided the results of previous analyses related to the Aerospace Control Alert mission because, according to DOD officials, DOD was not expecting any future changes to the budget or force structure of the mission, including consideration of any basing location alternatives. DOD's April 2013 report summarized the results of three risk assessments that were conducted to support DOD's 2012 decision on which two alert basing locations could be removed from 24-hour alert status with the least amount of risk. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the Office of the Secretary of Defense Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, and the Continental U.S. NORAD Region performed these assessments and all concluded that, given the 2012 DOD decision that two alert basing locations would be removed from 24-hour alert status, the removal of the locations at Duluth, Minnesota, and Langley, Virginia, would provide the least increase in risk. DOD's April 2013 report also summarized a cost savings estimate developed after the decision to remove these basing locations …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Two thirds of U.S. adults are overweight, and childhood obesity and diabetes are on the rise. To reverse these health problems, experts are urging Americans to eat healthier. Food labels contain information to help consumers who want to make healthy food choices. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees federal labeling rules for 80 percent of foods. GAO was asked to examine (1) FDA's efforts to ensure that domestic and imported foods comply with labeling rules, (2) the challenges FDA faces in these efforts, and (3) the views of key stakeholders on FDA actions needed to mitigate misleading labeling. GAO analyzed FDA data, reports, and requirements on food labeling oversight and compliance and interviewed agency and key stakeholder group officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For nearly 40 years, the federal government has played a role in providing early childhood development programs for children of low-income families through Head Start and other programs. Since 1980, the number of states with preschool programs has also significantly increased. While most of these programs have targeted children at risk of school failure, more recently, interest has grown in expanding these limited programs because of the growing concern about children's readiness for school and subsequent achievement. It has also been fueled by new research on early brain development that suggests the importance of early education and by the high rate of mothers in the workforce and their need for early childhood services. In this context, questions have arisen about how the various programs are coordinated and what lessons have been learned from broad-based state preschool efforts. This work focused on four states that have expanded their preschool programs to serve more children. In these states, GAO addressed (1) how prekindergarten programs were designed and funded, (2) the potential implications of these program features for children's participation and other programs that serve four year-olds, and (3) …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Using data agencies had reported to the Small Business Administration (SBA), GAO found that 8 of the 11 agencies participating in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and 4 of the 5 agencies participating in the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program did not consistently comply with spending requirements for fiscal years 2006 to 2011. In calculating their annual spending requirements for these programs, some agencies made improper exclusions from their extramural research and development (R&D) budgets and used differing methodologies. SBA, which oversees the programs, provided guidance in policy directives for agencies on calculating these requirements, but the directives do not provide guidance on calculating the requirements when appropriations are late and spending is delayed, resulting in agencies using differing methodologies. This made it difficult to determine whether agencies' calculations were correct. Without further SBA guidance, agencies will likely continue calculating spending requirements in differing ways."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To help address the many challenges being faced by federal agencies, Congress has enacted a series of laws designed to improve agencies' performance. The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, for example, requires that each agency head designate a Chief Information Officer (CIO) to lead reforms to achieve real, measurable improvements in the agency's performance through better management of information resources. Recognizing the importance of the CIO position, congressional requesters asked GAO to conduct two reviews. The first, reported in July 2004, discussed the extent to which federal CIOs had responsibility for 12 functional areas that GAO had identified as either required by statute or critical to effective information and technology management, including information technology (IT) capital planning, strategic planning for information resources, and information security and privacy. This report focuses on the responsibilities of CIOs at 20 leading private-sector organizations. The questions GAO addressed were (1) What are the responsibilities of these CIOs, and how do they compare with those of federal CIOs? (2) What are the key challenges of these private-sector CIOs? (3) How do these organizations govern their information and IT assets enterprisewide?"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A comprehensive system to alert the American people in times of hazard allows people to take action to save lives. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for the current Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the development of the new Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). In this requested report, GAO examined (1) the current status of EAS, (2) the progress made by FEMA in implementing an integrated alert and warning system, and (3) the challenges involved in implementing an integrated alert and warning system. GAO conducted a survey of states, reviewed FEMA and other documentation, and interviewed industry stakeholders and officials from federal agencies responsible for public alerting."