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This report examines economic issues relating to across-the-board tax cuts, focusing primarily on distributional issues. The report is divided into four sections. The first section provides a general overview of the tax system. The next discusses recent proposals relating to across-the-board tax cuts. The third section discusses methods of evaluating alternative types of across-the-board tax cuts. The final section briefly discusses issues of efficiency, simplicity, and stabilization policy.

This report discusses the issue of U.S. economic assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the importance of continued assistance in light of U.S. national security and also various U.S.-led efforts to promote reform amongst African citizens themselves. U.S. assistance finds its way to Africa through a variety of channels, including the USAID-administered DA program, food aid programs, and indirect aid provided through international financial institutions and the United Nations.

The in situ analysis of surface conditions of vitrified nuclear wastes can provide an important check of the burial status of radioactive objects without risk of radiation exposure. Raman spectroscopy was initially chosen as the most promising method for testing the surface conditions of glasses undergoing chemical corrosion, and was used extensively during the first year. However, it was determined that infrared reflection spectroscopy was better suited to this particular need and was used for the remaining two years to investigate the surface corrosion behavior of model silicate glasses for extension to nuclear waste glasses. The developed methodology is consistent with the known theory of optical propagation of dielectric media and uses the Kramers-Kronig formalism. The results show that it is possible to study the corrosion of glass by analyzing the glass surface using reflection fast Fourier infrared measurements and the newly developed ''dispersion analysis method.'' The data show how this analysis can be used to monitor the corrosion behavior of vitrified waste glasses over extended periods of storage.

This document (1) summarizes the most significant findings of the ''Qualification of Advanced Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Systems'' program initiated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); (2) documents a comparative analysis of U.S. and European qualification standards; and (3) provides recommendations for enhancing regulatory guidance for environmental qualification of microprocessor-based safety-related systems. Safety-related I&C system upgrades of present-day nuclear power plants, as well as I&C systems of Advanced Light-Water Reactors (ALWRs), are expected to make increasing use of microprocessor-based technology. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recognized that the use of such technology may pose environmental qualification challenges different from current, analog-based I&C systems. Hence, it initiated the ''Qualification of Advanced Instrumentation and Control Systems'' program. The objectives of this confirmatory research project are to (1) identify any unique environmental-stress-related failure modes posed by digital technologies and their potential impact on the safety systems and (2) develop the technical basis for regulatory guidance using these findings. Previous findings from this study have been documented in several technical reports. This final report in the series documents a comparative analysis of two environmental qualification standards--Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Std 323-1983 and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 60780 (1998)--and provides recommendations for …

Concerns for Biological weapons (BW) are being viewed as a threat and a "when, if not" scenario. What is the nature of biological weapons and the treat assessments. The U.S laws and regulations that adhere to BW weapons.

Some policymakers, believing that disparities in broadband access across American society could have adverse economic and social consequences on those left behind, assert that the federal government should play a more active role to avoid a “digital divide” in broadband access. One approach is for the federal government to provide financial assistance to support broadband deployment in underserved areas. Others, however, believe that federal assistance for broadband deployment is not appropriate. Some opponents question the reality of the “digital divide,” and argue that federal intervention in the broadband marketplace would be premature and, in some cases, counterproductive.

This report summarizes each House bill offered in the 107th Congress, arranged in both numerical order and by major issue addressed, with any legislative action shown.The provisions of these bills are grouped into 15 categories, based on type on issue addressed.

The purpose of this catalog is to integrate all available soil physics data and information from vadose zone characterization and performance assessments into one useable, scientifically defensible document.

The purpose of this catalog is to integrate all available soil physics data and information from vadose zone characterization and performance assessments into one usable, scientifically defensible document.

Over the last several years most of the sludge and liquid from the Liquid Low-Level Waste (LLLW) tanks at ORNL has been transferred and consolidated in the Melton Valley Storage Tanks (MVST). The contents of the MVST tanks at the time the sludge samples were collected for this report included the original inventory in the MVSTs along with the sludge and liquid from the Bethel Valley Evaporator Service Tanks (BVEST), Old Hydrofracture (OHF) tanks, and the Gunite and Associated Tanks (GAAT). During the summer of 2001 full core samples of sludge were collected from the MVST tanks. The purpose of this sampling campaign was to characterize and validate that the current radiochemical and chemical contents of the MVST sludge, which was needed to meet the contract agreements prior to the transfer of the waste to another DOE contractor for processing. This report only discusses the analytical characterization of the sludge from the MVST waste tanks. The isotopic data presented in this report supports the position that fissile isotopes of uranium ({sup 233}U and {sup 235}U) and plutonium ({sup 239}Pu and {sup 241}Pu) were ''denatured'' as required by the administrative controls stated in the ORNL LLLW waste acceptance criteria (WAC). In …

This report is on Cloture: Its Effects on Senate Floor Proceedings.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO confirmed differences among the United States, the United Kingdom, and France in the rates at which illnesses have been reported among their Gulf War veterans; their assessment of nuclear, biological, and chemical threats in the Gulf; and their preparations to meet them. However, because of differences in the experiences of the three sets of veterans, there is no single, unambiguous cause that can be identified for the reported illnesses. If multinational allies are to act in a coordinated fashion, they require a similar level of awareness of and preparation for the threats to be faced; otherwise, force protection and operational success could be jeopardized and the utility of some forces restricted. Gulf War Coalition members prepared for somewhat different threats and used different countermeasures. In addition, the U.S. lacked clear doctrine for timely and systematic warning of allied forces and U.S. ground troops about pending strikes on suspected nuclear, biological, and chemical targets."

This report documents tests that were conducted to verify that the air monitoring system for the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility ventilation exhaust stack meets the applicable regulatory criteria regarding the placement of the air sampling probe, sample transport, and stack flow measurement accuracy.

This report documents tests that were conducted to verify that the air monitoring system for the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility ventilation exhaust stack meets the applicable regulatory criteria regarding the placement of the air sampling probe, sample transport, and stack flow measurement accuracy.

The conference report presents the formal legislative language on which the conference committee has agreed. The joint explanatory statement explains the various elements of the conferees agreement in relation to the positions that the House and Senate had committed to the conference committee.

The conference report presents the formal legislative language on which the conference committee has agreed. The joint explanatory statement explains the various elements of the conferees’ agreement in relation to the positions that the House and Senate had committed to the conference committee.

Actual regulations while designing of new fuel cycles for nuclear power installations comprise a calculational justification to be performed by certified computer codes. It guarantees that obtained calculational results will be within the limits of declared uncertainties that are indicated in a certificate issued by Gosatomnadzor of Russian Federation (GAN) and concerning a corresponding computer code. A formal justification of declared uncertainties is the comparison of calculational results obtained by a commercial code with the results of experiments or of calculational tests that are calculated with an uncertainty defined by certified precision codes of MCU type or of other one. The actual level of international cooperation provides an enlarging of the bank of experimental and calculational benchmarks acceptable for a certification of commercial codes that are being used for a design of fuel loadings with MOX fuel. In particular, the work is practically finished on the forming of calculational benchmarks list for a certification of code TVS-M as applied to MOX fuel assembly calculations. The results on these activities are presented.

This report contains a cost analysis of the long-term storage of depleted uranium in the form of uranium metal. Three options are considered for storage of the depleted uranium. These options are aboveground buildings, partly underground vaults, and mined cavities. Three cases are presented. In the first case, all the depleted uranium metal that would be produced from the conversion of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF{sub 6}) generated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) prior to July 1993 would be stored at the storage facility (100% Case). In the second case, half the depleted uranium metal would be stored at this storage facility (50% Case). In the third case, one-quarter of the depleted uranium metal would be stored at the storage facility (25% Case). The technical basis for the cost analysis presented in this report is principally found in the companion report, ANL/EAD/TM-100, ''Engineering Analysis Report for the Long-Term Management of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride: Storage of Depleted Uranium Metal'', prepared by Argonne National Laboratory.

Under the federal system in the United States, the states and localities traditionally have held the major responsibility for prevention and control of crime and maintenance of order. For most of the Republic’s history, “police powers” in the broad sense were reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. Many still hold that view, but others see a string of court decisions in recent decades as providing the basis for a far more active federal role. Several bills are discussed in this report that address issues related to crime, juvenile justice, and school violence.

The purpose of this report is to provide a methodology for an increase in the efficiency and a decrease in the cost of vitrifying high-level waste (HLW) by optimizing HLW glass formulation. This methodology consists in collecting and generating a database of glass properties that determine HLW glass processability and acceptability and relating these properties to glass composition. The report explains how the property-composition models are developed, fitted to data, used for glass formulation optimization, and continuously updated in response to changes in HLW composition estimates and changes in glass processing technology. Further, the report reviews the glass property-composition literature data and presents their preliminary critical evaluation and screening. Finally the report provides interim property-composition models for melt viscosity, for liquidus temperature (with spinel and zircon primary crystalline phases), and for the product consistency test normalized releases of B, Na, and Li. Models were fitted to a subset of the screened database deemed most relevant for the current HLW composition region.

The purpose of this report is to provide a methodology for an increase in the efficiency and a decrease in the cost of vitrifying high-level waste (HLW) by optimizing HLW glass formulation. This methodology consists in collecting and generating a database of glass properties that determine HLW glass processability and acceptability and relating these properties to glass composition. The report explains how the property-composition models are developed, fitted to data, used for glass formulation optimization, and continuously updated in response to changes in HLW composition estimates and changes in glass processing technology. Further, the report reviews the glass property-composition literature data and presents their preliminary critical evaluation and screening. Finally the report provides interim property-composition models for melt viscosity, for liquidus temperature (with spinel and zircon primary crystalline phases), and for the product consistency test normalized releases of B, Na, and Li. Models were fitted to a subset of the screened database deemed most relevant for the current HLW composition region.

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Mobile Enforcement Team Program. GAO found that since the program was established in 1995, DEA has enhanced its management of the program and provided for greater headquarters oversight and monitoring. In implementing the program and carrying out deployments, the field division METs generally complied with some of the pertinent requirements and guidelines that GAO reviewed. However, some DEA headquarters files did not contain adequate documentation, GAO could not determine whether the METs consistently and adequately assessed the requesting local law enforcement agencies' abilities to address, on their own, the drug and related violence problems for which DEA's program assistance was requested. DEA expects the program to focus on specific, targeted gangs in the areas in which the METs are deployed and that deployments will generally continue until the targeted individuals are arrested and the targeted drug gangs have been disrupted or dismantled. Consistent with the nature and objectives of the program, investigators focused primarily on street-level drug dealers and were mostly local and regional in scope. DEA collects data on various performance measures to assess the results of …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report describes the financial and management impact of increasing physician reimbursement rates in TRICARE -- the military's managed health care program. GAO found that changing the TRICARE reimbursement rate nationally to the 70th percentile of billed charges would be costly, inflationary, and largely unnecessary. Such an increase could cost the Defense Department (DOD) and its beneficiaries an additional $604 million annually with DOD paying most of this. In addition, an across-the-board increase is unnecessary because the vast majority of military beneficiaries are getting the care they need from military and civilian doctors who accept TRICARE's reimbursement rates. Nevertheless, access is impaired in some remote and rural areas. DOD's use of its existing authority to increase reimbursement rates in one of those areas--rural Alaska--has not encouraged civilian physicians to treat TRICARE beneficiaries."