The plant-wide energy-efficiency assessment performed in 2001 at the Alcoa World Alumina Arkansas Operations in Bauxite, Arkansas, identified seven opportunities to save energy and reduce costs. By implementing five of these improvements, the facility can save 15,100 million British thermal units per year in natural gas and 8.76 million kilowatt-hours per year in electricity. This translates into approximate annual savings of$925,300 in direct energy costs and non-fuel operating and maintenance costs. The required capital investment is estimated at$271,200. The average payback period for all five projects would be approximately 8 months.

Augusta Newsprint undertook a plant-wide energy efficiency assessment of its Augusta, Georgia, plant in 2001. The assessment helped the company decide to implement five energy efficiency projects. Four of the five projects will save the company 11,000 MWh of electrical energy (about$369,000) each year. The remaining project will produce more than$300,000 annually, from sale of the byproduct turpentine. The largest annual savings,$881,000, will come from eliminating Kraft pulp by using better process control. All of the projects could be applied to other paper mills and most of the projects could be applied in other industries.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) provides about 45 percent of all electric power consumed in the Pacific Northwest--Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The power that BPA markets and distributes is generated in large part at hydroelectric projects including dams in the Federal Columbia River Power System. BPA also owns and operates about 75 percent of the region's services. Under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980, BPA is responsible for ensuring an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply for the Pacific Northwest. To do so, BPA balances the needs of its customers against the highly variable water resources available for generating electricity. In maintaining this balance, BPA sometimes buys and sells or otherwise exchanges power with utilities with entities within and outside the Pacific Northwest. In addition to providing power, BPA is required under the 1980 act, various other laws, treaties and court cases, to "protect, mitigate, and enhance" fish and wildlife resources. Recently, BPA has witnessed a substantial deterioration in its financial condition. For example, BPA's cash reserves of $811 million at the end of fiscal year 2000 had fallen $188 million …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, 2001, visa operations have played an increasingly important role in ensuring the national security of the United States. The Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Justice, as well as other agencies, are involved in the visa process. Each plays an important role in making security decisions so that potential terrorists do not enter the country. In two GAO reports, we assessed the effectiveness of the visa process as an antiterrorism tool."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) faces financial and related management problems that are pervasive, complex, long-standing, and deeply rooted in virtually all business operations throughout the department. These problems have impeded the department's ability to provide complete, reliable, and timely business information to the Congress, DOD managers, and other decision makers. Of the 25 areas on our governmentwide "high-risk" list, 6 are DOD program areas, and the department shares responsibility for 3 other high-risk areas that are governmentwide in scope. DOD's problems in each of these areas hinder the efficiency of operations, and leave the department vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse. For fiscal year 2003, DOD's information technology (IT) budget request was over $26 billion. More specifically, to support its business operations, DOD reports that it currently relies on about 2,300 systems, including accounting, acquisition, logistics, and personnel systems that will cost about $18 billion--nearly $5.2 billion for business systems and $12.8 billion primarily for business systems infrastructure--in fiscal year 2003 to operate, maintain, and modernize. As we have previously reported, this environment was not designed to be, but rather has evolved into, an overly complex and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has been providing ongoing assistance to the Capitol Preservation Commission and the Senate and House Appropriations Committees in their monitoring and oversight of the Capitol Visitor Center construction project. Given the current decisions facing the Congress, this testimony covers (1) management of the project, (2) the estimated cost for the project, (3) the status of the project's schedule, and (4) actions that Congress and the AOC should consider taking to address funding gaps and other current project issues and risks."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Despite a recent decline in the population that smokes, smoking is considered the leading cause of preventable death in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 2 million deaths in the 5-year period from 1995 through 1999 were attributable to cigarette smoking. CDC, part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is a primary source of information on the health consequences of smoking tobacco. CDC reported its most recent estimates of selected health consequences of cigarette smoking in an April 2002 issue of its publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC reported that, on average, over 440,000 deaths, 5.6 million years of potential life lost, $82 billion in mortality-related productivity losses, and $76 billion in medical expenditures were attributable to cigarette smoking each year from 1995 through 1999. CDC and others tasked with making such estimates face challenges. They build estimates on a set of assumptions and make choices about the data sources and methods used, each of which may have limitations that must be weighed against its advantages. Policymakers at both the state and federal levels have relied on …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent news articles in over 30 states and prominent mental health advocacy organizations have described the difficulty many parents have in accessing mental health services for their children. As these reports documented, some parents choose to place their children in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems in order to obtain the mental health services that their children need. Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs asked GAO to testify on: (1) the number and characteristics of children voluntarily placed in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems to receive mental health services, (2) the factors that influence such placements, and (3) promising state and local practices that may reduce the need for child welfare and juvenile justice placements. This testimony is based on our April 2003 report on the results of a study addressing these same objectives. For that report, we surveyed state child welfare directors in all states and the District of Columbia and juvenile justice officials in 33 counties in the 17 states with the largest populations of children under age 18. We surveyed juvenile justice officials at the …

Document about the McKinney chapter of the Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution.

This document describes a research strategy for developing improved knowledge of climate variability and change and the potential impacts on the environment and on human lives. It also provides for the development of resources and tools that will empower policy-makers with the knowledge necessary for making decisions.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1986, the United States entered into a Compact of Free Association with the Pacific Island nations of the Federated States of Micronesia, or FSM, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or RMI. The Compact provided about $2.1 billion in U.S. funds, supplied by the Department of the Interior, over 17 years (1987-2003) to the FSM and the RMI. These funds were intended to advance economic development. In a past report, GAO found that this assistance did little to advance economic development in either country, and accountability over funding was limited. The Compact also established U.S. defense rights and obligations in the region and allowed for migration from both countries to the United States. The three parties recently renegotiated expiring economic assistance provisions of the Compact in order to provide an additional 20 years of assistance (2004-2023). In addition, the negotiations addressed defense and immigration issues. The House International Relations and Resources Committees requested that GAO report on Compact negotiations. This testimony discusses negotiated changes to the levels and structure of future assistance, including the potential cost to the U.S. government. Further, it reviews accountability, defense, and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1986, the United States entered into a Compact of Free Association with the Pacific Island nations of the Federated States of Micronesia, or FSM, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or RMI. The Compact provided about $2.1 billion in U.S. funds, supplied by the Department of the Interior, over 17 years (1987-2003) to the FSM and the RMI. These funds were intended to advance economic development. In a past report, GAO found that this assistance did little to advance economic development in either country, and accountability over funding was limited. The Compact also established U.S. defense rights and obligations in the region and allowed for migration from both countries to the United States. The three parties recently renegotiated expiring economic assistance provisions of the Compact in order to provide an additional 20 years of assistance (2004-2023). In addition, the negotiations addressed defense and immigration issues. The House International Relations and Resources Committees requested that GAO report on Compact negotiations."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In May 2003, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a revised Circular A-76, which represents a comprehensive set of changes to the rules governing competitive sourcing--one of five governmentwide items in the President's Management Agenda. Determining whether to obtain services in-house or through commercial contracts is an important economic and strategic decision for agencies, and the use of Circular A-76 is expected to grow throughout the federal government. In the past, however, the A-76 process has been difficult to implement, and the impact on the morale of the federal workforce has been profound. Concerns in the public and private sectors were also raised about the timeliness and fairness of the process for public-private competitions. It was against this backdrop that the Congress enacted legislation mandating a study of the A-76 process, which was carried out by the Commercial Activities Panel, chaired by the Comptroller General of the United States. This testimony focuses on how the new Circular addresses the Panel's recommendations reported in April 2002, the challenges agencies may face in implementing the new Circular A-76, and the need for effective workforce practices to help ensure …

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Accurate credit reports are critical to the credit process--for consumers attempting to obtain credit and to lending institutions making decisions about extending credit. In today's sophisticated and highly calibrated credit markets, credit report errors can have significant monetary implications to consumers and credit granters. In recognition of the importance of this issue, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs asked GAO to (1) provide information on the frequency, type, and cause of credit report errors, and (2) describe the impact of the 1996 amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) on credit report accuracy and potential implications of reporting errors for consumers."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "DOE is the largest civilian-contracting agency in the federal government, and relies primarily on contractors to operate its sites and carry out its diverse missions. For fiscal year 2003, DOE will spend about 90 percent of its total annual budget, or $19.8 billion, on contracts, including $9.4 billion to operate 16 of its research laboratories (called federally funded research and development centers). Since 1990, GAO has identified DOE's contract management as high-risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. In 1994, DOE began reforming its contracting practices to, among other things, improve contractor performance and accountability. As part of that effort, DOE has at times used competition in awarding contracts to manage and operate its research laboratories. In September 2002, GAO reported on the status of contract reform efforts in DOE. (Contract Reform: DOE Has Made Progress, but Actions Needed to Ensure Initiatives Have Improved Results) (Sep. 2002, GAO-02-798) This testimony discusses some of the findings in that report. GAO was asked to testify on DOE's rationale for deciding whether to compete a laboratory research contract, the extent to which DOE has competed these contracts, and the role of …

News release about DART and TRE transportation options to Trinity Fest 2003, celebrating the Independence Day holiday.

News release about DART and TRE transportation options to Trinity Fest 2003, celebrating the Independence Day holiday.

This paper gives a timeline of the history Deaf Smith County Schools starting in 1893. The timeline includes dates, names, and locations of schools.

This single page document is a declaration of the participants of the Earth Observation Summit held in Washington DC, adopted on July 31, 2003. An affirmation for the need for timely, quality, long-term, global information as a basis for sound decision making. Also establishes an ad hoc Group on Earth Observations aimed at developing a global observing strategy.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "During the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, health problems prevented the deployment of a significant number of Army reservists. As required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, GAO reported on the Army's efforts to assess the health status of its early-deploying reservists (Defense Health Care: Army Needs to Assess the Health Status of All Early-Deploying Reservists (GAO-03-437, Apr. 15, 2003)). GAO was asked to testify on its findings on the Army's health status assessments efforts and the implications of those assessments for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Specifically, GAO was asked to determine if the Army is collecting and maintaining information on reservists' health and review the value and advisability of providing examinations. For its report, GAO reviewed medical records at seven Army early-deploying reserve units to determine the number of required examinations that have been conducted and obtained expert opinion on the value of periodic examinations."

Deposit summary and receipt of $50.00 made on July 9, 2003. Included is a checking deposit of $50.00 made on July 10, 2003. There is a TSDC membership application filled out by Gerold Reimondo including occupation and contact information.

Deposit summary of $100.00 made on July 21, 2003. Included is a list of members with contact information.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Dietary supplements containing ephedra have been associated with serious health-related adverse events, including heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and deaths. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates dietary supplements under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). Reports of adverse events have been received by FDA and others, including Metabolife International, the manufacturer of a dietary supplement containing ephedra, Metabolife 356. Because of concerns surrounding the safety of dietary supplements containing ephedra, GAO was asked to discuss and update some of the findings from its prior work on ephedra, including its examination of Metabolife International's records of health-related calls from consumers of Metabolife 356. Specifically, GAO examined (1) FDA's analysis of the adverse event reports it received for dietary supplements containing ephedra, (2) how the adverse events reported in the health-related call records collected by Metabolife International illustrate the health risks of dietary supplements containing ephedra, and (3) FDA's actions in the oversight of dietary supplements containing ephedra."

Current designs for electric motors use a housing that acts as both a structural support and as a method of cooling the stator and rotor. This approach to cooling is not as effective as possible because heat must flow from the rotor and stator through the housing to the cooling media. Because the housing must contain the coolant, it is also larger, heavier, and more expensive than necessary. This project develops a motor that uses a direct lamination cooling (DLC) system, passing coolant directly through the stator and eliminating the need for bulky housing, thereby improving heat transfer. Motor size could be reduced by up to 30-40%, mass by up to 20-30%, and cost by up to 30%. Phase I demonstrated that reliable lamination-to-lamination seals and reliable stack-to-manifold seals can be achieved using the methods identified. The addition of the selected sealants adds only slightly to the thermal resistance and pressure drop compared with unsealed counterparts. Phase II builds electric motors and inductors using the DLC method, obtain comparative performance data on the effectiveness of the method, and then obtain operational use data on these components through long term testing in a representative environment. The long-term testing will ensure that …