A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "With a number of challenges facing the nation--including a long-term fiscal imbalance--agencies need to maximize their performance and leverage available resources and authorities to achieve maximum value while managing risk. Examining state efforts to increase the focus on performance and their experiences in responding to recent fiscal stress can offer insights into practices that may assist federal decision makers in addressing the challenges ahead. GAO described for five selected states--Arizona, Maryland, Texas, Virginia, and Washington--legislators' use of performance information in budget deliberations, how performance information helped to inform choices during fiscal stress, challenges these states face in implementing and sustaining their efforts, and the potential for state experiences to inform initiatives to improve the use of performance information at the federal level. Among other factors, these states were selected because they have established histories of performance budgeting efforts and represent a variety of approaches to implementing those efforts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004, Congress appropriated $6.8 billion to serve 919,000 poor children through 1,680 Head Start grantees nationwide. Recent reports of financial improprieties at a number of Head Start programs raised questions about the effectiveness of the oversight by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in identifying and resolving financial management weaknesses in Head Start grantees. In this report, GAO provides information on whether (1) ACF can consistently identify financial management weaknesses, if any, in Head Start grantees and (2) ACF ensures that grantees effectively resolve any problems, in a timely manner, when detected."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2003, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initiated the Prometheus 1 project to explore the outer reaches of the Solar System. The Prometheus 1 spacecraft is being designed to harness nuclear energy that will increase available electrical power from about 1,000 watts to over 100,000 watts and enable the use of electric propulsion thrusters. Historically, NASA has had difficulty implementing some initiatives. NASA's failure to adequately define requirements and quantify the resources needed to meet those requirements has resulted in some projects costing more, taking longer, and achieving less than originally planned. Prometheus 1 will need to compete for NASA resources with other space missions--including efforts to return the shuttle safely to flight and complete the International Space Station. GAO was asked to determine (1) whether NASA is establishing initial justification for its investment in the Prometheus 1 project and (2) how the agency plans to ensure that critical technologies will be sufficiently mature at key milestones."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1977, the U.S. has entered into bilateral social security totalization agreements with 20 foreign countries. In fiscal year 2004, the Social Security Administration (SSA) paid approximately $206 million to 102,000 beneficiaries in these countries based on their eligible periods of coverage. If put into force, pending agreements with Mexico and Japan will increase the number of beneficiaries receiving totalized benefits, as well as the amount of benefits paid. Given the costs to the Social Security Trust Funds posed by existing and pending agreements, GAO was asked to (1) document SSA's policies and procedures for assessing the accuracy of foreign countries' data when entering into a totalization agreement, and (2) examine SSA's processes for verifying beneficiaries' initial and continuing eligibility for benefits once an agreement is in force."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Natural catastrophes and terrorist attacks can place enormous financial demands on the insurance industry, result in sharply higher premiums and substantially reduced coverage. As a result, interest has been raised in mechanisms to increase the capacity of the insurance industry to manage these types of events. In this report, GAO (1) provides an overview of the insurance industry's current capacity to cover natural catastrophic risk and discusses the impacts of the 2004 hurricanes; (2) analyzes the potential of catastrophe bonds--a type of security issued by insurers and reinsurers (companies that offer insurance to insurance companies) and sold to institutional investors--and tax-deductible reserves to enhance private-sector capacity; and (3) describes the approaches that six European countries have taken to address natural and terrorist catastrophe risk, including whether these countries permit insurers to use tax-deductible reserves for such events. We provided a draft of this report to the Department of the Treasury and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Treasury provided technical comments that were incorporated as appropriate."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1999, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began funding jurisdictions' efforts to prepare for bioterrorism attacks through the Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism program. After the events of September 11, 2001, and the 2001 anthrax incidents, program funds increased almost twentyfold. Citing jurisdictions' unexpended program funds, HHS reallocated some fiscal year 2004 funds to support other local and national bioterrorism initiatives. Jurisdictions and associations representing jurisdictions disputed HHS's assertion that large amounts of funds remain unused, noting that HHS did not acknowledge obligated funds that had not yet been expended. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the extent to which jurisdictions had expended the fiscal year 2002 funds awarded for the program's third budget period as of August 30, 2003, and August 31, 2004, and the fiscal year 2003 funds awarded for the program's fourth budget period, as of August 30, 2004; (2) the extent to which fiscal year 2001, 2002, and 2003 funds awarded for the third and fourth budget periods remained unobligated as of August 30, 2004; and (3) factors …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004 federal spending on service contracts grew to over $189 billion governmentwide. This growth, along with cuts in the acquisition workforce and increases in high-dollar procurement actions, creates a challenging environment. In November 2003 the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA) was enacted to provide federal agencies with tools to optimize mission performance in this challenging environment. To implement the act, regulations and guidance must be developed, and other actions taken. GAO was asked to report on progress in implementing SARA's provisions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) manages the systems that process retirement benefits for most federal civilian employees. In fiscal year 2003, over 198,000 claims were processed and over $50 billion in benefits was paid through OPM's retirement systems. OPM is trying to modernize these systems through a program called Retirement Systems Modernization (RSM). The conference report accompanying the fiscal year 2004 OPM appropriations act directed us to review the management of and challenges facing RSM. Specifically, our objectives were to determine (1) the current status of and plans for OPM's RSM program and (2) the challenges OPM faces in successfully managing the program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Mercury is a toxic element that can cause neurological disorders in children. In January 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed two options for limiting mercury from power plants, and plans to finalize a rule in March 2005. The first would require each plant to meet emissions standards reflecting the application of control technology (the technology-based option), while the second would enable plants to either reduce emissions or buy excess credits from other plants (the cap-and-trade option). EPA received over 680,000 written comments on the proposal. EPA is directed by statute and executive order to analyze the costs and benefits of proposed rules, and the agency summarized its analysis underlying the two options in the proposal. In this context, GAO was asked to assess the usefulness of EPA's economic analysis for decision making. In doing so, GAO neither independently estimated the options' costs and benefits nor evaluated the process for developing the options or their consistency with the Clean Air Act, as amended."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Combined, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provide health care services to about 16.8 million beneficiaries at an estimated cost of $58 billion for fiscal year 2005--$30.4 billion for DOD and $27.7 billion for VA. In 1982, the Congress passed the Veterans' Administration and Department of Defense Health Resources Sharing and Emergency Operations Act (Sharing Act) to promote more cost-effective use of health care resources and more efficient delivery of care. Specifically, the Congress authorized DOD and VA to enter into sharing agreements with each other to buy, sell, and barter medical and support services. To further encourage ongoing collaboration, the Congress passed the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2003, which directed the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a joint incentives program to identify and provide incentives to implement, fund, and evaluate creative health care coordination and sharing initiatives between DOD and VA. Under the program, DOD and VA are to solicit proposals from their program offices, DOD military treatment facilities, or VA medical facilities for project initiatives at least annually. …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Navy invests significantly to maintain technological superiority of its warships. In 2005 alone, $7.6 billion was devoted to new ship construction in six ship classes--96 percent of which was allocated to four classes: Arleigh Burke class destroyer, Nimitz class aircraft carrier, San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship, and the Virginia class submarine. Cost growth in the Navy's shipbuilding programs has been a long-standing problem. Over the past few years, the Navy has used "prior year completion" funding--additional appropriations for ships already under contract--to pay for cost overruns. This report (1) estimates the current and projected cost growth on construction contracts for eight case study ships, (2) breaks down and examines the components of the cost growth, and (3) identifies any funding and management practices that contributed to cost growth."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Drug court programs, which were established in the late 1980s as a local response to increasing numbers of drug-related cases and expanding jail and prison populations, have become popular nationwide in the criminal justice system. These programs are designed to reduce defendants' repeated crime (that is, recidivism), and substance abuse behavior by engaging them in a judicially monitored substance abuse treatment. However, determining whether drug court programs are effective at reducing recidivism and substance use has been challenging because of a large amount of weak empirical evidence. he 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act requires that GAO assess drug court program effectiveness. To meet this mandate, GAO conducted a systematic review of drug court program research, from which it selected 27 evaluations of 39 adult drug court programs that met its criteria for, among other things, methodological soundness. This report describes the results of that review of published evaluations of adult drug court programs, particularly relating to (1) recidivism outcomes, (2) substance use relapse, (3) program completion, and (4) the costs and benefits of drug court programs. DOJ reviewed a draft of this report …

On July 13, 2004, the Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) was used to determine baseline habitat suitability on the Upper Trimble property, an acquisition completed by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in March 2004. Evaluation species and appropriate models include bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, Canada goose, mallard, muskrat, yellow warbler, and white-tailed deer. Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values were visually estimated and agreed upon by all HEP team members. The Upper Trimble Project provides a total of 250.67 Habitat Units (HUs) for the species evaluated. Wet meadow provides 136.92 HUs for mallard, muskrat, and Canada goose. Mixed forest habitat provides 111.88 HUs for bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, mallard, and white-tailed deer. Scrub-shrub vegetation provides 1.87 HUs for yellow warbler, and white-tailed deer. The objective of using HEP at the Upper Trimble Project and other protected properties is to document the quality and quantity of available habitat for selected wildlife species. In this way, HEP provides information on the relative value of the same area at future points in time so that the effect of management activities on wildlife habitat can be quantified. When combined with other tools, the baseline HEP will be used to determine the most effective on-site management, restoration, …

The goal of the Replica Registration Service (RRS) is toprovide a uniform interface to various file catalogs, replica catalogs,and metadata catalogs. It can be thought of as an abstraction of theconcepts used in such systems to register files and their replicas. Someexperiments may prefer to support their own file catalogs (which may havetheir own specialized structures, semantics, and implementations) ratherthan use a standard replica catalog. Providing an RRS that can interactwith such a catalog (for example by invoking a script) can permit thatcatalog to be invoked as a service in the same way that other replicacatalogs do. If at a later time the experiment wishes to change toanother file catalog or an RLS, it is only a matter of developing an RRSfor that new catalog and replacing the existing catalog. In addition,some systems use metadata catalogs or other catalogs to manage the filename spaces. Our goal is to provide a single interface that supports theregistration of files into such name spaces as well as retrieving thisinformation.

GE Global Research is developing an innovative energy technology for coal gasification with high efficiency and near-zero pollution. This Unmixed Fuel Processor (UFP) technology simultaneously converts coal, steam and air into three separate streams of hydrogen-rich gas, sequestration-ready CO{sub 2}, and high-temperature, high-pressure vitiated air to produce electricity in gas turbines. This is the draft final report for the first stage of the DOE-funded Vision 21 program. The UFP technology development program encompassed lab-, bench- and pilot-scale studies to demonstrate the UFP concept. Modeling and economic assessments were also key parts of this program. The chemical and mechanical feasibility were established via lab and bench-scale testing, and a pilot plant was designed, constructed and operated, demonstrating the major UFP features. Experimental and preliminary modeling results showed that 80% H{sub 2} purity could be achieved, and that a UFP-based energy plant is projected to meet DOE efficiency targets. Future work will include additional pilot plant testing to optimize performance and reduce environmental, operability and combined cycle integration risks. Results obtained to date have confirmed that this technology has the potential to economically meet future efficiency and environmental performance goals.

On September 7, 2004, the Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) was used to determine baseline habitat suitability on the West Beaver Lake property, an acquisition completed by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in September 2004. Evaluation species and appropriate models include bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, mallard, muskrat, and white-tailed deer. Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values were visually estimated and agreed upon by all HEP team members. The West Beaver Lake Project provides a total of 103.08 Habitat Units (HUs) for the species evaluated. Emergent wetland habitat provides 7.17 HUs for mallard and muskrat. Conifer forest habitat provides 95.91 HUs for bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, mallard, and white-tailed deer. The objective of using HEP at the West Beaver Lake Project and other protected properties is to document the quality and quantity of available habitat for selected wildlife species. In this way, HEP provides information on the relative value of the same area at future points in time so that the effect of management activities on wildlife habitat can be quantified. When combined with other tools, the baseline HEP will be used to determine the most effective on-site management, restoration, and enhancement actions to increase habitat suitability for targeted species. The same process …

On July 6, 2004, the Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) was used to determine baseline habitat suitability on the Tacoma Creek South property, an acquisition completed by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in June 2004. Evaluation species and appropriate models include bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, Canada goose, mallard, muskrat, yellow warbler, and white-tailed deer. Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values were visually estimated and agreed upon by all HEP team members. The Tacoma Creek South Project provides a total of 190.79 Habitat Units (HUs) for the species evaluated. Emergent wetlands provide 20.51 HUs for Canada goose, mallard, and muskrat. Grassland provides 1.65 HUs for Canada goose and mallard. Scrub-shrub vegetation provides 11.76 HUs for mallard, yellow warbler, and white-tailed deer. Conifer forest habitat provides 139.92 HUs for bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, and white-tailed deer. Deciduous forest also provides 19.15 HUs for bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, mallard, and white-tailed deer. The objective of using HEP at the Tacoma Creek South Project and other protected properties is to document the quality and quantity of available habitat for selected wildlife species. In this way, HEP provides information on the relative value of the same area at future points in time so that the effect of …

On July 6, 2004, the Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP) was used to determine baseline habitat suitability on the Priest River property, an acquisition completed by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in 2001. Evaluation species and appropriate models include bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, Canada goose, mallard, yellow warbler, and white-tailed deer. Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values were visually estimated and agreed upon by all HEP team members. The Priest River Project provides a total of 105.41 Habitat Units (HUs) for the species evaluated. Conifer forest habitat provides 26.95 HUs for bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, and white-tailed deer. Grassland habitat provides 23.78 HUs for Canada goose and mallard. Scmb-shrub vegetation provides 54.68 HUs for mallard, yellow warbler, and white-tailed deer.

This report discusses brief facts and the developments regarding the Compassion Capital Fund which was a Bush Administrative initiative.

Production of defense-related nuclear materials has generated large volumes of complex chemical wastes containing a mixture of radionuclides. The disposition of these wastes requires conversion of the liquid and solid-phase components into durable, solid forms suitable for long-term immobilization [1]. Specially formulated glass compositions, many of which have been derived from glass developed for commercial purposes, and ceramics such as pyrochlores and apatites, will be the main recipients for these wastes. The performance characteristics of waste-form glasses and ceramics are largely determined by the loading capacity for the waste constituents (radioactive and non-radioactive) and the resultant chemical and radiation resistance of the waste-form package to leaching (durability). There are unique opportunities for the use of near-edge soft-x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy to investigate speciation of low-Z elements forming the backbone of waste-form glasses and ceramics. Although nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is the primary technique employed to obtain speciation information from low-Z elements in waste forms, NMR is incompatible with the metallic impurities contained in real waste and is thus limited to studies of idealized model systems. In contrast, NEXAFS can yield element-specific speciation information from glass constituents without sensitivity to paramagnetic species. Development and use of NEXAFS for eventual …

Recommended values for nuclear and atomic data pertaining to the {var_epsilon} + {beta}{sup +} decay of {sup 56}Co are provided here, followed by comments on evaluation procedures and a summary of all available experimental data. {sup 56}Co is a radionuclide which is potentially very useful for Ge detector efficiency calibration because it is readily produced via the {sup 56}Fe(p,n) reaction, its half-life of 77.24 days is conveniently long, and it provides a number of relatively strong {gamma} rays with energies up to {approx}3500 keV. The transition intensities recommended here for the strongest lines will be included in the forthcoming International Atomic Energy Agency Coordinated Research Programme document ''Update of X- and Gamma-ray Decay Data Standards for Detector Calibration and Other Applications'', and the analysis for all transitions along with relevant atomic data have been provided to the Decay Data Evaluation Project.

The aim of this LDRD is to develop two completely new methods for creating and probing warm dense states of matter (plasmas at several eV at solid density), which will enable the direct measurement of fundamental material properties such as the opacity and equation of state (EOS). There is in this warm dense regime an almost complete lack of quantitative experimental data--primarily because of the difficulty in creating uniform, single temperature/density plasmas on which to make measurements. In an ideal case one would volumetrically heat a target with a very short burst of energy--simultaneously making measurements prior to the subsequent hydrodynamic expansion of the target. However, no mechanism for such rapid, uniform heating of a material currently exists. We propose to develop a completely new technique that has the potential for creating large uniform plasmas in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) at warm dense conditions. This technique is based on volumetric heating of solid density targets with a high energy, high-flux, short-pulse, laser-produced proton beam. We also propose to use this beam of protons to probe high-Z, solid density matter with both 2-dimensional spatial resolution and picosecond temporal resolution. The combination of these two techniques will enable us to make the …

The purpose of this document is to provide the technical requirements for preparation for use, operation, inspection, and maintenance of a Transuranic Package Transporter Model II (TRUPACT-II), a HalfPACT shipping package, and directly related components. This document complies with the minimum requirements as specified in the TRUPACT-II Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP), HalfPACT SARP, and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Certificates of Compliance (C of C) 9218 and 9279, respectively. In the event of a conflict between this document and the SARP or C of C, the C of C shall govern. The C of Cs state: "each package must be prepared for shipment and operated in accordance with the procedures described in Chapter 7.0, Operating Procedures, of the application." They further state: "each package must be tested and maintained in accordance with the procedures described in Chapter 8.0, Acceptance Tests and Maintenance Program of the Application." Chapter 9.0 of the SARP charges the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) management and operating (M&O) contractor with assuring packaging is used in accordance with the requirements of the C of C. Because the packaging is NRC-approved, users need to be familiar with Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §71.8. Any …

The original proposal described the construction and operation of a 1 MMscfd nitrogen removal/gas treatment system to be operated at a Butcher Energy gas field in Ohio. The gas produced at this field contained 17% nitrogen. During pre-commissioning of the project, a series of well tests showed that the amount of gas in the field was significantly smaller than expected and that the nitrogen content of the wells was very high (25 to 30%). After evaluating the revised cost of the project, Butcher Energy decided that the plant would not be economical and withdrew from the project. Since that time, Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) has signed a marketing and sales partnership with ABB Lummus Global, a large multinational corporation. MTR will be working with the company's Randall Gas Technology group, a supplier of equipment and processing technology to the natural gas industry. Randall's engineering group has found a new site for the project field test at a North Texas Exploration (NTE) gas processing plant. The plant produces about 1 MMscfd of gas containing 24% nitrogen. The membrane unit will bring this gas to 4% nitrogen for delivery to the pipeline. The membrane skid is being built by ABB. …