Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States faces potentially dangerous biological threats that occur naturally or may be the result of a terrorist attack. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is developing two major initiatives to provide early detection and warning of biological threats: the National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC), a center for integrating and coordinating information on biological events of national significance, and the BioWatch program that operates systems used to test the air for biological agents. The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 requires DHS to establish a fully operational NBIC by September 30, 2008. This statement discusses the status of DHS's efforts to (1) make NBIC fully operational by the mandated deadline, and (2) improve the BioWatch program's technology. GAO's preliminary observations of these two programs are based on our ongoing work mandated by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to review U.S. biosurveillance efforts. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed related statutes; federal directives; and DHS planning, development, and implementation documents on these two initiatives. We also interviewed DHS program officials to obtain additional information about NBIC and BioWatch. DHS reviewed …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "American workers increasingly rely on 401(k) plans for their retirement security, and sponsors of 401(k) plans--typically employers--have critical obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). When acting as fiduciaries, they must act prudently and solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries. The Department of Labor (Labor) is responsible for protecting private pension plan participants and beneficiaries by enforcing ERISA. GAO examined: (1) common 401(k) plan features, which typically have important fiduciary implications, and factors affecting these decisions; (2) challenges sponsors face in fulfilling their fiduciary obligations when overseeing plan operations; and (3) actions Labor takes to ensure that sponsors fulfill their fiduciary obligations, and the progress Labor has made on its regulatory initiatives. To address these objectives, GAO administered a survey asking sponsors how they select plan features and oversee operations, reviewed industry research, conducted interviews, and reviewed related documents."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In April 2005, a Presidential Directive established the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) within the Department of Homeland Security to enhance and coordinate federal, state, and local efforts to combat nuclear smuggling domestically and abroad. DNDO was directed to develop, in coordination with the departments of Defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), and State (State), an enhanced global nuclear detection architecture--an integrated system of radiation detection equipment and interdiction activities. DNDO implements the domestic portion of the architecture, while DOD, DOE, and State are responsible for related programs outside the U.S. This testimony provides preliminary observations based on ongoing work addressing (1) the status of DNDO's efforts to develop a global nuclear detection architecture, (2) the challenges DNDO and other federal agencies face in implementing the architecture, and (3) the costs of the programs that constitute the architecture. This statement draws on prior GAO reviews of programs constituting the architecture, and GAO's work on strategic planning"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is responsible for securing the 276-acre Capitol Complex, including protecting Members of Congress, congressional facilities, national treasures, and visitors. In response to heightened security concerns, various requests, and legislative mandates over the years, GAO has reported on management control problems in five key areas: (1) establishing an accountability framework for monitoring recommendations, (2) establishing a risk management framework, (3) ensuring financial management, (4) ensuring strategic and human capital planning, and (5) managing information technology (IT). From January 2004 through March 2007, GAO made 46 recommendations aimed at improving USCP administrative and management operations and achieving strategic goals in these areas. This testimony reports on the status of USCP's efforts to address GAO's recommendations. To conduct its work, GAO analyzed USCP documentation, such as risk matrices, budget documents, and strategic plans. GAO also conducted interviews with USCP officials and contractors on their efforts related to its recommendations. GAO performed this work from October 2007 through April 2008, and updated its work on certain financial management activities in July 2008. USCP generally agreed with GAO's 46 prior recommendations and its findings on the status …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma devastated the Gulf Coast, destroying wide swaths of housing, key infrastructure, and numerous private businesses. In response, Congress granted the states a wide range of disaster relief, including billions of dollars of grants and tax incentives to revitalize the Gulf Coast. Specifically, the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone Act of 2005 (Pub. L. No. 109-135) provided tax incentives to individuals and businesses in certain presidentially declared disaster areas. Congress mandated that GAO review how state and local governments allocated and used federal tax incentives in the act and subsequent legislation. This report (1) identifies tax incentives in the GO Zone Act of 2005 and subsequent legislation for which state and local governments have allocation and oversight responsibilities, (2) describes the procedures state governments use in allocating the tax incentives, including how they plan to monitor compliance with federal laws, and (3) describes how tax incentives have been allocated and for what purposes. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed key documentation from GO Zone states and interviewed state officials, selected local officials, and representatives from private and nonprofit entities."

The chemical nature of copper and copper oxide (Cu{sub 2}O) surfaces in the presence of CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O at room temperature was investigated using ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The studies reveal that in the presence of 0.1 torr CO{sub 2} several species form on the initially clean Cu, including carbonate CO{sub 3}{sup 2}, CO{sub 2}{sup {delta}-} and C{sup 0}, while no modifications occur on an oxidized surface. The addition of 0.1 ML Zn to the Cu results in the complete conversion of CO{sub 2}{sup {delta}-} to carbonate. In a mixture of 0.1 torr H{sub 2}O and 0.1 torr CO{sub 2}, new species are formed, including hydroxyl, formate and methoxy, with H{sub 2}O providing the hydrogen needed for the formation of hydrogenated species.

We propose to provide theoretical support for the experimental program in fundamental neutron physics at the SNS. This includes the study of neutron properties, neutron beta-decay, parity violation effects and time reversal violation effects. The main purpose of the proposed research is to work on theoretical problems related to experiments which have a high priority at the SNS. Therefore, we will make a complete analysis of beta-decay process including calculations of radiative corrections and recoil corrections for angular correlations for polarized neutron decay, with an accuracy better that is supposed to be achieved in the planning experiments. Based on the results of the calculations, we will provide analysis of sensitivity of angular correlations to be able to search for the possible extensions of the Standard model. Also we will help to plan other experiments to address significant problems of modern physics and will work on their theoretical support.

The major objectives of the proposed study were to: 1.) determine the leaching characteristics of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] from contaminated sediments collected from 100 Area spill sites; 2.) elucidate possible Cr(VI) mineral and/or chemical associations that may be responsible for Cr(VI) retention in the Hanford Site 100 Areas through the use of i.) macroscopic leaching studies and ii.) microscale characterization of contaminated sediments; and 3.) provide information to construct a conceptual model of Cr(VI) geochemistry in the Hanford 100 Area vadose zone. In addressing these objectives, additional benefits accrued were: (1) a fuller understanding of Cr(VI) entrained in the vadose zone that will that can be utilized in modeling potential Cr(VI) source terms, and (2) accelerating the Columbia River 100 Area corridor cleanup by providing valuable information to develop remedial action based on a fundamental understanding of Cr(VI) vadose zone geochemistry. A series of macroscopic column experiments were conducted with contaminated and uncontaminated sediments to study Cr(VI) desorption patterns in aged and freshly contaminated sediments, evaluate the transport characteristics of dichromate liquid retrieved from old pipelines of the 100 Area; and estimate the effect of strongly reducing liquid on the reduction and transport of Cr(VI). Column experiments used the < …

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This report discusses the resident fish, such as bull trout and Kootenai River white sturgeon, which are listed as threatened and endangered respectively under the ESA are affected by the FCRPS. This report focuses on Endangered Species Act (ESA) actions and litigation related to these species.

Weekly newspaper from Rusk, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Constitutionality of Government Code section 467.025(a)(5), which provides that a Lottery Commission member “may not … directly or indirectly coerce, attempt to coerce, command, or arise a person to pay, lend, or contribute anything of value to another person for political purposes,” and its applicability in specific circumstances (RQ-0668-GA)

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The multi-point Thomson scattering (MPTS) diagnostic measures the profiles of the electron temperature Te(R) and density ne(R) on the horizontal midplane of NSTX. Normal operation makes use of Rayleigh scattering in nitrogen or argon to derive the density profile. While the Rayleigh scattering ne(R) calibration has been validated by comparison with other density measurements and through its correlation with plasma phenomena, it does require dedicated detectors at the laser wavelength in this filter polychromator based diagnostic. The presence of dust and/or stray laser light precludes routine use of these dedicated spectral channels for Thomson scattering measurement. Hence it is of interest to investigate the use of Raman scattering in nitrogen for the purpose of density calibration, since it could free up detection equipment, which could then be used for the instrumentation of additional radial channels. In this paper the viewing optics "geometrical factor" profiles obtained from Rayleigh and Raman scattering are compared. While both techniques agree nominally, residual effects on the order of 10% remain and will be discussed.

Weekly newspaper from Clifton, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The identification of crystalline phases in solids requires knowledge of two microstructural properties: crystallographic structure and chemical composition. Traditionally, this has been accomplished using X-ray diffraction techniques where the measured crystallographic information, in combination with separate chemical composition measurements for specimens of unknown pedigrees, is used to deduce the unknown phases. With the latest microstructural analysis tools for scanning electron microscopes, both the crystallography and composition can be determined in a single analysis utilizing electron backscatter diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. In this chapter, we discuss the approach required to perform these experiments, elucidate the benefits and limitations of this technique, and detail via case studies how composition, crystallography, and diffraction contrast can be used as phase discriminators.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Although the number of traffic crashes and the associated fatality rates have decreased over the last 10 years, the number of traffic fatalities has unfortunately remained at about 42,000 to 43,000 annually. To help states reduce traffic fatalities, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized funding for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to award traffic safety grants to states and implement a high-visibility enforcement (HVE) program that combines intensive state and local enforcement of safety belt and impaired driving laws with extensive media communication provided by NHTSA. SAFETEA-LU also added requirements for NHTSA to review all states' management of traffic safety grants at least once every 3 years. This statement is based on recent GAO reports and ongoing work that address (1) NHTSA's progress in administering and overseeing the traffic safety grant and HVE programs, (2) the programs' effectiveness in addressing traffic safety issues, and (3) issues for Congress to consider in reauthorizing funding for the programs when SAFETEA-LU expires in 2009. This statement also discusses older driver safety. GAO's work, which included recommendations, was based on analyses of …

Semiweekly newspaper from Carthage, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

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This report provides information about a Primer on the Federal Advisory Committees. This report set forth definitions and requirements for creating commissions as required by FACA.

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Weekly newspaper from The Colony, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Transcript of an oral interview with Robert B. Bradley. Bradley begins by speaking of his childhood days growing up in Washington, DC. While attending the University of Maryland, Bradley enlisted in the Army in October, 1942. After Bradley finished training as a medic, he was assigned to Company E, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division. He went to England in February, 1944. He arrived at Omaha Beach one day after the invasion. Bradley moved forward with the infantry until he was captured by a unit of German Armored Infantry in August, 1944. He was placed in Stalag 3-C. In April, 1945, Bradley and others were liberated by the Russians, who put them on a train for odessa where they boarded a ship back to England.