A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since GAO's first audit of the fiscal year 1997 consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), material weaknesses in internal control and other limitations on the scope of GAO's work have prevented GAO from expressing an opinion on the consolidated financial statements, other than the Statement of Social Insurance (accrual-based consolidated financial statements). The Department of the Treasury (Treasury), in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is responsible for preparing the CFS. As part of the fiscal year 2009 CFS audit, GAO identified material weaknesses and other control deficiencies in Treasury's processes used to prepare the CFS that warrant management's attention and corrective action. The purpose of this report is to (1) provide details on new control deficiencies GAO identified during its audit of the fiscal year 2009 CFS that related to the preparation of the CFS, (2) recommend improvements, and (3) provide the status of corrective actions taken to address GAO's previous 44 recommendations in this area."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Residents of the Gulf Coast continue to struggle to recover almost 5 years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the area in August and September of 2005. In many cases the federal government coordinates with, and provides support to, nonprofit organizations in order to deliver recovery assistance to impacted residents. A better understanding of how the federal government works with nonprofit organizations to provide such assistance may be helpful for recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast as well as for communities affected by major disasters in the future. GAO was asked to describe (1) how the federal government has worked with nonprofit organizations to facilitate Gulf Coast recovery following the 2005 hurricanes and (2) steps the federal government has taken to address challenges to strengthen relationships with nonprofits in the future. Toward this end, GAO reviewed the applicable disaster recovery literature and relevant supporting documents. GAO also interviewed officials from federal, state, and local governments as well as a wide range of nonprofit officials involved in Gulf Coast recovery."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) operates nearly 70,000 lodging rooms--similar to hotel rooms--and spent nearly $1 billion in 2009 to operate them. In 2002, Congress provided authority to privatize lodging facilities. Army privatized lodging at 10 installations in August 2009 and plans to privatize its remaining domestic facilities in the future. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 requires GAO to review lodging privatization and an Army report. This report addresses (1) the factors the military services considered in their decisions to privatize, (2) challenges in the Army's privatization efforts, (3) the effect of the economic downturn on the Army's privatization program, and (4) the extent to which an Army report required by the act, issued in March 2010, addresses the elements in the law. GAO reviewed documentation and interviewed officials from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the military services, the developer for the Army's privatization project, and four Army installations where lodging was privatized."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Before approving a new drug, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)--an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--assesses a drug's effectiveness. To do so, it examines information contained in a new drug application (NDA), including data from clinical trials in humans. Several types of trials may be used to gather this evidence. For example, superiority trials may show that a new drug is more effective than an active control--a drug known to be effective. Non-inferiority trials aim to demonstrate that the difference between the effectiveness of a new drug and an active control is small--small enough to show that the new drug is also effective. Drugs approved on this basis may provide important benefits, such as improved safety. Because non-inferiority trials are difficult to design and interpret, they have received attention within the research community and FDA. FDA has issued guidance on these trials. GAO was asked to examine FDA's use of non-inferiority trial evidence. This report (1) identifies NDAs for new molecular entities--potentially innovative new drugs not FDA-approved in any form--that included evidence from non-inferiority trials, (2) examines the characteristics of these …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The development of oil and natural gas resources on federal lands contributes to domestic energy production but also results in concerns over potential impacts on those lands. Numerous public protests about oil and gas lease sales have been filed with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages these federal resources. GAO was asked to examine (1) the extent to which BLM maintains and makes publicly available information related to protests, (2) the extent to which parcels were protested and the nature of protests, and (3) the effects of protests on BLM's lease sale decisions and on oil and gas development activities. To address these questions, GAO examined laws, regulations, and guidance; BLM's agencywide lease record-keeping system; lease sale records for the 53 lease sales held in the four BLM state offices of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming during fiscal years 2007-2009; and protest data from a random sample of 12 of the 53 lease sales. GAO also interviewed BLM officials and industry and protester groups."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Nations that are Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change periodically submit inventories estimating their greenhouse gas emissions. The Convention Secretariat runs a review process to evaluate inventories from 41 "Annex I" nations, which are mostly economically developed nations. The 153 "non-Annex I" nations are generally less economically developed and have less stringent inventory reporting guidelines. The Department of State (State) represents the United States in international climate change negotiations. GAO was asked to report on (1) what is known about the comparability and quality of inventories and barriers, if any, to improvement; (2) what is known about the strengths and limits of the inventory review process; and (3) views of experts on implications for current and future international agreements to reduce emissions. GAO analyzed inventory reviews and inventories from the seven highest-emitting Annex I nations and seven of the highest emitting non-Annex I nations. GAO also selected and interviewed experts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provides $70.3 billion for three education programs--the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title I), and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Act requires recipients to be accountable for how these funds are being used and what is being achieved. To help attain the level of transparency needed for accountability, recipients are to report quarterly on their award activities and expected outcomes. This information is available to the public on Recovery.gov, the government's official Recovery Act Web site. This report covers three Education programs funded by the Recovery Act. It (1) describes what the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Education (Education) did to facilitate implementation of requirements for recipients to describe the use of funds and (2) assesses the extent to which award descriptions are transparent It also describes reported fund uses for a sample of subrecipients. GAO reviewed requirements for reporting in the Act as well as guidance provided by OMB and Education. GAO assessed the transparency of descriptions for the …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "State and local governments work in partnership with the federal government to implement numerous intergovernmental programs. Fiscal pressures for state and local governments may exist when spending is expected to outpace revenues for the long term. GAO was asked to examine (1) the long-term fiscal pressures facing state and local governments and historical spending and revenue trends, (2) spending and revenue trends to identify patterns among states, and (3) what is known about the implications of these fiscal pressures for federal policies. Using aggregate data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis's National Income and Product Accounts, this analysis draws on results from the March 2010 update to GAO's state and local government fiscal model. GAO's model uses historical data to simulate expenditures and revenues for the sector for the next 50 years. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau are used to analyze patterns of state and local government expenditures and revenues among the states from 1977 to 2007, the most recent 30-year period for which these data were available. A review of GAO and other reports synthesizes what is known about the implications of these long-term …

The U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory funded this research collaboration effort between NextEnergy and the University of Michigan, who successfully designed, built, and tested a reformer system, which produced highquality syngas for use in SOFC and other applications, and a novel reactor system, which allowed for facile illumination of photocatalysts. Carbon and raw biomass gasification, sulfur tolerance of non-Platinum Group Metals (PGM) based (Ni/CeZrO2) reforming catalysts, photocatalysis reactions based on TiO2, and mild pyrolysis of biomass in ionic liquids (ILs) were investigated at low and medium temperatures (primarily 450 to 850 C) in an attempt to retain some structural value of the starting biomass. Despite a wide range of processes and feedstock composition, a literature survey showed that, gasifier products had narrow variation in composition, a restriction used to develop operating schemes for syngas cleanup. Three distinct reaction conditions were investigated: equilibrium, autothermal reforming of hydrocarbons, and the addition of O2 and steam to match the final (C/H/O) composition. Initial results showed rapid and significant deactivation of Ni/CeZrO2 catalysts upon introduction of thiophene, but both stable and unstable performance in the presence of sulfur were obtained. The key linkage appeared to be the hydrodesulfurization activity of the …

An air and radon pathways analysis was conducted for the F-Area Tank Farm (FTF) to estimate the flux of volatile radionuclides and radon at the ground surface due to residual waste remaining in the tanks following closure. This analysis was used as the basis to estimate the dose to the maximally exposed individual (MEI) for the air pathway per Curie (Ci) of each radionuclide remaining in the combined FTF waste tanks. For the air pathway analysis, several gaseous radionuclides were considered. These included carbon-14 (C-14), chlorine-36 (Cl-36), iodine-129 (I-129), selenium-79 (Se-79), antimony-125 (Sb-125), tin-126 (Sn-126), tritium (H-3), and technetium-99 (Tc-99). The dose to the MEI was estimated at the SRS Boundary during the 100 year institutional control period. For the 10,000 year post closure compliance period, the dose to the MEI was estimated at the 100 m compliance point. Additionally, the dose to the MEI was estimated at a seepage outcrop located 1600 m from the facility. For the radon pathway analysis, five parent radionuclides and their progeny were analyzed. These parent radionuclides included uranium-238 (U-238), plutonium-238 (Pu-238), uranium-234 (U-234), thorium-230 (Th-230), and radium-226 (Ra-226). The peak flux of radon-222 due to each parent radionuclide was estimated for the simulation …

Reliability and economy are two major concerns for a nuclear power generation system. Next generation nuclear power reactors are being developed to be more reliable and economic. An effective and efficient surveillance system can generously contribute toward this goal. Recent progress in computer systems and computational tools has made it necessary and possible to upgrade current surveillance/monitoring strategy for better performance. For example, intelligent computing techniques can be applied to develop algorithm that help people better understand the information collected from sensors and thus reduce human error to a new low level. Incidents incurred from human error in nuclear industry are not rare and have been proven costly. The goal of this project is to develop and test an intelligent prognostics methodology for predicting aging effects impacting long-term performance of nuclear components and systems. The approach is particularly suitable for predicting the performance of nuclear reactor systems which have low failure probabilities (e.g., less than 10-6 year-). Such components and systems are often perceived as peripheral to the reactor and are left somewhat unattended. That is, even when inspected, if they are not perceived to be causing some immediate problem, they may not be paid due attention. Attention to such …

Research performed on the program “New Fission Product Waste Forms: Development and Characterization,” in the last three years has fulfilled the objectives of the proposal which were to 1) establish ceramic waste forms for disposing of Cs, Sr and minor actinides, 2) fully characterize the phase relationships, structures and thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of promising waste forms, 3) establish a sound technical basis for understanding key waste form properties, such as melting temperatures and aqueous durability, based on an in-depth understanding of waste form structures and thermochemistry, and 4) establish synthesis, testing, scaleup and commercialization routes for wasteform implementation through out in-kind collaborations. In addition, since Cs and Sr form new elements by radioactive decay, the behavior and thermodynamics of waste forms containing different proportions of Cs, Sr and their decay products were discovered using non-radioactive analogues. Collaborations among researchers from three institutions, UC Davis, Sandia National Laboratories, and Shott Inc., were formed to perform the primary work on the program. The unique expertise of each of the members in the areas of waste form development, structure/property relationships, hydrothermal and high temperature synthesis, crystal/glass production, and thermochemistry was critical to program success. In addition, collaborations with the Brigham Young Univeristy, …

The lower tuff confining unit (LTCU) in the Yucca Flat Corrective Action Unit (CAU) consists of a monotonous sequence of pervasively zeolitized volcanic tuff (i.e., mostly bedded with lesser nonwelded to poorly welded tuff; not fractured) (Bechtel Nevada, 2006). The LTCU is an important confining unit beneath Yucca Flat because it separates the alluvial and volcanic aquifers, where many underground nuclear tests were conducted, from the regional lower carbonate aquifer. Recent sub-CAU-scale modeling by Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Tuff Pile area of Yucca Flat (Boryta, et al., in review) includes postulated low-porosity, high-permeability zones (i.e., fractured welded-tuff aquifers) within the LTCU. This scenario indicates that such postulated low-porosity, high-permeability zones could provide fast-path lateral conduits to faults, and eventually to the lower carbonate aquifer. A fractured and faulted lower carbonate aquifer is postulated to provide a flow path(s) for underground test-derived contaminants to potential offsite receptors. The ramifications of such a scenario are obvious for groundwater flow and contaminant migration beneath Yucca Flat. This paper describes the reasoning for not including postulated low-porosity, high-permeability zones within the LTCU in the Tuff Pile area or within the LTCU in the Yucca Flat CAU-scale model. Both observational and analytical data …

Natural gas represents an important energy source for the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Energy Information Administration (EIA), about 22% of the country's energy needs are provided by natural gas. Historically, natural gas was produced from conventional vertical wells drilled into porous hydrocarbon-containing formations. During the past decade, operators have increasingly looked to other unconventional sources of natural gas, such as coal bed methane, tight gas sands, and gas shales.

Pumping power measurements have been made on a series of 40-nm boehmite (AlOOH) alumina ''bricks'' (2 - 8 vol. percent in water). The alumina nanoparticles were obtained from Sasol and are designated as ''Catapal-200''. The pH of all compositions was adjusted to 3.2{+-}0.5. A complete characterization of the particles and their nanofluid thermal properties has been published in Journal of Applied Physics 106, 014304 (2009). While the nanofluid doesn't show large enhancements, it nevertheless serves as good comparisons between the experimental results and calculated results.

Pyrolytic carbon (PyC) is one of the important structural materials in the TRISO fuel particles which will be used in the next generation of gas-cooled very-high-temperature reactors (VHTR). When the TRISO particles are under irradiation at high temperatures, creep of the PyC layers may cause radial cracking leading to catastrophic particle failure. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of the creep behavior of PyC during irradiation is required to predict the overall fuel performance.

This report describes the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations that relate to patient disposal of unwanted prescription medication, as well as provides an analysis of the pending legislation.

Committee Reports for the Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution, compiled for the July 30 - August 1, 2010 Board of Managers meeting.

Contaminated groundwater associated with Building 100 at the Young-Rainey Science, Technology, and Research Center, formerly the DOE Pinellas plant, is the primary remedial challenge that remains to be addressed at the site. Currently, Building 100 is an active industrial facility that is now owned and operated by the Pinellas county government. Groundwater samples collected from monitoring wells recently installed near the southern boundary of the site suggest that contaminated groundwater has migrated off the plant site. In response to the challenges presented by the Building 100 plume, the Office of Legacy Management (LM) requested assistance from the DOE Office of Groundwater and Soil Remediation (EM-32) to provide a review team to make technical recommendations so that they can efficiently and effectively address characterization and remediation of the plume. The review team was unanimous in the conclusion that a dynamic strategy that combines a phased implementation of direct push samplers, sensors, and tools can be used to better delineate the extent of contamination, control plume migration, and rapidly remediate the contaminated groundwater at the site. The initial efforts of the team focused on reviewing the site history and data, organizing the information into a conceptual model, identifying appropriate technologies, and recommending …

None

None

This report discusses the strategic significance of Guam for defense buildup and the force relocation and deployments from the U.S. mainland. It also discusses the concerns and issues for congress, such as allies and partner, China, and legislation.

This report provides background information and presents potential issues for Congress concerning the Navy's ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans, particularly the planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy's shipbuilding plans. Decisions that Congress makes on Navy shipbuilding programs can substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

This report includes some issues for Congress to consider which include the slow rate of integration between the United States Border Patrol's (USBP) biometric database of illegal aliens and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) biometric database of criminals and terrorists; the number of unauthorized aliens who die attempting to enter the country each year; the organized human smuggling rings that have proliferated as entering the country has become more difficult; and the threat posed by terrorists along the sparsely defended Northern border as well as the more porous Southwest border.