A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress has appropriated more than $20 billion since April 2003 to support rebuilding efforts in Iraq. This complex undertaking, which is occurring in an unstable security environment and under significant time constraints, is being carried out largely through contracts with private-sector companies. As of September 2003, agencies had obligated nearly $3.7 billion on 100 contracts or task orders under existing contracts. Given widespread congressional interest in ensuring that reconstruction contracts are awarded properly and administered effectively, GAO reviewed 25 contract actions that represented about 97 percent of the obligated funds. GAO determined whether agencies had complied with competition requirements in awarding new contracts and issuing task orders and evaluated agencies' initial efforts in carrying out contract administration tasks."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) administers the federal crop insurance program in partnership with insurance companies who share in the risk of loss or gain. In 2002, American Growers Insurance Company (American Growers), at the time, the largest participant in the program, was placed under regulatory control by the state of Nebraska. To ensure that policyholders were protected and that farmers' claims were paid, RMA agreed to fund the dissolution of American Growers. To date, RMA has spent about $40 million. GAO was asked to determine (1) what factors led to the failure of American Growers, (2) whether RMA procedures were adequate to monitor companies' financial condition, and (3) how effectively and efficiently RMA handled the dissolution of American Growers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The emergence of webcasting as a means of transmitting audio and video content over the Internet has led to concerns about copyright protection and the payment of royalties to those who own the recording copyrights. Arriving at an acceptable rate for calculating royalties has been particularly challenging. Under the Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002, small commercial webcasters reached an agreement with copyright owners that included the option of paying royalties for the period of October 28, 1998, to December 31, 2004, on the basis of a percentage of their revenues, expenses, a combination of both, or a minimum fee rather than paying the royalty rates set by the Librarian of Congress. During debate on the act, copyright owners raised concerns that small webcasters might have arrangements with other parties, such as advertisers, that could produce revenues or expenses that might not be included in their royalty calculations. In this context, the Congress mandated that GAO, in consultation with the Register of Copyrights, prepare a report on the (1) economic arrangements between small webcasters and third parties and (2) effect of those arrangements on the royalties …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for assessing the safety of certain medical products after approval (a process called postmarket risk surveillance). To this end, the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 required that FDA establish a postmarket risk identification and analysis system based on electronic health data. In May 2008, FDA began its Sentinel initiative, intended to fulfill this requirement. Additionally, the Act established a requirement for GAO to review FDA's planned system. GAO's specific objectives were to (1) describe the current status of FDA's implementation of the Sentinel system and (2) identify the key privacy and security challenges associated with FDA's plans for the Sentinel system. To do so, GAO analyzed available system documentation; reviewed key privacy and security laws, guidance, standards, and practices; and obtained and analyzed the views of privacy and security experts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During a hearing in 2004 on the financial services industry, congressional members and witnesses expressed concern about the industry's lack of workforce diversity, particularly in key management-level positions. Witnesses stated that financial services firms (e.g., banks and securities firms) had not made sufficient progress in recruiting and promoting minority and women candidates for management-level positions. Concerns were also raised about the ability of minority-owned businesses to raise capital (i.e., debt or equity capital). GAO was asked to provide an overview on the status of diversity in the financial services industry. This report discusses (1) what available data show regarding diversity at the management level in the financial services industry from 1993 through 2004, (2) the types of initiatives that financial firms and related organizations have taken to promote workforce diversity and the challenges involved, and (3) the ability of minority- and women-owned businesses to obtain access to capital in financial markets and initiatives financial institutions have taken to make capital available to these businesses."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the consistency of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regional offices' enforcement of environmental requirements, focusing on: (1) the extent to which variations exist among EPA's regional offices in the actions they take to enforce environmental requirements; (2) what factors contribute to any variations; and (3) what EPA is doing to achieve consistency in regional enforcement activities."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "With rising federal deficits and greater competition for public resources, it is increasingly important for federal programs, such as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs, to show results. This report examines (1) how useful WIA performance data are for gauging program performance; (2) what local areas are doing to manage their WIA performance and assess one-stops on a timely basis, and how states assist these efforts; and (3) the extent to which the Department of Labor is trying to improve WIA's performance measurement system and assess one-stop success."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Annual appropriations to prepare for and respond to wildland fires have increased substantially over the past decade, in recent years totaling about $3 billion. The Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture and four agencies within the Department of the Interior (Interior) are responsible for responding to wildland fires on federal lands. GAO determined what steps federal agencies have taken, in response to findings from previous studies, to (1) address key operational areas that could help contain the costs of preparing for and responding to wildland fires and (2) improve their management of their cost-containment efforts. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed previous cost-containment studies and other agency documents and interviewed agency officials."

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. defense industry and some U.S. and allied government officials have suggested in recent years that the U.S. export control process be reformed. Much of the debate on reforming the process has focused on the amount of time required to process an export license application. As a result, GAO analyzed the time it takes to process export license applications. GAO found that the average State Department license application review took 46 days, while the average Commerce Department review took 50 days. Several variables had an impact on the time it took to review applications. The commodity being exported most affected the time of application review in both Departments."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "More than a decade after the 1991 Persian Gulf War, there is continued interest in the federal response to the health concerns of Gulf War veterans. Gulf War veterans' reports of unexplained illnesses and possible exposures to various health hazards have prompted numerous federal research projects on Gulf War illnesses. This research has been funded primarily by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Health and Human Services. GAO is reporting on (1) the status of research and investigations on Gulf War illnesses, (2) the efforts that have been made by VA and DOD to monitor cancer incidence among Gulf War veterans, and (3) VA's communication and collaboration with the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (RAC)."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) Title I services at schoolwide and targeted assistance schools; (2) state efforts to hold schools and districts accountable for student achievement; and (3) research and evaluations of Title I and schoolwide programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Friendly fire incidents, or fratricide, accounted for about 24 percent of U.S. fatalities during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Since then, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the military services have been working to find new ways to avoid friendly fire in joint and coalition operations. Preventing friendly fire is a complex and challenging endeavor. It encompasses the development of new technologies as well as new training, tactics, and warfighting techniques. It involves a range of equipment and systems that have historically not been able to effectively interact as well as various military operations. It is a concern among each of the services as well as U.S. allies. Clearly, it is essential to have a blueprint that ties together these elements and provides a comprehensive map for long-term improvements as well as a management framework that is strong enough to implement the blueprint. Although DOD has taken some concrete steps toward both ends, it needs to strengthen these efforts and ensure that they are supported by the services. Otherwise, it may continue to contend with problems leading to friendly fire incidents."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program seeks to remedy the effects of current and past discrimination against small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged persons and to foster equal opportunity in transportation contracting. This report provides information on (1) important changes made to the program since 1999; (2) characteristics of DBEs and non-DBEs that receive DOT-assisted highway and transit contracts; (3) evidence of discrimination and other factors that may limit DBEs' ability to compete for DOT-assisted contracts; and (4) the programs impact on costs, competition, and job creation and the impact of discontinuing the federal and nonfederal DBE programs. GAO found that the program has changed significantly since DOT issued new regulations in 1999 in response to a 1995 Supreme Court decision that heightened standards for federal programs that use race or ethnicity as a criterion in decision-making. The new regulations overhauled the DBE goal-setting process. For example, states and transit authorities are no longer required to justify goals lower than 10 percent--the amount identified in the statutory DBE provision. Rather, goals are to be based on the number …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Customs Service's responsibilities include collecting revenue from imports and enforcing U.S. laws and regulations, preventing the smuggling of drugs into the United States, and overseeing export compliance and money laundering issues. Customs recently began a self-inspection program (SIP) to aid in its diverse responsibilities. This report discusses (1) SIP's use as a mechanism for oversight and accountability, (2) problems related to SIP implementation, and (3) improvements and refinements underway to enhance the value of the program. GAO found that SIP is a useful mechanism for managers to identify and correct problems at the local level and to obtain more control over activities that they oversee. Implementation problems included a lack of detailed instructions on how to complete self-inspection worksheets and inadequate worksheet review by responsible officials. Customs is trying to correct deficiencies in key internal control areas."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, many of the approximately 700,000 U.S. veterans have experienced undiagnosed illnesses. They attribute these illnesses to exposure to chemical warfare (CW) agents in plumes--clouds released from bombing of Iraqi sites. But in 2000, the Department of Defense (DOD) estimated that of the 700,000 veterans, 101,752 troops were potentially exposed. GAO was asked to evaluate the validity of DOD, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and British Ministry of Defense (MOD) conclusions about troops' exposure."

On March 15, 2006, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution replacing the Commission on Human Rights with a new Human Rights Council (the Council). The Council was designed to be an improvement over the Commission, which was widely criticized for the composition of its membership when perceived human rights abusers were elected as members. This report discusses the history of the Council, the previous participation of the Bush Administration, the current participation of the Obama Administration, and ongoing international and Congressional concerns of the credibility and effectiveness of the Council.

In October 2007, the United States and Mexico announced the Mérida Initiative, a three-year proposal for $1.4 billion in U.S. assistance to Mexico and Central America aimed at combating drug trafficking, gangs, and organized crime. This report provides an overview and discussion of the funding provided for Mérida, and presents several issues that Congress may consider as it oversees implementation of the Initiative.

This report discusses the current state of Bahrain, which has undergone substantial political reforms since the late 1990s, but which still suffers from tension between the Shiite majority and the Sunni-led government. This report focuses particularly on Bahrain's relationship with Iran and Bahrain's relationship with the United States.

The following is an addendum to the 'Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 92: Area 6 Decontamination Pond, Nevada Test Site, Nevada', DOE/NV/11718--306, dated April 1999. This addendum includes Use Restriction Information forms and survey maps for CAS 06-04-01, Decon Pad Oil/Water Separator, and CAS 06-05-02, Decontamination Pond (RCRA), that were inadvertently left out of the Closure Report when it was published as a final document.

As part of the proficiency training for the Radiological Mapping mission of the Aerial Measuring System (AMS), a survey team from the Remote Sensing Laboratory-Nellis (RSL-Nellis) conducted an aerial radiological survey of selected areas of the city of North Las Vegas for the purpose of mapping natural radiation background and locating any man-made radioactive sources. Survey areas were selected in collaboration with the City Manager's office and included four separate areas: (1) Las Vegas Motor Speedway (10.6 square miles); (2) North Las Vegas Downtown Area (9.2 square miles); (3) I-15 Industrial Corridor (7.4 square miles); and (4) Future site of University of Nevada Las Vegas campus (17.4 square miles). The survey was conducted in three phases: Phase 1 on December 11-12, 2007 (Areas 1 and 2), Phase 2 on February 28, 2008 (Area 3), and Phase 3 on March 19, 2008 (Area 4). The total completed survey covered a total of 44.6 square miles. The flight lines (without the turns) over the surveyed areas are presented in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. A total of eight 2.5-hour-long flights were performed at an altitude of 150 ft above ground level (AGL) with 300 feet of flight-line spacing. Water line and …

This report summarizes work performed by Argonne National Laboratory on fatigue and environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) in light water reactors (LWRs) from January to December 2001. Topics that have been investigated include (a) environmental effects on fatigue S-N behavior of austenitic stainless steels (SSs), (b) irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) of austenitic SSs, and (c) EAC of Alloy 600. The effects of key material and loading variables, such as strain amplitude, strain rate, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO) level in water, and material heat treatment, on the fatigue lives of wrought and cast austenitic SSs in air and LWR environments have been evaluated. The mechanism of fatigue crack initiation in austenitic SSs in LWR environments has also been examined. The results indicate that the presence of a surface oxide film or difference in the characteristics of the oxide film has no effect on fatigue crack initiation in austenitic SSs in LWR environments. Slow-strain-rate tensile tests and post-test fractographic analyses were conducted on several model SS alloys irradiated to {approx}2 x 10{sup 21} n {center_dot} cm{sup -2} (E > 1 MeV) ({approx}3 dpa) in He at 289 C in the Halden reactor. The results were used to determine the influence of alloying …

This document describes an approach for preliminary (Phase I) flow and transport modeling for the Rainier Mesa/Shoshone Mountain (RMSM) Corrective Action Unit (CAU). This modeling will take place before the planned Phase II round of data collection to better identify the remaining data gaps before the fieldwork begins. Because of the geologic complexity, limited number of borings, and large vertical gradients, there is considerable uncertainty in the conceptual model for flow; thus different conceptual models will be evaluated, in addition to different framework and recharge models. The transport simulations will not be used to formally calculate the Contaminant Boundary at this time. The modeling (Phase II) will occur only after the available data are considered sufficient in scope and quality.

In October of 2003 experts involved in various aspects of homeland security from the Pacific region met to engage in a free-wheeling discussion and brainstorming (a 'fest') on the role that technology could play in winning the war on terrorism in the Pacific region. The result was a concise and relatively thorough definition of the terrorism problem in the Pacific region, emphasizing the issues unique to Island nations in the Pacific setting, along with an action plan for developing working demonstrations of advanced technological solutions to these issues. Since PacFest 2003, the maritime dimensions of the international security environment have garnered increased attention and interest. To this end, PacFest 2004 sought to identify gaps and enabling technologies for maritime domain awareness and responsive decision-making in the Asia-Pacific region. The PacFest 2004 participants concluded that the technologies and basic information building blocks exist to create a system that would enable the Pacific region government and private organizations to effectively collaborate and share their capabilities and information concerning maritime security. The proposed solution summarized in this report integrates national environments in real time, thereby enabling effective prevention and first response to natural and terrorist induced disasters through better use of national and …

The absence of any industrial scale nuclear fuel reprocessing in the U.S. has precluded the necessary driver for developing the advanced simulation capability now prevalent in so many other industries. Modeling programs to simulate the dynamic behavior of nuclear fuel separations and processing were originally developed to support the US government’s mission of weapons production and defense fuel recovery. Consequently there has been little effort is the US devoted towards improving this specific process simulation capability during the last two or three decades. More recent work has been focused on elucidating chemical thermodynamics and developing better models of predicting equilibrium in actinide solvent extraction systems. These equilibrium models have been used to augment flowsheet development and testing primarily at laboratory scales. The development of more robust and complete process models has not kept pace with the vast improvements in computational power and user interface and is significantly behind simulation capability in other chemical processing and separation fields.