A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1996, federal land management agencies have collected over $900 million in recreation fees from the public under an experimental initiative called the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. Under the trial program, the Congress authorized the four federal land management agencies, including the Forest Service, to charge fees to visitors and to retain the revenues for use in addition to other appropriated funds. The Congress originally authorized the program for 3 years and has extended it several times. As Congress considers whether to extend the program or to make it permanent, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health asked GAO to address several questions about the Forest Service's administration of the program: (1) How are spending priorities determined for the revenues generated by the program? (2) How has the agency spent its fee demonstration program revenues? (3) What, if anything, is the agency doing to measure the impact of the recreation fee revenues on reducing the agency's deferred maintenance backlog? (4) How does the agency account for its fee demonstration program revenues?"

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Today's workers will rely to a large extent on Social Security, private pensions, and personal wealth for their retirement income. But some analysts question whether these sources will provide sufficient retirement income to maintain workers' standards of living once they leave the labor force. Indeed, the Social Security trust funds are projected to become exhausted in 2042, at which time, unless action is taken, Social Security will not be able to pay scheduled benefits in full. To gain an understanding of what today's workers might expect to receive in terms of retirement income, GAO was asked to examine (1) how the personal wealth of Baby Boom (born between 1946 and 1964) and Generation X (born between 1965 and 1976) workers compare with what current retirees had at similar ages, (2) how workers from the Baby Boom and Generation X compare in terms of the pension and Social Security benefits they can expect to receive, and (3) the likely distribution of pension and Social Security benefits across workers within the Baby Boom and Generation X."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 required states to streamline employment and training services and established three separate funding streams for serving youth, adults, and dislocated workers, for which about $3.3 billion was appropriated for fiscal year 2003. The formulas for distributing these funds to the states were left largely unchanged from those used to distribute funds under the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982, which served a different set of target populations. In anticipation of the upcoming debates on WIA's reauthorization, Congress asked us to review the formulas in the context of current program goals. Specifically, we assessed the formulas used to distribute funds to the states, identifying any mismatches that might exist between the formulas and WIA's program goals and populations served and identifying where the formulas are most vulnerable to wide fluctuations in funding levels from year to year. To identify issues associated with the current formulas, we: (1) summarized relevant provisions of the WIA statute and compared formula factors with target populations for each program, (2) analyzed the U.S. Department of Labor's formula calculations and states' historical allocations to identify factors …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Given the magnitude of its reported spending on information technology (IT) services--more than $6.2 billion in fiscal year 2001--it is critical that the Department of Defense (DOD) adopt effective practices for acquiring IT services. GAO researched leading commercial practices for the outsourcing of IT services, and, in November 2001, published a framework consisting of seven phases that span the full range of activities that are performed during the outsourcing of those services (this is an acquisition in which a client organization transfers responsibility for performing services to an external provider). GAO was asked to determine (1) the extent to which selected DOD projects for outsourcing IT services use leading commercial practices as specified in GAO's framework and (2) whether DOD is sharing lessons learned from its IT outsourcing projects across the department."

A hydrogen safety sensor is presented which provides high sensitivity and fast response time when operated in air. The target application for the sensor is external deployment near systems using or producing high concentrations of hydrogen. The sensor is composed of a catalytically active metal-oxide sensing electrode and a noble metal reference electrode attached to an yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte. The sensing approach is based on the difference in oxidation rate of hydrogen on the different electrode materials. Results will be presented for a sensor using a sensing electrode of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO). Response to H{sub 2}, and cross-sensitivity to hydrocarbon and H{sub 2}O are discussed.

One new groundwater monitoring well was constructed at the 200-ZP-1 Operable Unit in November 2002. This document provides the information on drilling and construction of this well. One new groundwater monitoring well was constructed in the 200-ZP-1 Operable Unit in November 2002. The purpose of the well is to monitor carbon tetrachloride concentrations in response to the 200-ZP-1 carbon tetrachloride pump-and-treat operations. The well name is 299-W15-43 and the corresponding well number is C3955. Well 299-W15-43 is located about 8 meters west of the 216-T-25 trench. The location of the well is shown on Figure 1. Well 299-W15-43 was drilled in response to the recommendations of a Data Quality Objectives process that indicated a need for additional monitoring wells in the area (BHI-01576). The new well was constructed to the specifications and requirements described in Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-160 and WAC 173-303, the Data Quality Objectives document (BHI-01576), and the description of work for well drilling and construction. This document compiles information on the drilling and construction, geophysical logging, and sediment and groundwater sampling applicable to the installation of well 299-W15-43. The information on drilling and construction, well development, and pump installation is summarized from CP-14265. Appendix A contains …

Photograph of a female dancer performing during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. The woman is standing facing the audience in a white romper.

Photograph of moderator George Dorris and some of the panelists from the "Investigation and Documentation: Contemporary Policies and Its Impact in Dance" panel at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003.

Photograph of a ballet performance during Friday evening performance "En Danza" at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The dancers are young girls who are dancing en pointe in a circle.

Photograph of a dance performance during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. A young girl dressed in black stands tall while other dancers stand to her left, hunched over.

Photograph of moderator George Dorris and panelists Madeleine Nichols, Mary Jane Warner and Marili Gallardo during "Investigation and Documentation: Contemporary Policies and Its Impact in Dance" panel at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003.

Photograph of a group of girls in school uniforms performing during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. The girls, huddled in a group, are miming laughter and are moving energetically.

Photograph of solo male dancer performing during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. The man wears glasses and holds a bouquet of flowers.

Photograph of girls in contemporary clothing performing during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. The girls are in fifth position and are leaning toward the audience.

Photograph of solo male dancer performing during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. The man wears glasses and is holding a bouquet of flowers and what appears to be a hatbox. He holds his hand above his eyes as if he is looking for something.

Photograph of moderator Grant Strate and panelists Peter Palacio, Patricia Carreras, and Illeana Perdomo during "The Male Dancer of Today's World" panel at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003.

Photograph of "Our Students' Voice" forum at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. Panelists Alejandra De Los Santos, Nicole Marie Colón, and Gabriela Dorries are pictured along with moderator Ilona Copen.

Photograph of a ballet performance during Friday evening performance "En Danza" at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This image is of a solo ballet dancer kneeling on the stage. She wears a white tutu and has a red hair piece.

Photograph of a female dancer performing during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003.

Photograph of "Maintaining Dance in Education" panel at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. Moderator Penelope Reed Doob, along with panelists Judith Marcuse, Kaitha Manning, Marinella Sallent, Jorge Riverón, Mary Jane Warner, and Alan Stark.

Photograph of a female dancer performing during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. The woman is wearing a flowing outfit, is crouched and is clapping her hands.

Photograph of "Maintaining Dance in Education" panel at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. Moderator Penelope Reed Doob, along with panelists Judith Marcuse, Kaitha Manning, Marinella Sallent, Jorge Riverón, Mary Jane Warner, and Alan Stark.

Photograph of a female dancer performing during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. The woman wears a white romper.

Photograph of a female belly dancer performing during "En Danza," the Friday evening dance recital, at the World Dance Alliance V General Assembly of The Americas held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April 2003. The woman is in a squatting position and clapping her hands.