A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1936, the Social Security Administration (SSA) established the Social Security number (SSN) to track workers' earnings for Social Security benefit purposes. However, the SSN is also used for a myriad of non-Social Security purposes. Today, public and private sector entities view the SSN as a key piece of information that enables them to conduct their business and deliver services. However, given the apparent rise in identity crimes as well as the rapidly increasing availability of information over the Internet, Congress has raised concern over how certain private sector entities obtain, use, and safeguard SSN data. In previous reports, we discussed the benefits of government and commercial entities using SSNs. We also examined how certain private sector entities and the government obtain, use, and safeguard SSNs. This report provides additional information on private sector uses of SSNs. The Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security, House Committee on Ways and Means, asked that GAO examine the private sector use of SSNs by businesses most likely to obtain and use them including information resellers, consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), and health care organizations. Specifically, our objectives were to (1) describe …

This research was conducted in support of two branches of the EPA ENERGY STAR program, whose overall goal is to reduce, through voluntary market-based means, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the U.S. The primary objective was to collect data for the ENERGY STAR Office Equipment program on the after-hours power state of computers, monitors, printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines, and multi-function devices. We also collected data for the ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings branch on the types and amounts of ''miscellaneous'' plug-load equipment, a significant and growing end use that is not usually accounted for by building energy managers. This data set is the first of its kind that we know of, and is an important first step in characterizing miscellaneous plug loads in commercial buildings. The main purpose of this study is to supplement and update previous data we collected on the extent to which electronic office equipment is turned off or automatically enters a low power state when not in active use. In addition, it provides data on numbers and types of office equipment, and helps identify trends in office equipment usage patterns. These data improve our estimates of typical unit energy consumption and savings for each …

The primary purpose of this project was to employ two geophysical imaging techniques, electrical resistivity tomography and cross-borehole ground penetrating radar, to image a controlled infiltration of a saline tracer under unsaturated flow conditions. The geophysical techniques have been correlated to other more traditional hydrologic measurements including neutron moisture measurements and induction conductivity logs. Images that resulted during two successive infiltrations indicate the development of what appear to be preferential pathways through the finer grained materials, although the results could also be produced by cationic capture of free ions in clays. In addition the site as well as the developing solute plume exhibits electrical anisotropy which is likely related to flow properties. However the geologic significance of this phenomenon is still under investigation.

Gas Technology Institute is developing a novel concept of membrane gasifier for high efficiency, clean and low cost production of hydrogen from coal. The concept incorporates a hydrogen-selective membrane within a gasification reactor for direct extraction of hydrogen from coal synthesis gases. The objective of this project is to determine the technical and economic feasibility of this concept by screening, testing and identifying the potential candidate membranes under high temperature, high pressure, and harsh environments of the coal gasification conditions. The best performing membranes will be selected for preliminary reactor design and cost estimates. To evaluate the candidate membrane performance under the gasification conditions, a high temperature/high pressure hydrogen permeation unit will be constructed in this project. During this reporting period, the design of this unit was completed. The unit will be capable of operating at temperatures up to 1100 C and pressures to 60 atm for evaluation of ceramic membranes such as mixed ionic conducting membrane. The membranes to be tested will be in disc form with a diameter of about 3 cm. By operating at higher temperatures and higher hydrogen partial pressures, we expect to demonstrate commercially relevant hydrogen flux, 10 {approx} 50 cc/min/cm{sup 2}, from the membranes …

With the trend towards needing information about chemistry at conditions significantly different from 298K and 1 atm., methods need to be developed to generate and interpret this data. This demand for information about chemistry at extreme conditions comes from many fields. The study of atmospheric chemistry requires knowledge of unusual species that are formed when molecules are exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Studying of energetic materials requires knowledge of the thermochemical and structural properties of a myriad of chemical species under a wide range of temperatures. Basic scientific understanding of the very nature of a chemical bond requires detailed information. Studying these problems computationally requires multiple capabilities. The methodology used must provide both high accuracy and computational efficiency. Studying extreme chemistry also suffers from all the challenges of studying chemistry under non-extreme conditions. Therefore, either a new method must be developed or an old method must be applied in an innovative way. The method we have chosen to use is path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) for the nuclear degrees of freedom and ab initio electronic structure methods for the electronic degrees of freedom. PIMC and ab initio electronic structure are methods of treating the quantum nature of particles. These methods have …

A question in the current debate over chemical and biological terrorism is: how well do current United States policies limit opportunities to terrorist groups for acquisition of such weapons? The domestic purchase and use of “dual-use” biological equipment, such as fermenters, centrifuges, and other equipment, is one area suggested as potentially providing opportunities for terrorist, biological weapons development. Dual-use equipment has both legitimate civilian and military use. Regulating international sale of dual-use equipment is used as a nonproliferation policy tool. Similar regulation of domestic sales has not been employed. This report will discuss the difficulties of applying domestic controls on dual-use biological equipment and the potential advantages and disadvantages of doing so.

Prior to enactment of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), P.L. 107-155, the term “soft money” generally referred to unregulated funds, perceived as resulting from loopholes in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), 2 U.S.C. §§ 431 et seq. Generally, the intent of BCRA, (effective Nov. 6, 2002), which amends FECA, is to restrict the raising and spending of soft money. This Issue Brief discusses constitutional and legal issues surrounding two major types of soft money that BCRA regulates: political party soft money and soft money used for issue advocacy communications. Corporate and labor union soft money, which FECA exempts from regulation and is not addressed by BCRA, is also discussed.