Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Of the $11 billion total estimated cost of the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau planned (as of 2007) to spend about $3 billion on automation and information technology in order to improve census coverage, accuracy, and efficiency. Among other things, the Bureau is planning to automate many of its planned field data collection activities as a way to reduce costs and improve data quality and operational efficiency. Known as Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA), this initiative is acquiring handheld mobile computing devices that, along with other technology, are undergoing operational testing during a Census "Dress Rehearsal" that is taking place from February 2006 to June 2009. The $600 million FDCA program is a crucial component of the reengineered processes envisioned for the 2010 Census. In March 2006, GAO reported on the management capabilities of the FDCA program, and in October 2007, it reported on FDCA's status and plans. As requested, this testimony summarizes key findings from these two reports, as well as subsequent Bureau actions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Deepwater Program is intended to replace or modernize 15 major classes of Coast Guard assets--including vessels, aircraft, and communications systems. At the program's start, the Coast Guard chose to use a system integrator, Integrated Coast Guard Systems, to design, build, deploy, and support Deepwater in a system-of-systems approach. In a series of reports, we have noted the risks inherent in this approach. With the Deepwater program under way, the Coast Guard's priorities and focus shifted after September 11 toward homeland security missions, such as protecting the nation's ports and waterways. The 2002 Maritime Transportation Security Act and the 2006 SAFE Port Act required a wide range of security improvements. GAO is monitoring the acquisition of Deepwater and the Coast Guard's ability to carry out its numerous missions. This testimony addresses: (1) changes the Coast Guard is making as it assumes a larger role in managing the Deepwater Program and (2) challenges the Coast Guard is facing in carrying out its various missions. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed key documents, such as Deepwater acquisition program baselines, human capital plans, and Coast Guard budget and performance documents. For …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For decades, the nation has benefited from relatively inexpensive energy, in the process growing heavily reliant on conventional fossil fuels--oil, natural gas, and coal. However, in the current wake of higher energy costs and environmental concerns about fossil fuel emissions, renewed attention is turning to the development of advanced energy technologies as alternatives. In the United States, the Department of Energy (DOE) has long conducted research, development, and demonstration (R&D) on advanced renewable, fossil, and nuclear energy technologies. DOE's Office of Science has also funded basic energy-related research. This testimony addresses (1) funding trends for DOE's renewable, fossil, and nuclear energy R&D programs and its Office of Science and (2) key challenges in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. It is based on GAO's December 2006 report entitled Department of Energy: Key Challenges Remain for Developing and Deploying Advanced Energy Technologies to Meet Future Needs (GAO-07-106). In doing that work, GAO reviewed DOE's R&D budget data and strategic plans and obtained the views of experts in DOE, industry, and academia, as well as state and foreign government officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission estimated that two supply-related recommendations now being implemented by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) would save the Department of Defense (DOD) about $4.8 billion over 20 years--about 13 percent of the 2005 base realignment and closure (BRAC) round's estimated long-term savings. These recommendations focus on business process reengineering by reconfiguring DLA's wholesale supply, storage, and distribution network and transferring procurement responsibility for depot-level reparables from the military services to DLA. This report is one in a series of reports on BRAC conducted under the Comptroller General's authority. It examines (1) the extent to which DLA's cost and savings estimates to implement these recommendations differ from those of the BRAC Commission and (2) DLA's progress and challenges in implementing the recommendations. GAO analyzed estimated cost and savings data and visited several of the military services' depots in its review."

Two experiments were conducted to explore the mechanism by which phosphorus is removed from Hanford tank sludge by caustic leaching. In the first experiment, a series of phosphate salts were treated with 3 M NaOH under conditions prototypic of the actual leaching process to be performed in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). The phosphates used were aluminum phosphate, bismuth phosphate, chromium(III) phosphate, and -tri-calcium phosphate; all of these phases have previously been determined to exist in Hanford tank sludge. The leachate solution was sampled at selected time intervals and analyzed for the specific metal ion involved (Al, Bi, Ca, or Cr) and for P (total and as phosphate). The solids remaining after completion of the caustic leaching step were analyzed to determine the reaction product. In the second experiment, the dependence of P removal from bismuth phosphate was examined as a function of the hydroxide ion concentration. It was anticipated that a plot of log[phosphate] versus log[hydroxide] would provide insight into the phosphorus-removal mechanism. This report describes the test activities outlined in Section 6.3.2.1, Preliminary Investigation of Phosphate Dissolution, in Test Plan TP-RPP-WTP-467, Rev.1. The objectives, success criteria, and test conditions of Section 6.3.2.1 are summarized here.

The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management is supporting R&D for the conceptual design of the Plutonium Disposition Project at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC to reduce the attractiveness of plutonium scrap by fabricating a durable plutonium oxide glass form and immobilizing this form within the high-level waste glass prepared in the Defense Waste Processing Facility. A glass formulation was developed that is capable of incorporating large amounts of actinides as well as accommodating many impurities that may be associated with impure Pu feed streams. The basis for the glass formulation was derived from commercial glasses that had high lanthanide loadings. A development effort led to a Lanthanide BoroSilicate (LaBS) glass that accommodated significant quantities of actinides, tolerated impurities associated with the actinide feed streams and could be processed using established melter technologies. A Cylindrical Induction Melter (CIM) was used for vitrification of the Pu LaBS glass. Induction melting for the immobilization of americium and curium (Am/Cm) in a glass matrix was first demonstrated in 1997. The induction melting system was developed to vitrify a non-radioactive Am/Cm simulant combined with a glass frit. Most of the development of the melter itself was completed as part of that …

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Email from David Stallman to WASP and people interested in WASP informing them about a video about WASP has been uploaded to the internet and a recent presentation of that same video with Helen Snapp.

The report provides an overview regarding the establishment and the role of Global Environment Facility (GEF).

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

Daily student newspaper from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas that includes local, state and campus news along with advertising.

Weekly student newspaper from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas that includes campus and local news along with advertising.

Weekly student newspaper from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas that includes campus and local news along with advertising.

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Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Laboratory experiments were conducted at gas turbine and atmospheric conditions (0.101 < P{sub 0} < 0.810 MPa, 298 < T{sub 0} < 580K, 18 < U{sub 0} < 60 m/s) to characterize the overall behaviors and emissions of the turbulent premixed flames produced by a low-swirl injector (LSI) for gas turbines. The objective was to investigate the effects of hydrogen on the combustion processes for the adaptation to gas turbines in an IGCC power plant. The experiments at high pressures and temperatures showed that the LSI can operate with 100% H{sub 2} at up to {phi} = 0.5 and has a slightly higher flashback tolerance than an idealized high-swirl design. With increasing H{sub 2} fuel concentration, the lifted LSI flame begins to shift closer to the exit and eventually attaches to the nozzle rim and assumes a different shape at 100% H{sub 2}. The STP experiments show the same phenomena. The analysis of velocity data from PIV shows that the stabilization mechanism of the LSI remains unchanged up to 60% H{sub 2}. The change in the flame position with increasing H{sub 2} concentration is attributed to the increase in the turbulent flame speed. The NO{sub x} emissions show a log …

Coaxial Helicity Injection (CHI), a non-inductive method to initiate plasma and generate toroidal plasma current, is being investigated in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). The center stack and outer vacuum vessel are separated by insulating gaps at the top and bottom of the slim central column so that a high voltage (up to 2 kV) can be applied between them from a pulsed power supply or a capacitor bank to initiate an arc discharge. In the presence of a suitable poloidal magnetic field, the discharge is initiated at the lower gap (the injector gap) and because of the strong toroidal field develops a helical structure resulting in substantial toroidal plasma current being driven. In NSTX, up to 390 kA of toroidal current has been generated for an injected current of 25 kA. The early investigations of CHI however frequently developed arcs across the insulator at the top of the machine (the absorber gap), which terminated the desired discharge. This arcing greatly restricted the operational space available for CHI studies. During 2002, the absorber region was modified to suppress these arcs. The new design includes a new ceramic insulator on the high field side of the absorber region with a …

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

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

This report describes how the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is ineffective under the tax reductions of 2004-2007.

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