This report provides an overview of guidelines that have governed planning for Department of Defense (DOD) operations over the last 30 years in the event of a funding lapse. It also discusses the implications of the guidelines for a possible impending shutdown and briefly reviews what is known about current DOD planning for a shutdown.

The first edition of the Library Publishing Directory provides a snapshot of the publishing activities of 115 academic and research libraries, including information about the number and types of publications they produce, the services they offer authors, how they are staffed and funded, and the future plans of institutions that are engaged in this emerging field. In documenting the breadth and depth of activities in this field, this resource aims to articulate the unique value of library publishing; establish it as a significant and growing community of practice; and to raise its visibility within a number of stakeholder communities, including administrators, funding agencies, other scholarly publishers, librarians, and content creators. Specifically it is hoped that this Directory will: • Introduce all readers to the emerging field of library publishing and help articulate its unique characteristics as a distinctive "publishing field." • Facilitate collaboration among library publishers and other publishing entities, especially the university presses and learned societies that share their values. • Alert authors of scholarly content to a range of potential publishing partners dedicated to supporting their experimentation with new forms of scholarly communication and open access business models. The Directory is also available Open Access in several electronic …

This report includes a discussion of the impact of women in Congress as well as historical information, including the number and percentage of women in Congress over time, means of entry to Congress, comparisons to international and state legislatures, records for tenure, firsts for women in Congress, women in leadership, and African American and Asian Pacific American women in Congress.

This report includes biographical information, including the names, committee assignments, dates of service, listings by Congress and state, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the 297 women who have served in Congress.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States Postal Service's (USPS) mail carriers--who delivered mail to nearly 132 million delivery points nationwide in fiscal year 2012--can be injured while delivering mail in a number of ways, for example by being bitten by a dog or being involved in a vehicle collision. According to USPS officials, there were 32,213 reported injuries in fiscal year 2012, 11,717 (36 percent) of which were related to mail delivery. According to USPS's 2012 data, the most frequently reported cause of injury for routes that are primarily conducted on foot is dog bites, while the most frequently reported cause of injury for delivery on rural routes--which is often conducted in vehicles--is vehicular collisions. Additionally, USPS's data indicate that most injuries that occurred from 2009 through 2012 on mail delivery routes were caused by falls and dog bites. Falls to the ground were among the most common circumstances leading to injury that resulted in either restricted work activity or days away from work, but repetitive motions were the most common cause of long-term occupational illnesses regardless of severity or route type."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Contracting is a prevalent means of providing transit services. About 61 percent of the 463 transit agencies responding to GAO's survey reported they contract out some or all operations and services, while the rest reported that they do not contract out at all. According to GAO's survey, paratransit (services for the disabled), demand response (also known as dial-a-ride), and commuter rail service are most often contracted out, and fixed-route bus, heavy rail, and light rail service are most often operated by the transit agency. Operations are most frequently contracted out, followed by maintenance services. Transit agencies most consistently cite reducing costs as a factor influencing their decision to contract. Contracting can reduce costs because contractors' workforces are more flexible, with more employees working in part-time positions, and lower insurance costs, among other things. Transit agencies also frequently cited starting new service, improving efficiency, and allowing for more flexible service as reasons for contracting. State laws are generally not a reason for contracting, according to GAO's survey. Transit agencies that do not contract most often cited one of these three reasons: desire to maintain control over operations, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) provided information on all 12 required reporting elements in its fiscal year 2012 prepositioning report; however, 3 of these elements were only partially addressed. For example, DOD provided a list of non-standard items slated for inclusion in its prepositioned stocks but did not include a specific plan for funding those items as required by the law. Federal internal control standards state that decision makers need complete and relevant information to manage risks and achieve efficiency and effectiveness goals. However, GAO found that DOD's report contained some inconsistencies in information across the services as well as several inaccuracies and omissions. For example, DOD's report included funding information for 6 or 7 fiscal years for most of the services but only 2 fiscal years for the Navy's stocks. Service information was also presented in different formats in the report, which makes it difficult to compare data. Because the Joint Staff did not provide specific guidance to the services to ensure consistency when requesting data, the services adopted separate approaches to reporting information to the Joint Staff for compilation in the report. In addition, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For the fiscal year 2014 budget formulation process, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) implemented a new process that uses templates to help screen, prioritize, and select new initiatives before detailed business cases are developed to support funding requests. The template information that GAO reviewed varied in detail and scope; for some, IRS guidance may have contributed to incomplete submissions to senior leadership. According to Office of Management and Budget Circular A-94, in order to evaluate and compare funding initiatives, decision-makers need to be aware of benefits, costs, and strategies related to achieving program goals. By improving guidance on the type of data to include, IRS could help ensure the templates are fully completed."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Labor (DOL) is in the early stages of implementing several of the 2010 report's recommendations, but implementation of the remaining recommendations has not occurred. The agency has begun to take steps to respond to three of the report's six recommendations: improve interagency collaboration, create an advisory subcommittee for Native American veterans, and conduct a needs assessment. To increase collaboration, DOL has conducted several listening sessions with tribal leadership and begun collaborating with agencies that serve veterans, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, to learn more about how to better serve Native American veterans. With regard to an advisory subcommittee, DOL is developing a proposal to establish a subgroup for Native American veterans on its existing veterans' employment and training advisory committee, and is considering appointing a representative from the Native American veterans' community to serve on that committee. To assess need, DOL has identified a potential source for data within DOD that provides race and ethnicity and address information for returning veterans that could help better target visits to tribal land, but …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2012, 24 major federal agencies had established many of the components of an information security program required by The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA); however, they had partially established others. FISMA requires each federal agency to establish an information security program that incorporates eight key components, and each agency inspector general to annually evaluate and report on the information security program and practices of the agency. The act also requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to develop and oversee the implementation of policies, principles, standards, and guidelines on information security in federal agencies and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop security standards and guidelines."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Compliance reviews conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA) to determine if farming operation members (individuals and entities) meet the payment requirements for being actively engaged in farming are hindered by broad and subjective requirements and difficulty in verifying individuals' evidence of claimed contributions. To be actively engaged in farming, an individual is to make significant contributions to that operation in personal labor or active personal management (or both). However, the definition of active personal management in FSA regulations is broad and can be satisfied by an individual performing at least one of eight services representing categories such as supervision of activities necessary in the farming operation. Also, FSA regulations allow farming operation members to make contributions of management without visiting the operation, enabling individuals who live significant distances from an operation to claim such contributions. An FSA state official said that the agency finds problems with management contributions more often for those who live significant distances from an operation. FSA officials have also noted that the requirements for what constitutes a management contribution are subjective. FSA's handbook states that it is …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has reported that Congress needs to modify the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) retiree health benefit payments in a fiscally responsible manner. GAO also has reported that USPS should prefund any unfunded retiree health benefit liability to the maximum extent that its finances permit. Deferring funding for postal retiree health benefits could increase costs for future ratepayers and increase the risk that USPS may not be able to pay for these costs. Key considerations for funding postal retiree health benefits include:"

This report provides information on current debates over exchange rates in the global economy. It offers an overview of how exchange rates work; analyzes specific disagreements and debates; and examines existing frameworks for potentially addressing currency disputes. It also lays out some policy options available to Congress, should Members want to take action on exchange rate issues.

Weekly newspaper from Port Aransas, Texas on Mustang Island that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.

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

This document provides a review and status of activities conducted in support of the Fluor Daniel Hanford Company (Fluor), now Mission Support Alliance (MSA), Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) for Project L-325, Electrical Utility Upgrades (2007). Three plantings have been installed on a 4.5-hectare mitigation area to date. This review provides a description and chronology of events, monitoring results, and mitigative actions through fiscal year (FY) 2012. Also provided is a review of the monitoring methods, transect layout, and FY 2012 monitoring activities and results for all planting years. Planting densities and performance criteria stipulated in the MAP were aimed at a desired future condition (DFC) of 10 percent mature sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp wyomingensis) cover. Current recommendations for yielding this DFC are based upon a conceptual model planting of 1000 plants/ha (400/ac) exhibiting a 60-percent survival rate after 5 monitoring years (DOE 2003). Accordingly, a DFC after 5 monitoring years would not be less than 600 plants/ha (240/ac). To date, about 8700 sagebrush plants have been grown and transplanted onto the mitigation site. Harsh site conditions and low seedling survival have resulted in an estimated 489 transplants/ha on the mitigation site, which is 111 plants/ha short of the target DFC. …

The overall objective was to develop innovative heat transfer devices and methodologies for novel thermal energy storage systems for concentrating solar power generation involving phase change materials (PCMs). Specific objectives included embedding thermosyphons and/or heat pipes (TS/HPs) within appropriate phase change materials to significantly reduce thermal resistances within the thermal energy storage system of a large-scale concentrating solar power plant and, in turn, improve performance of the plant. Experimental, system level and detailed comprehensive modeling approaches were taken to investigate the effect of adding TS/HPs on the performance of latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems.

This document defines the requirements for the new Xenon International radioxenon system. The output of this project will be a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed prototype and a manufacturer-developed production prototype. The two prototypes are intended to be as close to matching as possible; this will be facilitated by overlapping development cycles and open communication between PNNL and the manufacturer.

Eight samples of heel solids from tank 241-C-109 were delivered to the 222-S Laboratory for characterization and dissolution testing. After being drained thoroughly, one-half to two-thirds of the solids were off-white to tan solids that, visually, were fairly evenly graded in size from coarse silt (30-60 μm) to medium pebbles (8-16 mm). The remaining solids were mostly strongly cemented aggregates ranging from coarse pebbles (16-32 mm) to fine cobbles (6-15 cm) in size. Solid phase characterization and chemical analysis indicated that the air-dry heel solids contained ≈58 wt% gibbsite [Al(OH){sub 3}] and ≈37 wt% natrophosphate [Na{sub 7}F(PO{sub 4}){sub 2}�19H{sub 2}O]. The strongly cemented aggregates were mostly fine-grained gibbsite cemented with additional gibbsite. Dissolution testing was performed on two test samples. One set of tests was performed on large pieces of aggregate solids removed from the heel solids samples. The other set of dissolution tests was performed on a composite sample prepared from well-drained, air-dry heel solids that were crushed to pass a �-in. sieve. The bulk density of the composite sample was 2.04 g/mL. The dissolution tests included water dissolution followed by caustic dissolution testing. In each step of the three-step water dissolution tests, a volume of water approximately equal …

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

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