A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The loss of personally identifiable information can result in substantial harm, embarrassment, and inconvenience to individuals and may lead to identity theft or other fraudulent use of the information. As shown in prior GAO reports, compromises to such information and long-standing weaknesses in federal information security raise important questions about what steps federal agencies should take to prevent them. As the federal government obtains and processes information about individuals in increasingly diverse ways, properly protecting this information and respecting the privacy rights of individuals will remain critically important. GAO was requested to (1) identify the federal laws and guidance issued to protect personally identifiable information from unauthorized use or disclosure and (2) describe agencies' progress in developing policies and documented procedures that respond to recent guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to protect personally identifiable information that is either accessed remotely or physically transported outside an agency's secured physical perimeter. To do so, GAO reviewed relevant laws and guidance, surveyed officials at 24 major federal agencies, and examined and analyzed agency documents, including policies, procedures, and plans. In commenting on a draft of …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "One-third of the Department of Defense's (DOD) fiscal year 2006 spending on goods and services was for subcontracts. Concerns have been raised among DOD auditors and Congress about the potential for excessive pass- through charges by contractors that add little or no value when work is subcontracted. To better understand this risk, Congress mandated that GAO assess the extent to which DOD may be vulnerable to these charges. This report examines (1) DOD's approach to assessing the risk of excessive pass-through charges when work is subcontracted, (2) the strategies selected private sector companies use to minimize risks of excessive pass-through charges when purchasing goods and services, and (3) DOD's interim rule to prevent excessive pass-through charges. GAO's work is based on analysis of 32 fiscal year 2005 DOD contract actions at 10 DOD top contracting locations and discussions with DOD acquisition policy, audit, and contracting officials, including Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) staff. GAO also interviewed nine selected private sector companies with diverse contracting experience."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress's long-standing interest in health care services for servicemembers returning from deployment has grown regarding National Guard and Reserve servicemembers because they are being activated in numbers not seen since World War II. For servicemembers who have been deployed overseas--whether National Guard, Reserve, or active duty--the Department of Defense (DOD) has developed a continuum of programs to assess servicemembers' health needs by obtaining information on their health concerns. One health assessment is administered before deployment, another about the time servicemembers return from deployment, and a third 90 to 180 days after deployment, which is called the post-deployment health reassessment (PDHRA). DOD directed the PDHRA to be implemented in June 2005 in response to studies that showed that health concerns were emerging several months after servicemembers' return from deployment. One intent of the PDHRA is to identify servicemembers' health concerns with a specific emphasis on screening for mental health and to assess whether servicemembers need referrals for further evaluation. PDHRAs can result in referrals being made to military treatment facilities, TRICARE providers, chaplains, Military OneSource, or Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, such as VA medical centers, VA community …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Container Security Initiative (CSI) aims to identify and examine high-risk U.S.-bound cargo at foreign seaports. GAO reported in 2003 and 2005 that CSI helped to enhance homeland security, and recommended actions to strengthen the program. This report updates information and assesses how CBP has (1) contributed to strategic planning for supply chain security, (2) strengthened CSI operations, and (3) evaluated CSI operations. To address these issues, GAO interviewed CBP officials and reviewed CSI evaluations and performance measures. GAO also visited selected U.S. and CSI seaports, and met with U.S. and foreign government officials."

This report summarizes our study of the price elasticity of demand for home appliances, including refrigerators, clothes washers, and dishwashers. In the context of increasingly stringent appliance standards, we are interested in what kind of impact the increased manufacturing costs caused by higher efficiency requirements will have on appliance sales. We begin with a review of existing economics literature describing the impact of economic variables on the sale of durable goods.We then describe the market for home appliances and changes in this market over the past 20 years, performing regression analysis on the shipments of home appliances and relevant economic variables including changes to operating cost and household income. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the demand for home appliances is price inelastic.

Designing molecules in which the vectorial motions of charges can be controlled has been of significant research interest in the recent past. Covalent linear arrays of chromophores or other molecular assemblies such as liquid crystals, zeolites, polymers, peptides, and amphiphiles have all been used as components for this purpose. Significant amount of this effort also involved the use of dendrimers as the molecular architecture. The structural feature in which multiple functionalities are present in the periphery that decreases gradually as one moves towards the core renders dendrimers obvious candidates for light harvesting antenna. Most of the efforts reported in the literature are directed towards energy funneling from a chromophore in the periphery to another chromophore at the core of the dendrimer. There are relatively few reports that utilize the dendritic architecture for photoinduced charge separation, an important step in designing materials for photovoltaics. These reports focus mostly on conjugated molecular backbones. Since non-conjugated dendrimer backbones provide the possibility of independently tuning the electronic characteristics of the chromophore and the charge transfer unit and therefore carry out a systematic structure-property relationship study, we have designed and synthesized dendrimers.

We report on an ab initio calculation of the {sup 4}He total photo-absorption cross section using two- and three-nucleon interactions based upon chiral effective field theory. The microscopic treatment of the continuum problem is achieved using the Lorentz integral transform method, applied within the no-core shell model approach.

The focus of the review was to evaluate the LLNS Contractor Assurance System (CAS) system description document and implementation plan. The team reviewed the description document and the near and long term strategy improvement plans for the defined enhancements to the LLNS CAS. Review emphasis was placed on the CAS functional elements of Assessments, Issues Management, and Performance Measures, as well as the related CAS attributes of Requirements, Policies and Procedures, Risk Methodology, and Continuous Improvement. The approach taken by the team was to review the pertinent LLNL CAS documents, interview key CAS Process Owners, and interview selected line managers. The reviews were conducted in such a manner to achieve an understanding of the overall objective of the CAS and the processes within; and the soundness of the improvement plans for each of the elements/related attributes. The team then identified suggested recommendations for consideration as the overall implementation process for improvements move forward. The team appreciates the work that went into the development of the CAS Implementation Plan. It provided a meaningful starting place for this AIM team as it included sufficient information to quickly gain an understanding of the current LANS CAS processes and improvement initiatives. The team found …

This feasibility study investigates additional improvements/extensions to the LLNL Renewables Website. Currently, the Renewables Website focuses on wind energy in California. Future enhancements will include other renewable energy sources. The extensions described below are focused along two separate yet related avenues: (1) Forecasting wildfire risk in the regions of California where new development may occur, as a part of the 'Million Solar Roofs' program. (2) Gaining a better understanding of the ecological components and potential of biofuels from forests in California. These two avenues are further described in the report. Following is a technical description of the Center for Fire Research and Outreach computing and web service capabilities.

Designing molecules in which the vectorial motions of charges can be controlled has been of significant research interest in the recent past. Covalent linear arrays of chromophores or other molecular assemblies such as liquid crystals, zeolites, polymers, peptides, and amphiphiles have all been used as components for this purpose. Significant amount of this effort also involved the use of dendrimers as the molecular architecture. The structural feature in which multiple functionalities are present in the periphery that decreases gradually as one moves towards the core renders dendrimers obvious candidates for light harvesting antenna. Most of the efforts reported in the literature are directed towards energy funneling from a chromophore in the periphery to another chromophore at the core of the dendrimer. There are relatively few reports that utilize the dendritic architecture for photoinduced charge separation, an important step in designing materials for photovoltaics. These reports focus mostly on conjugated molecular backbones. Since non-conjugated dendrimer backbones provide the possibility of independently tuning the electronic characteristics of the chromophore and the charge transfer unit and therefore carry out a systematic structure-property relationship study, we have designed and synthesized dendrimers

This report describes the provisions of Superfund and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), and enforcement actions under these laws that have increasingly been receiving attention. Congressional scrutiny in the form of legislative proposals and a House hearing in the 109th Congress are discussed.

This report briefly describes the Agriculture Committees' jurisdiction over forestry, with examples of legislation addressed by the committees. It discusses forestry issues likely to be debated in the upcoming farm bill. It then presents information on the forestry provisions in the Administration's proposal for the 2007 farm bill, followed by the forestry provisions in the House-passed 2007 farm bill (the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007, H.R. 2419) and in the Senate Committee draft bill (the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007).

This report assesses 2007 farm bill trade title provisions for U.S. agricultural export programs.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the Brazos River Authority may discount and freeze current lease rates for lessees over 65 years of age.

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This report discusses the campaign and results of Georgia's January 5, 2008, presidential election and implications for Russia and U.S interests.

This report is an overview of the FY2008 appropriation for the Department of Homeland Security assistance program for states and localities.

This report examines The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) requires signatory parties to take measures to end torture within their territorial jurisdiction and to criminalize all acts of torture. Unlike many other international agreements and declarations prohibiting torture, CAT provides a general definition of the term. CAT generally defines torture as the infliction of severe physical and/or mental suffering committed under the color of law. CAT allows for no circumstances or emergencies where torture could be permitted.

This report provides the results of all PNNL managed activities on this project, and contains a description of the data acquisition configuration and testing protocols, results and conclusions from this work. This report is part of the final deliverables package submitted to the client during Phase 2 of Project 52042.

This report addresses the proposed U.S.-Malaysia free trade agreement (FTA). It provides a brief overview of the Malaysian economy, a review of U.S. interests in the proposed agreement, an examination of possible issues likely to arise during the negotiations, a comparison of tariff rates between the two countries, legislative procedures, and an appendix with a brief chronology and trade data — including U.S. exports and imports to Malaysia by sector and exports to Malaysia by state.

On December 18, 2007, a World Trade Organization compliance panel publically released its final report concerning U.S. compliance with a negative ruling in a dispute settlement case brought by Brazil against certain aspects of the U.S. cotton program. The panel's ruling confirmed an earlier interim ruling that the United States has not fully complied with a March 2005 World Trade Organization ruling against certain U.S. cotton support programs. This report provides a brief overview of Brazil's case against the U.S. cotton program, the evolution and current status of the case, and the potential role for Congress.

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide first assumed office in February 1991, following elections that were widely heralded as the first free and fair elections in Haiti's then-186-year history. He was overthrown by a military coup in September 1991. The U.S. involved itself in this by cutting off aid to the government, imposing trade embargoes, and military intervention among other things. This report contains information on the Haitian government and U.S. Congressional concerns.

This report provides the details related to Salary adjustments of Federal white-collar employees for the Fiscal Year 2008