Major Natural Disasters in the United States: 1959-1969 (open access)

Major Natural Disasters in the United States: 1959-1969

This report provides a listing of major natural disasters in the United States between 1959 and 1969. It lists the name of the event, the estimated costs of damage, and fatality numbers for each disaster.
Date: February 25, 1970
Creator: Keyser, C. Frank
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Assessment of the potential of colloidal fuels in future energy usage. Final report. [97 references] (open access)

Assessment of the potential of colloidal fuels in future energy usage. Final report. [97 references]

Pulverized coal has been an increasing important source of energy over the past century. Most large utility boilers, all modern coking plants, and many industrial boilers and blast furnaces employ pulverized coal as a major feed stream. In periods of oil shortages, such as during World Wars I and II, the concept of adding powdered coal to oil for use in combustion equipment originally designed for oil has been actively pursued but rarely used. Over this same period of time, there have been attempts to use air suspensions of coal dust in diesel engines in Germany, and in turbines in various countries. The economic advantages to be enjoyed by substitution of powdered coal in oil are not generally realized. Oil costs at $30/bbl represent a fuel value of about $5.00/10/sup 6/ Btu; coal at $25/ton is equivalent to approximately $1.00/10/sup 6/ Btu. Although capital costs for the use of coal are higher than those associated with the use of oil, coal is clearly becoming the least costly fuel. Not only are considerable cost advantages possible, but an improvement in balance of payments and an increase in reliability of fuel supplies are other potential benefits. It is therefore recommended that increased …
Date: February 25, 1980
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurements of surface ocean carbon dioxide partial pressure during WOCE (open access)

Measurements of surface ocean carbon dioxide partial pressure during WOCE

Progress during the past year of research under Measurements of Surface Ocean Carbon Dioxide Partial Pressure During WOCE'' has been significant. As was described in our previous progress report, the startup phase of this research was severely frustrated by delays in the US WOCE Hydrographic Program (WHP), which in turn were caused by delays in the mid-life refit of the R/V Knorr. As a result the high latitude southeastern Pacific work (WHP lines P19S and P16S) originally scheduled for the 1990 austral summer has still not been carried out. As a substitute, the smaller R/V Thomas Washington was pressed into service during mid-1991 to carry out lower-latitude portions of the WHP P16 and P17 lines - the TUNES Expedition. Because this ship is much smaller than the R/V Knorr, she could not carry a full complement of WHP programs and seagoing personnel and was restricted by her size and the time of year to lower-latitude work. Our original proposal for carbon dioxide measurements was designed to divide the work between legs in which we participated as part of the WHP dissolved CFC program (under separate NSF funding) and legs in which we entrusted the operation of our system to other …
Date: February 25, 1992
Creator: Weiss, R.F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Syria: Overview of the Humanitarian Response (open access)

Syria: Overview of the Humanitarian Response

This report examines the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria and the U.S. and international response. It discusses the use of chemical weapons in Syria on August 21, 2013 that triggered an intense debate over possible U.S. military intervention.
Date: February 25, 2014
Creator: Margesson, Rhoda & Chesser, Susan G.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Health Care for Veterans: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (open access)

Health Care for Veterans: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

This report provides responses to frequently asked questions about health care provided to veterans through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). It is intended to serve as a quick reference to provide easy access to information. Where applicable, it provides the legislative background pertaining to the question.
Date: February 25, 2014
Creator: Panangala, Sidath Viranga & Bagalman, Erin
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages for countering mines, small boats, and diesel-electric submarines, particularly in littoral (i.e., near-shore) waters.
Date: February 25, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Affordable Care Act and Small Business: Economic Issues (open access)

The Affordable Care Act and Small Business: Economic Issues

This report explains how employer-sponsored insurance can be used to address concerns about health insurance coverage and cost. Then, it summarizes the three ACA provisions most relevant to small businesses. Also, it analyzes these provisions for their potential effects on small businesses. Last, this report presents several approaches that could address some concerns associated with these provisions (particularly the employer penalty).
Date: February 25, 2014
Creator: Lowry, Sean & Gravelle, Jane G.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Offender Reentry: Correctional Statistics, Reintegration into the Community, and Recidivism (open access)

Offender Reentry: Correctional Statistics, Reintegration into the Community, and Recidivism

This report provides background information regarding the prison population in the United States that has been growing steadily for more than 30 years. The report presents correctional system statistics and discusses the federal government's involvement in offender reentry programs and the Second Chance Act (P.L. 110-199) that was enacted on April 9, 2008.
Date: February 25, 2014
Creator: James, Nathan
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Iran: U.S. and International Sanctions Have Adversely Affected the Iranian Economy (open access)

Iran: U.S. and International Sanctions Have Adversely Affected the Iranian Economy

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2010, congressional legislation, such as the Comprehensive Iran Accountability, Sanctions, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA), as well as a number of executive orders, have established additional U.S. financial sanctions targeting Iran. For example, CISADA authorized the imposition of sanctions on foreign financial institutions that facilitated certain activities or financial transactions by entities including Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to an Under Secretary of the Treasury, CISADA "set a new precedent," because "[i]t gave the Secretary of the Treasury the authority for the first time to require U.S. banks to terminate correspondent banking relationships with foreign banks that knowingly engaged in significant transactions with designated Iranian banks.""
Date: February 25, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
NASA Workforce: Responses to Follow-up Questions regarding the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Use of Term Appointments (open access)

NASA Workforce: Responses to Follow-up Questions regarding the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Use of Term Appointments

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO recently completed an engagement regarding the use of term appointments by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for civil servant positions. Congress expanded NASA's ability to use term appointments to fill civil service positions in 2004 through the passage of the NASA Flexibility Act of 2004 (Pub. L. No. 108-201). NASA sought this flexibility to ensure that it could hire and retain the workforce it desired. In October 2008, we briefed the Congressional committee on the results of our review, and were asked to respond to additional questions several members on your committee had regarding NASA's use of term appointments. 1. What policies and procedures are in place to protect the independence of scientists and engineers hired under term appointment authority? 2. What are the rates of conversion from term to career or careerconditional appointments? 3. What policies and procedures are in place for term appointees to challenge NASA decisions regarding non conversion of their appointments? 4. What is the declination rate to employment offers at the NASA centers?"
Date: February 25, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Motor Carrier Safety: FMCSA Has Devoted a Small but Increasing Amount of Resources to Develop the Compliance, Safety, Accountability Program but Is Requesting a Significant Increase for Full Implementation (open access)

Motor Carrier Safety: FMCSA Has Devoted a Small but Increasing Amount of Resources to Develop the Compliance, Safety, Accountability Program but Is Requesting a Significant Increase for Full Implementation

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2004, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) began work on its Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) initiative to improve the safety of commercial motor vehicles, such as trucks and buses. FMCSA, whose primary mission is to reduce commercial motor vehicle-related crashes, fatalities and injuries, has made progress on CSA but needs to complete both implementation throughout all states and a Carrier Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking before CSA is fully implemented. CSA represents a different, more data-driven approach to motor carrier safety. Under CSA, which introduces a new system for identifying and responding to carrier safety risks, FMCSA intends to increase the number of carriers it evaluates and reduce crashes involving commercial vehicles. In light of delays in implementing CSA, Congress is concerned about FMCSA's ability to implement the program and directed GAO to monitor the program's implementation and review FMCSA's capacity to meet milestones within its planned cost estimates. As part of this work, Congress asked us to provide detailed information on the resources FMCSA has devoted and plans to devote to implementing CSA. This report provides information on (1) the amount of actual and proposed funding …
Date: February 25, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Border Security: Improvements Needed to Reduce Time Taken to Adjudicate Visas for Science Students and Scholars (open access)

Border Security: Improvements Needed to Reduce Time Taken to Adjudicate Visas for Science Students and Scholars

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year thousands of international science students and scholars apply for visas to enter the United States to participate in education and exchange programs. They offer our country diversity and intellectual knowledge and are an economic resource. At the same time, the United States has important national security interests in screening these individuals when they apply for a visa. At a hearing held by the House Committee on Science on March 26, 2003, witnesses raised concern about the length of time it takes for science students and scholars to obtain a visa and about losing top international students to other countries due to delays in the visa process. GAO reviewed 1) how long it takes a science student or scholar from another country to obtain a visa and the factors contributing to the length of time, and 2) what measures are under way to improve the process and decrease the number of pending cases."
Date: February 25, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
High-Containment Laboratories: Assessment of the Nation's Need Is Missing (open access)

High-Containment Laboratories: Assessment of the Nation's Need Is Missing

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "There is still no one agency or group that knows the nation's need for all U.S. high- containment laboratories, including the research priorities and the capacity, number and location, to address priorities. This deficiency may be more critical today than 3 years ago because current budget constraints make prioritization essential. Since the publication of our report in 2009, the number of high-containment laboratories has increased. Although modern high-containment technologies (for example, high-efficiency particulate air [HEPA] filtration) in conjunction with laboratory design have been effective in reducing the level of risk, there is nevertheless some degree of risk associated with design, construction, operations, and maintenance of high-containment laboratories. This was realized following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) power failure incident in Atlanta, Georgia, where no biological agent was released but that showed the difficulties in maintaining biological containment, and a leaky pipe incident in Pirbright, United Kingdom, that failed to maintain biological containment. Increasing the number of laboratories also increases the aggregate national risk."
Date: February 25, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
GAO Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures: Highway Trust Fund Excise Taxes (open access)

GAO Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures: Highway Trust Fund Excise Taxes

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for fiscal year (FY) ended September 30, 1999, is supported by the underlying records."
Date: February 25, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bureau of Prisons: Written Policies on Lateral Transfers and Assessment of Temporary Assignments Needed (open access)

Bureau of Prisons: Written Policies on Lateral Transfers and Assessment of Temporary Assignments Needed

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for the custody and care of more than 202,000 federal offenders with approximately 35,000 employees, almost half of whom are correctional officers, dispersed across BOP's 114 correctional facilities in 6 regions. In response to a request, GAO identified whether BOP had policies and procedures and how it assessed the management of those policies and procedures for (1) employee-requested lateral transfers of BOP employees between correctional facilities and (2) day-to-day changes in correctional services or temporary assignments of BOP employees within a correctional facility. GAO reviewed available documentation on BOP's policies and procedures on lateral transfers and temporary assignments. GAO also interviewed officials from BOP's central and regional offices and seven facilities selected on the basis of the number of staff; at least one facility was selected from within each of BOP's six regions."
Date: February 25, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agreed-Upon Procedures: Black Lung Disability Trust Fund Excise Taxes (open access)

Agreed-Upon Procedures: Black Lung Disability Trust Fund Excise Taxes

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund (BLDTF) for the fiscal year (FY) ended September 30, 1998, is supported by the underlying records."
Date: February 25, 1999
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Native American Housing: Tribes Generally View Block Grant Program as Effective, but Tracking of Infrastructure Plans and Investments Needs Improvement (open access)

Native American Housing: Tribes Generally View Block Grant Program as Effective, but Tracking of Infrastructure Plans and Investments Needs Improvement

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA) changed how the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides housing assistance to Native Americans. Congress created NAHASDA to recognize self-determination for tribes in addressing their low-income housing needs. In NAHASDA's 2008 reauthorization, Congress asked GAO to assess the program's effectiveness. This report discusses (1) how tribes have used NAHASDA funds, (2) how NAHASDA has improved the process of providing tribes with funds for housing, and (3) the extent to which NAHASDA has contributed to infrastructure improvements in tribal communities. GAO analyzed agency documentation, surveyed all tribes receiving grants in fiscal year 2008, conducted site visits with select tribes, and interviewed officials at HUD and other agencies."
Date: February 25, 2010
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agreed-Upon Procedures: Federal Unemployment Taxes (open access)

Agreed-Upon Procedures: Federal Unemployment Taxes

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed whether the net federal unemployment taxes (FUTA) collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1998, are supported by the underlying records."
Date: February 25, 1999
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Missile Defense Transition Provides Opportunity to Strengthen Acquisition Approach (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Missile Defense Transition Provides Opportunity to Strengthen Acquisition Approach

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "By law, GAO is directed to assess the annual progress the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) made in developing and fielding the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). GAO also assessed MDA's progress toward improving accountability and transparency in agency operations, management processes, and its acquisition strategy. To accomplish this, GAO reviewed asset fielding schedules, test plans and reports, as well as pertinent sections of Department of Defense (DOD) policy to compare MDA's current level of accountability with that of other DOD programs. GAO's fiscal year 2009 assessment of MDA's cost, schedule, and performance progress is more limited than previous assessments because MDA removed key components of schedule and performance goals from its annual report of goals. In addition, though it had committed to, MDA did not report total cost estimates in 2009."
Date: February 25, 2010
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Excluded Parties List System: Suspended and Debarred Businesses and Individuals Improperly Receive Federal Funds (open access)

Excluded Parties List System: Suspended and Debarred Businesses and Individuals Improperly Receive Federal Funds

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To protect the government's interests, any agency can exclude (i.e., debar or suspend) parties from receiving federal contracts or assistance for a range of offenses. Exclusions of companies or individuals from federal contracts or other funding are listed in the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), a Web-based system maintained by GSA. Recent allegations indicate that excluded parties have been able to receive federal contracts. As a result, GAO was asked (1) to determine whether these allegations could be substantiated and (2) to identify the key causes of any improper awards and other payments detected. GAO investigated parties that were excluded for offenses such as fraud, theft, and violations of federal statutes and received awards in excess of $1,000."
Date: February 25, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Steps to Improve the Crusader Program's Investment Decisions (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Steps to Improve the Crusader Program's Investment Decisions

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Army wants an artillery system with greater firepower, range, and mobility than its current self-propelled howitzer. In 1994, the Army began to develop the Crusader, an advanced artillery system consisting of a self-propelled 155-millimeter howitzer and a resupply vehicle. The Department of Defense (DOD) will decide next year whether the Crusader program should enter its system development and demonstration stage, which will require the commitment of major resources. GAO found that the Crusader program has made considerable progress in developing key technologies and reducing its size and weight. However, more progress and knowledge is needed to minimize the risk of cost overruns, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls. The Crusader program will likely enter product development with most of its critical technologies less mature than best practices recommend. Most of the Crusader's critical technologies have been demonstrated in a relevant environment but not in the more demanding operational environment. Although the Army is reducing the Crusader's weight so that two vehicles can be deployed on a C-17 aircraft, the deployability advantage gained does not appear significant. The reduction in the Crusader system's weight would only decrease …
Date: February 25, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Health-Care-Associated Infections: HHS Action Needed to Obtain Nationally Representative Data on Risks in Ambulatory Surgical Centers (open access)

Health-Care-Associated Infections: HHS Action Needed to Obtain Nationally Representative Data on Risks in Ambulatory Surgical Centers

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health-care-associated infections (HAI) are a leading cause of death. Recent high-profile cases of HAIs in ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) due to lapses in recommended infection control practices may indicate a more widespread problem in ASCs, but the prevalence of such lapses is unknown. The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and other entities collect data on HAIs, including process data on the use of recommended practices and outcome data on HAI incidence. CMS conducts standard surveys on about half of ASCs every 3 to 4 years, assessing compliance with its standard on infection control. In this report, GAO examines the availability of data on HAIs in ASCs nationwide. GAO interviewed subject-matter experts, agency officials, and trade and professional group officials."
Date: February 25, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Managing Diabetes: Health Plan Coverage of Services and Supplies (open access)

Managing Diabetes: Health Plan Coverage of Services and Supplies

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Diabetes, which afflicts millions of Americans, is a manageable disease whose effects can be mitigated with proper care, regularly received. Experts recommend certain services and supplies for managing diabetes. Because these can be costly, concerns exist about whether individuals with diabetes have access to and receive what they need. Little is known, however, about health plan coverage of diabetes services and supplies. GAO reviewed the extent to which (1) states require insurance policies to cover diabetes services and supplies, (2) health coverage not subject to state requirements includes diabetes services and supplies, and (3) individuals with diabetes ages 18 and older receive services and supplies. GAO analyzed all 50 states' and the District of Columbia's laws and regulations pertaining to diabetes coverage. GAO also obtained from selected health plans providing coverage not subject to state requirements--13 large-employer plans and 3 plans in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP)--information on coverage of 10 services and nine supplies identified as important for individuals with diabetes. In addition, GAO obtained national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on individuals' receipt of diabetes services and …
Date: February 25, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Private Health Insurance Coverage: Expert Views on Approaches to Encourage Voluntary Enrollment (open access)

Private Health Insurance Coverage: Expert Views on Approaches to Encourage Voluntary Enrollment

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To help expand health insurance coverage among the 50 million uninsured Americans, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended (PPACA) mandates that individuals, subject to certain exceptions, obtain health insurance coverage or pay a financial penalty beginning in 2014--the "individual mandate". At the same time, PPACA generally requires insurers to accept all applicants, regardless of health status, and prohibits insurers from excluding coverage based on any preexisting conditions. An individual mandate such as PPACA requires has been the subject of continued debate. Many health care policy experts have stressed the importance of a mandate in expanding health care coverage and keeping premiums affordable. For example, experts have noted that such a federal requirement may be necessary to prompt many individuals, such as younger, healthier individuals, to obtain coverage they otherwise would forego--particularly once they are guaranteed access to that coverage later when they may need it. They suggest that bringing these younger, healthier individuals into the insurance market is necessary to avoid adverse selection, whereby disproportionately less healthy individuals who need health care services enroll in coverage, leading to higher premiums that further discourage healthy individuals …
Date: February 25, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library