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This report presents sketch of selected proposals and congressional authority related to Hate Crimes.

Renewable energy is derived from resources that are generally not depleted by human use, such as the sun, wind, and water movement. This report discusses various aspects of policy regarding renewable energy including tax credits and budget legislation.

This report discusses the background information and most recent development in U.S.-China relations since mid-1996. Since the early 1990s, U.S.-China relations have followed an uneven course, with modest improvements overshadowed by various recurring difficulties and setbacks. Longstanding bilateral difficulties have included U.S. problems with the PRC’s worsening human rights record, growing tensions over the PRC’s southern military build-up opposite Taiwan and Taiwan’s political status, and continued controversy over allegations of Chinese proliferation of weapons to unstable regimes.

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Once hostilities end in Afghanistan and the Afghan phase of the war on terrorism starts to wind down, reconstruction efforts will begin in earnest. International attention will likely turn to Afghanistan’s short- and medium-term future, raising questions between the United States and its allies about division of labor, burdensharing, and exit strategies. It is anticipated that Congress will examine reconstruction efforts underway, aid priorities, long-term reconstruction proposals, and the implementation role to be played by the United States.

The House passed a bill (H.R. 3146) on September 24 to extend TAIF, mandatory child care, abstinence education, and transitional Medicaid, on current terms, through March 31, 2004. In the absence of legislation, these programs would expire on September 30. The Senate Finance Committee approved a comprehensive TAIF preauthorization proposal of Chairman Chuck Grassley on September 10. Entitled Personal Responsibility and Individual Development for Everyone (PRIDE), the legislation would extend TANF, mandatory child care, abstinence education, and transitional Medicaid for 5 years, FY2004 through FY2008. It would raise TANF work participation standards, increase weekly work hours, add new countable work activities,

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO audited the financial statements of the Capitol Preservation Fund for fiscal years 2001 and 2000. GAO found that the financial statements (1) were presented fairly in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, (2) contained no material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations, and (3) complied with the provisions of laws and regulations tested."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1999, the Army announced its plans to transform its forces during the next 30 years to enable them to deploy more rapidly and operate more effectively during all types of military conflicts, from small-scale contingencies to major wars. The Army's goal is to be able to deploy a brigade anywhere in the world within 96 hours, a division within 120 hours, and five divisions within 30 days. The first step is to form and equip six interim brigade combat teams by 2008. Created to fill a gap in military capability, the teams are intended to be a lethal and survivable deterrent force that can be rapidly deployed around the world. The commanders in chief envision different uses for the teams according to the unique requirements of their respective regions. However, they generally agree that the teams should provide them with a broader choice of capabilities to meet their operational needs. The Army faces many challenges in assembling its first team. For example, some planned combat capabilities will not be present when the team is certified for deployment next year. In addition, the interim armored vehicle …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The accounting profession maintains a voluntary, self-regulatory system through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) that includes establishing professional standards, monitoring compliance with professional standards, disciplining members for improper acts and substandard performance, and conducting oversight. The Panel of Audit Effectiveness, set up to examine the AICPA's methods, made recommendations to enhance the accounting profession's self-regulatory system. Implementing actions taken or in process have addressed many of the Panel's recommendations. However, the Panel's recommendations did not fully address the limitations of the self-regulatory system identified in its report. Also, some of the Panel's recommendations were either not accepted or are still under study. Additional experience is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken or planned. However, the system is fragmented, uncoordinated, and has a disciplinary function that is widely perceived to be ineffective. The self-regulatory system is unable to protect the confidentiality of investigative information about alleged audit failures or other disciplinary matters concerning members of the profession. The lack of such protective powers hinders the timing of investigations and affects the public's perception of the self-regulatory system's effectiveness. The Panel recognized the …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To protect the Great Lakes and to address common water quality problems, the United States and Canada entered into the bilateral Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972. The agreement has been amended several times, most recently in 1987. That year, the two countries agreed to cooperate with state and provincial governments to develop and implement remedial action plans (RAPs) for designated areas in the Great Lakes Basin--areas contaminated, for example, by toxic substances. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) leads the effort to meet the goals of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, which include RAP development and implementation. As of April 2002, all of the 26 contaminated areas in the Great Lakes Basin that the United States is responsible for have completed the first stage of the RAP process; however, only half have completed the second stage. Even though EPA has been charged with leading the effort to meet the goals of the agreement, it has not clearly delineated responsibility for oversight of RAPs within the agency, and, citing resource constraints and the need to tend to other Great Lakes priorities, reduced its staff and …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Prescription drug diversion is the channeling of pharmaceuticals for illegal purposes or abuse. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), increased prescription drug abuse and emergency room admissions, as well as the theft and illegal resale of prescription drugs, indicate that drug diversion is a growing problem associated with addiction, overdose, and death. All 15 state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP) collect information about the prescribing, dispensing, and use of prescription drugs and distribute it to medical practitioners, pharmacies, and state law enforcement and regulatory agencies. However, the programs differ in terms of objectives, design, and operations. In addition to helping law enforcement identify and prevent prescription drug diversion, program objectives also include education of the public, physicians, and pharmacists about the nature and extent of the problem, and medical treatment options for abusers of diverted drugs. The programs' designs vary by specific drugs covered and by the type of state agency in which they are housed. Some programs use the prescription data proactively to identify trends or patterns of use and to respond to law enforcement requests. Others use it only to respond to requests. …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Former Members of Congress for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with general accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Non Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of America, Incorporated, for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with general accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the Naval Sea Cadet Corps for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the National Academy of Public Administration for fiscal year 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Tropical Botanical Garden for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum for fiscal year 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with general accounting principles."

As part of the High Performance Commercial Building Systems program, LBNL has been working with the City of Oakland to understand the ongoing performance of the Oakland Administration Buildings. The primary objective of this research is to understand the performance targets and ongoing performance of two buildings that were the subject of a new construction performance contract. Secondary objectives include examining the building performance information systems developed as part of the new construction performance contract and evaluating the role of the energy management and control system (EMCS) as a data acquisition tool to provide recommendations for future new construction projects. We examine the results of the performance contract in detail, and provide additional performance metrics that go beyond what was required in the performance contract. We found that the energy cost intensities (ECI) linked to the project ranged from $1.08/ft{sup 2} to $1.44/ft{sup 2}. Changes in floor area, energy costs, rate schedules, and energy use complicate the evaluation of the performance because of the lack of tracking of underlying data and assumptions. Overall, Oakland has two large office buildings with relatively low-energy use (50 kBtu/ft{sup 2}-yr site electricity and gas use). We compare this energy-use intensity with a number of …

The objective of the project was to develop experimental data and evaluate the feasibility of converting SPL to commercial quality glass fiber and fluoride products using Vortec's CMS technology.

Solute segregation to ceramic grain boundaries governs material processing and microstructure evolution, and can strongly influence material properties critical to engineering performance. Understanding the evolution and implications of grain boundary chemistry is a vital component in the greater effort to engineer ceramics with controlled microstructures. This study examines solute segregation to engineered grain boundaries in titanium-doped sapphire (Al2O3) bicrystals, and explores relationships between grain boundary structure and chemistry at the nanometer scale using spectroscopic and imaging techniques in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). Results demonstrate dramatic changes in solute segregation stemming from small fluctuations in grain boundary plane and structure. Titanium and silicon solute species exhibit strong tendencies to segregate to non-basal and basal grain boundary planes, respectively. Evidence suggests that grain boundary faceting occurs in low-angle twis t boundaries to accommodate nonequilibrium solute segregation related to slow specimen cooling rates, while faceting of tilt grain boundaries often occurs to expose special planes of the coincidence site lattice (CSL). Moreover, quantitative analysis of grain boundary chemistry indicates preferential segregation of charged defects to grain boundary dislocations. These results offer direct proof that static dislocations in ionic materials can assume a net charge, and emphasize the importance of interactions between charged …

Molecular, phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA), and substrate utilization (BIOLOG) techniques were used to assess structural and functional differences between microbial communities from a chlorinated-ethene (CE)-contaminated groundwater at a sanitary landfill. The information will be used to evaluate natural attenuation of the associated CE plume. Two groundwater-monitoring wells were tested.