Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report describes the schedule, cost, and technical status of the 155mm Lightweight Howitzer program. The Army-Marine Corps Lightweight Howitzer Joint Program Office directs this program's development, with a British company as the prime contractor. Since GAO's April 2000 report (See GAO-01-603R), all key milestones have slipped because a 2-year low-rate initial production phase has been added to provide production representative howitzers for operational testing. Correspondingly, the full-rate production decision has slipped from September 2002 to October 2004. Since April 2001, total program cost estimates have increased from $1,209.0 million to $1,365.2 million, principally as the result of the large number of design modifications resulting from developmental testing and restructuring the program to add a low-rate initial production phase. In addition, the costs for the towed artillery digitization increased by $51 million. Technical problems--such as the durability of the optical fire control, bore sight retention, and accuracy--have been addressed through design changes. However, some of these changes have not yet been tested, and the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity has yet to review test data that the program office believes shows the howitzer has met accuracy …

The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss the provisions for providing abortion services to military personnel, their dependents, and other military health care beneficiaries at military medical facilities. The report describes the history of these provisions, with particular emphasis on legislative actions. Finally, this report discusses a number of proposals to modify the law, as well as other related legislative and administrative actions.

The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss the provisions for providing abortion services to military personnel, their dependents, and other military health care beneficiaries at military medical facilities. The report describes the history of these provisions, with particular emphasis on legislative actions. Finally, this report discusses a number of proposals to modify the law, as well as other related legislative and administrative actions.

The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss the provisions for providing abortion services to military personnel, their dependents and other military health care beneficiaries at military medical facilities. The report describes the history of these provisions, with particular emphasis on legislative actions. Finally, this report discusses a number of proposals to modify the Clinton Administration provisions, as well as recently enacted legislation.

The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss the provisions for providing abortion services to military personnel, their dependents and other military health care beneficiaries at military medical facilities. The report describes the history of these provisions, with particular emphasis on legislative actions. Finally, this report discusses a number of proposals to modify the Clinton Administration provisions, as well as recently enacted legislation.

Traditional safety performance requirements for nuclear reactors have been developed for critical reactors, whose kinetics characteristics differ significantly from sub-critical, accelerator-driven nuclear reactors. In a critical nuclear reactor, relatively small amounts of reactivity (negative or positive) can produce large changes in the fission rate. In sub-critical reactors, the self-multiplication (k) decreases as the sub-criticality (1-k) increases, and the responsiveness to small reactivity changes decreases. This makes sub-critical nuclear reactors less responsive to positive reactivity insertions than critical reactors. Also, larger negative reactivity insertions are needed in sub-critical reactors to shut down the fission chain if the neutron source remains. This paper presents the results from a computational analysis of the safety performance of sub-critical, accelerator-driven nuclear reactors. Coupled kinetics and thermal-hydraulics models are used to quantify the effectiveness of traditional protection and control system designs in sub-critical reactors. The analyses also quantify the role of inherent, passive reactivity feedback mechanisms in sub-critical reactors. Computational results are used to develop conclusions regarding the most favorable and effective means for reactor control and protection in sub-critical, accelerator-driven nuclear reactors.

This report provides information on and analysis of the current situation in Afghanistan, taking into consideration the country’s essential characteristics and political developments since about the time of the overthrow of the last Afghan King, Zahir Shah, in 1973, and sketches out four possible scenarios for Afghanistan’s future. Finally, the report identifies and analyzes factors that will influence Afghanistan’s political future, and discusses three policy areas in particular in which actions by the United States could be crucial to the achievement of the U.S. goal of a peaceful, stable, democratic, and terrorist-free Afghanistan. An appendix contains key documents relating to the December 2001 Bonn Agreement, which is the framework for current efforts to create a stable and democratic Afghanistan.

The United States and its allies are helping Afghanistan emerging from more than 22 years of warfare, although substantial risk to Afghan stability remains. Before the U.S. military campaign against the orthodox Islamist Taliban movement began on October 7, 2001, Afghanistan had been mired in conflict since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The defeat of the Taliban has enabled the United States and its coalition partners to send forces throughout Afghanistan to search for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters and leaders that remain at large, including Osama bin Laden. As the war against remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban elements winds down, the United States is shifting its military focus toward stabilizing the interim government, including training a new Afghan national army, and supporting the international security force (ISAF) that is helping the new government provide security.

This report discusses the issue of U.S. economic assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the importance of continued assistance in light of U.S. national security and also various U.S.-led efforts to promote reform amongst African citizens themselves. U.S. assistance finds its way to Africa through a variety of channels, including the USAID-administered DA program, food aid programs, and indirect aid provided through international financial institutions and the United Nations.

The 107th Congress is considering trade issues with implications for the U.S. agricultural sector. Trade in agricultural commodities and food products affects farm income and rural employment, and it also generates economic activity beyond the farm gate. With agricultural export sales the equivalent of one-quarter of farm income, some policymakers view U.S. efforts to develop market opportunities overseas as vital to the sector’s financial health. Decisions taken by the Bush Administration, and actions taken by Congress, thus will affect the outlook for agricultural trade.

The 107th Congress is considering trade issues with implications for the U.S. agricultural sector. Trade in agricultural commodities and food products affects farm income and rural employment, and it also generates economic activity beyond the farm gate. With agricultural export sales the equivalent of one-quarter of farm income, some policymakers view U.S. efforts to develop market opportunities overseas as vital to the sector’s financial health. Decisions taken by the Bush Administration, and actions taken by Congress, thus will affect the outlook for agricultural trade.

High voltage, solid state, inductive adder, pulse generators have found increasing application as fast kicker pulse modulators for charged particle beams. The solid state, inductive adder, pulse generator is similar in operation to the linear induction accelerator. The main difference is that the solid state, adder couples energy by transformer action from multiple primaries to a voltage summing stalk, instead of an electron beam. Ideally, the inductive adder produces a rectangular voltage pulse at the load. In reality, there is usually some voltage variation at the load due to droop on primary circuit storage capacitors, or, temporal variations in the load impedance. Power MOSFET circuits have been developed to provide analog modulation of the output voltage amplitude of a solid state, inductive adder, pulse generator. The modulation is achieved by including MOSFET based, variable subtraction circuits in the multiple primary stack. The subtraction circuits can be used to compensate for voltage droop, or, to tailor the output pulse amplitude to provide a desired effect in the load. Power MOSFET subtraction circuits have been developed to modulate short, temporal (60-400 ns), voltage and current pulses. MOSFET devices have been tested up to 20 amps and 800 Volts with a band pass …

During this reporting period our project focused on (1) review of case studies of remediation of centralized and commercial drilling fluid disposal (CCDD) sites in Texas, and (2) information transfer with preparation of a proceedings paper and a workshop/short course. Texas remediation of certain drilling-fluid disposal sites includes examples at CCDD sites as well as commercial oil reclamation sites and saltwater disposal sites that also disposed of drilling fluids in pits. Site investigations range from qualitative visual inspection and assessment to comprehensive hydrodynamic, chemical, and geophysical analyses of wastes and groundwater. A range of techniques has been used to evaluate waste material, soil, groundwater, and surface water for potential contamination with hydrocarbons, chemicals, saltwater, and naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). Most constituents of concern measured in these studies are below regulatory action levels and established guidelines. A proceedings paper summarizes results presented in this and previous semi-annual progress reports will be part of the Transactions of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies (GCAGS). A technology transfer workshop also was prepared as part of that Annual Meeting of the GCAGS to be held in November 2002.

This report is categorized into six categories: (I) Recent Political Developments, (II) U.N. Role in Angola, (III) Human Rights and Civil Liberties, (IV) Angolan Economy, (V) U.S. Policy and (VI) Appendix I.

A variety of animal agriculture issues, including prices, the impact of consolidation in the meat production/packing industry, trade, and the environmental impacts of large feedlots, continue to generate interest in Congress. This issue brief discusses these issues, as well as the 2002 farm bill, which contains several provisions affecting animal agriculture, including protections for contract growers, disaster assistance, country-of-origin labeling, and increased funding for conservation purposes.

The discovery of two high-temperature fumaroles, with gas geochemistry compatible with an economic geothermal system, established Apacheta as one of the most attractive geothermal exploration prospects in northern Chile. These remote fumaroles at 5,150 m elevation were first sampled in 1999 by ENAP and its partners, following up on the reports of a CODELCO water exploration well that flowed small amounts of dry steam at 4,540 m elevation in the valley 4.5 km east of the fumaroles. The prospect is associated with a Plio-Pleistocene volcanic complex located within a NW-trending graben along the axis of the high Andes. The regional water table is 4,200 masl. There are no hot springs, just the 88 degrees C steam well and the 109 degrees and 118 degrees C fumaroles with gas compositions that indicate reservoir temperatures of greater than or equal to 250 degrees C, using a variety of gas geothermometers. An MT-TDEM survey was completed in 2001-2002 by Geotermica del Norte (SDN), an ENAP-C ODELCO partnership, to explore the Apacheta geothermal concession. The survey results indicated that base of the low resistivity clay cap has a structural apex just west of the fumaroles, a pattern typically associated with shallow permeability within a …

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, consolidated, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittees.

An archaeological survey report of a site near Roanoke, Texas, performed to determine whether any historic resources were located on the proposed construction sites.

A report of an archaeological survey of two transmission line routes in Hidalgo County, Texas.

Traditional techniques for performance analysis provide a means for extracting and analyzing raw performance information from applications. Users then reason about and compare this raw performance data to their performance expectations for important application constructs. This comparison can be tedious, difficult, and error-prone for the scale and complexity of today's architectures and software systems. To address this situation, we present a methodology and prototype that allows users to assert performance expectations explicitly in their source code using performance assertions. As the application executes, each performance assertion in the application collects data implicitly to verify the assertion. By allowing the user to specify a performance expectation with individual code segments, the runtime system can jettison raw data for measurements that pass their expectation, while reacting to failures with a variety of responses. We present several compelling uses of performance assertions with our operational prototype including raising a performance exception, validating a performance model, and adapting an algorithm to an architecture empirically at runtime.

This report discusses the budget for fiscal year 2003. It debates issues such as budget action, receipts surpluses or deficits, and the economy.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The District of Columbia Family Act of 2001 was enacted to (1) redesignate the Family Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia as the Family Court of the Superior Court, (2) recruit trained and experienced judges to serve in the Family Court, and (3) promote consistency and efficiency in the assignment of judges to the Family Court and in its consideration of actions and proceedings. GAO found the Superior Court made progress in planning the transition of its Family Division to a Family Court, but some challenges remain. The transition requires the timely completion of a series of interdependent plans to obtain and renovate physical space for the court and its functions. Adequate space may not be available to support the additional judges the Family Court needs. Furthermore, the development of the Integrated Justice Information System will be critical for the Family Court's operational effectiveness, its ability to evaluate its performance, and to meet the judicial goals mandated by the Family Court Act."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Because of population growth, resulting real estate development, and using real estate values in hazard-prone areas, the nation is increasingly exposed to much higher property-casualty losses--both insured and uninsured--from natural catastrophes than in the past. In the 1990s, a series of natural disasters, (1) raised questions about the adequacy of the insurance industry's financial capacity to cover large catastrophes without limiting coverage or substantially raising premiums and (2) called attention to ways of raising additional sources of capital to help cover catastrophic risk. Catastrophe risk includes exposure to losses from natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes, which are infrequent events that can cause substantial financial loss but are difficult to reliably predict. The characteristics of natural disasters prompt most insurers to limit the amount and type of catastrophic risk they hold. Risk-linked securities that can be used to cover risk from natural catastrophes employ many structures and include catastrophic bonds and catastrophic options. GAO identified and analyzed several issues that might affect the use of risk-linked securities. First, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and insurance industry representatives are considering revisions in the regulatory …

Nuclear Materials Management Division (NMMD) has proposed that up to 100 kg of the plutonium (Pu) solutions stored in H-Canyon be precipitated with a nuclear poison and dispositioned to H-Area Tank Farm. The use of gadolinium (Gd) as the poison would greatly reduce the number of additional glass logs resulting from this disposition. This report summarizes the characteristics of the precipitation process and addresses criticality concerns in the Nuclear Criticality Safety Evaluation. No problems were found with the nature of the precipitate or the neutralization process.