A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Eighty percent of Afghans are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Agricultural assistance is a key U.S. contribution to Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts. Since 2002, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded about $1.4 billion for agricultural programs to increase agricultural productivity, accelerate economic growth, and eliminate illicit drug cultivation. This report (1) describes the change in U.S. focus on agricultural assistance since 2002, (2) assesses USAID's performance management and evaluation of its agricultural programs, (3) analyzes the extent to which certain programs met targets, and (4) addresses efforts to mitigate implementation challenges. GAO reviewed USAID documents; analyzed program data; and interviewed program implementers and USAID officials in Washington, D.C., and Afghanistan. GAO has prepared this report as part of its ongoing efforts to monitor key aspects of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter formally transmits the briefing in response to the Conference Report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. Rep. No. 111-366, at 673-74 (2009) (Conf. Rep)), which directed us to evaluate BOP's strategic approach to budgeting for its inmate re-entry programs, including activities related to the Second Chance Act (SCA). To conduct this work, we analyzed the Federal Bureau of Prison's (BOP) programs, activities, and management initiatives that play a key role in implementing SCA requirements, such as the Inmate Skills Development Initiative (ISDI). Through ISDI, BOP intends to measure skills inmates acquired through effective reentry programs with the goal of reducing rates of recidivism. We also evaluated BOP's processes and initiatives that play a key role in implementing SCA, such as ISDI, to determine the extent to which BOP followed leading practices for planning, implementing, and identifying resources needed for projects."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enter into a 4-year contract with an entity to perform five duties related to health care quality measurement and authorized $40 million from the Medicare Trust Funds for the contract. In January 2009, HHS awarded a contract to the National Quality Forum (NQF), under which HHS will reimburse NQF for its costs and pay additional fixed fees. Established in 1999, NQF is a nonprofit member organization that fosters agreement on national standards for measuring and public reporting of health care performance data. This is the first of two reports MIPPA requires GAO to submit on NQF's contract with HHS. In this report, which covers the first contract year--January 14, 2009, to January 13, 2010--GAO describes (1) the status of NQF's work on the five duties under MIPPA; (2) the costs and fixed fees NQF has reported; and (3) what NQF and HHS do in order to help ensure that NQF's reported costs are proper. GAO reviewed relevant MIPPA provisions and reviewed HHS and NQF documents, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) provides financing to support U.S. exports, and its support for environmentally beneficial exports has been of long-standing congressional interest. In fiscal year 2008, Congress directed Ex-Im to allocate 10 percent of its annual financing to renewable energy and environmentally beneficial products and services. For fiscal years 2009 and 2010, it directed Ex-Im to allocate 10 percent to renewable energy and energy efficient end-use technologies. In 2009, it directed GAO to conduct a review of Ex-Im's efforts to meet congressional directives concerning environmental exports financing. This report addresses (1) the extent of Ex-Im's financing of renewable energy, energy efficient end-use technologies, and other environmentally beneficial exports; (2) Ex-Im's definitions for, and its reporting on, these exports; and 3) the extent to which Ex-Im has followed strategic planning key practices in its planning efforts in these areas. GAO analyzed Ex-Im transaction data and planning documents and interviewed officials from Ex-Im, other U.S. agencies, state-level trade promotion agencies, environmental industry associations, and other industry experts."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), now in its seventh year of operations, is to provide aid to developing countries that have demonstrated a commitment to ruling justly, encouraging economic freedom, and investing in people. MCC provides assistance to eligible countries through multiyear compact agreements to fund specific programs targeted at reducing poverty and stimulating economic growth. MCC has received appropriations for fiscal years 2004 through 2010 totaling about $9.5 billion and has set aside about $8.1 billion of this amount for compact assistance. As of June 2010, MCC had signed compacts with 20 countries totaling approximately $7.1 billion; of the 20 compacts, 18 compacts had entered into force, obligating a total of approximately $6.3 billion. The President has requested approximately $1.3 billion in additional funds for MCC for fiscal year 2011, of which MCC plans to use about $1.1 billion for compact assistance to countries currently eligible for compacts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To supplement fare revenues, airlines are increasingly charging fees for optional passenger services, notably for checked baggage, for which separate charges did not previously exist. While air fares are subject to a 7.5 percent excise tax that funds the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which helps fund the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), many new optional fees are not. As requested, this report addresses (1) the nature, relationship to cost, and disclosure of airline fees, (2) the potential impact of such fees on the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, (3) checked and mishandled baggage issues; and (4) the process, if any, for refunding government-imposed taxes and fees when passengers do not use nonrefundable tickets. To perform this work, GAO analyzed financial data; reviewed applicable laws and regulations; and interviewed airline and government officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses various issues affecting airline passengers, including airline-imposed fees, mishandled baggage, and the refundability of various government-imposed taxes and fees to passengers. The U.S. passenger airline industry has been under tremendous financial pressure over the last decade, first from security threats that inhibited air travel, then from volatile fuel costs, and more recently from falling demand due to an economic recession. Only recently has air traffic begun to recover. In response to these pressures, passenger airlines have adapted their business models. In 2008, for example, many airlines introduced fees for a variety of passenger services, most notably for a first or second checked bag, for which separate charges did not previously exist. Fees represent an important source of revenues to U.S. passenger airlines, which collectively posted operating losses of $4.4 billion during calendar years 2008 and 2009. During that same period, airlines reported approximately $7.9 billion in revenues from baggage fees and reservation change and cancellation fees--the two largest sources of fee revenues. The revenues from baggage and many other fees are not subject to the 7.5 percent excise tax on amounts paid for domestic air …

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This document is an E-supplement to GAO-10-368. This e-supplement provides additional information on regional and provincial poverty and major crops produced in Afghanistan."

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 issued its latest assessment of MDA's progress covering fiscal year 2009 in February 2010. This report supplements that assessment to provide further insight into MDA's prime contractor performance for fiscal year 2009. Prime contractors track earned value management (EVM) by making comparisons that inform the program as to whether the contractor is completing work at the cost budgeted and whether the work scheduled is being completed on time. Our analysis of contractor EVM data included examining contract performance reports for 14 BMDS contracts, reviewing the latest integrated baseline reviews, performing extensive analysis of data anomalies, and conducting interviews with Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) officials--the independent reviewers of MDA contractor EVM systems."

Nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) has been studied as one of the nondestructive analysis (NDA) techniques currently being investigated by a multi-laboratory collaboration for the determination of Pu mass in spent fuel. In NRF measurements specific isotopes are identified by their characteristic lines in recorded gamma spectra. The concentration of an isotope in a material can be determined from measured NRF signal intensities if NRF cross sections and assay geometries are known. The potential of NRF to quantify isotopic content and Pu mass in spent fuel has been studied. The addition of NRF data to MCNPX and an improved treatment of the elastic photon scattering at backward angles has enabled us to more accurately simulate NRF measurements on spent fuel assemblies. Using assembly models from the spent fuel assembly library generated at LANL, NRF measurements are simulated to find the best measurement configurations, and to determine measurement sensitivities and times, and photon source and gamma detector requirements. A first proof-of-principal measurement on a mock-up assembly with a bremsstrahlung photon source demonstrated isotopic sensitivity to approximately 1% limited by counting statistics. Data collection rates are likely a limiting factor of NRF-based measurements of fuel assemblies but new technological advances may lead to …

This report provides a technical basis for estimating the level of corrosion products in materials stored in DOE-STD-3013 containers based on extrapolating available chemical sample results. The primary focus is to estimate the levels of nickel, iron, and chromium impurities in plutonium-bearing materials identified for disposition in the United States Mixed Oxide fuel process.

This paper presents a midsize tokamak as a fast track to the investigation of burning plasmas. It is shown that it could reach large values of energy gain (≥10) with only a modest improvement in confinement over the scaling that was used for designing the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). This could be achieved by operating in a low plasma recycling regime that experiments indicate can lead to improved plasma confinement. The possibility of reaching the necessary conditions of low recycling using a more efficient magnetic divertor than those of present tokamaks is discussed.

This paper draws heavily on the authors’ previously published research to explore the extent to which near term carbon dioxide-driven enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) can be “a stepping stone to a long term sequestration program of a scale to be material in climate change risk mitigation.” The paper examines the historical evolution of CO2-EOR in the United States and concludes that estimates of the cost of CO2-EOR production or the extent of CO2 pipeline networks based upon this energy security-driven promotion of CO2-EOR do not provide a robust platform for spurring the commercial deployment of carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies (CCS) as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The paper notes that the evolving regulatory framework for CCS makes a clear distinction between CO2-EOR and CCS and the authors examine arguments in the technical literature about the ability for CO2-EOR to generate offsetting revenue to accelerate the commercial deployment of CCS systems in the electric power and industrial sectors of the economy. The authors conclude that the past 35 years of CO2-EOR in the U.S. have been important for boosting domestic oil production and delivering proven system components for future CCS systems. However, though there is no reason …

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Each major party in the House has a leadership hierarchy. This report summarizes the election, duties, and responsibilities of the Speaker of the House, the majority and minority leaders, and the whips and whip system.

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This report discusses federal credit assistance for farmers and recent issues in Congress related to the programs.

July report of the U.S. Congressional Oversight Panel describing their activities and findings regarding the U.S. Treasury's Capital Purchase Program (CPP) and its impact on the smaller banks that received funds and other forms of financial assistance through the program.

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Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

This report discusses the Office of the Parliamentarian, which provides expert advice and assistance on questions relating to the meaning and application of that chamber's legislative rules, precedents, and practices, in both the House and Senate. The Speaker began naming a parliamentarian in 1927; the Senate first recognized its parliamentarian in 1935.

This report provides background on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its investigations in Africa, with an overview of cases currently before the Court. The report also examines issues raised by the ICC's actions in Africa, including the potential deterrence of future abuses and the potential impact on African peace processes.