A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal research and preparedness activities related to bioterrorism center on detection; the development of vaccines, antibiotics, and antivirals; and the development of performance standards for emergency response equipment. Preparedness activities include (1) increasing federal, state, and local response capabilities; (2) developing response teams; (3) increasing the availability of medical treatments; (4) participating in and sponsoring exercises; (5) aiding victims; and (6) providing support at special events, such as presidential inaugurations and Olympic games. To coordinate their activities to combat terrorism, federal departments and agencies are developing interagency response plans, participating in various interagency work groups, and entering into formal agreements with other agencies to share resources and capabilities. However, coordination of federal terrorism research, preparedness, and response programs is fragmented, raising concerns about the ability of states and localities to respond to a bioterrorist attack. These concerns include insufficient state and local planning and a lack of hospital participation in training on terrorism and emergency response planning."

Soft money is a major issue in the campaign finance reform debate because these generally unregulated funds are perceived as resulting from a loophole in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Generally, soft money is funds that are raised and spent according to applicable state laws, which FECA prohibits from being spent directly on federal elections, but that may have an indirect influence on federal elections. This Issue Brief discusses three major types of soft money: political party soft money, corporate and labor union soft money, and soft money used for issue advocacy communications.

This is one report in the series of reports that discuss the campaign finance practices and related issues. Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. The report talks about the today’s paramount issues such as perceived loopholes in current law and the longstanding issues: overall costs, funding sources, and competition.

This final technical report describes work performed under DOE Grant No. DE-FG26-97FT97278 during the period October 01, 1997 to August 31, 2001 which covers the total performance period of the project. During this period, detailed information on optimal salinity, temperature, emulsion morphologies, effectiveness for surfactant retention and oil recovery was obtained for an Alcohol Ethoxycarboxylate (AEC) surfactant to evaluate its performance in flooding processes. Tests were conducted on several AEC surfactants and NEODOX (23-4) was identified as the most suitable hybrid surfactant that yielded the best proportion in volume for top, middle, and bottom phases when mixed with oil and water. Following the selection of this surfactant, temperature and salinity scans were performed to identify the optimal salinity and temperature, and the temperature and salinity intervals in which all three phases coexisted. NEODOX 23-4 formed three phases between 4 and 52.5 C. It formed an aqueous rich microemulsion phase at high temperatures and an oleic rich microemulsion phase at low temperatures--a characteristic of the ionic part of the surfactant. The morphology measurement system was set-up successfully at CAU. The best oil/water/surfactant system defined by the above phase work was then studied for emulsion morphologies. Electrical conductivities were measured for middle …

This report addresses developments and U.S. interests related to China’s Xinjiang-Uighur autonomous region.

This document is a compilation of radiochemical analyses of spent nuclear fuel samples performed at the Khlopin Radium Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia

This document is a compilation of radiochemical analyses of spent nuclear fuel samples performed at the Khlopin Radium Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Delaware Basin Drilling Surveillance Program (DBDSP) is designed to monitor drilling activities in the vicinity of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). This program is based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements. EPA requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate the expected performance of the disposal system using a probabilistic risk assessment or performance assessment (PA). This PA must show that the expected repository performance will not release radioactive material above limits set by the EPA's standard and must consider inadvertent drilling into the repository at some future time.

This report documents work performed at the PNNL in FY01 to support development of a Remotely Operated NDE (RONDE) system capable of inspecting the knuckle region of Hanford's DSTs. The development effort utilized commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology wherever possible and provided a transport and scanning device for implementing the SAFT and T-SAFT techniques.

This report documents work performed at the PNNL in FY01 to support development of a Remotely Operated NDE (RONDE) system capable of inspecting the knuckle region of Hanford's DSTs. The development effort utilized commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology wherever possible and provided a transport and scanning device for implementing the SAFT and T-SAFT techniques.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "By the mid 1990s, most of the District of Columbia's public schools were more than 50 years old and in poor condition. Deferred maintenance had led to a host of safety problems, from fire code violations to leaky roofs. GAO found that the D.C. school system mismanaged a contract with the Washington Gas Light Company. GAO found the use of the gas contract to obtain school renovation services, including painting, carpeting, plumbing, and electrical work, was outside the scope of the contract. In addition, in carrying out the renovation work, the D.C. school system failed to adhere to controls and procedures intended to (1) ensure that the District obtained the best price and services and (2) maintain a proper relationship between the contractors and the D.C. government. These problems raise serious doubts about whether the District obtained fair and reasonable prices on the renovations and whether the school system should continue the gas utility contract."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report lists 48 reporting requirements enacted by Congress on the District of Columbia (DC) government. The District of Columbia Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 and the Supplemental Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 contain 24 of these requirements. The other 24 originate from prior appropriation acts for DC or from other federal statutes. Of the 48 requirements, 23 provide information on financial management of DC funds and programs. The remaining 25 report on the status of various DC programs or operations. The responsibility for responding to most of these reporting requirements is dispersed among the Mayor, the DC Council, and the DC Chief Financial Officer."

This project attempts to demonstrate the effectiveness of exploiting thin-layered, low-energy deposits at the distal margin of a prograding turbidite complex through the use of hydraulically fractured horizontal or high-angle wells. The combination of a horizontal or high-angle well and hydraulic fracturing will allow greater pay exposure than can be achieved with conventional vertical wells while maintaining vertical communication between thin interbedded layers and the wellbore. A high-angle well will be drilled in the fan-margin portion of a slope-basin clastic reservoir and will be completed with multiple hydraulic-fracture treatments. Geologic modeling, reservoir characterization, and fine-grid reservoir simulation will be used to select the well location and orientation. Design parameters for the hydraulic-fracture treatments will be determined, in part, by fracturing an existing test well. Fracture azimuth will be predicted by passive seismic monitoring of a fracture-stimulation treatment in the test well using logging tools in an offset well. The long radius, near horizontal well was drilled during the first quarter of 1996. Well conditions resulted in the 7 in. production liner sticking approximately 900 ft off bottom. Therefore, a 5 in. production liner was necessary to case this portion of the target formation. Swept-out sand intervals and a poor cement …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Government Paperwork Elimination Act requires federal agencies to give the public the option by October 2003 of submitting, maintaining, and disclosing required information in electronic rather than paper format. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for overseeing executive branch efforts to comply with the act. Although the October 2000 implementation plans contained much useful information, GAO also found omissions and inconsistencies. Electronic options for many activities are not planned until 2003 at the earliest, and electronic options for other activities are not scheduled at all. As a result, many agencies are at risk of failing the meet the act's deadlines. The October 2000 implementation plans did not provide enough information on agencies' strategic actions, such as prioritizing conversions on the basis of achievability and net benefit, that would minimize the risk of noncompliance. Given these shortcomings, OMB's oversight efforts will be challenging. Without better information, agency progress in achieving the act's goals cannot be accurately assessed."

There are more than 250 forms of US Department of Energy (DOE)-owned spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Due to the variety of the spent nuclear fuel, the National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program has designated nine representative fuel groups for disposal criticality analyses based on fuel matrix, primary fissile isotope, and enrichment. The Fort Saint Vrain reactor (FSVR) SNF has been designated as the representative fuel for the Th/U carbide fuel group. The FSVR SNF consists of small particles (spheres of the order of 0.5-mm diameter) of thorium carbide or thorium and high-enriched uranium carbide mixture, coated with multiple, thin layers of pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide, which serve as miniature pressure vessels to contain fission products and the U/Th carbide matrix. The coated particles are bound in a carbonized matrix, which forms fuel rods or ''compacts'' that are loaded into large hexagonal graphite prisms. The graphite prisms (or blocks) are the physical forms that are handled in reactor loading and unloading operations, and which will be loaded into the DOE standardized SNF canisters. The results of the analyses performed will be used to develop waste acceptance criteria. The items that are important to criticality control are identified based on the analysis …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Marketing Assistance Loan Program, the federal government accepts harvested crops as collateral for interest-bearing loans (marketing assistance loans) that are typically due in nine months. When market prices drop below the loan rate (the loan price per pound or bushel), the government allows farmers to repay the loan at a lower rate and retain ownership of their commodity for eventual sale. The difference between the loan rate and the lower repayment rate is called the "marketing loan gain." Conversely, farmers who do not have marketing assistance loans can also receive a benefit when prices are low called a "loan deficiency payment." The loan deficiency payment is equal to the marketing loan gain that the farmer would have received if he or she had a loan. Farmers may choose to obtain either a marketing loan gain or a loan deficiency payment--both of which are known as the marketing loan benefit. The increase in the payment limit and the availability of commodity certificates had only modest effects on the $15 billion in marketing assistance loan payments provided for crop year 1999 and …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the results of GAO audits of expenditures reported by six offices of independent counsel for fiscal year 2001. In its audits, GAO found (1) the statements of expenditures presented for the offices of independent counsel David M. Barrett, Carol Elder Bruce, Ralph I. Lancaster, Daniel S. Pearson, Robert W. Ray, and Donald C. Smaltz, and special counsel John C. Danforth, respectively are presented fairly in conformity with the basis of accounting described in note 1 of each counsel's statement, which is principally the cash basis, a comprehensive basis of accounting other than U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; (2) no material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations; and (3) no reportable noncompliance with laws and regulations GAO tested."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Internal control weaknesses in the Department of Education's payment processes make the department vulnerable to improper payments. GAO focused on three types of disbursements made from May 1998 through September 2000--grants and loans totaling $181.4 billion, third party drafts totaling $55 million, and government purchase card transactions totaling $22 million. In the grant and loan area, edit checks and other key controls were missing from Education's payment system. For example, Education's student aid application processing system lacked an automated edit check that would identify students who were much older than expected. Several internal control weaknesses made the third party draft payment process susceptible to improper payments. GAO found 268 instances involving $8.9 million in which Education employees circumvented a system control designed to avoid duplicate payments. While analyzing Education's use of government purchase cards, GAO also found several internal control weaknesses, including serious deficiencies in the department's process for reviewing and approving purchase card transactions. More than one-third of the 903 purchase cardholders' monthly statements reviewed lacked proper review and approval for payment. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see Financial Management: Poor Internal …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For fiscal years 1977 through 2000, the federal government paid about $370 million to support former presidents and their families. As of June 2001, the offices of the five living former presidents ranged in size from 3,300 to 5,900 square feet. The General Services Administration (GSA) is authorized to provide each former president with suitable office space appropriately furnished and equipped at a location specified by the former president. The law does not, however, provide any guidance on the appropriate amount of space that is to be provided. For fiscal year 2000, GSA's rent charged to former President Bush was $144,000, former President Carter $89,283, former President Ford $105,099, and former President Reagan $256,671. Former President Clinton's office was not finished until late August 2001. His annual rent payment to GSA for fiscal year 2002 is estimated to be about $354,000. The federal government is paying the entire lease cost for all of the former presidents' offices, according to GSA officials. The rental rates GSA has paid for former presidents' offices are generally comparable to rents paid for similar properties in the same areas. The Carter …

The purpose of this Analysis and Modeling Report (AMR) is to validate the Material Degradation and Release (MDR) model that predicts degradation and release of radionuclides from a degrading waste package (WP) in the potential monitored geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. This AMR is prepared according to ''Technical Work Plan for: Waste Package Design Description for LA'' (Ref. 17). The intended use of the MDR model is to estimate the long-term geochemical behavior of waste packages (WPs) containing U. S . Department of Energy (DOE) Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) codisposed with High Level Waste (HLW) glass, commercial SNF, and Immobilized Plutonium Ceramic (Pu-ceramic) codisposed with HLW glass. The model is intended to predict (1) the extent to which criticality control material, such as gadolinium (Gd), will remain in the WP after corrosion of the initial WP, (2) the extent to which fissile Pu and uranium (U) will be carried out of the degraded WP by infiltrating water, and (3) the chemical composition and amounts of minerals and other solids left in the WP. The results of the model are intended for use in criticality calculations. The scope of the model validation report is to (1) describe the MDR model, and …

Current ideas for designing neutrino factories [ 1,2] and muon colliders [3] require unique configurations of fields and materials to prepare the muon beam for acceleration. This so-called front end system must accomplish the goals of phase rotation, bunching and cooling. We have continued the development of a 3-D tracking code, ICOOL [4], for examining possible muon collider front end configurations. A system is described in terms of a series of longitudinal regions with associated material and field properties. The tracking takes place in a coordinate system that follows a reference orbit through the system. The code takes into account decays and interactions of {approx}50-500 MeV/c muons in matter. Material geometry regions include cylinders and wedges. A number of analytic models are provided for describing the field configurations. Simple diagnostics are built into the code, including calculation of emittances and correlations, longitudinal traces, histograms and scatter plots. A number of auxiliary codes can be used for pre-processing, post-processing and optimization.

The KRITZ-2 experiment has been adopted by the OECD/NEA Task Force on Reactor-Based Plutonium Disposition for use as a benchmark exercise. The KRITZ-2 experiment consists of three different core configurations (one with near-weapons-grade MOX) with critical conditions a 20 C and 245 C. The KRITZ-2 experiment has calculated the MCU-REA code, which is a continuous energy Monte Carlo code system developed at the Russian Research Center--Kurchatov Institute and is used extensively in the Fissile Materials Disposition Program. The calculated results for k{sub eff} and fission rate distributions are compared with the experimental data and results of other codes. The results are in good agreement with the experimental values.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "One in eight Americans are entitled to unclaimed and abandoned assets, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. These unclaimed and abandoned assets include savings and checking accounts, securities, paychecks, insurance settlements, and utility and rental deposits. Most of this money is unclaimed because the owner moved and simply forgot about the account, changed his or her name, or died. After a period of dormancy, the funds are turned over to state unclaimed property offices. To protect investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a rule in 1997 requiring transfer agents to search for lost security holders, maintain written procedures for searching for lost security holders, and annually report to SEC on the accounts of lost security holders. However, the rule excluded the broker-dealers that are involved in the buying and selling of securities and that hold the vast majority of owners' assets. Legislation was introduced in Congress in 2000 that would have expanded the SEC rule to cover broker-dealers. GAO surveyed broker-dealer and transfer agents survey respondents and found that the number of lost accounts was about two percent of total accounts. …

In this document issued according to Work Release 02. P. 99-lb the results of neutronics studies of <<100%Pu>> MOX LTA design are presented. The parametric studies of infinite MOX-UOX grids, MOX-UOX core fragments and of VVER-1000 core with 3 MOX LTAs are performed. The neutronics parameters of MOX fueled core have been performed for the chosen design MOX LTA using the Russian 3D code BIPR-7A and 2D code PERMAK-A with the constants prepared by the cell spectrum code TVS-M.