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open access

2014 Annual Report: Additional Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ".fancybox-wrap{width:760px !important;} .fancybox-inner{width:740px !important;} .fancybox-skin{padding-left:0;} html,body{overflow-x:hidden !important;}"
Date: April 8, 2014
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
open access

2014 Farm Bill Provisions and WTO Compliance

Description: From Introduction: "This report describes the relevant WTO rules governing domestic support programs under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM). This report then reviews the current U.S. farm safety net programs, including changes made under the 2014 farm bill, particularly to Title I price and income support programs, in light of their potential for compliance with the AoA and SCM and their potential to affect the success of the cu… more
Date: December 8, 2014
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
open access

Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding

Description: This report discusses the firefighting activities that are traditionally the responsibility of states and local communities. The report also talks about the funding for firefighters, which is provided mostly by state and local governments. However, during the 106th Congress, many in the fire community asserted that local fire departments require and deserve greater support from the federal government.
Date: July 8, 2014
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
open access

Aviation Safety: FAA Should Improve Usability of its Online Application System and Clarity of the Pilot's Medical Form

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Aerospace medical experts GAO interviewed generally agreed that the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) medical standards are appropriate and supported FAA's recent data-driven efforts to improve its pilot medical-certification process. Each year, about 400,000 candidates apply for a pilot's medical certificate and complete a medical exam to determine whether they meet FAA's medical standards. From … more
Date: April 8, 2014
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
open access

Congress's Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure

Description: This report examines the source of the contempt power, reviews the historical development of the early case law, outlines the statutory and common law basis for Congress's contempt power, and analyzes the procedures associated with inherent contempt, criminal contempt, and the civil enforcement of subpoenas. It also includes a detailed discussion of two recent information access disputes that led to the approval of contempt citations in the House against then-White House Chief of Staff Joshua B… more
Date: May 8, 2014
Creator: Garvey, Todd & Dolan, Alissa M.
open access

The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11

Description: Congress has approved appropriations for the past 13 years of war that total $1.6 trillion for military operations, base support, weapons maintenance, training of Afghan and Iraq security forces, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans' health care for the war operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks. This report discusses the Department of Defense's FY2015 war request and various issues for Congress regarding the funding of the war on terror.
Date: December 8, 2014
Creator: Belasco, Amy
open access

Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources, by Topic

Description: This report provides references to analytical reports on cybersecurity from the Congressional Research Service, other government agencies, trade associations, and interest groups. In addition, the report lists selected cybersecurity-related websites for congressional and government agencies, news, international organizations, and organizations or institutions.
Date: January 8, 2014
Creator: Tehan, Rita
open access

Development of Novel Sorbents for Uranium Extraction from Seawater

Description: As the uranium resource in terrestrial ores is limited, it is difficult to ensure a long-term sustainable nuclear energy technology. The oceans contain approximately 4.5 billion tons of uranium, which is one thousand times the amount of uranium in terrestrial ores. Development of technologies to recover the uranium from seawater would greatly improve the uranium resource availability, sustaining the fuel supply for nuclear energy. Several methods have been previously evaluated including solvent… more
Date: January 8, 2014
Creator: Lin, Wenbin & Taylor-Pashow, Kathryn
open access

Dynamic Scoring for Tax Legislation: A Review of Models

Description: This report first explains dynamic scoring, including the types of effects incorporated and the types of models used, as well as what groups conduct or have conducted macroeconomic analysis of tax changes. The following section discusses the specific issues associated with tax reform. The final section discusses general issues surrounding the use of various models and reviews the empirical evidence on supply side responses.
Date: June 8, 2014
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
open access

Ebola: 2014 Outbreak in West Africa

Description: This report gives a overview of the West African Ebola outbreak that began in March, 2014. The report discusses the nature of the disease as well as local and international responses to it. The report also briefly examines U.S policy and congressional actions in the wake of the outbreak.
Date: August 8, 2014
Creator: Cook, Nicolas & Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji
open access

EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?

Description: This report provides background information on EPA regulatory activity during the Obama Administration to help address these issues. It examines major or controversial regulatory actions taken by or under development at the Environmental Protection Agency since January 2009. The report includes tables that show which rules remain under development, and an appendix that describes major or controversial rules that are now final.
Date: July 8, 2014
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Copeland, Claudia
open access

EPA's Vessel General Permit: Background and Issues

Description: This report is an overview of the revised Vessel General Permit (VGP) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and two key issues: inclusion of numeric performance standards to limit ballast water discharges from vessels, and controversies about the role of states in regulating vessel discharges.
Date: January 8, 2014
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
open access

Estimating Residual Solids Volume In Underground Storage Tanks

Description: The Savannah River Site liquid waste system consists of multiple facilities to safely receive and store legacy radioactive waste, treat, and permanently dispose waste. The large underground storage tanks and associated equipment, known as the 'tank farms', include a complex interconnected transfer system which includes underground transfer pipelines and ancillary equipment to direct the flow of waste. The waste in the tanks is present in three forms: supernatant, sludge, and salt. The supernata… more
Date: January 8, 2014
Creator: Clark, Jason L.; Worthy, S. Jason; Martin, Bruce A. & Tihey, John R.
open access

Evaluation Of Sludge Heel Dissolution Efficiency With Oxalic Acid Cleaning At Savannah River Site

Description: The chemical cleaning process baseline strategy at the Savannah River Site was revised to improve efficiency during future execution of the process based on lessons learned during previous bulk oxalic acid cleaning activities and to account for operational constraints imposed by safety basis requirements. These improvements were also intended to transcend the difficulties that arise from waste removal in higher rheological yield stress sludge tanks. Tank 12 implemented this improved strategy an… more
Date: January 8, 2014
Creator: Sudduth, Christie; Vitali, Jason & Keefer, Mark
open access

Evapotranspiration And Geochemical Controls On Groundwater Plumes At Arid Sites: Toward Innovative Alternate End-States For Uranium Processing And Tailings Facilities

Description: Management of legacy tailings/waste and groundwater contamination are ongoing at the former uranium milling site in Tuba City AZ. The tailings have been consolidated and effectively isolated using an engineered cover system. For the existing groundwater plume, a system of recovery wells extracts contaminated groundwater for treatment using an advanced distillation process. The ten years of pump and treat (P&T) operations have had minimal impact on the contaminant plume – primarily due to geoche… more
Date: January 8, 2014
Creator: Looney, Brian B.; Denham, Miles E.; Eddy-Dilek, Carol A.; Millings, Margaret R. & Kautsky, Mark
open access

Federal Inspectors General: History, Characteristics, and Recent Congressional Actions

Description: This report discusses federal inspectors general (IGs), who are authorized to combat waste, fraud, and abuse within their affiliated federal entities. To execute their missions, offices of inspector general (OIGs) conduct and publish audits and investigations--among other duties. Two major enactments--the Inspector General Act of 1978 and its amendments of 1988 (codified at 5 U.S.C. Appendix)--established federal IGs as permanent, nonpartisan, and independent offices in more than 70 federal age… more
Date: December 8, 2014
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy & Greene, Michael
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