A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A U.S. passport allows the owner to travel freely both in and out of the country. Although passport recipients typically travel internationally for business or leisure, some passport recipients are using their passports to commit nefarious illegal activities outside this country. Specifically, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has documented cases of U.S. passport holders engaging in sex acts with children in foreign countries. Federal statutes authorize the Secretary of State to deny issuance of a passport in certain circumstances, such as for a conviction for international drug trafficking or arrearages in child support. GAO was asked to (1) determine, to the extent possible, the number of passport recipients who are registered sex offenders and (2) develop case study examples of passport recipients who are registered sex offenders. To do so, GAO compared fiscal year 2008 passport data from the Department of State (State) to data in DOJ's National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR). GAO also interviewed State officials. GAO selected 30 sex offenders, primarily based on geography, and performed investigations. In response to a draft of this report, DOJ had no comments. State expressed concerns about the …

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This Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) began December 8, 2000 and ended September 30, 2009. The total funding provided by the Participant (General Motors Advanced Technology Vehicles [GM]) during the course of the CRADA totaled $1.2M enabling the Contractor (UT-Battelle, LLC [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a.k.a. ORNL]) to contribute significantly to the joint project. The initial task was to work with GM on the feasibility of developing their conceptual approach of modifying major components of the existing traction inverter/drive to develop low cost, robust, accessory power. Two alternate methods for implementation were suggested by ORNL and both were proven successful through simulations and then extensive testing of prototypes designed and fabricated during the project. This validated the GM overall concept. Moreover, three joint U.S. patents were issued and subsequently licensed by GM. After successfully fulfilling the initial objective, the direction and duration of the CRADA was modified and GM provided funding for two additional tasks. The first new task was to provide the basic development for implementing a cascaded inverter technology into hybrid vehicles (including plug-in hybrid, fuel cell, and electric). The second new task was to continue the basic development for implementing inverter and converter topologies and new …

The purpose of this CRADA was to assist in technology transfer from Russia to the US and assist in development of the technology improvements and applications for use in the U.S. and worldwide. Over the period of this work, ORNL has facilitated design, development and demonstration of a low-pressure liquid extractor and development of initial design for high-pressure supercritical CO2 fluid extractor.

Based on the optimality principle (that the global energy expenditure rate is at its minimum for a given landscape under steady state conditions) and calculus of variations, we have derived a group of partial differential equations for describing steady-state optimal landscapes without explicitly distinguishing between hillslopes and channel networks. Other than building on the well-established Mining's equation, this work does not rely on any empirical relationships (such as those relating hydraulic parameters to local slopes). Using additional constraints, we also theoretically demonstrate that steady-state water depth is a power function of local slope, which is consistent with field data.

This report discusses the most recent developments after the coup in Kyrgyzstan and its aftermath.

This report compares the current federally supported medical screening and treatment program offered to various persons affected by the terrorist attack on New York City on September 11, 2001, with the federal program proposed to be established by Title I of H.R. 847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, as amended and passed by the House of Representatives. The World Trade Center (WTC) Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program (MMTP) and the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) are the specific programs compared in this report.

This report discusses Congressional issues regarding Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, which are integral components of both national policymaking and military operations, including counterterrorism operations. ISR systems are costly and complicated, and the relationships among organizations responsible for designing and operating these systems are equally complicated.

This report is an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East from FY2006 to FY2010, and of the FY2011 budget request. It includes a brief history of aid to the region, a review of foreign aid levels, a description of selected country programs, and an analysis of current foreign aid issues. It will be updated periodically to reflect recent developments.

This report discusses U.S. security assistance to Taiwan (calling itself Republic of China (ROC)), including policy issues for Congress and legislation.

Changing economic and environmental needs of the trucking industry is driving the use of auxiliary power unit (APU) technology for over the road haul trucks. The trucking industry in the United States remains the key to the economy of the nation and one of the major changes affecting the trucking industry is the reduction of engine idling. Delphi Automotive Systems, LLC (Delphi) teamed with heavy-duty truck Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) PACCAR Incorporated (PACCAR), and Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) to define system level requirements and develop an SOFC based APU. The project defines system level requirements, and subsequently designs and implements an optimized system architecture using an SOFC APU to demonstrate and validate that the APU will meet system level goals. The primary focus is on APUs in the range of 3-5 kW for truck idling reduction. Fuels utilized were derived from low-sulfur diesel fuel. Key areas of study and development included sulfur remediation with reformer operation; stack sensitivity testing; testing of catalyst carbon plugging and combustion start plugging; system pre-combustion; and overall system and electrical integration. This development, once fully implemented and commercialized, has the potential to significantly reduce the fuel idling Class 7/8 trucks consume. In addition, the …

This report describes provisions of the Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention relating to living marine resources and discusses how these provisions comport with current U.S. marine policy.

This report is categorized into three categories: (I) The 2003 Rule, (II) The waterkeeper Alliance Decision and EPA's Response and (III) Response to the 2008 Revised Rule.

The objective of this technical report is to analyze the potential for induced seismicity due to a proposed small-scale CO{sub 2} injection project in the Montezuma Hills. We reviewed currently available public information, including 32 years of recorded seismic events, locations of mapped faults, and estimates of the stress state of the region. We also reviewed proprietary geological information acquired by Shell, including seismic reflection imaging in the area, and found that the data and interpretations used by Shell are appropriate and satisfactory for the purpose of this report. The closest known fault to the proposed injection site is the Kirby Hills Fault. It appears to be active, and microearthquakes as large as magnitude 3.7 have been associated with the fault near the site over the past 32 years. Most of these small events occurred 9-17 miles (15-28 km) below the surface, which is deep for this part of California. However, the geographic locations of the many events in the standard seismicity catalog for the area are subject to considerable uncertainty because of the lack of nearby seismic stations; so attributing the recorded earthquakes to motion along any specific fault is also uncertain. Nonetheless, the Kirby Hills Fault is the …

This report discusses moratoria measures for the outer continental shelf (OCS) which establish bans or restrictions on oil and gas exploration and development in federal ocean areas. It includes a background of offshore oil and gas development, the sources of U.S. moratorium policy, the background of ocean governance, U.S. moratoria in international areas, and related issues for congress.

This report provides information on locating military unit histories and individual service records of discharged, retired, and deceased military personnel. It includes contact information for military history centers, websites for additional sources of research, and a bibliography of other publications.

This report describes provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention) relating to living marine resources and discusses how these provisions comport with current U.S. marine policy.