Reconciliation is a procedure under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 by which Congress implements budget resolution policies affecting mainly permanent spending and revenue programs. The principal focus in the reconciliation process has been deficit reduction, but in recent years reconciliation has encompassed revenue reduction generally and spending increases in selected program areas. The Byrd rule provides six definitions of what constitutes extraneous matter for purposes of the rule (and several exceptions thereto), but the term is generally described as covering provisions unrelated to achieving the goals of the reconciliation instructions.

This report covers array of lists related to the public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management(BLM) and the national forests managed by the U.S. Forest Service(FS).

In a study designed to provide an improved scientific basis for assessing possible health effects from inhaling depleted uranium (DU) aerosols, a series of DU penetrators was fired at an Abrams tank and a Bradley fighting vehicle. A robust sampling system was designed to collect aerosols in this difficult environment and continuously monitor the sampler flow rates. Aerosols collected were analyzed for uranium concentration and particle size distribution as a function of time. They were also analyzed for uranium oxide phases, particle morphology, and dissolution in vitro. The resulting data provide input useful in human health risk assessments.

The January-March 2004 Quarter was dedicated to tree planting activities in two locations in Kentucky. During year one of this project there was no available mine land to plant in the Hazard area so 107 acres were planted in the Martin county mine location. This year 120 acres was planted in the Hazard area to compensate for the prior year and an additional 57 acres was planted on Peabody properties in western Kentucky. An additional set of special plots were established on each of these areas that contained 4800 seedlings each for special carbon sequestration determinations. Plantings were also conducted to continue compaction and water quality studies on two newly established areas as well as confirmed measurements on the first years plantings. Total plantings on this project now amount to 357 acres containing 245,960 tree seedlings.

The heavy-ion fusion (HIF) community recently developed a power-plant design that meets the various requirements of accelerators, final focus, chamber transport, and targets. The point design is intended to minimize physics risk and is certainly not optimal for the cost of electricity. Recent chamber-transport simulations, however, indicate that changes in the beam ion species, the convergence angle, and the emittance might allow more-economical designs.

Expanded details and additional results are presented on two methods for estimating fracture orientation and density in subsurface reservoirs from scattered seismic wavefield signals. In the first, fracture density is estimated from the wavenumber spectra of the integrated amplitudes of the scattered waves as a function of offset in pre-stack data. Spectral peaks correctly identified the 50m, 35m, and 25m fracture spacings from numerical model data using a 40Hz source wavelet. The second method, referred to as the Transfer Function-Scattering Index Method, is based upon observations from 3D finite difference modeling that regularly spaced, discrete vertical fractures impart a ringing coda-type signature to any seismic energy that is transmitted through or reflected off of them. This coda energy is greatest when the acquisition direction is parallel to the fractures, the seismic wavelengths are tuned to the fracture spacing, and when the fractures have low stiffness. The method uses surface seismic reflection traces to derive a transfer function, which quantifies the change in an apparent source wavelet propagating through a fractured interval. The transfer function for an interval with low scattering will be more spike-like and temporally compact. The transfer function for an interval with high scattering will ring and be …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress established the child support enforcement program in 1975 to ensure that parents financially supported their children. State agencies administer the program and the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human Services oversees it. In 2002, state agencies collected over $20 billion in child support, but $657 million in collections from 2002 and previous years were undistributed--funds that were delayed or never reached families. One method used to collect child support, intercepting federal tax refunds, involves all state agencies, OCSE, and two Department of the Treasury agencies--the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Financial Management Service (FMS). GAO was asked to address (1) how the total amount of undistributed collections changed over the years, (2) the causes of undistributed collections, (3) states' efforts to reduce these funds, and (4) OCSE's efforts to assist states. GAO analyzed OCSE data, administered a survey, visited 6 state agencies and interviewed officials."

This report provides a quantitative framework for policy considerations dealing with U.S. trade with China. It provides basic data and analysis of China’s international trade with the United States and other countries. Since Chinese data differ considerably from those of its trading partners (because of how entrepot trade through Hong Kong is counted), data from both PRC sources and those of its trading partners are presented. Charts showing import trends by sector for the United States highlight China’s growing market shares in many industries and also show import shares for Japan, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, and the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN ).

My graduate research has focused on separation science and bioanalytical analysis, which emphasized in method development. It includes three major areas: enantiomeric separations using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Super/subcritical fluid chromatography (SFC), and capillary electrophoresis (CE); drug-protein binding behavior studies using CE; and carbohydrate analysis using liquid chromatograph-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS). Enantiomeric separations continue to be extremely important in the pharmaceutical industry. An in-depth evaluation of the enantiomeric separation capabilities of macrocyclic glycopeptides CSPs with SFC mobile phases was investigated using a set of over 100 chiral compounds. It was found that the macrocyclic based CSPs were able to separate enantiomers of various compounds with different polarities and functionalities. Seventy percent of all separations were achieved in less than 4 min due to the high flow rate (4.0 ml/min) that can be used in SFC. Drug-protein binding is an important process in determining the activity and fate of a drug once it enters the body. Two drug/protein systems have been studied using frontal analysis CE method. More sensitive fluorescence detection was introduced in this assay, which overcame the problem of low sensitivity that is common when using UV detection for drug-protein studies. In addition, the first usage of …

This project had 3 objectives: (1) to determine the kinetic factors governing inclusion removal from liquid steels at a slag metal interface; (2) to develop a methodology to enable steels of less than 1 ppm total oxygen to be produced with an average inclusion diameter of less than 5 {micro}m; and, (3) to determine the slag-metal interface conditions necessary for ultra clean steels. In objectives 1, and 3, the major finding was that dissolution rates of solid particles in slags were found to be significant in both ladle and tundish slags and must be included in a model to predict steel cleanliness. The work towards objective 2 indicated that liquid steel temperature was a very significant factor in our understanding of clean steel potential and that undercooled steels equilibrated with low oxygen potential inert gases have the potential to be significantly cleaner than current steels. Other work indicated that solidification front velocity could be used to push particles to produce clean steels and that reoxidation must be severely curtailed to allow the potential for clean steels to be realized.

Currently the sales of clothes washers in China consist ofseveral general varieties. Some use more energy (with or withoutincluding hot water energy use) and some use more water. Both energy andwater are in short supply in China. This poses the question - how do youtrade off water versus energy in establishing efficiency standards? Thispaper discusses how China dealt with this situation and how itestablished minimum efficiency standards for clothes washers.

Two process schemes have been investigated by us for the use of hydrotalcites we prepared as CO{sub 2} adsorbents to enhance water gas shift (WGS) reaction: Case I involves the adsorption enhanced WGS packed bed reactor and Case II involves the adsorption enhanced WGS membrane reactor. Both cases will achieve the same objective as the hydrotalcite membrane reactor: i.e., improving the WGS reactor efficiency via the concomitant removal of CO{sub 2} for sequestration. In this report a detailed investigation of the design characteristics and performance of Case II, termed the Hybrid Adsorbent-Membrane Reactor (HAMR), is presented. The HAMR system includes a packed-bed catalytic membrane reactor (hydrogen selective) coupling the WGS reaction (in a porous hydrogen selective membrane) with CO{sub 2} removal with an adsorbent in the permeate side. The reactor characteristics have been investigated for a range of permeance and selectivity relevant to the aforementioned application. The HAMR system shows enhanced CO conversion, hydrogen yield, and product purity, and provides good promise for reducing the hostile operating conditions of conventional WGS reactors, and for meeting the CO{sub 2} sequestration objective. In the next quarterly report we will present the simulation result for Case I as well as the progress on …

This work focuses on developing a scientific understanding of the processes associated with NO{sub x} trap operation. NO{sub x} traps are the most advanced technology for achieving future emissions standards with diesel engines. Successful development of NO{sub x} traps will allow widespread use of diesel engines in light-duty vehicles, reducing oil imports by as much as 60%. Diesel engines have a high efficiency and low maintenance that makes them the ideal choice for transportation applications. Use of diesel engines in all light-duty vehicles would reduce oil consumption in the USA by 30% and oil imports by 60%, considerably improving our energy security. For heavy trucks, there is no viable alternative to diesel engines. Only diesel engines can provide the necessary high efficiency and long life. These benefits are offset by high emission of pollutants. Diesel engines have high emissions of NO{sub x} and particulate matter. Over the last 20 years, EPA has been reducing allowable emissions from diesel engines, and NO{sub x} emissions are scheduled to be cut by a factor of 10 over the next 7 years. The target NO{sub x} emissions for year 2010 is 0.20 g/hp-hr. This value is well below 1 g/hp-hr, which has been identified …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Providing readily accessible health information on veterans and active duty military personnel is highly essential to ensuring that these individuals are given quality health care and assistance in adjudicating disability claims. Moreover, ready access to health information is consistent with the President's recently announced intention to provide electronic health records for most Americans within 10 years. In an attempt to improve the sharing of health information, the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Defense (DOD) have been working, since 1998, toward the ability to exchange electronic health records for use by veterans, military personnel, and their health care providers. In testimony before Congress last November and again this past March, GAO discussed the progress being made by the departments in this endeavor. While a measure of success has been achieved--the one-way transfer of health data from DOD to VA health care facilities--identifying the technical solution for a two-way exchange, as part of a longer term HealthePeople (Federal) initiative, has proven elusive. At Congress's request, GAO reported on its continuing review of the departments' progress toward this goal of an electronic two-way exchange of patient health records."

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This report provides current and historical information on the budget resolution. It provides a list of the budget resolutions adopted and rejected by Congress since implementation of the CBA, including the U.S. Statutes-at-Large citations and committee report numbers, and describes their formulation and content. The report provides a table of selected optional components, a list of reconciliation measures, and information on the number of years covered by budget resolutions. It also provides information on the consideration and adoption of budget resolutions, including an identification of the House special rules that provided for consideration of budget resolutions; the amendments in the nature of a substitute to the budget resolution considered in the House; the number and disposition of House and Senate amendments to budget resolutions; and dates of House and Senate action on budget resolutions.

This report identifies ways to locate the texts of the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence in various formats, from sources such as the U.S. Government Printing Office, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Historical Documents Company, the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and the Law Library of Congress. It also lists Internet addresses where applicable.

We present results of near infrared imaging of the disk-galaxy-merger NGC 6240 using adaptive optics on the Keck II Telescope and reprocessed archival data from NICMOS on the Hubble Space Telescope. Both the North and South nuclei of NGC 6240 are clearly elongated, with considerable sub-structure within each nucleus. In K' band there are at least two point-sources within the North nucleus; we tentatively identify the south-western point-source within the North nucleus as the position of one of the two AGNs. Within the South nucleus, the northern subnucleus is more highly reddened. Based upon the nuclear separation measured at 5 GHz, we suggest that the AGN in the South nucleus is still enshrouded in dust at K' band, and is located slightly to the north of the brightest point in K' band. Within the South nucleus there is strong H{sub 2} 1-0 S(1) line emission from the northern sub-nucleus, contrary to the conclusions of previous seeing-limited observations. Narrowband H{sub 2} emission-line images show that a streamer or ribbon of excited molecular hydrogen connects the North and South nuclei. We suggest that this linear feature corresponds to a bridge of gas connecting the two nuclei, as seen in computer simulations of …

Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are based on the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). COLAs for both CSRS and FERS are determined by the average monthly CPI-W during the third quarter (July to September) of the current calendar year and the third quarter of the previous year.

The primary focus of the doctoral research presented herein has been the integration of temperature control into electrochemically modulated liquid chromatography (EMLC). The combination of temperature control and the tunable characteristics of carbonaceous EMLC stationary phases have been invaluable in deciphering the subtleties of the retention mechanism. The effects of temperature and E{sub app} on the retention of several naphthalene disulfonates were therefore examined by the van' Hoff relationship. The results indicate that while the retention of both compounds is exothermic at levels comparable to that in many reversed-phase separations, the potential dependence of the separation is actually entropically affected in a manner paralleling that of several classical ion exchange systems. Furthermore, the retention of small inorganic anions at constant temperature also showed evidence of an ion exchange type of mechanism. While a more complete mechanistic description will come from examining the thermodynamics of retention for a wider variety of analytes, this research has laid the groundwork for full exploitation of temperature as a tool to develop retention rules for EMLC. Operating EMLC at elevated temperature and flow conditions has decreased analysis time and has enabled the separation of analytes not normally achievable on a carbon stationary phase. The separation …

Thermal expansion (TE) and magnetostriction (MS) measurements have been conducted for Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} with a series of x values to study its critical behavior in the vicinity of transition temperatures. It was found that the Curie temperature of Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} for x 0 {approx} 0.5 is dependent on magnetic field, direction of change of temperature (Tc on cooling was lower than Tc on heating), purity of Gd starting material, compositions, material preparation methods, and also can be triggered by the external magnetic field with a different dT/dB rate for different x values. For Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub 1.95}Ge{sub 2.05}), Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}), Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub 2.09}Ge{sub 1.91}), it was also found that the transition is a first order magneto-structural transition, which means the magnetic transition and crystalline structure transition occur simultaneously, and completely reversible. Temperature hysteresis and phase coexistence have been found to confirm that it is a first order transformation. While for Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub 0.15}Ge{sub 3.85}), it is partially reversible at some temperature range between the antiferromagnetic and the ferromagnetic state. For Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub 2.3}Ge{sub 1.7}) and Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub 3}Ge{sub 1}), it was a second order transformation between the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic state, because no …

This report discusses the debate surrounding the Davis-Bacon Act (1931, as amended), which requires, among other things, that not less than the locally-prevailing wage be paid to workers employed in federal contract construction. Through recent decades, the Act has become a continuing source of contention, particularly regarding its impacts, whether it should be modified, strengthened, or repealed, and if it is being administered effectively.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Missing among the Department of Defense's (DOD) portfolio of systems is a capability to track stationary and moving enemy vehicles on land or at sea in any type of weather, day or night, from space. To meet this need, DOD and the intelligence community are collaborating on the ambitious Space-Based Radar (SBR) program. By leveraging the newest generation of radar technologies, the SBR concept promises to deliver high-quality data to a wide array of users. DOD intends to start product development in 2006 and to field SBR satellites as quickly as possible so that warfighters, the intelligence community, and national decision makers can gain a better understanding of what adversaries are doing in specific locations around the world. GAO reviewed the SBR program to assess DOD's progress in attaining the knowledge it needs by 2006 in terms of customer needs (or requirements) and resources."

The Motional Stark Effect (MSE) diagnostic is unique in its ability to measure the current profile and will be essential in ITER for detailed analysis of Advanced Tokamak (AT) and other types of discharges. However, design of a MSE diagnostic for ITER presents many unique challenges. Among these is optical analysis for the convoluted optical path, required for effective neutron shielding, that employs several reflective optics arranged to form a labyrinth. The geometry of the diagnostic has been laid out and the expected Doppler shifts and channel resolution calculated. A model of the optical train has also been developed based on the Mueller matrix formalism. Unfolding the pitch angle for this complicated geometry is not straightforward and possible methods are evaluated. The CORSICA code is used to model a variety of ITER discharges including start-up, Ipramp and reverse shear. The code also incorporates a synthetic MSE diagnostic that can be used to evaluate different viewing locations and optimize channel locations for the above discharges. Simulation of the optical emission spectrum is also underway.