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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. government controls arms exports by U.S. companies to ensure that such exports are consistent with national security and foreign policy interests. There have been various efforts to change the arms export control system, which is overseen by the State Department. One effort was the Defense Trade Security Initiative of 2000, which was intended to facilitate defense trade with allies in the post-Cold War environment. Given the September 2001 terror attacks, the U.S. government has had to reevaluate whether existing policies support national security and foreign policy goals. In light of the September 2001 attacks, GAO was asked to review several aspects of the arms export control system. Specifically, GAO is providing information on (1) changes in the arms export control system since September 2001 and overall trends in arms export licensing, (2) extent of implementation of or revision to initiatives designed to streamline arms export licensing, and (3) extent of coordination on these initiatives between State and arms export enforcement agencies, as well as enforcement efforts."

The recent work at LLNL on alkali-atom lasers has been remarkably successful and productive. Three main phases (so far) can be identified. First, the concept and demonstration of red lasers using (Ti:sapphire pumping) took place; during this time, Rubidium and Cesium resonance-line lasers were tested, and theoretical models were developed and shown to describe experimental results very reliably. Work done during this first phase has been well documented, and the models from that period are still in use for their predictions and for designing power-scaled lasers. [1 - 3] Second, attempts were made to produce a blue alkali-vapor laser using sequentially-resonant two-step pumping (again, using Ti:sapphire lasers.) Although a blue laser did not result, the physical limitations of our approach are now better-defined. Third, diode-pumped operation of a red laser (Rubidium) was attempted, and we eventually succeeded in demonstrating the world's first diode-pumped gas laser. [4] Because we have a defensible concept for producing an efficient, compact, lightweight, power-scaled laser (tens of kW,) we are in a position to secure outside funding, and would like to find a sponsor. For descriptions of work done during the ''first phase,'' see References [1 - 3] ''Phase two'' work is briefly described in …

This report discusses each of the provisions in Title XI of P.L. 108-136 and plans to implement the law.

This report reviews how the program works and provides analysis of program funding, recipients (numbers and characteristics), and the role being played by the program in the distribution of federal student aid. It concludes with an examination of several Pell-related issues that may be considered by the Congress in the HEA reauthorization process.

This report summarizes key provisions of the FY2005 program guidance, with special attention to differences from the FY2003 and FY2004 editions. This report also discusses issues regarding methods used to allocate federal homeland security assistance and authorized expenditures of homeland security assistance programs, and it analyzes options Congress may wish to consider for resolving those issues.

Responding to concerns that human activities are increasing concentrations of “greenhouse gases” (such as carbon dioxide and methane) in the atmosphere, most nations of the world joined together in 1992 to sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The United States was one of the first nations to ratify this treaty. It included a legally non-binding, voluntary pledge that the major industrialized/developed nations would reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000, and that all nations would undertake voluntary actions to measure, report, and limit greenhouse gas emissions.

This report provides The Background and Issues for Congress on Global Peace Operations Initiative where the Unites Sates have provided considerable support to implement several peace processes.

We are proceeding with the development of a high-energy (10 MeV) neutron imaging system for use as an inspection tool in nuclear stockpile stewardship applications. Our goal is to develop and deploy an imaging system capable of detecting cubic-mm-scale voids, cracks or other significant structural defects in heavily-shielded low-Z materials within nuclear device components. The final production-line system will be relatively compact (suitable for use in existing facilities within the DOE complex) and capable of acquiring both radiographic and tomographic (CT) images. In this report, we will review our recent programmatic accomplishments, focusing primarily on progress made in FY04. The design status of the high-intensity, accelerator-driven neutron source and large-format imaging detector associated with the system will be discussed and results from a recent high-energy neutron imaging experiment conducted at the Ohio University Accelerator Laboratory (OUAL) will also be presented.

This report provides information about the Possible Issues for Congressional Oversight on the Homeland Security Advisory System. The homeland security advisory system is a color-coded terrorist threat warning system administered by the DHS.

The 109th Congress is considering several issues carried over from the 108th Congress related to immigration enforcement and identification-document security. This report analyzes the major provisions of House-passed H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act of 2005. It describes relevant current law relating to immigration and document-security matters, how House-passed H.R. 418 would alter current law if enacted, and the degree to which the bill duplicates existing law.

This report discusses the implementation of United States global food aid in response to tsunamis in the Indian Ocean region, including the FY2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act. Funding and resources are compared based on affected country and previous congressional actions.

This report includes information regarding the relationship between the United States and Lebanon, as well as Lebanon's political profile, and foreign presence in Lebanon

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This report provides short answers to commonly asked questions about military personnel, compensation, and force structure issues related to Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Operation Noble Eagle is the name given to military operations related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies in the wake of the September 11th attacks.

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This report describes a scientific analysis to bound credible horizontal peak ground velocities (PGV) for the repository waste emplacement level at Yucca Mountain. Results are presented as a probability distribution for horizontal PGV to represent uncertainties in the analysis. The analysis also combines the bound to horizontal PGV with results of ground motion site-response modeling (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170027]) to develop a composite hazard curve for horizontal PGV at the waste emplacement level. This result provides input to an abstraction of seismic consequences (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169183]). The seismic consequence abstraction, in turn, defines the input data and computational algorithms for the seismic scenario class of the total system performance assessment (TSPA). Planning for the analysis is documented in Technical Work Plan TWP-MGR-GS-000001 (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171850]). The bound on horizontal PGV at the repository waste emplacement level developed in this analysis complements ground motions developed on the basis of PSHA results. In the PSHA, ground motion experts characterized the epistemic uncertainty and aleatory variability in their ground motion interpretations. To characterize the aleatory variability they used unbounded lognormal distributions. As a consequence of these characterizations, as seismic hazard calculations are extended to lower and lower annual frequencies of being …

The purpose of this report is to document the safety classification of the Yucca Mountain repository structures, systems, and components (SSCs) that are important to safety and to document the identification of natural and engineered barriers and other SSCs important to waste isolation, as described in ''Safety Classification of SSCs and Barriers'' (BSC 2005, Attachment A). This report supports the design and licensing activities for the Yucca Mountain Project.

This project was a joint LDRD project between PAT, CMS and NAI with the objective to develop an instrument that analyzes the biochemical composition of single cells in real-time using bioaerosol mass spectrometry (BAMS) combined with advanced laser desorption and ionization techniques. Applications include both biological defense, fundamental cell biology and biomedical research. BAMS analyzes the biochemical composition of single, micrometer-sized particles (such as bacterial cells or spores) that can be directly sampled from air or a suspension. BAMS is based on an earlier development of aerosol time of flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS) by members of our collaboration [1,2]. Briefly, in ATOFMS and BAMS aerosol particles are sucked directly from the atmosphere into vacuum through a series of small orifices. As the particles approach the ion source region of the mass spectrometer, they cross and scatter light from two CW laser beams separated by a known distance. The timing of the two bursts of scattered light created by each ''tracked'' particle reveals the speed, location and size of the particle. This information then enables the firing of a high-intensity laser such that the resulting laser pulse desorbs and ionizes molecules from the tracked particle just as it reaches the center …

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This report analyzes the processes that aliens must go through to apply for asylum in the United States. It offers a historical overview of legislation concerning immigration as well as an overview of current asylum policy. The report also provides trends on immigration, such as the amount of asylum requests and source countries. Finally, it addresses issues that many have with U.S. asylum law, such as terrorist infiltration, coordination with border and transportation security and numerical limits.

During the two year period of funding we have focused on the following topics: Guiding of microtubule movement on kinesin-coated, structured surfaces, directed assembly of oriented microtubule networks, and the interaction between synthetic materials and biological components in hybrid devices based on microtubules and kinesin motors. Additional efforts have been made and are still on- going in controlling the motor activity, and loading and unloading of cargo. In all aspects, the collaboration with the team at Sandia has been critical. A constant intellectual and material connection has been maintained by frequent visits, videoconferences, and exchanges of parts and supplies, such as microfabricated structures and motor proteins. The scientific advances made through this collaboration have been documented in seven publications in high- impact journals and an encyclopedia, discussed in invited talks at the annual meetings of MRS and ACS, and publicized by journalists in “The Scientist” and “Nature Materials Nanozone”. One double Ph.D. degree in Bioengineering and Nanotechnology has been completed (John Clemmens).

This article talks about the Assistance to Firefighters Program (FIRE) act and how the program assists local fire deparments by issuing federal grants for equipment, training and other firefighter related needs. It also mentions other firefighter related acts.

This report discusses the information related to U.S trade with China, and major U.S - China Trade issues.