From Introduction: "This report provides a review of the 9/11 Commission recommendations and the status of their implementation at the end of the 109th Congress. The discussions herein are organized on the basis of policy themes that are core of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, rather than a review of every numbered item set out in the Commission's final report."

Certain types of infrastructure--critical infrastructure (CI)--play vital roles in underpinning our economy, security and way of life. These complex and often interconnected systems have become so ubiquitous and essential to day-to-day life that they are easily taken for granted. Often it is only when the important services provided by such infrastructure are interrupted--when we lose easy access to electricity, health care, telecommunications, transportation or water, for example--that we are conscious of our great dependence on these networks and of the vulnerabilities that stem from such dependence. Unfortunately, it must be assumed that many terrorists are all too aware that CI facilities pose high-value targets that, if successfully attacked, have the potential to dramatically disrupt the normal rhythm of society, cause public fear and intimidation, and generate significant publicity. Indeed, revelations emerging at the time of this writing about Al Qaida's efforts to prepare for possible attacks on major financial facilities in New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia remind us just how real and immediate such threats to CI may be. Simply being aware that our nation's critical infrastructure presents terrorists with a plethora of targets, however, does little to mitigate the dangers of CI attacks. In order …

This report gives an overview of the concerns related to financing Federal election campaigning. The contents include Campaign finance practices and policy options to address campaign issues

This report provides information about the Congressional Budget Act Points of Order. Budget Act Points of Order are not self-enforcing. In order to enforce a congressional budget rule, a member must raise a point of order against the legislation violating it.

Turbine blades in coal derived syngas systems are subject to oxidation and corrosion due to high steam temperature and pressure. Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are developed to address these problems. The emphasis is on prime-reliant design and a better coating architecture, having high temperature and corrosion resistance properties for turbine blades. In Phase I, UES Inc. proposed to develop, characterize and optimize a prime reliant TBC system, having smooth and defect-free NiCoCrAlY bond layer and a defect free oxide sublayer, using a filtered arc technology. Phase I work demonstrated the deposition of highly dense, smooth and defect free NiCoCrAlY bond coat on a single crystal CMSX-4 substrate and the deposition of alpha-alumina and yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) sublayer on top of the bond coat. Isothermal and cyclic oxidation test and pre- and post-characterization of these layers, in Phase I work, (with and without top TBC layer of commercial EB PVD YSZ) revealed significant performance enhancement.

Graphical presentations of energy flows are widely used within the industrial sector to depict energy production and use. PNNL developed two energy flow maps, one each for the residential and commercial buildings sectors, in response to a need for a clear, concise, graphical depiction of the flows of energy from source to end-use in the building sector.

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A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act created, in December 2003, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission. Responding to the act's mandate that GAO assess the Commission's effectiveness, this report reviews its progress in (1) developing a national strategy; (2) developing a Web site and hotline; and (3) coordinating federal efforts and promoting partnerships among the federal, state, local, nonprofit, and private sectors. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed Commission documents, interviewed financial literacy representatives, and benchmarked the national strategy against GAO's criteria for such strategies."

The AAA+ proteins are remarkable macromolecules that are able to self-assemble into nanoscale machines. These protein machines play critical roles in many cellular processes, including the processes that manage a cell's genetic material, but the mechanism at the molecular level has remained elusive. We applied computational molecular modeling, combined with advanced sequence analysis and available biochemical and genetic data, to structurally characterize eukaryotic AAA+ proteins and the protein machines they form. With these models we have examined intermolecular interactions in three-dimensions (3D), including both interactions between the components of the AAA+ complexes and the interactions of these protein machines with their partners. These computational studies have provided new insights into the molecular structure and the mechanism of action for AAA+ protein machines, thereby facilitating a deeper understanding of processes involved in DNA metabolism.

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The Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested that the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conduct fish-passage studies at Bonneville Dam in 2005. These studies support the Portland District's goal of maximizing fish-passage efficiency (FPE) and obtaining 95% survival for juvenile salmon passing Bonneville Dam. Major passage routes include 10 turbines and a sluiceway at Powerhouse 1 (B1), an 18-bay spillway, and eight turbines and a sluiceway at Powerhouse 2 (B2). In this report, we present results of two studies related to juvenile salmonid passage at Bonneville Dam. The studies were conducted between April 16 and July 15, 2005, encompassing most of the spring and summer migrations. Studies included evaluations of (1) Project fish passage efficiency and other major passage metrics, and (2) smolt approach and fate at B1 Sluiceway Outlet 3C from the B1 forebay. Some of the large appendices are only presented on the compact disk (CD) that accompanies the final report. Examples include six large comma-separated-variable (.CSV) files of hourly fish passage, hourly variances, and Project operations for spring and summer from Appendix E, and large Audio Video Interleave (AVI) files with DIDSON-movie clips of the area upstream of B1 Sluiceway Outlet 3C (Appendix …

As a part of Bulk vitrification (BV) performance enhancement tasks, Laboratory scoping tests were performed in FY 2004-2005 to explore possible ways to reduce the amount of soluble Tc in the BV waste package. Theses scoping tests helped identify which mechanisms play an important role in the migration of Tc in the BV process (Hrma et al. 2005 and Kim et al. 2005). Based on the results from these scoping tests, additional tests were identified that will improve the understanding of Tc migration and to clearly identify the dominant mechanisms. The additional activities identified from previous studies were evaluated and prioritized for planning for Tasks 29 and 30 conducted in FY2006. Task 29 focused on the improved understanding of Tc migration mechanisms, and Task 30 focused on identifying the potential process changes that might reduce Tc/Re migration into the castable refractory block (CRB). This report summarizes the results from the laboratory- and crucible-scale tests in the lab for improved Tc migration mechanism understanding utilizing Re as a surrogate performed in Task 29.

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To study CdZnTe as a high energy resolution gamma ray detector with a novel new design, and to build a detector array from the new detector design