This report first outlines the statutes authorizing certain federal officers to conduct warrantless searches. It then addresses the scope of the government's constitutional authority to search and seize persons and property at the border. It also describes the varying levels of suspicion generally required for each type of border search as interpreted by the courts. Finally, this report lists several bills before the 111th Congress that address border searches. This report does not address interior searches and seizures performed by immigration personnel since they are not traditional "border searches."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Reverse mortgages--a type of loan against the borrower's home that is available to seniors--are growing in popularity. However, concerns have emerged about the adequacy of consumer protections for this product. Most reverse mortgages are made under the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program. HUD insures the mortgages, which are made by private lenders, and oversees the agencies that provide mandatory counseling to prospective HECM borrowers. GAO was asked to examine issues and federal activities related to (1) the potential benefits and costs of HECMs to borrowers, (2) misleading HECM marketing, (3) the sale of potentially unsuitable products in conjunction with HECMs, and (4) oversight of HECM counseling providers. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed program rules; examined HECM advertisements; analyzed consumer complaint data; performed limited tests of HUD's internal controls; and interviewed HECM borrowers and agency, industry, and nonprofit officials."

This report discusses the questionnaire for the IOGENE Project. From September 26, 2008 through June 26, 2009, an online survey questionnaire captured both demographic data from Portal visitors as well as their opinions regarding the utility of the Portal and their satisfaction with it. The objective of this data collection effort was twofold: to characterize Portal users and to establish baseline measurements for user satisfaction. The survey will be repeated following each of two planned releases of the redesigned Portal, one in the summer of 2009 and the second in the fall of 2009. Comparison of future survey results to the baseline results reported in this paper will be one gauge of the success of the IOGENE project.

This report discusses the status of current federally-funded innovation inducement prizes, addresses the different types of prizes, analyzes when prizes may be appropriate and effective, and summarizes assessments that have been made of their effectiveness. The report also provides the lessons that may be learned from completed competitions, and policy options for those Members of Congress interested in taking action regarding federally-funded innovation inducement prizes. The report concludes with an overview of 111th congressional activities regarding prizes.

This report provides an overview of current U.S. international science and technology (S&T) policy; describes the role of the Department of State (DOS), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other federal agencies; and discusses possible policy options for Congress. It focuses on international science and technology diplomacy, where American leadership in science and technology is used as a diplomatic tool to enhance other country's development and to improve understanding by other nations of U.S. values and ways of doing business.

As has been the case with most of the world's economies, the Russian economy has been hit hard by the current global financial crisis. Even before the financial crisis, however, Russia was showing signs of economic problems. Russian economic policies and performance raise important policy questions for the United States and the U.S.-Russian relationship which this report addresses. Might Russia's robust economic growth return? Is an economically strong Russia a threat or benefit to the United States? Is Russia following economic strategies that promote a market economy that underlies the international trade system manifested in the World Trade Organization?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers several permanently authorized programs to help farmers recover financially from a natural disaster, including federal crop insurance, the noninsured assistance program (NAP), and emergency disaster loans. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (otherwise known as the 2008 farm bill) includes authorization and funding for crop disaster programs, livestock assistance programs, and a tree assistance program. The new programs are designed to address the ad hoc nature of disaster assistance provided to producers during the last two decades.

This report describes the relationship between the United States and the Sultanate of Oman, especially with respect to Oman's support of U.S. efforts toward peace in the Middle East, the U.S. free trade agreement with Oman, and Oman's relatively close relations with Iran, the last of which seems incongruous with the other positive aspects of Oman's relationship with the U.S.

This report discusses the current political and foreign policy status of Morocco, especially with regard to its relationship with the United States and its struggles combating terrorism.

The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was established in 2007 to replace the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). This effort is designed " ... to support, promote, and accelerate innovation in the United States through highrisk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need," according to the authorizing legislation. Grants are provided to small and medium-sized firms for individual projects or joint ventures with other research organizations. The elimination of ATP and the creation of TIP have renewed the debate over the role of the federal government in promoting commercial technology development. This report discusses the opposing sides of this ongoing debate.

This report discusses the governmental structure and current political state of Tunisia, as well as additional general information regarding Tunisia's economy and dealings with terrorist groups. This report also describes the U.S.-Tunisian relationship in brief.

The nation's trade deficit is equal to the imbalance between national investment and national saving. The financial turmoil and economic contraction during 2008 reduced the gap between national saving and investment. The result was a decline in the trade deficit and the net inflow of capital. If total net capital inflows decline, mainstream economics suggests, all else held constant, that the dollar and trade deficit would decline, U.S. interest rates would rise, and U.S. spending on capital goods and consumer durables would fall, all else equal.

Iraq's political system, the result of a U.S.-supported election process, is increasingly characterized by peaceful competition rather than violence, but sectarianism and ethnic and factional infighting continue to simmer. This report discusses the current state of Iraq, concentrating primarily on the actions of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, efforts underway to combat sectarian violence, and the projected U.S. troop withdrawal by August 2010.

This report provides a brief overview of The Hollings Manufacturing Partnership (MEP), which is a program of regional centers set up to assist small and medium-sized manufacturing companies use knowledge and technologies developed under the auspices of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

This report discusses in detail the America COMPETES Act, which is intended to increase the nation's investment in research and development (R&D), and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This report discusses the funding increases authorized by the act for various relevant institutions, e.g., the National Science Foundation (NSF); the act's education activities intended to enhance the skills of STEM educators; and if Congress will continue to similarly fund the America COMPETES Act in the FY2010 budget.

This report provides an overview of the role of foreign governments on financing the U.S. trade deficit.

Borosilicate glass was selected as the baseline technology for immobilization of the Cs/Sr/Ba/Rb (Cs), lanthanide (Ln) and transition metal fission product (TM) waste steams as part of a cost benefit analysis study.[1] Vitrification of the combined waste streams have several advantages, minimization of the number of waste forms, a proven technology, and similarity to waste forms currently accepted for repository disposal. A joint study was undertaken by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to develop acceptable glasses for the combined Cs + Ln + TM waste streams (Option 1) and Cs + Ln combined waste streams (Option 2) generated by the AFCI UREX+ set of processes. This study is aimed to develop baseline glasses for both combined waste stream options and identify key waste components and their impact on waste loading. The elemental compositions of the four-corners study were used along with the available separations data to determine the effect of burnup, decay, and separations variability on estimated waste stream compositions.[2-5] Two different components/scenarios were identified that could limit waste loading of the combined Cs + LN + TM waste streams, where as the combined Cs + LN waste stream has no single component that …

Reconciliation detail with an ending balance of $6,230.35 for the period ending on June 29, 2009.

Reconciliation summary with an ending account balance of $6,230.35 for the period ending on June 29, 2009.

A series of 29 test glass compositions were selected for Phase III of the nepheline study using a combination of two approaches. The first approach was based on evaluating the glass composition region allowable by all of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Product Composition Control System (PCCS) models with the exception of the current nepheline discriminator. This approach was taken to determine whether there are glass compositions that, while predicted to crystallize nepheline upon slow cooling, would otherwise be acceptable for processing in the DWPF. The second approach was based on quasicrystalline theory of glass structure, which helped predict compositional regions where nepheline should form. A detailed description of this methodology is forthcoming. The selection strategy outlined here will provide an opportunity to determine experimentally whether the glasses that fail the current nepheline discriminator but pass the newly proposed nepheline discriminator are indeed free of nepheline after slow cooling. If this is the case, these data will serve as a significant step toward reducing conservatism in the current nepheline discriminator. The 29 glass compositions selected for testing address both the PCCS model and quasicrystalline theory approaches in evaluating both a reduction in conservatism for the current nepheline discriminator and …

The goal of the project 'State Research, Outreach and Technical Assistance to Improve the Nation's Transmission and Distribution Systems' was for the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) to partner with the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL), and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) to assist DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) in its effort to modernize and expand America's electric delivery system. NASEO focused on key transmission and distribution issues where coordination between the federal and state governments was critical. Throughout the duration of this program, NASEO engaged in monthly coordination - occasionally more often - with NGA, NCSL and NARUC. NASEO staff and General Counsel Jeff Genzer also had regular face-to-face meetings, phone calls and emails with OE staff to learn from DOE and share information and feedback from the state energy offices on transmission and distribution. To commence work on this project, NASEO met with OE, NGA, NCSL and NARUC in January 2005 and remained committed to regular communications with all involved entities throughout the duration of this project. NASEO provided comments and analysis to the other partners on deliverable reports …

LSI’s fuel cell uses efficient Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (“SOFC”) technology, is manufactured using Micro Electrical Mechanical System (“MEMS”) fabrication methods, and runs on high energy fuels, such as butane and ethanol. The company’s Fuel Cell on a Chip™ technology enables a form-factor battery replacement for portable electronic devices that has the potential to provide an order-of-magnitude run-time improvement over current batteries. Further, the technology is clean and environmentally-friendly. This Department of Energy funded project focused on accelerating the commercialization and market introduction of this technology through improvements in fuel cell chip power output, lifetime, and manufacturability.

The Carbon Management Strategic Initiative (CMSI) is a lab-wide initiative to position the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) as a leader in science, technology and policy analysis required to understand, mitigate and adapt to global climate change as a nation. As part of an effort to walk the talk in the field of carbon management, PNNL conducted its first carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions inventory for the 2007 calendar year. The goal of this preliminary inventory is to provide PNNL staff and management with a sense for the relative impact different activities at PNNL have on the lab’s total carbon footprint.

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