This report discusses the 2008 Farm Bill, which contains two tax-related proposals for the Conservation Reserve Program.

The report discusses the 2008 farm bill (H.R. 2419), covering a wide range of programs including The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, farm credit, agricultural conservation, research, rural development, and foreign and domestic food programs, among others.

sodium battery heat release parameters were determined experimentally

This report is a compilation of work done over the past ten years in support of phase stability studies of Alloy 22 for the Yucca Mountain Project and contains information previously published, reported, and referenced. Most sections are paraphrased here for the convenience of readers. Evaluation of the fabrication processes involved in the manufacture of waste containers is important as these processes can have an effect on the metallurgical structure of an alloy. Because material properties such as strength, toughness, aging kinetics and corrosion resistance are all dependent on the microstructure, it is important that prototypes be built and evaluated for processing effects on the performance of the material. Of particular importance are welds, which have an as-cast microstructure with chemical segregation and precipitation of complex phases resulting from the welding process. The work summarized in this report contains information on the effects of fabrication processes such as solution annealing, stress mitigation, heat-to-heat variability, and welding on the kinetics of precipitation, mechanical, and corrosion properties. For a waste package lifetime of thousands of years, it is impossible to test directly in the laboratory the behavior of Alloy 22 under expected repository conditions. The changes that may occur in these materials …

This report discusses the ongoing major USDA disaster programs designed to help crop producers recover from the financial effects of natural disasters — federal crop insurance, noninsured assistance program (NAP) payments, and emergency disaster loans.

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. This report outlines the various agricultural disaster assistance appropriations included in the FY2007 Iraq war supplemental appropriations act; the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; the 2008 farm bill; and the FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations Act.

This report summarizes some of the domestic agriculture and forestry provisions in the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008 (S. 3036, formerly S. 2191), as ordered reported out of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in December 2007.

This report examines the current state of Algeria, including the country's associations with terrorism, despite steady decreases of domestic terrorism; the lessening in power of the Algerian military; and growing oil revenues.

A local linear theory is proposed for a perpendicularly propagating drift instability driven by relative drifts between electrons and ions. The theory takes into account local cross-field current, pressure gradients and modest collisions as in the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) [10]. The unstable waves have very small group velocities in the direction of the pressure gradient, but have a large phase velocity near the relative drift velocity between electrons and ions in the direction of cross-field current. By taking into account the electron-ion collisions and applying the theory in the Harris sheet, we establish that this instability could be excited near the center of the Harris sheet and have enough efoldings to grow to large amplitude before it propagates out of the unstable region. Comparing with the other magnetic reconnection related instabilities (LHDI, MTSI et.) studied previously, we believe the instability we find is a favorable candidate to produce anomalous resistivity because of its unique wave characteristics, such as electromagnetic component, large phase velocity, and small group velocity in the cross current layer direction.

This report briefly discusses the Arab League's boycott of Israeli companies and Israeli-made goods since Israel's founding in 1948, as well as U.S. efforts to end the boycott and prevent U.S. firms in participating in the boycott.

Concerns about potential disruptions in U.S. trade flows due to a global health or security risk are not new. The possibility of an avian flu pandemic with consequences for global trade is a concern that has received more attention recently, although some experts believe there is little cause for alarm. Experts disagree on the likelihood of an avian flu pandemic developing at all. This report considers possible trade disruptions, including possible impacts on trade between the United States and countries and regions that have reported avian influenza infections. These disruptions could include countries banning imported goods from infected regions at the onset of the pandemic, de facto bans due to protective health measures, or supply-side constraints caused by health crises in exporting countries.

This report discusses Selected Issues in Patent Policy and the Commercialization of Technology regarding the Bayh-Dole Act.Congressional interest in facilitating U.S. technological innovation led to the passage of P.L. 96-517, Amendments to the Patent and Trademark Act(commonly reffered to ad the Bayh-Dole Act after its two main sponsor).This report discusses the rationale behind the passage of P.L. 96-517, its provsions, and Implementation of the law.

This report reviews the evolution of veterans' education benefit programs and describes the types of education benefits that have been made available under these programs. The first section provides an historical overview of education benefits for military veterans, beginning with the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of Rights). The second section is an analysis of the estimated value of veterans' education benefits relative to average college prices. This section focuses on the estimated value of veterans' education benefits and college prices at four-year public and private institutions, and two-year public institutions. The final section briefly examines the interaction between veterans' education benefits and federal student aid benefits authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended.

Ti-6Al-4V alloys are being considered as a positron producing target in the Next Linear Collider, with an incident photon beam and operating temperatures between room temperature and 300 C. Calculations of displacement damage in Ti-6Al-4V alloys have been performed by combining high-energy particle FLUKA simulations with SPECTER calculations of the displacement cross section from the resulting energy-dependent neutron flux plus the displacements calculated from the Lindhard model from the resulting energy-dependent ion flux. The radiation damage calculations have investigated two cases, namely the damage produced in a Ti-6Al-4V SLAC positron target where the irradiation source is a photon beam with energies between 5 and 11 MeV. As well, the radiation damage dose in displacements per atom, dpa, has been calculated for a mono-energetic 196 MeV proton irradiation experiment performed at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BLIP experiment). The calculated damage rate is 0.8 dpa/year for the Ti-6Al-4V SLAC photon irradiation target, and a total damage exposure of 0.06 dpa in the BLIP irradiation experiment. In both cases, the displacements are predominantly ({approx}80%) produced by recoiling ions (atomic nuclei) from photo-nuclear collisions or proton-nuclear collisions, respectively. Approximately 25% of the displacement damage results from the neutrons in both cases. Irradiation effects studies in …

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This report consists of changes to the OMB regulatory review process by executive order 13422. It further discusses about Regulatory Planning and Review Under E.O. 12866.

This report discusses how in 1978 Congress enacted the Indian Child Welfare act (ICWA) in response to legislative findings of harm caused to Indian children, their families, and tribes by the high separation rate of Indian Children from their homes and cultural environments.

This report provides an overview of China's economic development, challenges China faces to maintain growth, and the implications of China's rise as a major economic power for the United States.

This report provides a brief overview of the climate change issue as well as other Clean Air Act that were of interest in the 110th Congress.

This report provides a brief overview of the climate change issue as well as other Clean Air Act issues of interest in the 110th Congress.

This report introduces the reader to fundamentals of the climate change issue. Part one summarizes current understandings and controversies concerning the science, economics, international cooperation, and other aspects of the climate change policy problem. Part two is a brief update on the status of domestic and international policies. Part three outlines the policy toolbox seen as being available to policymakers to address the challenge as they define the emerging legislative agenda.

This report introduces the reader to fundamentals of the climate change issue. Part one summarizes current understandings and controversies concerning the science, economics, international cooperation, and other aspects of the climate change policy problem. Part two is a brief update on the status of domestic and international policies. Part three outlines the policy toolbox seen as being available to policymakers to address the challenge as they define the emerging legislative agenda.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions.

We present a new tree-level matrix element generator, based on the color dressed Berends-Giele recursive relations. We discuss two new algorithms for phase space integration, dedicated to be used with large multiplicities and color sampling.