A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Bayh-Dole Act, passed in 1980, allows recipients of federal research funds the option to retain patents on any inventions they create using those funds. At the same time, the act provides the government with rights intended to ensure that the public benefits from these federal research investments. One of these rights is known as the "march-in" authority, which allows federal agencies to take control of a patent when they have credible information that certain conditions described in the act have been met. Until March 2009, the Bayh-Dole Act required GAO to report periodically on its implementation. To meet that requirement, for select federal agencies, GAO reviewed (1) the policies and procedures used to determine whether march-in authority should be exercised; (2) how the march-in authority has been used; and (3) what barriers and disincentives have been encountered in exercising the march-in authority. GAO selected four agencies for this review that accounted for 89 percent of the federal research funding for fiscal year 2006. These were the Departments of Defense and Energy (DOD and DOE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Institutes …

This report supplements CRS Report RL34438, International Violence Against Women: U.S. Response and Policy Issues. It provides an overview of recent U.N. efforts to address VAW by the Secretary-General and highlights key U.N. interagency efforts. The report also discusses selected U.N. funds, programs, and agencies that address international violence against women. It does not measure the extent to which VAW is directly addressed or is part of a larger initiative or program.

This progress report describes work performed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (CTWSRO) portion of the Hood River Production Program Monitoring and Evaluation Project (HRPP) during the 2008 fiscal year. A total of 64,736 hatchery winter steelhead, 12,108 hatchery summer steelhead, and 68,426 hatchery spring Chinook salmon smolts were acclimated and released in the Hood River basin during the spring. The HRPP exceeded program goals for a release of and 50,000 winter steelhead but fell short of the steelhead release goals of 30,000 summer steelhead and 75,000 spring Chinook in 2008. Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT) tags were implanted in 6,652 hatchery winter steelhead, and 1,196 hatchery summer steelhead, to compare migratory attributes and survival rates of hatchery fish released into the Hood River. Water temperatures were recorded at six locations within the Hood River subbasin to monitor for compliance with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality water quality standards. A preseason spring Chinook salmon adult run forecast was generated, which predicted an abundant return adequate to meet escapement goal and brood stock needs. As a result the tribal and sport fisheries were opened. A tribal creel was conducted from May 22 to July 18 during which an estimated 172 spring …

The 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion includes Reasonable and Prudent Alternative 38-Piling and Piling Dike Removal Program. This RPA directs the Action Agencies to work with the Estuary Partnership to develop and implement a piling and pile dike removal program. The program has since evolved to include modifying pile structures to enhance their habitat value and complexity by adding large woody debris. The geographic extent of the Pile Structure Program (PSP) includes all tidally-influenced portions of the lower Columbia River below Bonneville Dam; however, it will focus on the mainstem. The overarching goal of the PSP is to enhance and restore ecosystem structure and function for the recovery of federally listed salmonids through the active management of pile structures. To attain this goal, the program team developed the following objectives: (1) Develop a plan to remove or modify pile structures that have lower value to navigation channel maintenance, and in which removal or modification will present low-risk to adjacent land use, is cost-effective, and would result in increased ecosystem function. (2) Determine program benefits for juvenile salmonids and the ecosystem through a series of intensively monitored pilot projects. (3) Incorporate best available science and pilot project results …

The data used in this report was collected by two separate projects. The Surface Environmental Surveillance Project collected routine samples in 2008 at 41 locations on and around the Hanford Site, and had them analyzed for metals in addition to the normal radiological constituents. In 2004 and 2005, soil samples were collected at 117 locations on the Hanford Reach National Monument (HRNM) in support of the radiological release of that property. In 2008, archived HRNM soil samples were analyzed for metals to supplement the radiological analyses. Concentration results for 30 individual metals were generated by the analytical methods. Selenium and antimony were not measured at detectable concentrations in most of the samples. Mercury was detected in about half of the samples analyzed. All other constituents were measured at detectable concentrations in nearly all samples analyzed. The average concentrations measured in this study were well below the soil cleanup levels for unrestricted land use established by the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). In addition to the average concentration being less than the benchmark, the 90th percentile concentration was also lower than the benchmark for the metals included in the MTCA. The results indicate that the measured concentrations of metals in surface …

This report summarizes work supported by the DOE Grant DE-FG02-96ER40990 during its duration from June 1996 to May 2009. Topics studied include (1) statistical descriptions of nuclear levels and measurements of proton resonances relevant to such descriptions, including measurements toward a complete level scheme for 30P, (2) the development of methods to estimate the missing fraction of levels in a given measurement, and (3) measurements at HRIBF relevant to nuclear astrophysics.

This report focuses on U.N. reform efforts and priorities from the perspective of several key actors, including the U.S. government, the U.N. Secretary-General, selected groups of member states, and a cross-section of groups tasked with addressing U.N. reform. It also examines congressional actions related to U.N. reform, as well as future policy considerations.

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This report offers an introduction and overview of legislation regarding greenhouse gases. It also discusses combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard, geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide, vehicles and fuels, smart grid, energy efficiency, and major cap-and-trade provisions.

Using a variety of unclassified consultations and sources, this report discusses the national security problem of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response, including legislation, since the mid-1990s.

This report provides a short background describing key aspects of the private insurance market as it exists currently. This information is useful in setting the stage for understanding how and where H.R. 3200 would reform health insurance. Primarily, however, the report summarizes provisions affecting private health insurance in Division A (or Division 1) H.R. 3200, as ordered reported by the House Committees on Education and Labor and on Ways and Means.

This report describes the Life Extension Program (LEP), difficulties ascribed to it by its critics, and their responses; shows how changed post-Cold War constraints might open opportunities to improve long-term warhead maintenance and reach other goals; describes the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) and its pros and cons; tracks RRW program developments and congressional action on budget requests; and presents options and issues for Congress.

H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, contains provisions that would amend the Clean Air Act to establish a cap-and-trade system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from covered sources 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83% below 2005 levels by 2050. Following an overview, this report contains a section-by-section summary of H.R. 2454 as passed by the House, and interpretive or informative commentary for some sections, when appropriate.

This report discusses the current political and economic conditions in Russia, focusing on the impact of Vladimir Putin's leadership and the leadership of his successor/protégé, Dmitriy Medvedev, both of which have steered Russia away from democratization. The report also discusses the state of the economy since the Soviet collapse in 1999, how the recent global economic downturn has affected Russia, the state of Russia's military, and the current relationship between Russia and the United States.