A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal and tribal lands on the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico are vulnerable to illegal cross-border activity. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)--through its U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Border Patrol (Border Patrol)--is responsible for securing these lands, while the Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Agriculture (USDA) manage natural resources and protect the public. GAO was asked to examine the extent that (1) border security threats have changed on federal lands; (2) federal agencies operating on these lands have shared threat information and communications; and (3) federal agencies have coordinated budgets, resources, and strategies. GAO reviewed interagency agreements and threat assessments; analyzed enforcement data from 2007 through 2009; and interviewed officials at headquarters and two Border Patrol sectors selected due to high volume of illegal cross-border activity (Tucson) and limited ability to detect this activity (Spokane). GAO's observations cannot be generalized to all sectors but provide insights. This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in October 2010. Information that DHS deemed sensitive has been redacted."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Logistics Modernization Program (LMP) is an Army business system that is intended to replace the aging Army systems that manage inventory and depot repair operations. From 1999 through 2009, the Army expended more than $1 billion for LMP. LMP was originally scheduled to be completed by 2005, but after the first deployment in July 2003, the Army delayed fielding because of significant problems. The Army later decided to field the system in two additional deployments: the second in May 2009 and the third in October 2010. GAO was asked to evaluate the extent to which the Army will achieve the intended functionality (e.g., supply chain management and materiel maintenance) from LMP for the commands, depots, and arsenals participating in the third deployment. To do this, GAO reviewed Army plans and policies related to LMP and met with Army officials at three Army commands and several third deployment sites."

The Savannah River Site (SRS) stores packages containing plutonium (Pu) materials in the K-Area Complex (KAC). The Pu materials are packaged per the DOE 3013 Standard and stored within Model 9975 shipping packages in KAC. The KAC facility DSA (Document Safety Analysis) credits the Model 9975 package to perform several safety functions, including criticality prevention, impact resistance, containment, and fire resistance to ensure the plutonium materials remain in a safe configuration during normal and accident conditions. The Model 9975 package is expected to perform its safety function for at least 12 years from initial packaging. The DSA recognizes the degradation potential for the materials of package construction over time in the KAC storage environment and requires an assessment of materials performance to validate the assumptions of the analysis and ultimately predict service life. As part of the comprehensive Model 9975 package surveillance program, destructive examination of package 9975-02028 was performed following field surveillance in accordance with Reference. Field surveillance of the Model 9975 package in KAC included nondestructive examination of the drum, fiberboard, lead shield and containment vessels. Results of the field surveillance are provided in Attachment 1. Destructive and non-destructive examinations have been performed on specified components of shipping …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Between fiscal years 2004 and 2009, Congress appropriated nearly $190 million in federal payments for school improvement to the District of Columbia (D.C.). This includes $85 million to the state education office--currently the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)--to expand public charter schools and $105 million to D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) to improve education in public schools. Over the years, GAO and others have identified challenges that DCPS and OSSE face in managing federal monies. This report identifies, on the basis of available information, activities for which OSSE and DCPS used federal payments between 2004 and 2009 and describes how OSSE and DCPS monitored grant and contract recipients, respectively. GAO reviewed expenditure data and interviewed and collected documentation from OSSE and DCPS, among others. GAO reviewed all available grants awarded by OSSE in 2008 and 2009 and 14 of the largest contracts awarded by DCPS during that time."

This report presents, in analytical question and answer form, the issues surrounding the financial conditions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are stockholder-owned government-sponsored enterprises.

Report that discusses the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), which provides health insurance coverage to about 8 million government workers.

This report discusses the recent widespread flooding in Pakistan, which has affected about 20 million Pakistanis. U.S. interest in the flooding stems from the significant humanitarian and economic implications for Pakistan, and the security implications for U.S. interests in the region.

The project of ASIPP (with PPPL participation), called FFRF, (R/a=4/1 m/m, Ipl=5 MA, Btor=4-6 T, PDT=50-100 MW, Pfission=80-4000 MW, 1 m thick blanket) is outlined. FFRF stands for the Fusion-Fission Research Facility with a unique fusion mission and a pioneering mission of merging fusion and fission for accumulation of design, experimental, and operational data for future hybrid applications. The design of FFRF will use as much as possible the EAST and ITER design experience. On the other hand, FFRF strongly relies on new, Lithium Wall Fusion plasma regimes, the development of which has already started in the US and China.

The girders for the LCLS undulator system contain components which must be aligned with high accuracy relative to each other. The alignment is one of the last steps before the girders go into the tunnel, so the alignment must be done efficiently, on a tight schedule. This note documents the alignment plan which includes efficiency and high accuracy. The motivation for girder alignment involves the following considerations. Using beam based alignment, the girder position will be adjusted until the beam goes through the center of the quadrupole and beam finder wire. For the machine to work properly, the undulator axis must be on this line and the center of the undulator beam pipe must be on this line. The physics reasons for the undulator axis and undulator beam pipe axis to be centered on the beam are different, but the alignment tolerance for both are similar. In addition, the beam position monitor must be centered on the beam to preserve its calibration. Thus, the undulator, undulator beam pipe, quadrupole, beam finder wire, and beam position monitor axes must all be aligned to a common line. All relative alignments are equally important, not just, for example, between quadrupole and undulator. We …

This report discusses various cooperative international efforts to address the issue of global climate change. The two major international agreements discussed in a side-by-side comparison are the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2010 Copenhagen Accord. The report discusses how many observers are hoping that initiatives carried out under the Copenhagen Accord may help bridge divides between the various tracks and economic groupings established under the Kyoto Protocol.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Educational achievement of students can be negatively affected by their changing schools often. The recent economic downturn, with foreclosures and homelessness, may be increasing student mobility. To inform Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) reauthorization, GAO was asked: (1) What are the numbers and characteristics of students who change schools, and what are the reasons students change schools? (2) What is known about the effects of mobility on student outcomes, including academic achievement, behavior, and other outcomes? (3) What challenges does student mobility present for schools in meeting the educational needs of students who change schools? (4) What key federal programs are schools using to address the needs of mobile students? GAO analyzed federal survey data, interviewed U.S. Department of Education (Education) officials, conducted site visits at eight schools in six school districts, and reviewed federal laws and existing research."

The steel present in the construction of the undulator hall facility has the potential for changing the ambient fields present in the undulator hall. This note describes a measurement done to make a comparison between the fields in the hall and in the Magnetic Measurement Facility. In order for the undulators to have the proper tuning, the background magnetic field in the Undulator Hall should agree with the background field in the Magnetic Measurements Facility within .5 gauss. In order to verify that this was the case measurements were taken along the length of the undulator hall, and the point measurements were compared to the mean field which was measured on the MMF test bench.

The duct work and cable trays present in the undulator hall facility are made out of potentially magnetically active materials. This note describes a measurement done to make a comparison between the fields in the undulator hall with the duct work and cable trays present and in the Magnetic Measurement Facility. In order for the undulators to have the proper tuning, the background magnetic field in the Undulator Hall must agree with the background field in the Magnetic Measurements Facility within 0.5 gauss. To verify that this was the case, measurements were taken along the length of the undulator hall, and the point measurements were compared to the mean field which was measured on the MMF test bench. This set of measurements was conducted with most of the cable trays and duct work in place, but without any of the magnet stands in place.

This report gives an overview of the veto powers given to the President according to Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution. It contains sections on the Constitutional basis and importance of vetoes, overriding a veto, and the vetoes that have been exercised and overridden. It includes statistics and tables of Presidential vetoes 1789-2010.

None

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Life expectancy has increased over the last several decades, and by 2050 persons age 65 or older will account for more than 20 percent of the total U.S. population, up from about 13 percent in 2000. Without significant changes in retirement decisions, these improvements in longevity are expected to lengthen the average number of years that Americans spend in retirement and contribute to the expected long-term revenue shortfall in the trust funds for Social Security's Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) programs (collectively knows as OASDI). The 2010 report from the Social Security Board of Trustees projects that the trust funds' assets will be exhausted by 2037. In light of the long-term trust fund solvency issues and increased longevity, many have suggested changing the earliest eligibility age (EEA) at which workers first qualify for retirement benefits, the full retirement age (FRA) at which they receive full benefits, or both. By reducing monthly benefits for those taking early benefits or delaying eligibility, raising the retirement ages could create an incentive for workers to delay retirement, thus earning more income and possibly saving more for …

Running at the nominal temperature, the undulator quadrupole has a several degree temperature increase. This note describes the test used to determine the effect on the undulator integrals from the temperature gradient caused by the heat from the quadrupole conducting down the beam pipe. The undulator quadrupoles running at their nominal current of 4 amps heat up approximately 4 degrees Celsius; this magnet in turn heats up the beampipe which goes into the undulator. The heating ends up introducing a thermal gradient across the undulator which causes small changes in the magnetic field of the heated poles. By measuring the temperature change in the poles we can model the effects on the field and determine what the magnetic errors will be.

The ALTOS campaign focuses on operating a tethered observing system for routine in situ sampling of low-level (< 2 km) Arctic clouds. It has been a long-term hope to fly tethered systems at Barrow, Alaska, but it is clear that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will not permit in-cloud tether systems at Barrow, even if unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations are allowed in the future. We have provided the scientific rationale for long-term, routine in situ measurements of cloud and aerosol properties in the Arctic. The existing restricted air space at Oliktok offers an opportunity to do so.

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility instrumentation status. The report is divided into the following five sections: (1) new instrumentation in the process of being acquired and deployed, (2) field campaigns, (3) existing instrumentation and progress on improvements or upgrades, (4) proposed future instrumentation, and (5) Small Business Innovation Research instrument development.

None

The recent online publication of classified defense documents by the organization WikiLeaks and subsequent reporting by the New York Times and other news media have focused attention on whether such publication violates U.S. criminal law. The Justice Department and Department of Defense are investigating the circumstances to determine whether any prosecutions will be undertaken in connection with the disclosure. This report identifies some criminal statutes that may apply and also discusses the statutory prohibitions that may be implicated, such as the Espionage Act.

The use of permanent magnets instead of electromagnet coils for low power Hall thrusters can offer a significant reduction of both the total electric power consumption and the thruster mass. Two permanent magnet versions of the miniaturized cylindrical Hall thruster (CHT) of different overall dimensions were operated in the power range of 50W-300 W. The discharge and plasma plume measurements revealed that the CHT thrusters with permanent magnets and electromagnet coils operate rather differently. In particular, the angular ion current density distribution from the permanent magnet thrusters has an unusual halo shape, with a majority of high energy ions flowing at large angles with respect to the thruster centerline. Differences in the magnetic field topology outside the thruster channel and in the vicinity of the channel exit are likely responsible for the differences in the plume characteristics measured for the CHTs with electromagnets and permanent magnets. It is shown that the presence of the reversing-direction or cusp-type magnetic field configuration inside the thruster channel without a strong axial magnetic field outside the thruster channel does not lead to the halo plasma plume from the CHT. __________________________________________________

This report discusses the growing interest in the potential for ethanol to displace petroleum as a transportation fuel, as well as related issues, including current Clean Air Act (CAA) limitation on ethanol content in gasoline; the requests of ethanol producers for an increase of this limitation; and the effects the limitation has upon vehicle and engine warranties and the infrastructures of the automobile and fuel industries.

This report focuses on several statutory presumptions that relate to the second element of a service-connected claim for disability compensation, and synthesizes the legal principles that guide the Department of Veterans Affairs' application of the statutory presumptions during the claims adjudication process. Specifically, this report will discuss the "presumption of soundness," the presumption of aggravation of a pre-existing injury or disease, the "line of duty" presumption, and finally, the "combat veteran" presumption, all of which are codified at Title 38 of the United States Code.