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This report discusses and assesses the War Powers Resolution, its application since enactment in 1973, providing detailed background on a variety of cases where it was utilized, or issues of its applicability were raised. It will be revised biannually.

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This report examines the role of state and local law enforcement in enforcing immigration law. The discussion is limited to the role of state and local law enforcement in the investigation, arrest, and detention of all immigration violators. The report does not discuss the prosecution, adjudication, or removal of aliens who violate the law. The report opens with a brief discussion of the types of immigration interior enforcement activities that the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) pursued and the current immigration activities that are now the focus of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A discussion of the legal authority that permits state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration law under certain circumstances follows. Current administrative efforts to involve state and local law enforcement in enforcing immigration law as well as selected issues are discussed. The report concludes with a discussion of the pros and cons of such a policy and an analysis of policy options for Congress.

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Some policymakers, believing that disparities in broadband access across American society could have adverse economic and social consequences on those left behind, assert that the federal government should play a more active role to avoid a “digital divide” in broadband access. One approach is for the federal government to provide financial assistance to support broadband deployment in underserved areas. Others, however, believe that federal assistance for broadband deployment is not appropriate. Some opponents question the reality of the “digital divide,” and argue that federal intervention in the broadband marketplace would be premature and, in some cases, counterproductive.

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In October 2002, the United States confronted North Korea about its alleged clandestine uranium enrichment program. Soon after, the Agreed Framework collapsed, North Korea expelled international inspectors, and withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). U.S. intelligence officials claimed Pakistan was a key supplier of uranium enrichment technology to North Korea, and some media reports suggested that Pakistan had exchanged centrifuge enrichment technology for North Korean help in developing longer range missiles.

Several bills have been introduced in the 108th Congress to address issues that have been raised about the security of direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines. Touchscreen and other DREs using computer-style displays are arguably the most versatile and voter-friendly of any current voting system. The popularity of DREs, particularly the touchscreen variety, has grown in recent years. In addition, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA, P.L. 107 — 252), while not requiring or prohibiting the use of any specific kind of voting system, does promote the use of DREs through some of its provisions.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, the U.S. airline industry has confronted financial losses of previously unseen proportions. From 2001 to 2003, the industry lost $23 billion, and two of the nation's biggest airlines have gone into bankruptcy. To assist airlines, the Congress provided U.S. airlines with $7 billion of direct financial assistance--most recently in the form of $2.4 billion of financial assistance under the 2003 Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act. Under the Act and its accompanying conference report, the conferees directed GAO to review measures taken by airlines to reduce costs, improve revenues and profits, and strengthen their balance sheets. The Congress also tasked airlines receiving assistance to report their cost-cutting plans to GAO. GAO was also required to report on the financial condition of the U.S. airline industry by Vision 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, which became law in January 2004. In consultation with the Congress, GAO agreed to satisfy these directives and report to the Congress on (1) the major challenges to the airline industry since 1998, (2) measures airlines report taking to remain financially viable, (3) the current financial and operating condition of the industry, and …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Diesel engine emissions pose health risks, but one major source--heavy-duty diesel vehicles--is critical for our economy. To reduce risks, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set stringent emissions standards for diesel engines. In 1998, EPA found that some engine makers were violating standards, so they agreed to build engines that meet 2004 standards early, by October 2002. EPA has set even more stringent standards for 2007. GAO was asked to (1) assess the October 2002 deadline's effects on industry and emissions, and (2) obtain stakeholders' views on the readiness of technology for the 2007 standards and EPA's efforts to ensure this. GAO analyzed information from EPA, 10 large trucking companies, the engine makers subject to the early deadline, and other stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) relies on space for many critical capabilities, and its continued success in space operations depends on having sufficient space-qualified personnel. Space-qualified personnel are needed to develop technology, doctrine, and concepts and operate complex systems. In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, Congress required DOD to develop a strategy for developing and integrating national security space personnel. DOD completed it in February 2004. Congress also required GAO to assess DOD's space human capital strategy and the military services' efforts to develop their space personnel. In the first of two required reports, GAO assessed (1) whether DOD's space human capital strategy and management approach promote development and integration of the services' space personnel and (2) the extent of the services' initiatives to develop and manage their space personnel."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a program--the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT)--to collect, maintain, and share information, including biometric identifiers, on selected foreign nationals who travel to the United States. By congressional mandate, DHS is to develop and submit for approval an expenditure plan for US-VISIT that satisfies certain conditions, including being reviewed by GAO. Among other things, GAO was asked to determine whether the plan satisfied these conditions, and to provide observations on the plan and DHS's program management."

Activated metal is a special waste that requires evaluation for disposal. Contaminants in the activated metal will leach more slowly than will contaminants in generic waste. There is an inventory of activated scrap metal in the 105-L Disassembly Basin. Approximately 1,600 ft3 of the material is characterized as ''No Dose/Low Dose'' and consists mainly of activated aluminum and aluminum alloy pieces and parts and no stainless steel with a dose rate less than 200 mR per hr. Contaminants in the activated metal will leach more slowly than will contaminants in generic waste. The change in the leach rate will affect analyses for the groundwater pathway and intruder scenarios. For this evaluation, the slower leach rate from the activated metal waste will be neglected for the groundwater pathway, which is conservative because the higher leach rate used tends to produce higher groundwater concentrations and lower inventory limits. For this evaluation, the leach rate was set to zero for intruder scenarios, which is conservative for the inadvertent intruder because a slower leach rate will result in higher levels of radionuclides in the waste zone. The evaluation concludes that the existing limits are applicable to the disposal of No Dose/Low Dose activated scrap …

Immobilization of toxic and radioactive metals in the vadose zone by In Situ Gaseous Reduction (ISGR) using hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a promising technology for soil remediation. Earlier laboratory and field studies have shown that Cr(VI) can be effectively immobilized by treatment with dilute gaseous H2S. The objective of this project is to characterize the interactions among H2S, the metal contaminants, and soil components. Understanding these interactions is needed to assess the long-term effectiveness of the technology and to optimize the remediation system.

A report for a cultural resources survey for the proposed Huck Finn Trail to be placed east of Prairie Creek in Richardson, Texas.

The Bonneville Power Administration is proposing to fund the restoration of approximately 500 feet of streambank along the Yakima River at river mile 8, upstream of the Van Giesen Bridge on SR 224, in and between Richland and West Richland, Washington. This project will also result in the acquisition of Fox Island, a 12-acre island directly across the river from the restoration area. There is no development planned for the island. The proposed project includes: The installation of a bio-engineered streambank that incorporates barbs to capture silt and deflect flow, roughened rock or log toes, a riparian buffer, soil reinforcement, and bank grading. Long-term photo-point and plot sampling will also be implemented to evaluate the effectiveness and success of the restoration project. The NEPA compliance checklist for this project was completed by Darrel Sunday, a contractor with Sunday and Associates, Inc. (April 4, 2004), and meets the standards and guidelines for the Watershed Management Program Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD). The Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed species that may occur in the general vicinity of the project area are the pygmy rabbit, bald eagle, bull trout, Ute ladies'-tresses, and mid-Columbia Steelhead. The pygmy rabbit, bald eagle, …

This project involves the design and synthesis of receptors for oxoanions of environmental importance, including emphasis on high level and low activity waste. Target anions have included primarily oxoanions and a study of the basic concepts behind selective binding of target anions. A primary target has been sulfate because of its deleterious influence on the vitrification of tank wastes

The implementation of the rtEFIT-isoflux algorithm in the digital control system for NSTX has led to improved ability to control the plasma shape. In particular, it has been essential for good gap control for radio-frequency experiments, for control of drsep in H-mode studies, and for X-point height control and {kappa} control in a variety of experiments.

An innovative reactor core design based on advanced, mixed carbide fuels was analyzed for nuclear space power applications. Solid solution, mixed carbide fuels such as (U,Zr,Nb)c and (U,Zr, Ta)C offer great promise as an advanced high temperature fuel for space power reactors.

This document explores the geochemical reactions likely to occur when hydrofluoric acid is spilled on Savannah River Site (SRS) soil. In particular, we evaluate the potential of environmental damage from a one-time release of concentrated hydrofluoric acid into a trench. According to interviews with personnel involved, sometime between 1955 and 1960 drums of 50-60 per cent hydrofluoric acid were disposed in a trench in the Central Shops area. The method of disposal suggests that most of the acid would have been released at the time of burial. No evidence of drum disposal or acidic pH values was found. Therefore, the Soil and Groundwater Closure Projects group requested that we evaluate potential risk by examining the major geochemical interactions expected between hydrofluoric acid and soil. The geochemical calculations in this report were done with The Geochemist's Workbench (Registered). This program uses an extended Debye-Huckel method for calculating activity coefficients. The conclusions of this report are accurate, but some of the intermediate steps may have higher uncertainty. Hydrofluoric acid disposed in a trench in the area would have reacted with soil kaolinite to neutralize the pH to a value of about 4.2. Based on conservative assumptions, this would have occurred within the …

The U.S. Postal Service (Postal Service) recently installed Energy Information Systems (EIS) at 30 facilities in California. These systems integrate electric utility meter data acquisition hardware, software, and communication systems to collect, archive, analyze, and display whole-facility energy consumption data. At some point in the future, these systems could also be integrated with sub-meters that measure the electricity consumption of key end-use equipment. The purpose of this guidebook is to help Postal Service facility managers interpret and act upon energy data available from their EIS, translating the abundance of information these systems provide into knowledge that can be used to reduce energy use and costs. The guidebook first describes basic EIS capabilities and explains the data and reports that Postal Service EIS provide. It outlines a set of strategies for utilizing this information to improve operations and maintenance of building energy use equipment and for facilitating demand response. Finally, the guidebook offers suggestions on creating a routine for tracking and analyzing energy data and integrating this information into regular energy management activities.

OAK-B135 An overview of our work as well as two recent publications are contained in this scientific report. The work reported here revolves around the discovery of new coherent nonlinear kinetic waves in laser produced plasmas, we call KEEN waves (kinetic, electrostatic electron nonlinear waves), and optical mixing experiments on the Imega laser system at LLE with blue-green light for the exploration of ways to suppress parametric instabilities in long scale length, long pulsewidth laser-plasmas such as those which will be found on NIF or LMJ.