The military generally provides support to law enforcement and immigration authorities along the southern border. Reported escalations in violence and illegal immigration, however, have prompted some lawmakers to reevaluate the extent and type of military support that occurs in the border region. President Bush has reportedly announced an interest in sending National Guard troops to support the Border Patrol. Addressing domestic laws and activities with the military, however, might run afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits use of the armed forces to perform the tasks of civilian law enforcement unless explicitly authorized. There are alternative legal authorities for deploying the National Guard, and the precise scope of permitted activities and funds may vary with the authority exercised. This report will be updated as warranted.

This report discusses immigration policy and expedited removal, an immigration enforcement strategy originally conceived to operate at the borders and ports of entry, recently has been expanded in certain border regions.

The proposed acquisition of major operations in six major U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World and of Unocal by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation sparked intense concerns among some Members of Congress and the public and has reignited the debate over what role foreign acquisitions play in U.S. national security. The United States actively promotes internationally the national treatment of foreign firms. Several Members of Congress have introduced various measures during the 2nd Session of the 109th Congress that can be grouped into four major areas: those that deal specifically with the proposed Dubai Ports World acquisition; those that focus more generally on foreign ownership of U.S. ports; those that would amend the CFIUS process; and those that would amend the Exon-Florio process.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For decades, the Department of Defense (DOD) has not been successful in repeated attempts to modernize its timeworn business systems and operations. In 1995, we first designated DOD's business systems modernization as "high risk," and we continue to designate it as such today. As our research on successful public and private sector organizations has shown, attempting a large-scale systems modernization program in a large organization such as DOD without, among other things, a well-defined enterprise architecture and the associated investment management controls for implementing it often results in systems that are duplicative, stovepiped, non-integrated, and unnecessarily costly to manage, maintain, and operate. In May 2001, we made recommendations to the Secretary of Defense that provided the means for effectively developing and implementing an enterprise architecture and limiting systems investments until the department had a well-defined architecture and a corporate approach to investment control and decision making. In July 2001, the department initiated a business management modernization program to, among other things, develop a business enterprise architecture and establish the investment controls needed to effectively implement it. This effort was begun as part of the Secretary of …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents our opinion on the financial statements of the Congressional Award Foundation for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, and 2004. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Congressional Award Foundation. This report also presents (1) our opinion on the effectiveness of the Foundation's related internal control as of September 30, 2005, and (2) our conclusion on the Foundation's compliance in fiscal year 2005 with selected provisions of laws and regulations we tested. We conducted our audit pursuant to section 107 of the Congressional Award Act, as amended (2 U.S.C. 807), and in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards. This report also includes our determination required under section 104(c)(2)(A) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 804(c)(2)(A)) relating to the Foundation's financial operations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A regional panel estimated that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)--Washington, D.C.'s, transit system--will have total budgetary shortfalls of $2.4 billion over 10 years. The panel and others have noted that WMATA's lack of a significant dedicated revenue source may affect its ability to keep the system in good working order. Proposed federal legislation would make $1.5 billion available to WMATA if the local governments established dedicated funding. This report addresses (1) the characteristics of dedicated funding and its effects on transit agencies and governments; (2) how potential revenue sources compare in terms of stability, adequacy, and other factors; (3) major actions needed to establish dedicated funding for WMATA and the progress made to date; and (4) issues that dedicated funding poses for the region and WMATA. To address these issues, GAO reviewed financial data for the nation's 25 largest transit agencies, interviewed officials from 6 transit agencies and from the state and local governments that support WMATA, and reviewed literature on the financing of mass transit. GAO provided a draft of this report to WMATA and the Department of Transportation for review. Officials from …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Hurricane Katrina was one of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history. Despite a large deployment of resources at all levels, many have regarded the federal response as inadequate. GAO has a body of ongoing work that covers the federal government's preparedness and response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Due to widespread congressional interest, this review was performed under the Comptroller General's authority. It examined (1) the extent to which pre-Katrina plans and training exercises reflected the military assistance that might be required during a catastrophic, domestic, natural disaster, (2) the military support provided in response to Katrina and factors that affected that response, and (3) the actions the military is taking to address lessons learned from Katrina and to prepare for the next catastrophe."

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This report gives an overview of China's economic development, China's trade patterns, foreign investments in China and implications for the United States

This report provides an overview of the issues and legislation of the immigration policy for intracompany transfers (L Visa). Concerns are growing that the visa category that allows executives and managers of multinational corporations to work temporarily in the United States is misused.

This report examines antidumping issues in Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations by analyzing the issue in three parts. The first provides background information and contextual analysis for understanding why the issue is so controversial. The second section focuses on how antidumping issues fit into the DDA, and the third section provides a more specific overview of major reform proposals that are being considered.

This report discusses the ongoing debate over the efficacy and constitutionality of federal regulation of firearms and ammunition. The report provides background information and analysis over the pros and cons of the debate and gun related statistics.

This Technical Progress Report describes progress made on the twenty nine subprojects awarded in the second year of Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-02NT41607: Crosscutting Technology Development at the Center for Advanced Separation Technologies. This work is summarized in the body of the main report: the individual sub-project Technical Progress Reports are attached as Appendices.

Community Climate System Model (CCSM) is currently a multi-executable system based on the Multi-Program Multi-Data (MPMD) mechanism. Each component is compiled into a separate executable. MPMD is normally cumbersome in usage and vendor support is sometimes limited or completely unavailable, such as on BlueGene/L. Also smaller groups and institutions would like to run CCSM locally, rather than relying on large computer centers. So, single-executable CCSM is under request. We are developing a multi-executable and single-executable coexisting version of CCSM. In single-executable, each component is organized as a subroutine, which is called from a master program. Different components run simultaneously. This is accomplished by redesigning the top level CCSM structures using the Multi-Program Handshaking (MPH) library.

In this study, we explore both inverse Compton and Compton scattering processes using the Chang and Cooper scheme to form a deterministic solution of the Kompaneets equation. We examine the individual terms of the Kompaneets equation and illustrate their effect on the equilibrium solution. We use two examples (a Gaussian line profile and a Planck profile) to illustrate the advective and diffusive properties of the Kompaneets operator. We also explore both inverse Compton scattering and Compton scattering, and discuss and illustrate the Bose-Einstein condensation feature of the Compton scattering spectrum.

Report of the International Radiation Symposium 2004 held in Busan/Korea.

The status of groundwater level monitoring at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in 2005 is provided in this report. The Groundwater Level Monitoring Project was instituted in 2005 to provide a framework for the collection and processing of quality controlled groundwater level data. This report summarizes groundwater level data for 137 monitoring wells, including 41 regional aquifer wells, 22 intermediate wells, and 74 alluvial wells. Pressure transducers were installed in 118 monitoring wells for continuous monitoring of groundwater levels. Time-series hydrographs of groundwater level data are presented along with pertinent construction and location information for each well.

This report outlines the technical progress achieved for project DE-FC26-03NT41785 (Total Ore Processing Integration and Management) during the period 01 January through 31 March of 2006. (1) Work in Progress: Minntac Mine--Graphical analysis of drill monitor data moved from two-dimensional horizontal patterns to vertical variations in measured and calculated parameters. The rock quality index and the two dimensionless ({pi}) indices developed by Kewen Yin of the University of Minnesota are used by Minntac Mine to design their blasts, but the drill monitor data from any given pattern is obviously not available for the design of that shot. Therefore, the blast results--which are difficult to quantify in a short time--must be back-analyzed for comparison with the drill monitor data to be useful for subsequent blast designs. {pi}{sub 1} indicates the performance of the drill, while {pi}{sub 2} is a measure of the rock resistance to drilling. As would be expected, since a drill tends to perform better in rock that offers little resistance, {pi}{sub 1} and {pi}{sub 2} are strongly inversely correlated; the relationship is a power function rather than simply linear. Low values of each Pi index tend to be quantized, indicating that these two parameters may be most useful …

This paper reports the experimental results of a high-speed multi-frame infrared camera which has been developed in Sarov at VNIIEF. Earlier [1] we discussed the possibility of creation of the multi-frame infrared radiation photo-recorder with framing frequency about 1 MHz. The basis of the photo-recorder is a semiconductor ionization camera [2, 3], which converts IR radiation of spectral range 1-10 micrometers into a visible image. Several sequential thermal images are registered by using the IR converter in conjunction with a multi-frame electron-optical camera. In the present report we discuss the performance characteristics of a prototype commercial 9-frame high-speed IR photo-recorder. The image converter records infrared images of thermal fields corresponding to temperatures ranging from 300 C to 2000 C with an exposure time of 1-20 {micro}s at a frame frequency up to 500 KHz. The IR-photo-recorder camera is useful for recording the time evolution of thermal fields in fast processes such as gas dynamics, ballistics, pulsed welding, thermal processing, automotive industry, aircraft construction, in pulsed-power electric experiments, and for the measurement of spatial mode characteristics of IR-laser radiation.

There are several indications that an opaque partonic medium is created in energetic Au+Au collisions ({radical}s{sub NN} {approx} GeV/nucleon) at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). At the extreme densities of {approx} 10-100 times normal nuclear density reached even heavy-flavor hadrons are affected significantly. Heavy-quark observables are presented from the parton transport model MPC, focusing on the nuclear suppression pattern, azimuthal anisotropy (''elliptic flow''), and azimuthal correlations. Comparison with Au + Au data at top RHIC energy {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV indicates significant heavy quark rescattering, corresponding roughly five times higher opacities than estimates based on leading-order perturbative QCD. We propose measurements of charm-anticharm, e.g., D-meson azimuthal correlations as a sensitive, independent probe to corroborate these findings.

The specific objectives of this project were: (1) To develop and demonstrate the feasibility of an integrated predictive computer-based tool for fuel cell design and reliability/durability analysis, (2) To generate new scientific and engineering knowledge to better enable SECA Industry Teams to develop reliable, low-cost solid-oxide fuel cell power generation systems, (3) To create technology breakthroughs to address technical risks and barriers that currently limit achievement of the SECA performance and cost goals for solidoxide fuel cell systems, and (4) To transfer new science and technology developed in the project to the SECA Industry Teams. Through this three-year project, the Georgia Tech's team has demonstrated the feasibility of the solution proposed and the merits of the scientific path of inquiry, and has developed the technology to a sufficient level such that it can be utilized by the SECA Industry Teams. This report summarizes the project's results and achievements.

The design of future spacecraft such as the Crew ExplorationVehicle must take into account the radiation shielding properties of boththe structural components as well as dedicated shielding materials. Sincemodest depths of shielding stop the vast majority of Solar EnergeticParticles (SEP), the greater challenge is posed by the need to shieldcrew from the Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR), which include highly-chargedand highly-energetic particles. Here, we report on results from testsperformed with beams of 1 GeV/nuc 56Fe at the Brookhaven NationalLaboratory. A wide variety of targets, both elemental and composite, wereplaced in the particle beams, and the spectra of particles emerging fromthe targets were measured using a stack of silicon detectors. Results arepresented primarily in terms of dose reduction per g cm-2 of targetmaterial, and support the conclusions of an earlier calculation by Wilsonet al. showing that performance improves as the shield's mass numberdecreases, with hydrogen being by far the most effective. The data alsoshow that, as depth increases, the incremental benefit of addingshielding decreases, particularlyfor aluminum and other elements withhigher atomic mass numbers.

The University of Georgia, in collaboration with GE Global Research, has investigated the relevant quenching mechanism of phosphor coatings used in white light devices based on UV LEDs. The final goal of the project was the design and fabrication of a high-efficacy white light UV-LED device through improved geometry and optimized phosphor coatings. At the end of the research period, which was extended to seamlessly carry over the research to a follow-up program, we have demonstrated a two-fold improvement in the conversion efficiency of a white light LED device, where the increase efficacy is due to both improved phosphor quantum efficiency and lamp geometry. Working prototypes have been displayed at DOE sponsored meetings and during the final presentation at the DOE Headquarters in Washington, DC. During the first phase of the project, a fundamental understanding of quenching processes in UV-LEDs was obtained, and the relationships that describe the performance of the phosphor as a function of photon flux, temperature, and phosphor composition were established. In the second phase of the project, these findings were then implemented to design the improved UV-LED lamp. In addition, our research provides a road map for the design of efficient white light LEDs, which will …

The proposed Yucca Mountain Repository (YMR), located in southern Nevada, is to be the first facility in the US for the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuels. Performance assessments have indicated that among the major radionuclides contributing to dose to a Reasonably Maximally Exposed Individual are Np, Tc, and I. These three radionuclides are mobile in most geochemical settings, and therefore sequestering them within the repository horizon would provide an effective limit to their migration. Corroding steel may offset radionuclide transport processes within the proposed waste packages at YMR by retaining radionuclides, creating locally reducing conditions, and reducing porosity. Ferrous iron containing materials such as magnetite have been shown to reduce UO{sub 2}{sup 2+} to UO{sub 2(s)}, and some ferrous iron-bearing ion-exchange materials have been shown to adsorb radionuclides and heavy metals (e.g. green rust). Locally reducing conditions may lead to the reduction and subsequent immobilization of problematic dissolved species such as TcO{sub 4}{sup -}, NpO{sub 2}{sup +}, and UO{sub 2}{sup 2+} and can also inhibit corrosion of spent nuclear fuel. Water occluded during corrosion produces bulky corrosion products, and consequently less porosity is available for water and radionuclide transport. The focus of this study is …