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Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) contains EPA's scientific position on the potential human health effects of exposure to more than 540 chemicals. Toxicity assessments in the IRIS database constitute the first two critical steps of the risk assessment process, which in turn, provides the foundation for risk management decisions. Thus, IRIS is a critical component of EPA's capacity to support scientifically sound environmental decisions, policies, and regulations. This testimony discusses (1) highlights of GAO's March 2008 report, Chemical Assessments: Low Productivity and New Interagency Review Process Limit the Usefulness and Credibility of EPA's Integrated Risk Information System, and (2) key aspects of EPA's revised IRIS assessment process, released on April 10, 2008. For the March 2008 report, GAO reviewed and analyzed EPA data and interviewed officials at relevant agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). For this testimony, GAO supplemented the prior audit work with a review of EPA's revised IRIS assessment process announced on April 10, 2008."

This report provides background and elements of Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program, enacted in 1975, to help strengthen families by securing financial support for children from their non-custodial parent.

China has a determined, yet still modest, program of civilian space activities planned for the next decade. The potential for U.S.-China cooperation in space -- an issue of interest to Congress -- has become more controversial since the January 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test. Some argue that Chinese capabilities now threaten U.S. space assets in low earth orbit. Others stress the need to expand dialogue with China. This report outlines recent activities and future plans in China's civilian space sector. It also discusses benefits and trade-offs of possible U.S.-China collaboration in space, as well as several options to improve space relations, including information exchange, policy dialogue, and joint activities.

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.

We derive lens distortion and magnification profiles of four well known clusters observed with Subaru. Each cluster is very well fitted by the general form predicted for Cold Dark Matter (CDM) dominated halos, with good consistency found between the independent distortion and magnification measurements. The inferred level of mass concentration is surprisingly high, 8 < c{sub vir} < 15 (<c{sub vir}> = 10.39 {+-} 0.91), compared to the relatively shallow profiles predicted by the {Lambda}CDM model, c{sub vir} = 5.06 {+-} 1.10 (for <M{sub vir}> = 1.25 x 10{sup 15} M{sub {circle_dot}}/h). This represents a 4{sigma} discrepancy, and includes the relatively modest effects of projection bias and profile evolution derived from N-body simulations, which oppose each other with little residual effect. In the context of CDM based cosmologies, this discrepancy implies some modification of the widely assumed spectrum of initial density perturbations, so clusters collapse earlier (z {ge} 1) than predicted (z < 0.5) when the Universe was correspondingly denser.

Large Type-I edge localized modes (ELMs) were suppressed by n = 3 resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) from a set of internal coils (I-coil) in plasmas with an ITER similar shape at the ITER pedestal collisionality, {nu}*{sub e} {approx} 0.1 and low edge safety factor (q{sub 95} {approx} 3.6), with either a single toroidal row of the internal RMP coils or two poloidally separated rows of coils. ELM suppression with a single row of internal coils was achieved at approximately the same q{sub 95} surface-averaged perturbation field as with two rows of coils, but required higher current per coil. Maintaining complete suppression of ELMs using n = 3 RMPs from a single toroidal row of internal coils was less robust to variations in input neutral beam injection torque than previous ELM suppression cases using both rows of internal coils. With either configuration of RMP coils, maximum ELM size is correlated with the width of the edge region having good overlap of the magnetic islands from vacuum field calculations.

Quantitative characterizataion of images of naocrystals and nanostructures is a challenging but important task. The development and optimization of methods for the construction of complex nanostructures rely on imaging techniques. Computer programs were developed to quantify TEM images of nanocrystal/DNA nanostructures, and results are presented for heterodimers annd trimers of gold nanocrystals. The programs presented here have also been used to analyze more complex trimers and tetramers linked by branched DNA, as well as for structures made from attaching gold nanocrystals to CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots. This work has the additional goal of enabling others to quickly and easily adapt the methods for their own use.

This report examines logistical support contracts for troop support services in Iraq primarily administered through the U.S. Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program(LOGCAP).

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Defense (DOD) officials who serve in senior and acquisition positions and then leave for jobs with defense contractors are subject to the restrictions of post-government employment laws, in order to protect against conflicts of interest. Congress required GAO to report on employment of such officials by contractors who received more than $500 million in DOD's 2005 contract awards. In response, this report (1) provides information on how many former DOD employees worked for contractors in 2006 and estimates how many worked on contracts that were related to their former agencies or to their direct responsibilities and (2) identifies the practices used to monitor restrictions and information challenges in monitoring post-DOD employment. To do this work, GAO matched data from DOD for all employees who left DOD over a 6 year period with data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and from 52 contractors; conducted surveys; and interviewed DOD and contractor officials."

Ecuador has experienced ten years of political and economic instability. On January 15, 2007, Rafael Correa, a left-leaning, U.S.-trained economics, was inaugurated to a four-year presidential term, becoming the country's eighth president in ten years. President Correa has fulfilled his campaign pledge to call a constituent assembly to reform the country's constitution. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about President Correa's ties with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and his stated policies on trade and energy matters. Despite those concerns, Congress enacted legislation in February 2008 to extend U.S. trade preferences for Ecuador through December 2008.

NSTX is a spherical tokamak (ST) that operates with ne up to 1020 m-3 and BT less than 0.6 T, cutting off low harmonic electron cyclotron (EC) emission widely used for Te measurements on conventional aspect ratio tokamaks. The electron Bernstein wave (EBW) can propagate in ST plasmas and is emitted at EC harmonics. These properties suggest thermal EBW emission (EBE) may be used for local Te measurements in the ST. Practically, a robust Te(R,t) EBE diagnostic requires EBW transmission efficiencies of > 90% for a wide range of plasma conditions. EBW emission and coupling physics were studied on NSTX with an obliquely viewing EBW to O-mode (B-X-O) diagnostic with two remotely steered antennas, coupled to absolutely calibrated radiometers. While Te(R,t) measurements with EBW emission on NSTX were possible, they were challenged by several issues. Rapid fluctuations in edge ne scale length resulted in > 20% changes in the low harmonic B-X-O transmission efficiency. Also, B-X-O transmission efficiency 2 during H-modes was observed to decay by a factor of 5-10 to less than a few percent. The B-X-O transmission behavior during H-modes was reproduced by EBE simulations that predict that EBW collisional damping can significantly reduce emission when Te < …

This report provides summary information on emergency supplemental appropriations legislation enacted since 1989 after significant catastrophes. It includes funds appropriated to the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well as funds appropriated to other departments and agencies. This report uses a broad concept of what constitutes emergency disaster assistance. The funds cited in this report include appropriations for disaster relief, repair of federal facilities, and hazard mitigation activities directed at reducing the impact of future disasters.

This report provides information about the Intellectual Property and Innovation Issues on Follow-On Biologics. Biologics which are sometimes referred as biotechnology have begun to play an increasingly important role in the U.S health care.

This report examines the key factors that shape French foreign policy. From that context, it analyzes some of the reasons for the tensions in and the accomplishments of U.S.-French relations. The report is illustrative, rather than exhaustive. Instead, the report reviews issues selected because they exemplify some of the essential features of the U.S.-French relationship. Some issues, such as the effort by the United States and the EU-3 (France, Britain, and Germany) to curb Iran's military nuclear program are analyzed more extensively elsewhere by CRS.

This report examines Georgia's efforts to democratize and bolster its free market economy, while surmounting separatism, Russian economic sanctions, and other problems. U.S. policy and assistance are discussed. Basic facts and biographical information are provided. Related products include CRS Report RL33453, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests, by Jim Nichol.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created from a disparate group of agencies with multiple missions, values, and cultures into a cabinet department whose goals are to, among other things, protect U.S. borders and infrastructure, improve intelligence and information sharing, and prevent and respond to potential terrorist attacks. GAO designated the implementation and transformation of DHS as a high-risk area in 2003, and it remains so. While DHS has made progress, it continues to face challenges in transforming into an effective, integrated organization. In response to a request to provide information on diversity in DHS and steps DHS is taking to create and manage a diverse workforce, GAO is providing demographic data related to the federal government as a whole and DHS's workforce. GAO obtained these data from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Central Personnel Data File (CPDF). GAO used its past work on leading diversity management practices (GAO-05-90) and reviewed data from DHS on its diversity management practices."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Securing the control systems that regulate the nation's critical infrastructures is vital to ensuring our economic security and public health and safety. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federal corporation and the nation's largest public power company, generates and distributes power in an area of about 80,000 square miles in the southeastern United States. GAO was asked to determine whether TVA has implemented appropriate information security practices to protect its control systems. To do this, GAO examined the security practices in place at several TVA facilities; analyzed the agency's information security policies, plans, and procedures against federal law and guidance; and interviewed agency officials who are responsible for overseeing TVA's control systems and their security."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The control systems that regulate the nation's critical infrastructures face risks of cyber threats, system vulnerabilities, and potential attacks. Securing these systems is therefore vital to ensuring national security, economic well-being, and public health and safety. While most critical infrastructures are privately owned, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federal corporation and the nation's largest public power company, provides power and other services to a large swath of the American Southeast. GAO was asked to testify on its public report being released today on the security controls in place over TVA's critical infrastructure control systems. In doing this work, GAO examined the security practices in place at TVA facilities; analyzed the agency's information security policies, plans, and procedures in light of federal law and guidance; and interviewed agency officials responsible for overseeing TVA's control systems and their security."

This report provides information on the mandatory steps to building a memorial on federal property in the District of Columbia. It also provides information on creating memorials in Arlington National Cemetery, within the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery System, and in state veterans' cemeteries. In addition, it discusses public and private initiatives at the state and local levels to create memorials including successful local fund-raising efforts.

The Navy wants to modernize 84 Aegis cruisers and destroyers over a period of more than 20 years at a potential total cost of about $9.7 billion in today's dollars. The modernizations are intended to ensure that the ships can be operated cost-effectively throughout their entire intended service lives. The program poses several potential issue for Congress.

New BABAR results on B mesons and quarkonia are presented: an analysis of B{sup +} {yields} X(3872)K{sup +} and B{sup 0} {yields} X(3872)K{sup 0} decays with X(3872) {yields} J/{psi}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, a precise measurement of the B mass difference {Delta}m{sub B} = m(B{sup 0}) -m(B{sup +}) and a study of hadronic transition between {Upsilon} mesons.

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In this issue Rick Sawicki answers the question--What is your role as chief engineer on this project? His reply is--There are two major roles for the Chief Engineer position: (1) to assure that the engineering that is being performed for the project is safely completed in full compliance with all federal, state and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory policies, standards and procedures and (2) as needed, address special engineering issues as they arise assuring that their resolution is completed in the safest, most effective manner consistent with the project's budget and schedule constraints. Currently the project is nearing completion. Many activities are rapidly coming to a conclusion and many new, complex systems are being activated. I am presently playing a major role in coordinating these activities so that the work can be executed safely and efficiently and the project will complete on schedule. He also answers the following questions: (1) What is the timetable to have this facility up and running for experimentation; (2) Where is the facility; (3) How large is your team of designers, engineers, etc.; (4) What are the means of achieving nuclear fusion; (5) What are the special engineering challenges of this project; (6) How close are …