This report details the COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 and the American COMPETES Act, as well as policy issues: STEM education, Federal Research Programs and Activities, Broadening Participation, and Funding.

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This report provides information on congressional practices with respect to the duration of continuing resolutions, including the use of full-year measures, and focuses particularly on the period covering FY1998-FY2010.

The development of In{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x} N/GaN thin film growth by Molecular Beam Epitaxy has opened a new route towards energy efficient solid-state lighting. Blue and green LED's became available that can be used to match the whole color spectrum of visible light with the potential to match the eye response curve. Moreover, the efficiency of such devices largely exceeds that of incandescent light sources (tungsten filaments) and even competes favorably with lighting by fluorescent lamps. It is, however, also seen in Figure 1 that it is essential to improve on the luminous performance of green LED's in order to mimic the eye response curve. This lack of sufficiently efficient green LED's relates to particularities of the In{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N materials system. This ternary alloy system is polar and large strain is generated during a lattice mismatched thin film growth because of the significantly different lattice parameters between GaN and InN and common substrates such as sapphire. Moreover, it is challenging to incorporate indium into GaN at typical growth temperatures because a miscibility gap exists that can be modified by strain effects. As a result a large parameter space needs exploration to optimize the growth of In{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N and …

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The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) evaluated a large number of Sludge Batch 6 (SB6) composition projections to support frit optimization for SB6 vitrification at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). The evaluations discussed in this report occurred over a period of about 4 months, and included about 40 composition projections, developed by both Savannah River Remediation (SRR) and SRNL. Paper study assessments were used to evaluate the sludge composition projections with arrays of potential frit compositions using the predictive models in the DWPF Product Composition Control System (PCCS). Both nominal sludge compositions and sludge compositions with anticipated compositional variation were considered. The model predictions were used to identify candidate frit compositions for each SB6 projection and to provide some guidance to SRR on washing and blending strategies for SB6 preparation. This report presents a chronological review of this process and summarizes the findings at each stage. Following initial feedback from this work, the number of washes in Tank 51 was reduced to increase the projected sodium concentration in SB6. Analyses of predicted frit performance before and after a potential decant of Tank 40 showed that the post-decant SB6 composition would be difficult to process with any frit composition and …

This report discusses the justice John Paul Stevens that played a pivotal role in determining the scope of executive-branch power in a post-9/11 world. After 9/11, Congress quickly authorized the Executive to respond to the terrorist attacks using military force

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The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was requested to provide Savannah River Remediation (SRR) with a recommended frit composition for Sludge Batch 6 (SB6) to optimize processing at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). This report discusses the results of a series of melt rate experiments that were completed in support of the frit recommendation and the preparation of the feed used in the testing. The objective of the work was to identify the impact of individual frit component concentrations on melt rate for both SB6 and for DWPF sludge batches in general. The dry fed, Melt Rate Furnace (MRF) was used to compare the relative melt rate performance of several candidate frit compositions. Sludge composition projection changes and variation led to the fabrication and testing of several new frits along with Frit 418, which is currently utilized at the DWPF for Sludge Batch 5 (SB5) processing. The melt rate testing results show that changes in the frit composition, such as increases in B{sub 2}O{sub 3} or Li{sub 2}O concentrations, can provide a faster melt rate for SB6 relative to Frit 418. However, the composition of SB6 as currently projected (February 2010 blended with a 40 inch heel of SB5) …

This report provides an overview of nanotechnology, the National Nanotechnology Initiative, possible reauthorization of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-153), and appropriations issues.

This report provides an overview of the current border protection framework and its operationally oriented strategic elements and measures their effectiveness. The report draws on documents from Congress and the Administration, as well as other publications, to pull together an overarching picture of protection at the border. This overview includes a historical background and a definition of what "border protection" means in a contemporary context. Building on this definition, the report provides two theoretical models for border protection approaches based on unilateral and cooperative approaches, followed by an extended analysis of the major elements within the current border protection framework. This analysis also includes discussions of how and why, certain strategic elements notwithstanding, many of the current border-related security policies focus on the physical border rather than conceptualizing the border in broader terms. Lastly, this report offers some policy options--both short-term and long-term--for addressing the effectiveness of current border protection policies.

This report discusses the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, P.L. 93-288, which presents several options, and could provide a number of programs, to address the Gulf Coast oil spill. The Stafford Act authorizes the President to issue "major disaster" or "emergency" declarations before or after catastrophes occur. Emergency declarations trigger aid that protects property, public health, and safety and lessens or averts the threat of an incident becoming a catastrophic event.

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In April 2008, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) conducted groundwater sampling for the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the existing network of monitoring points at Everest, Kansas (Argonne 2008). The objective of the 2008 investigation was to monitor the distribution of carbon tetrachloride contamination in groundwater previously identified in CCC/USDA site characterization and groundwater sampling studies at Everest in 2000-2006 (Argonne 2001, 2003, 2006a,b). The work at Everest is being undertaken on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, under the oversight of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The findings of the 2008 investigation were as follows: (1) Measurements of groundwater levels obtained manually and through the use of automatic recorders demonstrated a consistent pattern of groundwater flow - and inferred contaminant migration - to the north-northwest from the former CCC/USDA facility toward the Nigh property, and then west-southwest from the Nigh property toward the intermittent creek that lies west of the former CCC/USDA facility and the Nigh property. (2) The range of concentrations and the areal distribution of carbon tetrachloride identified in the groundwater at Everest in April 2008 were generally consistent with previous results. The results …

May report of the U.S. Congressional Oversight Panel describing their activities and findings regarding the financial assistance and extension of credit to small businesses through the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

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This report examines the evolution of counterterrorism cooperation between the United States and the European Union (EU), particularly since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It includes a discussion of U.S.-EU cooperation progress and ongoing challenges, as well as perspectives and issues for Congress.

This report provides an estimate of the initial impact of the changing oil prices on the nation's merchandise trade balance.

Now in its seventh year of operation, the Laboratory Computing Resource Center (LCRC) continues to be an integral component of science and engineering research at Argonne, supporting a diverse portfolio of projects for the U.S. Department of Energy and other sponsors. The LCRC's ongoing mission is to enable and promote computational science and engineering across the Laboratory, primarily by operating computing facilities and supporting high-performance computing application use and development. This report describes scientific activities carried out with LCRC resources in 2009 and the broad impact on programs across the Laboratory. The LCRC computing facility, Jazz, is available to the entire Laboratory community. In addition, the LCRC staff provides training in high-performance computing and guidance on application usage, code porting, and algorithm development. All Argonne personnel and collaborators are encouraged to take advantage of this computing resource and to provide input into the vision and plans for computing and computational analysis at Argonne. The LCRC Allocations Committee makes decisions on individual project allocations for Jazz. Committee members are appointed by the Associate Laboratory Directors and span a range of computational disciplines. The 350-node LCRC cluster, Jazz, began production service in April 2003 and has been a research work horse ever …

Assessments were performed to evaluate compliance with the airborne radionuclide emission monitoring requirements in the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants ([NESHAP]; U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Part 61, Subpart H) and Washington Administrative Code 246-247: Radiation Protection - Air Emissions. In these NESHAP assessments, potential unabated off-site doses were evaluated for emission locations at buildings that are part of the consolidated laboratory campus of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This report describes the inventory-based methods and provides the results for the NESHAP assessment performed in 2010.

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This report provides information about the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

This report highlights actions taken and issues raised as a result of the April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, and the resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Readers can access more extensive discussions in various CRS reports, identified at the end of this report.