A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Computer networks and infrastructures, on which the United States and much of the world rely to communicate and conduct business, contain vulnerabilities that can leave them susceptible to unauthorized access, disruption, or attack. Investing in research and development (R&D) is essential to protect critical systems and to enhance the cybersecurity of both the government and the private sector. Federal law has called for improvements in cybersecurity R&D, and, recently, President Obama has stated that advancing R&D is one of his administration's top priorities for improving cybersecurity. GAO was asked to determine the key challenges in enhancing national-level cybersecurity R&D efforts among the federal government and private companies. To do this, GAO consulted with officials from relevant federal agencies and experts from private sector companies and academic institutions as well as analyzed key documents, such as agencies' research plans."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO testified before a Congressional subcommittee on April 28, 2010, to discuss current issues related to military compensation. This letter responds questions for the record from the hearing. (1) Is the ECI an appropriate index to use to adjust military basic pay rates annually? If not, is there a benchmark that is more appropriate? (2) Please explain what the impact on the Defense budget would be if Congress directed an increase in the pay raise by one percent, or half a percent without offsets. (3) Is there a better metric than the ECI to gauge what an annual pay raise should be? (4) Does the current pay table need adjustment? (5) What do you think the effect of reducing the requirement for entitlement to retired pay below 20 years would be on the ability to retain the personnel we need in leadership positions in the Armed Forces? (6) Last year, the Navy Exchange Service Command generated more than $45 million in dividends. These figures seem to indicate that commissary and exchange benefits are not especially costly to DOD and that service members place a high value on these …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In November 2009, we issued our opinion on the fiscal year 2009 financial statements of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Our report also included our opinion on the effectiveness of FHFA's internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2009, and our evaluation of FHFA's compliance with provisions of selected laws and regulations for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) created FHFA and gave it responsibility for, among other things, the supervision and oversight of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the 12 federal home loan banks. Specifically, FHFA was assigned responsibility for ensuring that the regulated entities operate in a fiscally safe and sound manner, including maintenance of adequate capital and internal controls, in carrying out their housing and community development finance mission. HERA requires FHFA to annually prepare financial statements, and requires GAO to audit these statements. HERA established FHFA as an independent agency on July 30, 2008. HERA also abolished, effective within 1 year of the act's enactment, the Office of Federal Housing …

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In this report, we present a synthetic method for the formation of cuprous sulfide (Cu2S) and lead sulfide (PbS) nanomaterials directly on substrates from the thermolysis of single-source precursors. We find that the final morphology and arrangement of the nanomaterials may be controlled through the concentration of the dissolved precursors and choice of solvent. One-dimensional (1-D) morphologies may also be grown onto substrates with the addition of a metal catalyst layer through solution-liquid-solid (SLS) growth. These synthetic techniques may be expanded to other metal sulfide materials.

Our research group has been engaged in the past few years in the synthesis of biphenol based partially disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) random copolymers as potential PEMs. This series of polymers are named as BPSH-xx, where BP stands for biphenol, S stands for sulfonated, H stands for acidified and xx represents the degree of disulfonation. All of these sulfonated copolymers phase separate to form nano scale hydrophilic and hydrophobic morphological domains. The hydrophilic phase containing the sulfonic acid moieties causes the copolymer to absorb water. Water confined in hydrophilic pores in concert with the sulfonic acid groups serve the critical function of proton (ion) conduction and water transport in these systems. Both Nafion and BPSH show high proton conductivity at fully hydrated conditions. However proton transport is especially limited at low hydration level for the BPSH random copolymer. It has been observed that the diffusion coefficients of both water and protons change with the water content of the pore. This change in proton and water transport mechanisms with hydration level has been attributed to the solvation of the acid groups and the amount of bound and bulk-like water within a pore. At low hydration levels most of the water is …

The characteristic strong colors of aqueous actinide solutions form the basis of analytical techniques for actinides based on absorption spectroscopy. Colorimetric measurements of samples from processing activities have been used for at least half a century. This seemingly mature technology has been recently revitalized by developments in chemometric data analysis. Where reliable measurements could formerly only be obtained under well-defined conditions, modern methods are robust with respect to variations in acidity, concentration of complexants and spectral interferents, and temperature. This paper describes two examples of the use of process absorption spectroscopy for Pu analysis at the Savannah River Site, in Aiken, SC. In one example, custom optical filters allow accurate colorimetric measurements of Pu in a stream with rapid nitric acid variation. The second example demonstrates simultaneous measurement of Pu and U by chemometric treatment of absorption spectra. The paper concludes with a description of the use of these analyzers to supplement existing technologies in nuclear materials monitoring in processing, reprocessing, and storage facilities.

Shipment of radioactive materials (RAM) is discussed in the Code of Federal Regulations in parts of both 49 CFR and 10 CFR. The regulations provide the requirements and rules necessary for the safe shipment of RAM across public highways, railways, waterways, and through the air. These shipments are sometimes referred to as in-commerce shipments. Shipments of RAM entirely within the boundaries of Department of Energy sites, such as the Savannah River Site (SRS), can be made using methodology allowing provisions to maintain equivalent safety while deviating from the regulations for in-commerce shipments. These onsite shipments are known as transfers at the SRS. These transfers must follow the requirements approved in a site-specific Transportation Safety Document (TSD). The TSD defines how the site will transfer materials so that they have equivalence to the regulations. These equivalences are documented in an Onsite Safety Assessment (OSA). The OSA can show how a particular packaging used onsite is equivalent to that which would be used for an in-commerce shipment. This is known as a deterministic approach. However, when a deterministic approach is not viable, the TSD allows for a risk-based OSA to be written. These risk-based assessments show that if a packaging does not …

The 105-R Reactor Disassembly Basin Grout Placement Strategy Report (SRNL-TR-2009-00157) identifies various portions of the facility that will undergo an in-situ decommissioning process. The estimated residual radioactive contamination in the 105-R facility is shown in Figure 1. Cementitious grout formulations developed by SRNL are being used to immobilize and isolate the radioactive contamination in existing below grade portions of the 105-R building as shown by the gray-hatched area in Figure 2. A Zero Bleed flowable fill was formulated for both dry placement and for underwater placement. The first major area in the 105-R Disassembly Basin to undergo the grouting process was the D&E Canal and an underlying void space known as the Chase. Grout temperature data was needed to ensure that the grout mix design was on the correct grout curing trajectory to meet the material compressive strength requirement of 50 pounds per square inch. Initial grout temperature measurements were needed to confirm and optimize grout mix design fresh property characteristics; i.e. material strength, and set time. Grout curing temperature is an integrating fresh property characteristic that is used to estimate cementitious material strength in accordance with the Standard Practice for Estimating Concrete Strength by the Maturity Method, ASTM C …

This report is an evaluation of Best Available Control Technology for Toxics (tBACT) for installation and operation of the Hanford double shell (DST) tank primary ventilation systems. The DST primary ventilation systems are being modified to support Hanford's waste retrieval, mixing, and delivery of single shell tank (SST) and DST waste throught the DST storage system to the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP).

This report covers the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and U.S. - Mexico drug trafficking. It also looks at migration, environmental issues, legislation in the 111th, and the relationship between the Obama Administration and Mexico.

This report summarizes the FY2011 budget request for research & development (R&D) funding, including comparisons to R&D funding requests in the FY2010 budget. Congress will play a central role in defining the nation's R&D priorities, especially with respect to two overarching issues: the extent to which the Federal R&D investment can grow in the context of increased pressure on discretionary spending and how available funding will be prioritized and allocated. This report breaks down in detail the various aspects of the President's FY2011 R&D funding request.

This report discusses political, economic, and security challenges facing Azerbaijan, including the unsettled conflict in the breakaway Nagorno Karabakh region. A table provides basic facts and biographical information. Related products include CRS Report RL33453, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests, by Jim Nichol.

This report summarizes the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and discuses its expansions by the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). The report specifically targets "substantially limits" in its investigation that relate to testing accommodations gained under the ADAAA.

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This is a study to analyze possible strategies to provide reliable and policy-actionable information on the state and trajectory of change across the Arctic system.

This report discusses political, economic, and security challenges facing Azerbaijan, including the unsettled conflict in the breakaway Nagorno Karabakh region. A table provides basic facts and biographical information. Related products include CRS Report RL33453, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests, by Jim Nichol.

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

In 1993, after many months of study, debate, and political controversy, Congress passed and President Clinton signed legislation establishing a revised "[p]olicy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces." The new legislation reflected a compromise regarding the U.S. military's policy toward members of the armed forces who engage in homosexual conduct. This compromise, colloquially referred to as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)," holds that "[t]he presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion which are the essence of military capability." Service members are not to be asked about, nor allowed to discuss, their sexual orientation. This compromise notwithstanding, the issue has remained both politically and legally contentious. This report provides a legal analysis of the various constitutional challenges that have been brought against DADT.

This report provides an overview of Mexico's motivations for entering the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Mexican economy, the economic effects of NAFTA in Mexico, and the views of NAFTA within Mexico. It also provides information on NAFTA's effect on Mexico's agricultural sector because this has been one of the more controversial issues surrounding NAFTA in Mexico.

This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001. OEF actions took place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.

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