The President's FY2011 budget request, released February 1, 2010, included $733.3 billion in new budget authority for national defense. This report discusses and break downs these defense appropriations.

This report discusses the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) that is currently being developed by the Army and the Marine Corps as a successor to the 11 different versions of the High Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) that have been in service since 1985. There are concerns about the affordability of JLTVs and its redundancy with other tactical wheeled vehicles.

This report reviews and discusses President Obama's Open Government Initiative and the Open Government Directive. The report then analyzes both agency response to the OGI and the OGD, and examines whether the OGD's requirements can meet the stated goals of the Administration. The report discusses the three central tenets of the Administration's OGD--transparency, public participation, and collaboration--and analyzes each one individually to determine whether agencies are meeting these requirements and whether the requirements may improve the effectiveness of the federal government.

This report provides background information and presents potential issues, as well as costs, for Congress concerning the U.S. Navy's ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans. The planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy's shipbuilding plans have been matters of concern for the congressional defense committees for the past several years.

This report seeks to clarify why one group of individuals with disabilities may be eligible for benefits under Veteran's Disability Compensation (VDC), but ineligible for benefits under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) (and vice versa), through a description and comparison of several distinguishing characteristics of the SSDI and VDC programs. This report concludes with a discussion of the challenges facing the administration of both programs, including processing delays for pending claims and appeals.

This report discusses how U.S. policy towards the multilateral development banks (MDBs) is developed and implemented in the executive branch and the agencies that are involved. It also analyzes the three main sources of congressional influence--legislative authority, the power of the purse, and oversight activities-- on U.S. policy towards the development banks. Finally, it examines the levels of funding Congress has approved for MDBs, budgetary issues and the policy directives that Congress has initiated over the years.

This report discusses the free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the European Union (EU). It looks at various aspects of the South Korea-EU FTA (KOREU FTA) including economic ties, trade strategies, and an overview of the key provisions of the agreement focusing on manufactured goods, agriculture, services, and various other provisions of particular interest to U.S. policymakers and the U.S. business community. The report also gives an analysis of the potential economic impact of the KOREU FTA and potential implications of the agreement for the United States.

This report discusses health savings accounts (HSAs), which are generally used to pay for unreimbursed medical expenses on a tax-advantaged basis. HSAs are tax-advantaged and provide some incentives for people to monitor, and perhaps reduce, their expenditures on health care.

The Congressional Research Service frequently receives inquiries about legislative planning. Legislative and office action plans are often used by congressional offices for almost every significant project, from organizing an extensive conference in the district or state to introducing and guiding legislation. A major action plan requires a firm understanding of the project's goal, a research strategy, and a time line for completing the project. This report presents some of the factors usually considered in preparing an action plan. The information is provided in three sections. The first provides an overview which lays out summary considerations. The second raises questions to consider in preparing an outline for a project. The third details a sample action plan.

This report discusses the current political state of Iran, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Iran relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.

The detention of alleged enemy combatants at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, together with proposals to transfer some such individuals to the United States for prosecution or continued detention, has been a subject of considerable interest for Congress. Several authorization and appropriations measures enacted during the 111th Congress, and various pending bills, address the disposition and treatment of Guantanamo detainees. This report analyzes relevant provisions in enacted legislation and selected pending bills.

The annual financial report of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for fiscal year 2010, including statements of assets, revenues, expenditures, and other financial records as well as supplementary notes and schedules.

This report contains the legislative history of medical devices, and provides an overview of the medical device-related legislative issues facing Congress.

The Positron Source for the International Linear Collider requires an optical matching device after the target to increase the capture efficiency for positrons. Pulsed flux concentrators have been used by previous machines to improve the capture efficiency but the ILC has a 1 ms long pulse train which is too long for a standard flux concentrator. A pulsed flux concentrator with a 40 ms flat top was created for a hyperon experiment in 1965 which used liquid nitrogen cooling to reduce the resistance of the concentrating plates and extend the lifetime of the pulse. We report on a design for a 1 ms device based on this concept.

This report summarizes the drilling operations and subsequent interpretation of thermal and geochemical data from the New Mexico Tech NMT-2GT (OSE RG- 05276 POD) test well. This slim hole was drilled along an elongate heat-flow anomaly at the base of the Socorro Mountains to better assess the geothermal resource potential (Socorro Peak geothermal system) on the western side of the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro, New Mexico. The reservoir depth, hydraulic properties, temperature and chemistry were unknown prior to drilling. The purpose of the NMT-2GT (OSE RG-05276 POD) well was to explore the feasibility of providing geothermal fluids for a proposed district space heating system on the New Mexico Tech campus. With DOE cost over runs funds we completed NMT-2GT to a depth of 1102 feet at the Woods Tunnel drill site. Temperatures were nearly constant (41 oC ) between a depth of 400–1102 feet. Above this isothermal zone, a strong temperature gradient was observed (210 oC /km) beneath the water table consistent with vertical convective heat transfer. The existence of a groundwater upflow zone was further supported by measured vertical hydraulic head measurements which varied between about 258 feet at the water table to 155 feet at a …

Annual financial report of the Texas Lottery Commission for fiscal year 2010, providing statements of assets, expenditures, revenues, and other relevant data as well as the report of an independent auditor.

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