This report uses the context of the current and long-term economic environment to examine the tax cuts implemented by the George W. Bush Administration, including the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003.

From Summary: "This report contains a more detailed summary of the major similarities and differences between the House and Senate 2012 farm bills and also provides a side-by-side comparison of every provision in the two farm bills and how these provisions relate to current federal law or policy."

The delicate balance among cellular pathways that control mutagenic changes in DNA will be the focus of the 2012 Mutagenesis Gordon Research Conference. Mutagenesis is essential for evolution, while genetic stability maintains cellular functions in all organisms from microbes to metazoans. Different systems handle DNA lesions at various times of the cell cycle and in different places within the nucleus, and inappropriate actions can lead to mutations. While mutation in humans is closely linked to disease, notably cancers, mutational systems can also be beneficial. The conference will highlight topics of beneficial mutagenesis, including full establishment of the immune system, cell survival mechanisms, and evolution and adaptation in microbial systems. Equal prominence will be given to detrimental mutation processes, especially those involved in driving cancer, neurological diseases, premature aging, and other threats to human health. Provisional session titles include Branching Pathways in Mutagenesis; Oxidative Stress and Endogenous DNA Damage; DNA Maintenance Pathways; Recombination, Good and Bad; Problematic DNA Structures; Localized Mutagenesis; Hypermutation in the Microbial World; and Mutation and Disease.

Density-functional formalism is applied to study the ground state properties of {gamma}-U-Zr and {gamma}-U-Mo solid solutions. Calculated heats of formation are compared with CALPHAD assessments. We discuss how the heat of formation in both alloys correlates with the charge transfer between the alloy components. The decomposition curves for {gamma}-based U-Zr and U-Mo solid solutions are derived from Ising-type Monte Carlo simulations. We explore the idea of stabilization of the {delta}-UZr{sub 2} compound against the {alpha}-Zr (hcp) structure due to increase of Zr d-band occupancy by the addition of U to Zr. We discuss how the specific behavior of the electronic density of states in the vicinity of the Fermi level promotes the stabilization of the U{sub 2}Mo compound. The mechanism of possible Am redistribution in the U-Zr and U-Mo fuels is also discussed.

This report summarizes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the legal challenges it has faced. The report contains information on various lawsuits due to the ACA and provides the reasoning behind them as Congress violating its enumerated powers in the constitution. Moreover, the report covers the challenges of implementing the law.

This report discusses the lawsuits challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Moreover, the report also discusses how the Supreme Court granted three petitions of certiorari and scheduled oral arguments in 2012.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. government (USG), non-USG coalition, and DOD contractor personnel perform various roles in the ANP training program. These roles include: (1) serving as advisors and mentors to build ministerial capacity in areas such as financial and human resource management at the Afghan Ministry of Interior; (2) serving as mentors and trainers to develop Afghan commanders’ abilities to operate training sites and provide training to ANP recruits in areas such as criminal investigation, weapons, survival skills, and physical fitness; and (3) serving as embedded mentors to help deployed ANP units develop civilian policing skills. DOD contractor personnel also provide maintenance, logistics, and security support at training sites.As of November 2011, about 778 USG, non-USG coalition, and DOD contractor personnel provided ANP training and mentoring at 23 NATO-managed sites. Approximately 66 percent of these trainers and mentors were non-USG coalition personnel, 21 percent were USG personnel, and the remaining 13 percent were DOD contractor personnel. In addition, about 2,825 DOD contractor personnel provided maintenance, logistics, and security services at 12 NATO-managed training sites."

This report considers the U.S. Department of Agriculture's program for Research, Education, and Economics (REE). Moreover, the report discusses the amount of funding for the REE and debates the direction of it.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Actual trust-fund revenues fell short of FAA’s revenue forecasts for 9 of the past 11 years, contributing to a decline in the trust fund’s uncommitted balance from over $7 billion in fiscal year 2000 to $770 million in fiscal year 2010. Inaccurate forecasts for the taxes related to domestic passenger tickets, which account for over 70 percent of trust-fund revenues, drove the aggregate overforecast, but inaccurate forecasts for other taxes also had an effect. This inaccuracy is largely attributable to unexpected events affecting aviation, such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the recession in 2009; the budget process requiring the forecasts to be developed over a year in advance of the fiscal year; and lags in recognizing structural changes in the airline industry, such as airlines’ increased reliance on ancillary fees for which excise taxes for the trust fund are not collected. Changes in the methodology for forecasting trust-fund revenues and the assumption of forecasting responsibility by Treasury, begun in fiscal year 2011, may also affect the future accuracy of forecasts, but it is too soon to tell what effect the changes will …

Data were collected with the AGS internal (E880) polarimeter at G{gamma} = 12.5 during the FY04 polarized proton run. Measurements were made with forward scintillation counters in coincidence with recoil counter telescopes, permitting an absolute calibration of the polarimeter for both nylon and carbon targets. The results are summarized and they will also be useful for an absolute calibration of the AGS CNI polarimeter at G{gamma} = 12.5.

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The objective of this project was to discover the protein complexes and control mechanisms that determine the location of actin filament roadways in plant cells. Our work provided the first molecular description of protein complexes that are converted from inactive complexes to active actin filament nucleators in the cell. These discoveries provided a conceptual framework to control to roadways in plant cells that determine the location and delivery of plant metabolites and storage molecules that are relevant to the bioenergy economy.

This is a report about the Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory.

This paper describes design, calibration, and testing of a dual He-3 detector neutron backscatter gauge for use in the Savannah River Site Mixed Oxide Fuel project. The gauge is demonstrated to measure boron content and uniformity in concrete slabs used in the facility construction.

The main objective of the Bexar County Parking Garage Photovoltaic (PV) Panel project is to install a PV System that will promote the use of renewable energy. This project will also help sustain Bexar County ongoing greenhouse gas emissions reduction and energy efficiency goals. The scope of this project includes the installation of a 100-kW system on the top level of a new 236,285 square feet parking garage. The PV system consists of 420 solar panels that covers 7,200 square feet and is tied into the electric-grid. It provides electricity to the office area located within the garage. The estimated annual electricity production of the PV system is 147,000 kWh per year.

For decades biologists, water users, and lawmakers (both federal and state) have attempted to craft a system that meets the needs of California water users while ensuring sufficient usable water for fish. Under California's hybrid system of appropriate water rights, users are issued permits for water diverted from rivers and streams regardless of the users' proximity to the source of water. This report details the proceedings related to the long-term central valley project and state water project operations criteria and biological opinions regarding that plan.

This report discusses the two main groups of spending reductions in the Budget Control Act of 2011: (1) discretionary spending caps and (2) an automatic $1.2 trillion spending reduction process that comes into effect on January 02, 2012. It also looks at projected effects of the Act.

Following a lengthy debate over raising the debt limit, the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25) was signed into law by President Obama on August 2, 2011. To provide context for this debate, this report discusses the effects of the BCA on spending and the deficit, assuming that the January 2013 automatic spending reductions proceed as scheduled.

This report discusses the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25), which established new budget enforcement mechanisms for reducing the federal deficit by at least $2.1 trillion over the 10-year period FY2012-FY2021. The BCA places statutory limits, or caps, on discretionary spending for each of those 10 fiscal years, which will save an estimated $0.9 trillion during that period. In addition, it creates a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Joint Committee), which is instructed to develop legislation to reduce the federal deficit by at least another $1.5 trillion through FY2021.

This report draws on over three dozen studies with recommendations to improve the current national security system. The studies surveyed include three prepared by the Project on National Security Reform, with comprehensive recommendations, four prepared or co-sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and two by RAND in conjunction with the American Academy of Diplomats, as well as reports by the Council on Foreign Relations, the Defense Science Board, the National Defense University, and others. This report draws from these studies, as well as a few articles, for recommendations to improve strategy-making, planning, and budgeting; to improve institutional authorities, structures and arrangements; and, to create interagency personnel policies and mechanisms.

This guide is a summary of the campaign finance regulations applicable to political committees.

Significant updates were made to the multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer (MFRSR) cloud optical depth (MFRSRCLDOD) value-added product (VAP) in 2011. The original intent of the update was to add quality control (QC) flags and to update the VAP to use the improved retrievals of liquid water path (LWP) from the Microwave Radiometer Retrievals (MWRRET) VAP rather than the statistical retrievals of LWP from the Microwave Radiometer Line of Sight (MWRLOS) datastream. Although this was originally intended to be a straightforward update of the code, it became more complicated due to the following factors: (1) a new developer and translator team were working with the code; (2) numerous small changes had to be made to the code to consistently implement the QC flags; and (3) ARM standards have changed over the years since the code was originally developed.

This report covers the question of how the United States should respond to China's military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, has emerged as a key issue in U.S. defense planning. The question is of particular importance to the U.S. Navy, because many U.S. military programs for countering improved Chinese military forces would fall within the Navy's budget. Potential oversight issues for Congress include the following: whether the U.S. Navy in coming years will be large enough to adequately counter improved Chinese maritime anti-access forces while also adequately performing other missions of interest to U.S. policymakers around the world; the Navy's ability to counter Chinese ASBMs and submarines; and whether the Navy, in response to China's maritime anti-access capabilities, should shift over time to a more distributed fleet architecture.

The question of how the United States should respond to China's military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, has emerged as a key issue in U.S. defense planning. The question is of particular importance to the U.S. Navy, because many U.S. military programs for countering improved Chinese military forces would fall within the Navy's budget. Potential oversight issues for Congress include the following: whether the U.S. Navy in coming years will be large enough to adequately counter improved Chinese maritime anti-access forces while also adequately performing other missions of interest to U.S. policymakers around the world; the Navy's ability to counter Chinese ASBMs and submarines; and whether the Navy, in response to China's maritime anti-access capabilities, should shift over time to a more distributed fleet architecture.