A look at the background of annual intelligence authorization acts until 2005. Discussion of the FY2005 Intelligence Authorization bill signed by President Bush, the FY2011 Intelligence Authorization Act passed by Congress and signed into P.L. 112-18 by President Obama, and the Intelligence Authorization for FY2012, which was signed into law by President Obama as P.L. 112-87.

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.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Although the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enforces compliance with mandatory federal safety standards, it is also required by law to rely on voluntary safety standards when it determines that the standard adequately addresses the product hazard and is likely to have substantial compliance. Voluntary standards—developed by industry, consumer, and government participants through a consensus process—cover many of the thousands of types of products in CPSC’s jurisdiction. Compliance with voluntary standards is not routinely tracked, but it is generally considered to be high by industry participants. Compliance with these standards also depends on industry and legal factors, such as retailer requirements to demonstrate proof of compliance with voluntary safety standards and risk of liability in product liability lawsuits."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From fiscal years 2006 to 2010, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) reported more than a doubling of National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) member agencies’ funding for nanotechnology environmental, health, and safety (EHS) research––from approximately $38 million to $90 million. Reported EHS research funding also rose as a percentage of total nanotechnology funding over the same period, ending at about 5 percent in 2010. However, GAO identified several reporting problems that raise concerns about the quality of EHS funding data reported. For example, for 18 percent of the 2010 projects GAO reviewed that were reported as EHS research, it was not clear that the projects were primarily directed at EHS risks. In addition, NNI member agencies did not always report funding using comparable data. The absence of detailed guidance on how agencies should report funding for their nanotechnology research has contributed to these problems, as GAO also reported in 2008 and made a related recommendation."

This report discusses the U.S.-China economic relationship and China's rapid expansion as a global economic market, both with respect to the current global economic crisis. It also examines major U.S.-China trade issues and related legislation.

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Alkanes are our most abundant organic resource but are highly resistant to selective chemical transformations. Alkenes (olefins) by contrast are the single most versatile class of molecules for selective transformations, and are intermediates in virtually every petrochemical process as well as a vast range of commodity and fine chemical processes. Over the course of this project we have developed the most efficient catalysts to date for the selective conversion of alkanes to give olefins, and have applied these catalysts to other dehydrogenation reactions. We have also developed some of the first efficient catalysts for carbonylation of alkanes and arenes to give aldehydes. The development of these catalysts has been accompanied by elucidation of the mechanism of their operation and the factors controlling the kinetics and thermodynamics of C-H bond activation and other individual steps of the catalytic cycles. This fundamental understanding will allow the further improvement of these catalysts, as well as the development of the next generation of catalysts for the functionalization of alkanes and other molecules containing C-H bonds.