A presentation at the 22nd Industry Growth Forum by Tod Perry that provides information and statistics about the presenting companies.

This report begins with discussion of the issue and scope of child abuse and neglect, followed by a discussion of the manner and scope of the work of the child protective services (CPS) agency in receiving and responding to allegations of child abuse or neglect, and then looks at some identified risk factors for poor child and family outcomes among all children in families investigated for abuse or neglect.

This report discusses climate change and issues related to carbon leakage by examining the European Union's (EU's) cap-and-trade program with a review and analysis of various EU efforts to address the concerns of energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries. Additionally, it considers similar provisions enacted or proposed by the U.S. and analyzes potential World Trade Organization (WTO) implications in relation to U.S. trade agreements.

The heightened commodity price volatility of 2008 and the subsequent acceleration in U.S. food price inflation raised concerns and generated many questions about farm and food price movements by Members of Congress and their constituents. This report responds to those concerns by addressing the nature and measurement of retail food price inflation.

This report provides background and rationale on collaborative R&D, and discusses federal initiative in cooperative R&D.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) prepositions equipment at strategic locations around the world to enable it to field combat-ready forces in days, rather than the weeks it would take if equipment had to be moved from the United States to the locations of conflicts. These prepositioned materiel and equipment sets have played an important role in supporting ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, sustained operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a toll on the condition and readiness of military equipment. Over the last few years, we have identified a number of ongoing and long-term challenges regarding DOD's prepositioned stocks. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 added an annual reporting requirement to Title 10 of the United States Code that directs DOD to submit a report to the congressional defense committees on the status of prepositioned materiel and equipment as of the end of each fiscal year, no later than the date of the submission of the President's annual budget request. For this report, our objective was to determine what additional information in future DOD reports on the status of its prepositioned materiel and …

This report examines and analyzes alternative proposals for change to the electoral college system, presents pro and con arguments, and identifies and analyzes 111th Congress proposals and contemporary alternative reform developments.

This report provides information about The Current and Upcoming Issues on Federal Budget. The Federal Budget implements congress's " power of the purse".

The DOZA DKG-05D electronic personal dosimeter (EPD) was the subject of a limited type-test evaluation in support of Plutonium Production Reactor Agreement (PPRA) Implementation. The primary goal of this evaluation was to provide confidence in the functionality of the dosimeter and identify potential weaknesses in PPRA applications. The tests were based on IEC-61526, recommendations of the International Electrotechnical Commission pertaining to EPDs. All tests were performed in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Radiological Calibrations and Standards Facility in the 318 building. The first testing category was functional considerations. The tests found that the mechanical characteristics of the DKG-05D support usability. However, user controls are not intuitive and straightforward, and the user instructions were unclear and difficult to follow. The unit functioned in a variety of humidity conditions. In high temperature conditions it performed well. However, in cold conditions the display began to fade, which limits its usefulness below about 5 °C. The vendor claims that the unit functions to -20 °C, and it may be correctly recording doses at that low temperature, but the doses cannot be read in real time. Testing found that battery life is generally good, operating for 200 hours on a full charge. This is far …

We simulate long-period (T > 1.0-2.0 s) and broadband (T > 0.1 s) ground motions for 39 scenarios earthquakes (Mw 6.7-7.2) involving the Hayward, Calaveras, and Rodgers Creek faults. For rupture on the Hayward fault we consider the effects of creep on coseismic slip using two different approaches, both of which reduce the ground motions compared with neglecting the influence of creep. Nevertheless, the scenario earthquakes generate strong shaking throughout the San Francisco Bay area with about 50% of the urban area experiencing MMI VII or greater for the magnitude 7.0 scenario events. Long-period simulations of the 2007 Mw 4.18 Oakland and 2007 Mw 4.5 Alum Rock earthquakes show that the USGS Bay Area Velocity Model version 08.3.0 permits simulation of the amplitude and duration of shaking throughout the San Francisco Bay area, with the greatest accuracy in the Santa Clara Valley (San Jose area). The ground motions exhibit a strong sensitivity to the rupture length (or magnitude), hypocenter (or rupture directivity), and slip distribution. The ground motions display a much weaker sensitivity to the rise time and rupture speed. Peak velocities, peak accelerations, and spectral accelerations from the synthetic broadband ground motions are, on average, slightly higher than the …

This report discusses Congressional debate of comprehensive immigration reform and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest.

This report presents data collected by the Census Bureau in the Current Population Survey from 1969 through 2009 about the employment status and the sources and amounts of income received by people aged 65 and older.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "High-level nuclear waste--one of the nation's most hazardous substances--is accumulating at 80 sites in 35 states. The United States has generated 70,000 metric tons of nuclear waste and is expected to generate 153,000 metric tons by 2055. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended, requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to dispose of the waste in a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. However, the repository is more than a decade behind schedule, and the nuclear waste generally remains at the commercial nuclear reactor sites and DOE sites where it was generated. This report examines the key attributes, challenges, and costs of the Yucca Mountain repository and the two principal alternatives to a repository that nuclear waste management experts identified: storing the nuclear waste at two centralized locations and continuing to store the waste on site where it was generated. GAO developed models of total cost ranges for each alternative using component cost estimates provided by the nuclear waste management experts. However, GAO did not compare these alternatives because of significant differences in their inherent characteristics that …

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This document provides a framework for a standard Measurement and Verification (M&V) plan for lighting projects. It was developed to support cost-effective retrofits (partial and complete replacements) of lighting systems and is intended to provide a foundation for an M&V plan for a lighting retrofit utilizing a "best practice" approach, and to provide guidance to site owners, contractors, and other involved organizations on what is essential for a robust M&V plan for lighting projects. This document provides examples of appropriate elements of an M&V plan, including the calculation of expected energy savings. The standard M&V plan, as provided, also allows for consistent comparison with other similar lighting projects. Although intended for lighting retrofit applications, M&V plans developed per this framework document may also be used for other non-lighting technology retrofits and new installations.

This report discusses the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986, which was enacted to improve absentee registration and voting for this group of voters and to consolidate existing laws.

PowerPoint presentation given by Dave Mooney at the NREL Industry Forum on renewable and efficiency technology integration.

In September 2005, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) initiated periodic sampling of groundwater in the vicinity of a grain storage facility formerly operated by the CCC/USDA at Morrill, Kansas. The sampling at Morrill is being performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by Argonne National Laboratory, in accord with a monitoring program approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), to monitor levels of carbon tetrachloride contamination identified in the groundwater at this site (Argonne 2004, 2005a). This report provides results for the most recent monitoring event, in April 2008. Under the KDHE-approved monitoring plan (Argonne 2005b), groundwater was initially sampled twice yearly for a recommended period of two years (in fall 2005, in spring and fall 2006, and in spring and fall 2007). The samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as for selected geochemical parameters to aid in the evaluation of possible natural contaminant degradation (reductive dechlorination) processes in the subsurface environment. During the recommended two-year period, the originally approved scope of the monitoring was expanded to include vegetation sampling (initiated in October 2006) and surface water and stream bed sediment sampling (initiated in March 2007, after a …

This is the final Report summarizing the activities of the proposal to invetigate the potential of deep fueling a spherical torus or tokamak using high velocity injection of compact toroids.

This report examines the life and works of Dr. King, and the various honors and memorials which Congress has authorized.

During the contract year beginning July 1, 2007 and ending June 30, 2008, the CREP technician contacted 15 new landowners regarding an interest in either the CREP or the Continuous CRP programs. Most landowners requested a second meeting and most sites were visited to discuss possibilities of enrolling in a USDA riparian program. This year, a considerable amount of time was spent providing technical assistance to prior contracts as the practices are implemented. More time is being spent in planning site preparation so that NRCS and FSAs increasing concerns over plant survival are satisfied. A continued concern that the rate paid to the landowner for maintenance is not enough. Controlling competing vegetation is a major factor in increasing plant survival. Increasing costs in the methods used to control unwanted plants has made it difficult for contract holders to perform these methods as effectively as they would like. The projects that have continued maintenance are considerably more successful.

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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.