This report briefly discusses some of the major immigration areas under consideration in comprehensive reform proposals suggested by the 9/11 Commission, including asylum, biometric tracking systems, border security, document security, exclusion, immigration enforcement, and visa issuances. It refers to other CRS reports that discuss these issues in depth and will be updated as needed.

This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year, regarding the Department of the Interior and related agencies. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Interior and Related Agencies. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.

This report discusses issues regarding the Clean Water Act. Prospects for legislative initiatives to comprehensively amend the Clean Water Act (CWA) have stalled for some time over whether and exactly how to change the law, and Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected CWA programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. For example, the 108th Congress enacted one bill amending the CWA, legislation to reauthorize the National Estuary Program (H.R. 4731, P.L. 108-399).

Congress annually considers 13 or more appropriations measures, which provide funding for numerous activities, for example, national defense, education, homeland security, and crime. These measures also fund general government operations such as the administration of federal agencies. Congress has developed certain rules and practices for the consideration of appropriations measures, referred to as the congressional appropriations process. This report discusses the following aspects of this process: Annual appropriations cycle; Spending ceilings for appropriations associated with the annual budget resolution; and Prohibitions against certain language in appropriations measures that violate separation of the authorization and appropriation functions into separate measures.

This report describes the annual appropriations cycle from the President’s submission of his annual budget through enactment of the appropriations measures. It describes the three types of appropriations measures—regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, and supplemental bills. It explains the spending ceilings for appropriations bills that are associated with the budget resolution and the sequestration process, including a description of the mechanisms used to enforce the ceilings. It also explains the authorization appropriations process, which prohibits certain provisions in some of the appropriations bills.

This report provides an overview of the major issues which have been raised recently in the Senate regarding the Judicial Nominations, Filibusters, and the Constitution: When a Majority Is Denied Its Right to Consent and in the press concerning the constitutionality of a Senate filibuster (i.e., extended debate) of a judicial nomination.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For more than 30 years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has worked to achieve full visibility over and accessibility to its spare parts inventory. This initiative, called total asset visibility (TAV), aims to provide timely, accurate information on the location, movement, status, and identity of units, personnel, equipment, and supplies. In 1999, GAO examined DOD's TAV implementation approach and recommended that DOD develop a strategic plan to guide its efforts. DOD did not concur and stated it would rely on the components to individually achieve TAV. DOD's current target to achieve TAV is 2010. As requested, GAO examined DOD's progress towards, and impediments to, achieving TAV over its spare parts inventory. GAO also assessed DOD's progress in ensuring that its inventory management systems comply with federal financial management standards."

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We provide a discussion of the density and photoexcitation sensitivity of the X-ray spectra of Fe L-shell ions (Fe XVII-Fe XXIV) calculated with the Livermore X-ray Spectral Synthesizer, a suite of IDL codes that calculates spectral models of highly charged ions based primarily on HULLAC atomic data. These models are applicable to collisionally ionized laboratory or cosmic plasmas with electron temperatures T{sub e} {approx} 2-45 MK (0.2-4 keV) and electron densities n{sub e} {approx}> 10{sup 11} cm{sup -3}. Potentially useful density diagnostics are identified for Fe XVII and Fe XIX-Fe XXIII, with the most straightforward being the Fe XVII I(17.10 {angstrom})/I(17.05 {angstrom}) line ratio and the Fe XXII I(11.92 {angstrom})/I(11.77 {angstrom}) line ratio. Applying these models to the Chandra X-ray Observatory High Energy Transmission Grating spectrum of the intermediate polar EX Hya, we find that the strength of all the Fe L-shell lines are consistent with electron densities n{sub e} {approx}> 1 x 10{sup 14} cm{sup -3}. Specifically, from the observed Fe XVII I(17.10{angstrom})/I(17.05{angstrom}) line ratio, we infer an electron density n{sub e} {approx}> 2 x 10{sup 14} cm{sup -3} at the 3{sigma} level, while from the observed Fe XXII I(11.92 {angstrom})/I(11.77 {angstrom}) line ratio, we infer n{sub e} = …

We present a computational study of signal propagation and attenuation of a 200 MHz dipole antenna in a cave environment. The cave is modeled as a straight and lossy random rough wall. To simulate a broad frequency band, the full wave Maxwell equations are solved directly in the time domain via a high order vector finite element discretization using the massively parallel CEM code EMSolve. The simulation is performed for a series of random meshes in order to generate statistical data for the propagation and attenuation properties of the cave environment. Results for the power spectral density and phase of the electric field vector components are presented and discussed.

The principal research effort for Year 1 of the project is drilling an infill well in the Womack Hill Field, Choctaw and Clarke Counties, Alabama. The objectives of the project are to drill and core an infill well in Womack Hill Field; to utilize samples from the core to evaluate further the feasibility of implementing an immobilized enzyme technology project in the field; and to use the new information resulting from the drilling of the well to revise and modify the 3-D geologic model, to further modify the injection strategy for the existing pressure maintenance program, and to assess whether a second infill well should be drilled using lateral/multilateral well completions.

This report discusses arguments surrounding intelligence reform legislation passed by Congress in December 2004 in response to the September 11th Terrorist Attacks and the legislation's potential impacts on the Department of Defense intelligence agencies, such as the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Updated December 6, 2004.

The 321-M Reactor Fuel Fabrication facility was used to fabricate enriched uranium fuel assemblies, lithium-aluminum target tubes, neptunium assemblies, and miscellaneous components for the production reactors. It operated for 25 years. During this time, thousands of uranium-aluminum-alloy (U-Al) fuel tubes were produced. After the facility terminated operations in 1995, all of the easily accessible U-Al was removed from the building, and only residual amounts remained. The Analytical Development Section of SRTC was tasked to conduct the required assays of highly enriched uranium in the deactivation and decommissioning activities of the facility. In this report we demonstrate successful assay of thirteen 55-gallon and 110-gallon drums in the far field transmission corrected point source acquisition configuration. Several of the drums were assayed using the commercial Q2 instrument in both the direct mode and in the segmented gamma scanner mode adapted by SRTC in addition to the far field method described here. The 110-gallon drums would not fit into the Q2 instrument, and so assay by the far field technique was necessary. While the far field transmission corrected method used for these drums is a straightforward technique, it was important to obtain comparison measurements between it and the Q2 techniques to establish its …

A survey of the technical literature was performed to summarize the mechanical properties of inorganic components in K Basins sludge. The components included gibbsite, ferrihydrite, lepidocrocite and goethite, hematite, quartz, anorthite, calcite, basalt, Zircaloy, aluminum, and, in particular, irradiated uranium metal and uranium dioxide. Review of the technical literature showed that information on the hardness of uranium metal at irradiation exposures similar to those experienced by the N Reactor fuel present in the K Basins (typically up to 3000 MWd/t) were not available. Measurements therefore were performed to determine the hardness of coupons taken from three irradiated N Reactor uranium metal fuel elements taken from K Basins. Hardness values averaged 30 {+-} 8 Rockwell C units, similar to values previously reported for uranium irradiated to {approx}1200 MWd/t. The physical properties of candidate uranium metal and uranium dioxide surrogates were gathered and compared. Surrogates having properties closest to those of irradiated uranium metal appear to be alloys of tungsten. The surrogate for uranium dioxide, present both as particles and agglomerates in actual K Basin sludge, likely requires two materials. Cerium oxide, CeO2, was identified as a surrogate of the smaller UO2 particles while steel grit was identified for the UO2 agglomerates.

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This report includes information regarding nuclear proliferation issues. Aspects of this report discuss international nonproliferation structures, U.S. policy, and nuclear proliferation in specific regions.

This report examines the the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which creates a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries and establishes a new Medicare Advantage program to replace the current Medicare+Choice program.

This report details the changes to Medicare that involves paying a monthly premium for a prescription drug benefit. It also includes either prices increases due to where one lives, or to reduce the amount offered in particular areas. Updated on December 6, 2004.

Residual stress analysis was performed on thick, 1.0 to 25 {micro}m, depleted Uranium (DU) films deposited on an Al substrate by magnetron sputtering. Two distinct characterization techniques were used to measure substrate curvature before and after deposition. Stress evaluation was performed using the Benabdi/Roche equation, which is based on beam theory of a bi-layer material. The residual stress evolution was studied as a function of coating thickness and applied negative bias voltage (0-300V). The stresses developed were always compressive; however, increasing the coating thickness and applying a bias voltage presented a trend towards more tensile stresses and thus an overall reduction of residual stresses.

For large-scale constitutive strength models the shear modulus is typically assumed to be linearly dependent on temperature. However, for materials compressed beyond the Hugoniot or in regimes where there is very little experimental data, accurate and validated models must be used. To this end, we present here a new methodology that fully accounts for electron- and ion-thermal contributions to the elastic moduli over broad ranges of temperature (<20,000 K) and pressure (<10 Mbar). In this approach, the full potential linear muffin-tin orbital (FP-LMTO) method for the cold and electron-thermal contributions is closely coupled with ion-thermal contributions. For the latter two separate approaches are used. In one approach, the quasi-harmonic, ion-thermal contribution is obtained through a Brillouin zone sum of strain derivatives of the phonons, and in the other a full anharmonic ion-thermal contribution is obtained directly through Monte Carlo (MC) canonical distribution averages of strain derivatives on the multi-ion potential itself. Both approaches use quantum-based interatomic potentials derived from model generalized pseudopotential theory (MGPT). For tantalum, the resulting elastic moduli are compared to available ultrasonic measurements and diamond-anvil-cell compression experiments. Over the range of temperature and pressure considered, the results are then used in a polycrystalline averaging for the shear …

Above-boiling temperature conditions, as encountered, forexample, in geothermal reservoirs and in geologic repositories for thestorage of heat-producing nuclear wastes, may give rise to stronglyaltered liquid and gas flow processes in porous subsurface environments.The magnitude of such flow perturbation is extremely hard to measure inthe field. We therefore propose a simple temperature-profile method thatuses high-resolution temperature data for deriving such information. Theenergy that is transmitted with the vapor and water flow creates a nearlyisothermal zone maintained at about the boiling temperature, referred toas a heat pipe. Characteristic features of measured temperature profiles,such as the differences in the gradients inside and outside of the heatpipe regions, are used to derive the approximate magnitude of the liquidand gas fluxes in the subsurface, for both steady-state and transientconditions.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a home-rule city may extend a Tax Code, chapter 311 reinvestment zone’s termination date beyond the date provided in the ordinance designating the zone (RQ-0238-GA)

A new methodology for calculating high temperature and pressure elastic moduli in metals has been developed accounting for both the electron-thermal and ion-thermal contributions. Anharmonic and quasi-harmonic thermoelasticity for bcc tantalum have thereby been calculated and compared as a function of temperature (<12,000 K) and pressure (<10 Mbar). In this approach, the full potential linear muffin-tin orbital (FP-LMTO) method for the cold and electron-thermal contributions is closely coupled with ion-thermal contributions obtained via multi-ion, quantum-based interatomic potentials derived from model generalized pseudopotential theory (MGPT). For the later contributions two separate approaches are used. In one approach, the quasi-harmonic ion-thermal contribution is obtained through a Brillouin zone sum of the strain derivatives of the phonons, and in the other the anharmonic ion-thermal contribution is obtained directly through Monte Carlo (MC) canonical distribution averages of strain derivatives on the multi-ion potentials themselves. The resulting elastic moduli compare well in each method and to available ultrasonic measurements and diamond-anvil-cell compression experiments indicating minimal anharmonic effects in bcc tantalum over the considered pressure range.

The purpose of this report is to evaluate and document the inclusion or exclusion of the unsaturated zone (UZ) features, events, and processes (FEPs) with respect to modeling that supports the total system performance assessment (TSPA) for license application (LA) for a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. A screening decision, either ''Included'' or ''Excluded'', is given for each FEP, along with the technical basis for the screening decision. This information is required by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 10 CFR 63.114 (d, e, and f) [DIRS 156605]. The FEPs deal with UZ flow and radionuclide transport, including climate, surface water infiltration, percolation, drift seepage, and thermally coupled processes. This analysis summarizes the implementation of each FEP in TSPA-LA (that is, how the FEP is included) and also provides the technical basis for exclusion from TSPA-LA (that is, why the FEP is excluded). This report supports TSPA-LA.