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Continuing Resolutions: Latest Action and Brief Overview of Recent Practices

Description: This report is divided into two segments. The first segment provides the most recent developments on, and selected provisions of, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2009. The second segment focuses on the (1) history and recent trends, including the nature, scope, and duration of continuing resoutions (CRs) during the past 35 years; (2) CR types by duration; (3) major substantive legislative provisions included in some CRs; and (4) funding gaps.
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
open access

Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Federal Civil Service Annuities

Description: Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are based on the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). All CSRS retirees and survivors receive COLAs. Under FERS, however, non-disabled retirees under age 62 do not receive COLAs. This report discusses cost-of-living adjustments for government retirees, as well as related legislation.
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
open access

Development of ITER 15 MA ELMy H-mode Inductive Scenario

Description: The poloidal field (PF) coil system on ITER, which provides both feedforward and feedback control of plasma position, shape, and current, is a critical element for achieving mission performance. Analysis of PF capabilities has focused on the 15 MA Q = 10 scenario with a 300-500 s flattop burn phase. The operating space available for the 15 MA ELMy H-mode plasma discharges in ITER and upgrades to the PF coils or associated systems to establish confidence that ITER mission objectives can be reach… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Kessel, C. E.; Campbell, D.; Gribov, Y.; Saibene, G.; Ambrosino, G.; Casper, T. et al.
open access

Federal Real Property: Government's Fiscal Exposure from Repair and Maintenance Backlogs Is Unclear

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2003, GAO designated federal real property as a high-risk area. In 2007, GAO reported that real-property-holding agencies and the administration had made progress toward managing their real property, but underlying problems, such as backlogs in repair and maintenance, still existed and six agencies reported having over $1 billion in repair and maintenance backlogs. Owning real property creates a fisc… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
open access

Modelin the Transport and Chemical Evolution of Onshore and Offshore Emissions and Their Impact on Local and Regional Air Quality Using a Variable-Grid-Resolution Air Quality Model

Description: The overall objective of this research project was to develop an innovative modeling technique to adequately model the offshore/onshore transport of pollutants. The variable-grid modeling approach that was developed alleviates many of the shortcomings of the traditionally used nested regular-grid modeling approach, in particular related to biases near boundaries and the excessive computational requirements when using nested grids. The Gulf of Mexico region contiguous to the Houston-Galveston ar… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Hanna, Adel
open access

Optimization of Sparse Matrix-Vector Multiplication on Emerging Multicore Platforms

Description: We are witnessing a dramatic change in computer architecture due to the multicore paradigm shift, as every electronic device from cell phones to supercomputers confronts parallelism of unprecedented scale. To fully unleash the potential of these systems, the HPC community must develop multicore specific-optimization methodologies for important scientific computations. In this work, we examine sparse matrix-vector multiply (SpMV) - one of the most heavily used kernels in scientific computing - a… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Williams, Samuel; Oliker, Leonid; Vuduc, Richard; Shalf, John; Yelick, Katherine & Demmel, James
open access

Perchlorate Conatmination of Drinking Water: Regulatory Issues and Legislative Actions

Description: Perchlorate is the explosive component of solid rocket fuel, fireworks, road flares, and other products and is used heavily by the Department of Defense (DOD) and other industries. Perchlorate also occurs naturally. This compound has been detected in drinking water supplies, especially in California. It also has been found in milk and many foods. Because of this widespread occurrence, concern over the potential health risks of perchlorate exposure has increased, and some states and Member of Co… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
open access

Remaining Sites Verification Package for the 331 Life Sciences Laboratory Drain Field Septic System, Waste Site Reclassification Form 2008-020

Description: The 331 Life Sciences Laboratory Drain Field (LSLDF) septic system waste site consists of a diversion chamber, two septic tanks, a distribution box, and a drain field. This septic system was designed to receive sanitary waste water, from animal studies conducted in the 331-A and 331-B Buildings, for discharge into the soil column. However, field observations and testing suggest the 331 LSLDF septic system did not receive any discharges. In accordance with this evaluation, the confirmatory sampl… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Capron, J. M.
open access

Scientific Needs for Future X-ray Sources in the U.S. -- A White Paper

Description: Many of the important challenges facing humanity, including developing alternative sources of energy and improving heath, are being addressed by advances that demand the improved understanding and control of matter. While the visualization, exploration, and manipulation of macroscopic matter have long been technological goals, scientific developments in the twentieth century have focused attention on understanding matter on the atomic scale through the underlying framework of quantum mechanics.… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Falcone, Roger; Stohr, Joachim; Bergmann, Uwe; Corlett, John; Galayda, John; Hastings, Jerry et al.
open access

Social Security: The Cost-of-Living Adjustment in January 2009

Description: The 5.8% COLA payable in January 2009 was triggered by the rise in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008. This COLA triggers identical percentage increases in Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans' pensions, and railroad retirement benefits, and causes other changes in the Social Security program. Although COLAs under the federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the federal military retirement program are not triggered by the Social Security COLA… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Sidor, Gary
open access

U.S. International Trade: Trends and Forecasts

Description: This report provides an overview of the current status, trends, and forecasts for U.S. international trade. The purpose of this report is to provide current data and brief explanations for the various types of trade flows, particularly U.S. exports, along with a short discussion of particular trends and points of contention related to trade policy.
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Nanto, Dick K.; Ilias, Shayerah & Donnelly, J. Michael
open access

Veterans' Benefits: Issues in the 110th Congress

Description: This report provides a general discussion of veterans' benefits issues that are part of the legislative agenda of the 110th Congress or are likely to be of legislative interest. Among those issues are disability compensation and pensions; education benefits; homelessness; life insurance; the status or eligibility of groups such as U.S. merchant seamen and World War II Filipino veterans for veterans' benefits; Reserve and National Guard eligibility for veterans' benefits; the U.S. Court of Appea… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Davis, Carol D.; Loane, Shannon S.; Scott, Christine; Perl, Libby; Smole, David P. & Weimer, Douglas Reid
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