This report provides basic information on several agriculture conservation programs, primarily drawn from agency budget presentations and websites, about each program using a consistent format. This information should help respond to basic questions and resolve many common sources of confusion about the purposes of the program, program participation and policy topics.

This report discusses the problem of illegal logging worldwide. It gives an overview of the scope and scale, ecological impacts, and socioeconomic impacts of illegal logging as well as international initiatives and institutions, U.S. laws (such as the 2008 farm bill; P.L. 110-246, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act), and foreign policies which address the problem.

This report provides information regarding pollution from ships and port facilities; discusses some of the measures being implemented and considered by local, state, and federal regulatory agencies; discusses the efforts to ratify and to strengthen Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL); and describes legislation Congress is considering to control emissions from ships by amending the Clean Air Act (CAA).

This report analyzes the development of energy derivatives regulation and proposed legislation.

This report discusses illegal logging, which is addressed by Congress in the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-234). A provision in the law amends the Lacey Act to include plants traded in violation of foreign laws. This was primarily intended to deter imports of illegally-obtained timber from foreign countries.

None

None

None

Lobbyists and interest groups play an active role in the American legislative process. Information on lobbyist registrations and on interest groups in general is available from a variety of online and printed sources, including files available for public inspection. This report is a guide for locating governmental sources that maintain files on lobby groups, their registrations, and finances. Also included in this report are nongovernmental sources that offer background information on the lobbyists and interest groups who focus on legislation in Washington.

This report examines the importance to the U.S. economy of China’s investment in U.S. securities, as well as U.S. concerns over the possibility that China might unload a large share of those holdings, the likelihood that this would occur, and the potential implications such action could have for the U.S. economy.

This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the Subcommittees on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. It summarizes the current legislative status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related legislative activity. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.

This report begins by showing how much the household saving rate has declined in recent years. Next, it explains how household saving is measured, and provides some detail on how saving varies across the income distribution. Finally, it discusses factors that may account for the decline in household saving, as well as how much of a policy concern the decline in household saving may be.

The missions of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS) are similar, and many issues, programs, and policies affect both agencies. This report focuses on several issues affecting both agencies’ lands that are likely to be of interest to the 110th Congress, including energy resources, hardrock mining, FS roadless areas, wild horses and burros, wilderness, wildfire protection, and others.

This report describes wave, tidal, and in-stream energy generation technologies -- also referred to as hydrokinetic or marine energy. It discusses the recent changes in law aimed to clarify the federal role in ocean wave and renewable energy.

This report provides an overview of developments and considerations regarding wave, tidal, and in-stream energy generation technology. It summarizes federal involvement in the regulation of this new industry and highlights current issues in the field.

This report provides background on genetic information, legal implications regarding the use of this information, and relevant laws. It also discusses the statutory provisions of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA).

This report responds to congressional inquiries concerning the nature, history, and contemporary application of the process for awarding Gold Medals, and includes a historical examination and chronological list of these awards. It is intended to assist Members of Congress and staff in their consideration of future Gold Medal proposals, and will be updated as Gold Medals are approved.

This report describes the evolving mission, organization, and assets of the S&T Directorate and the activities it conducts. It outlines key policy issues, including the balance of the directorate's programs, its priorities and how they are set, its relationships with other R&D organizations, its mission, its budgeting and financial management, and other concerns.

This report discusses key policy issues related to the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement signed by the United States and Russia on May 6, 2008, including future nuclear energy cooperation with Russia, U.S.-Russian bilateral relations, nonproliferation cooperation, and Russia's policies toward Iran. These issues were relevant to the debate when the agreement was being considered in the 110th Congress.

This report first describes the current select committees on intelligence and then the former Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, often cited as a model for a counterpart on intelligence. The study also sets forth proposed characteristics for a joint committee on intelligence, differences among these, and their pros and cons. The report, to be updated as events dictate, examines other actions and alternatives affecting congressional oversight in the field.

This report discusses the history of implementing a nuclear test ban; the national positions on testing and the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty (CTBT) and the treaty's negotiations and key provisions; and Congress's consideration of the Stockpile Stewardship Program, which seeks to maintain nuclear weapons without testing.

This report begins with a brief discussion of the surface transportation system and its financing needs as background to the debate on public-private partnerships (PPPs). That is followed by sections describing the different types of PPPs, with details of a few prominent examples, and the development of federal legislation with respect to PPPs. The report then discusses the main issues of contention with the construction and longterm leasing of highways by the private sector, particularly as they relate to the funding, planning, and operation of the surface transportation system, before providing some policy options Congress may wish to consider.

This report is intended to provide a brief summary and analysis of major legislative provisions under consideration in the ongoing Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization process. The report is organized into six major program areas: aviation system finance; airport finance; FAA management and organizational issues; system capacity and safety; environmental issues; and miscellaneous programs and provisions. In several cases, provisions that appear in various unrelated sections of proposed legislation have been rearranged in this report in an effort to group and discuss related items in an issue-driven or programmatic context. Since this report is primarily written as a means of communicating key legislative provisions under consideration in the ongoing FAA reauthorization process, it does not go into detail regarding the specific policy issues behind these legislative proposals.

This report first examines the incidence of fatal and nonfatal on-the-job injuries in the private sector. It next analyzes the causes of fatalities in the construction industry and the involvement of cranes in those deaths. The report then addresses the status of a proposed rule to update the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) crane and derrick standard. It closes with an overview of jurisdictions having safety regulations for cranes more stringent, in whole or part, than the existing federal standard.