This report provides a listing of major natural disasters in the United States between 1959 and 1969. It lists the name of the event, the estimated costs of damage, and fatality numbers for each disaster.

This report examines the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria and the U.S. and international response. It discusses the use of chemical weapons in Syria on August 21, 2013 that triggered an intense debate over possible U.S. military intervention.

This report provides responses to frequently asked questions about health care provided to veterans through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). It is intended to serve as a quick reference to provide easy access to information. Where applicable, it provides the legislative background pertaining to the question.

This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages for countering mines, small boats, and diesel-electric submarines, particularly in littoral (i.e., near-shore) waters.

This report explains how employer-sponsored insurance can be used to address concerns about health insurance coverage and cost. Then, it summarizes the three ACA provisions most relevant to small businesses. Also, it analyzes these provisions for their potential effects on small businesses. Last, this report presents several approaches that could address some concerns associated with these provisions (particularly the employer penalty).

This report provides background information regarding the prison population in the United States that has been growing steadily for more than 30 years. The report presents correctional system statistics and discusses the federal government's involvement in offender reentry programs and the Second Chance Act (P.L. 110-199) that was enacted on April 9, 2008.

On February 24, 2011, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced the Boeing Company as the winner of a competition to build 179 new KC-46A aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force. This report discusses the KC-46A acquisition program, which is a subject of intense interest because of the dollar value of the contract and the number of jobs it would create, among other things. This report also discusses several oversight issues that could arise for Congress, including if the contract award followed the DOD's announced competition strategy and metrics. This report also discusses this contract in respect to the FY2011 defense authorization bill and the FY2011 DOD appropriations bill.

This report discusses the current economic and political state of the island nation of Singapore, focusing in particularly on its economic success and its relationship with the United States.

This report includes background and analysis of the United States postal reform. Causes of financial crisis, transformative plans, and activity from past congresses are also discussed in this report.

This report reviews how the program works and provides an analysis of recent program funding, recipients, and the role being played by the program in the distribution of federal student aid.

None

None

This report describes emergency supplemental initiatives for the year 1999. The initiatives include: agriculture, embassy security and counter-terrorism, year 2000 computer conversion, U.S. troops in Bosnia, defense readiness, and other topics.

None

This report provides a brief overview of the existing statutory authority and implementing regulation. It describes several policy issues raised in previous debates regarding chemical facility security and identifies policy options for congressional consideration.

The focus of this report is on the federal response to domestic violence under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA). "Domestic violence" is used in the report to describe violence among intimate partners, including those involved in dating relationships.

This report discusses the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill that provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Navy's proposal to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) at Mayport, Florida. Transferring a CVN from Norfolk, Virginia, to Mayport would also shift the local economic activity associated with homeporting a CVN, which some sources estimate as being worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

This report provides a general overview of the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB). It describes the structure of FEHB, including eligibility for the program and coverage options available to enrollees, as well as premiums, benefits and cost sharing, and general financing of FEHB. The report also describes the role of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in administering the program.

This manual examines procedures and strategy related to committee markups and provides sample procedural scripts.

This report discusses the construction and history of the European Parliament (EP), its role in functions of the EU as well as internationally, various international supports and criticisms of the EP, and the EP's ties with the U.S. Congress.

This report provides a brief background on how Medicare Advantage (Part C or MA) payments are determined through a comparison of a plan's estimated cost (bid) and the maximum amount Medicare will pay a plan (benchmark).

This report presents basic background information on health insurance that may be useful to legislators considering health insurance reforms. It describes health insurance reform approaches and provides brief descriptions of health insurance reform bills introduced in the 111th Congress.

The character of the war in Afghanistan evolved from a violent struggle against al Qaeda and its Taliban supporters to a multi-faceted counterinsurgency (COIN) effort. This report provides an examination of the war's background, context, and early execution; an analytical discussion of the COIN war to date, including strategy, organization, participation, and key facets of the effort including population security, advising the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), counter-narcotics, reconciliation, community outreach, and civil-military coordination; and an analysis of major strategic and operational issues and options that the 111th Congress may opt to consider.