This report discusses the history and future of planetary exploration programs by the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Topics covered are motivations for planetary exploration, unmanned missions sent to Mars and Venus by the U.S. and Soviet Union, plans for manned missions to planets such as Mars, technical needs and costs for planetary space missions, and long-term plans and ideas.

The combined efforts of the food industry and the regulatory agencies often are credited with making the U.S. food supply among the safest in the world. Nonetheless, many food-related health issues persist. At issue is whether the current U.S. regulatory system has the resources and structural organization to protect consumers from these dangers. Also at issue is whether the federal food safety laws themselves, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors since then.

This report discusses the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Empowerment Contracting (HUBZone) program, which provides participating small businesses located in areas with low income, high poverty, or high unemployment with contracting opportunities in the form of set-asides, sole-source awards, and price-evaluation preferences. It provides information about the program and it's structure; outlines arguments for an against targeting assistance and the continuation of the program; analyzes the program's administration; and examines related legislation.

This report provides a brief overview and charts illustrating statistics about who would receive tax cuts, tax increases, or stay the same under the Senate version of the Tax Reform Bill.

This report examines the history of the Purple Heart award for military service members and changes in eligibility over time. The report also discusses current issues facing Congress -- such as whether traumatic brain injuries or PTSD diagnoses should be grounds for receiving the award, and whether those injured or killed assisting others during terror attacks outside their military duties should be eligible.

This report provides a comprehensive list of existing laws and pending legislation containing conditions, limitations, and reporting requirements for U.S. foreign assistance to Pakistan. It will track the debate on this topic and resulting changes.

This report describes impacts of the storms on drinking water and waste water treatment facilities and efforts to assess damages and needs to repair and reconstruct damaged systems.

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The Earned Income Tax Credit began in 1975 as a temporary program to return a portion of the Social Security taxes paid by lower-income taxpayers, and was made permanent in 1978. In the 1990s, the program because a major component of federal efforts to reduce poverty, and is now the largest anti-poverty entitlement program. This report contains information on eligibility for the program, credit amount, participation, interaction with other tax provisions, issues, compliance, and more as related to the Earned Income Tax Credit.

This report describes the nature and scope of the problem of trafficking in persons in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report then describes U.S. efforts to deal with trafficking in persons in the region, as well as discusses the successes and failures of some recent country and regional anti-trafficking efforts. The report concludes by raising several issues for policy consideration that may be helpful as the 109th Congress continues to address human trafficking as part of its authorization, appropriations, and oversight activities.

This report describes the terms and conditions of loans currently available to borrowers.

This guide to finding information in libraries and on the Internet has been prepared for constituents who want to learn more about topics that interest them. It includes background directories, current information, reference books, and websites for government, politics, legislation, and other sources. It lists a number of Internet search engines, which can be used at many public libraries. It also suggests guides on how to search, including one for kids.

This report focuses on U.N. reform efforts and priorities from the perspective of several key actors, including the U.S. government, the U.N. Secretary-General, selected groups of member states, and a cross-section of groups tasked with addressing U.N. reform. It also examines congressional actions related to U.N. reform, as well as future policy considerations.

The federal role in cybersecurity has been a topic of discussion and debate for over a decade. Despite significant legislative efforts in the 112th Congress on bills designed to improve the cybersecurity of U.S. critical infrastructure (CI), no legislation on that issue was enacted in that Congress. This report discusses the ramifications of Executive Order 13636, which issued in February 2013 was an attempt to enhance security and resiliency of CI through voluntary, collaborative efforts involving federal agencies and owners and operators of privately owned CI, as well as use of existing federal regulatory authorities.

This report provides information on consumer and industry trends in radio and wireless network communications to give perspective on the proposal for widespread deployment of FM radio chips in smartphones as an emergency preparedness measure. It also provides a brief overview of the role of technology in disseminating emergency alerts and information.

This report outlines Congressmen's privilege from arrest, and privilege of speech or debate, and describes the history and use of these concepts.

This report was created to identify and organize materials on major budget reform in congressional organization and procedure.

This report concerns developments on consumer protections at the time of writing, with focus on pending consumer protection legislation, consumer protection programs, views of non-government organizations on consumer protection; and effectiveness of the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration.

This bibliography was created to identify the Federal health programs that were likely to come under review during the 1st or 2nd session of the 93rd Congress.

This report provides an overview and appraisal of the terms "liberalism" and "conservatism" within the context of political philosophy during the 18th-20th centuries in the United States and Europe.

This report categorizes, describes, and in some cases quantifies these barriers on a country-by-country basis. Sixty-two major trading partners are covered in the 2008 report.10 Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade (TBTs) are generally detailed in each country’s profile and, where feasible, their impacts on U.S. exports are quantified by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

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This report discusses the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), which is a federal provision that reduces the income tax liability of taxpayers claiming the credit. These taxpayers are typically investors in real estate development projects that have traded cash for the tax credits to support the production of affordable housing. The credit is intended to lower the financing costs of housing developments so that the rental prices of units can be lower than market rates, and thus, presumably, affordable.

This report provides a brief history of the development of presidential powers in peacetime. It discusses some of the issues that might be raised in light of the contrast between the executive order's broad language and its narrow aim.