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This report describes the process whereby the House and the Senate revise measures to be identical before sending them to the president. This is a revised edition of a report published in 1999.

This report describes the relevant BAPCPA provisions and discusses the recent court decisions.

This report provides background on the 8th Amendment and court decision to invalidate statutes authorizing the death penalty for non-homicide cases of child rape.

As Congress decides whether to revisit law surrounding political campaigns, it may be appropriate to take stock of the current landscape and to examine what has changed, what has not, and what policy options might be relevant. This report provides a starting point for doing so. It also provides comments on how those events might affect future policy considerations.

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This report discusses a growing consensus that U.S. global health assistance needs to become more efficient and effective. It also points out the CDC Global Health Spending: FY2001-FY2012.

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This report provides an overview of the Clean Air act issues addresses in the 113th Congress. The contents include EPA's greenhouse gas regulations, emissions of other pollutants from power plants, air quality standards and other issues.

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The United States traditionally has had close relations with Venezuela, a major supplier of foreign oil, but there has been friction in relations under the government of populist President Hugo Chávez. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about human rights, Venezuela's military arms purchases, its relations with Cuba and Iran, and its efforts to export its brand of populism to other Latin American countries. Declining cooperation on anti-drug and anti-terrorism efforts has also been a concern.

This report provides an overview of "phantom traffic" -- i.e., telephone calls for which a carrier is unable to obtain appropriate compensation. The report discusses the causes of phantom traffic, phantom traffic and rural companies, issues, and related proposals.

This table provides access to names and contact information for Congressional Research Service (CRS) experts on policy concerns relating to flooding events in the United States. Policy areas identified include impacts, response and recovery, mitigation, and federal financing.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on multiyear procurement (MYP) and block buy contracting (BBC), which are special contracting mechanisms. Congress permits the Department of Defense (DOD) to use these options for a limited number of defense acquisition programs; compared to the standard or default approach of annual contracting, MYP and BBC have the potential for reducing weapon procurement costs by several percent.

This report focuses on heritage areas designated by Congress, and related issues and legislation.

Electronic commercial transactions over the Internet, or “e-commerce,” have grown so fast over the last five years that many experts continue to underestimate its growth and development. Whether retail business-to-customer or business-to-business transactions, e-commerce shows no signs of slowing down. In turn, policymakers both in the United States and abroad are likely to face increasingly complex issues of security, privacy, taxation, infrastructure development and other issues in 2000 and beyond. This report will be updated periodically.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation. and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, authorizes the Federal Government, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to clean up hazardous waste sites. There are currently about 1,200 sites on Superfund's National Priorities List, with remedial costs expected to be around $40 billion.

This report discusses the contentious issue of enforcing stringent national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone and particulate matter (PM), the opponents of which decry as harmful to the economy. The report discusses actions undertaken by the EPA, President Clinton's support of the NAAQSs, and the criticisms of opponents.

This report provides an overview of the policy considerations related to guest worker programs on immigration.

This report addresses the Social Security Deficit in 1977 and the Administration Proposals for reducing it.