This report is about the decentralization of power into three branches.

The amending process is central to the consideration of legislation by the Senate. This report briefly describes the various types of amendments that take place in the Senate.

This report discusses a possible reduction in federal highway program spending. Congress has chosen to overrule provisions of law that would have reduced the FY2003 spending level to $23.2 billion, and has instead settled on $31.8 billion, the same as the FY2002 level.

This report examines federal law regarding obscenity and indecency. The First Amendment provides: “Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” In general, the First Amendment protects pornography, with this term being used to mean any erotic material. The Supreme Court, however, has held that the First Amendment does not protect two types of pornography: obscenity and child pornography. Consequently, they may be banned on the basis of their content, and federal law prohibits the mailing of obscenity, as well as its transport or receipt in interstate or foreign commerce.

This report discusses disputes in the World Trade Organization (WTO) between the United States and the European Union (EU). The report begins with an overview of the issues to be addressed, and continues with a brief description of the WTO dispute settlement process, a summary of U.S.-EU dispute settlement history, and a review of issues arising from cases of longstanding non-compliance. The report concludes with a discussion of continuing concerns and policy considerations.

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This report discusses the proposed levels of revenue reduction in the President’s budget and the congressional budget resolution for FY2004, the features of the budget reconciliation process, the inclusion of revenue reconciliation directives in the FY2004 budget resolution, and selected procedural issues pertaining to the consideration of the resultant reconciliation legislation.

This report describes security classification policy and procedure, largely prescribed in a series of successive presidential executive orders issued over the past 50 years. This policy provides the rationale and arrangements for designating information officially secret for reasons of national security, and for its declassification as well.

This report examines the economics of information sharing in consumer credit markets by (1) explaining the role of information in the lending process; (2) describing the economic effects of credit reporting; and (3) outlining the potential economic benefits forgone by restricting consumer credit information.

This report is an overview of U.S. Policy. It also points out the internal security problem and progress and U.S. Policy and issues.

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This report discusses the features of the Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan guaranty program, which has been providing home loan guarantees since 1944. Under this program, an eligible veteran may purchase a home through a private lender and the VA guarantees to pay the lender a portion of the losses if the veteran defaults on the loan.

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This report introduces the state prevailing wage laws and provides an inventory of states in which, to varying degrees, they are in effect.

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This report examines the economic arguments for and against small business tax subsidies in the context of current congressional proposals to expand them. It begins with a brief description of current federal tax subsidies for small firms, moves on to consider the principal economic arguments for and against these subsidies, and concludes with a discussion of proposals in the 108th Congress to expand small business tax subsidies and their likely economic effects.

This report compares selected House and Senate rules of procedure for various stages of the legislative process: referral of legislation to committees; scheduling and calling up measures; and floor consideration.

This report provides an overview of the major exceptions to the First Amendment.

In recent years conflicting budget priorities and divided political control have accentuated the institutional tensions between the executive and legislative branches inherent in the federal budget process. President Clinton, like his two predecessors, called for an item veto, or possibly expanded impoundment authority, to provide him with greater control over federal spending. This report provides a brief history of impoundment and discusses the debate surrounding the line item veto.