This report discusses legislative proposals for a national heath insurance system and alternatives to a national health insurance plan.

This report provides a listing of legislation introduced in the 91st Congress related to agriculture.

This report discusses the challenges in the transportation of oil, as refineries that once received crude oil principally from oceangoing tankers are now seeing increasing deliveries by domestic transport. It also outlines possible issues for Congress including rail transport of oil versus pipelines, and the possible increase of oil spills from rail transport.

This report discusses the recent conflict in Syria including an overview of the situation, information about anti- and pro-Asad forces, background on chemical weapons and disarmament, plans for U.S. policy and assistance, and a general sense of the future outlook.

This report describes the individual mandate as established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148, as amended). The report also discusses the ACA reporting requirements designed, in part, to assist individuals in providing evidence of having met the mandate.

This report provides an overview of the rationale for the Prompt Global Strike (PGS) mission and the possible deployment of conventional warheads on long-range ballistic missiles or boost-glide systems. It also reviews the Air Force and Navy efforts to develop these systems and summarizes congressional reaction to these proposals, then provides a more detailed account of the issues raised by these concepts and programs.

This report discusses the relations between United Kingdom (UK) and the United States, including a sense of shared history, values, and culture, as well as extensive and long-established cooperation on a wide range of foreign policy and security issues.

This report discusses United States commitments for climate change through financial and technical assistance and multilateral programs.

The Navy is procuring a new type of surface combatant called the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The Navy wants to procure a total of 55 LCSs. This report details the 2007 restructuring of the LCS program, as well as various financial information relating to the program. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Navy's plans for the LCS program. The LCS program raises potential oversight issues for Congress relating to various aspects of the program, all of which are explored within this report.

This report discusses the White House's request for supplemental appropriations that include funding for defense, foreign affairs, and domestic fire fighting. The report details the different programs and areas that the appropriations would fund, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, preparedness and emergency management measures relating to the swine flu outbreak, border security between the United States and Mexico, benchmark assessment in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and other general defense operations.

To address the challenges facing the U.S. intelligence community in the 21st century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. In December 2004, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458) was signed, providing for a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) with substantial authorities to manage the national intelligence effort. The legislation also established a separate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

This report discusses issues and questions related to the killing of Osama bin Laden (OBL), which are multifaceted and may have operational, regional, and policy implications. Operational policy issues include congressional notification, legal considerations, and current and future military activities.

Recent Congresses and the Obama Administration have taken numerous actions to promote "insourcing," or the use of government personnel to perform functions that contractors previously performed on behalf of federal agencies. Among other things, the 109th through the 111th Congresses enacted several statutes requiring the development of policies and guidelines to ensure that agencies "consider" using government employees to perform functions previously performed by contractors, as well as any new function.

This report provides the following elements: An overview of the SFA rationale focused primarily on Department of Defense support for and relations with foreign security forces. Description of the possible employment of U.S. conventional forces and platforms in support of the SFA mission. Exploration of current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Resident training capability in U.S. forces as a tool for geographic combatant commanders. Issues Congress may consider. The report summarizes congressional reaction to SFA proposals and provides a detailed account of the issues raised by SFA concepts and programs.

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai, to address corruption within the Afghan government. The report also includes discussion of election fraud and corruption in Afghanistan.

This report discusses the domestic and international efforts to increase foreign assistance to address climate change. Proponents maintain that such assistance could help promote low-emissions and high-growth economic development in lower-income countries, while simultaneously protecting the more vulnerable countries from the effects of a changing climate. The fundamental dispute concerning international financing for climate change centers upon who should pay for it and how.

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This report discusses the arguments for and against the amendments adoption and analyzes the legal implications of the proposed amendment.

This report provides a brief overview of FEHBP under current law and brief descriptions of proposed changes to the existing program included in various bills introduced in the 103rd Congress.

This report begins with an inventory of basic information: definitions and guides to histories of the growth of open access publishing and citation archives and descriptions of selected major open access activities. It moves on to summarize major points of difference between proponents and opponents of nongovernmental open access publishing and databases, and then highlights federal, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), open access activities and contentious issues surrounding these developments. The report also briefly describes open access developments in the United Kingdom (where a number of governmental and nongovernmental initiatives have occurred) and in the international arena. Finally, controversial issues which could receive attention in the 109th Congress are summarized.

This report includes information regarding ocean commissions. Ocean policy review, further outlook, and legislation are among topics discussed in this report.

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