This report examines the ways in which the Senate has handled the 160 Supreme Court nominations the President has sent to the Senate. As the purpose of this report is to examine the forms taken by Senate proceedings on these 160 nominations, it treats each nomination as a separate case. It is not couched in terms of the smaller number of different individuals nominated or the ultimate outcome the confirmation process may have had for each individual.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act (the "SAFER Act") was enacted by the 108th Congress as part of the FY2004 National Defense Authorization Act. This report describes the SAFER Act in brief, discusses possible budgetary modifications to the SAFER Act that are being considered due to the recent economic downturn, and explores related issues for the 112th Congress as they consider reauthorization.

This report discusses the causes of funding gaps and shutdowns of the federal government, processes that are associated with shutdowns, and how agency operations may be affected by shutdowns. The report concludes with a discussion of potential issues for Congress.

This report discusses the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, also known as fire grants of the FIRE Act grant program, which was established by Title XVII of the FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act. The program provides federal grants directly to local fire departments and unaffiliated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations to help address a variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related and EMS needs. This report also discusses the possible reauthorization of AFG and the related Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters (SAFER) program. Current debates on the issue revolve around a competition for funding between career/urban/suburban departments and volunteer/rural departments. Complicating the issue is the recent economic downturn, which has left many local communities increasingly hard pressed to allocate funding for their local fire departments.

This report shows in tabular form how much the Administration has requested and how much Congress has appropriated for U.S. payments to the multilateral development banks (MDBs) since 2000. It also provides a brief description of the MDBs and the ways they fund their operations.

This report discusses "green" programs and the higher profile they have gained since the 110th Congress. "Green" programs are those designed to create an environmentally friendly work environment and conserve energy. This report discusses initiatives and policy options that would improve the "greening" process on Capitol Hill.

This report discusses the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the Energy Policy and Consevation Act, which was authorized to help prevent a repetition of the economic dislocation caused by the 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo. The Government Accountability Office recently observed that the proportion of crude oil grades in the SPR has been growing less compatible with the heavier grades of crude oil that U.S. refineries have been upgrading to handle. This finding has raised questions about the SPR's effectiveness during a long-term oil disruption involving heavy oil.

This report provides overview information on the proposed FY2011 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programs that provide assistance to state and local governments. These programs are primarily used by first responders -- including firefighters, emergency medical personnel, emergency managers, and law enforcement officers -- to provide assistance for training, exercises, the purchase of equipment, and other support for terrorism and disaster preparedness and response activities.

This report discusses the details of fourteen World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes in which rulings have not yet been implemented or in which the United States has acted and the dispute has not been fully resolved. The cases include disputes regarding trade remedies, antidumping, aircraft subsidies, cotton subsidies, online gambling restrictions, music copyright law, and trademark infringement.

This report covers the issues Venezuela poses for Congress. It examines the Venezualian political situation, its economic conditions, the United States policy toward Venezuela, and the legislative initiatives of the 111th Congress regarding this foreign nation.

This report examines the political and economic relationship between the United States and China. The first part provides an overview of U.S.-China relations and the Obama Administration policy toward China. A summary of major policy issues follows, including security issues and Taiwan, economic issues, climate change and clean energy cooperation, and human rights. The report includes five appendices. Appendix A provides a chronology of meetings between the U.S. and Chinese presidents and information about select bilateral dialogues. Appendix B analyzes the Joint Statement issued during President Hu’s January 2011 state visit. Appendix C lists congressionally mandated annual reports related to China. Appendices D and E list China-related legislation introduced in the 112th and 111th Congresses.

This report focuses primarily on oil spill policy matters that concern prevention, preparedness, response, liability and compensation, and Gulf restoration. For the most part, the underlying statutes for these provisions are found in either the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the Clean Water Act (CWA) and its amendments, or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and its amendments.

This report examines the federal budgets for the fiscal years 2011 and 2012. It gives an overview of the federal budget, addresses the problems of budgeting in a strained economy, and discusses considerations for Congress, both in the short term and the long term.

This report discusses recent congressionally mandated reductions in the Department of Defense(DOD) acquisition workforce.

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This report discusses the current debate over "net neutrality." While there is no single accepted definition of "net neutrality," most agree that any such definition should include the general principles that owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network, and they should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network.

This report discusses China’s Economic Conditions.

This report discusses concerns congress attempts to address in regards to commercial filming and photography on federal lands.

This report discusses the Global Information Grid (GIG), which is the enabling infrastructure for Network Centric Warfare (NCW), a concept that relies on communications technology to link together U.S. military personnel, ground vehicles, aircraft, and naval vessels through integrated wide and local area networks to provide improved battle space awareness for joint military forces

This report examines the issues and their implications for future regulatory reforms, but begins with a brief background discussion of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) itself.

This report discusses the information related to recent developments and U.S interests in Georgia.

This report discusses the seller-funded down-payment assistance that qualify for FHA-insured home loans.

This report gives a brief overview of US Tsunami Programs such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which supports three main categories of activities namely; 1) Warning, such as activities of the Tsunami Warning Center and DART network. 2) mitigation and 3) research.

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