This report explains the conditions in five countries in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and one country in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) that will be partners with the United States in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) signed in August 2004. All of the signatory countries except Costa Rica have approved the pact. The agreement will enter into force for the approving countries on an agreed date, tentatively January 1, 2006. In U.S. approval action, the House and Senate passed the required implementing legislation (H.R. 3045) on July 27 and 28, 2005, and the President signed it into law (P.L. 109-53) on August 2, 2005.

In 2000, Congress approved a 30-year, $7.8 billion restoration plan, termed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), for the Everglades ecosystem in southern Florida, and authorized an initial set of projects at a cost of $1.4 billion. This report provides information on federal appropriations for Everglades restoration, and discusses some issues related to the authorization and appropriations for restoration projects.

This report provides an overview of the issues and legislation of the immigration policy for intracompany transfers (L Visa). Concerns are growing that the visa category that allows executives and managers of multinational corporations to work temporarily in the United States is misused.

Operation Iraqi Freedom succeeded in overthrowing Saddam Hussein, but replacing his regime with a stable, moderate, democratic political structure has been complicated by Sunni Arab resentment and a related insurgency. The Bush Administration says that U.S. forces will remain in Iraq until the stated mission is complete: the establishment of a stable democracy that will not host radical Islamist forces and would serve as a model for democratic reform throughout the Middle East. However, a growing number of accounts suggest that mounting casualties and costs might cause the Administration to wind down the U.S. involvement without completely accomplishing those goals.

This report discusses the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act which was signed into law by President Bush on September 23, 2005. It primarily contains temporary tax relief intended to directly and indirectly assist individuals in recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The provisions cover a variety of areas, including work credits, charitable giving, and casualty losses.

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The federal government's role in financing school construction and renovation continues to be an issue in the 109th Congress, although school construction has generally been considered a state and local responsibility. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the unmet need for school construction and renovation is estimated to be $127 billion. NCES indicates that three-quarters of the nation's schools report needing funds to bring their buildings into a "good overall condition." Indirect federal support for school construction is currently provided by exempting the interest on state and local governmental bonds from federal income taxes, as well as other tax code provisions. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, an estimated 400 schools need to be rebuilt in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The FY2006 budget resolution (H.Con.Res 95, H.Rept. 109-62) contains reconciliation instructions that require authorizing committees to report legislation to reduce mandatory spending by $34.7 billion over a five-year period. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is responsible for a reduction of $12.7 billion for FY2006 through FY2010. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is responsible for a reduction of $13.7 billion over that period.

Report on the new India - U.S. nuclear relations following three decades of nonproliferation, including the background issues, global partnerships, challenges, negotiations, and more.

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This report covers appropriations for maintaining and improving the security of the United States against terrorist threats. Major issues addressed include the number of available detention beds and investigators at ICE; the number of Border Patrol agents in CBP; the appropriate level of funding for the Deepwater program within the Coast Guard; and non-aviation security spending within TSA.

This report discusses the two-pronged approach to grazing reform the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is taking by proposing changes to grazing regulations and considering other changes to grazing policies. BLM asserts that regulatory changes are needed to increase flexibility for grazing managers and permittees, to improve rangeland management and grazing permit administration, to promote conservation, and to comply with court decisions.

This report discusses the funding the of international programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

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For more than a century, the federal government has constructed water resource projects for a variety of purposes, including flood control, navigation, power generation, and irrigation. While most municipal and industrial water supplies have been built by non-federal entities, most of the large, federal water supply projects in the West, including Hoover and Grand Coulee dams, were constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation (Department of the Interior) to provide water for irrigation.

The Berry Amendment requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to give preference in procurement to domestically produced, manufactured, or home grown products, notably food, clothing, fabrics, and specialty metals. This report examines the original intent and purpose of the Berry Amendment, legislative proposals to amend the application of domestic source restrictions, as well as options for Congress.

This report considers the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). Specifically, the report explores sugar imports, phasing out tariffs and quotas, and how the U.S. can protect the market from an overflow of imported products.

This report contains the availability of judicial review regarding military base closures and realignments.

Conferees on H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, began meeting July 14, 2005, and are predicting that the conference will be completed July 25. The Senate passed its version of the bill June 28, and the House passed its version April 21. The Senate and House bills are similar, but major differences exist, including the following areas: ethanol and methyl tertiary-butyl ether, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, electricity restructuring, renewable energy, climate change, tax provisions, outer continental shelf, and the siting of LNG terminals

Conferees on H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, began meeting July 14, 2005, and are predicting that the conference will be completed July 25. The Senate passed its version of the bill June 28, and the House passed its version April 21. The Senate and House bills are similar, but major differences exist, including the following areas: ethanol and methyl tertiary-butyl ether, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, electricity restructuring, renewable energy, climate change, tax provisions, outer continental shelf, and the siting of LNG terminals

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