This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2002, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.

This report discusses the AIDS issues in Africa and the Bush administration call to double U.S. international funding for AIDS.

The threshold issue in any Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case is whether the individual alleging discrimination is an individual with a disability. The ADA definition is a functional one and does not list specific disabilities. This report discusses the definition of "disability." It also briefly discusses the Supreme Court's opinions and analyze how the lower courts are interpreting the Supreme Court's holdings.

The United States recognized the independence of all the former Soviet republics by the end of 1991, including the South Caucasus states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The United States has fostered these states' ties with the West in part to end the dependence of these states on Russia for trade, security, and other relations. The FREEDOM Support Act of 1992 provides authorization for assistance to the Eurasian states for humanitarian needs, democratization, and other purposes. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the Administration appealed for a national security waiver of the prohibition on aid to Azerbaijan, in consideration of Azerbaijan's assistance to the international coalition to combat terrorism. Azerbaijani and Georgian troops participate in stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Armenian personnel serve in Iraq.

This report contains a summary of 401(k) plans, including the different plan types, enrollment practices, IRS rulings, and policy issues.

This report is on the Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards.

Concerns about potential disruptions in U.S. trade flows due to a global health or security risk are not new. The possibility of an avian flu pandemic with consequences for global trade is a concern that has received more attention recently, although some experts believe there is little cause for alarm. Experts disagree on the likelihood of an avian flu pandemic developing at all. This report considers possible trade disruptions, including possible impacts on trade between the United States and countries and regions that have reported avian influenza infections. These disruptions could include countries banning imported goods from infected regions at the onset of the pandemic, de facto bans due to protective health measures, or supply-side constraints caused by health crises in exporting countries.

This report discusses how the federal support for child care comes in many forms, ranging from grant programs to tax provisions. It also points out how some programs serve as specifically dedicated funding sources for child care services, while for others, child care is just one of many purposes for which funds may be used.

This report provides information about the Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal.Federal policy is based on premise that nuclear waste can be disposed safely, but proposed storage and disposal facilities have been frequently challenged.

None

This report discusses the core areas addressed in federal legislation, including the scope of coverage; data privacy and security safeguards for sensitive personal information; requirements for security breach notification; restrictions on social security numbers; credit freezes on consumer reports; identity theft penalties; causes of action; and preemption.

This report discusses the core areas addressed in federal legislation, including the scope of coverage (who is covered and what information is covered); data privacy and security safeguards for sensitive personal information; requirements for security breach notification (when, how, triggers, frequency, and exceptions); restrictions on social security numbers (collection, use, and sale); credit freezes on consumer reports; identity theft penalties; causes of action; and preemption.

This report addresses defense transformation from a Department of Defense (DOD) perspective.

This report provides information about the Recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and Related Issues for Detection of Explosives on Airline Passengers. The key issue for congress is balancing various costs of mandating passenger explosives trace detection.

This report discusses the debate concerning an agricultural guest worker program and the impact an agricultural guest worker program might have on U.S. workers. Guest worker programs are meant to assure employers (e.g., fruit, vegetable, and horticultural specialty growers) of an adequate supply of labor when and where it is needed while not adding permanent residents to the U.S. population. They include mechanisms, such as the H-2A program's labor certification process, intended to avoid adversely affecting the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

On August 24, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of an application to switch to Plan B, an emergency contraceptive, from a prescription-only drug to an over-the-counter drug for women 18 years of age and older. This report contains information on the background of the emergency contraceptive, FDA approval, legal issues, state policies, and related information.

This report provides summary information on emergency supplemental appropriations enacted after major disasters since 1989. More recently, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast of the United States on August 29, 2005, as a Category 3 hurricane after passing over South Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on August 25, 2005. In response, on September 2, 2005, President Bush signed into law a $10.5 billion supplemental appropriations measure, P.L. 109-61, which provided disaster assistance funds for the affected areas. On September 9, 2005, the President signed into law a second supplemental measure totaling $51.8 billion in appropriations, P.L. 109-62. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers most of these funds.

The 109th Congress is considering proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA; P.L. 93-205, 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1543). Major issues in recent years have included changing the role of science in decision-making, modifying critical habitat (CH) procedures, incorporating further protection and incentives for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated enacting as law some ESA regulations promulgated during the Clinton Administration. This report identifies other bills that have been introduced in the 109th Congress to address specific concerns related to how the ESA is implemented and how endangered species are managed.

None

This report discusses the difficulty of assessing the impact of environmental requirements on military readiness, broader exemptions for military activities that Congress has enacted, and DOD's request for additional exemptions.

None

Pay increases for current federal employees and cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for retired federal employees often differ because they are based on changes in different economic variables. Increases in pay for civilian federal workers are indexed to wage and salary increases in the private-sector, as measured by the Employment Cost Index (ECI), while federal retirement and disability benefits are indexed to price increases as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This report discusses the procedures for determining such increases.

This report provides federal spending data by agency and by budget function for fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2005. The data, ranked by size, reveal the concentrated nature of federal spending. The largest four agencies (of 51 listed) produce 83% of total outlays and the six largest (of 19) budget functions produce 86% of total outlays. Most of the spending by the largest agencies and within the largest budget functions is either mandatory spending (such as Social Security, Medicaid, and income support, among others), defense spending, or net interest spending on federal debt.

This is a report on the gangs in Central America.