This report provides a summary of legislative attempts to address issues of energy development and preservation in the Refuge from the 95th Congress through the 110th Congress, with emphasis on the 108th through 110th Congresses.

The report offers the most recent development regarding the soil and water conservation topics and current major conservation activities. The report discusses the farm bill, which the 110th Congress is considering. The House passed its version of the farm bill on July 27, 2007 (H.R. 2419) by a vote of 231 to 191. Numerous options for conservation provisions were offered as the legislation moved through the House, but the conservation title was passed largely as reported by the Agriculture Committee and modified by a chairman's mark.

This report explores strategies to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and options to address the cost issue in four parts. First, the basic economic tradeoff between controlling the quantity of GHG emissions and the program's compliance costs is introduced and explained. Second, the five dimensions of the cost issue that have arisen so far in the climate change debate are identified and discussed. Third, a representative sample of proposed approaches to address cost concerns is compared and analyzed according to the five cost dimensions identified previously. Finally, the proposed options are summarized and opportunities to combine or merge different approaches are analyzed.

This report discusses disaster relief for commercial fishery, which be provided by the federal government to assist the fishing industry when it is affected by a commercial fishery failure.

The first two sections of this report discuss the primary emission allowance distribution methods: auctions and no-cost distribution to covered sources. These sections examine the potential benefits and concerns of these allocation mechanisms. The final section identifies different options and policy considerations for Congress when determining to whom and for what purpose to distribute the value of the emission allowances.

This report focuses on options for protecting structures and for protecting wildlands and natural resources from wildfires. It begins with a brief overview of the nature of wildfires, followed by a discussion of protecting structures. Then, it discusses wildfire damages to wildlands and natural resources, fuel treatment options and their benefits and limitations, and public involvement in federal decisions.

This report discusses the policy questions and issues shaping the conservation title of the 2008 Farm Bill. The report describes the program changes in the enacted 2008 Farm Bill, and working lands conservation programs.

This report discusses the polar bear that has been protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) since 1972. The polar bear was listed because the bear's primary habitat of sea ice was threatened with destruction due to global climate change.

The report discusses the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), which is an entity within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

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This report provides background information about the war in Kosovo and discusses issues regarding Kosovo's future status and U. S. policy.

Entitlements are programs that require payments to persons, state or local governments, or other entities if specific eligibility criteria established in the authorizing law are met. Entitlement payments are legal obligations of the federal government, and eligible beneficiaries may have legal recourse if full payment under the law is not provided. This report provides a brief explanation of spending for entitlements, including so-called appropriated entitlements, and discusses the congressional procedural constraints on legislation affecting such entitlement spending.

This report discusses Taiwan's 2008 presidential elections.

This report provides background on genetic information, legal implications regarding the use of this information, and relevant laws. It also discusses the statutory provisions of GINA, which has two main parts: Title I, which prohibits discrimination based on genetic information by health insurers; and Title II, which prohibits discrimination in employment based on genetic information.

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This report discusses Afghanistan's political transition, which was completed with the convening of a parliament in December 2005. Since then, insurgent threats to Afghanistan's government have escalated to the point that some experts are questioning the future of U.S. stabilization efforts.

This report discusses offsets in relation to a greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade program. The first section of this report provides an overview of offsets by discussing different types of offset projects and describing how the offsets would likely be used in an emission reduction program. The next section discusses the supply of offsets that might be available in an emission trading program. The subsequent sections examine the potential offset benefits and the potential concerns associated with offsets. The final section offers considerations for Congress.

This report focuses on the terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and deportation/removal. It opens with an overview of the terror-related grounds as they evolved through key legislation enacted in recent years. The section on current law explains the legal definitions of "terrorist activity," "engage in terrorist activity," and "terrorist organization," and describes the terror-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal. The report then discusses the alien screening process to determine admissibility and to identify possible terrorists, both during the visa issuance process abroad and the inspections process at U.S. ports of entry.

This report first discusses the current state of the economy, including measures that have already been taken by the monetary authorities, and assesses the need for and potential consequences of fiscal stimulus. The second part of the report reviews the proposals discussed during debate on the recently enacted fiscal stimulus, both those adopted and those considered but not adopted. The various stimulus packages differed somewhat, and the report briefly describes those differences. This section includes a discussion of the potential elements of a second stimulus proposal and concludes with a discussion of the macroeconomic effects of the proposals.

This report discusses the United States' relationship with India as it relates to nuclear arsenals and nuclear nonproliferation policies. The report includes background information on India's nuclear history and nuclear weapons-specific U.S. legislation.