Lobbyists and interest groups play an active role in the American legislative process. Information on lobbyist registrations and on interest groups in general is available from a variety of online and printed sources, including files available for public inspection. This report is a guide for locating governmental sources that maintain files on lobby groups, their registrations, and finances. Also included in this report are nongovernmental sources that offer background information on the lobbyists and interest groups who focus on legislation in Washington.

This report lists hundreds of instances in which the United States has used its armed forces abroad in situations of military conflict or potential conflict or for other than normal peacetime purposes.

This report reviews criminal sanctions attaching to the development,production,possesion, and use of biological weapons.It also addresses certain federal regulations attaching to the development,production, and transportation of biological agents.

This report is a brief general description of the federal grand jury, with particular emphasis on its more controversial aspects—relationship of the prosecutor and the grand jury, the rights of grand jury witnesses, grand jury secrecy, and rights of targets of a grand jury investigation.

This report examines the economics the budget deficit. Topics include recent budgetary history, the differences made by deficits and surpluses, and fiscal policy.

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.

This report presents an overview of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a voluntary program that provides technical and financial assistance to eligible agricultural producers who wish to implement soil and water conservation practices. The purpose of EQIP is to promote agriculture production, forestry management, and environmental quality as compatible goals, and to optimize environmental benefits. The report also discusses select issues for Congress regarding tighter budget constraints that could potentially reduce funding levels for EQIP and a continuing backlog of unfunded applications. A change in income limitations along with a new waiver created in the 2008 farm bill could also raise issues for the program. EQIP will also continue to face challenges in measuring environmental and program accomplishments.

This report provides background on the Google Library Project, legal issues raised by digitization and indexing projects, and the proposed settlement between Google and rights holders.

This report focuses on oil spills in U.S. coastal waters. The first section highlights background issues, including oil spill statistics and potential environmental impacts. The second section discusses the legal framework that governs oil spill prevention and response. The third section examines the threat of future oil spills in coastal waters and whether response personnel are prepared to respond to a major spill. The final section highlights recent legislative activity.

This report provides a general overview of copyright law and briefly summarizes the major provisions of the U.S Copyright Act

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This report is an overview of the Administrations FY2008 budget request for 11 homeland security programs designed to provide assistance to state and local first responders.

This report highlights efforts by affected countries to control the spread of the avian influenza (H5N1) virus. Included is statistical information on confirmed human cases and deaths through January 2007.

This report summarizes actions in Congress during 2002 to make the repeal of the estate tax permanent and other proposals that would have retained but altered the estate tax.

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This report summarizes the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) which contains the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program. The report covers the history of the ESEA as well as what is new in the reauthorization. Moreover, the report includes how grants are selected now, and the new focus of the program which is now exclusively for after-school-hours activities for children.

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This report is on Balkan Conflicts: U.S. Humanitarian Assistance and Issues for Congress.

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Head Start is a federal program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children since 1965. Services provided to preschool-aged children include child development, educational, health, nutritional, social and other activities, intended to prepare low-income children for entering kindergarten.