This report provides a detailed breakdown of the requested and enacted supplemental funding in each of the disaster relief supplemental appropriation measures for 2017 natural disasters, and provides a contact listing for CRS experts on the funded relief and recovery programs.

This report

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action in the 108th Congress with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.

This report begins with a discussion of the technology used by Aereo and FilmOn X that permit subscribers to watch live broadcast television as well as already-aired programming. It then examines the public performance right in the Copyright Act and discusses the interpretation of the transmit clause and public performance right by the courts in the Aereo and FilmOn cases. The report concludes with a brief overview of future litigation by these parties and related legislative proposals in the 113th Congress.

This report details the history of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the programs it directs. The report also considers how all of these programs are funded.

This report considers the future of the U.S. tanker fleet for aerial refueling.

The 112th Congress faces several budget and appropriations decisions that may affect implementation of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. Signed on January 4, 2011, this law seeks to improve U.S. competitiveness and innovation by authorizing, among other things, increased federal support for research in the physical sciences and engineering; and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The specific debate about FY2013 funding for America COMPETES 2010 provisions will occur within the broader context of the national conversation about U.S. competitiveness.

This report is about the America COMPETES act and the budget for the fiscal year 2009.

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 discusses the firefighting activities that are traditionally the responsibility of states and local communities. The report also talks about the funding for firefighters, which is provided mostly by state and local governments. However, during the 106th Congress, many in the fire community asserted that local fire departments require and deserve greater support from the federal government.

One of the most persistent political issues facing Congress in recent years is whether to require that the budget of the United States be in balance. Although a balanced federal budget has long been held as a political ideal, the accumulation of large deficits in recent years has heightened concern that some action to require a balance between revenues and expenditures may be necessary. The debate over a balanced budget measure actually consists of several interrelated debates, which this report addresses.

This report provides information about the provisions from Division E of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA 2018) related to CHIP, certain public health programs, the MIECHV program, and the Medicaid program.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $7.2 billion primarily for broadband grant programs to be administered by two separate agencies: the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce and the Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This report is over the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the implementation of the Broadband programs, and issues related to the implementation.

This report discusses the reconciliation under the congressional budget act of 1974 by which congress implements budget resolution policies affecting mainly permanent spending and revenue programs.

This brief focuses on several issues affecting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) lands that are of interest to the 109th Congress, and does not comprehensively cover issues primarily affecting other federal lands.

The C-17 Globemaster III is a long-range cargo/transport aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force since 1993. Congress approved development of the aircraft in the late 1970s, when it was recognized that the Air Force did not have enough airlift capability. In 1981, the McDonnell Douglas C-17 emerged as winner of a competition with Boeing and Lockheed to develop a next-generation aircraft to replace C-130s and C-141s.

Campaign finance reform legislation often contains provisions that would impose additional reporting and disclosure requirements under the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). For example, S. 27 (McCain/Feingold), would require disclosure of disbursements of expenditures over $10,000 for “electioneering communications,” which are defined to include broadcast ads that “refer” to federal office candidates, with identification of donors of $500 or more. S. 22 (Hagel/Landrieu) would increase and expedite current disclosure requirements under FECA. H.R. 380 (Shays/Meehan) would lower the current FECA threshold for contribution reporting from $200 to $50 and impose reporting requirements for soft money disbursements by persons other than political parties. This report will discuss some of the constitutional issues relating to these and other such disclosure requirements.

This report will examine China's position in the global mineral and metal markets; its growth in mineral reserves; the growth of supply, demand, and imports; and the role of China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The report takes a look at U.S. mineral import dependence, U.S. import dependence on China, and selected policy options.

This report is a chronological collection of statements made by President Richard Nixon on the United States' policy towards Vietnam and Indochina.

This report describes the statutory background of the Title V program and the status of implementation, in terms of federal approval of state and local permitting authorities and permit issuance. It also discusses broad policy issues identified by various stakeholders, including program complexity and costs, and inconsistencies due to a lack of sufficient federal guidance.

Report discussing specifics of the U.S. Clean Water Act. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act requires that an applicant for a federal license or permit provide a certification that any discharges from the facility will comply with the act, including water quality standard requirements. Disputes have arisen over the states' exercise of authority under Section 401. For the most part, the debate over the Section 401 certification issue has been between states and hydropower interests.

This report discusses the background of cluster munitions in the U.S. military, and the current Department of Defense (DOD) and Obama Administration stances on the topic. It also discusses the two major international initiatives to address cluster munitions: the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and negotiations under the U.N. Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).

This report will introduce a newcomer to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to sources of general interest, neighborhoods, housing, and public transportation. The intended audience is congressional staff needing short-term or summer housing, although many of the sources given may also be helpful for those needing more than a three- to six-month lease. Sources suggested are often accessible by their Internet addresses.

The Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, more often referred to as the “Committee of the Whole,” is the House of Representatives operating as a committee on which every Member of the House serves. The House of Representatives uses this parliamentary device to take procedural advantage of a somewhat different set of rules governing proceedings in the Committee than those governing proceedings in the House. The purpose is to expedite legislative consideration. This report briefly reviews the history of the Committee of the Whole, describes the current procedure associated with it, and identifies its procedural advantages.