From a public policy perspective, the goals are to ensure that broadband deployment is timely, that industry competes fairly, and that service is provided to all sectors and geographical locations of American society. The federal government -- through Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) -- is seeking to ensure fair competition among the players so that broadband will be available and affordable in a timely manner to all Americans who want it. While the FCC's position is not to intervene at this time, some assert that legislation is necessary to ensure fair competition and timely broadband deployment. One proposal would ease certain legal restrictions and requirements, imposed by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, on incumbent telephone companies who provide high speed data (broadband) access. Another proposal would compel cable companies to provide "open access" to competing Internet service providers.

This report discusses several issues as the Congress considers legislation to reform the voting process, a number of issues have emerged as part of the debate: the reliability of different types of voting technologies; voting problems and irregularities in the 2000 election; problems for militaryand overseas voters; the electoral college; and early media projections of election results. Both sessions of the 107th Congress considered and debated federal election reform legislation, and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA, P.L. 107-252) was enacted in October 2002.

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This report provides background information on the location of nuclear weapons at the time of the demise of the Soviet Union and their subsequent relocation to storage and deployment areas in Russia. It also provides a description of the safety, security, and control issues raised in 1991 and in more recent years. It includes a brief listing of the cooperative programs and assistance the United States has provided to Russia and the other former Soviet states in an effort to address concerns about the safety and security of nuclear weapons and materials.

This report provides an overview of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spending on HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome) as well as budget numbers for other federal government programs targeting HIV/AIDS.

This report discusses significant legislative provisions in the two provisional bills that are likely to be the subject of congressional discussion to reauthorize federal highway, highway safety, and transit programs.

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This report outlines how the Department of Defense (DOD) has organized to gather and analyze Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) related data and document the process. It also describes DOD's selection criteria process, and the Secretary of Defense's requirement to certify the need for a BRAC round. The report then explains how the list of recommended BRAC actions will be drawn together for submission by the Secretary of Defense to the President.

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This report describes current developments and U.S. interests in Uzbekistan, an emerging Central Asian regional power by virtue of its relatively large population, important energy and other resources, and political prominence. Uzbekistan has offered broad-scale support for U.S.-led coalition operations in Afghanistan and lent diplomatic support for operations in Iraq.

This report discusses concerns over financing federal elections, such as political action committees (PACs) and proposed reforms to campaign finance.

This report provides an overview of how federal lands and resources are managed, the agencies that manage the lands,the authorities under which these lands are managed, and some of the issues associated with federal land management.

This report provides a selection of information gateways for businesses, state and local governments, research organizations, and others that wish to pursue homeland security related business opportunities or grants from the federal government.

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This report provides background information and analysis of key issues to serve as a resource document for the reauthorization debate. This report provides background information on activities intended to help mitigate pollution resulting from highway construction and travel, and analyzes key issues for Congress.

This report will discuss in detail the Supreme Court case and the lower court decisions that preceded it, providing only so much information on the background and history of the issue as us necessary to an appreciation of the litigation.

This report describes and discusses changes to the list of recipients of the Medal since the release of the committee print, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1978, which lists recipients and provides the full text of the citations describing the actions that resulted in the awarding of the Medal.

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