This report provides an overview of the complexities of the Copyright Act's Provisions concerning music licensing in the digital age. Copyright law provides protection for original works of authorship by conferring certain exclusive rights upon their creators.

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This report explains the different measures of the U.S. government debt, discusses the historical growth in the debt, identifies the current owners of the debt, presents comparisons with government debt in other countries, and examines the potential economic risks associated with a growing federal debt.

This report addresses the following issues central to the debate over European security and the future of the broader transatlantic relationship that may be of interest in the second session of the 110th Congress: the specific security missions of NATO and the European Union and the appropriate relationship between the two organizations; the types of military forces that are necessary for NATO's role in collective defense and for the EU's role in crisis management; the appropriateness and compatibility of NATO and EU's decision-making structures and procedures to ensure that there is an adequate and timely response to emerging threats; and the proper balance between political and military tools for defending Europe and the United States from terrorism and weapons proliferation.

This report describes the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) eligibility requirements, benefit types and compensation amounts, and program financing.

This report examines the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity issue and potential legislative solutions.

This report discusses the disputes over Corps jurisdiction prior to enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 as well as the current law applicable to siting offshore wind facilities.

This report discusses the energy development reform and energy production from public lands.

This report discusses the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) including its history, its provisions, and the evolution of its implementation; it also provides an overview of how agencies implement NEPA's requirements.

This report identifies two types of enforcement issues: (1) those that relate to the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) provisions themselves, including their definitions and their enforceability, and (2) those that relate to executive branch responsibilities, such as resource availability and determining dispute settlement case priorities.

This report discusses the United States pipeline networks and their security. The 109th Congress passed the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-468) to improve pipeline safety and security practices, and to reauthorize the federal Office of Pipeline Safety.

This report discusses the four major principles underlie current U.S. policy on permanent immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, the protection of refugees, and the diversity of admissions by country of origin.

This report reviews U.S. appropriations for treatment and prevention of the three diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from FY2004 through FY2008.

This report reviews the empirical studies of the effect of changes in price transparency on prices and quality of goods in a variety of industries; addresses the extent to which this evidence might be applicable to the health care market and certain special characteristics of the health care market which may reduce the importance of prices as signals; examines how prices are actually set by hospitals and the evidence that exists on price dispersion both across hospitals and across patient categories; discusses some initiatives undertaken by governments, insurers, and interest groups to improve information about prices and to regulate price discrimination; and finally, suggests that while it is difficult to determine the consequences of greater consumer price transparency, it is reasonable to believe that greater transparency would improve outcomes.

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This report provides analysis of the education tax credit program.

This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It summarizes the status of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity.

This report describes wave, tidal, and in-stream energy generation technologies — also referred to as hydrokinetic or marine energy. It discusses the recent changes in law aimed to clarify the federal role in ocean wave and renewable energy.

This report describes provisions in the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-234) related to Section 32 appropriations and how non-transferred money (funding not put toward child nutrition programs) may be spent. It includes an overfiew of how Section 32 funds have generally been used and the implications of the new restrictions.

This report identifies the predominant factors behind the 2007/2008-crop-year market conditions for major agricultural commodities, with a focus on U.S. farm program crops. In addition, it briefly discusses how higher, more volatile commodity prices have impacted farm incomes, government farm programs, hedging activities, the livestock and food processing sectors, food prices, and the international food security situation. It reviews both the near- and longer-term commodity price outlook, and finally, it discusses various viewpoints and policy options that have been suggested as possible responses to the perceived causes and consequences of the unusually high commodity prices.

This report examines the causes, consequences, and outlook for prices of the major U.S. program crops, and provides references for more detailed information.