This report discusses a number of issues affecting U.S. agriculture have been or are being addressed by the 109th Congress. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171), enacted in February 2006, included a net reduction in spending on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandatory programs of $2.7 billion over five years, and the reauthorization of a dairy income support program. Other issues of importance to agriculture during the second session of the 109th Congress include the consideration of emergency farm disaster assistance; multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations; concerns about agroterrorism, food safety, and animal and plant diseases (e.g., “mad cow” disease and avian flu); high energy costs; environmental issues; agricultural marketing matters; the reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and farm labor issues.

This report considers the Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The report compares and contrasts the Senate and House versions of the bill in terms of budgeting. Moreover, both bills reject the termination of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.

This report discusses a plan announced by EPA in January 2005, called the Air Compliance Agreement, that would produce air quality monitoring data on animal agriculture emissions from a small number of farms, while at the same time protecting all participants (including farms where no monitoring takes place) through a “safe harbor” from liability under certain provisions of federal environmental laws.

Key components of federal policies to reduce fuel consumption include the promotion of alternatives to petroleum fuels and the promotion of more efficient vehicles. This report provides an overview of current issues surrounding alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles — issues discussed in further detail in other CRS reports referred to in each section.

This report discusses the ongoing debate about whether or not to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge. This report addresses several legislative options on the issue, as well as policymakers' arguments for and against development, especially in the wake of increasing terrorism since 2000-2001.

This report assesses the extent of the Army officer shortfall, examines perceived causes, reviews recent retention initiatives, identifies other possible retention incentives, and concludes with a review of possible options for Congress. This report is focused on the Army’s “line” or basic branch officers.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to whether selected Lotto Texas activities are conducted in accordance with rules and policies and procedures, including determining whether all instances in which advertised jackpot amounts exceeded estimated sales amounts have been identified, prize payments were calculated and paid in accordance with rules, policies, and procedures, and whether amounts transferred to the Foundation School Fund were calculated accurately and in accordance with Texas Government Code, Section 466.355.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether criminal history background check requests submitted by state agencies and processed by the Department of Public Safety permit those agencies to correctly identify individuals who do not meet standards for activities such as licensing or employment, and the extent to which state agencies with authorized access to state and national criminal history records for licensing or permitting rely on this data for these activities.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the Texas Lottery Commission's (Agency) organizational design and human resources processes protect the Agency from business and financial risk; determining the status of prior audit findings related to human resources management reported in a previous audit; and determining whether the Agency appropriately classifies employees.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The first wave of baby boomers(born between 1946 and 1964) will become eligible for Social Security early retirement benefits in 2008. In addition to concerns about how the boomers' retirement will strain the nation's retirement and health systems, concerns also have been raised about the possibility for boomers to sell off large amounts of financial assets in retirement, with relatively fewer younger U.S. workers available to purchase these assets. Some have suggested that such a sell-off could precipitate a market "meltdown," a sharp and sudden decline in asset prices, or reduce long-term rates of return. In view of such concerns, we have examined (1) whether the retirement of the baby boomers is likely to precipitate a dramatic drop in financial asset prices; (2) what researchers and financial industry participants expect the effect of the boomer retirement to have on financial markets; and (3) what role rates of return will play in providing retirement income in the future. We have prepared this report under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative as part of the continued effort to assist Congress in addressing these …

This report outlines federal programs that provide direct or indirect incentives for biofuels. For each program described, the report provides details including administering agency, authorizing statute(s), annual funding, and expiration date.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Visa Waiver Program enables citizens of 27 countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. In fiscal year 2004, more than 15 million people entered the country under the program. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the risks that aliens would exploit the program to enter the United States became more of a concern. In this report, we (1) describe the Visa Waiver Program's benefits and risks, (2) examine the U.S. government's process for assessing potential risks, and (3) assess actions taken to mitigate these risks. We met with U.S. embassy officials in six program countries, and reviewed relevant laws, procedures, and reports on participating countries."

The appearance of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or “mad cow disease”) in North America in 2003 raised meat safety concerns and disrupted trade for cattle and beef producers. A major issue for Congress has been how to rebuild foreign confidence in the safety of U.S. beef and regain lost markets like Japan and Korea. Among other issues are whether additional measures are needed to further protect the public and cattle herd, and concerns over the relative costs and benefits of such measures for consumers, taxpayers and industry.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress established federal standards for the child support enforcement program (CSE) in 1975. State agencies administer the program and the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees it. The CSE program provides several services, including collecting child support payments from noncustodial parents--those who are not the primary caregivers--and distributing these payments to families. Generally, the federal government reimburses state agencies 66 percent of their costs for administering the CSE program. GAO determined (1) how total net federal expenditures for administrative costs changed from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2004; (2) the categories of costs that contributed most to administrative costs in recent years; and (3) steps state agencies have taken to manage costs, and steps OCSE has taken to help state agencies and ensure federal funds have been used appropriately. GAO analyzed program data, surveyed all 54 state agencies and visited 6, interviewed program officials, and reviewed laws, policies, and reports."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, there were 48 federally declared disasters in 2005. Two of these disasters--Hurricanes Katrina and Rita--resulted in a prolonged interruption of child welfare services and the dispersion of thousands of children in Louisiana's foster care system to 19 states. As a result, there has been growing interest in the extent to which states have developed strategies to cope with disasters that could result in the dispersion of children in the child welfare system. Congress asked us to conduct a study of the challenges facing state child welfare systems, including the development of plans for dealing with the dispersion of children in the child welfare system due to disasters. This report addresses state child welfare disaster planning. Specifically, we are providing information on (1) the number of states that have statewide child welfare disaster plans and the primary components of those plans, (2) the extent to which states that experienced federally declared disasters in 2005 also had child welfare disaster plans, and (3) how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) supports states' efforts to develop child welfare disaster plans."

This report discusses a new foreign exchange system which is intended to allow more flexibility and to permit the international value of the yuan to be established by market forces.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Hurricane Katrina was one of the largest natural disasters in our nation's history. Significant federal, state, and local resources were mobilized to respond to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, including those of the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard played a key role in the planning, response, and recovery efforts for Hurricane Katrina in three mission areas: search and rescue, marine pollution response, and management of maritime commerce. This report discusses the activities undertaken by the Coast Guard, as well as the challenges and lessons learned as a result of the agency's efforts. More specifically, it focuses on (1) the factors that prepared the Coast Guard to perform these three mission areas in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; (2) the Coast Guard's response to Hurricane Katrina, the challenges it faced in performing its missions, and its efforts to mitigate these challenges; and (3) the implications and lessons learned, as identified by the Coast Guard, regarding the effect of Hurricane Katrina surge operations on its people, assets, financial resources, and operations. To determine the Coast Guard's preparation factors, the challenges and lessons learned we interviewed officials responsible for …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program provides funding for housing, economic development, and other community development activities. In fiscal year 2006, Congress appropriated about $4.2 billion for the program. Administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the CDBG program provides funding to metropolitan cities and urban counties, known as entitlement communities, and to states for distribution to nonentitlement communities. This report discusses (1) how recipients use CDBG funds, including the extent to which they comply with spending limits, (2) how HUD monitors recipients' use of CDBG funds, and (3) how HUD holds recipients that have not complied with CDBG program requirements accountable. To address these objectives, we visited 20 recipients, analyzed HUD data, and interviewed HUD staff."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center houses numerous complex computer systems for tracking air, missile, and space events that could threaten homeland security or undermine military operations in theater. To ensure this mission can be met, the systems require ongoing upgrades. The most recent upgrade program--the Combatant Commanders' Integrated Command and Control System (CCIC2S)--was initiated in 2000. Given the critical missions supported by Cheyenne Mountain systems, GAO initiated a review to (1) determine the status of the CCIC2S program in terms of meeting its cost, schedule, and performance goals; (2) gauge the extent to which DOD has followed best practices in managing program requirements; and (3) assess DOD's control and oversight mechanisms for CCIC2S."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Major acquisitions in the Department of Defense's (DOD) force transformation rely on maintaining technological superiority to ensure U.S. military dominance. Failure to identify and protect critical technologies makes U.S. military assets vulnerable to cloning, neutralization, or other action that degrades current and anticipated capabilities. To help minimize these risks, DOD's Militarily Critical Technologies Program developed and periodically updates two lists of technologies--the Militarily Critical Technologies List (MCTL) and the Developing Science and Technologies List (DSTL). While the lists are primarily intended to inform U.S. export control decisions, they can also inform counterintelligence activities, research plans, and technology protection programs, making MCTL and DSTL fundamental resources for security decisions. To ensure these lists are informative, GAO assessed the Militarily Critical Technologies Program's process for updating the MCTL and DSTL and determined how the lists are used to inform export control and DOD policy decisions."

This report discusses issues associated with debris removal operations after a disaster on the scale of Katrina. In particular, it discusses why debris removal was an ongoing concern months after the hurricane, as well as factors that make debris removal such a costly, complex operation.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Hurricane Katrina demonstrated difficulties involved in evacuating communities and raised questions about how hospitals and nursing homes plan for evacuations and how the federal government assists. Due to broad-based congressional interest, GAO assessed the evacuation of hospital patients and nursing home residents. Under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative, GAO examined (1) the challenges hospital and nursing home administrators faced, (2) the extent to which limitations exist in the design of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) to assist with patient evacuations, and (3) the federal requirements for hospital and nursing home disaster and evacuation planning. GAO reviewed documents and interviewed federal officials, and interviewed hospital and nursing home administrators and state and local officials in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Hurricane Charley in Florida."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's previous work found problems in security controls over sensitive excess military equipment that resulted in lost and stolen items, some of which were sold to the public, and significant waste and inefficiency in the Department of Defense (DOD) excess property reutilization program. GAO was asked to perform follow-up investigations to determine whether (1) unauthorized parties could obtain sensitive excess military equipment that requires demilitarization (destruction) when no longer needed by DOD and (2) system and process improvements are adequate to prevent sales of new, unused excess items that DOD continues to buy or that are in demand by the military services."

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