This report discusses contribution of technological advancement to economic growth and productivity increases. Because technology can contribute to economic growth and productivity increases, congressional interest has focused on how to augment private-sector technological development.

This report surveys certain aspects of the historical congressional practice in counting the presidential electoral votes in Congress.

This report examines data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to explore what differences in microeconomic structures and policies explain the causes of unemployment across various countries.

This report is an introduction to the economics of electronic commerce and its potential impact on sales and use tax collections. Presently, 45 states (and the District of Columbia) require that retail outlets add a fixed percentage to the sales price of all taxable items (inclusive of federally imposed excise taxes).

This report provides data on the distribution of assets in taxable estates that filed returns in 1998. The report also offers a brief overview of the estate and gift tax and "The Death Tax Elimination Act of 2000," which was passed in the 106th Congress and vetoed. This report finds that farm and business assets represent a small share of the total value of taxable estate tax returns filed in 1998. For an overview of estate tax, see CRS Report RL30600, Estate and Gift Taxes: Economic Issues, by Jane G. Gravelle and Steven Maguire. This report will be updated as new data becomes available.

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This report discusses issues regarding Agriculture funding, specifically the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act (P.L. 104-127), which prescribed farm commodity support policy through 2002.

This report discusses contribution of technological advancement to economic growth and productivity increases. Because technology can contribute to economic growth and productivity increases, congressional interest has focused on how to augment private-sector technological development.

This report discusses the “oil-for-food” program which represents a longstanding U.N. Security Council effort to alleviate human suffering in Iraq while maintaining pressure on the Iraqi government to comply with all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on the District of Columbia Appropriations.

In recent years conflicting budget priorities and divided political control have accentuated the institutional tensions between the executive and legislative branches inherent in the federal budget process. President Clinton, like his two predecessors, called for an item veto, or possibly expanded impoundment authority, to provide him with greater control over federal spending. This report provides a brief history of impoundment and discusses the debate surrounding the line item veto.

This report is designed to examine broad cyberwarfare issues and raise underlying questions. This report first summarizes some cases that illustrate real-world concerns many have with respect to cyberwarfare. It then discusses the current U.S. policy and organizational approaches to cyberwarfare. The report also examines foreign perspectives, the issue of cyberterrorism, and some reported instances of cyberwarfare.

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Among airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconaissance (ISR) platforms, the U-2 Dragon Lady and the RQ-4A Global Hawk are especially valuable. This report discusses how best to use existing and planned manned and unmanned ISR aircraft to most effectively satisfy the Department of Defense's (Dod) requirements for timely and accurate information on enemy forces.

The House of Representatives follows a well established routine on the opening day of a new Congress. The proceedings include election of the Speaker, swearing in its members, election of administrative officers, and adoption of rules of procedure. Also, resolutions assigning its members to committees may be adopted. The House must take these actions at the beginning of each new Congress because it is not a continuing body. Article 1, Section 2 of Constitution sets terms for Members of the House at two years. Thus, the House ends at the conclusion of each two-year Congress and must reconstitute itself at the beginning of a new Congress. This report focuses on the floor activities of the House during its first formal session in a new Congress, and serves as a guide for participating in or watching those proceedings.

Statistics indicating Internet usage are imprecise. It is difficult to measure the scale of the Internet (or the World Wide Web), calculate the number and types of users (age, sex, race, gender, location, etc.), or forecast future growth. This report discusses the inherent complexities of estimating Internet and electronic commerce growth and describes various types of Internet statistics, discussing how to evaluate them and providing Web addresses for locating them. In addressing these topics, it is important to understand how the statistics are compiled, how they are used, and what their limitations are.

This report discusses the history of the federal grants-in-aid system, which predates the Constitution. he grants-in-aid system assumed its current form when President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated his New Deal programs. Since Roosevelt, the grants-in-aid system has expanded, especially in the number and dollar amount of categorical grant programs.

This report has four major purposes: to summarize the constitutional and statutory requirements governing apportionment; to explain how the current apportionment formula works in theory and in practice; to summarize recent challenges to it on grounds of unfairness; and to explain the reasoning underlying the choice of the equal proportions method over its chief alternative, major fractions.

This report provides a table outlining the bills vetoed by President William Jefferson Clinton's two terms in office. It includes an overview and the bill number, date, title, and override attempts for each veto.

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This report discusses the appropriations act for FY2001, proposed budget includes $ 445 million in federal payments and assistance to the District of Columbia.

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This report serves as a resource for the annual congressional debate on foreign policy spending, providing context and trend analysis of the past 20 years.