This report provides an overview of the various authorities available under the current law and describes the planning process for the redevelopment of base realignment and closure (BRAC) properties.

This report covers the contentious travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba from the 1960s to the present time. It includes background on the restrictions, enforcement of restrictions, and arguments for or against maintaining travel restrictions. It also provides background on relevant legislative initiatives during the 106th through the 111th Congresses.

This report is categorized into three categories: (I) Desalination: The Federal Policy Context, (II) Desalination Adoption in the United States and (III) Federal Desalination Research.

This report describes programs authorized under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) and related initiatives, and provides authorization and appropriation levels. The FVPSA was originally enacted in 1984, as Title III of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, to assist states in preventing incidents of family violence and to provide shelter and related assistance to victims of family violence and their dependents, with the expectation of preventing future acts of violence in families.

This report discusses the issue before Congress of whether to continue the federal prosecution of medical marijuana patients and their providers, in accordance with the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), or whether to relax federal marijuana prohibition enough to permit the medicinal use of botanical cannabis products when recommended by a physician, especially where permitted under state law.

This report discusses federal evacuation policy and analyzes potential lessons learned from the evacuation of individuals from Hurricane Katrina. Several issue areas that might arise concerning potential lawmaking and oversight on evacuation policy are also highlighted. This report will be updated as significant legislative or administrative changes occur.

This report provides statistical information on and selected analyses of the House committee party ratios for 14 Congresses, covering the period from the 98th through the 111th Congresses.

This report discusses the U.S. population assistance issues, policy issues in the U.S. family planning debate, and U.S. funding levels.

This report briefly discusses the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations legislation and then provides a short description of the various funding accounts as they appear in the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-8).

This report discusses the rules and practices that govern consideration of spending and other budgetary legislation under each congressional chamber's constitutional authority.

This report discusses recent actions taken by the FDIC in support of financial and housing markets, which include restoration of the Deposit Insurance Fund, the development of the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, efforts to reduce foreclosures, and establishment of the proposed Public-Private Investment Fund. Legislation such as H.R. 786 (introduced by Representative Barney Frank); H.R. 1106, Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 (introduced by Representative John Conyers, Jr., with 24 co-sponsors); and S. 541, The Depositor Protection Act of 2009 (introduced by Senator Christopher Dodd with 12 co-sponsors) have also been introduced to increase the effectiveness of the FDIC’s efforts to respond to recent market weaknesses.

This report provides a comparison of U.S. and Chinese trade data. U.S. trade with the People's Republic of China (China) is becoming increasingly contentious as the U.S. bilateral trade deficit rises. Debate over this trade deficit is hampered because of disagreement between the two countries on how large the deficit actually is. According to official U.S. figures, China has surpassed Canada as the largest supplier of U.S. imports.

This report provides brief summaries and background information for four types of tax-advantaged accounts for healthcare; it compares them with respect to eligibility, contribution limits, use of funds, and other characteristics for tax year 2009. It also includes a discussion of various healthcare-related issues including equity and options for reform.

This report provides an overview of the Advanced Spectroscopic Portal (ASP) program's history and outlines issues for Congress as the program moves forward. The ASP is an improved type of radiation detection device, meant to serve as part of new and existing programs to protect against terrorist nuclear or radiological attack.

This report analyzes the language contained in § 1607 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act),1 which provides that federal funds can be made available to a state by the federal government either after certification by a governor that such money will be requested and spent or after the adoption of a concurrent resolution by a state legislature. This report evaluates the authority of state legislatures to, by concurrent resolution, provide for the acceptance of federal funds.

This report provides an overview and discussion of federal hazard mitigation assistance. Hazard mitigation can potentially reduce federal costs by decreasing the level of damage from future disasters. Of the $96.1 billion expended for disaster assistance since 1989, FEMA allocated $4.4 billion for hazard mitigation activities to prevent or ease the impact of natural disasters.

This report provides background the detection of and protection against illicit acquisition and use of special nuclear material (SNM) including the global nuclear detection architecture to secure nuclear assets against diversion, theft, and attack. It also discusses related issues for Congress.

This report presents difficult-to-find statistics regarding U.S. military casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF, Afghanistan), including those concerning medical evacuations, amputations, and the demographics of casualties.

This report provides a brief overview of The Hollings Manufacturing Partnership (MEP), which is a program of regional centers set up to assist small and medium-sized manufacturing companies use knowledge and technologies developed under the auspices of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

This report provides information on USSS legislative authority for National Special Security Events (NSSE), NSSE designation funding and training, and NSSE funding.

This report lists the votes cast by the Judiciary Committee and the Senate on each of the 19 nominations and identifies senatorial courtesy, ideological disagreement, and concern over nominees' qualifications as among the circumstances that led to committee consideration of actions other than a favorable report.

This report develops three scenarios to approximate different dimensions of the relationship between the global economic downturn and protectionism. The scenarios are not predictions, but descriptions of how and why pressures for protection could be manifested and transmitted under different circumstances and assumptions.

This report contains a list of authoritative resources is designed to assist in responding to a broad range of constituent questions and concerns about renewable energy and energy efficiency tax incentives.

This report discusses the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which seeks to provide for, strengthen, and expedite the national defense by protecting servicemembers, enabling them to "devote their entire energy to the defense needs of the Nation." The SCRA protects servicemembers by temporarily suspending certain judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions that may adversely affect their legal rights during military service.