This report discusses the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) within the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69), which was authorized by Congress in August 2007. Modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), ARPA-E would support transformational energy technology research projects with the goal of enhancing the nation's economic and energy security.

This report is on Anti-Doping Policies: The Olympics and Selected Professional Sports.

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 information provided by the House and Senate Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Subcommittees.

This report discusses issues regarding the arsenic’s health effects and how to reduce the uncertainty in assessing health risks associated with exposure to low levels of arsenic. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the current standard of 50 parts per billion (ppb) in 1975. . This report reviews EPA efforts to develop a new arsenic rule and summarizes key provisions and subsequent events.

This report discusses the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, also known as fire grants of the FIRE Act grant program, which provides federal grants directly to local fire departments and unaffiliated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations to help address a variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related and EMS needs. This report also discusses the possible reauthorization of AFG and the related Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters (SAFER) program.

An issue over the years has been the inaccurate rulemaking to carry out fuel economy ratings and the in-use fuel economy has failed to meet the rated fuel economy. Various amendments and acts are being passed to ensure the accuracy to the fuel economy readings and take other factors into account when measuring them.

This report discusses the November 7, 2010 parliamentary elections in Burma, which have long been controversial, mainly due to election fraud concerns. The report discusses debates about U.S. policy toward Burma, which has been sparked by the elections and the issues surrounding them.

This report provides a quantitative framework for policy considerations dealing with U.S. trade with China. It provides basic data and analysis of China’s international trade with the United States and other countries. Since Chinese data differ considerably from those of its trading partners (because of how entrepot trade through Hong Kong is counted), data from both PRC sources and those of its trading partners are presented. Charts showing import trends by sector for the United States highlight China’s growing market shares in many industries and also show import shares for Japan, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, and the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN ).

This bibliography includes references to magazine articles, monographs, and congressional documents which discuss civil rights legislation following 1984 Supreme Court decision in Grove City v. Bell which ruled title IX applies only to the specific program receiving federal financial assistance.

This report discusses the background of cluster munitions in the U.S. military, and the current Department of Defense (DOD) and Obama Administration stances on the topic. It also discusses the two major international initiatives to address cluster munitions: the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and negotiations under the U.N. Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).

The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA or “the authority”) was established approximately one month after United States and coalition forces took control of Baghdad in Iraq on April 9, 2003.1 The authority’s mission was “to restore conditions of security and stability, to create conditions in which the Iraqi people can freely determine their own political future, (including by advancing efforts to restore and establish national and local institutions for representative governance) and facilitating economic recovery, sustainable reconstruction and development. This report discusses two views on how the authority was established, reviews selected characteristics of the authority, identifies statutory reporting requirements concerning the authority and the reconstruction of Iraq, and explores several policy issues.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions.

In the 108th Congress, two work hours flexibility bills have been introduced: S. 317 by Senator Gregg and H.R. 1119 by Representative Biggert. Both bills deal with a compensatory time off option (comp time) — though the Gregg proposal is somewhat broader, projecting other changes in the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as well. This report is limited to consideration of the issue of comp time.

This report is about Conflict in Moldova

This report discusses recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal, often considered the most distinguished award. It includes some information about the history of the medal, recipients during the 19th-21st centuries, foreign recipients, design of the medals, and related legislative procedures.

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This report compares provisions in two bills in the House of Representatives that address information sharing and related activities in cybersecurity.

This report provides information about Cybersecurity Issues and Challenges. People who perform cyberattacks generally fall into various categories like criminals, spies, nation-state warriors, terrorists, etc.

This report provides a brief overview of the history of the negotiations between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, a review of the negotiations since 2008, and a description of some of the issues involved in the talks.

This report provides the history and recent increases of the debt limit of the federal government.

This report discusses the Department of Defense (DOD) policy for disposing of items via the Defense Utilization and Marketing Service (DRMS); this method is used for government equipment and supplies considered surplus or deemed unnecessary to the agency's currently designated mission. The report focuses on DRMS background, as well as the most recent DRMS policy modifications.

This report discusses in brief the current political state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the crisis situation in eastern Congo that has displaced more than 250,000 civilians. It also describes U.S., U.N., and other international efforts to aid in resolving the crisis.

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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