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This report gives an overview of current intelligence issues of interest to the 112th Congress. It includes background and analysis including most recent development, ongoing Congressional concerns, specific issues for the 112th Congress, and a summary of related legislation from the 109th through the 112th Congresses.

This report includes information regarding congressional issues with United Nations system funding. Topics of discussion include U.N. assessed budgets, voluntary programs, and peacekeeping operations.

This report discuses Saudi Arabia's governmental structure, human rights issues, relations with countries in the region, defense policies, and U.S. relations with the country. Special focus is given to military affairs and trade with Saudi Arabia.

This report is about Creation of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities and National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-209) as amended

This report discusses the CDBG program, which administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the federal government’s largest and most widely available source of financial assistance to support state and local government-directed neighborhood revitalization, housing rehabilitation, and economic development activities.

This report examines the legislative history and design structure of the nation's four federally chartered regional commissions.

This report focuses on those policies contained in the 2014 farm bill that support agriculture-based renewable energy, especially biofuels. The introductory sections of this report briefly describe how USDA bioenergy policies evolved and how they fit into the larger context of U.S. biofuels policy. Then, each of the bioenergy provisions of the 2014 farm bill are defined in terms of their function, goals, administration, funding, and implementation status. In an appendix at the end of this report, Table A-1 presents data on 2014 farm bill budgetary authority for energy provisions, while Table A-2 presents the original budget authority for Title IX programs under the previous 2008 farm bill. A third table (Table A-3) provides a side-by-side comparison of Title IX energy-related provisions for current versus previous law.

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Report detailing issues and legislative concerns regarding immigration during the 109th Congress, with a focus on security concerns.

This report discusses efforts to restore power in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria decimated the island's electricity infrastructure. Challenges in power restoration due to the extent of the damage, supply deliveries, timing of the storm after Hurricane Harvey and Irma, and the electric company's financial crisis along with recommendations for strengthening the electric system are discussed.

This report includes legal analyses of three ATF-investigated, Southwest border gun trafficking cases to illustrate the federal statutes that are typically violated as part of wider gun trafficking schemes. The report also examines anti-gun trafficking proposals introduced in the 110th Congress.

The U.S.-Japan relationship is a long-term one involving mutually accepted principles -- regional economic and political stability; market-driven economies; and democratic systems of government. The relationship is also complex, encompassing many factors.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the release of waste from animal feedlots to surface water, groundwater, soil, and the air is associated with a range of human health and ecological impacts and contributes to the degradation of the nation's surface waters. This report describes the revised environmental rules, the background of the previous Clean Water Act rules and the Clinton Administration proposal, and perspectives of key interest groups on the proposal and final regulations. It also identifies several issues likely to be of congressional interest as implementing the rules, research needs, oversight of the implementation of the rules, and possible need for legislation.

This report discusses the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program which regulates pollutants to ensure that water quality standards can be attained; section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters that are impaired by pollution, even after application of pollution controls. The report focuses on new challenges facing the TMDL program, including more complex TMDLs, larger scale impairments, and nonpoint sources.

This report provides background on regulatory requirements, controversies and legal challenges to mountaintop mining, and recent Administration actions. Congressional interest in these issues also is discussed, including legislation in the 111th Congress seeking to restrict the practice of mountaintop mining and other legislation intended to block the Obama Administration’s regulatory actions. Attention to EPA’s veto of the West Virginia mining permit and other federal agency actions has increased in the 112th Congress.

Controlling the discharge of toxic pollutants into the Nation's waters is once again an issue as Congress considers reauthorizing the Clean Water Act. This report describes the evolution of programs and policies in the Act concerning toxic pollutants, discusses current problems with implementation of some of these programs and policies, and outlines a number of issues that are on the legislative agenda.

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This report provides a description of the eligibility requirements, benefit availability, benefit payments, participation, and obligations of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The report also describes a few issues that may be addressed by Congress.

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Currently, federal law prohibits states from granting unauthorized aliens certain postsecondary educational benefits on the basis of state residence, unless equal benefits are made available to all U.S. citizens. This prohibition is commonly understood to apply to the granting of "in-state" residency status for tuition purposes. In the 110th Congress, several bills that would amend this federal law have been introduced. Meanwhile, some states have passed laws aimed at making unauthorized state residents eligible for in-state tuition without violating this provision. This report provides a legal overview of cases involving immigrant access to higher education, as well as an analysis of the legality of state laws that make in-state tuition rates available to illegal immigrants.

A descriptive journey of the summaries of bills introduced in the 92D congress through august 1971 for settling emergency labor disputes.

This report discusses recent changes in campaign finance reporting requirements for Senate candidates.