This report discusses a variety of issues pertaining to energy policy. It includes information about most recent developments, background and analysis broken down into major categories, and relevant legislation.

This report addresses the controversial issues surrounding the E-rate program's implementation and subsequent legislative measures introduced to address these issues. An additional issue, concern that minors may gain access to "inappropriate" material through the Internet has also had an impact on the E-rate program.

This report provides an overview of current local, state, and federal policies and programs that support school choice and identifies and summarizes recent federal school choice legislation.

This report discusses energy legislation pertaining to fuel standards. The current corporate average fuel economy standard (CAFE) is 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) for passenger automobiles and 20.7 mpg for light trucks (scheduled to increase to 22.2 mpg in model year [MY] 2007), a classification that also includes sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Congress had included language in the FY1996-FY2001 Transportation Appropriations prohibiting the use of appropriated funds for any rulemaking on CAFE, effectively freezing the standards.

This report discusses one major element of the energy debate in the 108th Congress, which has been whether to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeastern Alaska, and if so, under what conditions, or whether to continue to prohibit development to protect the area's biological resources. The Refuge is an area rich in fauna, flora, and commercial oil potential. Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge.

This report discusses soil and water conservation, which were prominent farm policy topics in the 108th Congress as the Administration implemented provisions in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171). This farm bill increased spending and expanded the scope of the conservation effort by reauthorizing and amending most existing conservation programs and enacting new ones through FY2007.

This report provides a brief history of impoundment and discusses the debate surrounding the line item veto, particularly in relation to federal spending and the budget process.

This report discusses the increasing attention being paid to alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles, the proponents of which point to their potential to improve urban air quality, decrease dependence on foreign oil, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report also discusses the major barriers currently preventing widespread use of such technologies, and discusses these technologies in the particular contexts of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

This report discusses the president's FY2003 budget that was proposed tax cuts and spending increases to stimulate the economy, rapid increases in defense and homeland security spending, and a selection of other spending increases and decreases in discretionary spending.

This report summarizes the focus of U.S.-Egyptian relations in terms of security policy and maintaining the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace-treaty. Moreover, the report suggests the importance of sustaining the relationship to protect U.S. interests, but also the cost of the relationship that is displayed in the $2 billion in economic and military assistance the U.S. provides Egypt with annually.

This report looks into Congress' continued debate regarding NASA's International Space Station (ISS) program to build a permanently-occupied space station in Earth orbit where astronauts live and conduct research. NASA expects that research performed in the near-zero gravity environment of the space station will result in new discoveries in life sciences, biomedicine, and materials sciences. Current congressional space station debate focuses on the impact of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy on the ISS program; the possibility that portions of the space station may not be built for cost reasons; and whether Russia can fulfill its commitments to ISS.

This report summarizes federal licensing and license-conditioning authority for non-federal projects, discuss key arguments for and against changing the process through which federal resource agencies issue license conditions, and reviews current legislative proposals to revise federal licensing authority.

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 provides a concise historical account of the dispute, summarizes the subsidy and injury evidence, and discusses the current issues and events regarding lumber imports from Canada.

This report provides the following: an overview of postsecondary education (institutions and students), an overview of the Higher Education Act (HEA) with a focus on its most significant programs and provisions, and a discussion of major issues likely to be of interest to the Congress during the HEA reauthorization process.

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 discusses the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for inspecting most meat, poultry, and processed egg products for safety, wholesomeness, and proper labeling.

The 109th Congress is addressing a broad range of civilian, military, and commercial space issues. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducts the most visible space activities. For FY2005, NASA received a total of $16.2 billion. The FY2006the request is $16.46 billion; the conference report on the FY2006 appropriations bill that includes NASA (H.R. 2862) approves that amount.