This report discusses key drinking water issues in the 108th Congress involving water infrastructure funding and problems caused by specific contaminants, such as the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), perchlorate, and lead in drinking water. Congress last reauthorized the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1996, and although funding authority for most SDWA programs expired in FY2003, broad reauthorization efforts were not pursued as EPA, states, and water utilities continued implementing the 1996 amendments.

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This report covers significant legislative and oversight activities of the 108th Congress that concern domestic law enforcement aspects of federal anti-drug policy. Also included will be significant executive branch actions and other current developments of likely interest to the congressional audience that follows this issue.

This report discusses issues regarding the Clean Water Act. Prospects for legislative initiatives to comprehensively amend the Clean Water Act (CWA) have stalled for some time over whether and exactly how to change the law, and Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected CWA programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. For example, the 108th Congress enacted one bill amending the CWA, legislation to reauthorize the National Estuary Program (H.R. 4731, P.L. 108-399).

Cuba under Fidel Castro remains a hard-line communist state with a poor record on human rights that has deteriorated significantly since 2003. With the cutoff of assistance from the former Soviet Union, Cuba experienced severe economic deterioration from 1989 to 1993. While there has been some improvement since 1994, as Cuba has implemented limited reforms, the economy remains in poor shape. This report discusses the most recent development in Cuba, including political and economic conditions and the U.S. policy towards Cuba. It also considers the issues in U.S.-Cuban Relations.

This report provides an overview of major tax issues. It begins by describing three aspects of the economic context in which the tax policy debate during 2004 is likely to occur: the general state of the U.S. economy; the position of the federal budget; and the level of taxes in the United States.

This report discusses federal funding for research and development. National R&D funding continues to grow, but the federal R&D share has declined to less than 30% of the total. Debates focus on which fields of federal R&D should be increased and how to set priorities and to "balance" health and nonhealth fields.

This report discusses budget issues regarding renewable energy programs. In the 108th Congress, debate over renewable energy programs has focused on tax credits, incentives, budget, and provisions of the omnibus energy policy bill H.R. 6.

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This report provides information about the Budgeting and Priority-Setting Issues, 108th Congress on Federal Research and Development. Federal R & D funding priorities change over time, reflecting presidential and national preferences.

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This report provides Head Start issues on the 108th congress, a federal program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children since 1965.

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This report discusses Congresses plans for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the amendments made to the due process and provision of free appropriate public education (FAPE). On November 21, 2003, the Senate agreed to limited consideration of S. 1248 to certain amendments such as attorney's fees.

This report discusses various measures being considered by Congress that propose to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have focused on whether to incorporate further protection for property owners and reduce regulatory impacts, whether to increase the protection afforded listed species, or whether to modify various aspects of the ESA, such as the role of science in decision-making.

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Clean air issues were discussed at length in the 107th Congress, but legislation was not enacted, leaving the same issues for possible consideration in the 108th. With new leadership in the Senate, the prospects for such legislation and its content are likely to change. Further, the Senate committee of jurisdiction (Environment and Public Works) will almost certainly focus first on consideration of highway and transit funding (the authorization for which, known as TEA21, expires at the end of FY 2003). Thus, although there is some interest in considering broad changes to the Clean Air Act, the more immediate prospect is for targeted proposals that might be attached to re-authorization of TEA21.