This report discusses issues debated in the 107th Congress while is considering various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have included changing the role of science in decision-making, changing the role of critical habitat, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated including significant changes to ESA regulations made during the Clinton Administration in the law itself.

None

Two separate but closely related issues confront Congress each time the President introduces armed forces into a situation abroad that conceivably could lead to their involvement in hostilities. One issue concerns the division of war powers between the President and Congress, whether the use of armed forces falls within the purview of the congressional power to declare war and the War Powers Resolution. The other issue is whether Congress concurs in the wisdom of the action. This issue brief does not deal with the substantive merits of using armed forces in specific cases, but rather with the congressional authorization for the action and the application and effectiveness of the War Powers Resolution.

This report discusses the issue of U.S. economic assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the importance of continued assistance in light of U.S. national security and also various U.S.-led efforts to promote reform amongst African citizens themselves. U.S. assistance finds its way to Africa through a variety of channels, including the USAID-administered DA program, food aid programs, and indirect aid provided through international financial institutions and the United Nations.

This report outlines the existing recovery modes to mitigate disasters in financial markets that events have tested in recent experience, and recovery arrangements.

This report provides information about the Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 108th Congress. fish and marine are important resources in the open ocean and nearshore coastal areas.

None

This report discusses state and federal legislative power generally and focuses on a number of these "federalism" cases. Issues addressed include congressional power under the Commerce Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment; constitutional limits on congressional powers, such as the Tenth Amendment; and state sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment.

None

None

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said September 4 that he would continue to work toward a bipartisan consensus on reauthorization of TANF, which is scheduled to expire on September 30. Noting the continued decline in the TANF caseload, the Senator said that “simply going off welfare doesn’t mean that families have achieved significant income and job security.” He said the next phase of welfare reform should focus on strengthening policies to provide every TANF family the opportunity to become self-sufficient and indicated that he supported expanded state flexibility, increased options for education and training, combined with an emphasis on job attainment and experience; and work supports,

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Tri-weekly student newspaper from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas that includes local, state and campus news along with advertising.

Letter from Dr. Paul Harford to Sterling Houston, prominent San Antonio playwright. He writes sending him a list of information regarding medication and treatment of the HIV virus. His last item on the list is the contact information of a physician, Dr. Luis Alfredo Cisneros.

A weekly student newspaper from the Rice University in Houston, Texas that includes campus news and commentaries along with advertising.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Despite a drop in injury and fatality rates since the formation of the Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), mining is still a dangerous industry. Focusing on underground coal mines, GAO assessed how well MSHA oversees its process for reviewing and approving critical types of mine plans and the extent to which MSHA's inspections and accident investigations processes help ensure the safety and health of underground coal miners."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the mid-1990s, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center) officials recognized a need for additional parking and better site access. As a precursor to a planned project to construct an 8-acre plaza and two additional buildings at the site, the Kennedy Center is currently in the process of constructing a garage expansion and site improvement project. GAO did this study because of congressional concerns over project delays and costs as well as challenges that the Kennedy Center faces as it pursues this major construction effort. GAO's objectives were to (1) compare the garage expansion and site improvement project's current costs, time frames, and scope with the estimates provided to congressional stakeholders in 1997 and 1998 and (2) identify what challenges the Kennedy Center faces in managing large construction projects."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress expressed concerns about the Chemical Demilitarization Program cost and schedule, and its management structure. In 2001, the program underwent a major reorganization. Following a decade long trend of missed schedule milestones, in September 2001, the Department of Defense (DOD) revised the schedule, which extended planned milestones and increased program cost estimates beyond the 1998 estimate of $15 billion to $24 billion. GAO was asked to (1) examine the effect that recent organization changes have had on program performance and (2) assess the progress DOD and the Army have made in meeting the revised 2001 cost and schedule and Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) deadlines."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "From 1996 to 1997, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a cleanup action on a former zinc smelter operated by Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting, Inc. and other areas contaminated by materials from this site near Henryetta, Oklahoma. EPA's cleanup focused on removing the immediate health threat posed by lead- and arsenic-contaminated soil transported from the Eagle-Picher site to residential and other highly accessible areas. Cleanup actions on the Eagle-Picher site involved establishing proper drainage on the site, encapsulating the Eagle-Picher site with clay and cover soil, and establishing vegetative cover at the site to protect nearby residents from the recontamination from wind and water erosion of hazardous materials. Since completion of the cleanup, private landowners of a neighboring property have raised concerns about contamination of their property resulting from EPA's cleanup actions. Landowners allege that EPA, through its contractors, transported and negligently disposed of hazardous substances on their property. The landowners also allege that EPA's actions at the site contributed to the migration of contamination from the Eagle-Picher site onto their property. These landowners are currently pursuing litigation against EPA and the city of Henryetta for damages …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Invasive species--harmful, nonnative plants, animals, and microorganisms--are found throughout the United States and cause damage to crops, rangelands, waterways, and other ecosystems that is estimated to cost in the billions of dollars annually. In addition to their economic costs, invasive species can have a devastating effect on natural areas, where they have strangled native plants, taken over wetland habitats, crowded out native species, and deprived waterfowl and other species of food sources. Scientists, academicians, and industry leaders have all recognized invasive species as one of the most serious environmental threats of the twenty-first century. More specifically, conservation biologists ranked invasive species as the second most serious threat to endangered species after habitat destruction. In June 2003, GAO testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water concerning invasive species issues reported in our October 2002 report. We also provided testimony on the partial results of our spring 2003 survey of state agencies involved in efforts to address invasive species and members of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC). This report provides the final results of our survey and focuses on state perspectives on (1) gaps in, or …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to a Congressional request on August 12, 2003 that we provide answers to questions relating to our July 24, 2003, testimony. In that testimony, we discussed the risks that the Social Security Administration (SSA) faces in its efforts to automate its disability claims process. The questions concerned money saved by implementing an electronic disability folder, SSA's development of a risk management plan, areas which SSA could improve, and difficulties in completing the project."

Semiweekly newspaper from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas that includes local, national, and campus news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

The high magnetic fields required for future accelerator magnets can only be achieved with Nb3Sn, other A15 or HTS type conductors, which are brittle and sensitive to mechanical strain. The traditional ''cosine-theta'' dipole configuration has intrinsic drawbacks that make it difficult and expensive to employ such conductors in these designs. Some of these problems involve (1) difficulty in applying enough pre-stress to counteract Lorentz forces without compromising conductor performance; (2) small minimum bend radii of the conductor necessitating the intricate wind-and-react coil fabrication; (3) complex spacers in particular for coil ends and expensive tooling for coil fabrication; (4) typically only 2/3 of the coil aperture can be used with achievable field uniformity.