The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) January 2004 budget report for FY2005 (the Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2005-2014) estimated the FY2005 baseline deficit at $362 billion. CBO’s report provided estimates of the costs of selected alternative policies (measured from the baseline), such as estimates of the cost of extending the tax cuts, reforming the AMT, and discretionary spending growing at various rates.

This report is designed to provide facts and figures about the United States defense budget in order to help answer frequently asked questions about defense spending. The answers to these questions are based on analysis of recent and historical trends in the defense budget up to and including the fiscal year (FY) 2005 budget request.

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This report provides information about the Possible Issues for Congressional Oversight on the Homeland Security Advisory System. The homeland security advisory system is a color-coded terrorist threat warning system administered by the DHS.

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This report gives an overview of India's 2004 national elections. The contents include key parties, policies, and India - U.S relations

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is one of several federally managed warning systems. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) jointly administers EAS with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in cooperation with the National Weather Service (NWS), an organization within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NOAA/NWS weather radio system has been upgraded to an all-hazard warning capability. This report summarizes the technology and administration of EAS and the NOAA/NWS all-hazard network, and some of the key proposals for change

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This report provides an overview of U.S. policy concerns and relations with countries in central Asia. The report discusses issues such as Fostering Pro-Western Orientations, Obstacles to Peace and Independence, Democratization and Human Rights, Security and Arms Control, Trade and Investment, and provides an Aid Overview.

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This report discusses arguments surrounding the proposed position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), a replacement for the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), who would oversee the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. Intelligence Community. Updated August 12, 2004.

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The nation’s trade deficit is equal to the imbalance between national investment and national saving. The borrowing needs of the U.S. private sector declined, the public sector borrowing needs increased, and a stable U.S. national saving investment gap continued to be filled by foreign lending as a result. This is largely the result of a few Asian countries purchasing U.S. assets to mitigate or prevent their currencies from appreciating against the dollar.

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In 1994, 34 Western Hemisphere nations met at the first Summit of the Americas, envisioning a plan for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by January 2005. Nine years later, the third draft text of the agreement was presented at the Miami trade ministerial held November 20-21, 2003. Deep differences remain unresolved, however, and, as reflected in the Ministerial Declaration, have taken the FTAA in a new direction. It calls for a two-tier framework comprising a set of “common rights and obligations” for all countries, augmented by voluntary plurilateral arrangements with country benefits related to commitments. A follow-up meeting in Puebla, Mexico was unable to clarify the details of this arrangement and negotiations will continue in late April 2004, when it is hoped that specific commitments will be defined. This report provides background and analysis for Congress on the proposed FTAA and will be updated.

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This report outlines the commercial navigation system, how the federal government finances the system, some of the proposals to change federal financing, and challengess to the then future of harbors and inland waterways.

Medicaid is a joint federal-state entitlement program that pays for medical services on behalf of certain groups of low-income persons. It is the third largest social program in the federal budget, exceeded only by Social Security and Medicare and is typically the second largest spending item for states. This report discusses prescription drug policies under the program.