The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.

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During the latter half of 2004, disputes arose over whether or not to declassify portions of the sensitive content of reports resulting from congressional investigations and national commission inquiries into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the war in Iraq, and related matters. As a result, some called for Congress to create a special mechanism for the impartial and expeditious resolution of such disputes (S. 2672/H.R. 4855; S. 2845 amendment). This report discusses the culmination of one such effort at balancing legitimate competing needs for secrecy and openness.

This report highlights the reasons why chemical plants are susceptible to security breaches due to the ineffectiveness of proposed congressional mandates.

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This report and its appendices present a general overview of congressional office procedures associated with handling casework and the assistance provided by a Member of Congress to help constituents in their dealings with federal agencies.

This report examines a number of issues as Congress considers codification of an NCTC. One issue is whether the centralization remedy the commission has recommended fits the problems associated specifically with the 9/11 intelligence failure, and perhaps more broadly, the systematic maladies affecting the Intelligence Community. There are at least four options for congressional consideration: (1) NCTC with intelligence and operational planning duties, (2) NCTC restricted to an intelligence role, (3) NCTC restricted to an operational planning role, and (4) status quo plus-viewing the newly forming collected entity as a pilot potential NCTC. As one of its 41 recommendations, the 9/11 Commission recommended the creation of a National Counterterroism Center (NCTC).

This report reviews some of the principal existing homeland security information sharing arrangements, as well as some projected arrangements in this regard, and discusses related policy, evaluations, and proposed legislation.

This report discusses some of the arguments surrounding the proper size of government that are economic in nature, including the questions of what role the state plays in economic activity and how the economy is affected by government intervention.

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 provides a brief overview of the basic terminology and concepts used in the federal budget process.

This report discusses the recommendation made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) regarding the creation of a board within the executive branch to oversee adherence to guidelines on, and the commitment to defend, civil liberties by the federal government.

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This report contains a brief background overview of Costa Rica and its relations with the United States.

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This report discusses the relationships between drug trafficking and terrorism and analyzes some of the policy implications of those relationships for anti-drug policy. This report also addresses issues relating to the formulation and execution of drug control policy in the context of its implications for terrorism.

This report discusses side-by-side comparison of the then current law and two versions of H.R. 4 of 108th congress related to Child support enforcement.

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

This report details and analyzes U.S. foreign aid to Africa, particularly in the Sub-Saharan region. Moreover, the report tends to focus on the overall lack of development even though Africa has been getting the aid. The debate hinges on whether or not development is in African control, citing issues such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic and corrupt governments.

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This report summarizes the general provisions of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act for FY2004 and the District of Columbia Appropriations Act for FY2005.