This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Homeland Security. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant. The reports lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.

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In the United States, the general rule, which derives from common law, is that each side in a legal proceeding pays for its own attorney. There are many exceptions, however, in which federal courts, and occasionally federal agencies, may order the losing party to pay the attorneys’ fees of the prevailing party. The major common law exception authorizes federal courts (not agencies) to order a losing party that acts in bad faith to pay the prevailing party’s fees. This report discusses the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), which makes the United States liable for attorneys’ fees of up to $125 per hour in many court cases and administrative proceedings that it loses (and some that it wins) and fails to prove that its position was substantially justified.

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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Report on the threat of terrorism towards water infrastructure, including security measures, appropriations, information sharing, Congressional responses, and more.

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This report describes the various death benefits from the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Social Security available to certain survivors of members of the Armed Forces who die on active duty.

This report discusses the recent controversy that has arisen regarding U.S. treatment of enemy combatants and terrorist suspects detained in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, and whether such treatment complies with U.S. statutes and treaties such as the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Congress recently approved additional guidelines concerning the treatment of detainees. The Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006 (P.L. 109- 148), and the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-163) contain identical provisions that (1) require Department of Defense (DOD) personnel to employ United States Army Field Manual guidelines while interrogating detainees, and (2) prohibit the “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment of persons under the detention, custody, or control of the United States Government.” These provisions, added to the defense appropriations and authorization bills via amendments introduced by Senator John McCain, have popularly been referred to as “the McCain amendment.” This report discusses the McCain amendment, as modified and subsequently enacted into law.

Instead of a single comprehensive federal wetland protection law, multiple laws provide varying levels of protection in different forms: the permit program authorized in §404 in the Clean Water Act; programs for agricultural wetlands; laws that protect specific sites; and laws that protect wetlands which perform certain functions. Many protection advocates view these laws and their implementation as inadequate or uncoordinated. Others, who advocate the rights of property owners and development interests, by contrast, characterize these efforts, especially the §404 permit program, as too intrusive. Numerous state and local wetland programs add to the complexity of the protection effort.

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Photograph of a man standing in front of a chain link fence near a parking meter. The man is wearing a black beanie and jacket with a green duffel bag on his let shoulder.

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Close-up photograph of a man wearing a black beanie with his left hand on his cheek. There appears to be several other men captured in the background wearing jackets, some of them are standing up and others seated on the ground.

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Una fotografía de Ann Marie Weiss, presidenta de DFW International y presidenta y fundadora de Dallas International. Sonríe a la cámara, con una prenda de vestir roja y unos pendientes de color fuego. Detrás de ella hay pequeñas banderas de varios países y en la pared hay carteles de todo el mundo.

Una fotografía de Ann Marie Weiss, presidenta de DFW International y presidenta y fundadora de Dallas International. Lleva una chaqueta roja. Detrás de ella hay pequeñas banderas de varios países y en la pared hay carteles de todo el mundo.

Guest artist recital performed at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall