The passage of the Department of Defense (DOD) authorization and appropriations bills through Congress often does not follow the course laid out in textbooks on legislative procedure. Tracking DOD authorization or appropriations bills can often be confusing and time-consuming. This report is a research aid, which lists the DOD authorization bills (Table 1) and appropriations bills (Table 2) for FY1970-FY2010. This report includes all the pertinent information on the passage of these bills through the legislative process: bill numbers, report numbers, dates reported and passed, recorded vote numbers and vote tallies, dates of passage of the conference reports with their numbers and votes, vetoes, substitutions, dates of final passage, and public law numbers. Key definitions are also included.

This report summarizes the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the major regulatory programs dealing with chemical production and distribution in U.S. commerce.

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The U.S. Constitution, in Article I, Section 6, authorizes compensation for Members of Congress "ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States." Throughout American history, Congress has relied on three different methods in adjusting salaries for Members. Standalone legislation was last used to provide increases in 1990 and 1991. It was the only method used by Congress for many years. The second method, under which annual adjustments took effect automatically unless disapproved by Congress, was established in 1975. A third method for adjusting Member pay is congressional action pursuant to recommendations from the President, based on the recommendations of the Citizens' Commission on Public Service and Compensation established in the 1989 Ethics Reform Act.

This report discusses the Implementation and issues related to Broadband Infrastructure Programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

This report provides an overview of long-term care (LTC) and an explanation of the nation’s complex financing system of public and private payers. It also describes some of the major challenges facing Congress as it contemplates LTC reform and whether and how to include LTC in health reform legislation.

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This manual examines procedures and strategy related to committee markups and provides sample procedural scripts.

This report describes Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment Service (VR&E) program services available to veterans with service-connected disabilities and to their families. It provides information about eligibility and entitlement, the application process, and resources available through other agencies. A brief history of the program is also provided.

This report discusses congressional interest in securing the nation's pipelines. Nearly half a million miles of oil and natural gas transmission pipeline crisscross the United States. While an efficient and fundamentally safe means of transport, many pipelines carry hazardous materials with the potential to cause public injury and environmental damage.

This report discusses The National Commission on Children and Disasters whose purpose is to assess the needs of children in the preparation for, response to, and recovery from natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.

This report provides an overview of many of the key arms control and nonproliferation agreements and endeavors of the past 40 years.

This report analyzes the relationship between the dollar and the price of oil and how the two might interact. It includes sections describing real and nominal oil prices, major currencies, oil exchanges, oil supply and demand and factors affecting the international exchange value of the dollar: capital flows, the U.S. financial balance, the foreign exchage market, and the U.S. trade deficit.

This report discusses the construction and history of the European Parliament (EP), its role in functions of the EU as well as internationally, various international supports and criticisms of the EP, and the EP's ties with the U.S. Congress.

This report discusses the United States' relationship with India as it relates to nuclear arsenals and nuclear nonproliferation policies. The report includes background information on India's nuclear history and nuclear weapons-specific U.S. legislation.

This report provides an overview of Zimbabwe's March 2008 elections. The report discusses the power-sharing agreement, the transitional government, cholera outbreak, international reactions, and U.S. policy on Zimbabwe.

This report highlights several reasons for the expansion of the federal government; discuss a few definitions of oversight; spotlight three essential purposes of oversight; comment upon a few oversight laws and rules; review several important oversight techniques; and identify several incentives and disincentives to the conduct of congressional oversight. The report concludes with summary observations.