This report provides an overview of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), partly with a view toward putting matters the QDR addresses into the context of the ongoing evolution of defense policy, and partly in an effort to identify issues for future QDRs or for a broader review of national security strategy.

Deeming resolution" is a term that refers to legislation which is deemed to serve as an annual budget resolution for purposes of establishing enforceable budget levels for a budget cycle. A deeming resolution is used when the House and Senate are late in reaching final agreement on a budget resolution or fail to reach agreement altogether. Either chamber may initiate its own budget enforcement procedures by adopting a "deeming resolution" in the form of a simple resolution. This report describes substantive enforcement procedures associated with the budget resolution, explains the concept of a "deeming resolution," discusses House and Senate action on deeming resolutions, and provides information on a related topic, waiving a bar against the consideration of budgetary legislation for a fiscal year before a budget resolution for that fiscal year has been adopted.

Many governments acknowledge that environmental degradation and climate change pose international and trans-boundary risks to human populations, economies, and ecosystems. To address these challenges, countries have implemented global environmental policies through a range of domestic, bilateral, and multilateral mechanisms. Recent mechanisms have taken the form of (1) treaties and frameworks that seek to harmonize international commitments; (2) legislative and regulatory policies that support emission reductions, renewable energy portfolios, and energy efficiency strategies; (3) developmental programs that assist with sustainable growth strategies in lower-income countries; and (4) financial pledges that increase public funding for global environmental initiatives. This report investigates the last policy measure: public funding for global environmental initiatives.

Social Security benefits received before a person attains full retirement age (FRA) are subject to an actuarial reduction for early retirement and also may be reduced by the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET) if the beneficiary has earnings that exceed an annual threshold. This report explains how the RET is applied under current law and provides detailed benefit examples to show how the RET affects both the worker beneficiary and any family members (auxiliary beneficiaries) who receive benefits based on the worker beneficiary’s record. The report points out features of the RET that are not widely known or understood, such as the recomputation of benefits when a beneficiary attains FRA to adjust (increase) benefits to take into account months for which no benefit or a partial benefit was paid as a result of the RET. Finally, the report discusses policy issues related to the RET, including recent research on the effect of the RET on work effort and the decision to claim Social Security benefits.

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On May 2, 2010, the Eurozone member states and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced an unprecedented €110 billion (about $145 billion) financial assistance package for Greece. The following week, on May 9, 2010, EU leaders announced that they would make an additional €500 billion (about $636 billion) in financial assistance available to vulnerable European countries, and suggested that the IMF could contribute up to an additional €220 billion to €250 billion (about $280 billion to $318 billion). This report answers frequently asked questions about IMF involvement in the Eurozone debt crisis.