This report briefly reviews the statutory Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) mandate and characterizes the context for the 2014 QDR. It also raises a series of issues that Congress may choose to consider in evaluating the QDR mandate, the 2014 QDR, and the Department of Defense (DOD) strategic direction more broadly.

This report reviews the status of the Democratic Republic of the Congo peace process, provides background on recent conflicts in the Congo, briefly summarizes the political history that led to these conflicts, and assesses prospects for the future. It also describes relevant U.S. policy and congressional involvement.

This report focuses exclusively on the annual defense authorization process and the interest Congress members have in the military.

This report summarizes the components of the four FY2014 continuing resolutions. They include P.L. 113-39 (Pay Our Military Act), P.L. 113-44 (Department of Defense Survivor Benefits Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014), P.L. 113-46 (Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014), and P.L. 113-73 (Making Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2014, and for Other Purposes).

This report discusses the open economy and society of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), provides a general description of the UAE's government and political structure, and outlines the effects of the recent global economic downturn on the UAE in general and on the city of Dubai in particular. It also describes U.S. concern over the proliferation of advanced technology in relation to a recently-signed U.S.-UAE civilian nuclear agreement, due to the UAE economy and the UAE's lax export controls.

This report discusses institutional features that make federal financial regulators (as well as other independent agencies) relatively independent from the President and Congress.

This report examines the original intent and purpose of the Berry Amendment, legislative proposals to amend the application of domestic source restrictions, and potential options for Congress.

This report details the National Directory of New Hires - including its background, how data is managed in the directory, and concerns regarding the directory.

This report provides a legal overview of Section 2 of the VRA, a key provision affecting congressional redistricting, and selected Supreme Court case law. It discusses Sections 4 and 5, and the recent Supreme Court decision holding Section 4(b) unconstitutional, Shelby County v. Holder. Section 4 contained a coverage formula that identified states and jurisdictions that were required to gain federal approval or "preclearance" to proposed redistricting plans under Section 5. The report also provides an overview of selected legislation in the 112th and 113th Congresses that would establish additional requirements and standards for congressional redistricting.

Over the past several years, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has led a team of collaborators under the Department of Energy’s (DOE) nuclear hydrogen production program to develop the Hybrid Sulfur (HyS) Process. HyS is a 2-step water-splitting process consisting of high temperature decomposition of sulfuric acid to generate SO{sub 2}, followed by the electrolysis of aqueous SO{sub 2} to generate hydrogen and sulfuric acid. The latter is fed back into the high temperature reactor. SRNL designed and built an SO{sub 2}-depolarized electrolyzer (SDE) and a test facility. Over 40 SDE’s were tested using different catalysts, membranes and other components. SRNL demonstrated that an SDE could be operated continuously for approximately 200 hours under certain conditions without buildup of sulfur at the SDE’s cathode, thus solving a key technical problem with SDE technology. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APCI) is a major supplier of hydrogen production systems, and they have proprietary technology that could benefit from the SDE developed by SRNS, or some improved version thereof. However, to demonstrate that SRNL’s SDE is a truly viable approach to the electrolyzer design, continuous operation for far greater periods of time than 200 hours must be demonstrated, and the electrolyzer must be …

This report address current FISC procedures regarding disclosure, and will continue by analyzing the legal implications of mandating executive branch release of FISA opinions.