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This report discusses the Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime of November 2001, which includes forty-two countries and the United States.

While introduction of energy legislation in the 109th Congress is pending, it remains unclear what its course may be. Some believe that the results of the fall 2004 election have heightened prospects for opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas development, and the Republican leadership has indicated that ANWR is to be included in the budget resolution that will come before Congress. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici has indicated that the committee will mark up a comprehensive bill in February. However, Senator Domenici also expressed openness to considering individual bills; he and others are interested in legislation to establish a long-term leasing plan for natural gas resources.

This report provides information about the Budget Reconciliation FY2006. It proposed changes to Medicaid, Medicare, and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

After a series of devastating hurricanes struck Florida and other states in the summer of 2004, the 108th Congress passed two emergency supplemental appropriations statutes that provided an estimated $16.475 billion to areas stricken by the hurricanes and other natural disasters. The House and Senate quickly approved legislation (H.R. 5005) the day after President Bush submitted a request on September 6, 2004, for $2 billion in FY2004 funding, largely in response to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Charley and Frances in Florida. The President signed the bill into law (P.L. 108-303) on September 7. All of the $2 billion was for assistance provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

This report is a guide to 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 Energy and Water Development. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.

This report details the information related to gasoline prices and discusses policies and proposals.

This report details the information related to gasoline prices and discusses on policies and proposals.

This report discusses intelligence issues for Congress including terrorism, conflicts between Israel and Palestine, in Iraq, and among the former Yugoslav states, and North Korean missile capabilities. Updated February 1, 2005.

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Genetic engineering techniques allow the manipulation of inherited traits to modify organisms. Genetically modified (GM) fish and seafood products are currently under development and may offer potential benefits such as increasing aquaculture productivity and addressing human health concerns. However, some critics of this rapidly evolving field are concerned that current technological and regulatory safeguards are inadequate to protect the environment and ensure public acceptance of these products. This report discusses various regulatory and environmental concerns regarding GM fish and seafood, then discusses the possible benefits and disadvantages of their use.

y In the 108th Congress, companion bills were introduced (S. 1668/H.R. 3213) that, if enacted, would have established a Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies (CARFA). The proposed CARFA Act would have required this 12-member presidentially appointed commission to review non-defense, non-entitlement federal agencies and programs to determine if any agencies or programs are duplicative, wasteful, inefficient, outdated, irrelevant, or failed.

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The deployment of active sonar by the U.S. Navy and its potential impacts on marine mammals has been an ongoing issue of intense debate; regulatory, legislative, and judicial activity; and international concern. This report provides a chronology of significant events and documents since 1994.

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This report explains the different measures of the U.S. government debt, discusses the historical growth in the debt, identifies the owners of the debt,presents comparisons with the public debt in other countries and examines the potential economic risks associated with a growing federal debt.

The FY2006 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept. 109-62) contains reconciliation instructions that require authorizing committees to report legislation to reduce spending on mandatory programs within each committee’s jurisdiction. The resolution instructed the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to report legislation reducing spending on USDA mandatory programs by $173 million in FY2006 and $3.0 billion over five years (FY2006-FY2010). The House and Senate Agriculture Committees have completed action on their recommendations ($3.7 billion in the House and $3.0 billion in the Senate). The two measures would reduce spending on farm commodity and conservation programs in varying ways. The House measure also eliminates funding for various rural development programs and reduces food stamp spending. The Senate extends authority for a dairy income support program, which would require an offset of its projected cost. Reconciliation floor action is expected in November.

Various federal officials have spoken in favor of extending the Federal Communication Commission’s indecency restriction, which currently applies to broadcast television and radio, to cable and satellite television. This report examines whether such an extension would violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.

Mountaintop removal mining involves removing the top of a mountain in order to recover the coal seams contained there. This practice occurs in several Appalachian states. It creates an immense quantity of excess spoil (dirt and rock that previously composed the mountaintop), which is typically placed in valley fills on the sides of the former mountains, burying streams that flow through the valleys. Critics say that, as a result of valley fills, stream water quality and the aquatic and wildlife habitat that streams support are destroyed by tons of rocks and dirt. The mining industry argues that mountaintop mining is essential to conducting surface coal mining in the Appalachian region and that surface coal mining would not be economic or feasible there if producers were restricted from using valleys for the disposal of mining overburden. Mountaintop mining is regulated under several laws, including the Clean Water Act. This report provides background on current controversies, regulatory requirements, and legal challenges to Clean Water Act regulation of mountaintop mining. Congressional attention to these issues also is discussed.

This report discusses the AIDS issues in Africa and the Bush administration call to double U.S. international funding for AIDS.

This report discusses the ongoing debate about whether or not to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge. This report addresses several legislative options on the issue, as well as policymakers' arguments for and against development, especially in the wake of increasing terrorism since 2000-2001.