Title II of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-54, H.R. 2361) provides $7.73 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.476%. Section 439 of Title IV indicates that the rescission is to be applied proportionately among each account, program, project, and activity specified in the law, accompanying reports, and the President’s budget request. The total FY2006 EPA appropriation includes an additional $80 million in unobligated funds “rescinded” from past appropriations, as noted in the following table. P.L. 109-54 provides more funding for EPA than the Administration’s FY2006 request of $7.52 billion, but less than the FY2005 appropriation of $8.03 billion.

This report provides information about the Status and Current Issues in Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture which has rapid advances.

This report discusses the need for cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence agencies and for human intelligence (humint), the use of agents to gather information, to counter terrorism and the risks associated with humint.

This report discusses the idea of replacing our current income tax system with a flat-rate tax, including background and analysis and various Congressional proposals.

This report is a brief overview of key issues addressed in CRS Report RL33864, Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) Renewal: Core Labor Standards Issues. This report (1) identifies key labor provisions in the current TPA law and how they have translated into free trade agreements negotiated under it; (2) presents some legislative options, and summarizes arguments for and against listing enforceable core labor standards as a principal negotiating objective; and (3) looks at possible outcomes and implications of the legislative options.

This report discusses the information related to business tax issues in the year 2007. It also discusses the business tax legislation, 2001-2006.

This report presents Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal online news and information sources.

This report is categorized into four categories: (I) Introduction, (II) Methodological Differences, (III) Statistical Differences, (IV) Policy Consideration.

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This is a report on the international programs for HIV/AIDS and the budgets around it during the fiscal year 2002-2004.

This report provides the basic information needed to understand the issues surrounding the proposed implementation of Basel II and the pending proposed modifications of Basel I in the United States. First, it gives a basic background on capital standards and how capital assessments were made before these accords. Second, it briefly explains how Basel I works. Third, it addresses the major problem with Basel I and the modifications being considered. Fourth, it describes the Basel II framework the United States may implement and the framework the EU is already implementing. The report concludes with a section on Congress and the Basel Accords.

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Legislative and administrative efforts have generally focused on the national forests, to create new forest health programs and management tools or to authorize alternative treatment approaches. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Medicaid is a joint federal-state entitlement program that pays for medical services on behalf of certain groups of low-income persons. It is the third largest social program in the federal budget, exceeded only by Social Security and Medicare and is typically the second largest spending item for states. This report discusses prescription drug policies under the program.

On December 4, 1991, President George Bush signed into law the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) to counter illicit drug production and trade in Latin America. For ten years, it has provided preferential, mostly duty-free, treatment of selected U.S. imports from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The goal of ATPA is to encourage increased exports, thereby promoting development and providing an incentive for Andean farmers and other workers to pursue economic alternatives to the drug trade. This report discusses the ATPA, its background, and issues regarding its potential reauthorization.

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The United States and its allies are helping Afghanistan emerging from more than 22 years of warfare, although substantial risk to Afghan stability remains. Before the U.S. military campaign against the orthodox Islamist Taliban movement began on October 7, 2001, Afghanistan had been mired in conflict since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The defeat of the Taliban has enabled the United States and its coalition partners to send forces throughout Afghanistan to search for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters and leaders that remain at large, including Osama bin Laden. As the war against remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban elements winds down, the United States is shifting its military focus toward stabilizing the interim government, including training a new Afghan national army, and supporting the international security force (ISAF) that is helping the new government provide security.

This report describes the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) is a joint acquisition program between the Army and Air Force designed to procure a commercial off-the-shelf aircraft, capable of meeting Army requirements for "direct support" to maneuver units and Air Force requirements for "common-user" intra-theater airlift. The C-27J Spartan has already won the JCA competition. Issues for Congress include requirements and service "roles and missions."

Omnibus energy legislation (H.R. 4) that is now in conference would expand energy tax incentives significantly. The House passed the bill on August 2, 2001, and the Senate approved its version April 25, 2002. Several energy tax issues are addressed in these bills: 1) tax incentives to increase the supply of oil and gas, and the demand for coal; 2) energy tax issues relating to energy conservation and energy efficiency; 3) energy tax issues relating to alternative fuels; 4) selected issues relating to electricity restructuring; and 5) expiring energy tax provisions.

This report reviews the statutory basis for the triennial exemptions, explains the Copyright Office's rule-making process pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), summarizes the exemptions granted and rejected in 2006, and describes public reactions to the 2006 exemptions.

The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) program has been the most controversial nuclear weapon program in Congress for the last several years. Supporters argue that it is needed to attack hard and deeply buried targets (such as leadership bunkers) in countries of concern, thereby deterring or defeating challenges from such nations; critics assert that RNEP would lower the threshold for use of nuclear weapons and prompt other nations to develop nuclear weapons to deter U.S. attack. This report presents a brief technical background on RNEP, then discusses the history of RNEP in Congress and the Administration for the FY2005 and FY2006 budget cycles.