From Summary: "This report discusses some of the major immigration areas that were under consideration in the above-mentioned comprehensive reform proposals, including asylum, biometric tracking systems, border security, document security, exclusion, immigration enforcement, and visa issuances."

This report provides an overview of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spending on HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome) as well as budget numbers for other federal government programs targeting HIV/AIDS.

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This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.

This report provides an overview of the below-cost timber sales issue.

From a public policy perspective, the goals are to ensure that broadband deployment is timely, that industry competes fairly, and that service is provided to all sectors and geographical locations of American society. The federal government -- through Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) -- is seeking to ensure fair competition among the players so that broadband will be available and affordable in a timely manner to all Americans who want it. While the FCC's position is not to intervene at this time, some assert that legislation is necessary to ensure fair competition and timely broadband deployment. One proposal would ease certain legal restrictions and requirements, imposed by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, on incumbent telephone companies who provide high speed data (broadband) access. Another proposal would compel cable companies to provide "open access" to competing Internet service providers.

This report is the superfund program for cleaning up the nation's worst hazardous waste sites that was created by the comprehensive environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, or CERLA.

Prior to enactment of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), P.L. 107-155, the term “soft money” generally referred to unregulated funds, perceived as resulting from loopholes in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), 2 U.S.C. §§ 431 et seq. Generally, the intent of BCRA, (effective Nov. 6, 2002), which amends FECA, is to restrict the raising and spending of soft money. This Issue Brief discusses constitutional and legal issues surrounding two major types of soft money that BCRA regulates: political party soft money and soft money used for issue advocacy communications. Corporate and labor union soft money, which FECA exempts from regulation and is not addressed by BCRA, is also discussed.

This report discusses concerns over financing federal elections, such as political action committees (PACs) and proposed reforms to campaign finance.

Prospects for legislative initiatives to comprehensively amend the Clean Water Act have stated for some time over whether and exactly how to change the law, and Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected Clean Water Act programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. This report contains information on the issues and actions regarding the Clean Water Act addressed in the 108th Congress.

Throughout its history, Congress has engaged in oversight of the executive branch — the review, monitoring, and supervision of the implementation of public policy. The first several Congresses inaugurated such important oversight techniques as special investigations, reporting requirements, resolutions of inquiry, and use of the appropriations process to review executive activity. Contemporary developments, moreover, have increased the legislature’s capacity and capabilities to check on and check the Executive. Public laws and congressional rules have measurably enhanced Congress’s implied power under the Constitution to conduct oversight.

A temporary pilot program that allows processors to enter into forward price contracts with individual dairy farmers or their cooperatives for certain uses of milk is scheduled to expire December 31, 2004. A forward price contract allows buyers and sellers of a commodity to negotiate a price for the commodity on a future delivery date and insulates both parties from price volatility. Identical bills (H.R. 3308, S. 2565) pending in Congress would convert the pilot program to a permanent one. The bills are supported by dairy processors, but are opposed by the largest organization of dairy cooperatives, which is concerned that the program might undermine federal minimum pricing requirements

This report discusses several issues as the Congress considers legislation to reform the voting process, a number of issues have emerged as part of the debate: the reliability of different types of voting technologies; voting problems and irregularities in the 2000 election; problems for militaryand overseas voters; the electoral college; and early media projections of election results. Both sessions of the 107th Congress considered and debated federal election reform legislation, and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA, P.L. 107-252) was enacted in October 2002.

Energy policy issues of continuing interest include whether or not to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for leasing; settlement upon a pipeline route to allow production of Alaskan natural gas; access to public lands for energy exploration and development; restructuring of the electric utility industry to encourage competition and consumer choice; raising corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for motor vehicles; seeking effective means to promote energy conservation using currently available technologies; and development of new technologies and alternative fuels. This report discusses those major policy approaches, provides a conceptual framework for categorizing energy policy proposals, and briefly describes issues that remain current in the debates over energy policy.

This report includes background and analysis of energy policy. Points of discussion include the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, nuclear energy, and renewable energy and fuels.

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This report provides an overview of how federal lands and resources are managed, the agencies that manage the lands,the authorities under which these lands are managed, and some of the issues associated with federal land management.

The federal government currently spends more than one-third of its budget on benefits and programs for older Americans. For people age 65 and over, estimated FY2005 spending for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid alone is $713 billion. Spending for retired federal employees and military personnel and for veterans is also significant, and smaller programs add to the total as well. In addition, tax expenditures might be taken into account to obtain a more complete budget picture.

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This report provides a select chronology and resource guide concerning congressional and presidential actions and documents pertaining to the budget for FY 2005, which runs from October 1st, 2004, through September 30, 2005. The budget actions and documents referenced in this report relate to the President's FY 2005 budget submission, the FY 2005 Congressional Budget Resolution, reconciliation legislation, debt-limit legislation, and FY 2005 appropriation measures.

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This report provides background information and analysis of key issues to serve as a resource document for the reauthorization debate. This report provides background information on activities intended to help mitigate pollution resulting from highway construction and travel, and analyzes key issues for Congress.