About 94 percent of U.S. tobacco production is flue-cured and burley (cigarette tobacco types). These crops are particularly important to the agriculture of North Carolina and Kentucky. The federal tobacco price support program is designed to support and stabilize prices for farmers.

This report provides information about the farm credit system which provides financial cooperative lending to agricultural and aquatic producers, rural homeowners etc.

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This report surveys the econemetric literature on oil shocks to provide quantitative estimates of how large an effect oil price changes have on economic activity.

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This report includes information regarding space launch vehicles. Launch vehicle policy, vehicle programs and issues, and the U.S. commercial launch service industry are among topics discussed in this report.

This report explores the intellectual property laws and policies concerning the parallel importation of patented pharmaceuticals into the United States.

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This report examines the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), which is a proposed small surface combatant for the Navy. For FY2005, the Navy is requesting $107.7 million to begin building the first LCS, and an additional $244.4 million for research and development for the LCS program. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, modify, or reject the Navy's plan for the LCS program.

This report describes the classroom expense deduction, its interaction with other tax provisions, and proposals made concerning the tax benefit during the 108th Congress.

This report provides information related to the fishery, aquaculture, and marine mammal legislation in the 108th Congress.

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This reports details the effect the Safe and and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program including the change in violence and drug use.

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This report first describes the current select committees on intelligence and briefly covers the former Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. It then sets forth proposed characteristics for a Joint Committee on Intelligence, their differences, and their pros and cons; it also discusses alternatives for congressional oversight in the field. This report will be updated as events dictate.

The Clean Water Act Issues has again received attention in the 108th Congress. At issue is how the federal government will assist states and cities in meeting needs to rebuild, repair, and upgrade wastewater treatment plants, especially in light of capital costs which are projected to be as much as $390 billion over the next two decades. In October 2004, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee reported legislation to authorize $20 billion in funding for clean water infrastructure (S. 2550), while in July 2003, a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee also approved a water infrastructure financing bill (H.R. 1560). Still, prospects for further action during the 108th Congress are uncertain.

The 108th Congress has acted on a variety of disparate environmental measures; some of these represent proposals or issues that had been under consideration in the 107th Congress and earlier. Environmental issues considered by Congress tend to fall into several major categories: (1) funding issues — whether funding levels are adequate and focused on appropriate priorities; (2) expanding, renewing, or refocusing specific environment programs; (3) environmental issues that are important “subsets” of other major areas of concern, such as energy, defense, or transportation programs; and more recently, (4) terrorism and infrastructure protection in areas such as wastewater and chemical facilities.

This report discusses the context of India- U.S. relations, and its bilateral issues.

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