Report that discusses the FY2012 budget for energy and water development as approved by Congress, including how the funding will be used.

Report that provides information about federal and private sector efforts to promote and support global Internet freedom, a description of Internet freedom legislation from the 112th Congress, and suggestions for further reading on this topic. Two appendixes describe censorship and circumvention technologies.

Report that describes the general nature of the biofuels RFS and its implementation, outlines some of the emerging issues related to the sustainability of the continued growth in U.S. biofuels production needed to fulfill the expanding RFS mandate, and the emergence of potential unintended consequences of this rapid expansion.

This report discusses the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25), which established new budget enforcement mechanisms for reducing the federal deficit by at least $2.1 trillion over the 10-year period FY2012-FY2021. The BCA places statutory limits, or caps, on discretionary spending for each of those 10 fiscal years, which will save an estimated $0.9 trillion during that period. In addition, it creates a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Joint Committee), which is instructed to develop legislation to reduce the federal deficit by at least another $1.5 trillion through FY2021.

This report examines formal interagency collaborative arrangements and activities, which are intended to enhance joint efforts and cooperation among independent federal agencies with shared responsibilities and overlapping jurisdictions. This report highlights some of the current challenges posed by HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, as well as several crosscutting policy issues that the 112th Congress may consider as it determines U.S. global health funding for these three diseases, including: Health Systems Strengthening, Country Ownership, Research and Development, Monitoring and Evaluation; and Bilateral vs. Multilateral Support.

This report covers the question of how the United States should respond to China's military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, has emerged as a key issue in U.S. defense planning. The question is of particular importance to the U.S. Navy, because many U.S. military programs for countering improved Chinese military forces would fall within the Navy's budget. Potential oversight issues for Congress include the following: whether the U.S. Navy in coming years will be large enough to adequately counter improved Chinese maritime anti-access forces while also adequately performing other missions of interest to U.S. policymakers around the world; the Navy's ability to counter Chinese ASBMs and submarines; and whether the Navy, in response to China's maritime anti-access capabilities, should shift over time to a more distributed fleet architecture.

This report discusses the effects of economic sanctions against Iran; support to the Iranian democracy movement; and opposition against Iranian human rights violations and Iranian support for Syrian human rights violations. The Obama Administration identifies Iran as a major threat to U.S. national security interests. The sense of imminent crisis with Iran which greeted the beginning of 2012 follows three years in which the Obama Administration first offered Iran's leaders consistent and sustained engagement in exchange for limits to its nuclear program but, since 2010, has emphasized pressuring Iran through economic sanctions.

This report analyzes the FY2013 request and congressional action related to FY2013 State-Foreign Operations legislation. The 112th Congress is considering FY2013 international affairs funding within the context of the Budget Control Act that established discretionary spending limits for FY2012-FY2021 and contains automatic budget reductions (sequestration) on discretionary spending to begin on January 2, 2013.

This report analyzes the legal issues associated with the President's asserted exercise of his Recess Appointments Clause power on January 4, 2012. The report begins with a general legal overview of the Recess Appointment Clause. This is followed by an analysis of two legal principles, standing and the political question doctrine, which may impede a reviewing court from reaching the merits of a potential legal challenge to the appointments.

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This report discusses the lawsuits challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Moreover, the report also discusses how the Supreme Court granted three petitions of certiorari and scheduled oral arguments in 2012.

From Summary: "This report contains a more detailed summary of the major similarities and differences between the House and Senate 2012 farm bills and also provides a side-by-side comparison of every provision in the two farm bills and how these provisions relate to current federal law or policy."

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This report provides information about The Introduction of Congressional Appropriations Process. Congress has developed certain rules and practices for the consideration of appropriate measures, referred to as Congressional Appropriations Process.

This report considers the U.S. Department of Agriculture's program for Research, Education, and Economics (REE). Moreover, the report discusses the amount of funding for the REE and debates the direction of it.

This is a report about the Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory.

This report summarizes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the legal challenges it has faced. The report contains information on various lawsuits due to the ACA and provides the reasoning behind them as Congress violating its enumerated powers in the constitution. Moreover, the report covers the challenges of implementing the law.

This report describes grandfather plans and summarizes the ACA insurance reforms that will affect such plans, including the requirements concerning medical loss ratios, dependent coverage, and preexisting health condition coverage.

This report uses the context of the current and long-term economic environment to examine the tax cuts implemented by the George W. Bush Administration, including the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003.

This report provides information about the Compensated Work Sharing Arrangements (Short-Time Compensation) as an Alternative to Layoffs. STC is a program within the federal-state unemployment compensation system.

For decades biologists, water users, and lawmakers (both federal and state) have attempted to craft a system that meets the needs of California water users while ensuring sufficient usable water for fish. Under California's hybrid system of appropriate water rights, users are issued permits for water diverted from rivers and streams regardless of the users' proximity to the source of water. This report details the proceedings related to the long-term central valley project and state water project operations criteria and biological opinions regarding that plan.

The FY 2013 budget debate will take place within the context of growing concerns about the need to address federal budget deficits, the national debt, and a sluggish economic recovery following the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression. This report contains information on FY 2013 appropriations, FY 2012 appropriations, FY 2011 appropriations, Congressional action, and related topics.

This report contains the table that provides names and contact information for CRS experts on policy issues related to cyber security bills currently being debated in the 112th Congress.

For more than a decade, various experts have expressed concerns about information-system security-often referred to as cybersecurity-in the United States and abroad. This report discusses that framework and proposals to amend more than 30 acts of Congress that are part of or relevant to it.