This record provides information about The Hatch-Waxman Act: Proposed Legislative Changes Affecting Pharmaceutical Patents. Congressional interests in the cost of Pharmaceuticals have focused attention on several areas where the federal government has policies and programs.

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Key water quality issues that may face the 107th Congress include: actions to implement existing provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA), whether additional steps are necessary to achieve overall goals of the Act, and the appropriate federal role in guiding and paying for clean water activities. Legislative prospects for comprehensively amending the Act have for some time stalled over whether and exactly how to change the law. If clean water issues receive attention in the 107th Congress, consideration of specific issues will depend in part on the CWA policy agenda of the new Bush Administration and on priorities of the key committees that have major jurisdiction over the Act.

This report discusses intelligence issues for Congress including narcotics trafficking, conflicts between Israel and Palestine, in Iraq, and among the former Yugoslav states, and North Korean missile capabilities. Updated November 25, 2002.

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Operation Iraqi Freedom accomplished a long-standing objective, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but replacing that regime with a stable, moderate, democratic political structure has run into substantial difficulty. Past U.S. efforts to change the regime failed because of limited U.S. commitment, disorganization of the Iraqi opposition, and the efficiency and ruthlessness of Iraq’s several overlapping security services. Previous U.S. Administrations had ruled out major U.S. military action to change Iraq’s regime, believing such action would be risky and not necessarily justified by the level of Iraq’s lack of compliance on WMD disarmament.

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This report discusses the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS, formerly SBIRS-Low), managed by the Missile Defense Agency, which performs missile tracking and target discrimination for missile defense objectives.

This report discusses the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA, and the Working Family Tax Relief Act of 2004 (WFTRA). Since all of the tax reductions provisions of all three of these acts expire at some point in the future, Congress faces the issue of whether to extend and/or make the reductions permanent. Extending these tax reductions, however, is likely to significantly reduce federal revenues in the future.

This report discusses legislative initiatives regarding the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individuals, which was originally enacted to ensure that all taxpayers, especially high-income taxpayers, paid at least a minimum amount of federal taxes.

This report compares an approach based on a species-by-species assessment, vs. one based on pathways of entry. It also assesses the choice of an emphasis on prevention vs. post hoc control and intra-state quarantine. It describes existing federal laws and federal agency roles, federal interagency cooperation, and the federal interaction with state governments. Finally, it outlines effects, costs, and issues surrounding 47 selected harmful non-native species.

In a broad effort to obtain U.S. exemptions from International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction, the Bush Administration has sought to conclude bilateral agreements worldwide that would prohibit the transfer of U.S. citizens to the ICC. The European Union has strongly promoted the ICC and is opposed to the U.S.- proposed agreements. This report addresses twelve countries of east central Europe affected by the U.S. and European policies – Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, and Slovenia – and the status of their varied approaches to the transatlantic disagreement over the ICC.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

An "other transaction" (OT) is a special vehicle used by federal agencies for obtaining or advancing research and development (R&D) or prototypes. Generally, the reason for creating OT authority is that the government needs to obtain leading-edge R&D (and prototypes) from commercial sources, but some companies (and other entities) are unwilling or unable to comply with the government's procurement regulations. Evaluating OTs and the use of OT authority is a challenging undertaking. This report describes the issue of OT authority as it relates to Congressional policymaking and regulatory actions.

This website is the result of a project started in 1994 by the Department of Energy's Office of Human Radiation Experiments. The purpose of the group was to research experiments done to test the effects of radiation on humans and to compile documentation (including photographs, oral histories, declassified documents, and audio/visual clips) about the projects, making them available online in a single place. In addition to the different documentation that was cataloged, the group also published a report discussing the process and result of their research.

The courts and the executive branch face major decisions on clean air issues in 2006, with Congress more likely playing an oversight role. One focus is EPA's Jan. 17 2006 proposal to strengthen air quality standards for fine particles, which are estimated to cause tens of thousands of premature deaths annually. Whether the proposal is supported by the available science and what impact its implementation would have likely issues of concern. Other issues of continuing interest are EPA's 2005 decisions limiting interstate transport of air pollution and establishing cap-and-trade systems for emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the agency's proposed changes to New Source Review.

The courts and the executive branch face major decisions on clean air issues in 2006, with Congress more likely playing an oversight role. One focus is EPA's Jan. 17 2006 proposal to strengthen air quality standards for fine particles, which are estimated to cause tens of thousands of premature deaths annually. Whether the proposal is supported by the available science and what impact its implementation would have likely issues of concern. Other issues of continuing interest are EPA's 2005 decisions limiting interstate transport of air pollution and establishing cap-and-trade systems for emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the agency's proposed changes to New Source Review.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a minor may be classified as a “missing child” under article 63.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, if the minor’s legal custodian knows the minor’s whereabouts (RQ-0057-GA)

Quarterly publication of the Texas Comptroller's Office regarding sales and use tax in the state of Texas, including an analysis by county, analysis by industry, and related notes.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. military aircraft are often at great risk from enemy air defenses, and the services use specialized aircraft to neutralize or destroy them. In January 2001, GAO reported that a gap existed between the services' suppression capabilities and their needs and recommended that a comprehensive strategy was needed to fix the situation. In response to GAO's report, DOD emphasized that a major study underway at the time would provide the basis for a Department-wide strategy and lead to a balanced set of acquisition programs between the services. This report updates our previous work and assesses actions that DOD has taken to improve its suppression capabilities."