This report discusses the key policy objectives of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that were threefold: (1) reduce the nation's flood risk through floodplain management; (2) improve flood hazard data and risk assessment by mapping the nation's floodplains; and (3) make affordable flood insurance widely available in communities that adopt and enforce measures to make future construction safer from flooding.

This report discusses policy guidance on energy sources that generates electricity from ocean waves, tides, and river currents. The report provides background information and legislation regarding these energy sources and technologies.

This report provides background information regarding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and discusses the key points for flood insurance reform and the changes that should be made in the broader context of program re-authorization.

This report describes the relevant BAPCPA provisions and discusses the recent court decisions.

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This report focuses on current U.N. reform efforts and priorities from the perspective of several key actors, including the U.S. government, the U.N. Secretary-General, selected groups of member states, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and a cross-section of groups tasked with addressing U.N. reform. It also examines congressional actions related to U.N. reform, as well as future policy considerations.

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This report is to explain the provisions of the Federal Credit Reform Act (FCRA), examine the implementation of credit reform including credit reform provisions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA97), and discuss proposed modifications of credit reform. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to initially discuss justifications for credit programs, federal credit concepts, and the budgetary treatment of federal credit before the FCRA.

This report uses the data compiled by World Resources Institute (WRI) to examine a pivotal and long-running issue surrounding U.S. climate change policy: the appropriate roles of developed and developing countries in addressing climate change.

The report discusses the selected proposed priorities in light of the nondiscrimination provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It will be updated as appropriate.

This report considers FY2009 appropriations in regards to agricultural agencies. Moreover, the report examines the budget for these agencies and different versions of appropriations bills on the matter.

This report outlines and history of the Revitalization of Distressed Public Housing program.

This report is designed to assist Congress to understand and monitor progress of the negotiations and the major issues that the negotiators are addressing. The report provides a brief background section on the significance of services to the U.S. economy. It then explains briefly the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the structure and agenda of the services negotiations in the DDA round, including U.S. objectives in the negotiations. The report concludes with a status report on the negotiations and an examination of potential results.

This report outlines U.S. jurisdiction over ocean resources and analyzes the existing laws to assess their application to marine environments.

This report discusses the agreement regarding the beef imports from the United States to South Korea.

This report identifies a number of issues that have received attention in connection with water infrastructure investment. It begins with a review of federal involvement, describes the debate about needs, and then examines key issues, including what is the nature of the problems to be solved; who will pay, and what is the federal role; and questions about mechanisms for delivering federal support, including state-by-state allotment of federal funds. Congressional and Administration activity on these issues from the 107th to the 110th Congresses also is reviewed.

This report examines the state level initiatives to create Do Not Mail (DNM) registries, and analyzes their potential effects on the environment and the economy should they be implemented. It also notes, but does not exhaustively analyze, possible constitutional impediments to state DNM registries. In addition, the report reviews existing methods to reduce or eliminate the delivery of unsolicited advertising mail. This report concludes with federal legislative options that could affect direct mail marketing.

This report provides an overview of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), its current mission and operations, and recent funding trends. It further discusses the role of the United States in supporting the UNFPA programs, the varying interpretations by several Administrations of legislative authorities pertaining to UNFPA's eligibility for American resources, and congressional debates over how much and under what conditions the United States should voluntarily contribute to UNFPA operations. Finally, it reviews the findings of several private and U.S. government investigations of China's family planning programs and the role UNFPA plays in their implementation.

This report provides background information regarding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and discusses the key points for flood insurance reform and the changes that should be made in the broader context of program re-authorization.

This report provides a brief overview of selected federal civil rights statutes. This report is intended to provide an introductory overview and comparison of the selected statutes and therefore does not address additional civil rights protections that may be available under state or local statutes or federal or state constitutional law.

This report opens with an overview of visa issuances, with sections on procedures for aliens coming to live in the United States permanently and on procedures for aliens admitted for temporary stays. It includes a discussion of visa screening policies, including inadmissibility, databases, an analysis of visa refusals, biometric visas and other major visa policy procedures. The final section analyzes selected issues in the 110th Congress, notably new technologies, impact on travel and commerce, and security concerns.

This report discusses the current political and economic state of Thailand, particularly in the wake of the September 2006 coup that displaced Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and has resulted in continuing instability. This report also discusses the ongoing U.S.-Thai relationship, despite different policies in such areas as human rights.

This report explores strategies to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and options to address the cost issue in four parts. First, the basic economic tradeoff between controlling the quantity of GHG emissions and the program's compliance costs is introduced and explained. Second, the five dimensions of the cost issue that have arisen so far in the climate change debate are identified and discussed. Third, a representative sample of proposed approaches to address cost concerns is compared and analyzed according to the five cost dimensions identified previously. Finally, the proposed options are summarized and opportunities to combine or merge different approaches are analyzed.

This report discusses agricultural credit, which makes or guarantees loans to farmers who cannot qualify at other lenders, and the Farm Credit System (FCS), which is a network of borrower-owned lending institutions operating as a government-sponsored enterprise.