This report discusses the special role that the dollar plays in international finance and the strength and stability of the U.S. financial markets (including Treasury securities) which make them attractive sources for foreign investment.

This report provides an annotated list of U.N. agencies that are involved in Iraq, key U.S. government agencies, and a sample list of major international and U.S.-based aid organizations that are providing humanitarian assistance to Iraq. Internet links to the U.N. agencies and humanitarian aid organizations are also provided.

This report discusses Section 106 of P.I. 109-8, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, that creates credit counseling requirements for consumers seeking to file for bankruptcy.

This report considers the Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The report compares and contrasts the Senate and House versions of the bill in terms of budgeting. Moreover, both bills reject the termination of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.

This report discusses the National Science Foundation (NSF), which was created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (P.L. 81-507). The NSF has the broad mission of supporting science and engineering in general and funding basic research across many disciplines. The agency provides support for investigator-initiated, merit-reviewed, competitively selected awards, state-of-the-art tools, and instrumentation and facilities.

This report includes analyses of the potential effect of the tax credit for nuclear power provided by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and possible competitive effects of various proposals to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

In 1976, Congress approved legislation to establish the regulatory framework for building a pipeline to bring natural gas from the Alaska North Slope to the lower 48 states. This report focuses on two major issues or uncertainties that may serve as economic constraints on a capital investment undertaking of this major scale.

This report provides background information on the history of Canadian waste imports, reviews recent developments, and discusses issues raised by the voluntary agreement and proposed legislation.

This report discusses potential changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act that may occur during the 109th Congress.

This report presents a profile of the membership of the 109th Congress. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age and length of service, occupation, religious affiliation, female and minority Members, foreign-born Members, and military service.

This report briefly discusses the annual budget resolution, which sets forth Congress's budget plan for a period of at least five fiscal years. It includes total levels of new budget authority, outlays, revenues, the deficit, and the public debt for each of the fiscal years covered. Once a budget resolution is adopted, Congress may enforce its provisions, through points of order, at several levels: the total levels of spending and revenues, the level of resources allocated to committees, and the level of resources allocated to the appropriations subcommittees.

This report focuses primarily on how Senators are elected to standing committees. It includes information about how standing committee sizes and ratios are set; the classification of committees for assignment purposes, and the chamber limitations on committee service; procedures that each party uses to recommend Senators and how the full chamber approves these recommendations; and the processes used to appoint Senators to non-standing committees.

This report briefly outlines the process for federal government spending, a multi-step process in which budget authority is enacted and obligated, and outlays are generated.

This report discusses the the federal government's basic procurement or acquisition process: identifying the goods and services it needs, determining the most appropriate method for purchasing these items, and carrying out the acquisition. Although this process is simple in theory, any given procurement can be complex, involving a multitude of decisions and actions. This report also describes the most common elements of the federal procurement process and resources that may be used.

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This report will describe the origin, authority, policy, and military food acquisition process.

This report discusses the trends in funding, Issues in the arts, humanities and museum services and Recent developments.

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This report provides a basic explanation of how to calculate the federal estate tax liability for a taxable estate of any given size, using the schedule of graduated marginal tax rates and the applicable exclusion amount or the applicable credit amount for the year of death. The “applicable exclusion amount” is the amount of any decedent’s taxable estate that is free from tax. It is known informally as the estate tax “exemption.” The “applicable credit amount” or “unified credit” is the corresponding tax credit. It is equal to the tax that would be due on a taxable estate that is the size of the applicable exclusion amount.

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This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year.

This report is a brief assessment of the role of Check 21 in a payments system that is increasingly dominated by electronic payments.