This report briefly examines issues regarding the Berry Amendment, which is a 1941 federal law (10 U.S.C. §2533a) requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to purchase only wholly American-made clothing, textiles, and other essential items for the military.

This report discusses legislation relevant to the future of Internet governance that has been introduced in the 113th and 114th Congresses which would prevent, delay, or impose conditions or additional scrutiny on the transition of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA's) stewardship role and procedural authority over key Internet domain name functions to the global Internet multi-stakeholder community.

This report presents a profile of the membership of the 114th Congress (2015-2016). Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.

This report discusses the current debate surrounding the Treaty on Open Skies, which the United States, Canada, and 22 European nations signed on March 24, 1992. The treaty entered into force on January 1, 2002, and now has 34 member states. Each participant must permit unarmed observation aircraft to fly over its entire territory to observe military forces and activities.

This report briefly discusses the Arab League's boycott of Israeli companies and Israeli-made goods since Israel's founding in 1948, as well as U.S. efforts to end the boycott and prevent U.S. firms in participating in the boycott.

This report discusses in more detail the evolution of a national critical infrastructure policy and the institutional structures established to implement it. The report highlights two primary issues confronting Congress going forward, both in the context of cybersecurity: information sharing and regulation.

This report provides references to analytical reports on cyber security from CRS, other government agencies, trade associations, and interest groups.

This report provides information about the Cybersecurity Issues for the Bulk Power System . The cybersecurity of the electricity grid has been a focus of recent efforts to protect the integrity of the electric power system.

This report identifies the legislative bases for sanctions imposed on Iran, and the nature of the authority to waive or lift those restrictions. It comprises two tables that present legislation and executive orders that are specific to Iran and its objectionable activities in the areas of terrorism, human rights, and weapons proliferation.

This report contains information on the legislative branch agency heads' appointment processes, length of tenures (if terms are set), reappointment or removal provisions (if any), salaries and benefits, and most recent appointments.

None

This report provides an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to Israel. It includes a review of past aid programs, data on annual assistance, and an analysis of current issues.

This report describes online tools, reports, and data compilations created by the Office of Management and Budget(OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management(OPM) that contain statistics about federal employees and the federal workforce.

This report analyzes data from a variety of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) presentations, testimony, and other sources to present a historical overview of program performance to date. It identifies an ongoing gap between the number of facilities that have received final risk tier assignments and the total number of regulated facilities.

This report discusses the responsibility of four federal agencies for long-term earthquake risk reduction under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and current legislation aiming to appropriate more funds to the program.

None

This report discusses current Congressional issues in relation to Venezuela, including background on the political situation and recent developments, the economic conditions, relevant U.S. policies, and the legislative initiatives in the 111th and 112th Congresses.

While historically the United States has had close relations with Venezuela, a major oil supplier, friction in bilateral relations rose over the past decade under the leftist populist government of President Hugo Chávez, who died in March 2013. This report examines Venezuela's political and economic climate and then discusses the U.S.'s policy in relation to the state.

None

This report discusses the firefighting activities that are traditionally the responsibility of states and local communities. The report also talks about the funding for firefighters, which is provided mostly by state and local governments. However, during the 106th Congress, many in the fire community asserted that local fire departments require and deserve greater support from the federal government.

This report aims to provide a snapshot of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) program, including its current funding levels and the budget request for FY2014, together with some discussion of the program’s achievements and prospects for success in meeting its stated goals.

This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Coast Guard's programs for procuring 8 National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs).

This report discusses the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans all nuclear explosion and was in 1996 adopted by the U.N. General Assembly but rejected by the U.S. Senate in 1997. This report discusses the Obama Administration's stated goal of pursuing U.S. ratification of the CTBT, although the Administration has mainly focused on securing Senate consent to ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). This report also discusses other nuclear weapons-related issues as well as the long history of nuclear testing.

Nine different streetlighting products were installed on various streets in Kansas City, Missouri during February, 2011, to evaluate their performance relative to the incumbent high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting. The applications investigated included 100 W, 150 W, 250 W, and 400 W HPS installations. Initial measurements and comparisons included power, illuminance, and luminance; sample illuminance readings have continued at each of the nine locations at roughly 1,000-hour operating intervals since then. All of the LED products consumed less power than their HPS counterparts—with a mean difference of 39% and a range of 31% to 51%—but they also emitted 31% fewer lumens, on average. The net result is just a 15% increase in mean efficacy. Applying the city’s stringent light loss factors to the initial measured data meant that five of the LED products (and two of the HPS luminaires) were predicted to eventually fail to meet the specified mean illuminance over their lifetimes; however, the specified light loss levels are not expected to be reached by the LED products until some distant future date (between 12 and 30 years after installation according to manufacturer specification sheet estimates). The practical value of designing streetlighting systems to meet illumination requirements more than 15 …