This report reviews the process and procedures that currently apply to congressional consideration of foreign arms sales proposed by the President. This includes consideration of proposals to sell major defense equipment, defense articles and services, or the re-transfer to third party states of such military items.

The focus of this report is The U.S. food and agricultural sectors, which has benefited especially from NAFTA.

This report discusses the opening of the Chinese market to U.S. beef imports under certain restrictions. The negotiation process and conditions of the agreement and China's current largest beef import partners are also discussed.

This report provides a historical synopsis of the evolving nature of the federal grants-in-aid system, focusing on the role Congress has played in defining the system's scope and nature. It begins with an overview of the contemporary federal grants-in-aid system and then examines its evolution over time, focusing on the internal and external factors that have influenced congressional decisions concerning the system's development. It concludes with an assessment of the scope and nature of the contemporary federal grants-in-aid system and raises several issues for congressional consideration, including possible ways to augment congressional capacity to provide effective oversight of this system.

This report addresses several frequently-asked questions related to the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) and the annual budget.