During the second session of the 107th Congress, the House and Senate will consider many different budgetary measures. Most of these measures will pertain to FY2003 (which will begin on October 1, 2002) and beyond, but some may make adjustments to the budget for FY2002. As the congressional session progresses, this issue brief will describe House and Senate action on major budgetary legislation within the framework of the congressional budget process and other procedural requirements.

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This report summarizes the types of military tribunals that have functioned from the Revolutionary War to the present time, explaining the legislative enactments that have guided these tribunals and the judicial decisions that have reviewed their constitutionality.

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This report presents an overview of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. This is a clash between the principles of territorial integrity and self-determination that is occurring in the Caucasus, creating the longest inter-ethnic dispute in the former Soviet Union. The report includes the background and analysis of history, warfare and peace process in the region. The report discusses the Armenian and Azerbaijani perspective, the role and views of others (Iran, Turkey, Russia), as well as the U.S. policy regarding the conflict.

This report first discusses the critical holdings enunciated bythe SupremeCourt in Buckley, including those: upholding reasonable contribution limits, striking down expenditure limits, upholding disclosure reporting requirements, and upholding the system of voluntary presidential election expenditure limitations linked with public financing. It then examines the Court’s extension of Buckley in fifteen subsequent cases, evaluating them in three regulatory contexts: contribution limits (California Medical Association v. FEC; Citizens Against Rent Control v. Berkeley; Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC; FEC v. Beaumont), expenditure limits (First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti; FEC v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life; Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce; FEC v. National Right to Work; Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee (Colorado I) v. FEC; FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee (Colorado II); FEC v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; FEC v. National Conservative Political Action Committee), and disclosure requirements (Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation; Brown v. Socialist Workers ‘74 Campaign Committee; FEC v. Akins; McIntrye v. Ohio Elections Commission).

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This Report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies.

Report covering support to ensure transition todemocracy and free market economics in the states of the former Soviet Union (FSU), the United States, since December 1991, has offered roughly $8.2 billion in grants for economic and technical assistance to the region. Most of the grant assistance has been provided through the Agency for International Development (USAID).

A United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET) was established in October 1999 following the entrance of U.N.-sponsored international peacekeepers into East Timor. These measures came in response to Indonesian instigated violence against East Timorese who had voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia in a referendum of August 30, 1999. UNTAET’s mandate is broad. It is to help East Timor recover from the violence through humanitarian aid and reconstruction of facilities that were damaged or destroyed. It is to help East Timor establish a functioning government, which will take over from the United Nations when East Timor formally becomes independent.

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Report discussing the most recent political developments in Iran, including who the country offers support to and opposes. The report also makes note of U.S. policy regarding these developments, as well as the measures put in place to ensure continued peaceful relations between the two countries.

This report discusses the context of India - U.S relations, and its bilateral issues.

This report presents the information related to the fishery, aquaculture, and marine mammal legislation enacted by the 107th congress

This report includes a selected chronology of the events surrounding and following the cloning of a sheep from a single adult sheep cell by Scottish scientists, which was announced in February 1997. The project was cosponsored by PPL Therapeutics, Edinburgh, Scotland, which has applied for patents for the techniques used. This chronology also addresses subsequent reports of other cloning experiments, including the first one using human cells. Information on presidential actions and legislative activities related to the ethical and moral issues surrounding cloning is provided, as well as relevant Web sites.

This report addresses budgeting and priority-setting Issues of 108th congress related to federal research and development.

There is a lack of consensus regarding the best method of balancing scientific publishing and national security. The current federal policy, as described in National Security Decision Directive 189, is that fundamental research should remain unrestricted and that in the rare case where it is necessary to restrict such information, classification is the appropriate vehicle to do so. Other mechanisms restrict international information flow, where Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) control export of items and technical information on specific lists. Both EAR and ITAR contain a fundamental research exclusion, but this exclusion is lost if prepublication review of research results for sensitive information occurs.

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This report presents casualty data compiled by the Department of Defense (DOD), as tallied from the agency’s press releases.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad was elected June 24, 2005, to a four-year term, becoming the first non-cleric president in 24 years. He defeated former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a run-off. Prior to his 2005 election to the presidency, Ahmadinejad did not hold an elected office and was a virtual unknown in the international arena. This report covers his background; his victory over the well-known former president Rafsanjani; his remarks about the West, including Israel; and recent visits to Iraq and Latin America.

Letter from Michael M. Silva to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) which contains newspaper clippings from the Fairbanks Daily News Miner regarding Eielson Air Force Base. Silva argues in favor of closing bases if doing so is in the country's best interest, as opposed to private economic interests.