The executive budget process is a complex set of activities that includes formulation of the President’s budget, interaction with Congress, and execution of the budget. Table 1 provides a timetable of the major steps in the year and a half process. The initial development of the President’s budget begins in the individual federal agencies approximately 10 months before the President submits it to Congress (17 or 18 months before the start of the fiscal year).

Each House committee has authority to hold hearings whether the House is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned (Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1)(A)). Regardless of the type of hearing, or whether a hearing is held in or outside of Washington, hearings share common aspects of planning and preparation. this report discusses the issues a committee faces in deciding whether to schedule a hearing.

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The 104th Congress pursued efforts to reform environmental regulations on several fronts: (1) revising regulatory decision making processes; (2) attaching specific reforms to funding bills; (3) establishing a House corrections day calendar of bills addressing specific regulatory problems; and (4) incorporating regulatory reforms into individual program reauthorization bills. The 105th Congress has pursued regulatory reform in four primary directions: (1) proposals to establish a comprehensive cost-benefit/risk analysis framework for regulatory programs, (2) private property “takings” initiatives, (3) amendments and reforms directed at individual environmental statutes, and (4) oversight of environmental programs.

The 104th Congress made extensive changes to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) with the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 (P.L. 104-182), bringing to a close a multi-year effort to amend a statute that was widely criticized as having too little flexibility, too many unfunded mandates, and an arduous but unfocused regulatory schedule. Among the many changes to the SDWA, the 1996 amendments added provisions to provide funding to communities for drinking water madates, focus regulatory efforts on contaminants posing health risks, and add some flexibility to the regulatory process

This report

On February 12, 1999, the Forest service announced a moratorium on new road construction in many roadless areas within the national Forest System. This measure is temporary (up to 18 moths) while national Forest transportation policy revision is being debated. areas protected by the moratorium include roadless areas of at least 5,000 acres, of at least 1,000 acres if contiguous to other roadless areas. However, the moratorium exempts 9 national forests with recently revised management plans and the 16 national forests encompassed by President Clinton's Northwest Forests Plan. Proponents of roadless area protection objected to exempting 25 national forests and roadless areas of less than 5,000 acres. Proponents of roadless area development object to the potential economic impact of halting planned and possible developing and to limiting public access. Congress may be asked to reverse the moratorium or to protect these areas permanently. This report will not be updated.

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The tariff and quota treatment of U.S. imports from Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement has resulted in a distinct and increasing competitive disadvantage for imports from the beneficiary countries of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA). To eliminate this disadvantage, proposals have been made to extend to imports from Caribbean Basin countries preferential treatment equivalent to that accorded imports of identical goods from Mexico. This report compares the provisions of four such proposals: Title I of H.R. 984, Title I of S. 371, H.R. 1834, and S. 1389.

The possibility of a terrorist attack using nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons is an ongoing debate in the national security policy arena. While terrorist motivations have traditionally been political onesthat would not benefitfrom such an attack, concern is now voiced over a possible trend of inflicting greater numbers of casualties. Terrorists most likely to attempt attacks with weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are extremist religious millenarian groups and small splinter terrorist cells. N

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Weatherization Assistance PRogram (WAP) is one of the largest energy conservation programs in the nation. The DOE program is implemented in a 50 states, the District of Columbia and Native American Tribes. It weatherizes an average of 70,000 dwellings per year. The program strives to increase the energy efficiency of dwellings occupied by low-income persons in order to reduce their energy consumption and lower their fuel bills. It targets vulnerable groups including the elderly, people with disabilities, and families with children.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a deputy constable is required to reside in the precinct for which he was appointed (RQ-0091-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether interest earned on motor vehicle inventory tax escrow accounts may be used to purchase certain items and is subject to audit by the county auditor, and related questions (RQ-0097-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether an ad valorem tax may be assessed on travel trailers (RQ-0037-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Removal of a veterans county service officer who does not meet the requisite statutory qualifications (RQ-0076-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a municipality may designate an area as a reinvestment zone under chapter 311 of the Tax Code if the area is not “unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted” within the meaning of article VIII, section 1-g(b) of the Texas Constitution, and related questions (RQ-0081-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Effect of certain protest words written beneath a person’s signature on a state document (RQ-0090-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Authority of the mayor and city manager of a home-rule city to a lease agreement, and related questions (RQ-0092-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether individual whose property is subject as member of the city council that granted the abatement, and related questions (RQ-0102-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a school district may require minimum "poverty level wage" in contracts with district.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether section 5B(a) of the Texas Plumbing License Law, TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 6243-101 (Vernon Supp. 1999), authorizes the State Board of Plumbing Examiners to adopt plumbing codes of statewide applicability, and related questions.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Applicability of section 130.008 of the Education Code, which allows high school students to obtain joint credit for certain public junior college courses, to persons attending a private school.