National Defense

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The U.S. Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW): Dark Eagle

Bahrain: Issues for U.S. Policy

Panama: An Overview

Defense Primer: Military Health System

Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues

Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs)

Science and Technology Issues for the 118th Congress

Great Power Competition: Implications for Defense—Issues for Congress

Iran’s Petroleum Exports to China and U.S. Sanctions

Defense Primer: Defense Working Capital Funds

The U.S. Marine Corps Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR)

Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress

Yemen: Conflict, Maritime Attacks, and U.S. Policy

Taiwan: Background and U.S. Relations

Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

Defense Primer: Navigating the NDAA

Emerging Military Technologies: Background and Issues for Congress

TRICARE’s Next Generation Contracts: T-5

China Primer: Illicit Fentanyl and China’s Role

Qatar: Issues for the 118th Congress

Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (WRDA 2022)

Navy Shipboard Lasers: Background and Issues for Congress

Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress

Federal Reserve: Policy Issues in the 118th Congress

Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs): Frequently Asked Questions

U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Recent Conflicts

Defense Primer: Defense Appropriations Process

Defense Primer: The NDAA Process

Defense Primer: Emerging Technologies

Defense Primer: Hypersonic Boost-Glide Weapons

Defense Primer: Ballistic Missile Defense

Defense Primer: Department of the Navy

Defense Primer: Naval Forces

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2024 Provisions

Defense Primer: Geography, Strategy, and U.S. Force Design

Iran: Background and U.S. Policy

The European Union: Questions and Answers

The Pacific Islands

The Palestinians: Overview, Aid, and U.S. Policy Issues

Ecuador: Country Overview and U.S. Relations

Defense Primer: Future Years Defense Program (FYDP)

FY2024 NDAA: Military Mental Health Workforce Provisions

Ethiopia: In Brief

Defense Primer: Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps

FY2024 NDAA: Military Mental Health Care and Research Provisions

Federal Small Business Contracting Goals

The 574 Federally Recognized Indian Tribes in the United States

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

FY2024 NDAA: Military Construction and Housing Authorizations

Nuclear Energy: Overview of Congressional Issues

FY2024 NDAA: Reproductive Health Care Provisions

Defense Primer: Department of the Army and Army Command Structure

FY2024 NDAA: Department of Defense Acquisition Policy

Defense Primer: Command and Control of Nuclear Forces

National Museums: In Brief

Peru: Country Overview and U.S. Relations

FY2024 NDAA: Defense Industrial Base Policy

Defense Primer: Special Operations Forces

China and Sub-Saharan Africa

Defense Primer: What Is Irregular Warfare?

FY2024 NDAA: TRICARE for Reservists

U.S. Arms Transfer Restrictions and AUKUS Cooperation

FY2024 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity

Energy and Water Development: FY2024 Appropriations

Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process

FY2024 NDAA: Military Child Care Programs

Defense Primer: Army Multi-Domain Operations (MDO)

FY2024 NDAA: Military Spouse Employment Matters

Defense Primer: Organization of U.S. Ground Forces

FY2024 NDAA: Summary of Funding Authorizations

The Army’s Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF)

Defense Primer: Military Pay Raise

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): An Introduction

South Korea: Background and U.S. Relations

Department of Defense Contract Pricing

North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons and Missile Programs

Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress

Sri Lanka: Background and Issues for Congress

Defense Primer: Operations in the Information Environment

Defense Primer: Cyberspace Operations

Nuclear Negotiations with North Korea

Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure

Resources for Financial Market Data

Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy

Honduras: Background and U.S. Relations

Iran and Nuclear Weapons Production

Terrorist Financing: Hamas and Cryptocurrency Fundraising

U.S.-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement

Human Trafficking and U.S. Foreign Policy: An Introduction

AUKUS Nuclear Cooperation

The Compacts of Free Association

TRICARE Cost-Sharing Changes in 2024

Statutory Inspectors General in the Federal Government: A Primer

Nigeria: Overview and U.S. Policy

U.S. Assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa: An Overview

Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress

Defense Primer: Quantum Technology

Defense Health Primer: U.S. Coast Guard Health Services

Chinese Nuclear and Missile Proliferation

China Primer: Hong Kong

Defense Primer: National Security Space Launch

Security Clearance Process: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations

FY2024 Defense Appropriations: Status of Legislative Activity

Military Housing

Semiconductors and the CHIPS Act: The Global Context

Prospects for U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Energy Cooperation

Armed Forces Compensation During a Lapse in Appropriations

FY2024 NDAA: Security Cooperation

Israel: Major Issues and U.S. Relations

China Primer: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

The Strategic National Stockpile: Overview and Issues for Congress

Paid Family and Medical Leave in the United States

Liberia

Russia’s War in Ukraine: Military and Intelligence Aspects

China-Russia Relations

U.S.-South Korea Alliance: Issues for Congress

Turkey (Türkiye): Possible U.S. Sale of F-16 Aircraft

Turkey (Türkiye): Possible U.S. F-16 Sale

FY2024 NDAA: TRICARE Coverage of Gender-Affirming Care

Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview

Côte d’Ivoire

Hypersonic Missile Defense: Issues for Congress

China Primer: South China Sea Disputes

Turkey (Türkiye): Major Issues and U.S. Relations

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States

Regulating Drinking Water Contaminants: EPA PFAS Actions

Russia’s War Against Ukraine: Related CRS Products

The Arms Trade Treaty

Sub-Saharan Africa: Overview and U.S. Engagement

Strategic Competition in the Arctic

International Law and Agreements: Their Effect upon U.S. Law

Kuwait: Issues for the 118th Congress

Georgia: Background and U.S. Policy

Jordan: Background and U.S. Relations

China’s Engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean

Office of Management and Budget (OMB): An Overview

Afghan Women and Girls: Status and Congressional Action

HSA@20 Episode Companion: Federalism

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2023

North Korea: Legislative Basis for U.S. Economic Sanctions

Federal Student Loan Debt Relief in the Context of COVID-19

U.S. Armed Forces Abroad: Selected Congressional Votes Since 1982

Lebanon: Background and U.S. Relations

Defense Primer: Strategic Nuclear Forces

Defense Primer: Directed-Energy Weapons

Mexico: Background and U.S. Relations

Disaster Survivor FAQ: FEMA Individuals and Households Program

U.S. Intelligence Community Establishment Provisions

Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations

Military Construction: Authorities and Processes

DOD Domestic School System: Background and Issues

Caribbean Basin Security Initiative

Locate an Agency or Program Within Appropriations Bills

Military Medical Malpractice and the Feres Doctrine

U.S.-North Korea Relations

Defense Primer: U.S. Defense Industrial Base

Department of Defense Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Deep Fakes and National Security

Dam Safety Overview and the Federal Role

HSA@20 Episode Companion: Cybersecurity

Climate Change and Adaptation: Department of Defense

The Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) Program

Defense Primer: Lowest Price Technically Acceptable Contracts

Defense Primer: The National Technology and Industrial Base

Federal Procurement: Emergency-Related Acquisition Flexibilities

HSA@20 Episode Companion: Personnel

Marine Corps Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV)

The Department of Homeland Security: A Primer

FY2023 NDAA: Military Abortion Policies

Energy and Water Development: FY2023 Appropriations

The Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV)

Defense Primer: The United States Space Force

Water Resources Development Acts: Primer

Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)

The Marine Corps’ Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV)

Poland: Background and U.S. Relations

FY2023 NDAA: Cyber Personnel Policies

Oman: Politics, Security, and U.S. Policy

U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel

Burma: Background and U.S. Relations

The Purple Heart: Background and Issues for Congress

Defense Health Primer: Selected Contraceptive Services

Advanced Nuclear Reactors: Technology Overview and Current Issues

Defense Primer: Department of Defense Civilian Employees

Congressional Commissions: Overview and Considerations for Congress

Compilation of Federal Whistleblower Protection Statutes

The Protection of Classified Information: The Legal Framework

Foreign Relations Reauthorization: Background and Issues

Biometric Technologies and Global Security

The United Arab Emirates (UAE): Issues for U.S. Policy

U.S. Direct Financial Support for Ukraine

Defense Primer: Procurement

Buying American: The Berry and Kissell Amendments

Defense Primer: The Berry and Kissell Amendments

U.S. Air Force Pilot Training Transformation (PTT)

Defense Primer: Department of Defense Contractors

FY2023 NDAA: Military Child Care Programs

FY2023 NDAA: TRICARE for Reservists

An Introduction to Oversight of Offices of Inspector General

FY2023 NDAA: Selective Service and Draft Registration

Kazakhstan

Defense Primer: LGM-35A Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

U.S. Government Procurement and International Trade

Intelligence Community Spending Trends

Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress

U.S. Global Health Funding: FY2020-FY2023 Appropriations

FY2023 NDAA: Summary of Funding Authorizations

Defense Primer: Department of Defense Maintenance Depots

Latin America and the Caribbean: U.S. Policy Overview

FY2023 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity

Cuba: U.S. Policy in the 117th Congress

Defense Primer: Department of Defense Pre-Positioned Materiel

Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations

Congressional Oversight Manual

Defense Primer: Active Component Enlisted Retention

United States Central Command

Defense Primer: Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps

Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N)

Defense Primer: The Defense Logistics Agency

Defense Spending and Your District

Federal Reserve: Master Accounts and the Payment System

2022 Nuclear Posture Review

National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS)

Defense Primer: The Department of Defense

Defense Primer: Personnel Tempo (PERSTEMPO)

Management of Sleep and Fatigue in Military Aviation

Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security

Electric Power Transformers: Supply Issues

Defense Primer: U.S. Precision-Guided Munitions

Defense Primer: United States Airpower

Defense Primer: Military Retirement

Defense Primer: Military Use of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Defense Primer: Electronic Warfare

Defense Primer: Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)

Defense Primer: The United States Air Force

Defense Primer: RDT&E

Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2020 (74th-116th Congresses)

Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response

The Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations

Small Business Research Programs: SBIR and STTR

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 117th Congress

The National Security Council: Background and Issues for Congress

Laos

Defense Primer: United States Transportation Command

Wilderness: Issues and Legislation

Air Force F-15EX Eagle II Fighter Program

FY2023 NDAA: Organic Industrial Base

Manufacturing USA: Advanced Manufacturing Institutes and Network

U.S. Antipersonnel Landmine Use Policy

Iran’s Nuclear Program and U.N. Sanctions Reimposition

The Army’s Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model

North Korea: September 2022 Update

The Philippines: Background and U.S. Relations

Russian Military Actions at Ukraine’s Nuclear Power Plants

Global Human Rights: Security Forces Vetting (“Leahy Laws”)

An Overview of Small Business Contracting

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Procurement Program

Small Business Administration HUBZone Program

Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Current and Potential Programs

Military Retirement: Background and Recent Developments

Replacing the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)

SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program

Israel: Background and U.S. Relations

Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program

Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance Program

Federal Civil Aviation Programs: In Brief

Intelligence Community Whistleblower Provisions

Romania: An Overview

Small Business Mentor-Protégé Programs

Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations

Energy and Water Development: FY2022 Appropriations

Agency-Related Nonprofit Research Foundations and Corporations

The Army’s Project Convergence

State and Federal Authority to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccination

Introduction to Budget Authority

U.S.-Proposed Missile Technology Control Regime Changes

Brazil: Background and U.S. Relations

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program

Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs and Funding

Political Transition in Yemen

Russia’s Nuclear Weapons: Doctrine, Forces, and Modernization

Qatar: Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

United States European Command: Overview and Key Issues

United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)

Small Business Administration Microloan Program

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy: Considering “No First Use”

Democratic Republic of Congo: Background and U.S. Relations

U.S. Export Controls and China

SBA Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program

Amendments Between the Houses: Procedural Options and Effects

Resurgence of Chemical Weapons Use: Issues for Congress

What Is a No-Fly Zone (NFZ)?

Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear Arms Control After the Biden-Putin Summit

FY2022 NDAA: Procurement Authorizations

Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province

U.S.-South Korea Relations

Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS)

Congress and the War in Yemen: Oversight and Legislation 2015-2021

Diplomacy with North Korea: A Status Report

Iran Sanctions

The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

The Army’s AimPoint and Army 2030 Force Structure Initiatives

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA): Selected Legal Issues

Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)

Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2022

U.S. Sanctions on Russia

Cybersecurity: Deterrence Policy

FY2022 NDAA: Mental Health Care

Potential Military Roles for Supersonic Transports

Military Families and Financial Readiness

FY2022 NDAA: President’s Budget Request

Foreign Assistance: An Introduction to U.S. Programs and Policy

FY2022 NDAA: Budgetary Context

FY2022 NDAA: Strategic Context

FY2022 NDAA: Extremism in the Military

Regulating Contaminants Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

FY2022 NDAA: Active Component End-Strength

Money Laundering in the U.S. Real Estate Sector

Libya: Transition and U.S. Policy

FY2022 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity

Defense Primer: DOD Transfer and Reprogramming Authorities

Colombia: Background and U.S. Relations

Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Issues for Congress

FY2022 NDAA: Parental Leave Benefits

U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues

China’s Recent Trade Measures and Countermeasures: Issues for Congress

Veterans’ Educational Assistance Programs and Benefits: A Primer

VH-92 Presidential Helicopter

Air Force OA-X Light Attack Aircraft/SOCOM Armed Overwatch Program

National Emergency Powers

Russian Military Intelligence: Background and Issues for Congress

Title 36 Congressional Charters

Clearing the Air on the Debt Limit

The Military’s COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

Air Force Tanker Strategy Changes

Reserve Component Personnel Issues: Questions and Answers

U.S. Climate Change Policy

Military Medical Care: Frequently Asked Questions

Russian Arms Sales and Defense Industry

Ukraine: Background, Conflict with Russia, and U.S. Policy

Morocco: Background and U.S. Relations

B-52 Re-Engining Program Begins

The Post-9/11 GI Bill: A Primer

Air Force B-21 Raider Long-Range Strike Bomber

Cameroon: Key Issues and U.S. Policy

An Overview of Rural Credit Markets

FY2022 Electronic Warfare Funding Trends

COVID-19 Testing: Frequently Asked Questions

Ethiopia’s Transition and the Tigray Conflict

U.S. Capital Markets and China: Issues for Congress

U.S. Sanctions on Russia: An Overview

Afghan Aerial Evacuation in Context

Confederate Names and Military Installations

Iran: Internal Politics and U.S. Policy and Options

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM): An Overview

India-U.S. Relations

Army Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Program

Defense Authorization and Appropriations Bills: FY1961-FY2021

Defense Primer: Gold Star Designation

The European Deterrence Initiative: A Budgetary Overview

Defense Primer: Military Commissaries and Exchanges

Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Programs

Precision-Guided Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress

The Open Skies Treaty: Background and Issues

NATO: Key Issues for the 117th Congress

Defense Primer: DOD “Title 10” Security Cooperation

Kuwait: Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

New Zealand: Background and Relations with the United States

Reauthorization of the Federal Public Transportation Program

Health Care for Dependents and Survivors of Veterans

Russia: Foreign Policy and U.S. Relations

Funding U.S.-Mexico Border Barrier Construction: Current Issues

IAEA Budget and U.S. Contributions: In Brief

Executive Orders: An Introduction

Energy and Water Development: FY2021 Appropriations

Recent White House Actions on Immigration

Defense Primer: Arlington National Cemetery

The Endangered Species Act: Overview and Implementation

The Senkakus (Diaoyu/Diaoyutai) Dispute: U.S. Treaty Obligations

Military Sexual Assault: A Framework for Congressional Oversight

Huawei and U.S. Law

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues

Canada-U.S. Relations

U.S. Agent Orange/Dioxin Assistance to Vietnam

DOD Concerns About the FCC-Approved Ligado Network

Status of U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Talks

Limits on TRICARE for Reservists: Frequently Asked Questions

The Nuclear Ban Treaty: An Overview

U.S. Role in the World: Background and Issues for Congress

U.S.-China Investment Ties: Overview

Iran’s Foreign and Defense Policies

Supreme Court Considers Statute of Limitations for Military Rape Cases

An Overview of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program

COVID-19: China Medical Supply Chains and Broader Trade Issues

Justice Department’s Role in Cyber Incident Response

Vulnerable Youth: Background and Policies

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Tests

The Unfolding Conflict in Ethiopia

Instructing Senate Conferees

Artificial Intelligence and National Security

The “Regular Order”: A Perspective

An Overview of Accreditation of Higher Education in the United States

U.N. Ban on Iran Arms Transfers and Sanctions Snapback

Military Medical Care: Mitigating Impacts From Medical Unit Deployments

South Africa: Current Issues, Economy, and U.S. Relations

Air Force F-15EX Fighter Program

Military Spouse Employment

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): A Legal Overview

Afghanistan: Issues for Congress and Legislation 2017-2020

Spain and Its Relations with the United States: In Brief

U.S. Military Presence in Poland

Confederate Symbols: Relation to Federal Lands and Programs

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 116th Congress

Military Pay: Key Questions and Answers

Iraq: Issues in the 116th Congress

El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations

Russian Armed Forces: Capabilities

Congress, Civilian Control of the Military, and Nonpartisanship

A-76 Competitions in the Department of Defense

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: CRS Experts

On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. Illnesses have since been linked to a new strain of coronavirus, designated Coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19. The disease has spread to many other countries, including the United States. The situation is rapidly changing, and both WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) post frequent updates. CRS products on the outbreak are available under the “Coronavirus Resources” banner at https://www.crs.gov/.

FY2020 Defense Appropriations Act: P.L. 116-93 (H.R. 2968, S. 2474, H.R. 1158)

The FY2020 Defense Appropriations Act, enacted as Division A of H.R. 1158, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2020, provides a total of $687.8 billion in discretionary budget authority, all to fund activities of the Department of Defense (DOD), except for $1.1 billion for certain activities of the intelligence community. As enacted, the bill provides 99.6% of the funding requested by President Trump requested for programs falling within the scope of this bill.

FY2020 RequestHouse-passed H.R. 2968Senate Committee-Reported S. 2474Enacted P.L. 116-93 Division A Base Budget$526.6...

Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19): Q&A on Global Implications and Responses

In December 2019, hospitals in the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei Province began seeing cases of pneumonia of unknown origin. Chinese health authorities ultimately connected the condition, later named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), to a previously unidentified strain of coronavirus. The disease has spread to almost every country in the world, including the United States. WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, 2020; raised its global risk assessment to “Very High” on February 28; and labeled the outbreak a “pandemic” on March 11....

Congressionally Mandated Reports: Overview and Considerations for Congress

Congress frequently requires the President, departments, agencies, and other entities of the federal government to transmit reports, notifications, studies, and other information on a specified timeline. Reporting requirements may direct agency officials to notify Congress or its committees of forthcoming actions or decisions, describe actions taken on a particular matter, establish a plan to accomplish a specified goal, or study a certain problem or concern.

Reporting requirements may be designed to serve a range of purposes that facilitate congressional oversight of the executive branch...

Australia: Background and U.S. Relations

CRS Products and Experts on North Korea

North Korea has posed one of the most persistent U.S. foreign policy challenges of the post-Cold War period. With recent advances in its nuclear and missile capabilities under leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK) has become a grave security threat to the United States and its allies. U.S.-DPRK relations became particularly tense in 2016 and 2017, when North Korea conducted scores of missile tests and three nuclear weapons tests, prompting the United States to expand unilateral sanctions and to lead the United Nations to expand...

Military Funding for Border Barriers: Catalogue of Interagency Decisionmaking

The Department of Defense (DOD, or the Department) has contributed $6.1 billion to the construction of new and replacement barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border in support of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by invoking a mixture of statutory and nonstatutory authorities. Congressional concerns surrounding the use of these authorities and the further possibility that DOD’s actions may jeopardize legislative control of appropriations has generated interest about the decisionmaking process that drove the Department’s funding decisions.

DOD has not generally made internal and...

U.S.-Iran Conflict and Implications for U.S. Policy

Since May 2019, U.S.-Iran tensions have heightened significantly, and evolved into conflict after U.S. military forces killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and one of Iran’s most important military commanders, in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020. The United States and Iran have appeared to be on the brink of additional hostilities since, as attacks by Iran-backed groups on bases in Iraq inhabited by U.S. forces have continued.

The background to the U.S.-Iran tensions are the 2018 Trump Administration...

North Korea: A Chronology of Events from 2016 to 2020

This report provides a detailed chronology of events relevant to U.S. relations with North Korea from January 2016, when North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test, through the end of March 2020. (For background, the chronology includes a number of milestone events before 2016.) That nuclear test launched a new period of concentrated attention on North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK). The Obama and Trump Administrations made denuclearization of North Korea one of their top foreign policy priorities, and Congress has devoted considerable attention to...

Veto Threats and Vetoes in the George W. Bush and Obama Administrations

The Framers checked congressional legislative power by providing the President the power to veto legislation and, in turn, checked the President’s veto power by providing Congress a means to override that veto. Over time, it has become clear that the presidential veto power, even if not formally exercised, provides the President some degree of influence over the legislative process. Most Presidents have exercised their veto power as a means to influence legislative outcomes. Of 45 Presidents, 37 have exercised their veto power.

This report begins with a brief discussion of the ways...

The Office of Technology Assessment: History, Authorities, Issues, and Options

Congress established the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) as a legislative branch agency by the Office of Technology Assessment Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-484). OTA was created to provide Congress with early indications of the probable beneficial and adverse impacts of technology applications. OTA’s work was to be used as a factor in Congress’ consideration of legislation, particularly with regard to activities for which the federal government might provide support for, or management or regulation of, technological applications.

The agency operated for more than two decades, producing...

Transatlantic Relations: U.S. Interests and Key Issues

For the past 70 years, the United States has been instrumental in leading and promoting a strong U.S.-European partnership. Often termed the transatlantic relationship, this partnership has been grounded in the U.S.-led post-World War II order based on alliances with like-minded democratic countries and a shared U.S.-European commitment to free markets and an open international trading system. Transatlantic relations encompass the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU), close U.S. bilateral ties with most countries in Western and Central Europe, and a massive,...

Honduras: Background and U.S. Relations

Honduras, a Central American nation of 9.3 million people, has had close ties with the United States for many years. The country served as a base for U.S. operations designed to counter Soviet influence in Central America during the 1980s, and it continues to host a U.S. military presence and cooperate on various security concerns today. Trade and investment linkages are also long-standing and have grown stronger since the implementation of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) in 2006. Instability in Honduras—including a 2009 coup and...

Air Force KC-46A Pegasus Tanker Aircraft Program

On February 24, 2011, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced the Boeing Company as the winner of a competition to build 179 new KC-46A aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force, a contract valued at roughly $35 billion. Prior to the announcement, the program had been known as KC-X. The first four KC-46s were delivered in January 2019.

The KC-46A acquisition program is a subject of congressional interest because of the dollar value of the contract, the number of jobs it would create, the importance of tanker aircraft to U.S. military operations, and because previous attempts to acquire...

Health Care Provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, P.L. 116-127

The global pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is affecting communities around the world and throughout the United States, with case counts growing daily. Containment and mitigation efforts by federal, state, and local governments have been undertaken to “flatten the curve”—that is, to slow widespread transmission that could overwhelm the nation’s health care system.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA, P.L. 116-127) was enacted on March 18, 2020. It is the second of three comprehensive laws enacted in March specifically to support the response to the pandemic....

Defense Primer: A Guide for New Members

CRS has developed a series of short primers to give Members of Congress an overview of key aspects of the Department of Defense and how Congress exercises authority over it. A consolidated list of these primers is contained in this report, along with links to each document

Defense primer defense primer Defense primer defense primer defense primer defense primer Defense primer defense primer Defense primer defense primer defense primer defense primer Defense primer defense primer Defense primer defense primer defense primer defense primer Defense primer defense primer Defense primer defense...

U.S. Military Electronic Warfare Program Funding: Background and Issues for Congress

Congress, in the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act, and the Department of Defense (DOD) has identified electronic warfare (EW) as a critical capability supporting military operations to fulfil the current National Defense Strategy. Collectively, DOD considers procurement appropriations and research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) appropriations as part of its investment accounts. Using programs identified by the EW Executive Commission (EW EXCOM), this report traces funding for three of the military services (Air Force, Army, and Navy) along with several defense agencies...

Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2020 Budget and Appropriations

Each year, Congress considers 12 distinct appropriations measures, including one for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS), which includes funding for U.S. diplomatic activities, cultural exchanges, development and security assistance, and U.S. participation in multilateral organizations, among other international activities. On March 11, 2019, the Trump Administration submitted to Congress its SFOPS budget proposal for FY2020, which totaled $42.72 billion in discretionary funds ($42.88 billion when $158.9 million in mandatory retirement funds are...

The Federal Role in Historic Preservation: An Overview

During the 20th century, Congress passed several laws that established a framework for federal historic preservation activities. The most comprehensive of these statutes is the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA; P.L. 89-665). NHPA created a grant program for state historic preservation, established the federal National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and the procedures by which historic properties are placed on the Register, funded the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), established the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and designated a...

Federal Prize Competitions

Prize competitions are a tool for incentivizing the achievement of scientific and technological innovation by offering monetary and nonmonetary benefits (e.g., recognition) to competition participants. Prize competitions have a long history of use in both the public and private sectors, but have gained popularity in recent years. Experts view federal prize competitions as an alternative policy instrument for spurring innovation, not a substitute for more traditional methods of federal support for research and innovation such as competitive research grants and procurement contracts.

The use...

Title IV Provisions of the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136)

Economic conditions have deteriorated rapidly in the past few weeks, as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused many businesses and public institutions to limit or close their operations, increasing financial hardship for many Americans due to layoffs or time off of work due to illness. COVID-19’s effect on the airline industry has been one of many areas of interest for Congress.

On March 27, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law as P.L. 116-136. The act contains a number of provisions aimed broadly at stabilizing the economy...

The Crime Victims Fund: Federal Support for Victims of Crime

In 1984, the Crime Victims Fund (CVF, or the Fund) was established by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA, P.L. 98-473) to provide funding for state victim compensation and assistance programs. Since 1984, VOCA has been amended several times to support additional victim-related activities including (1) discretionary grants for private organizations, (2) the Federal Victim Notification System, (3) funding for victim assistance staff within the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, (4) funding for the Children’s Justice Act Program, (5) assistance and...

COVID-19: Industrial Mobilization and Defense Production Act (DPA) Implementation

On March 18, President Trump issued Executive Order 13909, Prioritizing and Allocating Health and Medical Resources to Respond to the Spread of COVID–19, which announced the President’s invocation of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration has yet to publicly provide direction to the private sector under this authority.

This Insight considers possible future DPA implementation processes, industrial mobilization, and congressional considerations concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, and is a companion to CRS Insight IN11231. See CRS...

Cloud Computing: Background, Status of Adoption by Federal Agencies, and Congressional Action

Cloud computing is a new name for an old concept: the delivery of computing services from a remote location, analogous to the way electricity, water, and other utilities are provided to most customers. Cloud computing services are delivered through a network, usually the internet. Utilities are also delivered through networks, whether the electric grid, water delivery systems, or other distribution infrastructure. In some ways, cloud computing is reminiscent of computing before the advent of the personal computer, where users shared the power of a central mainframe computer through video...

Comparison of the FY2020 and FY2021 Precision-Guided Munitions Procurement Requests

Precision-guided munitions (PGMs) have become an important capability for the Department of Defense (DOD). Recent operations, including counter-insurgency and counterterrorism missions, have demonstrated a high demand for all types of PGMs, which DOD defines as a “guided weapon intended to destroy a point target and minimize collateral damage.” Some analysts argue a high-intensity conflict would require large stockpiles of such weapons, in addition to the demand from operations in the Middle East. Then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated that PGMs are required to help rebuild...

Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2020

President Trump’s budget request for FY2020 included approximately $134.1 billion for research and development (R&D). Several FY2019 appropriations bills had not been enacted at the time the President’s FY2020 budget was prepared; therefore, the President’s budget included the FY2018 actual funding levels, 2019 annualized continuing resolution (CR) levels, and the FY2020 request levels. On February 15, 2019, Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6). This act included each of the remaining appropriations acts, completing the FY2019 appropriations process. The...

Policy Topics and Background Related to Mining on Federal Lands

The 116th Congress is considering multiple proposed changes to U.S. mineral policy. Currently certain types of mineral production on federal lands provide the federal government and some states and industries with sources of revenue, while other production does not generate similar revenue. Proposed changes to federal mineral policy could impact these revenue streams, industries, and states in a variety of ways.

The processes and requirements to mine on federal lands vary by mineral category, surface/subsurface management agencies, and estate ownership. Three main statutes create the three...

Military Child Development Program: Background and Issues

The Department of Defense (DOD) operates the largest employer-sponsored child care program in the United States, serving approximately 200,000 children of uniformed servicemembers and DOD civilians, and employing over 23,000 child care workers, at an annual cost of over $1 billion. DOD’s child development program (CDP) includes accredited, installation-based, government-run, full-time pre-school and school-aged care in its Child Development Centers (CDCs), and subsidized care in Family Care Centers (FCCs). DOD also subsidizes care in private child care centers outside of military...

The Palestinians and Amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act: U.S. Aid and Personal Jurisdiction

Two recent amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2331 et seq.) have significant implications for U.S. aid to the Palestinians and U.S. courts’ ability to exercise jurisdiction over Palestinian entities. They are the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 (ATCA, P.L. 115-253) and the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act of 2019 (PSJVTA, § 903 of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, P.L. 116-94).

Congress passed ATCA after a U.S. federal lawsuit (known in various incarnations as Waldman v. PLO and Sokolow v. PLO) against the...

Tunisia: In Brief

As of March 15, 2020, Tunisia had initiated travel restrictions and other emergency measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, having reported at least 20 confirmed domestic cases.

Tunisia remains the sole country to have made a durable transition to democracy as a result of the 2011 “Arab Spring.” An elected assembly adopted a new constitution in 2014 and Tunisians have since held two competitive national elections—most recently in late 2019—resulting in peaceful transfers of power. Tunisia has also taken steps toward empowering local-level government, with landmark local elections...

Telehealth and Telemedicine: Frequently Asked Questions

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the health care industry is an emergent issue for Congress. The health care industry is using telehealth and telemedicine in two major ways: (1) to supplement in-person care for underserved populations who experience barriers to in-person care and (2) to supplant in-person care for patients who like the convenience of using technology to access their health care services.

This report provides responses to frequently asked questions about telehealth and telemedicine. This report serves as a quick reference to provide easy access...

Health Care for Veterans: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), operates one of the nation’s largest integrated health care delivery systems. The VHA estimates that in FY2020 it would provide care to about 6.33 million unique veteran patients. In the same year, VHA estimates that it would employ a staff of about 347,000 full-time equivalent employees at approximately, 1,456 VA sites of care, with an appropriation of approximately $80.6 billion. VA health care is a discretionary program; therefore, the provision of health care is dependent on available appropriations....

Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): History and Overview

Congress established the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) through the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-282). The act states, “The primary function of the OSTP Director is to provide, within the Executive Office of the President [EOP], advice on the scientific, engineering, and technological aspects of issues that require attention at the highest level of Government.” Further, “The Office shall serve as a source of scientific and technological analysis and judgment for the President with respect to major policies, plans,...

Appropriations: CRS Experts

Because the Constitution gives Congress the power over spending of federal tax dollars, nearly every federal agency is influenced by the House and Senate appropriations committees. The congressional budget process is a complex series of legislative activities that includes budget resolutions, reconciliation to set tax levels and mandatory spending, and the annual approval of the 12 appropriations bills. In addition to these annual bills, appropriations committees regularly consider supplemental and emergency spending packages, as well as continuing resolutions (CRs) when final approval of...

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an interagency body comprised of nine Cabinet members, two ex officio members, and other members as appointed by the President, that assists the President in reviewing the national security aspects of foreign direct investment in the U.S. economy. While the group often operated in relative obscurity, the perceived change in the nation’s national security and economic concerns following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the proposed acquisition of commercial operations at six U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World in...

European Energy Security: Options for EU Natural Gas Diversification

As a major energy consuming region, Europe faces a number of challenges in addressing its future energy needs. For member states of the European Union (EU), challenges include rapidly rising global demand and competition for energy resources from countries such as China and India, tensions with Russia, efforts to integrate the EU’s internal energy market, and a growing need to shift fuels in keeping with the EU’s climate change policy goals. As a result, energy supply security has become a key concern for the EU. European energy security is also of significant interest to the United...

Federal Freight Policy: In Brief

This report provides an overview of federal planning and funding for freight transportation infrastructure, namely for trucks, railroads, and vessels. The report also discusses the relative performance of these modes in carrying the freight burden and examines the decline in the waterborne share. Congestion is a concern to different degrees for the three modes. freight, cargo, truck, rail, maritime, barge, shipping, port, congestion, infrastructure, RRIF, train, locks, inland waterways, army corps, dredging, harbor, surface transportation board, STB, jones act, cabotage, railroad, highway,...

Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data

The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Four major federal land management agencies administer 606.5 million acres of this land (as of September 30, 2018). They are the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) in the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture. A fifth agency, the Department of Defense (excluding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), administers 8.8 million acres in the United States (as of...

Carbon Sequestration Legislation in the 116th Congress

FY2021 Defense Budget Request: An Overview

The FY2021 President’s budget request includes $753.5 billion in budget authority for national defense. National defense is one of 20 major functions used by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to aggregate budget dataand the largest in terms of discretionary spending. The national defense budget function (identified by the numerical notation 050) comprises three subfunctions: Department of Defense (DOD)–Military (051); atomic energy defense activities primarily of the Department of Energy (053); and other defense-related activities (054), such as FBI counterintelligence...

Immigration

Liberia: Background and U.S. Relations

Introduction. Congress has shown enduring interest in Liberia, a small coastal West African country of about 4.8 million people. The United States played a key role in the country’s founding, and bilateral ties generally have remained close despite significant strains during Liberia’s two civil wars (1989-1997 and 1999-2003). Congress has appropriated considerable foreign assistance for Liberia, and has held hearings on the country’s postwar trajectory and development. In recent years, congressional interest partly has centered on the immigration status of over 80,000 Liberian nationals...

Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) in the Military

On January 7, 2020, the Department of Defense (DOD) reported that the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a number of ballistic missiles at certain Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. and coalition military forces. These forces utilize Iraqi military bases to support counter-terrorism operations within the region, including military actions against the Islamic State under Operation Inherent Resolve. DOD initially reported no U.S. or coalition casualties, then later stated that 34 U.S. servicemembers assigned to these locations were subsequently diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)...

Brexit: Status and Outlook

The United Kingdom (UK) formally withdrew from membership in the European Union (EU) on January 31, 2020. Under the withdrawal agreement negotiated by the two sides, the UK is to continue applying EU rules during a transition period scheduled to run through the end of 2020. During the transition period, the UK and the EU are expected to begin negotiating the terms of their future relationship, including trade and economic relations as well as cooperation on foreign policy, security, and a range of other issues.

Overview of Developments

After the 2016 referendum in which 52% of voters in...

The Army’s Modernization Strategy: Congressional Oversight Considerations

In October 2019, the Army published a new modernization strategy aimed at transforming the Army in order to conduct Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) which are intended to address the current and future actions of near-peer competitors Russia and China. The Army’s Modernization Strategy is part of a hierarchy of strategies designed, among other things, to inform the Service’s respective modernization plans. These strategies include the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy (NDS), the National Military Strategy (NMS), and the Army Strategy.

The Army’s Modernization...

Oil Market Effects from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Iran, Russia, Venezuela

Economic sanctions imposed by the United States—through enacted legislation and executive action—on Iran, Russia, and Venezuela aim to pressure the ruling governments to change their behavior and policies. Currently, these sanctions aim to either eliminate (Iran) or restrict (Venezuela) crude oil trade of as much as 3.3 million to 4.0 million barrels per day (bpd), roughly 3%-4% of global petroleum supply. Estimated oil production volumes affected to date have been approximately 1.7 million bpd from Iran. Venezuela oil production has also likely been affected, although accurately...

The Current State of Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform and Management

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that the federal government budgets more than $90 billion each year on information technology (IT) investments. Historically, the projects supported by these investments have often incurred “multi-million dollar cost overruns and years-long schedule delays.” In addition, GAO has reported that these projects may contribute little to mission-related outcomes and, in some cases, may fail altogether. These undesirable results, according to GAO, “can be traced to a lack of disciplined and effective management and inadequate executive-level...

National Security Space Launch

The United States is making significant efforts to pursue a strategy that ensures continued access to space for national security missions. The current strategy is embodied in the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. The NSSL supersedes the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, which started in 1995 to ensure that National Security Space (NSS) launches were affordable and reliable. For the same reasons, policymakers provide oversight for the current NSSL program and encourage competition, as there was only one provider for launch services from 2006 to 2013. Moreover,...

Indo-Pacific Strategies of U.S. Allies and Partners: Issues for Congress

China’s growing confidence in asserting itself regionally and internationally, combined with longstanding concerns about whether the United States has the capacity or commitment to remain the region’s dominant actor, is leading U.S. allies and partners to adjust their strategic posture. This report seeks to outline some of these changes and to outline the perspectives of Indo-Pacific nations seeking to navigate a changing geopolitical environment, including by recasting their conception of the region to draw in new potential counterweights to China such as India, prioritizing new defense...

Energy and Water Development: FY2020 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Central Utah Project (CUP); the Department of Energy (DOE); the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC); and several other independent agencies. DOE typically accounts for about 80% of the bill’s funding.

Overall Funding Totals

President Trump submitted his FY2020 detailed budget proposal to Congress on March 18, 2019...

The Washington Post’s “Afghanistan Papers” and U.S. Policy: Main Points and Possible Questions for Congress

On December 9, 2019, the Washington Post published a series of documents termed “the Afghanistan Papers.” The Papers comprise two sets of documents: about 1,900 pages of notes and transcripts of interviews with more than 400 U.S. and other policymakers that were carried out between 2014 and 2018 by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), and approximately 190 short memos (referred to as “snowflakes”) from former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, dating from 2001 to 2004. The documents, and the Washington Post stories that accompany them, suggest that U.S....

The U.S. Export Control System and the Export Control Reform Initiative

Difficulty with striking an appropriate balance between national security and export competitiveness has made the subject of export controls controversial for decades. Through the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the Export Controls Act of 2018 (ECA), and other authorities, the United States restricts the export of defense articles; dual-use goods and technology; certain nuclear materials and technology; and items that would assist in the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons or the missile technology used to...

Challenges to the United States in Space

U.S. Relations with Burma: Key Issues in 2020

International Trade and Finance: Overview and Issues for the 116th Congress

The U.S. Constitution grants authority to Congress to lay and collect duties and regulate foreign commerce. Congress exercises this authority in numerous ways, including through oversight of trade policy and consideration of legislation to implement trade agreements and authorize trade programs. Policy issues cover areas such as U.S. trade negotiations, U.S. trade and economic relations with specific regions and countries, international institutions focused on trade, tariff and nontariff barriers, worker dislocation due to trade liberalization, enforcement of trade laws and trade agreement...

Department of Defense Global Health Engagement

Social Security and Vulnerable Groups—Policy Options to Aid Widows

As Congress actively considers Social Security reform options, one area of interest is Social Security policy levers to aid vulnerable groups—widows, low earners, caregivers, older beneficiaries, spouses, and never-married individuals. In the context of widows, researchers and policymakers have raised concerns about both benefit adequacy and benefit equity. In 2017, about 18% of all individuals aged 60 or older were widows; however, nearly 26% of individuals aged 60 or older living in poverty were widows.

Benefit adequacy concerns stem from the facts that the widow has outlived the spouse,...

The Kiddie Tax and Military Survivors’ Benefits

Some military families discovered that they owed higher taxes for 2018 and 2019 on distributions from their military survivors’ benefits than they had in previous years. This change in tax treatment was related to temporary changes to the “kiddie tax” in the 2017 tax revision (P.L. 115-97). However, Congress enacted language in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-94) that repealed those temporary changes to the kiddie tax beginning in 2020. In addition, P.L. 116-94 enables taxpayers to retroactively elect to be taxed as if the kiddie tax changes in P.L. 115-97 did...

Iran: U.S. Economic Sanctions and the Authority to Lift Restrictions

On May 8, 2018, President Donald Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 11, “ceasing U.S. participation in the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and taking additional action to counter Iran’s malign influence and deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon.” The action set in motion a reestablishment of U.S. unilateral economic sanctions that affect U.S. businesses and include secondary sanctions that target the commerce originating in other countries that engage in trade with and investment in Iran.

U.S.-Iran bilateral relations continued to deteriorate from this...

U.S. Killing of Qasem Soleimani: Frequently Asked Questions

The January 2, 2020, U.S. killing in Iraq of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) Commander Qasem Soleimani, generally regarded as one of the most powerful and important officials in Iran, has potentially dramatic implications for the United States. For Congress, it raises possible questions about U.S. policy in the Middle East, broader U.S. global strategy, U.S. relations with partners and allies, the authorization and legality of U.S. military action abroad, U.S. measures to protect its servicemembers and diplomatic personnel, and congressional oversight of these and...

Kashmir: Background, Recent Developments, and U.S. Policy

In early August 2019, the Indian government announced that it would make major changes to the legal status of its Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state, specifically by repealing Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and Section 35A of its Annex, which provided the state “special” autonomous status, and by bifurcating the state into two successor “Union Territories” with more limited indigenous administrative powers. The changes were implemented on November 1, 2019. The former princely region’s sovereignty has been unsettled since 1947 and its territory is divided by a military...

The 2019-2020 Iran Crisis and U.S. Military Deployments

Campaign and Election Security Policy: Overview and Recent Developments for Congress

In the United States, state, territorial, and local governments are responsible for most aspects of selecting and securing election systems and equipment. Foreign interference during the 2016 election cycle—and widely reported to be an ongoing threat—has renewed congressional attention to campaign and election security and raised new questions about the nature and extent of the federal government’s role in this policy area.

This report provides congressional readers with a resource for understanding campaign and election security policy. This includes discussion of the federal...

U.S. Withdrawal from the INF Treaty: What’s Next?

FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act: P.L. 116-92 (H.R. 2500, S. 1790)

The Administration’s FY2020 NDAA request would have authorized $568.1 billion designated as base budget funds to cover the routine, recurring costs to man, train, and operate U.S. forces. The request would have authorized an additional $173.8 billion designated as Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds, of which $97.9 billion was requested for base programs. As enacted, the FY2020 NDAA authorizes a total of $729.9 billion for national defense-related activities, which is $12.0 billion (1.6%) less than the Administration requested.

Administration’s FY2020 National Defense Authorization...

Legal Authority to Repurpose Funds for Border Barrier Construction

President Trump has prioritized the construction of border barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. Over the course of negotiations for FY2019 appropriations, the Administration asked Congress to appropriate $5.7 billion to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for that purpose. When Congress appropriated $1.375 billion to DHS for border fencing, the President announced that his Administration would fund the construction of border barriers by repurposing funds appropriated to the Department of Defense (DOD) and transferring funds from the Department of the Treasury. The Administration...

Iran’s Nuclear Program: Status

Iran’s nuclear program began during the 1950s. The United States has expressed concern since the mid-1970s that Tehran might develop nuclear weapons. Iran’s construction of gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facilities is currently the main source of proliferation concern. Gas centrifuges can produce both low-enriched uranium (LEU), which can be used in nuclear power reactors, and weapons-grade highly enriched uranium (HEU), which is one of the two types of fissile material used in nuclear weapons.

Is Iran Capable of Building Nuclear Weapons?

The United States has assessed that Tehran...

Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

The Navy began procuring a small surface combatant called the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in FY2005, and a total of 35 LCSs have been procured through FY2019, including three in FY2019. The total of 35 LCSs is three more than the 32 the Navy says are required under its 355-ship force-level goal. The Navy wants FY2019 to be the final year of LCS procurement, and it has not requested the procurement of any additional LCSs in its FY2020 budget submission.

The Navy wants to shift procurement of small surface combatants in FY2020 to a new frigate called the FFG(X). The Navy’s proposed FY2020...

Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress

In the years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Navy has carried out a variety of irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) activities. Among the most readily visible of these were operations carried out by Navy sailors serving ashore in the Middle East and Afghanistan, as well as the May 1-2, 2011, U.S. military operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed Osama bin Laden.

During these years, the Navy took certain actions intended to improve its IW capabilities. For example, the Navy established the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) informally in...

Misuse of Government Purchase Cards: Background, Legislation, and Analysis

Following their introduction in the mid-1990s, the usage of government purchase cards expanded at a rapid rate. Spurred by legislative and regulatory reforms designed to increase the use of purchase cards for small acquisitions, the dollar volume of government purchase card transactions grew from $527 million in FY1993 to $19.5 billion in FY2011. While the use of purchase cards was credited with reducing administrative costs during that time, audits of agency purchase card programs found varying degrees of waste, fraud, and abuse. One of the most common risk factors cited by auditors was a...

Military Families and Intimate Partner Violence: Background and Issues for Congress

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a national public health issue. IPV is also a crime characterized by recidivism and escalation, meaning offenders are likely to be repeat abusers, and the intensity of the abuse or violence is likely to grow over time. Like the broader phenomenon of domestic violence and abuse, a subset of which includes IPV, associated physical and mental trauma for those who are victims of abuse, as well as for those minor children who witness the abuse, can have both immediate and long-term health effects and significant costs to society. When military servicemembers...

Amazon Protest of the Department of Defense's JEDI Cloud Contract Award to Microsoft

In September 2017, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum calling for the adoption of a Department of Defense (DOD) enterprise-wide cloud services solution. As part of its ongoing technology modernization efforts, DOD sought to acquire a commercial cloud services solution known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud.

In April 2019, DOD selected Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (henceforth Amazon) to contend for the contract award from qualified proposals submitted by IBM, Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle. In October 2019, DOD announced it had awarded the...

Department of Defense First Agency-wide Financial Audit (FY2018): Background and Issues for Congress

The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act, P.L. 101-576) requires annual financial audits of federal agencies’ financial statements to “assure the issuance of reliable financial information ... deter fraud, waste and abuse of Government resources ... [and assist] the executive branch ... and Congress in the financing, management, and evaluation of Federal programs.” Agency inspectors general (IGs) are responsible for the audits and may contract with one or more external auditors. Congressional interest in the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) audits is especially acute because DOD’s...

Selected Homeland Security Issues in the 116th Congress

In 2001, in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, “homeland security” went from being a concept discussed among a relatively small cadre of policymakers and strategic thinkers to one broadly discussed among policymakers, including a broad swath of those in Congress. Debates over how to implement coordinated homeland security policy led to the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296), the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and extensive legislative activity in the ensuing years.

Initially, homeland security was largely seen as...

Shipping Under the Jones Act: Legislative and Regulatory Background

The Jones Act, which refers to Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (P.L. 66-261), requires that vessels transporting cargo from one U.S. point to another U.S. point be U.S.-built, and owned and crewed by U.S. citizens. The act provides a significant degree of protection for U.S. shipyards, domestic carriers, and American merchant sailors. It is a subject of debate because some experts argue that it leads to high domestic ocean shipping costs and constrains the availability of ships for domestic use. The Jones Act has come into prominence amid debates over Puerto Rico’s economic...

DOD’s Cloud Strategy and the JEDI Cloud Procurement

U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America: Policy Issues for Congress

Central America has received renewed attention from U.S. policymakers over the past few years as the region has remained a major transit corridor for illicit drugs and has surpassed Mexico as the largest source of irregular migration to the United States. These narcotics and migrant flows are the latest symptoms of deep-rooted challenges in several countries in the region, including widespread insecurity, fragile political and judicial systems, and high levels of poverty and unemployment. The U.S. government has worked more closely with partners in Central America to address those...

Quantum Information Science: Applications, Global Research and Development, and Policy Considerations

Quantum information science (QIS) combines elements of mathematics, computer science, engineering, and physical sciences, and has the potential to provide capabilities far beyond what is possible with the most advanced technologies available today. Although much of the press coverage of QIS has been devoted to quantum computing, there is more to QIS. Many experts divide QIS technologies into three application areas: Sensing and metrology, Communications, and Computing and simulation. The government’s interest in QIS dates back at least to the mid-1990s, when the National Institute of...

The State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report: Scope, Aid Restrictions, and Methodology

The State Department’s annual release of the Trafficking in Persons report (commonly referred to as the TIP Report) has been closely monitored by Congress, foreign governments, the media, advocacy groups, and other foreign policy observers. The 109th Congress first mandated the report’s publication in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA; Div. A of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, P.L. 106-386).

The number of countries covered by the TIP Report has grown over time. In the 2019 TIP Report, released on June 20, 2019, the State Department...

MHS Genesis: Background and Issues for Congress

Since 1968, the Department of Defense (DOD) has developed, procured, and sustained a variety of electronic systems to document the health care services delivered to servicemembers, military retirees, and their family members. DOD currently operates a number of legacy electronic health record (EHR) systems. Each system has separate capabilities and functions as a result of new or changing requirements over the past five decades. The primary legacy systems include the Composite Health Care System (CHCS), Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA), Essentris, and the...

Wildfires: CRS Experts

The following table provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to wildfires. Policy areas identified include federal wildfire policy; federal forest management; federal firefighting assistance; federal emergency management policy; federal preparedness system and response plan; hazard mitigation; armed forces and national guard assistance; supplemental disaster funding; and disaster insurance.

The following table provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to wildfires. Policy areas identified...

Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2020 (P.L. 116-59)

This report provides an analysis of the continuing appropriations provisions for FY2020 included in Division A (Continuing Appropriations Act, 2020) of H.R. 4378. The legislation also included a separate Division B (Health and Human Services Extenders and Other Matters), which extended multiple federal health care programs that were otherwise set to expire September 30, 2019, and provided for some adjustments to additional health programs. This report examines only Division A, the continuing resolution (CR) portion of the legislation. On September 27, 2019, the President signed H.R. 4378...

Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues for the 116th Congress

This report examines selected human rights issues in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and policy options for Congress. U.S. concern over human rights in China has been a central issue in U.S.-China relations, particularly since the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989. In recent years, human rights conditions in China have deteriorated, while bilateral tensions related to trade and security have increased, possibly creating both constraints and opportunities for U.S. policy on human rights.

After consolidating power in 2013, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary and State President Xi...

The Annual Sequester of Mandatory Spending through FY2029

The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25) included two parts: discretionary spending caps, plus a “Joint Committee process” to achieve an additional $1.2 trillion in budgetary savings over FY2013-FY2021.

For the initial tranche of savings, the BCA placed statutory limits on discretionary spending for each fiscal year from FY2012 through FY2021. At the time of enactment, the BCA discretionary spending caps were projected to save $917 billion.

For the second, and larger, tranche of savings, the BCA established a bipartisan, bicameral Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction...

The Budget Control Act: Frequently Asked Questions

When there is concern with deficit or debt levels, Congress will sometimes implement budget enforcement mechanisms to mandate specific budgetary policies or fiscal outcomes. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25), which was signed into law on August 2, 2011, includes several such mechanisms.

The BCA as amended has three main components that currently affect the annual budget. One component imposes annual statutory discretionary spending limits for defense and nondefense spending. A second component requires annual reductions to the initial discretionary spending limits...

The Defense Budget and the Budget Control Act: Frequently Asked Questions

Enacted on August 2, 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011 as amended (P.L. 112-25, P.L. 112-240, P.L. 113-67, P.L. 114-74, P.L. 115-123, and P.L. 116-37) sets limits on defense and nondefense discretionary spending. As part of an agreement to increase the statutory limit on public debt, the BCA aimed to reduce annual federal budget deficits by a total of at least $2.1 trillion from FY2012 through FY2021, with approximately half of the savings to come from defense.

The spending limits (or caps) apply separately to defense and nondefense discretionary budget authority. Budget authority is...

Military Funding for Southwest Border Barriers

The Department of Defense (DOD, or the Department) has played a prominent role in the Trump Administration’s border security strategy because of controversies related to $13.3 billion in defense funding it has sought to use for border barrier construction projects not otherwise authorized by Congress. These defense funds would comprise a complex mix of DOD program savings and unobligated military construction funds from past years ($6.1 billion), as well as a request for new appropriations in FY2020 ($7.2 billion). An additional $2 billion in non-DOD appropriations are often cited as part...

Air Force T-7A Red Hawk Trainer

NOTE: This report was originally written by Ceir Coral while he was an Air Force Fellow at the Congressional Research Service. Since his departure, it has been maintained by Jeremiah Gertler of CRS.

On September 27, 2018, the United States Air Force (USAF) awarded The Boeing Company a contract, worth up to $9.2 billion, to procure 351 Advanced Pilot Training (APT T-X) aircraft and 46 Ground-Based Training Systems (GBTS) to replace the existing fleet of T-38C jet trainers. The Air Force had originally valued the contract at roughly $19.7 billion. Information on the value of other...

Ground Electronic Warfare: Background and Issues for Congress

Ground electronic warfare (EW) is a group of programs directed by the Army and Marine Corp which are designed to effect ground forces use of the electromagnetic spectrum. The U.S. military has several ground EW programs that are used for different missions. These programs can broadly be categorized into counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) systems, counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS), and communications and radar jammers. Over the past several years, senior leaders in the Army and Marine Corps have testified about the need to improve EW capabilities.

Role of EW in Ground...

Suicide Rates and Risk Factors for the National Guard

In the past decade, federal and state governments have made a sustained effort to improve suicide prevention and response for the Armed Forces through funding, oversight, and legislation to enhance mental health and resiliency programs. The Department of Defense’s Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO) has reported that overall military suicide rates for the Active and Reserve Components are generally comparable with those of the general U.S. population when adjusting for demographics (i.e., the military is younger and has a greater percentage of men than the general U.S. population). However,...

Overseas Contingency Operations Funding: Background and Status

Congressional interest in Overseas Contingency Operation (OCO) funding has continued as Members debate ways of funding priorities without breaching discretionary spending limits set in law.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress has appropriated $2 trillion in discretionary budget authority designated as emergency requirements or for Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terrorism (OCO/GWOT) in support of the broad U.S. government response to the 9/11 attacks and for other related international affairs activities. This figure amounts to 9.5% of total...

U.S.-China Relations

The United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) are involved in a prolonged stand-off over trade and in competition that is spilling from political and military areas into a growing number of other spheres, including technology, finance, and education, severely straining ties on the 40th anniversary of the two countries’ establishment of diplomatic relations. The two lead the world in the size of their economies, their defense budgets, and their global greenhouse gas emissions. Both countries are permanent members of the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council. In 2018,...

Flooding Events: CRS Experts

The following table provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to flooding events in the United States. Policy areas identified include disaster assistance and recovery matters, and impacts such as displaced residents and business, losses in agricultural production, disruptions in transportation (river, rail, and highway), problems with water treatment and supply; responses and recovery operations such as disaster declarations and federal assistance, public health provisions, federal flood insurance, agricultural disaster relief and...

Defense Spending Under an Interim Continuing Resolution: In Brief

This report provides a basic overview of interim continuing resolutions (CRs) and highlights some specific issues pertaining to operations of the Department of Defense (DOD) under a CR.

DOD has started the fiscal year under a CR for 13 of the past 18 years (FY2002-FY2019) and every year since FY2010 excluding FY2019. The amount of time DOD has operated under CR authorities during the fiscal year has tended to increase in the past 10 years and equates to a total of more than 39 months since 2010.

As with regular appropriations bills, Congress can draft a CR to provide funding in many ways....

Russia, the Skripal Poisoning, and U.S. Sanctions

Bitcoin, Blockchain, and the Energy Sector

The popularity of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technology presents both challenges and opportunities to the energy sector. As interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has increased, the energy demand to support cryptocurrency “mining” activities has also increased. The increased energy demand—when localized—can exceed the available power capacity and increase customers’ electricity rates. On the other hand, not all cryptocurrencies require energy-intensive mining operations. Some cryptocurrencies can operate under algorithms that require less energy....

Covert Action and Clandestine Activities of the Intelligence Community: Framework for Congressional Oversight In Brief

Since the mid-1970s, Congress’s oversight of the Intelligence Community (IC) has been a fundamental component of ensuring that the IC’s seventeen diverse elements are held accountable for the effectiveness of their programs supporting United States national security. This has been especially true for covert action and clandestine intelligence activities because of their significant risk of compromise and potential long-term impact on U.S. foreign relations. Yet, by their very nature, these and other intelligence programs and activities are classified and shielded from the public....

Human Fetal Tissue Research: Frequently Asked Questions

This report provides answers to frequently asked questions concerning the regulation and use of fetal tissue in research, including a description of what constitutes fetal tissue research, uses of fetal tissue for medical purposes, how such tissue is acquired, along with rules and regulations governing the use and acquisition of fetal tissue.

fetal tissue, Planned Parenthood, fetal tissue transplantation research, Common Rule,

The Department of Defense’s JEDI Cloud Program

In September 2017, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum calling for the accelerated adoption of a Department of Defense (DOD) enterprise-wide cloud services solution as a fundamental component of ongoing DOD modernization efforts. As a component of this effort, DOD is seeking to acquire a cloud services solution accessible to the entirety of the Department that can support Unclassified, Secret, and Top Secret requirements, focusing on commercially available cloud service solutions, through the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud acquisition program.

DOD...

Russian Compliance with the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty: Background and Issues for Congress

The United States and Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in December 1987. Negotiations on this treaty were the result of a “dual-track” decision taken by NATO in 1979 in response to concerns about the Soviet Union’s deployment of new intermediate-range nuclear missiles. NATO agreed both to accept deployment of new U.S. intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles and to support U.S. efforts to negotiate with the Soviet Union to limit these missiles. In the INF Treaty, the United States and Soviet Union agreed that they would ban all land-based...

Military Health System Reform

Ghana: Current Issues and U.S. Relations in Brief

Ghana, a country of 28 million people on West Africa’s Atlantic coast, faces diverse development challenges, but has built a robust democracy notable for consistent peaceful turnovers of executive power since a transition to multiparty rule in the early 1990s. The country also has made progress toward many of the socioeconomic outcomes that successive U.S. administrations have sought to foster in Africa, and U.S. policymakers have tended to view Ghana as a stable U.S. partner in an often volatile region. Substantial U.S. bilateral aid has both been premised on and arguably contributed to...

Department of Defense Energy Management: Background and Issues for Congress

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) consumes more energy than any other federal agency—77% of the entire federal government’s energy consumption. Energy management is integral to DOD operations. From running bases and training facilities to powering jets and ships, DOD relies on energy to maintain readiness and resiliency for mission operations. Energy efficiency—providing the same or an improved level of service with less energy—over time can reduce agency expenses, particularly at an agency like DOD, where energy represents roughly 2% of the department’s annual budget.

Since the 1970s,...

Congressional Commissions: Funding and Expenditures

Congressional commissions have been established for a variety of purposes, and can help serve a critical role by informing Congress, providing expert advice on complex or controversial issues, and generating policy recommendations. In general, commissions hold hearings, conduct research, analyze data, and/or make field visits as they carry out their duties. Most complete their work by delivering their findings, recommendations, or advice in the form of a written report to Congress. For example, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission) was...

Vulnerable Youth: Federal Mentoring Programs and Issues

Youth mentoring refers to a relationship between youth—particularly those most at risk of experiencing negative outcomes in adolescence and adulthood—and the adults who support and guide them. The origin of the modern youth mentoring concept is credited to the efforts of charity groups that formed during the Progressive era of the early 1900s to provide practical assistance to poor and juvenile justice-involved youth, including help with finding employment.

Approximately 4.5 million youth today are involved in formal mentoring relationships through mentoring organizations (e.g., Big...

Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy

Afghanistan has been a significant U.S. foreign policy concern since 2001, when the United States, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, led a military campaign against Al Qaeda and the Taliban government that harbored and supported it. In the intervening 18 years, the United States has suffered approximately 2,400 military fatalities in Afghanistan, with the cost of military operations reaching nearly $750 billion. Congress has appropriated approximately $133 billion for reconstruction. In that time, an elected Afghan government has replaced the Taliban, and most...

FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5515)

For FY2019, the Trump Administration requested $708.1 billion to fund programs falling under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and subject to authorization by the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes appropriations for the Department of Defense (DOD) and defense-related atomic energy programs of the Department of Energy. In addition to authorizing appropriations, the NDAA establishes defense policies and restrictions, and addresses organizational administrative matters related to...

Critical Infrastructure: Emerging Trends and Policy Considerations for Congress

Protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure (CI) against asymmetric physical or cyber threats emerged in the late 1990s as a policy concern, which was then further amplified by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Congress created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the wake of the attacks, and directed the new Department to identify, prioritize, and protect systems and assets critical to national security, the economy, and public health or safety. Identification of CI assets was, and remains, a complex and resource-intensive task.

Many governmental and non-governmental...

Beneficial Ownership Transparency in Corporate Formation, Shell Companies, Real Estate, and Financial Transactions

Beneficial ownership refers to the natural person or persons who invest in, control, or otherwise reap gains from an asset, such as a bank account, real estate property, company, or trust. In some cases, an asset’s beneficial owner may not be listed in public records or disclosed to federal authorities as the legal owner. For some years, the United States has been criticized by international bodies for gaps in the U.S. anti-money laundering system related to a lack of systematic beneficial ownership disclosure. While beneficial ownership information is relevant to several types of assets,...

Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) Mobility, Reconnaissance, and Firepower Programs

Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs) constitute the Army’s “light” ground forces and are an important part of the nation’s ability to project forces overseas. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as current thinking by Army leadership as to where and how future conflicts would be fought, suggest IBCTs are limited operationally by their lack of assigned transport and reconnaissance vehicles as well as firepower against hardened targets and armored vehicles.

There are three types of IBCTs: Light, Airborne, and Air Assault. Light IBCTs are primarily foot-mobile forces. Light IBCTs can...

Effects of Buy America on Transportation Infrastructure and U.S. Manufacturing

In 1978, Congress began placing domestic content restrictions on federally funded transportation projects that are carried out by nonfederal government agencies such as state and local governments. These restrictions, which have changed over the years, are commonly referred to as the Buy America Act, or more simply, Buy America. Although there has been ongoing congressional interest in domestic preference policy over the years, statements and actions by the Trump Administration about reinvigorating domestic manufacturing and investing in infrastructure have stimulated renewed interest in...

Critical Minerals and U.S. Public Policy

President Trump and various U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns about U.S. reliance on critical mineral imports and potential disruption of supply chains that use critical minerals for various end uses, including defense and electronics applications. Chinese export quotas on a subset of critical minerals referred to as rare earth elements (REEs) and China’s 2010 curtailment of REE shipments to Japan heightened U.S. vulnerability concern.

In December 2017, Presidential Executive Order 13817, “A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals,” tasked the...

India’s 2019 National Election and Implications for U.S. Interests

India, a federal republic and the world’s most populous democracy, held elections to seat a new lower house of parliament in April and May of 2019. Estimates suggest that more than two-thirds of the country’s nearly 900 million eligible voters participated. The 545-seat Lok Sabha (People’s House) is seated every five years, and the results saw a return to power of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was chief minister of the west Indian state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. Modi’s party won decisively—it now holds 56% of Lok Sabha seats and Modi became...

Commemorative Days, Weeks, and Months: Background and Current Practice

Typically, each Congress, hundreds of legislative measures are introduced to recognize, support, honor, or acknowledge certain days, weeks, and months. Some scholars have observed that commemorative legislation has universal and patriotic appeal and also provides an opportunity to connect directly with constituents, which can help fulfill representational responsibilities to Members’ districts or states.

Often used to commemorate an individual, group, or event, these measures can be divided into three categories: (1) federal holidays; (2) patriotic and national observances; and (3)...

The U.S.-Japan Alliance

The U.S.-Japan alliance has long been an anchor of the U.S. security role in Asia and arguably a contributor to peace and prosperity in the region. Forged during the U.S. occupation of Japan after its defeat in World War II, the alliance provides a platform for U.S. military readiness in the Pacific. About 54,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan and have the exclusive use of 85 facilities. In exchange for the use of these bases, the United States guarantees Japan’s security.

Since the early 2000s, the United States and Japan have improved the operational capability of the alliance as a...

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity in the Armed Services: Background and Issues for Congress

Under Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the authority to raise and support armies; provide and maintain a navy; and provide for organizing, disciplining, and regulating them. Congress has used this authority to establish criteria and standards for individuals to be recruited, to advance through promotion, and to be separated or retired from military service. Throughout the history of the armed services, Congress has established some of these criteria based on demographic characteristics such as race, sex, and sexual orientation. In the past few decades there have...

War Legacy Issues in Southeast Asia: Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)

More than 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War, unexploded ordnance (UXO) from numerous conflicts, but primarily dropped by U.S. forces over Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam during the Vietnam War, continues to cause casualties in those countries. Over the past 25 years, the United States has provided a total of over $400 million in assistance for UXO clearance and related activities in those three countries through the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of State (DOS), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as funding for treatment of victims through...

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2019 Appropriations: Independent Agencies and General Provisions

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes funding for more than two dozen independent agencies. Among them are the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Election Assistance Commission (EAC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Election Commission (FEC), Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), General Services Administration (GSA), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), Securities and Exchange...

Military Sexual Assault: Chronology of Activity in the 113th-114th Congresses and Related Resources

This report focuses on previous activity in Congress regarding high profile incidents of sexual assault in the military during the summer 2013 through 2016. Included are separate sections on the official responses related to these incidents by the Department of Defense (DOD), the Obama Administration, and Congress including legislation during the 113th (2013-2014) Congress and 114th Congress (2015-2016). The last section is a resource guide for sources in this report and related materials on sexual assault and prevention during this period. This report will not be updated and supersedes...

United States Foreign Intelligence Relationships: Background, Policy and Legal Authorities, Risks, Benefits

From its inception, the United States Intelligence Community (IC) has relied on close relations with foreign partners. These relationships often reflect mutual security interests and the trust each side has of the other’s credibility and professionalism. They are generally strategic and cover a range of national security priorities involving national defense, emerging threats, counterterrorism, counter-proliferation, treaty compliance, cybersecurity, economic and financial security, counter-narcotics, and piracy.

U.S. intelligence relations with foreign counterparts offer a number of...

U.S. Airborne Electronic Attack Programs: Background and Issues for Congress

U.S. airborne electronic warfare (EW) programs involve developing and procuring EW aircraft and EW systems that are mounted on U.S. aircraft. The President’s FY2020 budget request for the Department of Defense (DOD) proposes funding for a number of airborne EW programs.

The Role of Airborne EW in Modern Warfare

EW is a component of modern warfare, particularly in response to threats posed by potential adversaries such as Russia or China. EW refers to operations that use the electromagnetic spectrum (i.e., the “airwaves”) to detect, listen to, jam, and deceive (or “spoof”) enemy radars,...

DOD’s Proposal to Reduce Military Medical End Strength

In accordance with 10 U.S.C. §115, Congress annually authorizes the end strength for active duty and reserve component personnel. End strength is the maximum number of personnel permitted in each military service (e.g., Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force) as of September 30, the last day of the fiscal year. For fiscal year (FY) 2019, Congress authorized a total end strength of 1,338,100 active duty personnel and 824,700 reserve component personnel, including subtotals by force. Each military service then decides how to organize, train, and equip the people who compose its authorized end...

Spain’s 2019 Election

Many U.S. officials and Members of Congress consider Spain to be an important U.S. ally and one of the closest U.S. partners in Europe. Spain’s April 2019 election returned a fragmented result, but most seated parties favor the continuation of close U.S.-Spain relations.

Socialist Party Wins, But No Majority

The center-left Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), led by incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, came in first place in Spain’s general election held on April 28, 2019. The PSOE won 123 out of the 350 seats in Spain’s Congress of Deputies (lower house of parliament), with nearly 29% of...

Cybersecurity: Legislation and Hearings, 115th-116th Congresses

Most major cybersecurity legislative provisions were enacted prior to 2002, despite many recommendations having been made over the past decade. More recently, in the 115th and 116th Congresses, cybersecurity legislation has received either committee or floor action or final passage, and both chambers have held multiple hearings.

In the 116th Congress, a number of House and Senate bills have received consideration, and hearings have been held by committees in each chamber.

In the 115th Congress, 31 bills received some type of action (committee consideration or passage by one or both...

Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC): Background and Issues for Congress

Since 1977, statutory thresholds have effectively constrained the President’s ability to close or realign major military installations in the United States. Congress has instead periodically granted temporary authorities—known as a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)—that have established independent commissions for the review and approval of basing changes submitted by the Secretary of Defense. These unique and transient authorities last expired on April 16, 2006. There have been five rounds of base closures: 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2005.

Though Congress has periodically adjusted the...

Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, also known as fire grants or the FIRE Act grant program, was established by Title XVII of the FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 106-398). Currently administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the program provides federal grants directly to local fire departments and unaffiliated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations to help address a variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related and EMS needs. AFG also supports fire prevention projects and...

United States Fire Administration: An Overview

The United States Fire Administration (USFA)—which includes the National Fire Academy (NFA)—is currently housed within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The objective of the USFA is to significantly reduce the nation’s loss of life from fire, while also achieving a reduction in property loss and nonfatal injury due to fire.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6) provided $45.679 million for USFA, including $1.5 million in the FEMA Procurement, Construction, and Improvements account for the National Emergency...

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response: The SAFER Grant Program

In response to concerns over the adequacy of firefighter staffing, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act, known as the SAFER Act, was enacted by the 108th Congress as Section 1057 of the FY2004 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 108-136). The SAFER Act authorizes grants to career, volunteer, and combination local fire departments for the purpose of increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry-minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. Also authorized are grants to...

Iran Oil Sanctions Exceptions Ended

Overview

On April 22, 2019, the State Department announced that exceptions granted to eight countries enabling them to buy Iranian oil without U.S. penalty would not be renewed when they expire on May 2, 2019. The announcement stated that the global oil market is sufficiently well supplied to permit the move, which “aims to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue.” The decision has raised speculation over how effective it will be in reducing Iran’s oil exports, how Iran will react, and potential effects on the global oil market—issues that might...

The World Oil Market and U.S. Policy: Background and Select Issues for Congress

The United States, as the largest consumer and producer of oil, plays a major role in the world market. Policy decisions can affect the price of oil and petroleum products (e.g., gasoline) for U.S. consumers and companies operating in U.S. oil production, transportation, and refining sectors. Congress considers policies that can affect the world oil market, including trade, sanctions, protection of trade routes, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), and alternative fuel standards.

Technological advancements, supportive policies, and other aspects of the U.S. oil industry have reversed a...

U.S. Military Electronic Warfare Research and Development: Recent Funding Projections

The National Defense Strategy Commission identified Electronic Warfare (EW) as a critical capability to ensure the U.S. military remains competitive. In its FY2019 and FY2020 Defense Budget overview documents, the Department of Defense (DOD) identified EW as a priority to improve platform and network survivability; provide advanced jamming techniques to disrupt radars, communications, and command and control systems; and provide measures to defend the space domain and maintain power projection forces.

Even before the release of the Commission report, Congress showed an interest in EW...

FY2019 Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-245)

The FY2019 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, enacted as Division A of P.L. 115-245, provides $667.3 billion in new budget authority to fund all activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) except for the construction of military facilities and the operation of military family housing complexes.

While the total amount appropriated for DOD for FY2019 was nearly equal to the Administration’s request, the act provides more funding than requested for dozens of weapons acquisition programs, with the gross increase exceeding $10 billion. Those additions are offset by hundreds of...

U.S. Military Presence on Okinawa and Realignment to Guam

Assessing NATO’s Value

On April 4, 2019, foreign ministers from the 29 member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are to gather in Washington, DC, to mark the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty). NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is to address a joint session of Congress on April 3, 2019, the first ever to do so. Congress was instrumental in creating NATO in 1949 and has played a critical role in shaping U.S. policy toward the alliance ever since.

A key goal of the 70th anniversary meeting will be to highlight NATO’s past successes and...

FY2020 Defense Budget Request: An Overview

The President’s FY2020 budget request includes $761.8 billion in budget authority for national defense, a major function of the federal budget that includes funding primarily for Department of Defense (DOD) programs but also for defense-related activities administered by other federal agencies, including the Department of Energy.

National defense is one of 20 major functions used by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to organize budget dataand the largest in terms of discretionary spending. The national defense budget function (identified by the numerical notation 050) comprises...

Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs: FY2019 Budget and Appropriations

The Trump Administration submitted to Congress its FY2019 budget request on February 12, 2018. The proposal included $41.86 billion for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS). Of that amount, $13.26 billion was for State Department operations, international broadcasting, and related agencies, and $28.60 billion for foreign operations. With the enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA; P.L. 115-123, February 9, 2018), which raised discretionary spending limits set by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25), the Administration’s FY2019...

Department of State and Foreign Operations Appropriations: History of Legislation and Funding in Brief

Congress currently appropriates most foreign affairs funding through annual Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations. Prior to FY2008, however, Congress provided funding for the Department of State, international broadcasting, and related programs within the Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies appropriations. In those years, Congress separately appropriated funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and foreign aid within the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs...

DHS Unity of Effort: Homeland Security Issues in the 116th Congress

An unresolved debate dating from the origin of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the extent of department management involvement in the functioning of departmental components. Some policy experts supported a strong management function, which would replace the leadership of the components, while others supported a limited management function that allowed DHS components to function freely in their areas of expertise, much as they had before.

Once the department was established in 2003, it became clear that a small management cadre could not provide adequate coordination of policy...

The War Powers Resolution: Concepts and Practice

This report discusses and assesses the War Powers Resolution and its application since enactment in 1973, providing detailed background on various cases in which it was used, as well as cases in which issues of its applicability were raised.

In the post-Cold War world, Presidents have continued to commit U.S. Armed Forces into potential hostilities, sometimes without a specific authorization from Congress. Thus the War Powers Resolution and its purposes continue to be a potential subject of controversy. On June 7, 1995, the House defeated, by a vote of 217-201, an amendment to repeal the...

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: FY2019 Appropriations

The United States provides foreign assistance to Latin American and Caribbean nations to support development and other U.S. objectives. U.S. policymakers have emphasized different strategic interests in the region at different times, from combating Soviet influence during the Cold War to promoting democracy and open markets since the 1990s. The Trump Administration has sought to reduce foreign aid significantly and refocus U.S. assistance efforts in the region to address U.S. domestic concerns, such as irregular migration and transnational crime.

FY2019 Budget Request

For FY2019, the Trump...

Eritrea

Federal Disaster Assistance After Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Gustav, and Ike

This report provides information on federal financial assistance provided to the Gulf States after major disasters were declared in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas in response to the widespread destruction that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005 and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008.

Though the storms happened over a decade ago, Congress has remained interested in the types and amounts of federal assistance that were provided to the Gulf Coast for several reasons. This includes how the money has been spent, what resources have been provided to...

Department of Defense Use of Other Transaction Authority: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress

The Department of Defense (DOD) obligates more than $300 billion annually to buy goods and services, and to support research and development. Most of these acquisitions are governed by procurement statutes and regulations found in Title 10 (and parts of other select titles) of the United States Code, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement.

Under certain circumstances, DOD can enter into an other transaction (OT) agreement instead of a traditional contract. OT agreements are generally exempt from federal procurement laws and...

The Defense Department and 10 U.S.C. 284: Legislative Origins and Funding Questions

Introduction

On February 15, President Donald J. Trump confirmed recent reports that described the Administration’s consideration of Department of Defense (DOD) authorities and funds to emplace physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. A White House fact sheet detailed the potential availability of up to $8.1 billion “to build the border wall”—including, among other authorities and funding sources, “up to $2.5 billion under the Department of Defense funds transferred for Support for Counterdrug Activities (Title 10 United States Code, section 284).”

The full title of the referenced...

Border Security Between Ports of Entry: Homeland Security Issues in the 116th Congress

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The United States’ southern border with Mexico runs for approximately 2,000 miles over diverse terrain, varied population densities, and discontinuous sections of public, private, and tribal land ownership. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is primarily responsible for border security, including the construction and maintenance of tactical infrastructure, installation and monitoring of surveillance technology, and the deployment of border patrol agents to prevent unlawful entries of people and contraband into the United States (including...

Transportation Security: Issues for the 116th Congress

The nation’s air, land, and marine transportation systems are designed for accessibility and efficiency, two characteristics that make them vulnerable to terrorist attack. While hardening the transportation sector is difficult, measures can be taken to deter terrorists. The enduring challenge facing Congress is how best to implement and finance a system of deterrence, protection, and response that effectively reduces the possibility and consequences of terrorist attacks without unduly interfering with travel, commerce, and civil liberties.

Transportation security has been a major policy...

Science and Technology Issues in the 116th Congress

Science and technology (S&T) have a pervasive influence over a wide range of issues confronting the nation. Public and private research and development spur scientific and technological advancement. Such advances can drive economic growth, help address national priorities, and improve health and quality of life. The ubiquity and constantly changing nature of science and technology frequently create public policy issues of congressional interest.

The federal government supports scientific and technological advancement directly by funding and performing research and development and...

Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-253) and U.S. Aid for the Palestinians

The Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA, P.L. 115-253) became law on October 3, 2018. Congress passed the law in the wake of a U.S. federal court case dealing with past acts of terrorism by Palestinians (discussed below, “U.S. Policy Implications and Options”). The law amended the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) (at 18 U.S.C. 2334) by stating that a defendant consents to personal jurisdiction in U.S. federal court for lawsuits related to international terrorism if the defendant accepts certain types of U.S. foreign aid after the law has been in effect for 120 days.

In December, Palestinian...

Fifth-Generation (5G) Telecommunications Technologies: Issues for Congress

Since the first mobile phones were made available in the 1980s, telecommunication providers have been investing in mobile networks to expand coverage, improve services, and attract more users. First-generation networks supported mobile voice calls but were limited in coverage and capacity. To address those limitations, providers developed and deployed second-generation (2G) mobile networks, then third-generation (3G), and fourth-generation (4G) networks. Each generation offered improved speeds, greater capacity, and new features and services.

In 2018, telecommunication providers began...

Recent Migration to the United States from Central America: Frequently Asked Questions

Over the last decade, migration to the United States from Central America—in particular from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (known collectively as the Northern Triangle)—has increased considerably. Families migrating from this region, many seeking asylum, have made up an increasing share of the migrants seeking admission to the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border. In the past year, news reports of migrant “caravans” from the Northern Triangle traveling toward the United States have sparked intense interest and questions from Congress.

Many factors, both in their countries of...

Latin America and the Caribbean: Issues in the 115th Congress

Geographic proximity has ensured strong linkages between the United States and Latin America and the Caribbean, based on diverse U.S. interests, including economic, political, and security concerns. The United States is a major trading partner and the largest source of foreign investment for many countries in the region, with free-trade agreements enhancing economic linkages with 11 countries. The region is a large source of U.S. immigration, both legal and illegal; proximity and economic and security conditions are major factors driving migration. Curbing the flow of illicit drugs has...

The U.S. Army and Multi-Domain Operations

What Are Multi-Domain Operations (MDO)?

According to the Army:

Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) describes how the U.S. Army, as part of the joint force [Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines] can counter and defeat a near-peer adversary capable of contesting the U.S. in all domains [air, land, maritime, space, and cyberspace] in both competition and armed conflict. The concept describes how U.S. ground forces, as part of the joint and multinational team, deters adversaries and defeats highly capable near-peer enemies in the 2025-2050 timeframe.

MDO provides commanders numerous options for...

Cuba: U.S. Policy in the 115th Congress

Cuba remains a one-party authoritarian state with a poor human rights record. Current President Miguel Díaz-Canel succeeded Raúl Castro in April 2018, although Castro is continuing as first secretary of Cuba’s Communist Party. Over the past decade, Cuba has implemented gradual market-oriented economic policy changes, but critics maintain that it has not taken enough action to foster sustainable economic growth. Most observers do not anticipate major policy changes under Díaz-Canel, at least in the short term; the president faces the enormous challenges of reforming the economy and...

Cybersecurity: Cybercrime and National Security Authoritative Reports and Resources

As online attacks grow in volume and sophistication, the United States is expanding its cybersecurity efforts. Cybercriminals continue to develop new ways to ensnare victims, whereas nation-state hackers compromise companies, government agencies, and businesses to create espionage networks and steal information. Threats come from both criminals and hostile countries, especially China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Much is written on this topic, and this CRS report directs the reader to authoritative sources that address many of the most prominent issues. The annotated descriptions of...

Romania Assumes the EU Presidency amid Domestic Turmoil

On January 1, 2019, Romania assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (hereinafter, the EU presidency) for the first time since joining the European Union (EU) in 2007. The six-month position provides an opportunity for Romania to raise its standing within the EU. However, Romania’s EU presidency could be overshadowed by domestic political turmoil and external criticism of its recent justice reforms, which some EU and U.S. officials view as a threat to the rule of law.

EU Presidency

The Council of the EU is considered a key institution that represents EU...

Federal Support for Graduate Medical Education: An Overview

Access to health care is, in part, determined by the availability of physicians, a function of the physician supply. Policymakers have demonstrated a long-standing interest in access to care, both in general and for specific populations. Moreover, federal support for medical residency training (a.k.a., graduate medical education [GME]) is the largest source of federal support for the health care workforce. Although the health workforce includes a number of professions, the size of the federal investment in GME—estimated at $16 billion in 2015—makes it a policy lever often considered to...

Funding Gaps and Government Shutdowns: CRS Experts

Contacting CRS Subject Matter Experts In the event of a funding gap, the potential impacts of a government shutdown would depend on a program’s or agency’s specific circumstances and, furthermore, how relevant law is interpreted. Table 1 provides names and contact information for CRS subject matter experts on policy issues relating to funding gaps and the processes and effects that may be associated with a government shutdown. Policy areas that are identified in Table 1 include agencies and programs funded by specific regular appropriations bills; cross-cutting shutdown issues; domestic...

Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protections In Brief

Whistleblowing is “the act of reporting waste, fraud, abuse and corruption in a lawful manner to those who can correct the wrongdoing.” Intelligence Community (IC) whistleblowers are those employees or contractors working in any of the seventeen elements of the IC who reasonably believe there has been a violation of law, rule, or regulation, gross mismanagement, waste of resources, abuse of authority, or a substantial danger to public health and safety. The IC has publicly recognized the importance of whistleblowing, and supports protections for whistleblowers who conform to guidelines to...

The DOD’s JEDI Cloud Program

In September 2017, Deputy Secretary of Defense (DSD) Patrick Shanahan issued a memorandum calling for the accelerated adoption of a Department of Defense (DOD)-wide cloud computing system. Under the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud program, DOD seeks to “acquire a...cloud services solution that can support Unclassified, Secret, and Top Secret requirements,” with a focus on commercially available services. Significant industry and congressional attention has been focused on the JEDI Cloud contract.

What is Cloud Computing?

Broadly speaking, cloud computing refers to the...

U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians

In calendar year 2018, the Trump Administration has significantly cut funding for the Palestinians during a time of tension in U.S.-Palestinian relations. Statements by President Trump suggest that the Administration may seek via these cuts to persuade the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to participate in U.S.-led diplomacy on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Despite the funding cuts, PLO Chairman and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and other PLO/PA officials have not reversed their decision to break off diplomatic contacts with the United States, which...

Yemen: Peace Talks and Current Congressional Action

Overview

On December 6, 2018, the warring parties to the conflict in Yemen convened in Sweden under the auspices of the United Nations to discuss various de-escalation proposals and a possible road map to a comprehensive peace settlement. The 10-day talks are the first formal negotiations since 2016, and they coincide with Senate consideration of several pieces of legislation that would, among other things, endorse United Nations-led efforts for a comprehensive political settlement to the conflict in Yemen and censure Saudi Arabia for the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

These...

Advanced Gene Editing: CRISPR-Cas9

Scientists have long sought the ability to control and modify DNA—the code of life. A gene editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 offers the potential for substantial improvement over other gene editing technologies in that it is simple to use and inexpensive and has a relatively high degree of precision and efficiency. These characteristics have led many in the scientific and business communities to assert that CRISPR-Cas9 will lead to groundbreaking advances in many fields, including agriculture, energy, ecosystem conservation, and the investigation, prevention, and treatment of...

The European Union: Ongoing Challenges and Future Prospects

The European Union (EU) is a unique partnership in which member states have pooled sovereignty in certain policy areas and harmonized laws on a wide range of economic and political issues. The EU is the latest stage in a process of European integration begun after World War II, initially by six Western European countries, to promote peace, security, and economic development. The EU currently consists of 28 member states, including most of the formerly communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

The EU is largely viewed as a cornerstone of European stability and prosperity. For much...

Commercial Space: Federal Regulation, Oversight, and Utilization

U.S. companies have always been involved in spaceflight as contractors to government agencies. Increasingly, though, space is becoming commercial. A majority of U.S. satellites are now commercially owned, providing commercial services, and launched by commercial launch providers. Congressional and public interest in space is also becoming more focused on commercial activities, such as companies developing reusable rockets or collecting business data with fleets of small Earth-imaging satellites. This report addresses two distinct but closely related topics: how the federal government...

Government Contract Bid Protests: Analysis of Legal Processes and Recent Developments

In FY2017, the federal government obligated approximately $500 billion to procure goods and services. Federal procurement statutes and regulations—notably the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA) and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the government-wide regulation that generally applies to acquisitions by executive branch agencies—establish largely uniform policies and procedures for how federal executive agencies acquire goods and services. The purpose of these standards is to guide the acquisition system “to deliver on a timely basis the best value product or service to...

U.S. Ground Forces Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI): Considerations for Congress

The nexus of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) and artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to change the nature of warfare. RAS offers the possibility of a wide range of platforms—not just weapon systems—that can perform “dull, dangerous, and dirty” tasks—potentially reducing the risks to soldiers and Marines and possibly resulting in a generation of less expensive ground systems. Other nations, notably peer competitors Russia and China, are aggressively pursuing RAS and AI for a variety of military uses, raising considerations about the U.S. military’s response—to include...

Federal Student Loan Forgiveness and Loan Repayment Programs

Student loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs provide borrowers a means of having all or part of their student loan debt forgiven or repaid in exchange for work or service in specific fields or professions or following a prolonged period during which their student loan debt burden is high relative to their income. In both loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs, borrowers typically qualify for benefits by working or serving in certain capacities for a specified period or by satisfying other program requirements over an extended term. Upon qualifying for benefits, some or all of...

Lame Duck Sessions of Congress Following a Majority-Changing Election: In Brief

“Lame duck” sessions of Congress take place whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected but before the term of the current Congress ends. Their primary purpose is to complete action on legislation. They have also been used to prevent recess appointments and pocket vetoes, to consider motions of censure or impeachment, to keep Congress assembled on a standby basis, or to approve nominations (Senate only). In recent years, most lame duck sessions have focused on program authorizations, trade-related measures, appropriations, and the budget.

From 1940 to 2016, there were 21...

Impact Aid, Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: A Primer

The Impact Aid program, administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and authorized by Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was originally established in 1950 by P.L. 81-815 and P.L. 81-874, 15 years prior to the enactment of the ESEA. Impact Aid compensates local educational agencies (LEAs) for a “substantial and continuing financial burden” resulting from federal activities. These activities include federal ownership of certain lands, as well as the enrollments in LEAs of children whose parents work or live on federal property and children living on...

The Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: The Use of the Military to Execute Civilian Law

The Constitution permits Congress to authorize the use of the militia “to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.” And it guarantees the states protection against invasion or usurpation of their “republican form of government,” and, upon the request of the state legislature, against “domestic violence.” These constitutional provisions are reflected in the Insurrection Acts, which have been invoked numerous times both before and after passage of the Posse Comitatus Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 1385, in 1878. Congress has also enacted a number of statutes that...

Military Lending Act: Rules, Enforcement, and Servicemember Financial Stability

The Military Lending Act (MLA, 10 U.S.C. §987) regulates commercial lending practices and products offered to military servicemembers and their dependents. The Department of Defense (DOD) implements the provisions of this act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) oversees and enforces consumer protection laws and regulations. Some have argued that Military Lending Act rules place undue regulatory burdens on businesses that provide credit products. Others have argued that these rules provide important servicemember protections from abusive financial practices and, in turn,...

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program: Selected Issues

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program provides Direct Loan borrowers who, on or after October 1, 2007, are employed full-time in certain public service jobs for 10 years while making 120 separate qualifying monthly payments on their Direct Loans with the opportunity to have any remaining balance of principal and interest on their loans forgiven. The program was enacted under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-84) to encourage individuals to enter into and remain employed in public service and to alleviate the potential financial burdens associated with...

U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production in Federal and Nonfederal Areas

A number of legislative proposals and executive branch initiatives designed to increase domestic energy supply, enhance energy security, or amend the requirements of environmental statutes that apply to energy development are before the 115th Congress. There are legislative proposals that include new revenue-sharing provisions for coastal states that would allow states the authority to manage federal energy leases within their state. The Trump Administration’s theme of “energy dominance” has translated into several administration initiatives and executive orders, including the opening of...

FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues

Each year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provides authorization of appropriations for a range of Department of Defense (DOD) and national security programs and related activities. New or clarified defense policies, organizational reform, and directed reports to Congress are often included. For FY2019, the John S. McCain NDAA (H.R. 5515) contains several high-profile military personnel issues. Some are required annual authorizations, such as end-strengths; some are updates or modifications to existing programs; and some changes in response to problems identified in certain...

VA Housing: Guaranteed Loans, Direct Loans, and Specially Adapted Housing Grants

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has assisted veterans with homeownership since 1944, when Congress enacted the loan guaranty program to help veterans returning from World War II purchase homes. The loan guaranty program assists veterans by insuring mortgages made by private lenders, and is available for the purchase or construction of homes as well as to refinance existing loans.

The loan guaranty has expanded over the years so that it is available to (1) all veterans who fulfill specific duration of service requirements or who were released from active duty due to...

Energy and Water Development: FY2019 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps); the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Central Utah Project (CUP); the Department of Energy (DOE); the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); and several other independent agencies. DOE typically accounts for about 80% of the bill’s total funding.

President Trump submitted his FY2019 budget proposal to Congress on February 12, 2018. The President’s budget requests for agencies included in the Energy and Water Development...

Iraq: Issues in the 115th Congress

Iraq’s government declared military victory against the Islamic State organization (IS, aka ISIS/ISIL) in December 2017, but insurgent attacks by remaining IS fighters threaten Iraqis as they shift their attention toward recovery and the country’s political future. Security conditions have improved since the Islamic State’s control of territory was disrupted, but IS fighters are active in some areas and security conditions are fluid.

Meanwhile, daunting resettlement, reconstruction, and reform needs occupy citizens and leaders. Internally displaced Iraqis are returning home in greater...

Federal Research and Development (R&D) Funding: FY2019

President Trump’s budget request for FY2019 includes approximately $131.0 billion for research and development (R&D), of which $118.056 billion is included in the President’s budget and an estimated additional $12.9 billion in nondefense discretionary R&D is requested as part of an addendum to the President’s budget. The additional funding requested in the addendum followed enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123), which raised defense and nondefense discretionary spending caps for FY2018 and FY2019. In April 2018, the Administration issued amendments to the...

The Trump Administration’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”: Issues for Congress

The Trump Administration has outlined a goal of promoting a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), seeking to articulate U.S. strategy towards an expanded Indo-Asia-Pacific region at a time when China’s presence across the region is growing. The FOIP initiative is identified through a number of statements by the President and senior Administration officials. Insight into the initiative’s context and perspective is also offered by the Administration’s National Security Strategy and the National Defense Strategy. The FOIP concept represents a significant change in U.S. strategic thinking towards...

Selected Legal Tools for Maintaining Government Contractor Accountability

Federal procurement statutes and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) establish largely uniform policies and procedures applicable to government contracts “to deliver on a timely basis the best value product or service to the [government], while maintaining the public’s trust and fulfilling public policy objectives.” To meet these ends, federal agencies have a number of legal tools at their disposal to help ensure a contractor adequately performs a contract or, if warranted, to hold a contractor accountable for performance failures or misconduct:

Corrective Actions. In many instances,...

The Islamic State and U.S. Policy

The Islamic State (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL/ISIS, or the Arabic acronym Da’esh) is a transnational Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria from 2014 through 2017. The group attracted a network of global supporters and its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, received pledges of affiliation from groups in several other countries. A series of terrorist attacks attributed to the group or to individuals it has inspired have claimed hundreds of lives on four continents since November 2015, including in the United States....

Public Health and Emergency Management: CRS Experts

The following table provides names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to public health and emergency management. Policy areas identified include public health and medical system preparedness and response; mental and behavioral health; food safety and food defense; health care financing in disaster response; Stafford Act assistance and the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); Department of Defense (DOD) incident response and civil support; global health and international preparedness; selected legal issues in preparedness and response;...

FY2019 Appropriations for the Department of Energy

Overview

The Department of Energy (DOE) is funded through the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. The President’s FY2019 budget request is $30.4 billion for the DOE, approximately $4.2 billion (12%) less than the FY2018 enacted level of $34.6 billion (see P.L. 115-141 and Title III of Division D, Explanatory Statement on page H2481). Conference report H.Rept. 115-929 to accompany H.R. 5895, which includes the FY2019 Energy and Water appropriations bill in a three-bill “minibus” funding bill, was filed on September 10, 2018. According to the joint explanatory statement, the...

Hurricane Events: CRS Experts

The following table provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns related to hurricane events in the United States. Policy areas identified include disaster assistance and recovery matters extending to impacts such as displaced residents and business, disruptions in the energy sector and transportation, problems with water treatment and supply; responses and recovery operations such as disaster declarations and federal assistance, public health provisions, federal flood insurance, agricultural disaster relief and assistance, tax relief, environmental...

Natural Disasters and Hazards: CRS Experts

The following table provides the names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to natural disasters and hazards in the United States. Policy areas identified include disaster assistance and recovery matters extending to impacts such as displaced residents and business, losses in agricultural production, disruptions in transportation (river, rail, and highway), problems with water treatment and supply; responses and recovery operations such as disaster declarations and federal assistance, public health provisions, federal flood insurance, agricultural disaster...

Army Futures Command (AFC)

The Issue

The Army’s post-Cold War development of major combat systems has been characterized by a number of high-profile program cancellations, such as Crusader, an artillery system cancelled in 2002 after having spent $2.2 billion; Comanche, a helicopter program cancelled in 2004 after having spent $7.9 billion; and the Future Combat System (FCS), cancelled in 2009 after having spent $18.1 billion. In addition to the expenditure of resources, these cancellations have impeded the development of newer, more capable systems, permitting potential adversaries to achieve battlefield parity...

Federal Role in U.S. Campaigns and Elections: An Overview

Conventional wisdom holds that the federal government plays relatively little role in U.S. campaigns and elections. Although states retain authority for most aspects of election administration, a closer look reveals that the federal government also has steadily increased its presence in campaigns and elections in the past 50 years. Altogether, dozens of congressional committees and federal agencies could be involved in federal elections under current law.

Congress faces a complex mix of traditional oversight areas with developing ones throughout the elections field. Reports of foreign...

MS-13 in the United States and Federal Law Enforcement Efforts

The Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) is a violent criminal gang operating both in the United States and abroad—namely Central America. MS-13 was formed on the streets of Los Angeles, CA, in the 1980s by refugees who were fleeing civil conflict in El Salvador. It became a transnational gang as MS-13 members who were deported from the United States to Central America helped establish gang ties and spread U.S. gang culture abroad.

In the United States, MS-13’s structure largely consists of loosely organized cells, or “cliques,” that each control specific territory. While some have suggested that the...

Kosovo: Background and U.S. Relations

Following the conflicts in the late 1990s in the countries of the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, and Slovenia), the prospect of membership in the Euro-Atlantic community, and the active presence of the United States in the region referred to as the Western Balkans, provided a level of stability that allowed most of the countries of the region to pursue reform and adopt Western values. During this time, Slovenia (2004) and Croatia (2013) joined the European Union (EU). These countries, along with Albania (2009), also joined the North...

Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) was formed to increase international cooperation in interdicting shipments of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems, and related materials. The Initiative was announced by President Bush on May 31, 2003. PSI does not create a new legal framework but aims to use existing national authorities and international law to achieve its goals. Initially, 11 nations signed on to the “Statement of Interdiction Principles” that guides PSI cooperation. As of June 2018, 105 countries (plus the Holy See) have committed formally to the PSI...

China-U.S. Trade Issues

U.S.-China economic ties have expanded substantially since China began reforming its economy and liberalizing its trade regime in the late 1970s. Total U.S.-China merchandise trade rose from $2 billion in 1979 (when China’s economic reforms began) to $636 billion in 2017. China is currently the United States’ largest merchandise trading partner, its third-largest export market, and its biggest source of imports. In 2015, sales by U.S. foreign affiliates in China totaled $482 billion. Many U.S. firms view participation in China’s market as critical to their global competitiveness. U.S....

North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation

North Korea has posed one of the most persistent U.S. foreign policy challenges of the post-Cold War period due to its pursuit of proscribed weapons technology and belligerence toward the United States and its allies. With North Korea’s advances in 2016 and 2017 in its nuclear and missile capabilities under 34-year-old leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang has evolved from a threat to U.S. interests in East Asia to a potentially direct threat to the U.S. homeland. Efforts to halt North Korea’s nuclear weapons program have occupied the past four U.S. Administrations, and North Korea is the target...

Judicial Opinions of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh

On July 9, 2018, President Trump announced the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) to succeed Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who is scheduled to retire from active status on July 31, 2018. Judge Kavanaugh has served as a judge on the D.C. Circuit since May 30, 2006. He has also sat, by designation, on judicial panels of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and also served on three-judge panels of the U.S. District Court for the...

The Trump-Putin Summit

On July 16, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit in Helsinki, Finland. This was the first U.S.-Russia summit since 2010, when President Barack Obama met with Putin’s predecessor Dmitry Medvedev in Prague to sign the New START strategic arms reduction treaty.

The Presidents characterized the July 2018 summit as a first step to improving relations. President Trump stated his view that the United States and Russia need “to find ways to cooperate in pursuit of shared interests” and resolve global challenges. President Putin said his goal is to...

Iran Nuclear Agreement and U.S. Exit

On July 14, 2015, Iran and the six powers that had negotiated with Tehran about its nuclear program since 2006 (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany—collectively known as the P5+1) finalized a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPOA required constraints that seek to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program can be used for purely peaceful purposes in exchange for a broad lifting of U.S., European Union (EU), and United Nations (U.N.) sanctions on Iran. The agreement replaced the Joint Plan of Action (JPA), an interim nuclear accord in effect from...

U.S. Army’s Initial Maneuver, Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) System

The Current State of Army SHORAD The Army defines SHORAD as: Dedicated air defense artillery (ADA) and non-dedicated air defense capabilities that enable movement and maneuver by destroying, neutralizing or deterring low altitude air threats to defend critical fixed and semi-fixed assets and maneuver forces. The Army summarizes the recent history and current state of Army SHORAD in the following section: Short-range air defense artillery units were historically embedded in Army divisions, providing them with an organic capability to protect their critical assets against fixed-wing and...

Federal Government Employment: Veterans’ Preference in Competitive Examination

Veterans’ preference is a system that provides special consideration to certain former members of the Armed Forces who pursue civilian employment with the federal government. This report describes how veterans’ preference is established and applied in the assessment and selection of candidates for federal positions that use competitive examination procedures.

The specific type of preference for which a veteran qualifies (if any) depends on the timing of the veteran’s service and whether or not the veteran has a service-connected disability. The strongest preference is for veterans who have...

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2018 Appropriations: Independent Agencies and General Provisions

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bills include funding for more than two dozen independent agencies in addition to the larger entities in the bill (Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President, the District of Columbia, and the judiciary). Among these are Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Election Assistance Commission (EAC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Election Commission (FEC), Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), General Services Administration (GSA), National...

U.S. Global Health Assistance: FY2001-FY2019 Request

Congressional interest in and support for global health programs has remained strong for several years. In FY2018, Congress provided $8.7 billion for global health programs through State, Foreign Operations appropriations and $488.6 million through Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) appropriations. These funds are managed by several U.S. agencies and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund)—a multilateral organization aimed at combating the three diseases worldwide. Concern about infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis,...

Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity

Industrial hemp is an agricultural commodity that is cultivated for use in the production of a wide range of products, including foods and beverages, cosmetics and personal care products, nutritional supplements, fabrics and textiles, yarns and spun fibers, paper, construction and insulation materials, and other manufactured goods. Hemp can be grown as a fiber, seed, or other dual-purpose crop. However, hemp is also from the same species of plant, Cannabis sativa, as marijuana. As a result, production in the United States is restricted due to hemp’s association with marijuana, and the U.S....

United States Special Operations Command Acquisition Authorities

United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is the Unified Combatant Command responsible for training, doctrine, and equipping all special operations forces of the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. SOCOM has been granted acquisition authority by Congress to procure special operations forces-peculiar equipment and services.

There is a perception among some observers and officials that SOCOM possesses unique acquisition authorities that allow it to operate faster and more efficiently than the military departments.

SOCOM possesses unique acquisition authorities when compared with...

NATO’s 2018 Brussels Summit

Leaders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) 29 member states are scheduled to hold a summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on July 11-12, 2018. The summit comes at a time of heightened U.S.-European tensions. Despite stated Trump Administration commitments to NATO and European security, some European allies are increasingly expressing concerns about President Trump’s criticisms of NATO and individual allies. Various European leaders appear to be growing doubtful about whether the United States will remain a reliable security partner, especially amid recent...

Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA)

Some Members of Congress, the Trump Administration, and some U.S. businesses have raised concerns over continued U.S. technological leadership to support national defense and economic security due to growing foreign, primarily Chinese, investments in U.S. high-tech companies. These and other concerns motivated the House and the Senate to adopt measures, both known as the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). The bills would amend the current process for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) (under P.L. 110-49) to review, on behalf of...

Defense Acquisitions: How and Where DOD Spends Its Contracting Dollars

The Department of Defense (DOD) has long relied on contractors to provide the U.S. military with a wide range of goods and services, including weapons, vehicles, food, uniforms, and operational support. Without contractor support, the United States would be currently unable to arm and field an effective fighting force. Costs and trends associated with contractor support provides Congress more information upon which to make budget decisions and weigh the relative costs and benefits of different military operations—including contingency operations and maintaining bases around the...

Legislative Actions to Modify the Affordable Care Act in the 111th-115th Congresses

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148) was signed into law on March 23, 2010. The law comprises numerous provisions in 10 titles. The provisions in Titles I-VIII largely relate to how health care in the United States is financed, organized, and delivered. Title IX contains revenue provisions. Title X reauthorizes the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, establishes some new programs and requirements, and amends provisions included in the other nine titles of the ACA. On March 30, 2010, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA; P.L. 111-152) was...

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: An Overview

The term STEM education refers to teaching and learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It typically includes educational activities across all grade levels—from pre-school to post-doctorate—in both formal (e.g., classrooms) and informal (e.g., afterschool programs) settings. Federal policymakers have an active and enduring interest in STEM education, and the topic is frequently raised in federal science, education, workforce, national security, and immigration policy debates.

Various attempts to assess the federal STEM education effort have produced...

FY2018 Military Construction Authorizations and Appropriations

On May 23, 2017, the Trump Administration delivered its first full budget proposal to the 115th Congress, a request that included $10.4 billion for military construction activities. Of this amount, the Administration requested $9.8 billion for military construction and family housing in the base budget, and $0.6 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations funds.

House and Senate negotiations on the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes funding for military construction projects for the Department of Defense, concluded early in November 2017. The final bill, H.R. 2810,...

Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 115-174) and Selected Policy Issues

Some observers assert the financial crisis of 2007-2009 revealed that excessive risk had built up in the financial system, and that weaknesses in regulation contributed to that buildup and the resultant instability. In response, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111-203; the Dodd-Frank Act), and regulators strengthened rules under existing authority. Following this broad overhaul of financial regulation, some observers argue certain changes are an overcorrection, resulting in unduly burdensome regulation.

The Economic Growth, Regulatory...

FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act

The Trump Administration’s initial FY2018 budget request, released on May 23, 2017, included a total of $677.1 billion for the national defense budget function (Budget Function 050), which encompasses all defense-related activities of the federal government. Of that amount, $659.8 billion was for appropriation accounts for which authorization is provided in the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The remainder of the request was either for mandatory funds not requiring annual authorization or for discretionary funds outside the scope of the NDAA.

That initial Administration...

Science and Technology Issues in the 115th Congress

Science and technology (S&T) have a pervasive influence over a wide range of issues confronting the nation. Public and private research and development spur scientific and technological advancement. Such advances can drive economic growth, help address national priorities, and improve health and quality of life. The constantly changing nature and ubiquity of science and technology frequently create public policy issues of congressional interest.

The federal government supports scientific and technological advancement directly by funding and performing research and development and...

Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-48)

Since the enactment of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill; P.L. 110-252), Congress has enacted several bills aimed to improve it. Congress’s most recent effort to refine the Post-9/11 GI Bill and respond to stakeholder feedback is the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Colmery Act; P.L. 115-48), enacted on August 16, 2017. The Colmery Act enacted over 30 amendments to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and other programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Most provisions become effective on enactment or on August...

Energy and Water Development: FY2018 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps); the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Central Utah Project (CUP); the Department of Energy (DOE); the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); and several other independent agencies. DOE typically accounts for about 80% of the bill’s total funding.

President Trump submitted his FY2018 budget proposal to Congress on May 23, 2017. The budget requests for agencies included in the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill...

U.S. Decision to Cease Implementing the Iran Nuclear Agreement

On May 8, 2018, President Donald Trump announced that his Administration would cease implementing U.S. commitments under the 2015 multilateral Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and reimpose all U.S. sanctions that were in place prior to the JCPOA. His announcement made reference to his previous statements on the issue, including an October 13, 2017, announcement of U.S. strategy on Iran and a January 12, 2018, statement pledging to leave the agreement unless Congress and U.S. allies acted to address the full range of U.S. concerns on Iran. In his May 8 and earlier...

Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy: CRS Experts

S

cience, technology, and innovation (STI) play important roles in the nation’s economic and military strength, public health and safety, and the quality of our lives. Individuals, companies, governments, universities, and other organizations fund, conduct, disseminate, and acquire science and technology for a myriad of purposes. Among the purposes: providing for the national defense and homeland security; improving manufacturing processes and enabling the manufacture of new products; developing new materials; advancing computing and communications tools; preventing and treating disease,...

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: FY2018 Appropriations

The United States provides foreign assistance to the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean to support development and other U.S. objectives. U.S. policymakers have emphasized different strategic interests in the region at different times, from combating Soviet influence during the Cold War to promoting democracy and open markets since the 1990s. Over the past year, the Trump Administration has sought to reduce foreign aid significantly and refocus U.S. assistance efforts in the region to address U.S. domestic concerns, such as irregular migration and transnational crime.

FY2018...

Cuba Sanctions: Legislative Restrictions Limiting the Normalization of Relations

U.S. economic sanctions on Cuba date back to the early 1960s when the Cuban government under Fidel Castro began to build a repressive communist dictatorship and aligned with the Soviet Union. The trade embargo was first imposed in 1962 under the authority of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trading with the Enemy Act and soon broadened to include a prohibition on most financial transactions with Cuba. In 1963, the Department of the Treasury issued the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR); they remain the main body of embargo regulations today, and have been amended many times...

Withdrawal from International Agreements: Legal Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the Iran Nuclear Agreement

The legal procedure through which the United States withdraws from treaties and other international agreements has been the subject of long-standing debate between the legislative and executive branches. Recently, questions concerning the role of Congress in the withdrawal process have arisen in response to President Donald J. Trump’s actions related to certain high-profile international commitments. This report outlines the legal framework for withdrawal from international agreements under domestic and international law, and it applies that framework to two pacts that may be of...

U.S. Funding to the United Nations System: Overview and Selected Policy Issues

Members of Congress are responsible for authorizing and appropriating U.S. funding to the United Nations (U.N.) system. Over the years, congressional interest in U.N. funding has largely focused on three key questions: What are appropriate levels of U.S. funding to U.N. entities? Are U.S. contributions used as efficiently and effectively as possible? How, if at all, should the United States leverage U.S. contributions to achieve its policy priorities in U.N. bodies? U.N. System Funding The U.N. system is made up of interconnected entities including specialized agencies, funds and...

Transatlantic Perspectives on Defense Innovation: Issues for Congress

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has a renewed focus on defense and deterrence in Europe. In the past, NATO relied at least in part on its military technological superiority over potential adversaries for defense and deterrence in Europe, but some policymakers are increasingly concerned that NATO’s technological superiority is eroding.

Russia, China, and others are modernizing their militaries, investing in new and emerging technologies, and exploring their applications for defense. In addition, NATO faces rising operating costs, and both conventional and hybrid challenges in...

Australia, China, and the Indo-Pacific

Recent debate in Australia on regional strategic challenges has focused on China’s rising influence, the durability of the U.S.-Australian alliance, and how Australia should respond and position itself relative to related changes in Indo-Pacific power dynamics. This debate is framed by increasing concern in Australia about the influence of China and those who promote its interests, despite the fact that China remains a key economic and trade partner. Australia’s outlook is also affected by uncertainty about the Trump Administration’s transactional approach to the alliance with Australia...

The Senate “Two-Hour Rule” Governing Committee Meeting Times

Paragraph 5(a) of Senate Rule XXVI, sometimes referred to as the “two-hour rule,” restricts the times that most Senate committees and subcommittees can meet when the full Senate is in session. The rule is intended to help balance the Senate’s committee and floor work and to minimize the logistical conflicts that Senators face between participating in committee hearings and markups and attending to their duties on the chamber floor.

Under the terms of the rule, no Senate committee or subcommittee (except the Committees on Appropriations and Budget and their subcommittees) can meet after...

China-India Great Power Competition in the Indian Ocean Region: Issues for Congress

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR), a key geostrategic space linking the energy-rich nations of the Middle East with economically vibrant Asia, is the site of intensifying rivalry between China and India. This rivalry has significant strategic implications for the United States. Successive U.S. administrations have enunciated the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region to U.S. security and economic strategy. The Trump Administration’s National Security Strategy of December 2017 states that “A geopolitical competition between free and repressive visions of world order is taking place in...

A Peace Treaty with North Korea?

This report explores the possiblity of concluding a peace treaty with North Korea. Also known as a peace settlement or peace mechanism. North Korea always wants bilateral negotiations with the United States, but a peace treaty would require China, the other signator of the armistice that ended the Korean War. The United Nations Command, or UNC, would also be involved in negotiations. In the Six-Party talks, this idea was explored but fell apart, as it was in Four-Party Talks. Japan and Russia would also be concerned with any peace settlement. South Korean president Moon Jae-in has...

France and U.S.-French Relations: In Brief

French President Emmanuel Macron took office in May 2017 promising to shake up a political system he characterized as out of touch, revive the stagnant French economy, and revitalize French leadership of the 28-member European Union (EU). Since that time, he has sought to advance a centrist, reform-oriented domestic agenda while pursuing a “traditional” French foreign and defense policy that emphasizes European integration and a strong French presence in global affairs.

Although Macron has the support of a solid majority in the French parliament, he faces challenges in advancing his...

Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2018 Budget and Appropriations

Nearly six months after the start of FY2018, the 115th Congress enacted the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 1625; P.L. 115-141, signed March 23, 2018), which provided FY2018 funding for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS). Division K of the actState, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) provided a total of $54.18 billion, including Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds and rescissions. This represented a decrease of 6.1% from the FY2017 actual funding level. Of the total, $16.22 billion (not including rescissions) was for...

An Overview of Discretionary Reprieves from Removal: Deferred Action, DACA, TPS, and Others

Since at least the 1970s, immigration authorities in the United States have sometimes exercised their discretion to grant temporary reprieves from removal to non-U.S. nationals (aliens) present in the United States in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Well-known types of reprieves include deferred action, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The authority to grant some types of discretionary reprieves from removal, including TPS, comes directly from the INA. The authority to grant other types of reprieves generally...

House Committee Markups: Manual of Procedures and Procedural Strategies

A principal responsibility of House committees is to conduct markups—to select legislation to consider, to debate it and vote on amendments to it (to mark up), and to report recommendations on passage to the House. This manual examines procedures and strategy related to committee markups and provides sample procedural scripts.

A committee faces many decisions when it considers a policy matter in a markup. It must select what legislation to mark up; decide whether to mark up in committee only or in both subcommittee and committee; consider the effect of referral on the markup; choose how to...

Analysis of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I-A Allocation Formulas: Factors, Design Elements, and Allocation Patterns

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is the primary source of federal aid to elementary and secondary education. The ESEA was last reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) in 2015. The Title I-A program has always been the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA. Title I-A grants provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) determines Title I-A...

Cybersecurity: Selected Issues for the 115th Congress

Cybersecurity has been gaining attention as a national issue for the past decade. During this time, the country has witnessed cyber incidents affecting both public and private sector systems and data. These incidents have included attacks in which data was stolen, altered, or access to it was disrupted or denied. The frequency of these attacks, and their effects on the U.S. economy, national security, and people’s lives have driven cybersecurity issues to the forefront of congressional policy conversations. This report provides an overview of selected cybersecurity concepts and a...

Election in Italy

More than half of voters in Italy’s March 4, 2018, parliamentary election supported political parties considered antiestablishment or outside the mainstream. Since no party or political group won a majority of seats in parliament, the top vote-getters will now negotiate to form a governing coalition. This is expected to be a drawn-out process that could end in stalemate and possibly new elections. Furthermore, the empowerment of so-called populist parties could have significant implications for the European Union (EU), NATO, and the United States.

Election Results

A center-right alliance...

Information Warfare: Issues for Congress

Information warfare is hardly a new endeavor. In the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, Persian ruler Xerxes used intimidation tactics to break the will of Greek city-states. Alexander the Great used cultural assimilation to subdue dissent and maintain conquered lands. Military scholars trace the modern use of information as a tool in guerilla warfare to fifth-century BC Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu’s book The Art of War and its emphasis on accurate intelligence for decision superiority over a mightier foe. These ancient strategists helped to lay the foundation for information warfare...

Defense Spending Under an Interim Continuing Resolution: In Brief

This report provides a basic overview of interim continuing resolutions (CRs) and highlights some specific issues pertaining to operations of the Department of Defense (DOD) under a CR.

As with regular appropriations bills, Congress can draft a CR to provide funding in many different ways. Under current practice, a CR is an appropriation that provides either interim or full-year funding by referencing a set of established funding levels for the projects and activities that it funds (or covers). Such funding may be provided for a period of days, weeks, or months and may be extended through...

Defense Science and Technology Funding

Defense science and technology (Defense S&T) is a term that describes a subset of Department of Defense (DOD) research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) activities. The Defense S&T budget is the aggregate of funding provided for the three earliest stages of DOD RDT&E: basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development. Defense S&T is of particular interest to Congress due to its perceived value in supporting technological advantage and its importance to key private sector and academic stakeholders.

Advocates of strong and sustained Defense S&T funding assert...

Campus-Based Student Financial Aid Programs Under the Higher Education Act

Three Higher Education Act (HEA) student financial aid programs—the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) program, the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program—collectively are referred to as the campus-based programs. The campus-based programs were reauthorized under the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA; P.L. 110-315), which amended and extended authorization for programs funded under the HEA. The campus-based programs’ authorizations of appropriations, along with many other provisions under the HEA, were set to expire at the end of...

U.S. Army Weapons-Related Directed Energy (DE) Programs: Background and Potential Issues for Congress

The U.S. military has a long and complicated history in developing directed energy (DE) weapons. Many past efforts have failed for a variety of reasons and not all failures were attributed to scientific or technological challenges associated with weaponizing DE. At present, a number of U.S. military DE weapons-related programs are beginning to show promise, such as the Navy’s Laser Weapon System (LaWs), the first ever Department of Defense (DOD) laser weapon to be deployed and approved for operational use, according to the Navy. With a number of U.S. Army weapons-related DE programs...

Al Qaeda and U.S. Policy: Middle East and Africa

After a more than a decade and a half of combating Al Qaeda (AQ) in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States faces a diverse array of threats from Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa. While senior Al Qaeda figures reportedly remain based in Pakistan, the network includes a number of affiliates across the Middle East and Africa including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and Al Shabaab. Al Qaeda also retains a small but possibly growing presence in Afghanistan. U.S. officials have stated that Al Qaeda still maintains a...

The 2018 National Defense Strategy

On January 19, 2018, Secretary of Defense Mattis released the unclassified summary of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) first congressionally mandated National Defense Strategy (NDS). In addition to stating DOD’s approach to contending with current and emerging national security challenges, the NDS is also intended to articulate the overall strategic rationale for programs and priorities contained within the FY2019-FY2023 budget requests. Overall, the document maintains that the strategic environment in which the United States must operate is one characterized by the erosion of the...

New Nuclear Warheads: Legislative Provisions

The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) identifies a plan to “modify a small number of [submarine-launched ballistic missile] warheads to provide a low-yield option” so that the United States could respond promptly and penetrate an adversary’s defenses after a nuclear attack. The NPR contends that this capability would strengthen nuclear deterrence, while critics argue it would lower the nuclear threshold and increase the risk of nuclear war.

This Insight reviews legislation addressing research and development on new or low-yield nuclear weapons and notes that under current law, an...

The 2018 National Defense Strategy: Fact Sheet

[SUPPRESS] On January 19, 2018, Secretary of Defense Mattis released the unclassified summary of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) first congressionally mandated National Defense Strategy (NDS). In addition to stating DOD’s approach to contending with current and emerging national security challenges, the NDS is also intended to articulate the overall strategic rationale for programs and priorities contained within the FY2019-FY2023 budget requests. Overall, the document maintains that the strategic environment in which the United States must operate is one characterized by the erosion of...

U.S. Security Assistance and Security Cooperation Programs: Overview of Funding Trends

Since FY2006, the United States government has provided more than $200 billion for programs providing security assistance and security cooperation to foreign countries. The Departments of State (DOS) and Defense (DOD) are the primary U.S. government agencies involved in providing security sector assistance and related support to foreign governments, militaries, and international organizations and groups.

Congress has authorized security assistance programs through the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA, P.L. 87-195) and the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA, P.L. 90-629), as amended....

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018

President Trump’s budget request for FY2018 includes $117.697 billion for research and development (R&D). This represents a $30.605 billion (20.6%) decrease from the FY2016 actual level of $148.302 billion (FY2017 enacted levels were not available at the time of publication). Adjusted for inflation, the President’s FY2018 R&D request represents a constant dollar decrease of 23.6% from the FY2016 actual level.

However, in 2016 the Office of Management and Budget changed the definition used for “development” to “experimental development.” This new definition was used in calculating R&D in...

Acquisition Reform in the FY2016-FY2018 National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs)

Congress has long been interested in defense acquisition and generally exercises its legislative powers to affect defense acquisitions through Title VIII of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), entitled Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters. Congress has been particularly active in legislating acquisition reform over the last three years. For FY2016-FY2018, NDAA titles specifically related to acquisition contained an average of 82 provisions (247 in total), compared to an average of 47 such provisions (466 in total) in the NDAAs for the preceding 10...

Possible Additional Sanctions on Iran

The 2017 National Security Strategy: Issues for Congress

On December 18, 2017, the Trump Administration released its first National Security Strategy (NSS). The document maintains that, in addition to the threats posed to the United States by rogue regimes and violent extremist organizations that have been a central focus of national security policy since the end of the Cold War, great power rivalry and competition have once again become a central feature of the international security landscape. To advance U.S. interests effectively within this strategic context, the Administration argues, the United States must improve domestic American...

Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Plant and Plutonium Disposition: Management and Policy Issues

The Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) in South Carolina has been a key component of the current U.S. strategy for disposing of surplus weapons plutonium from the Cold War. Disposition of surplus plutonium is required by a 1998 agreement, amended in 2010, between the United States and the Russian Federation. Each country agreed to convert 34 metric tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium to a form that could not be returned to nuclear weapons, to begin in 2018. Russia suspended its participation in the agreement in October 2016 due to what it called “hostile actions” by the...

FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. This report provides a brief synopsis of selected sections in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2018 (H.R. 2810), as passed by the House on July 14, 2017, and the Senate on September 18, 2017. The FY2018 NDAA conference report was passed by the House on November 14, 2017, and the Senate on November 16, 2017. On December 12, President Donald J. Trump signed the bill into law (P.L. 115-91). Issues include military end-strengths, pay and benefits, and other personnel...

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

The United States, partner countries, and the Afghan government are attempting to reverse recent gains made by the resilient Taliban-led insurgency since the December 2014 transition to a smaller international mission consisting primarily of training and advising the Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). The Afghan government has come under increasing domestic criticism not only for failing to prevent insurgent gains but also for its internal divisions that have spurred the establishment of new political opposition coalitions. In September 2014, the United States...

FEMA’s Firefighter Assistance Grants: Reauthorization or Sunset?

Under current law (15 U.S.C. 2229(r) and 15 U.S.C. 2229a(k)), sunset provisions for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) programs will go into effect on January 2, 2018, unless the 115th Congress enacts AFG and SAFER reauthorization legislation. On August 2, 2017, the Senate passed the AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 (S. 829) by unanimous consent. S. 829 would repeal the sunset provisions for AFG and SAFER, as well as reauthorize appropriations for both programs through FY2023. The House has not...

Colombia’s Changing Approach to Drug Policy

Colombia is one of the largest producers of cocaine globally, and it also produces heroin bound for the United States. Counternarcotics policy has long been a key component of the U.S.-Colombian relationship, which some analysts have described as “driven by drugs.” In recent years, Colombia revised its approach to counternarcotics policy, which may have implications for the U.S.-Colombian relationship going forward. On September 13, 2017, President Trump cited the recent spike in Colombia’s cocaine production as the reason he was reserving the option to decertify Colombia as a cooperating...

The Campus-Based Financial Aid Programs: Background and Issues

Three need-based student financial aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA)—Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) program, the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program—are collectively referred to as the “campus-based” programs. These programs are considered campus-based because federal funds are awarded directly to institutions of higher education (IHEs) that administer the programs and provide institutional funds to match the federal funds they receive for them.

The campus-based programs are among...

Iraq: Background and U.S. Policy

The 115th Congress and the Trump Administration are considering options for U.S. engagement with Iraq as Iraqis look beyond the immediate security challenges posed by their intense three-year battle with the insurgent terrorists of the Islamic State organization (IS, aka ISIL/ISIS). While Iraq’s military victory over Islamic State forces is now virtually complete, Iraq’s underlying political and economic challenges are daunting and cooperation among the forces arrayed to defeat IS extremists has already begun to fray. The future of volunteer Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and the terms...

End-Year DOD Contract Spending

Cybersecurity: Federal Government Authoritative Reports and Resources

This report serves as a starting point for congressional staff assigned to cover cybersecurity issues related to federal and military government activities. Much is written by and about the federal government’s efforts to address cybersecurity policy challenges, and this CRS report directs the reader to authoritative sources that address many of the most prominent issues. The annotated descriptions of these sources are listed in reverse chronological order with an emphasis on material published in the past several years. This report includes resources and studies from government agencies...

Resolutions of Inquiry: An Analysis of Their Use in the House, 1947-2017

A resolution of inquiry is a simple resolution making a direct request or demand of the President or the head of an executive department to furnish the House with specific factual information in the Administration’s possession. Under the rules and precedents of the House of Representatives, such resolutions, if properly drafted, are given a privileged parliamentary status. This means that, under certain circumstances, a resolution of inquiry can be brought to the House floor for consideration even if the committee to which it was referred has not reported it and the majority party...

The Rohingya Crises in Bangladesh and Burma

A series of interrelated humanitarian crises, stemming from more than 600,000 ethnic Rohingya who have fled Burma into neighboring Bangladesh in less than 10 weeks, pose challenges for the Trump Administration and Congress on how best to respond.

The flight of refugees came following attacks on security outposts in Burma’s Rakhine State, reportedly by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an armed organization claiming it is defending the rights of the region’s predominately Muslim Rohingya minority, and an allegedly excessive military response by Burma’s military. Some of the...

The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress

North Korea’s apparently successful July 2017 tests of its intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities, along with the possibility that North Korea (DPRK) may have successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead, have led analysts and policymakers to conclude that the window for preventing the DPRK from acquiring a nuclear missile capable of reaching the United States is closing. These events appear to have fundamentally altered U.S. perceptions of the threat the Kim Jong-un regime poses to the continental United States and the international community, and escalated the standoff on the...

Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 114th Congress

The President makes appointments to positions within the federal government, either using the authorities granted by law to the President alone, or with the advice and consent of the Senate. There are some 350 full-time leadership positions in the 15 executive departments for which the Senate provides advice and consent. This report identifies all nominations submitted to the Senate during the 114th Congress for full-time positions in these 15 executive departments.

Information for each department is presented in tables. The tables include full-time positions confirmed by the Senate, pay...

Taiwan: Issues for Congress

Taiwan, which officially calls itself the Republic of China (ROC), is an island democracy of 23 million people located across the Taiwan Strait from mainland China. It is the United States’ tenth-largest trading partner. Since January 1, 1979, the U.S. relationship with Taiwan has been unofficial, a consequence of the Carter Administration’s decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and break formal diplomatic ties with self-ruled Taiwan, over which the PRC claims sovereignty. The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA, P.L. 96-8; 22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.),...

Niger: Frequently Asked Questions About the October 2017 Attack on U.S. Soldiers

A deadly attack on U.S. soldiers in Niger and their local counterparts on October 4, 2017, has prompted many questions from Members of Congress about the incident. It has also highlighted a range of broader issues for Congress pertaining to oversight and authorization of U.S. military deployments, evolving U.S. global counterterrorism activities and strategy, interagency security assistance and cooperation efforts, and U.S. engagement with countries historically considered peripheral to core U.S. national security interests. This report provides background information in response to the...

Human Trafficking: New Global Estimates of Forced Labor and Modern Slavery

Introduction

As part of long-standing congressional interest in global human trafficking, some Members have consistently sought greater fidelity in quantifying human trafficking’s prevalence. In September, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the advocacy organization Walk Free Foundation, in partnership with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), released a new report on the global prevalence of modern slavery (including forced marriage) and forced labor (including sex trafficking and government-imposed forced labor). The report estimated that 40.3 million people...

Bangladesh and Bangladesh-U.S. Relations

Bangladesh (the former East Pakistan) is a Muslim-majority nation in South Asia, bordering India, Burma, and the Bay of Bengal. It is the world’s eighth most populous country with nearly 160 million people living in a land area about the size of Iowa. It is an economically poor nation, and it suffers from high levels of corruption. In recent years, its democratic system has faced an array of challenges, including political violence, weak governance, poverty, demographic and environmental strains, and Islamist militancy. The United States has a long-standing and supportive relationship with...

The Army’s Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Program

What Is WIN-T? The WIN-T program is the Army’s high-speed, high-capacity tactical communications network to distribute classified and unclassified information through all echelons of Army command by means of voice, data, and real-time video. WIN-T was being developed and fielded in three increments. WIN-T Increment 1 WIN-T Increment 1 is a stationary network for command posts and units at battalion-level and above. It provides a full range of at-the-halt data, voice, and video communications. The Army began fielding WIN-T Increment 1 in 2004 and completed fielding in 2012. WIN-T Increment...

Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2018 (P.L. 115-56)

This report provides an analysis of the continuing appropriations provisions for FY2018 in Division D of H.R. 601. The measure also included separate divisions that establish a program to provide foreign assistance concerning basic education (Division A—Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act), supplemental appropriations for disaster relief requirements for FY2017 (Division B), and a temporary suspension of the public debt limit (Division C). On September 8, 2017, the President signed H.R. 601 into law (P.L. 115-56).

Division D of H.R. 601 was termed a “continuing...

Tanzania: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

Tanzania is an East African country comprising a union of Tanganyika, the mainland territory, and the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago. The United States has long considered Tanzania a partner in economic development and, increasingly, in regional security efforts. With nearly 54 million people, Tanzania is one of the largest countries in Africa by population and is endowed with substantial natural resource wealth and agricultural potential. Over the past decade, it has experienced robust economic growth based largely on favorably high gold prices and tourism; growth has averaged nearly...

PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes): Somewhat Simplified

Under federal law, local governments (usually counties) are compensated through various programs for reductions to their property tax bases due to the presence of most federally owned land. Federal lands cannot be taxed but may create a demand for services such as fire protection, police cooperation, or longer roads to skirt the federal property. Some compensation programs are run by a specific agency and apply only to that agency’s land. This report addresses only the most widely applicable program, which is called Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT; 31 U.S.C. §§6901-6907) and is...

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2017

This report discusses the FY2017 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its primary focus is on funding approved by Congress through the appropriations process. It includes an Appendix with definitions of key budget terms used throughout the suite of Congressional Research Service reports on homeland security appropriations. It also directs the reader to other reports providing context for and additional details regarding specific component appropriations and issues engaged through the FY2016 appropriations process.

The Obama Administration requested $40.62 billion...

State Department Special Envoy, Representative, and Coordinator Positions: Background and Congressional Actions

The 115th Congress has expressed interest in monitoring the use of special envoys, representatives, and coordinator positions by the Department of State, as well as any changes to their status. Special, temporary diplomatic appointments originated during the presidency of George Washington, and the number of special representatives has expanded and contracted since then. Tabulating the precise number of these positions is difficult, however, because some special positions have fallen into disuse over time and were never officially eliminated.

Administration Action on Special Positions

It...

Redeploying U.S. Nuclear Weapons to South Korea: Background and Implications in Brief

Recent advances in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs have led to discussions, both within South Korea and, reportedly, between the United States and South Korean officials, about the possible redeployment of U.S. nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. The United States deployed nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula between 1958 and 1991. Although it removed the weapons as a part of a post-Cold War change in its nuclear posture, the United States remains committed to defending South Korea under the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty and to employing nuclear weapons, if necessary, in...

U.S. Air Force Pilot Shortage

In his opening comments to the 2017 U.S. Air Force Posture Hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Chairman John McCain stated, “The force is short 1,500 pilots.... This is a full-blown crisis, and if left unresolved, it will call into question the Air Force’s ability to accomplish its mission.” According to current Air Force statistics, the service is 1,947 pilots short of its authorized strength. The shortage is most acute among fighter pilots: the Air Force predicts it will be 1,055 fighter pilots short of 3,781 authorized by the end of FY2017, following a deficiency of 873...

U.S.-UK Free Trade Agreement: Prospects and Issues for Congress

Prospects for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and the United Kingdom (UK) are of increasing interest for both sides. In a national referendum held on June 23, 2016, a majority of British voters supported the UK exiting the European Union (EU), a process known as “Brexit.” The Brexit referendum has prompted calls from some Members of Congress and the Trump Administration to launch U.S.-UK FTA negotiations, though other Members have moderated their support with calls to ensure that such negotiations do not constrain the promotion of broader transatlantic...

Congressional Action on the FY2013 Disaster Supplemental

On January 29, 2013, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013, a $50.5 billion package of disaster assistance largely focused on responding to Hurricane Sandy, was enacted as P.L. 113-2.

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy impacted a wide swath of the East Coast of the United States, resulting in more than 120 deaths and major disaster declarations for 12 states plus the District of Columbia. The Obama Administration submitted a request to Congress on December 7, 2012, for $60.4 billion in supplemental funding and legislative provisions to address both the immediate losses and...

Small Modular Nuclear Reactors: Status and Issues

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are nuclear reactors that are sized to be suitable for modular construction. SMRs are generally defined as having electric generating capacity of 300 megawatts (MWe) or less, in contrast to existing nuclear power reactors, which typically exceed 1,000 MWe. A wide variety of nuclear technologies could be used in SMRs, in addition to the conventional light water reactor (LWR) technology in existing U.S. commercial nuclear plants. Many SMR designs are still in development stages, and the projected timelines for initial deployment of SMRs generally range from the...

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2017 Appropriations: Independent Agencies and General Provisions

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bills include funding for more than two dozen independent agencies in addition to the larger entities in the bill (Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President, the District of Columbia, and the judiciary). Among these are Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Election Assistance Commission (EAC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Election Commission (FEC), Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), General Services Administration (GSA), National...

Select Acquisition Reform Provisions in the House and Senate Versions of the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act

Congress continues to focus on reforming defense acquisition. Both chambers’ versions of the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act include a large number of provisions dealing with defense acquisition, particularly in each bill’s Title VIII, Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters. These provisions build on the large number of acquisition provisions enacted in the last two years.

The House bill—passed by the House on July 14, 2017—includes 48 provisions, 15 of which were first introduced in a stand-alone acquisition reform bill by Chairman of the House Armed...

Russia: Background and U.S. Policy

Over the last five years, Congress and the executive branch have closely monitored and responded to new developments in Russian policy. These developments include the following: increasingly authoritarian governance since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidential post in 2012; Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and support of separatists in eastern Ukraine; violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty; Moscow’s intervention in Syria in support of Bashar al Asad’s government; increased military activity in Europe; and cyber-related influence...

DOD Plan to Split Acquisition Duties

On August 2, 2017, DOD provided Congress its plan for breaking the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s acquisition office—the Under Secretary of Defense (USD) for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L)—into two separate organizations, as required by the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Section 901. The NDAA conference report laid out the concerns that drove the split:

“Three broad priorities framed the conference discussions: (1) elevate the mission of advancing technology and innovation within the Department; (2) foster distinct technology and acquisition cultures...

In Brief: Highlights of the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act

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The President’s FY2018 budget request, submitted to Congress on May 23, 2017, seeks $677.1 billion in budget authority for national defense-related activities (budget function 050). Of the national defense total, $667.6 billion is discretionary spending. The remaining $9.6 billion is mandatory spending that not provided by annual appropriations acts .

H.R. 2810, the version of the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House on July 14, 2017, would authorize $689.0 billion in discretionary funding for defense activities within the...

Gun Control: FY2017 Appropriations for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Other Initiatives

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the lead federal agency charged with administering and enforcing federal laws related to firearms and explosives commerce. ATF is also responsible for investigating arson cases with a federal nexus, and criminal cases involving the diversion of alcohol and tobacco from legal channels of commerce. As an agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ), ATF is funded through an annual appropriation in the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act. For FY2017, Congress has...

Burundi’s Political Crisis: In Brief

This report provides context on the political crisis in Burundi, which is rooted in President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term in 2015, in violation of a landmark peace accord. The crisis has spurred a low-intensity conflict and serious human rights violations, sparking a refugee influx into neighboring states and undermining Burundi’s hard-won stability following a civil war in the 1990s. Coinciding with a parallel stand-off over term limits in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the situation in Burundi has implications for longstanding U.S. efforts to...

Global Engagement Center: Background and Issues

The State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) is tasked with countering foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation targeting the United States and U.S. interests. A number of recent reports have stated that the GEC has not been given access to authorized funds for FY2017, leading to speculation and concern in some quarters about its continued role and operations.

Counterterrorism Communications in the State Department

The GEC is the latest iteration of State Department efforts to coordinate interagency communications countering the messaging and influence of...

In Brief: Highlights of FY2018 Defense Appropriations Actions

On July 27, 2017, by a vote of 235-192, the House passed H.R. 3219, “The Defense, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Legislative Branch, and Energy and Water Development National Security Appropriations Act, 2018,” also referred to as the “Make America Secure Appropriations Act, 2018.” Division A of that bill would appropriate $650.4 billion in discretionary funding for national defense activities within the jurisdiction of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. This would amount to a 4.5% increase over the Administration’s $622.1 billion request.

As reported by the House...

Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues for the 115th Congress

This report examines human rights conditions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and policy options for Congress. The PRC government under the leadership of Chinese Communist Party General Secretary and State President Xi Jinping has implemented a clampdown on political dissent, civil society, human rights activists and lawyers, and the religious, cultural, and linguistic practices of Tibetans and Uyghurs. Other major human rights violations in China include the practice of incommunicado detention, torture of persons in custody, censorship of the Internet, and restrictions on the...

History of the ESEA Title I-A Formulas

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is the primary source of federal aid to K-12 education. The ESEA was last reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) in 2015. The Title I-A program has always been the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA. Title I-A grants provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) determines Title I-A grants to local...

Overview of U.S. Sanctions Regimes on Russia

Background

On December 29, 2016, President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for malicious cyber activity. These were the latest in a series of U.S. sanctions regimes that have been imposed on Russia over the last several years in response to activities that are state-sponsored or allegedly conducted by government officials. In addition, a number of Russian individuals and entities are subject to sanctions for terrorism, transnational crime, and weapons proliferation.

The United States’ use of economic sanctions in furtherance of national security or foreign policy is implemented,...

U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation: The Mérida Initiative and Beyond

Ten years after the Mexican government launched an aggressive, military-led campaign against drug trafficking and organized crime, violent crime continues to threaten citizen security and governance in parts of Mexico, including in cities along the U.S. southwest border. Organized crime-related violence in Mexico declined from 2011 to 2014 but rose in 2015 and again in 2016. Analysts estimate that the violence may have claimed more than 109,000 lives since December 2006. High-profile cases—particularly the enforced disappearance and murder of 43 students in Guerrero in September 2014—have...

Defense: FY2017 Budget Request, Authorization, and Appropriations

This report discusses the Obama Administration’s FY2017 defense budget request and provides a summary of congressional action on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2017 (S. 2943/P.L. 114-328), and the FY2017 Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 244/P.L. 115-31).

In February 2016, the Obama Administration requested $523.9 billion to cover the FY2017 discretionary base budget of the Department of Defense (DOD) and $58.8 billion in discretionary funding for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). The OCO budget category generally includes funding related to the incremental cost...

Energy and Water Development: FY2017 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Central Utah Project (CUP), and the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and several other independent agencies. DOE typically accounts for about 80% of the bill’s total funding.

FY2017 funding for energy and water development programs was provided by Division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31), an omnibus funding...

DOD Security Cooperation: Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation

Introduction

As part of recent efforts to modify existing security cooperation authorities, the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (P.L. 114-328) enacted several new provisions that modify the budgeting, execution, administration, and evaluation of Department of Defense (DOD) security cooperation programs and activities.

To date, the Department of Defense (DOD) has spent billions of dollars on efforts to train, equip, and otherwise support foreign military and security forces. In the 114th Congress, both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees examined various aspects...

India-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress

India will soon be the world’s most populous country, home to about one of every six people. Many factors combine to infuse India’s government and people with “great power” aspirations: the Asian giant’s rich civilization and history, expanding strategic horizons, energetic global and international engagement, critical geography (with more than 9,000 total miles of land borders, many of them disputed) astride vital sea and energy lanes, major economy (at times the world’s fastest growing) with a rising middle class and an attendant boost in defense and power projection capabilities...

Argentina: Background and U.S. Relations

Argentina, a South American country with a population of almost 44 million, has had a vibrant democratic tradition since its military relinquished power in 1983. Current President Mauricio Macri—the leader of the center-right Republican Proposal and the candidate of the Let’s Change coalition representing center-right and center-left parties—won the 2015 presidential race. He succeeded two-term President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, from the center-left faction of the Peronist party known as the Front for Victory, who in turn had succeeded her husband, Néstor Kirchner, in 2007. Macri’s...

Defining Readiness: Background and Issues for Congress

Many defense observers and government officials, including some Members of Congress, are concerned that the U.S. military faces a readiness crisis. The Department of Defense has used readiness as a central justification for its FY2017 and FY2018 funding requests. Yet what makes the U.S. military ready is debated.

This report explains how differing uses of the term readiness cloud the debate on whether a readiness crisis exists and, if so, what funding effort would best address it.

CRS has identified two principal uses of the term readiness. One, readiness is used in a broad sense to...

FY2018 Defense Budget Request: The Basics

The President’s FY2018 budget request includes $677.1 billion for national defense (budget function 050), of which $646.9 billon is allocated for the DOD (budget subfunction 051). The funding request for national defense discretionary spending ($602.9 billion) is $54 billion—or 9%—above the FY2018 limit imposed on discretionary defense spending by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA/P.L. 112-25).

Of the DOD total, $574.5 billion covers the base, discretionary spending. An additional $64.6 billion of the DOD total is to support Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). These operations include...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2017

President Obama’s budget request for FY2017 included $152.333 billion for research and development (R&D), an increase of $6.195 billion (4.2%) over the estimated FY2016 enacted R&D funding level of $146.138 billion.

Funding for R&D is concentrated in a few departments and agencies. Under President Obama’s FY2017 budget request, seven federal agencies would have received 95.6% of total federal R&D funding, with the Department of Defense (47.8%) and the Department of Health and Human Services (21.5%) accounting for nearly 70% of all federal R&D funding.

In dollars, the largest increases in...

FY2018 Defense Budget: Issues for Congress

State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs: FY2017 Budget and Appropriations

On May 5, 2017, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, into law (P.L. 115-31). The law sets funding for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) at $57.53 billion for the FY2017 full-year. This level represents an increase of 8.8% above the estimated FY2016 funding level, all due to a 40% increase in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds.

More than a year ago, on February 9, 2016, the Obama Administration submitted to Congress its original FY2017 budget request for SFOPS totaling $52.78 billion (-0.1% compared with the...

Additional Troops for Afghanistan? Considerations for Congress

The Trump Administration is reportedly considering proposals to deploy additional ground forces to Afghanistan and somewhat broaden their mission. These forces would likely be part of the Resolute Support Mission (RSM), the ongoing NATO mission to train and support Afghan security forces. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 9, 2017, General John Nicholson, Commander U.S. Forces–Afghanistan, noted based on a mission review that he had adequate forces for the U.S. counterterrorism mission but there was “a shortfall of a few thousand troops” for RSM if a...

Buying American: Protecting U.S. Manufacturing Through the Berry and Kissell Amendments

The Berry and Kissell Amendments are two separate but closely related laws requiring that certain goods purchased by national security agencies be produced in the United States.

The Berry Amendment (10 U.S.C. §2533a) is the popular name for a law requiring textiles, clothing, food, and hand or measuring tools purchased by the Department of Defense (DOD) to be grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced wholly in the United States. Congress over the decades has varied the list of products covered by the law. Under the Kissell Amendment (6 U.S.C. §453b), textile, apparel, and footwear products...

Fact Sheet: FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) DOD Reform Proposals

This fact sheet offers Members a side-by-side comparison of key Department of Defense (DOD) reform proposals that were considered during the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act debates, along with proposals that were eventually enacted. As such, it includes key provisions incorporated in H.R. 4909, the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) reported by the House Armed Services Committee on May 4, 2016 (H.Rept. 114-537); S. 2943, the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act reported by the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 18, 2016 (S.Rept. 114-255); and S. 2943, the...

A Little Old, a Little New: The Cybersecurity Executive Order

The President signed Executive Order 13800 (EO) on May 11, 2017, titled “Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure.” Combined with the President’s budget blueprint and recent EO establishing the American Technology Council, these documents lay out the Administration’s policy agenda concerning national cybersecurity—which to date focuses on improving federal information technology (IT) systems. The proposals contained in the EO echo proposals from the previous Administration and recent legislative activity.

Federal Network Cybersecurity

The new EO...

Presidential Transitions: Issues Involving Outgoing and Incoming Administrations

The crux of a presidential transition is the transfer of executive power from the incumbent to the President-elect. Yet the transition process encompasses a host of activities, beginning with pre-election planning and continuing through inauguration day. The process ensures that the federal government provides resources to presidential candidates’ transition teams, and, eventually, the President-elect’s team; and includes close coordination between the outgoing and incoming Administrations. The Presidential Transition Act (PTA) of 1963, as amended, established formal mechanisms to...

Selected Homeland Security Issues in the 115th Congress

In 2001, in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, “homeland security” went from being a concept discussed among a relatively small cadre of policymakers and strategic thinkers to a broadly discussed issue among policymakers, including those in Congress. Debates over how to implement coordinated homeland security policy led to the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) and the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Evolution of America’s response to terrorist threats has continued under the leadership of different Administrations,...

Understanding Constituent Problems with the Military

Terrorism in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is home to more than 625 million people and around 15% of the world’s Muslim population. The region has faced the threat of terrorism for decades, but threats in Southeast Asia have never been considered as great as threats in some other regions. However, the rise of the Islamic State poses new, heightened challenges for Southeast Asian governments and for U.S. policy towards the region.

Southeast Asia has numerous dynamic economies and three Muslim-majority states, including the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia, which also is the world’s third largest...

The Meaning of “Made in U.S.A.”

Numerous provisions in federal law are intended to support manufacturing in the United States. Almost without exception, these provisions define manufacturing as the process of physically transforming goods. Physical transformation involves what might be thought of as traditional manufacturing activities such as molding, cutting, and assembly. These laws establish a variety of potential benefits, preferences, or penalties based on the country in which physical transformation occurs. On April 18, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to ensure that...

France’s 2017 Presidential Election: In Brief

French voters will elect France’s next president in a runoff election scheduled for May 7, 2017. They will choose between the top two finishers of the presidential election’s first round, held on April 23—Emmanuel Macron of the centrist En Marche! (Moving Forward) political movement and Marine Le Pen of the far-right, nationalist Front National (National Front).

The presidential campaign has exposed apparent wide-scale public dissatisfaction both with the presidency of outgoing President François Hollande and, more broadly, with a French political establishment perceived by many as...

Unemployment Insurance: Legislative Issues in the 114th Congress

The 114th Congress considered many issues related to unemployment insurance (UI) programs: Unemployment Compensation (UC), the temporary, now-expired Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08), and Extended Benefits (EB). This report gives a brief overview of the UI programs that may provide benefits to eligible unemployed workers. In addition, it briefly summarizes the President’s budget proposal for FY2017.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, P.L. 114-92, altered certain conditions for individuals to receive Unemployment Compensation for Former Servicemembers...

Gun Control, Mental Incompetency, and Social Security Administration Final Rule

On February 2, 2017, the House of Representatives passed a Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution (H.J.Res. 40) to overturn a final rule promulgated by the Social Security Administration (SSA) regarding implementation of firearms restrictions for certain persons. On February 16, 2017, the Senate passed H.J.Res. 40 without any amendments. On February 28, 2017, President Donald Trump signed this resolution into law (P.L. 115-8). This enacted joint resolution vacates the SSA final rule. It also bars the SSA from promulgating any future rule that would be “substantially the same” as...

The Trump Administration’s March 2017 Defense Budget Proposals: Frequently Asked Questions

On March 16, 2017, the Trump Administration released two defense budget proposals—a proposal for national defense (budget function 050) discretionary spending for fiscal year (FY) 2018 as part of the Administration’s Budget Blueprint for federal spending, and a detailed request for additional FY0217 funding for Department of Defense (DOD) military activities.

For FY2017, the Administration is seeking $30 billion for DOD military activities (budget subfunction 051) in addition to the amounts requested by the Obama Administration. Of this amount, $24.9 billion is slated for base budget...

FY2017 Defense Appropriations Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of H.R. 5293, S. 3000, and H.R. 1301

This Fact Sheet summarizes selected highlights of the FY2017 Defense Appropriations Act passed by the House, in the 114th Congress, on June 16, 2016 (H.R. 5293), the version reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 26, 2016 (S. 3000), and a third version agreed to March 2, 2017 by House and Senate negotiators.

Although the March 2017 legislation was introduced in the 115th Congress as a new bill, it is -- for practical purposes – equivalent to the product of an informal conference committee on the two earlier versions. The Senate did not complete action on the Senate...

Sub-Saharan Africa: Key Issues, Challenges, and U.S. Responses

The 115th Congress and the Trump Administration are reviewing existing U.S. policies and programs in sub-Saharan Africa (henceforth, “Africa”) as they establish their budgetary and policy priorities toward the region while also responding to emerging crises. Africa-specific policy questions did not feature prominently in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, and the views of the Trump Administration on many U.S.-Africa policy issues remain unspecified. The Obama Administration’s Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa identified its policy priorities as strengthening democratic institutions;...

U.S. World War I (1917-1918) Centennial

Background and Congressional Action

April 6, 2017, marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of War resolution against Germany and subsequent entry in “The Great War” (World War I). The United States remained neutral as war raged in Europe from summer 1914 to spring 1917. However, matters changed when Germany broke its pledge to limit submarine warfare in January 1917.

In response to the breaking of the Sussex pledge, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Germany. On January 16, 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur...

GI Bill Legislation Enacted in the 114th Congress

The GI Bills® provide financial assistance to individuals, whose eligibility is based on their or a family member’s experience in the uniformed services, while they are enrolled in approved programs of education, including training programs. In FY2017, the GI Bills are estimated to provide over $14 billion in benefits to over 1 million veterans and servicemembers and their dependents. The largest program, the Post-9/11 GI Bill, is estimated to account for approximately 93% of the benefits and 80% of the participants. This report provides a description of and background information on...

Anti-Money Laundering: An Overview for Congress

Anti-money laundering (AML) refers to efforts to prevent criminal exploitation of financial systems to conceal the location, ownership, source, nature, or control of illicit proceeds. Despite the existence of long-standing domestic regulatory and enforcement mechanisms, as well as international commitments and guidance on best practices, policymakers remain challenged to identify and address policy gaps and new laundering methods that criminals exploit. According to United Nations estimates recognized by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, criminals in the United States generate some $300...

Federally Funded Academic Research Requirements: Background and Issues in Brief

For decades, the federal government and academic research institutions have been partners in supporting American innovation, competitiveness, and economic growth. The federal government is the largest source of academic research and development (R&D) funding in the United States, providing funds through more than two dozen federal agencies, with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) providing the largest portions of federal R&D funding to U.S. colleges and universities.

As part of oversight of federal funding for academic research, Congress and...

Filling Advice and Consent Positions at the Outset of Recent Administrations, 1981-2009

The length of the appointment processes during presidential transitions has been of concern to observers for more than 30 years. The process is likely to develop a bottleneck during this time due to the large number of candidates who must be selected, vetted, and, in the case of positions filled through appointment by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate (PAS positions), considered by that body.

The appointment process has three stages: selection and vetting, nomination and Senate consideration, and presidential appointment. Congress has taken steps to accelerate...

Current Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Issues

Little detail is currently available about the Trump Administration’s agenda for missile defense and whether current policy or program direction might change. The Administration has thus far said only that it will “develop a state-of-the-art missile defense system to protect against missile-based system attacks from states like Iran and North Korea.” A detailed defense budget will not be presented until later this spring, so there is uncertainty as to what precisely the BMD budget and program will look like. Ongoing BMD issues of interest to Congress are summarized below.

Legislative...

Congressional Gold Medals, 1776-2016

Senators and Representatives are frequently asked to support or sponsor proposals recognizing historic events and outstanding achievements by individuals or institutions. Among the various forms of recognition that Congress bestows, the Congressional Gold Medal is often considered the most distinguished. Through this venerable tradition, the occasional commissioning of individually struck gold medals in its name, Congress has expressed public gratitude on behalf of the nation for distinguished contributions for more than two centuries. Since 1776, this award, which initially was bestowed...

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Proposed Legislation in the 114th Congress

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA; P.L. 103-3, as amended) entitles eligible employees to unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical needs, with continuation of group health plan benefits.

Through the act, Congress sought to strike a balance between workplace responsibilities and workers’ growing need to take leave for significant family and medical events. Subsequently, Congress added new categories of leave that allow eligible employees to address certain military exigencies stemming from the deployment of a close family member to a foreign country and to...

Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs)

The executive order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” issued on January 27, 2017, includes provisions to generally suspend the entry into the United States of immigrant and nonimmigrant visa holders from seven countries. These provisions have raised questions about the Iraqi and Afghan special immigrant visa (SIV) programs, which enable certain individuals who have worked for the U.S. government in Iraq or Afghanistan to become lawful permanent residents (LPRs) of the United States. Iraq is among the seven countries referenced in the executive...

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: Trends and FY2017 Appropriations

Geographic proximity has forged strong linkages between the United States and the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, with U.S. interests encompassing economic, political, and security concerns. U.S. policymakers have emphasized different strategic interests in the region at different times, from combating Soviet influence during the Cold War to advancing democracy and open markets since the 1990s. During the Obama Administration, U.S. policy toward the region chiefly sought to strengthen democratic governance, defend human rights, improve citizen security, enhance social inclusion...

Legislative Actions in the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses to Repeal, Defund, or Delay the Affordable Care Act

Congress is deeply divided over implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the health reform law enacted in March 2010 during the 111th Congress. Since the ACA’s enactment, lawmakers opposed to specific provisions in the ACA or the entire law have repeatedly debated its implementation and considered bills to repeal, defund, delay, or otherwise amend the law.

During the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses, the Republican-led House passed numerous ACA-related bills, including legislation that would repeal the entire law. There was much less debate in the Senate, which remained under...

The Pacific Islands: Policy Issues

The Pacific Islands region, also known as the South Pacific or Southwest Pacific, presents

Congress with a diverse array of policy issues. It is a strategically important region with which the United States shares many interests with Australia and New Zealand. The region has attracted growing diplomatic and economic engagement from China, a potential competitor to the influence of the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Congress plays key roles in approving and overseeing the administration of the Compacts of Free Association that govern U.S. relations with the Marshall Islands,...

Trump Administration Changes to the National Security Council: Frequently Asked Questions

On January 28, 2017, the Trump Administration issued National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) 2: Organization of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council. The memorandum details how the executive branch intends to manage and coordinate national and homeland security issues among relevant departments and agencies. In keeping with the practices of prior administrations, the White House issued the memorandum early in its tenure. Since the memorandum was signed, some media reports have incorrectly characterized the manner in which the Trump administration appears...

The 2015 National Security Strategy: Authorities, Changes, Issues for Congress

The Obama Administration released a new National Security Strategy (NSS) on February 6, 2015. It was the second NSS document to be published by the Administration; the first was published in May 2010. The 2015 document states that its purpose is to “set out the principles and priorities to guide the use of American power and influence in the world.” The NSS is a congressionally mandated document, originating in the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-433, §603/50 U.S.C §3043).

The 2015 NSS emphasizes the role of U.S. leadership; the words “lead,”...

Executive Authority to Exclude Aliens: In Brief

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides that individual aliens outside the United States are “inadmissible”—or barred from admission to the country—on health, criminal, security, and other grounds set forth in the INA. However, the INA also grants the Executive several broader authorities that could be used to exclude certain individual aliens or classes of aliens for reasons that are not specifically prescribed in the INA.

Section 212(f) of the INA is arguably the broadest and best known of these authorities. It provides, in relevant part, that

Whenever the President finds...

Venezuela: Issues for Congress, 2013-2016

Although historically the United States had close relations with Venezuela, a major oil supplier, friction in bilateral relations increased under the leftist, populist government of President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), who died in 2013 after battling cancer. After Chávez’s death, Venezuela held presidential elections in which acting President Nicolás Maduro narrowly defeated Henrique Capriles of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), with the opposition alleging significant irregularities. In 2014, the Maduro government violently suppressed protests and imprisoned a major...

FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has selected a number of the military personnel issues considered in deliberations on H.R. 4909 as passed by the House on May 26, 2016, S. 2943 as passed by the Senate on July 21, 2016, and the final enacted bill (P.L. 114-328) which was signed by the President on December 23, 2016. This report provides a brief synopsis of sections in each bill that pertain to selected personnel policies. These include issues such as military...

Selected Foreign Counterparts of U.S. Army Ground Combat Systems and Implications for Combat Operations and Modernization

Many nations maintain armies whose ultimate responsibility is to defeat other nations’ combat formations on the battlefield. In order to accomplish this, nations indigenously develop, maintain, and improve a variety of ground combat systems or purchase them from other nations. Ground combat system development and improvement is informed by existing and emerging technologies and budgetary factors as well as observations from current land conflicts. As this process is also intended to address potential future battlefield threats, beliefs as to what the future combat operational environment...

Cuba: Issues and Actions in the 114th Congress

Cuba remains a one-party communist state with a poor record on human rights. The country’s political succession in 2006 from the long-ruling Fidel Castro to his brother Raúl was characterized by a remarkable degree of stability. In 2013, Raúl began his second and final five-year term, which is scheduled to end in February 2018, when he would be 86 years of age. Castro has implemented a number of market-oriented economic policy changes over the past several years. An April 2016 Cuban Communist Party congress endorsed the current gradual pace of Cuban economic reform. Few observers expect...

Wetlands: An Overview of Issues

Recent Congresses have considered numerous policy topics that involve wetlands. Many reflect issues of long-standing interest, such as applying federal regulations on private lands, wetland loss rates, and restoration and creation accomplishments.

The issue receiving the greatest attention recently has been determining which wetlands should be included and excluded from requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA), especially the Section 404 permit program that regulates waste discharges affecting wetlands, which is administered by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection...

Sri Lanka: Background, Reform, Reconciliation, and Geopolitical Context

Sri Lanka is a nation of geopolitical importance despite its relatively small size. Strategically positioned near key maritime sea lanes that transit the Indian Ocean and link Asia with Europe and Africa, Sri Lanka’s external orientation, in particular its ties to China, are of great interest to nearby India. Some observers view China’s involvement in the Sri Lankan port at Hanbantota to be part of Beijing’s strategy to secure sea lanes through the Indian Ocean.

United States-Sri Lanka relations are expanding significantly, creating new opportunities for Congress to play a role in shaping...

Latin America and the Caribbean: Key Issues and Actions in the 114th Congress

U.S. Interests and Policy

Geographic proximity has ensured strong linkages between the United States and the Latin American and Caribbean region, based on diverse U.S. interests, including economic, political, and security concerns. U.S. policy toward the region under the Obama Administration focused on four priorities: promoting economic and social opportunity; ensuring citizen security; strengthening effective democratic institutions; and securing a clean energy future. There was substantial continuity in U.S. policy toward the region during the first six years of the Obama...

Overview of Further Continuing Appropriations for FY2017 (H.R. 2028)

This report is an analysis of the provisions in H.R. 2028, which provides further continuing appropriations for FY2017 through April 28, 2017. The measure also included appropriations for the remainder of the fiscal year for Overseas Contingency Operations in the Security Assistance Appropriations Act (Division B). On December 10, 2016, the President signed H.R. 2028 into law (P.L. 114-254).

Division A of H.R. 2028 was termed a “continuing resolution” (CR) because it provided temporary authority for federal agencies and programs to continue spending in FY2017 in the same manner as a...

The Role of State Approving Agencies in the Administration of GI Bill Benefits

State Approving Agencies (SAAs) play an important role in the administration of GI Bill® benefits. GI Bill benefits provide educational assistance payments to eligible veterans and servicemembers and their families enrolled in approved programs of education. The SAA role is intended to ensure that veterans and other GI Bill participants have access to a range of high-quality education and training programs at which to use their GI Bill benefits. In FY2017, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) is estimated to distribute over $14 billion in GI Bill benefits to over 1 million eligible...

Kurds in Iraq and Syria: U.S. Partners Against the Islamic State

Since 2014, the United States and members of a coalition it leads have partnered with a politically diverse set of Kurdish groups to combat the Islamic State organization (IS, also known as ISIS/ISIL or by the Arabic acronym Da’esh). For background information on these groups and their relationships in the region, see CRS In Focus IF10350, The Kurds in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran, by Jim Zanotti and Bolko J. Skorupski.

The capabilities of various Kurdish ground forces have advanced some U.S. objectives in connection with ongoing anti-IS operations. At the same time, as these operations...

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation: Background and Legislative Issues

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a wholly owned U.S. government corporation, is referred to as the U.S. development finance institution (DFI). It provides political risk insurance, project and investment funds financing, and other services to promote U.S. direct investment in developing countries and emerging economies that will have a development impact. It operates under the foreign policy guidance of the Secretary of State. OPIC’s governing legislation is the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. §2191 et seq.).

Congress periodically has extended...

The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Reform Act of 2016 (Division B of P.L. 114-255)

This report summarizes the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Reform Act of 2016, enacted on December 13, 2016, as Division B of the 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255). Division B comprises Title VI through Title XIV. The first five titles in Division B (Title VI – Title X) deal primarily with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). SAMHSA is the federal agency with primary responsibility for increasing access to community-based services to prevent and treat mental disorders and substance use...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2008-2015

This report provides Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions. Similar data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all government suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons supplying governments to nations...

Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909, S. 2943)

This Fact Sheet summarizes selected highlights of the conference agreement on the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The conference report (H.Rept. 114-840), filed in the House on November 30, 2016, is a result of negotiations between the House and Senate on House-passed H.R. 4909 and Senate-passed S. 2943. The agreement authorizes $611.2 billion in discretionary funding for defense activities within the jurisdictions of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, including $523.7 billion in base discretionary funding for the Department of Defense, $67.8 billion for...

U.S. International Broadcasting: Background and Issues for Reform

Since the beginning of modern U.S. international broadcasting during World War II, debates over the effectiveness, strategic direction, and necessity of broadcasting activities have persisted. Longstanding arguments over the structure and operation of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) have only added to these debates, prompting recurring efforts to reform the organization and its programs. Many Members of Congress have consistently shown concerted interest in U.S. international broadcasting, conducting oversight over the BBG and its individual broadcasters, and calling for...

Latin America: Terrorism Issues

Compared to other parts of the world, the potential threat emanating from terrorism is low in most countries in Latin America. Most terrorist acts occur in the Andean region of South America, committed by two Colombian guerrilla groups—the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN)—and one Peruvian guerrilla group, the Shining Path (SL). All three of these groups have been designated by the U.S. State Department as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). The FARC, however, has been engaged in peace negotiations with the Colombian government since...

Women in Combat: Issues for Congress

Over the past two decades of conflict, women have served with valor and continue to serve on combat aircraft, naval vessels, and in support of ground combat operations. The expansion of roles for women in the Armed Forces has evolved since the early days of the military when women were restricted by law and policy from serving in certain occupations and units. Women have not been precluded by law from serving in any military unit or occupational specialty since 1993 when Congress repealed the remaining prohibitions on women serving on combatant aircraft and vessels. However, Department of...

The National Space Council

According to press reports, the Trump Administration may reestablish the National Space Council, a coordinating body in the Executive Office of the President that was last active in 1993. The National Space Council was established in 1989 “to provide a coordinated process for developing a national space policy and strategy and for monitoring its implementation.” It was chaired by the Vice President and included the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Commerce, and Transportation, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the President’s Chief of Staff, the Assistant to the...

Commercial Space Industry Launches a New Phase

Rockets, satellites, and the services they provide, once the domain of governments, are increasingly launched and managed by privately owned companies. Although private aerospace firms have contracted with federal agencies since the onset of the Space Age six decades ago, U.S. government policy has sought to spur innovation and drive down costs by expanding the roles of satellite manufacturers and commercial launch providers.

Global spending on space activity reached an estimated $323 billion in 2015. Of this amount, nearly 40% was generated by commercial space products and services and...

Creating a Federal Advisory Committee in the Executive Branch

Federal advisory committees provide a formal forum for members of the public to provide advice and recommendations to the federal government on issues ranging from how to support trade goals of small and minority-owned businesses to which drugs best treat arthritis pain. Many of the roughly 1,000 federal advisory committees that operate at any given time are required to operate pursuant to the open meetings, records access, and reporting requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

Advisory committees are established for a number of reasons. These reasons often include...

The Trump-Tsai Call and the United States’ “Unofficial” Relationship with Taiwan

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s telephone call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on December 2, 2016, and subsequent Tweets, broke precedent. No previous U.S. president or president-elect is known to have spoken directly to a president of Taiwan, which officially calls itself the Republic of China (ROC), since the United States broke diplomatic relations with the ROC and established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on January 1, 1979. The call has raised questions about whether Trump was simply taking “a very modest step toward providing Taiwan with some...

Improper Payments Legislation: Key Provisions, Implementation, and Selected Proposals in the 114th Congress

As Congress searches for ways to generate savings, reduce the deficit, and fund federal programs, it has held hearings and passed legislation to prevent and recover improper payments. Improper payments—which exceeded $137 billion in FY2015—are payments made in an incorrect amount, payments that should not have been made at all, or payments made to an ineligible recipient or for an ineligible purpose. The total amount of improper payments may be even higher than reported because several agencies have yet to determine improper payment amounts for all of their programs.

In 2002, Congress...

The Civil Defense Acquisition Workforce: Enhancing Recruitment Through Hiring Flexibilities

Policymakers and defense acquisition experts have asserted that improved recruitment for the defense acquisition workforce is a necessary component for comprehensive acquisition reform. To help rebuild the workforce and enhance recruitment, DOD has used several hiring flexibilities authorized by Congress, the President, and OPM in recent years. Hiring flexibilities are a suite of tools that are intended to simplify, and sometimes accelerate, the hiring process.

The impact of hiring flexibilities on recruitment and workforce quality, however, remains unclear. Congress may consider three...

Internet Governance and the Domain Name System: Issues for Congress

The Internet is often described as a “network of networks” because it is not a single physical entity, but hundreds of thousands of interconnected networks linking hundreds of millions of computers around the world. As such, the Internet is international, decentralized, and comprised of networks and infrastructure largely owned and operated by private sector entities. As the Internet grows and becomes more pervasive in all aspects of modern society, the question of how it should be governed becomes more pressing.

Currently, an important aspect of the Internet is governed by a private...

NATO’s Warsaw Summit: In Brief

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) 2016 summit was held in Warsaw, Poland, on July 8-9, 2016. The summit was the second meeting of the alliance’s 28 heads of state and government since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and began providing large-scale military support to separatist forces fighting in Ukraine. Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Eastern Europe more broadly have upended NATO’s post-Cold War transformation from a military alliance focused solely on deterring Russia to a globally oriented security organization. Over the last two years, NATO has taken major steps to...

Navy Force Structure: A Bigger Fleet? Background and Issues for Congress

Current Navy plans call for achieving and maintaining a fleet of 308 ships of certain types and numbers. Some observers have advocated increasing the Navy’s force-level goal to about 350 ships. The Navy is currently conducting a force structure assessment (FSA), and some observers anticipate that this FSA will lead to a new Navy force-level goal of more than 308 ships, although not necessarily 350 ships. The Navy’s actual size in recent years has generally been in the range of 270 to 290 ships.

Those who advocate increasing the planned size of the Navy to something more than 308 ships...

Intelligence Community Programs, Management, and Enduring Issues

Congress’s and the American public’s ability to oversee and understand how intelligence dollars are spent is limited by the secrecy that surrounds the intelligence budget process. Yet, total spending on the Intelligence Community (IC) programs discussed in this report equates to approximately $70 billion dollars—roughly 10% of national defense spending. This report is designed to shed light on the IC budget—in terms of its programs, management, and enduring issues—using unclassified materials available in the public domain.

This report focuses those IC programs, grouped, for the most part,...

The Vessel Incidental Discharge Act in the 114th Congress: Background and Issues

Today stakeholders broadly agree on the need for strong measures to control vessel discharges, especially ballast water discharges, which can introduce a wide range of contaminants into U.S. and international waters. Ballast water has been identified as a major pathway for introduction of aquatic nuisance, or invasive, species that can harm aquatic ecosystems. Vessel discharge requirements in the United States are a result of U.S. Coast Guard regulations; a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permit; and individual state requirements that apply in nearly one-half of the states....

Security Cooperation: Comparison of Proposed Provisions for the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

During the lame duck session, the 114th Congress is expected to consider various provisions in the annual defense authorization bill that address U.S. security sector cooperation. If enacted, the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) could significantly alter the way in which the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) engages and partners with foreign security forces.

Policy Debate in Context

Successive U.S. Administrations have emphasized the importance of strengthening foreign military partnerships to achieve shared security goals. Over time, the legal authorities underpinning some...

Uruguay: In Brief

Uruguay is a small nation of 3.4 million people located on the Atlantic coast of South America between Brazil and Argentina. The country stands out in Latin America for its strong democratic institutions; high per capita income; and low levels of corruption, poverty, and inequality. As a result of its domestic success and commitment to international engagement, Uruguay plays a more influential role in regional and international affairs than its size might suggest.

Uruguay has drawn increased congressional attention in recent years as a result of several high-profile and controversial...

Department of Homeland Security Preparedness Grants: A Summary and Issues

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress increased focus on state and local homeland security assistance by, among other things, establishing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and authorizing DHS to administer federal homeland security grant programs. These homeland security grants have been administered by numerous DHS entities, and these grants have focused on such preparedness activities as assistance to states and localities to prepare and respond to terrorist attacks, securing critical infrastructure such as rail and ports, securing nonprofit...

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act: Overview and Issues

Members of the uniformed services and U.S. citizens who live abroad are eligible to register and vote absentee in federal elections under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA, P.L. 99-410) of 1986. The law was enacted to improve absentee registration and voting for this group of voters and to consolidate existing laws. Since 1942, a number of federal laws have been enacted to assist these voters: the Soldier Voting Act of 1942 (P.L. 77-712, amended in 1944), the Federal Voting Assistance Act of 1955 (P.L. 84-296), the Overseas Citizens Voting Rights Act of 1975...

The Help America Vote Act and Election Administration: Overview and Selected Issues for the 2016 Election

The deadlocked November 2000 presidential election focused national attention on previously obscure details of election administration. Congress responded with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA; P.L. 107-252). HAVA created the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), established a set of election administration requirements, and provided federal funding, but it did not supplant state and local control over election administration. Several issues have arisen or persisted in the years since HAVA was enacted.

Some observers have criticized the EAC for being obtrusive, slow, ineffectual,...

Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2017 (H.R. 5325)

The purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of the continuing appropriations provisions for FY2017 in H.R. 5325. The measure also included provisions covering appropriations in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill for all of FY2017 (Division A), as well as emergency funds to combat the Zika virus and provide relief for flood victims in Louisiana and other affected states (Division B). On September 29, 2016, the President signed H.R. 5325 into law (P.L. 114-223).

Division C of H.R. 5325 was termed a “continuing resolution” (CR) because measures to...

Recent Developments in U.S.-Russian Nonproliferation Cooperation

On October 3, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree suspending participation in a bilateral U.S.-Russia weapons plutonium disposal agreement (the 2000 Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement, or PMDA). The next day, Russia suspended participation in a 2013 cooperative agreement on nuclear- and energy-related research and terminated a third from 2010 on exploring options for converting research reactors from weapons-usable fuel.

These agreements are part of a suite of nonproliferation and nuclear security agreements the two countries concluded starting in the 1990s...

EPA’s Vessel General Permits: Background and Issues

In November 2011 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed two Clean Water Act (CWA) permits to regulate certain types of vessel discharges into U.S. waters. The proposed permits would replace a single Vessel General Permit (VGP) issued in 2008 that was due to expire in December 2013. As proposed, the permits would apply to approximately 71,000 large domestic and foreign vessels and perhaps as many as 138,000 small vessels. This universe of regulated entities is diverse as well as large, consisting of tankers, freighters, barges, cruise ships and other passenger vessels, and...

Military Construction: FY2017 Appropriations

Military construction for active and reserve components of the Armed Forces, military family housing construction and operations, the U.S. contribution to the NATO Security Investment Program, military base closures and realignment actions, and the military housing privatization initiative will be funded through Title I and Title IV of the FY2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The act is associated with three separate bill numbers: H.R. 4974, S. 2806, and H.R. 2577.

For FY2017, the President requested $7.44 billion in new budget authority...

Zika Response Funding: Request and Congressional Action

The second session of the 114th Congress has considered whether and how to provide funds to control the spread of the Zika virus throughout the Americas. Zika infection, which is primarily spread by Aedes mosquitoes and sexual contact, has been linked to birth defects and other health concerns. Local transmission of the virus has occurred in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Florida.

On February 22, 2016, the Obama Administration requested more than $1.89 billion in supplemental funding for the Zika response, all of which it asked to be designated as an emergency...

Statutorily Required Federal Advisory Committees that Began Operations in FY2015

Congress regularly establishes federal advisory committees—sometimes called task forces, panels, commissions, working groups, boards, councils, or conferences. Many of these committees are required to operate pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA; 5 U.S.C. Appendix), which seeks to make advisory committee operations more accessible and transparent. Federal advisory committees are one of only a few formalized mechanisms for private-sector citizens to participate in the executive branch’s policymaking process. FACA committees are prohibited from creating policy or issuing...

Saudi Military Campaign in Yemen Draws Congressional Attention to U.S. Arms Sales

Some lawmakers have introduced legislation seeking to condition or prohibit the sale or transfer of certain weapons and the provision of some U.S. foreign assistance to Saudi Arabia. These proposals have come amid reports of Yemeni civilian casualties resulting from Saudi-led coalition military operations in Yemen, which resumed in August 2016. Some lawmakers suggest that U.S. arms sales and military support to Saudi Arabia are enabling alleged Saudi violations of international humanitarian law. Human rights organizations seek further investigations into the alleged Saudi violations, and...

Domestic Content Restrictions: The Buy American Act and Complementary Provisions of Federal Law

Broadly understood, domestic content restrictions are provisions which require that items purchased using specific funds appropriated or otherwise made available by Congress be produced or manufactured in the United States. Federal law contains a number of such restrictions, each of which applies to different entities and supplies, and imposes somewhat different requirements. Some of these restrictions have, however, been waived pursuant to the Trade Agreements Act (TAA).

The Buy American Act of 1933 is the earliest and arguably the best known of the major domestic content restrictions. It...

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 114th Congress

The House and the Senate have considered immigration measures on a variety of issues in the 114th Congress. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113) extends four immigration programs through September 30, 2016: the EB-5 immigrant investor Regional Center Pilot Program, the E-Verify employment eligibility verification system, the Conrad State program for foreign medical graduates, and the special immigrant religious worker program. P.L. 114-113 also contains provisions on the Visa Waiver Program and certain nonimmigrant visa categories.

Other enacted immigration-related...

Leadership Succession in Uzbekistan

Background

On August 28, 2016, Uzbekistan announced its President, Islam Karimov, had been hospitalized, but officials gave few details about his condition. On September 2 after a week of conflicting reports, the government confirmed that Karimov had died and the following day a funeral was held in his hometown of Samarkand.

The 78-year-old Karimov served as Uzbekistan’s only President from the time of its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to his death, his deteriorating health caused observers to speculate about the insular country’s process for choosing a new...

How Big Should the Army Be? Considerations for Congress

Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution vests Congress with broad powers over the Armed Forces, including the power "To raise and support Armies" and “To provide and maintain a Navy.” As such, the size of the Armed Forces is a topic of perennial congressional interest and debate. Congress annually sets minimum and maximum strength levels for the active components and maximum strength levels for the reserve components.

The House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2017 authorized differing levels for active duty personnel in each of the...

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments

A ban on all nuclear tests is the oldest item on the nuclear arms control agenda. Three treaties that entered into force between 1963 and 1990 limit, but do not ban, such tests. In 1996, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which would ban all nuclear explosions. In 1997, President Clinton sent the CTBT to the Senate, which rejected it in October 1999. In a speech in Prague in April 2009, President Obama said, “My administration will immediately and aggressively pursue U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.” However,...

The Future of Internet Governance: Should the United States Relinquish Its Authority over ICANN?

Currently, the U.S. government retains limited authority over the Internet’s domain name system, primarily through the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions contract between the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). By virtue of the IANA functions contract, the NTIA exerts a legacy authority and stewardship over ICANN, and arguably has more influence over ICANN and the domain name system (DNS) than other national governments. Currently the IANA functions contract with NTIA...

Northeast Asia and Russia’s “Turn to the East”: Implications for U.S. Interests

Since Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and its annexation of the Crimea in March 2014, Moscow’s already tense relationship with the United States and Europe has grown more fraught. After the imposition of sanctions on Russia by much of the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned to East Asia, seeking new partnerships to counter diplomatic isolation and secure new markets to help Russia’s struggling economy. His outreach to Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, and Pyongyang has met varying degrees of success. The most high-profile outreach was a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in May...

Army and Marine Corps Active Protection System (APS) Efforts

Active Protection Systems (APSs) are subsystems integrated into or installed on a combat vehicle to automatically acquire, track, and respond with hard or soft kill capabilities to a variety of threats, including rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). APS technologies are not new, and a number of nations have already employed APS on the battlefield. The U.S. military is now beginning to include APS as part of its formal combat vehicle modernization plans and, if the initial deployment of APS proves successful, could expand the use of APS to potentially...

Gangs in Central America

The Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and its main rival, the “18th Street” gang, continue to undermine citizen security and subvert government authority in parts of Central America. Gang-related violence has been particularly acute in El Salvador, Honduras, and urban areas in Guatemala, contributing to some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Congress has maintained an interest in the effects of gang-related crime and violence on governance, citizen security, and investment in Central America. Congress has examined the role that gang-related violence has played in fueling mixed migration...

Federal Support for Reproductive Health Services: Frequently Asked Questions

This report provides answers to frequently asked questions concerning the provision, funding, and coverage of reproductive health services. The report is organized by the federal program that pays for or directly provides these services. It concludes with questions about coverage requirements for reproductive health services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148, as amended), and discussions of various federal programs that provide grants to non-governmental entities to provide reproductive health services.

Search terms: family planning, abortion,...

Coalition Contributions to Countering the Islamic State

On September 10, 2014, President Obama announced the formation of a global coalition to “degrade and ultimately defeat” the Islamic State. Subsequently, 66 nations and partner organizations have agreed to participate, contributing either military forces or resources (or both) to the campaign. The military component of the counter-IS campaign is Operation Inherent Resolve, which has three primary elements: targeted special operations out of northern Iraq and northern Syria, airstrikes, and training and equipping of local forces. All of these activities are designed to empower Iraqis and...

DOD Security Cooperation: An Overview of Authorities and Issues

Over the past decade, Congress has authorized the Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct a wide range of security cooperation programs. As the scope, pace, and cost of activities to train, equip, and otherwise support foreign security forces have increased, however, some policymakers believe that the DOD’s growing authority may undermine the State Department’s lead role in foreign assistance. To others, DOD’s expanded role is a necessary response to the perceived inadequacies of the existing legal regime through which Congress has authorized the State Department and DOD to provide security...

China: Economic Sanctions

United States-China relations, since 1969, when the process of normalization began under President Richard M. Nixon, have advanced to a point that relatively few restrictions affecting trade remain. This report summarizes the United States’ economic sanctions on China. The United States, in its relationship with China, limits U.S. foreign assistance and State Department programs; limits U.S. support for China’s requests for funding in the international banks; prohibits the exportation of defense articles and defense services to China; prohibits the importation of munitions and ammunition...

Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of the FY2017 Military Construction Appropriations Bills

This fact sheet summarizes selected highlights of the military construction and military family housing portions of the FY2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The act is associated with three separate bill numbers: H.R. 4974, S. 2806, and H.R. 2577.

Congressional action on FY2017 military construction appropriations legislation has been heavily influenced by the statutorily mandated discretionary spending caps established by P.L. 114-74, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA). A significant issue before Congress is the extent to which...

Trafficking in Persons and U.S. Foreign Policy Responses in the 114th Congress

Trafficking in persons, or human trafficking, refers to the subjection of men, women, and children to exploitative conditions that may be tantamount to slavery. Reports suggest that human trafficking is a global phenomenon, victimizing millions of people each year and contributing to a multi-billion dollar criminal industry. Common forms of human trafficking include trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, and debt bondage. Other forms of human trafficking include trafficking for domestic servitude and the use of children in armed conflict (e.g., child soldiers).

Human...

A New Aid Package for Israel

Overview

As the United States and Israel continue to discuss the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on U.S. assistance for the period FY2019-FY2028, Members of Congress are considering legislation that could impact the contours of such an agreement. Lawmakers in both chambers are working on foreign operations and defense appropriations bills that contain proposed increases for various types of aid to Israel. The Administration has objected to some proposed increases, perhaps out of concern that congressional action during MOU discussions might affect the U.S. negotiating...

Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons

Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal probably consists of approximately 110-130 nuclear warheads, although it could have more. Islamabad is producing fissile material, adding to related production facilities, and deploying additional nuclear weapons and new types of delivery vehicles. Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is widely regarded as designed to dissuade India from taking military action against Pakistan, but Islamabad’s expansion of its nuclear arsenal, development of new types of nuclear weapons, and adoption of a doctrine called “full spectrum deterrence” have led some observers to express concern...

The Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce: Background, Analysis, and Questions for Congress

Congress and the executive branch have long been frustrated with waste, mismanagement, and fraud in defense acquisitions and have spent significant resources seeking to reform and improve the process. Efforts to address wasteful spending, cost overruns, schedule slips, and performance shortfalls have continued unabated, with more than 150 major studies on acquisition reform since the end of World War II. Many of the most influential of these reports have articulated improving the acquisition workforce as the key to acquisition reform. In recent years, Congress and the Department of Defense...

Security Cooperation and the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

Introduction

Provisions in the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) have elevated ongoing debates over U.S. security sector assistance to foreign countries—and raised questions over whether the policy architecture is suited to meet current and emerging requirements. The State Department has historically served as the lead agency for overarching policy in this area, with primary security assistance authorities outlined in Title 22 (Foreign Relations) of the U.S. Code. Over time, Congress has granted the Department of Defense (DOD) new mechanisms under Title 10 (Armed Services)...

Burma’s Political Prisoners and U.S. Sanctions

The release of all Burma’s political prisoners is one of the fundamental goals of U.S. policy towards the nation. Several of the laws imposing sanctions on Burma—including the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (BFDA, P.L. 108-61) and the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 (JADE Act, P.L. 110-286)—require the release of all political prisoners before the sanctions contained in those laws can be terminated.

Although the outgoing President Thein Sein provided pardons or amnesty for more than 1,000 alleged political prisoners, security forces...

U.S. Foreign Assistance as Colombia’s Peace Talks on Cusp of Completion

On July 18, 2016, the Colombian Constitutional Court approved a plebiscite to allow Colombian voters to decide the fate of the peace accord under negotiation between the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the country’s largest insurgent group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). After nearly four years of negotiations, a peace accord with FARC is close to signature. The leftist FARC has fought the Colombian government for 52 years with financing derived from extortion, drug trafficking, and other illicit activities.

By early July 2016, the FARC and government...

Iran-North Korea-Syria Ballistic Missile and Nuclear Cooperation

Congress has at times expressed concern regarding ballistic missile and nuclear programs in Iran, North Korea, and Syria. This report focuses primarily on unclassified and declassified U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) assessments over the past two decades. These assessments indicate that

there is no evidence that Iran and North Korea have engaged in nuclear-related trade or cooperation with each other, although ballistic missile technology cooperation between the two is significant and meaningful, and

Syria has received ballistic missiles and related technology from North Korea and Iran...

Supplemental Appropriations for Zika Response: The FY2016 Conference Agreement in Brief

This report presents funding proposals for response to the Zika outbreak, including proposals in Division B of the conference report, and, where applicable, associated proposed rescissions, including those in Division D of the conference report.

Terrorism and Violent Extremism in Africa

The pace of high-profile terrorist attacks in Sub-Saharan Africa has intensified in recent years, and the death toll now rivals that of other regions where violent Islamist extremist groups are active. This report provides context for these trends, including a summary of sub-regional dynamics, factors affecting radicalization, and U.S. responses. It focuses primarily on Sunni Islamist terrorism, given the ideological underpinnings of the African groups currently designated by the U.S. State Department as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Select issues for Congress are also explored....

Acquisition Reform in the House and Senate Versions of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act

For purposes of this analysis, CRS selected 31 sections of the House-passed version of FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909), and 68 sections of the Senate-passed version of FY2017 NDAA (S. 2943) that appear closely linked to the respective committee’s stated efforts to reform the acquisition system. Acquisition reform. Each section is identified as fitting into one (or more) of the following six overarching categories:

Gathering information for future action,

Streamlining the current process (focusing on schedule and minimizing bureaucratic effort),

Improving the...

Arbitration Case Between the Philippines and China Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

On July 12, 2016, an arbitral tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is expected to issue a ruling in a case between the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China). The Philippines, a U.S. ally, initiated the case in January 2013 under the convention’s compulsory dispute settlement provisions, seeking primarily to clarify the two countries’ potential maritime rights in the South China Sea. The Philippines and China are both parties to UNCLOS. The United States has a policy of operating consistent with the convention, but...

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2016 Appropriations: Independent Agencies and General Provisions

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill funds more than two dozen independent agencies performing a wide range of functions, such as managing federal real property, regulating financial institutions, and delivering mail. These agencies include Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Election Assistance Commission (EAC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Election Commission (FEC), Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), General Services Administration...

“Right-Sizing” the National Security Council Staff?

Currently, the main vehicle through which coordination among different U.S. government agencies on national security matters takes place is the National Security Council (NSC). As part of its defense reform deliberations, Congress is considering whether the modern National Security Council and its staff—established in 1947 to help oversee U.S. global security interests—is optimized to enable the United States to meet current and emerging threats (see CRS Report R44508, Fact Sheet: FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) DOD Reform Proposals, by Kathleen J. McInnis).

What is the...

U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing: Industry Trends, Global Competition, Federal Policy

Invented and pioneered in the United States shortly after World War II, semiconductors are the enabling technology of the information age. Because of semiconductors new industries have emerged and existing ones, such as aerospace and automotive, have been transformed. Semiconductors have contributed in powerful and unique ways to nearly all fields of science and engineering, and semiconductors’ economic and military importance has made the industry’s health a focus of congressional interest for nearly 70 years. In July 2015, Congress formed the Semiconductor Caucus, a group that seeks to...

Trade-Based Money Laundering: Overview and Policy Issues

Trade-based money laundering (TBML) involves the exploitation of the international trade system for the purpose of transferring value and obscuring the true origins of illicit wealth. TBML schemes vary in complexity but typically involve misrepresentation of the price, quantity, or quality of imports or exports. Financial institutions may wittingly or unwittingly be implicated in TBML schemes when such institutions are used to settle, facilitate, or finance international trade transactions (e.g., through the processing of wire transfers, provision of trade finance, and issuance of letters...

Social Media for Emergencies and Disasters: Overview and Policy Considerations

Since the mid-1990s, new technologies have emerged that allow people to interact and share information through the Internet. Often called “social media,” these platforms enable people to connect in ways that were non-existent, or widely unavailable 15 years ago. Examples of social media include blogs, chat rooms, discussion forums, wikis, YouTube channels, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Social media can be accessed by computers, tablets, smart and cellular telephones, and mobile telephone text messaging (SMS).

In recent years social media has played an increasing role in emergencies and...

Athletic Footwear for the Military: The Berry Amendment Controversy

The Berry Amendment, a 1941 federal law (10 U.S.C. §2533a), requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to purchase only wholly American-made clothing, textiles, and other essential items for the military (see CRS Report RL31236, The Berry Amendment: Requiring Defense Procurement to Come from Domestic Sources). Some in Congress seek to bring athletic footwear for new recruits under the Berry Amendment. Currently, most new recruits receive vouchers to buy running shoes, which need not be domestic in origin. Provisions in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), of which one version...

Unemployment Compensation (Insurance) and Military Service

The Unemployment Compensation (UC) program contains several provisions relevant to current and former military service personnel and their families. The UC program does not provide benefits for military servicemembers on active duty. However, former active duty military personnel (and certain reservists) recently separated from active duty may be eligible for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX).

Spouses of military service personnel who voluntarily quit a job to accompany their spouses on account of a military transfer may be eligible for UC benefits, based on the laws of...

India-U.S. Relations and the Visit of Prime Minister Modi

Introduction

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is in Washington, DC, this week for a “working visit” that will include addressing Congress, the first such address by an Indian leader since 2005. House Speaker Paul Ryan invited Modi so Congress could “hear from the elected leader of the world’s most populous democracy on how our two nations can work together to promote our shared values and to increase prosperity.” For some, the event completes a “political rehabilitation” of a foreign leader who had been denied a U.S. visa over concerns...

Goldwater-Nichols at 30: Defense Reform and Issues for Congress

Thirty years after its enactment, Congress has undertaken a review of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act (GNA) as well as the broader organization and structure of the contemporary Department of Defense (DOD) more broadly. Most observers agree that in principle a comprehensive review of the Goldwater-Nichols legislation is warranted at this juncture. Further, a broad consensus appears to exist among observers that DOD must become considerably more agile while retaining its strength in order to enable the United States to meet a variety of critical emerging...

Military Lending Act: Timeline, New Rules, and Issues

New rules under the Military Lending Act (MLA) that change the definition of consumer credit for covered servicemembers and dependents will apply to transactions or accounts that are established on or after October 3, 2016. These rules may have an impact on the regulatory burdens for businesses that provide credit products to the military and may also affect military readiness.

Legislative Timeline and Existing Rules

The MLA was enacted with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007. The impetus for the law was to protect servicemembers from certain “predatory” lending...

The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA): Frequently Asked Questions

Federal agencies rely on information technology (IT) to conduct their work, requiring extensive investments in both updating existing IT and developing new IT. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that the federal government budgets more than $80 billion each year for IT investment. In FY2017, that investment will be more than $89 billion. Unfortunately, these investments often incur “multi-million dollar cost overruns and years-long schedule delays,” may contribute little to mission-related outcomes, and in some cases fail altogether. The Federal Information Technology...

Taliban Leadership Succession

On May 23, President Obama confirmed that a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle strike on a remote village just over the Pakistan border had killed the leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour. The strike was conducted after U.S. intelligence reportedly tracked Mansour crossing back into Pakistan from Iran. U.S. officials asserted that Mansour posed an imminent threat to the approximately 9,800 U.S. forces in Afghanistan, who are training and advising the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and conducting counter-terrorism missions against Al Qaeda and the...

Security Assistance and Cooperation: Shared Responsibility of the Departments of State and Defense

The Department of State and the Department of Defense (DOD) have long shared responsibility for U.S. assistance to train, equip, and otherwise engage with foreign military and other security forces. The legal framework for such assistance emerged soon after World War II, when Congress charged the Secretary of State with responsibility for overseeing and providing general direction for military and other security assistance programs and the Secretary of Defense with responsibility for administering such programs. Over the years, congressional directives and executive actions have modified,...

Military Funeral Honors for Veterans

Eligible veterans are entitled to receive military honors at their funerals. Federal law, enacted in 1999 (P.L. 105-261) and amended in 2000 (P.L. 106-65) provides that each eligible veteran shall be provided, at minimum, a two-person funeral honors detail, the playing of taps, and the folding and presentation of a U.S. flag to the family. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issues these honors at no cost to the veteran’s family. These honors can be augmented to include color guards, pallbearers, and firing parties provided either by the military or civilians in approved veterans or...

Status of the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Overview and Issues for Congress

The 2014-2015 outbreak and spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD, or Ebola) in West Africa became an international public health emergency that, in no small part due to international intervention, abated significantly by the end of 2015 and early 2016. The issue remains of interest toward the end of the 114th Congress for a number of reasons, including ongoing concerns about the status of disease and risks of future outbreaks, and interest in the disposition of funds appropriated by Congress in response to Ebola, especially in view of the more recent health challenge posed by the Zika virus....

Unaccompanied Alien Children: CRS Experts

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In Re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001: Claims Against Saudi Defendants Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)

Practical and legal hurdles, including the difficulty of locating hidden Al Qaeda members and the infeasibility of enforcing judgments in terrorism cases, hinder victims’ attempts to establish liability in U.S. courts against, and recover financially from, those they argue are directly responsible for the September 11 terrorist attacks. Instead, victims have sued numerous individuals and entities with only indirect ties to the attacks, including defendants who allegedly provided monetary support to Al Qaeda prior to September 11, 2001. Within the consolidated case In re Terrorist Attacks...

National Security Space Launch at a Crossroads

The United States is in the midst of making significant changes in how best to pursue an acquisition strategy that would ensure continued access to space for national security missions. The current strategy for the EELV (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle) program dates from the 1990s and has since been revised a few times. The program has been dogged by perennial concerns over cost and competition. Those same concerns are a major impetus for change today.

The EELV program stands at a crossroads today. Factors that prompted the initial EELV effort in 1994 are once again manifest—significant...

The Nunn-McCurdy Act: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress

The Nunn-McCurdy Act (10 U.S.C. §2433) requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to report to Congress whenever a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) experiences cost overruns that exceed certain thresholds. A program whose cost growth exceeds the statutory thresholds is said to have a Nunn-McCurdy breach.

There are two types of breaches: significant breaches and critical breaches. A significant breach is when the Program Acquisition Unit Cost (the total cost of development, procurement, and construction divided by the number of units procured) or the Procurement Unit Cost (the total...

Federal Prison Industries: Background, Debate, Legislative History, and Policy Options

The Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI), is a government-owned corporation that employs offenders incarcerated in correctional facilities under the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The FPI manufactures products and provides services that are sold to executive agencies in the federal government. The FPI was created to serve as a means for managing, training, and rehabilitating inmates in the federal prison system through employment in one of its industries.

The FPI is intended to be economically self-sustaining and it does not receive funding through congressional appropriations. In...

Military Officer Personnel Management: Key Concepts and Statutory Provisions

Congress and the executive branch are currently considering changes to the officer personnel management system. Some of these proposed changes would require changes to the laws, including provision enacted by the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) and the Goldwater-Nichols Act (GNA).

Contemporary debates over officer personnel management policy often revolve around the fundamental questions of “what type of officers do we need to win the next war?” and “what skills does the officer corps need to enable the military services to perform their missions?” These questions are...

Information Warfare: DOD’s Response to the Islamic State Hacking Activities

The Islamic State (IS) has pursued a strategy of accessing U.S. government computer systems for a variety of purposes. IS pursues five primary categories of activity when targeting U.S. computer systems: defacement, distributed denial of service, data theft, disabling websites, and data breaches. The Department of Defense (DOD) is pursuing a number of activities aimed at detecting, deterring, and thwarting IS hacking activities.

In May 2015, FBI Director James Comey stated, “ISIS is waking up’ to the idea of using sophisticated malware to cyberattack critical infrastructure in the U.S.”...

DHS Appropriations FY2016: Security, Enforcement and Investigations

This report is part of a suite of reports that discuss appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for FY2016. It specifically discusses appropriations for the components of DHS included in the second title of the homeland security appropriations bill—Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Collectively, Congress has labeled these components in recent years as “Security, Enforcement, and Investigations.”

The report provides...

The Buy American Act—Preferences for “Domestic” Supplies: In Brief

The Buy American Act of 1933 is the earliest and arguably the best known of various statutes regarding federal procurement of domestic products. Essentially, the act attempts to protect U.S. businesses and labor by restricting the acquisition and use of end products or construction materials that are not “domestic.” For purposes of the act, domestic end products and domestic construction materials include (1) unmanufactured end products or construction materials mined or produced in the United States, as well as (2) end products or construction materials manufactured in the United States,...

Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry

Border enforcement is a core element of the Department of Homeland Security’s effort to control unauthorized migration, with the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as the lead agency along most of the border. Border enforcement has been an ongoing subject of congressional interest since the 1970s, when unauthorized immigration to the United States first registered as a serious national problem; and border security has received additional attention in the years since the terrorist attacks of 2001.

Since the 1990s, migration control at the border...

Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: Issues for Congress

The current research and future deployment of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) is actively under discussion throughout the military, nongovernmental, and international communities. This discussion is focused, to various degrees, on the military advantage to be gained from current and future systems, the risks and potential benefits inherent in the research and deployment of autonomous weapon systems, and the ethics of their use. Restrictions, if any, in treaty and domestic law, as well as the specific rules governing procurement and use of LAWS by the military, will all rely to...

Export-Import Bank: Frequently Asked Questions

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank or the Bank), a wholly owned federal government corporation, is the official export credit agency (ECA) of the U.S. government. Its mission is to assist in financing and facilitating U.S. exports of goods and services to support U.S. employment. Ex-Im Bank operates under a renewable general statutory charter (Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended). In the 114th Congress, Ex-Im Bank’s charter was extended through September 30, 2019, by the Export-Import Bank Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2015 (Division E of P.L. 114-94, a...

Nigeria’s Boko Haram: Frequently Asked Questions

Boko Haram, a violent Nigerian Islamist movement, has grown increasingly active and deadly in its attacks against state and civilian targets in recent years, drawing on narratives of religious exclusivism, victimization, and vengeance for state abuses to elicit sympathizers and recruits. The group’s April 2014 abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls drew particular international attention, including from the Obama Administration and Members of Congress. Boko Haram’s high death toll and its pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIL or ISIS) in March 2015 have further raised the...

The U.S. Intelligence Community: Selected Cross-Cutting Issues

This report focuses on cross-cutting management issues that affect the Intelligence Community’s (IC’s) ability to counter “pervasive and emerging threats” to the United States and balance resources both appropriately and wisely. As the IC’s senior manager, these issues ultimately fall within the Director of National Intelligence’s (DNI’s) area of responsibility. The DNI is charged with integrating the community of intelligence agencies so that they operate effectively as one team.

There are no easy solutions to the challenges examined in this report. The IC’s efforts to demonstrate...

Unaccompanied Children from Central America: Foreign Policy Considerations

Since FY2011, the number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) traveling to the United States from the “northern triangle” nations of Central America—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—has increased sharply. U.S. authorities encountered more than 52,000 unaccompanied minors from the region at the U.S. border in FY2014, a more than 1,200% increase compared to FY2011. This unexpected surge of children strained U.S. government resources and created a complex crisis with humanitarian implications. U.S. apprehensions of unaccompanied minors from the northern triangle declined by 45% in...

The Army’s M-1 Abrams, M-2/M-3 Bradley, and M-1126 Stryker: Background and Issues for Congress

The M-1 Abrams Tank, the M-2/M-3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV), and the M-1126 Stryker Combat Vehicle are the centerpieces of the Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs) and Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCTs).

In addition to the military effectiveness of these vehicles, Congress is also concerned with the economic aspect of Abrams, Bradley, and Stryker recapitalization and modernization. Due to force structure cuts and lack of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) opportunities, Congress has expressed a great deal of concern with the health of the domestic armored combat vehicle industrial...

Telehealth and Telemedicine: Description and Issues

Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support remote clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and other health care delivery functions. A narrower concept, telemedicine, refers to clinical services that are provided remotely via telecommunications technologies. Some sources use the two terms interchangeably, and there is no consensus among federal programs and among health care providers on the definition of either term.

Federal involvement in telehealth is varied. As of 2014, more than 20...

Additional U.S. Ground Troops to Counter the Islamic State? Five Questions

This report addresses common questions regarding Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR)--the military campaign to counter the Islamic State (IS)--which has three primary components: coordinated air strikes, training and equipping local security forces, and targeted special operations based out of northern Iraq.

The Chinese Military: Overview and Issues for Congress

China is building a modern and regionally powerful military with a limited but growing capability for conducting operations away from China’s immediate periphery. The question of how the United States should respond to China’s military modernization effort is a central issue in U.S. defense planning and foreign policy. Congress’s decisions on this issue could affect U.S. defense strategy, budgets, plans, and programs, and the U.S. defense industrial base.

China has engaged in a sustained and broad effort over more than 25 years to transform its military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),...

The March 2016 Nuclear Security Summit

This report discusses the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), a biennial summit which aims to focus global attention at the highest level of government on the threat of nuclear terrorism.

Wartime Detention Provisions in Recent Defense Authorization Legislation

In recent years, Congress has included provisions in annual defense authorization bills addressing issues related to detainees at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and, more broadly, the disposition of persons captured in the course of hostilities against Al Qaeda and associated forces. The National Defense Authorization Act for FY2012 (2012 NDAA; P.L. 112-81) arguably constituted the most significant legislation informing wartime detention policy since the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF; P.L. 107-40), which serves as the primary legal authority for...

Poland and Its Relations with the United States

Over the past 25 years, the relationship between the United States and Poland has been close and cooperative. The United States strongly supported Poland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999 and backed its entry into the European Union (EU) in 2004. In recent years, Poland has made significant contributions to U.S.- and NATO-led military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Poland and the United States continue working together on issues such as democracy promotion, counterterrorism, and improving NATO capabilities.

Given its role as a close U.S. ally...

Iraq: Politics and Governance

Iraq’s sectarian and ethnic divisions—muted toward the end of the 2003-2011 U.S. military intervention in Iraq—are fueling a major challenge to Iraq’s stability and to U.S. policy in Iraq and the broader Middle East region. The resentment of Iraq’s Sunni Arabs toward the Shiite-dominated central government facilitated the capture in 2014 of nearly one-third of Iraqi territory by the Sunni Islamist extremist group called the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL, ISIS, or the Arabic acronym Da'esh). Iraq’s Kurds are separately embroiled in political, territorial, and economic disputes with...

International Trade and Finance: Key Policy Issues for the 114th Congress, 2nd Session

The U.S. Constitution grants authority to Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations. Congress exercises this authority in numerous ways, including through oversight of trade policy and consideration of legislation to approve trade agreements and authorize trade programs. Policy issues cover such areas as U.S. trade negotiations, U.S. trade and economic relations with specific regions and countries, international institutions focused on trade, tariff and nontariff barriers, worker dislocation due to trade liberalization, trade remedy laws, import and export policies, international...

Department of Veterans Affairs FY2016 Appropriations: In Brief

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility criteria. Benefits range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. The VA provides these benefits through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA).

The President submitted his FY2016 budget request to Congress on February 2, 2015. The President requested $164.6 billion for VA. This amount includes $70.1 billion for VA discretionary programs...

Health Care for Veterans: Suicide Prevention

This report focuses on suicide prevention activities of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VHA’s approach to suicide prevention is based on a public health framework, which has three major components: (1) surveillance, (2) risk and protective factors, and (3) interventions.

Surveillance, or systematic collection of data on completed (i.e., fatal) suicides, is essential to define the scope of the problem (i.e., the suicide rate among veterans), identify characteristics associated with higher or lower risk of suicide, and track...

DOD Releases Plan to Close GTMO

The Federal Excise Tax on Motor Fuels and the Highway Trust Fund: Current Law and Legislative History

The federal government levies an excise tax on various motor fuels. Under current law, the tax rate is 18.3 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.3 cents per gallon on diesel fuel. A 0.1 cents per gallon tax is also levied on top of these fuel tax rates to help fund expenses associated with fuel regulation. These rates are not automatically adjusted for inflation. Specific tax rates also apply to special motor fuels. Under current law, federal motor fuels excise tax collections are credited to two federal spending accounts: the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and the Leaking Underground Storage...

Crude Oil Exports and Related Provisions in P.L. 114-113: In Brief

On December 18, 2015, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (H.R. 2029), which was signed by the President and became P.L. 114-113. Included in P.L. 114-113 is a provision that repeals Section 103 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA; P.L. 94-163), which directs the President to promulgate a rule prohibiting crude oil exports. For nearly four decades, repeal of EPCA was generally not a policy issue since oil production was declining and imports were rising. However, increasing U.S. light oil production starting in the 2010/2011 timeframe, projected...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2016

President Obama’s budget request for FY2016 included $145.694 billion for research and development (R&D), an increase of $7.625 billion (5.5%) over the estimated FY2015 R&D funding level of $138.069 billion. The request represented the President’s R&D priorities.

Funding for R&D is concentrated in a few departments and agencies. Under President Obama’s FY2016 budget request, seven federal agencies would have received 95.6% of total federal R&D funding, with the Department of Defense (DOD, 49.5%) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, 21.3%) accounting for more than 70% of...

FY2016 Changes to DOD's 1033 Program

This report briefly discusses the current status of the Department of Defense's (DOD's) 1033 Program, under which excess DOD property -- such as personal computers, vehicles, and firearms -- are made available to qualified federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.

FY2017 Defense Budget Request: In Brief

The Administration’s FY2017 budget request includes $619.5 billion for national defense of which $590.6 billion is for the Department of Defense (DOD). Of the DOD total, $523.9 billion covers the base budget, discretionary spending subject to the spending caps established for FY2017 by the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 2015. An additional $58.8 billion of the DOD total is to support Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). OCO funding supports the continued U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and assistance to Iraqi and Syrian opposition forces. The OCO request also includes $3.4 billion to...

Brazil: Background and U.S. Relations

The United States traditionally has enjoyed robust economic and political relations with Brazil, which is the fifth most populous country and ninth-largest economy in the world. Brazil is recognized by the Obama Administration as a “major global player” and an “indispensable partner” on issues ranging from international development to climate change. Administration officials have often highlighted Brazil’s status as a multicultural democracy, referring to the country as a natural partner that shares values and goals with the United States. Bilateral ties have been strained from time to...

National Commission on the Future of the Army (NCFA): Background and Issues for Congress

Title XVII of the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (P.L. 113-291) established the National Commission on the Future of the Army (NCFA) to conduct a comprehensive study of the structure of the Army. The NCFA reported its findings to Congress and the Administration on January 28, 2016, and made a number of recommendations that may or may not be acted upon.

Some have suggested the historical post-war practice of reducing defense budgets contributed to the perceived need for a commission to address proposed changes to the Army. The...

Military Maternity and Parental Leave Policies

This report briefly discusses the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) new policies for maternity and parental leave as part of the department's "Force of the Future" initiative.

Set-Asides for Small Businesses: Legal Requirements and Issues

It has long been the “declared policy of the Congress” that a “fair proportion” of federal contracts be awarded to small businesses. In support of this policy, Congress has enacted various statutes authorizing procuring agencies to conduct competitions in which only small businesses may compete, or to make noncompetitive (“sole-source”) awards to such firms in circumstances when similar awards could not be made to other firms.

Federal agencies can award contracts to small businesses by several different methods, depending upon the value of the contract and the number of small businesses...

Energy and Water Development: FY2016 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) civil works projects, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), and the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and several other independent agencies. DOE typically accounts for about 80% of the bill’s total funding.

President Obama’s FY2016 budget request was released February 2, 2015. Including adjustments, the request for Energy and Water Development agencies totaled $36.04 billion, compared with a total of $34.78...

The U.S. Military Presence in Okinawa and the Futenma Base Controversy

Although the U.S.-Japan alliance is often labeled as “the cornerstone” of security in the Asia Pacific region, local concerns about the U.S. military presence on the Japanese island of Okinawa have challenged the management of the alliance for decades. The Japanese archipelago serves as the most significant forward-operating platform for the U.S. military in the region; approximately 53,000 military personnel (39,000 onshore and 14,000 afloat in nearby waters), 43,000 dependents, and 5,000 Department of Defense civilian employees live in Japan. With the United States rebalancing its...

GAO Bid Protests: An Overview of Time Frames and Procedures

For purposes of federal law, a bid protest involves a written objection to the conduct of government agencies in acquiring supplies and services for their direct use or benefit. Such conduct can include (1) soliciting or otherwise requesting offers; (2) cancelling such solicitations or requests; (3) awarding or proposing to award a contract; (4) terminating or cancelling a contract due to improprieties involving its award; or (5) converting functions performed by government employees to private sector performance. Bid protests are of perennial interest to Congress, in part, because of the...

North Korea: A Comparison of S. 1747, S. 2144, and H.R. 757

This report compares S. 1747, the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2015, as introduced in the Senate by Senator Menendez on July 9, 2015; S. 2144, the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2015, introduced in the Senate by Senator Gardner on October 6, 2015; and H.R. 757, the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2015, introduced in the House by Representative Royce on February 5, 2015, and passed, as amended by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, by the House on January 12, 2016, by a vote of 418-2.

The Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2015: In Brief

Prior to December 18, 2015, the Federal Perkins Loan program authorized the allocation of federal funds to institutions of higher education to assist them in capitalizing revolving loan funds for the purpose of making low-interest loans to students with exceptional financial need.

The authorization of appropriations for federal capital contributions to institutions’ revolving loan funds and the authority to make Perkins Loans to new students expired on September 30, 2015. For approximately two and one-half months thereafter, the operation of the Perkins Loan program was curtailed and...

Goldwater-Nichols and the Evolution of Officer Joint Professional Military Education (JPME)

In November 2015, the Senate Armed Services Committee initiated a review of the Goldwater-Nichols Act (GNA). This piece of legislation, enacted in 1986 and amended in subsequent years, led to major reforms in defense organization. The year 2016 will mark the 30th anniversary of this landmark legislation, and lawmakers have expressed interest in whether the changes, as implemented, are achieving the goals of the reform, and whether further reforms are needed to achieve current and future national security goals.

One of Congress’s main goals of the legislation was to improve joint...

Intelligence Authorization Legislation for FY2014 and FY2015: Provisions, Status, Intelligence Community Framework

Two Intelligence Authorization Acts (IAAs) were passed in 2014. The IAA for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 (P.L. 113-126) was passed in July and an IAA for FY2015 (P.L. 113-293) was passed in December. This report examines selected provisions in the legislation and provides an intelligence community framework in the Appendix. Summary of Selected Legislative Provisions

Title IAA FY2014 (P.L. 113-126)IAA FY2015 (P.L. 113-293) I. Intelligence ActivitiesSection104 supports the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.

III. General Matters Section 305 codifies provisions already in E.O....

The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce: Background and Congressional Oversight Issues for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security

The federal cybersecurity workforce is responsible for protecting U.S. government systems and networks against cyber threats and attacks. Federal agencies, however, have reported difficulty in assessing the size and capabilities of their cybersecurity workforces. DOD and DHS, which play prominent roles in the nation’s cybersecurity posture, have also noted certain obstacles affecting the recruitment and retention of qualified cybersecurity professionals to fulfill their departments’ cybersecurity missions.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is constructing a dataset to catalog all...

Perspectives on Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

This report briefly summarizes what constituted Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs), provides background on their adoption and use, and discusses differing views on three questions that underpin discussion and debate of this topic.

The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce: Background and Congressional Oversight Issues for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security

This report examines congressional oversight of two strategies undertaken by Congress and the executive branch to strengthen the federal cybersecurity workforce: initiatives to define and identify the federal cybersecurity workforce, and hiring and pay flexibilities applicable to cybersecurity positions at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent Trends and FY2016 Appropriations

Geographic proximity has forged strong linkages between the United States and the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, with critical U.S. interests encompassing economic, political, and security concerns. U.S. policymakers have emphasized different strategic interests in the region at different times, from combating Soviet influence during the Cold War to advancing democracy and open markets since the 1990s. Current U.S. policy is designed to promote economic and social opportunity, ensure the safety of the region’s citizens, strengthen effective democratic institutions, and secure...

North Korea's January 6, 2016, Nuclear Test

This report provides a brief background about North Korea's announcement that it successfully tested a "hydrogen bomb" (its fourth nuclear test) on January 6, 2016. The official statement also called the device an experimental or "pilot H-bomb."

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2016 Budget and Appropriations

On February 2, 2015, the Obama Administration submitted to Congress its budget request for FY2016. The request for State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) totals $54.08 billion, or a 4% increase from FY2015-estimated levels. Within that amount

$47.04 billion is requested for enduring or core funding and $7.05 billion is designated as Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding, excluding add-ons and rescissions;

$17.55 billion of the total request is for State Department Operations and related agencies (10.6% increase over FY2015 estimates);

$36.53 billion is for Foreign...

The “8(a) Program” for Small Businesses Owned and Controlled by the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: Legal Requirements and Issues

Commonly known as the “8(a) Program,” the Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program is one of several federal contracting programs for small businesses. The 8(a) Program provides participating small businesses with training, technical assistance, and contracting opportunities in the form of set-asides and sole-source awards. A “set-aside” is an acquisition in which only certain contractors may compete, while a sole-source award is a contract awarded, or proposed for award, without competition. In FY2014, the federal government spent over $16 billion on contracts and...

Using Data to Improve Defense Acquisitions: Background, Analysis, and Questions for Congress

Many analysts believe that data analysis is a critical element in making smart, informed, policy decisions and in managing government programs. Without data, there may not be an appropriate basis for making policy decisions, measuring or assessing the effectiveness of government programs, or providing transparency into government operations. Despite the importance of data, most observers believe that the Department of Defense (DOD), and other government agencies lag behind the private sector in effectively incorporating data analyses into decisionmaking. These analysts argue that by using...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2007-2014

This report provides Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions. Similar data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all government suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons supplying governments to nations...

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR): Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

The federal government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the world, and executive branch agencies—particularly the Department of Defense—make most of these purchases. Many (although not all) acquisitions by executive branch agencies are subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which can make the FAR a topic of interest to Members and committees of Congress and their staff. In particular, Members, committees, and staff may find themselves (1) considering or drafting legislation that would amend the FAR to save money, promote transparency, or further other public...

“Disadvantaged” Small Businesses: Definitions and Designations for Purposes of Federal and Federally Funded Contracting Programs

Three primary categories of “disadvantaged” small businesses are currently eligible for various contracting programs under federal law: (1) small businesses participating in the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program (commonly known as the 8(a) Program) (8(a) participants); (2) “small disadvantaged businesses” (SDBs); and (3) “disadvantaged business enterprises” (DBEs). All programs are based in statute. Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act authorizes the 8(a) Program; Section 8(d) of the Small Business Act, the SDB...

Terminating Contracts for the Government’s Convenience: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

“Termination for convenience” refers to the exercise of the government’s right to bring to an end the performance of all or part of the work provided for under a contract prior to the expiration of the contract “when it is in the Government’s interest” to do so. Federal agencies typically incorporate clauses in their procurement contracts granting them the right to terminate for convenience. However, the right to terminate procurement and other contracts for convenience has also been “read into” contracts which do not expressly provide for it on the grounds that the government has an...

What Is “Building Partner Capacity?” Issues for Congress

Since 2001, successive U.S. administrations have increasingly prioritized efforts to build foreign security forces—particularly in weak and failing states—arguing that doing so advances U.S. national security objectives. In turn, the Department of Defense (DOD) has invested billions of dollars in “Building Partner Capacity,” a term that refers to a broad set of missions, programs, activities, and authorities intended to improve the ability of other nations to achieve those security-oriented goals they share with the United States. As a consequence, these efforts and programs have been a...

The Air Force Aviation Investment Challenge

The U.S. Air Force is in the midst of an ambitious aviation modernization program, driven primarily by the age of its current aircraft fleets. Four major programs are in procurement, with five more in research and development (R&D).

The need to replace several types of aircraft simultaneously poses challenges to future budgets, as the new programs compete with existing program commitments and normal program growth under a restricted service topline. The impending expiration of caps imposed by the Balanced Budget Act coincides with when modernization programs can be expected to experience...

FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues

This report summarizes selected highlights of S. 1356, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (FY2016 NDAA), which was passed by the House of Representatives on November 5, 2015, passed by the Senate on November 10, 2015, and signed by the President on November 25, 2015 (P.L. 114-92), and an initial bill, H.R. 1735, that was passed by both the House and the Senate.

The President had vetoed H.R. 1735, an earlier version of the FY2016 NDAA, on October 22, 2015. In his veto message, the President objected that the bill would have provided more funding for defense-related...

Energy and Water Development: FY2016 Appropriations for Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Stewardship

The annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.

The DOE budget includes funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within DOE. NNSA operates three programs: Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, which secures nuclear materials worldwide, conducts R&D into nonproliferation and verification, and operates the Nuclear Counterterrorism and...

Central America Regional Security Initiative: Background and Policy Issues for Congress

Central America faces significant security challenges. Criminal threats, fragile political and judicial systems, and social hardships such as poverty and unemployment contribute to widespread insecurity in the region. Consequently, improving security conditions in these countries is a difficult, multifaceted endeavor. Since U.S. drug demand contributes to regional security challenges and the consequences of citizen insecurity in Central America are potentially far-reaching—as demonstrated by the increasing number of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees arriving at the U.S. border—the...

Federal Contracting and Subcontracting with Small Businesses: Legislation in the 113th Congress

Congress has generally broad authority to impose requirements upon the federal procurement process (i.e., the process whereby agencies acquire supplies and services from other entities for the agency’s direct benefit or use). One of the many ways in which Congress has exercised this authority is by enacting measures that encourage agencies to contract and subcontract with “small businesses.” For purposes of federal procurement law, the term small business generally denotes a business that (1) is independently owned and operated, (2) is not dominant in its field of operations, and (3) has...

Nepal: Political Developments and U.S. Relations

Nepal is a poor country of an estimated 31 million people that has undergone a radical political transformation since 2006, when a 10-year armed struggle by Maoist insurgents, which claimed at least 13,000 lives, officially came to an end. The country’s king stepped down in 2006, and two years later Nepal declared itself a republic, electing a Constituent Assembly (CA) in 2008 to write a new constitution. A second CA elected in 2013 reached agreement on a new constitution in September 2015. Though the process of democratization begun in 2006 has had setbacks and has been marked by...

Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of the FY2016 Defense Budget Debate and the National Defense Authorization Acts (H.R. 1735 and S. 1356)

This fact sheet summarizes selected highlights of the versions of S. 1356, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2016, which was passed by the House of Representatives on November 5, 2015, passed by the Senate on November 10, 2015, and signed by the President on November 25, 2015 (P.L. 114-92 ).

The President had vetoed H.R. 1735, an earlier version of the FY2016 NDAA, on October 22, 2015. In his veto message, the President objected that the bill would have provided more funding for defense-related activities than would be allowed under spending caps that then were in...

The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Overview, Reauthorization, and Appropriations Issues

Nanotechnology—a term encompassing the science, engineering, and applications of submicron materials—involves the harnessing of unique physical, chemical, and biological properties of nanoscale substances in fundamentally new and useful ways. The economic and societal promise of nanotechnology has led to investments by governments and companies around the world. In 2000, the United States launched the world’s first national nanotechnology program. From FY2001 through FY2015, the federal government invested approximately $20.9 billion in nanoscale science, engineering, and technology...

The Islamic State—Frequently Asked Questions: Threats, Global Implications, and U.S. Policy Responses

In the wake of the deadly November 13, 2015, terrorist attacks in Paris, U.S. policymakers are faced with a wide range of strategy and operational considerations related to the activities of and threats emanating from the Islamic State (IS). A terrorist attack such as this prompts an examination of U.S. domestic security precautions; the role of allies and coalition partners; the appropriate military and diplomatic reactions; the safety and security of infrastructure and that of travelers; and numerous additional discrete issues that require the active involvement of dozens of federal,...

The November 2015 Terrorist Siege in Mali

On November 20, 2015, gunmen laid siege to the Radisson Blu, a hotel popular with foreigners in Mali's capital, Bamako. This report discusses issues for Congress in the wake of the attack.

The Evolution of Cooperative Threat Reduction: Issues for Congress

The United States uses a number of policy tools to address the threat of attack using chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. These include a set of financial and technical programs known, variously, as cooperative threat reduction (CTR) programs, nonproliferation assistance, or, global security engagement. Congress has supported these programs over the years, but has raised a number of questions about their implementation and their future direction.

Over the years, the CTR effort shifted from an emergency response to impending chaos in the Soviet Union to a broader...

Chile: Background and U.S. Relations

Chile, located along the Pacific coast of South America, is a politically stable, upper-middle-income nation of 18 million people. In 2013, Michelle Bachelet and her center-left “New Majority” coalition won the presidency and sizeable majorities in both houses of the Chilean Congress after campaigning on a platform of ambitious reforms designed to reduce inequality and improve social mobility. Since her inauguration to a four-year term in March 2014, President Bachelet has signed into law significant changes to the tax, education, and electoral systems. She has also proposed a number of...

The Family and Medical Leave Act: An Overview of Title I

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA; P.L. 103-3, as amended) entitles eligible employees to unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons, with continued group health plan coverage.

FMLA requires that covered employers grant up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period to eligible employees for one or more of the following reasons:

the birth and care of the employee’s newborn child, provided that leave is taken within 12 months of the child’s birth;

the placement of an adopted or fostered child with the employee, provided that leave is taken within 12 months...

Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 (PCNA and NCPAA) and S. 754 (CISA)

Effective sharing of information in cybersecurity is generally considered an important tool for protecting information systems from unauthorized access. Five bills on such sharing have been introduced in the 114th Congress—H.R. 234, H.R. 1560, H.R. 1731, S. 456, and S. 754, and relevant provisions have appeared in other bills. The White House has also submitted a legislative proposal and issued an executive order on the topic.

H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act (PCNA), and H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015 (NCPAA), passed the House the week...

The Iran Hostages: Efforts to Obtain Compensation

Even today, after the passage of some three decades, the 1979-1981 Iran Hostage Crisis remains an event familiar to most Americans. Many might be unaware that the 52 American mostly military and diplomatic personnel held hostage in Tehran for 444 days continue to strive for significant compensation for their ordeal. The former hostages and their families did receive a number of benefits under various civil service laws, and each hostage received from the U.S. government a cash payment of $50 for each day held hostage. The hostages have never received any compensation from Iran through...

The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases

Congress has always restricted federal debt. The Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917 included an aggregate limit on federal debt as well as limits on specific debt issues. Through the 1920s and 1930s, Congress altered the form of those restrictions to give the U.S. Treasury more flexibility in debt management and to allow modernization of federal financing. In 1939, a general limit was placed on federal debt.

Federal debt accumulates when the government sells debt to the public to finance budget deficits and to meet federal obligations or when it issues debt to government accounts, such as the...

Aiding Israel after the Iran Nuclear Deal: Issues for Congress

This report discusses recent indications from the Obama administration that the United States may provide Israel with additional military aid during the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran.

Cargo Preferences for U.S.-Flag Shipping

Long-standing U.S. policy has treated the U.S.-flag international fleet as a naval auxiliary to be available in times of war or national emergency. When the United States is involved in an extended military conflict overseas, 90% or more of military cargoes are typically carried by ship. To support the U.S. merchant marine, Congress has required that “government-impelled” cargo sent overseas be carried on U.S.-flag ships. Government-impelled cargo (a.k.a. “preference cargo”) is government-owned cargo, such as military supplies and food aid, and any cargo that is somehow financed by the...

Air Force Bomber Contract Awarded

This report briefly discusses the Department of Defense's recent announcement of its intention to award the contract to build the new Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) to Northrop Grumman Corporation. The program will continue under the LRS-B name; the Air Force has not yet assigned the aircraft a "B-3"-style type designation.

U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Middle East: Historical Background, Recent Trends, and the FY2016 Request

This report is an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East and North Africa. It includes a review of the President’s FY2016 request for the region, a description of selected country programs, and an analysis of current foreign aid issues. We anticipate updating it annually.

Since 1946, the United States has provided an estimated total of between $282 billion to $292 billion (obligations in current dollars) in foreign assistance to the region. For FY2016, overall non-humanitarian bilateral aid requested for Middle East and North Africa countries amounts to $7.14 billion, or...

Impact Aid, Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: A Primer

The Impact Aid program, administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and authorized by Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is one of the oldest federal education programs, dating from 1950. Impact Aid compensates local educational agencies (LEAs) for “substantial and continuing financial burden” resulting from federal activities. These activities include federal ownership of certain lands, as well as the enrollments in LEAs of children whose parents work or live on federal land and children living on Indian lands. The federal government provides...

Overview of the FY2016 Continuing Resolution (H.R. 719)

The purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of the FY2016 continuing appropriations in H.R. 719. None of the FY2016 regular appropriations bills were enacted by the start of the fiscal year (October 1, 2015). On September 30, 2015, H.R. 719, a continuing resolution (CR) for FY2016, was signed into law by the President (P.L. 114-53).

The CR for FY2016 covers all 12 regular appropriations bills by providing continuing budget authority for projects and activities funded in FY2015 by that fiscal year’s regular appropriations acts, with some exceptions. It includes both budget...

Presidential Vetoes of Annual Defense Authorization Bills

This report briefly discusses the historical precedent of Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter's recommendation that President Obama veto the conference report on H.R. 1735, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2016. If Obama were to veto the measure, it would mark the fifth time since 1961 that a president has vetoed that measure.

Can Creditors Enforce Terrorism Judgments Against Cuba?

The Lord’s Resistance Army: The U.S. Response

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, is a small, dispersed armed group active in remote areas of Central Africa. The LRA’s infliction of widespread human suffering and its potential threat to regional stability have drawn significant attention in recent years, including in Congress. Campaigns by U.S.-based advocacy groups have contributed to policymakers’ interest.

Since 2008, the United States has provided support to Ugandan-led military operations to capture or kill LRA commanders, which since 2012 have been integrated into an African Union (AU) “Regional Task Force”...

Zivotofsky v. Kerry: The Jerusalem Passport Case and Its Potential Implications for Congress’s Foreign Affairs Powers

The Supreme Court in its last term by a vote of 6-3 invalidated a statute passed by Congress touching on the status of Jerusalem, affirming the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision in Zivotofsky v. Secretary of State that the President’s power to recognize foreign sovereigns is exclusive and trumps Congress’s authority to regulate passports. The Court’s decision in Zivotofsky v. Kerry (Zivotofsky II) represents the first time the Court has struck down a congressionally enacted law on the basis of a separation-of-powers infringement involving a matter of foreign affairs. At...

Selected Legal Mechanisms Whereby the Government Can Hold Contractors Accountable for Failure to Perform or Other Misconduct

Reports of “waste, fraud, and abuse” in federal contracting often prompt questions about what the government can do to hold its vendors accountable for failure to perform as required under their contracts, or for legal violations or other misconduct unrelated to contract performance. Broadly speaking, the government can be seen as having two types of legal recourse available to it in such situations. The first type involves rights provided to the government as terms of its contracts, which the government may exercise without resort to judicial proceedings. The second type involves other...

Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy: Issues for the 114th Congress

This report examines human rights issues in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including ongoing rights abuses, and legal developments. Major events of the past two years include a clampdown on political dissent and civil society and an escalation of violence in Xinjiang, which many experts attribute at least in part to repressive government policies. Some observers view the closing of the “Re-education Through Labor” penal system as a potentially positive development, although many PRC citizens still are subject to various forms of extra-legal detention. Other, ongoing human rights...

Long Range Strike Bomber Begins to Emerge

This report discusses the U.S. Air Force's top three procurement priorities, including the LRS-B program, which is intended to yield 80 to 100 strategic bombers to replace aging B-52s and B-1s, beginning in the mid-2020s.

Arms Control Ratification: Opportunities for Modifying Agreements

This report briefly examines arms control ratification and opportunities for modifying agreements. On July 14, 2015, Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany (the P5+1) finalized a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)--an agreement that restricts Iran's nuclear program in an effort to ensure that it can only be used for peaceful purposes.

Renegotiating Arms Control Agreements: A Brief Review

This report discusses previous arms control agreements that affected U.S. weapons programs or military activities. On July 14, 2015, Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany finalized a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)--an agreement that restricts Iran's nuclear program in an effort to ensure that it can only be used for peaceful purposes.

How Many UAVs for DOD?

This report briefly discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) projected procurement levels for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or "drones") over the next several years.

Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (H.R. 3230; P.L. 113-146)

Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R43704 Summary On August 7, 2014, President Obama signed the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (H.R. 3230; H.Rept. 113-564; P.L. 113-146). The Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2014 (H.R. 5404; P.L. 113-175), the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R. 83; P.L. 113-235), the Construction Authorization and Choice Improvement Act (H.R. 2496; P.L. 114-19), and the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (H.R. 3236; P.L. 114-41) made...

Bundling and Consolidation of Contract Requirements Under the Small Business Act: Legal Overview

Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R41133 Summary When used in reference to federal procurement contracts, “bundling” and “consolidation” are technical terms, whose meaning is prescribed by statute. Specifically, “bundling” denotes “consolidating 2 or more ... requirements for goods or services previously provided or performed under separate smaller contracts” into a solicitation for a single contract that is likely to be unsuitable for award to a small business due to its size or scope. “Consolidation” is similarly defined to mean soliciting a single contract to satisfy two...

Medal of Honor: History and Issues

The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military award for bravery. It is awarded by the President in the name of Congress. For this reason, it is often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor. Since it was first presented in 1863, the medal has been awarded 3,512 times to 3,493 recipients. Nineteen individuals have been double recipients of the award.

Recipients of the Medal of Honor are afforded a number of benefits as a result of this award.

Since the award’s inception, the laws and regulations that apply to it have changed. In certain cases, the award has been rescinded....

The Intelligence Community and Its Use of Contractors: Congressional Oversight Issues

Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R44157 Summary Contractors have been and are an integral part of the intelligence community’s (IC’s) total workforce (which also includes federal employees and military personnel). Yet questions have been raised regarding how they are used, and the size and cost of the contractor component. Of particular interest are core contract personnel, who provide direct technical, managerial, and administrative support to agency staff. Examples of these types of support are collection and operations, analysis and production, and enterprise...

U.S.-China Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

Negotiated by the Reagan Administration nearly 30 years ago, the current U.S. peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is set to expire on December 30, 2015. President Obama submitted a new 30-year U.S.-China nuclear cooperation agreement for congressional review on April 21, 2015. Among other provisions, the agreement would allow for uranium enrichment up to a level less than 20% U-235 and Chinese reprocessing of U.S.-obligated material at safeguarded facilities. The required congressional review period ended on July 31.

Such agreements are often...

Iran Nuclear Agreement: CRS Experts

Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R44139 Summary Congress is currently in a period of formal review, being conducted on the basis of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (P.L. 114-17), of the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” (JCPOA) nuclear agreement concluded between Iran and six negotiating powers (“P5+1”) on July 14. The period for initial congressional review under the Act is to conclude on September 17. The agreement has raised a wide variety of questions in Congress. Issues include the specific terms of the deal; the implications for inspections, proliferation,...

Overview and Issues for Implementation of the Federal Cloud Computing Initiative: Implications for Federal Information Technology Reform Management

Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R42887 Summary Cloud computing is a new name for an old concept: the delivery of computing services from a remote location, analogous to the way electricity, water, and other utilities are provided to most customers. Cloud computing services are delivered through a network, usually the Internet. Some cloud services are adaptations of familiar applications, such as e-mail and word processing. Others are new applications that never existed as a local application, such as online maps and social networks. Since 2009, the federal government has...

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Background, Legislation, and Policy Issues

Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R41933 Summary The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; 5 U.S.C. §552) allows any person—individual or corporate, citizen or not—to request and obtain existing, identifiable, and unpublished agency records on any topic. Pursuant to FOIA, the public has presumptive access to agency records unless the material falls within any of FOIA’s nine categories of exception. Disputes over the release of records requested pursuant to FOIA can be appealed administratively, resolved through mediation, or heard in court. FOIA was enacted in 1966, after 11...

Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress

Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R42497 Summary Trafficking in persons, or human trafficking, refers to the subjection of men, women, and children to exploitative conditions that can be tantamount to slavery. Reports suggest that human trafficking is a global phenomenon, victimizing millions of people each year and contributing to a multi-billion dollar criminal industry. It is a centuries-old problem that, despite international and U.S. efforts to eliminate it, continues to occur in virtually every country in the world. Human trafficking is also an international and...

Iran Nuclear Agreement: Selected Issues for Congress

The nuclear agreement between Iran and six negotiating powers (“P5+1:” United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia, and China), finalized on July 14, 2015, raises a wide variety of issues as Congress undertakes a formal review under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (P.L. 114-17). The Administration submitted the 150+ page text (including annexes) of the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” (JCPOA) to Congress on July 19, 2015, and the period for congressional review under the act is to conclude on September 17. Should the agreement stand after review processes in Congress and in...

Guinea: In Brief

Guinea is one of three countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has affected the country’s economy, social relations, food security, and politics. A former French colony on West Africa’s Atlantic coast with a population of about 11 million, Guinea is rich in natural resources, but poverty is widespread. President Alpha Condé, a former opposition leader, was voted into office in 2010 in Guinea’s first ever presidential election organized by an independent electoral commission and without an incumbent candidate. His inauguration brought an end to a turbulent period...

“Fast Track” Legislative Procedures Governing Congressional Consideration of a Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission Report

In 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2005, an independent Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission was authorized by law to recommend the disposal of unneeded defense facilities throughout the United States. The Department of Defense (DOD) formally asked Congress to provide it with statutory authority to conduct another round of base closures and realignments in 2015, but no new round was authorized.

Under the terms of the statutes that authorized these previous BRAC rounds, the BRAC Commission’s recommendations automatically take effect unless, within a stated period after the...

Questions of the Privileges of the House: An Analysis

A question of the privileges of the House is a formal declaration by a Member of the House asserting that a situation has arisen affecting “the rights of the House collectively, its safety, dignity and the integrity of its proceedings.” Once a question of the privileges of the House is raised, the Speaker must, at some point, entertain the question and rule on its validity. The Speaker makes such a ruling with guidance from the House Parliamentarian based on House rule and precedent. If it is ruled to be valid, a question of the privileges of the House will be considered and possibly voted...

Thailand: Background and U.S. Relations

Thailand is a long-time military ally and a significant trade and economic partner for the United States. For many years, Thailand was seen as a model democracy in Southeast Asia, although this image, along with U.S.-Thai relations, has been complicated by deep political and economic instability in the wake of two military coups in the past nine years. The first, in 2006, displaced Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a popular but polarizing figure who is currently living in exile. The second, in 2014, deposed an acting prime minister after Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted...

Defense Health Program Funding Shortfall for Fiscal Year 2015

This report describes the defense health program (DHP) and discusses the DHP budget.

U.S.-Kenya Relations: Current Political and Security Issues

The U.S. government views Kenya as a strategic partner and a key regional actor in East Africa, and as critical to regional counterterrorism efforts. Kenya has repeatedly been a target of terrorist attacks, and, as the deadly September 2013 assault on a Nairobi shopping mall and subsequent attacks have underscored, terrorist threats in Kenya remain a serious concern. Heightened threats have led the U.S. government to reevaluate the size of its presence in the country, which hosts the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in Africa and one of four major U.N. offices worldwide.

Kenya’s military...

Laws Affecting the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program

For more than 50 years, the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program has been providing health insurance coverage to federal employees, retirees, and their dependents. It is the largest employer-sponsored health insurance program in the country, covering about 8.2 million enrollees each year.

The program was created by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act of 1959 (FEHBA; P.L. 86-382). FEHBA and its subsequent amendments established the parameters for eligibility; election of coverage; the types of health plans and benefits that may be offered; and the level of the government’s...

War Funding and the Budget Control Act: In Brief

In the FY2016 debate on the level of defense spending, Congress is considering how to stay within the spending limits, or caps, set by the Budget Control Act (BCA). Under the BCA, all defense spending for the defense base budget—excluding amounts designated for “Overseas Contingency Operations” (OCO) or emergencies—is subject to annual BCA caps.

For funds to be counted as OCO funding that is essentially exempt from BCA caps, Congress must first designate funds in law on an account-by-account basis, and the President must subsequently do the same. The OCO designation therefore requires a...

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID): Background, Operations, and Issues

This report provides background information on the institutional makeup and operations of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the leading international humanitarian and development arm of the U.S. government. The report then discusses in greater depth several aspects of the agency that might be of particular congressional interest.

In FY2015, USAID is responsible for more than $20 billion in appropriations, representing more than one-third of the International Affairs 150 budget function and more than half of total foreign assistance encompassed by the State, Foreign...

GAO Bid Protests: Trends and Analysis

Bid protests on federal government contracts filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have received congressional scrutiny due to protests of high-profile awards and reports that the number of protests is increasing. Concerns over delays in contract award or performance triggered by a GAO protest, coupled with the increasing number of GAO protests, have prompted concerns about the potential impact of protests upon government agency operations, especially in the Department of Defense (DOD). Both the House- and Senate- passed versions of the FY2016 National Defense Authorization...

Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order: Questions and Answers

On July 31, 2014, President Obama issued Executive Order 13673, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, with the stated intent of “increas[ing] efficiency and cost savings in the work performed by parties who contract with the Federal Government by ensuring that they understand and comply with labor laws.” The order requires that executive branch procurement contractors disclose information about their compliance with 14 specified federal labor laws and their state equivalents as part of the award process. It also requires that agency contracting officers take these disclosures into consideration...

U.S. Command and Control and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Aircraft

The fleet of manned aircraft accomplishing the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) Command and Control (C2) and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions for the joint military community (E-8, E-3, RC-135, WC-135, OC-135, and E-6) is primarily based on Boeing 707 aircraft procured from the 1960s to the early 1990s. As the age of these legacy C2ISR aircraft increases, understanding the Air Force and Navy modernization and recapitalization plans is likely important for Congress. This report examines the Air Force’s and Navy’s current sustainment, modernization, and...

Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 113th Congress

The President makes appointments to positions within the federal government, either using the authorities granted by law to the President alone, or with the advice and consent of the Senate. There are some 351 full-time leadership positions in the 15 executive departments for which the Senate provides advice and consent. This report identifies all nominations submitted to the Senate during the 113th Congress for full-time positions in these 15 executive departments.

Information for each department is presented in tables. The tables include full-time positions confirmed by the Senate, pay...

The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002: Background and Implementation

The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (TPA) is a core legislative measure guiding U.S. policy toward Tibet. Its stated purpose is “to support the aspirations of the Tibetan people to safeguard their distinct identity.” Among other provisions, the TPA establishes in statute the State Department position of Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues and defines the Special Coordinator’s “central objective” as being “to promote substantive dialogue” between the government of the People’s Republic of China and Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, or his representatives. The Special...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Budget for FY2016

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducts scientific research in areas such as ecosystems, climate, global climate change, weather, and oceans; supplies information and data on the oceans and atmosphere; and manages coastal and marine organisms and environments. In 1970, Reorganization Plan No. 4 created NOAA in the Department of Commerce. Reorganization Plan No. 4 brought together environmental agencies from within the Department of Commerce, such as the National Weather Service, and from other departments and agencies, such as the Department of the Interior’s...

Acquisition Reform in House- and Senate-Passed Versions of the FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735)

For purposes of this analysis, CRS selected 35 sections of the House-passed version of FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735), and 47 sections of the Senate-passed version of FY2016 NDAA (also H.R. 1735) that appear closely linked to the respective committee’s efforts to reform the acquisition system (excluding Sense of Congress). Each section is identified as fitting into one (or more) of the following four overarching categories: gathering information for future action, streamlining the current process, improving the effectiveness of the current process, and/or improving...

U.S.-Republic of Korea Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

The United States and South Korea have cooperated in the peaceful use of nuclear energy for over 50 years. This cooperation includes commercial power reactor projects as well as research and development work on safety, safeguards, advanced nuclear reactors, and fuel cycle technologies. This report discusses the new civilian nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and South Korea.

Recruiting and Retention: An Overview of FY2013 and FY2014 Results for Active and Reserve Component Enlisted Personnel

Congress has historically been quite interested in recruiting and retention of personnel in the nation’s Armed Forces, since maintaining a fully manned and capable workforce is a key component of military readiness. This report provides a brief overview of the recruiting and retention results for Active and Reserve Component enlisted personnel during FY2013 and FY2014.

Recruiting and Retention Metrics

Recruiting performance for enlisted personnel is principally measured in terms of meeting quantity and quality goals. Quantity goals are based on the projected need for new personnel each...

U.S. Air Force Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Sustainment, Modernization, and Recapitalization: Background and Issues for Congress

Determining the future role of U.S. nuclear weapons within the U.S. national security strategy is currently a topic of much debate. Many senior leaders are determined to design a strategy that defines a new role for U.S. nuclear weapons and makes those weapons responsive and relevant in today’s global threat environment. The current U.S. nuclear enterprise consists of a triad of options: Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), and long-range bombers. All three legs of the nuclear triad are aging, since they were largely built to counter...

Navy Shipboard Lasers for Surface, Air, and Missile Defense: Background and Issues for Congress

This report focuses on potential Navy shipboard lasers for countering surface, air, and ballistic missile threats. It does not discuss the use of lasers on Navy aircraft or submarines, or the use of lasers by other military services. This report is based on unclassified, open-domain information from the Navy, industry, and research organizations such as RAND.

Federal Student Loans Made Under the Federal Family Education Loan Program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program: Terms and Conditions for Borrowers

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (DL) program, authorized under Title IV, Part D of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, is the primary federal student loan program administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The program makes available loans to undergraduate and graduate students and the parents of dependent undergraduate students to help them finance their postsecondary education expenses. Four types of loans are offered: Subsidized Stafford Loans for undergraduate students; Unsubsidized Stafford Loans for undergraduate and graduate students; PLUS Loans...

Chinese Land Reclamation in the South China Sea: Implications and Policy Options

Since September 2013, China has undertaken extensive reclamation and construction on several reefs in the Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea, raising a variety of concerns in the United States and Asia. The reclamation has created over 2,000 acres (809 hectares) of artificial landmasses on Chinese-occupied reefs that are disputed between several countries and are located in some of the world’s most heavily trafficked waters. China announced on June 16, 2015, that its reclamation work would be completed “in the upcoming days,” and that when reclamation was finished, it would turn...

Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 and H.R. 1731 as Passed by the House

Effective sharing of information in cybersecurity is generally considered an important tool for protecting information systems and their contents from unauthorized access by cybercriminals and other adversaries. Five bills on such sharing have been introduced in the 114th Congress—H.R. 234, H.R. 1560, H.R. 1731, S. 456, and S. 754. The White House has also submitted a legislative proposal and issued an executive order on the topic.

In the House, H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act (PCNA), was reported out of the Intelligence Committee. H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity...

Intelligence Authorization Legislation for FY2016: Selected Provisions

This report briefly highlights key provisions of H.R. 2596, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (IAA for FY2016), which provides guidance to, and authorizes appropriations for, components of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC).

Critical Infrastructures: Background, Policy, and Implementation

The nation’s health, wealth, and security rely on the production and distribution of certain goods and services. The array of physical assets, functions, and systems across which these goods and services move are called critical infrastructures (e.g., electricity, the power plants that generate it, and the electric grid upon which it is distributed).

The national security community has been concerned for some time about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to both physical and cyberattack. In May 1998, President Clinton released Presidential Decision Directive No. 63. The Directive...

Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources, by Topic

Cybersecurity Issues for the Bulk Power System

In the United States, it is generally taken for granted that the electricity needed to power the U.S. economy is available on demand and will always be available to power our machines and devices. However, in recent years, new threats have materialized as new vulnerabilities have come to light, and a number of major concerns have emerged about the resilience and security of the nation’s electric power system. In particular, the cybersecurity of the electricity grid has been a focus of recent efforts to protect the integrity of the electric power system.

The increasing frequency of cyber...

Train and Equip Program for Syria: Authorities, Funding, and Issues for Congress

In 2014, Congress for the first time provided the President with authority and funds to overtly train and lethally equip vetted members of the Syrian opposition for select purposes. These purposes include supporting U.S. efforts to combat the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria and setting the conditions for a negotiated settlement to Syria’s civil war. The FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, P.L. 113-291) and the FY2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235) provided that up to $500 million could be transferred from...

Department of Homeland Security: FY2015 Appropriations

This report analyzes the FY2015 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). While this report makes note of many budgetary resources provided to DHS, its primary focus is on funding approved by Congress through the appropriations process.

The Administration requested $38.332 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for DHS for FY2015, as part of an overall budget of $60.919 billion (including fees, trust funds, and other funding that is not appropriated or does not score against the budget caps). The request amounted to a $0.938 billion, or 2.4%, decrease...

Procurement Debarment and Suspension of Government Contractors: Legal Overview

Debarment and suspension (collectively known as “exclusion”) are of perennial interest to Congress because exclusion is one of the primary techniques that federal agencies use to avoid dealings with vendors who have failed, or are deemed likely to fail, to meet their obligations under federal law or government contracts. Debarred contractors are generally ineligible for new federal contracts for a fixed period of time, while suspended contractors are generally ineligible for the duration of any investigation or litigation involving their conduct. Federal law specifies various grounds for...

In Brief: Options to Help Meet a Congressional Requirement for Nuclear Weapon “Pit” Production

A pit is the plutonium core of a thermonuclear weapon. Imploding it with conventional explosives provides the energy to detonate the rest of the weapon. The Rocky Flats Plant made up to 2,000 pits per year (ppy) through 1989; since then, the United States has made 29 pits for the stockpile. Yet the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act requires the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which manages the nuclear weapons program, to produce at a rate of 80 ppy for 90 days in 2027. How can that requirement be met?

Pits are to be made at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s main...

Selected Issues in Homeland Security Policy for the 114th Congress

In 2001, in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, “homeland security” went from being a concept discussed among a relatively small cadre of policymakers and strategic thinkers to a broadly discussed issue in Congress. Debates over how to implement coordinated homeland security policy led to the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) and the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Evolution of America’s response to terrorist threats has continued under the leadership of different Administrations, Congresses, and in a shifting...

Nuclear Weapon “Pit” Production: Options to Help Meet a Congressional Requirement

A pit is the plutonium core of a thermonuclear weapon. Imploding it with conventional explosives provides the energy to detonate the rest of the weapon. The Rocky Flats Plant made up to 2,000 pits per year (ppy) through 1989; since then, the United States has made 29 pits for the stockpile. Yet the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act requires the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which manages the nuclear weapons program, to produce at a rate of 80 ppy for 90 days in 2027. How can that requirement be met?

Pits are to be made at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s main...

Deployable Federal Assets Supporting Domestic Disaster Response Operations: Summary and Considerations for Congress

For most disasters across the nation, the affected local, state, or tribal governments have sufficient capabilities to respond to the incident. However, for disasters with consequences that require unique capabilities or that overwhelm the existing capabilities of a respective state or tribal government, Congress has authorized and appropriated a suite of deployable federal assets to support domestic disaster response operations. This report reviews several key concepts about these federal assets, and highlights possible issues Congress may consider when evaluating their authorization and...

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2015 Appropriations

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide. It capitalizes military family housing and the U.S. share of the NATO Security Investment Program and finances the implementation of installation closures and realignments. It underwrites veterans benefit and health care programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), provides for the creation and maintenance of U.S. cemeteries and...

Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Recent reports that certain entities continued to receive federal government contracts after reincorporating overseas have prompted questions about current and proposed restrictions on contracting with “inverted domestic corporations.” These questions are shaped, in part, by the broader debate over whether such corporations are to be seen as “deserters,” who change their corporate citizenship to avoid paying U.S. taxes, or as evidencing systemic problems in the U.S. tax code. However, they also reflect long-standing debate over whether and to what degree the federal procurement process...

Genomic Data and Privacy: Background and Relevant Law

Advances in genomics technology and information technology infrastructure, together with policies regarding the sharing of research data, support new approaches to genomic research but also raise new issues with respect to privacy. The development of new genomic sequencing technologies has allowed for the generation of big data, and recent changes in information technology infrastructure have facilitated big data storage and analytics. These developments are expected to support significant changes in health research and, eventually, in health care delivery.

Genetic and genomic research—and...

Employment for Veterans: Trends and Programs

Veterans’ employment outcomes in the civilian labor market are an issue of ongoing congressional interest. This report offers introductory data on veterans’ performance in the civilian labor market as well as a discussion of veteran-targeted federal programs that provide employment-related benefits and services.

According to federal data, the unemployment rate for veterans who served after September 2001 is higher than the unemployment rate for nonveterans. Conversely, the unemployment rate for veterans from prior service periods (a much larger population than post-9/11 veterans) is lower...

In-Country Refugee Processing: In Brief

The Obama Administration has established a new refugee program for certain minors in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras with a parent who is lawfully present in the United States. Created in response to the FY2012-FY2014 surge in unaccompanied child arrivals to the United States from these countries, the Administration has described the new Central American Minors (CAM) program as providing an alternative to a dangerous journey to the United States.

The CAM program is an in-country refugee processing program, which means that eligible minors will be processed by the U.S. government from...

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy: Issues for the 114th Congress

Congress established the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) through the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-282). The act states, “The primary function of the OSTP Director is to provide, within the Executive Office of the President [EOP], advice on the scientific, engineering, and technological aspects of issues that require attention at the highest level of Government.” Further, “The Office shall serve as a source of scientific and technological analysis and judgment for the President with respect to major policies, plans,...

International Air Service Controversies: Frequently Asked Questions

“Open skies” agreements are a form of international civil air service agreement that facilitates international aviation in a deregulated environment. They eliminate government involvement in airline decisionmaking about international routes, capacity, and prices. Since 1992, the United States has reached 114 open skies agreements governing international air passenger and air freight services.

There are two ongoing controversies that are related to open skies agreements. One controversy involves some U.S. network airlines’ and labor unions’ opposition to the expansion of three fast-growing...

European Fighters in Syria and Iraq: Assessments, Responses, and Issues for the United States

The rising number of U.S. and European citizens traveling to fight with rebel and terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq has emerged as a growing concern for U.S. and European leaders, including Members of Congress. Several deadly terrorist attacks in Europe over the past year—including the killing of 17 people in Paris in January 2015—have heightened the perception that these individuals could pose a serious security threat. Increasingly, terrorist suspects in Europe appear to have spent time with groups fighting in the Middle East, especially with the Islamic State organization (also known...

FY2016 Military Construction Appropriations: President's Request and House Markup Compared

This report briefly discusses the financing of military construction. Military construction is normally funded through Title I of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill and provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide.

2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force: Issues Concerning Its Continued Application

In response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States, Congress enacted the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001 AUMF; P.L. 107-40; 50 U.S.C. §1541 note) to authorize the use of military force against those who perpetrated or provided support for the attacks. Under the authority of the 2001 AUMF, U.S. Armed Forces have conducted military operations in Afghanistan since October 2001. As armed conflict against Al Qaeda and the Taliban progressed, and U.S. counterterrorism strategy evolved, U.S. use of military force has expanded outside Afghanistan to...

Islamic State Financing and U.S. Policy Approaches

Countering the financial resources of the Islamic State, which has seized significant territory in Iraq and Syria and threatened to conduct attacks against the United States and its citizens, has become a significant national security priority for policymakers, including Members of Congress. By undermining the financial strength of the group, also known as ISIL or ISIS, policymakers seek to reduce its capability to conduct terrorist attacks, as well as to ultimately “degrade and ultimately destroy” the group. This effort includes a comprehensive look at how the group generates...

Military Funeral Honors and Military Cemeteries: Frequently Asked Questions

This report is written in response to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about military funeral honors and military cemeteries. It provides information to questions in three general areas: implementation of the funeral honors and eligibility criteria; components of the honor detail and the funeral ceremony; and specific questions on burial and honors at Arlington National Cemetery. It also cites legislation requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to make military funeral honors available to every eligible veteran upon request.

Ballistic Missile Defense in the Asia-Pacific Region: Cooperation and Opposition

The growing number and modernization of ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific region poses a security challenge for the United States and its allies and is thus a concern for many in Congress. The United States has made ballistic missile defense (BMD) a central component of protection for forward-deployed U.S. forces and extended deterrence for allied security. The configuration of sensors, command-and-control centers, and BMD assets in the region has slowly evolved with contributions from treaty allies, primarily Japan, Australia, and South Korea.

Observers believe that North Korea has...

Cyberwarfare and Cyberterrorism: In Brief

Recent incidents have highlighted the lack of consensus internationally on what defines a cyberattack, an act of war in cyberspace, or cyberterrorism. Cyberwar is typically conceptualized as state-on-state action equivalent to an armed attack or use of force in cyberspace that may trigger a military response with a proportional kinetic use of force. Cyberterrorism can be considered “the premeditated use of disruptive activities, or the threat thereof, against computers and/or networks, with the intention to cause harm or further social, ideological, religious, political or similar...

Status of the Federal Perkins Loan Program: Frequently Asked Questions

The Federal Perkins Loan program authorizes the allocation of federal funds to institutions of higher education to assist them in capitalizing revolving loan funds for the purpose of making low-interest loans to students with exceptional financial need. Institutions participating in the program are required to provide matching funds equal to one-third of the federal funds they receive. Authorization of appropriations for the Perkins Loan program is due to expire at the end of FY2015, and the future operation of the program is uncertain. This report answers several frequently asked...

International Drug Control Policy: Background and U.S. Responses

The global illegal drug trade represents a multi-dimensional challenge that has implications for U.S. national interests as well as the international community. Common illegal drugs trafficked internationally include cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. According to the U.S. intelligence community, international drug trafficking can undermine political and regional stability and bolster the role and capabilities of transnational criminal organizations in the drug trade. Key regions of concern include Latin America and Afghanistan, which are focal points in U.S. efforts to combat the...

FY2015 Funding to Counter Ebola and the Islamic State (IS)

In 2014, two major global threats—the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East—caused serious concern within the Obama Administration and among Members of Congress. In November 2014, the President requested a total of $11.7 billion for responding to the Ebola crisis and combatting the Islamic State.

On November 5, 2014, the President requested $6.18 billion in FY2015 emergency appropriations for Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of State and international assistance programs, and DOD to address the Ebola crisis domestically and overseas. The...

Federal Employees’ Retirement System: The Role of the Thrift Savings Plan

Federal employees participate in one of two retirement systems. The Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) was established in 1920 and covers only employees hired before 1984. Participants in the CSRS do not pay Social Security payroll taxes and they do not earn Social Security benefits. For a worker retiring after 30 years of federal service, a CSRS annuity will be equal to 56.25% of the average of his or her highest three consecutive years of basic pay.

The Social Security Amendments of 1983 (P.L. 98-21) required federal employees hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security....

Health Care for Veterans: Traumatic Brain Injury

In recent years, Congress, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have increased attention to traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is known as a “signature wound” of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). Although the early stages of TBI treatment may occur within the military health care system (if the injury occurs during military service), this report focuses on the VA health care system. In FY2015, VA spending for TBI is estimated to be $234 million. The VA projects the 10-year (FY2016–FY2025) costs of TBI to be $2.2 billion...

Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues

Navigating the Internet requires using addresses and corresponding names that identify the location of individual computers. The Domain Name System (DNS) is the distributed set of databases residing in computers around the world that contain address numbers mapped to corresponding domain names, making it possible to send and receive messages and to access information from computers anywhere on the Internet. Many of the technical, operational, and management decisions regarding the DNS can have significant impacts on Internet-related policy issues such as intellectual property, privacy,...

Legal Authorities Governing Federal Contracting and Subcontracting with Small Businesses

Congress has generally broad authority to impose requirements upon the federal procurement process (i.e., the process whereby agencies obtain supplies and services from the private sector). One of the many ways in which Congress has exercised this authority is by enacting measures intended to promote contracting and subcontracting with “small businesses” by federal agencies. Among other things, these measures (1) declare a congressional policy of ensuring that a “fair proportion” of federal contract and subcontract dollars are awarded to small businesses; (2) establish government-wide and...

Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress

Though Congress has debated the significance of global climate change and what federal policies, if any, should address them, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) since 2013 has identified the changing climate as one of the 30 most significant risks facing the federal government. President Obama established adaptation as a prominent part of his Climate Action Plan in June 2013. The November 2013 Executive Order 13653, Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change, directed agencies to undertake vulnerability assessments and planning for adaptation. The Administration...

Yemen: Background and U.S. Relations

This report provides an overview and analysis of U.S.-Yemeni relations amidst evolving political change in Yemeni leadership, ongoing U.S. counterterrorism operations against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operatives in Yemen’s hinterlands, and international efforts to bolster the country’s stability despite an array of daunting socio-economic problems. Along with determining how best to counter terrorist threats emanating from Yemen, Congress and U.S. policy makers also may consider the priority level and resources that should be accorded to attempts to stabilize Yemen and to...

Evaluating the “Past Performance” of Federal Contractors: Legal Requirements and Issues

Poor performance under a federal contract can have immediate consequences for contractors, who could be denied award or incentive fees, required to pay damages, or terminated for default. In addition, it could affect their ability to obtain future contracts because federal law generally requires agencies to evaluate contractors’ past performance and consider past performance information when making source selection decisions in negotiated procurements and determining whether prospective contractors are “responsible.” “Past performance” refers to performance on “active and physically...

The United States and Europe: Current Issues

Due to extensive cooperation on a wide range of issues, the relationship between the United States and Europe is often called the transatlantic partnership. The two sides have many common values and concerns, and have grown increasingly interdependent in terms of security and prosperity. The transatlantic relationship and the main areas of U.S.-European cooperation and shared interest are likely to have continuing implications for U.S. policy during the 114th Congress. Members of Congress may have an interest in considering the dimensions and dynamics of current issues in U.S.-European...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2015

President Obama’s budget request for FY2015 included $135.352 billion for research and development (R&D), a $1.670 billion (1.2%) increase from the FY2014 level of $133.682 billion.

Funding for R&D is concentrated in a few departments and agencies. Under President Obama’s FY2015 budget request, seven federal agencies would have received 95.4% of total federal R&D funding, with the Department of Defense (DOD, 47.6%) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, 23.0%) accounting for more than two-thirds of all federal R&D funding.

In addition to the FY2015 base budget request, the...

China's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)

In November 2013, the People’s Republic of China (PRC, or China) announced that it would establish an “East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ),” covering a large swath of airspace over the East China Sea, including over small islands that are the subject of a territorial dispute among Japan, the PRC, and Taiwan. Beijing did not formally consult with other countries prior to the announcement, and its initial statement seemed to warn that China might use force against aircraft that did not follow its ADIZ guidelines. Senior officials from the United States and East Asian...

Energy and Water Development: FY2015 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), and the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and several other independent agencies.

President Obama’s FY2015 budget request for Energy and Water Development was released in March 2014. Including adjustments, the request totaled $34.26 billion, compared with a total of $34.13 billion appropriated for FY2014. The House approved the Energy and...

Issues in the Reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

The funding authorization for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), included in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-95), expires on September 30, 2015. In addition to setting spending levels, FAA authorization acts typically set policy on a wide range of issues related to civil aviation. This report considers topics that are likely to arise as the 114th Congress debates reauthorization.

Most FAA programs are financed through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF), sometimes referred to as the Aviation Trust Fund. The financial health of the AATF, which is funded...

Defense: FY2015 Authorization and Appropriations

In contrast with the debate over the FY2014 defense budget, congressional action on the FY2015 Department of Defense (DOD) “base budget” (that is, the part of the budget not associated with operations in Afghanistan or other situations designated by the President as emergencies) was not complicated by disputes over the total amount at issue. For both the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the FY2015 Defense Appropriations Act, President Obama’s request, and versions of the legislation that were passed by the House, approved by the relevant Senate committees, and finally...

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: FY2015 Appropriations

The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill includes funding for most of the Department of the Interior (DOI) and for agencies within other departments—including the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture and the Indian Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services. It also provides funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), arts and cultural agencies, and numerous other entities.

For FY2015, the President requested $30.69 billion for the approximately 30 agencies and entities typically funded in the annual Interior,...

Border Security: Immigration Inspections at Ports of Entry

About 362 million travelers (citizens and non-citizens) entered the United States in FY2013, including about 102 million air passengers and crew, 18 million sea passengers and crew, and 242 million land travelers. At the same time about 205,000 aliens were denied admission at ports of entry (POEs); and about 24,000 persons were arrested at POEs on criminal warrants.

Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) is responsible for conducting immigration inspections at America’s 329 POEs. CBP’s primary...

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Legislation in the 113th Congress

Defendants convicted of violating certain federal criminal laws face the prospect of mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment. Bills offered during the 113th Congress would have supplemented, enhanced, or eliminated some of these. The most all-encompassing, H.R. 1695 (Representative Scott (VA)) and S. 619 (Senator Paul) would have permitted federal courts to impose a sentence below an otherwise applicable mandatory minimum when necessary to avoid violating certain statutory directives.

Federal drug statutes feature a series of mandatory minimums. S. 1410 (Senator Durbin)/H.R. 3382...

The OSH Act: A Legal Overview

Through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (“OSH Act” or “act”), Congress sought a nationwide approach to regulating workplace accidents and injuries. The act authorizes the Secretary of Labor to create and enforce workplace safety standards. Additionally, the act contains a “General Duty Clause,” also enforced by the Secretary of Labor, which generally requires employers to provide workplaces that are free of potentially harmful hazards. The act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and...

Competition in Federal Contracting: Legal Overview

Competition in federal procurement contracting has long been of interest to Congress and the executive branch, in part because of the belief that increased competition among potential vendors results in lower prices for the government. President Obama issued a memorandum calling for increased competition in federal contracting on March 4, 2009, shortly after taking office, and his Administration has sought to reduce the number of “noncompetitive” contracts by various means, including by issuing guidance on “Increasing Competition and Structuring Contracts for Best Results” in October 2009....

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2015 Budget and Appropriations

On December 16, 2014, Congress presented the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (H.R. 83), to the President, who signed it into law (P.L. 113-235) that same day. In Division J of that act, Congress appropriated $51.98 billion for the Department of State and Foreign Operations, including $9.26 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) and $2.53 billion to address the Ebola crisis.

The annual State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations bill (also referred to here as “foreign affairs appropriations” or “foreign affairs funding”) is the...

Morocco: Current Issues

Successive U.S. Administrations have viewed Morocco as an important regional ally, a partner in counterterrorism, and a free trade counterpart. Morocco receives substantial U.S. development aid, and bilateral trade and investment have increased following a 2006 Free Trade Agreement. Morocco also benefits from U.S. security assistance and military cooperation, and is a purchaser of U.S. defense articles, including F-16 jets. Some observers have placed greater emphasis on the U.S.-Morocco relationship amid regional turmoil and terrorist threats emanating from neighboring states in North...

Contemporary Federal Museum Authorizations in the District of Columbia: Past Practices and Options for Congress

Congress has played a role in establishing museums that have become part of the Smithsonian Institution (e.g., the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture) and museums that operate independently (e.g., the National Gallery of Art and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). Historically, for most museums operated in whole or in part by the federal government, congressional authorization has been required.

Congressional action is likely required to authorize a new federal museum. In the 113th Congress (2013-2014),...

Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 112th Congress

The President makes appointments to positions within the federal government, either using the authorities granted to the President alone or with the advice and consent of the Senate. There are some 349 full-time leadership positions in the 15 executive departments for which the Senate provides advice and consent. This report identifies all nominations submitted to the Senate during the 112th Congress for full-time positions in these 15 executive departments.

Information for each department is presented in tables. The tables include full-time positions confirmed by the Senate, pay levels...

Proposed Retirement of A-10 Aircraft: Background in Brief

The Administration’s fiscal 2015 budget proposed to retire the entire fleet of A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft beginning in FY2016. This report covers the background to that decision and legislative action as of the end of 2014.

U.S.-Taiwan Relationship: Overview of Policy Issues

This CRS Report, updated through the 113th Congress, provides an overview with analysis of the major issues in U.S. policy on Taiwan. Taiwan formally calls itself the Republic of China (ROC), tracing its political lineage to the ROC set up after the revolution in 1911 in China. The ROC government retreated to Taipei in 1949. The United States recognized the ROC until the end of 1978 and has maintained a non-diplomatic relationship with Taiwan after recognition of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1979. The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) of 1979, P.L. 96-8, has governed policy in...

China/Taiwan: Evolution of the “One China” Policy—Key Statements from Washington, Beijing, and Taipei

Despite broadly consistent statements, the U.S. “one China” policy concerning Taiwan remains somewhat ambiguous and subject to different interpretations. Apart from questions about what the policy entails, issues have arisen about whether U.S. Presidents have stated clear positions and have changed or should change policy, affecting U.S. interests in security and democracy. This CRS Report, updated through the 113th Congress, analyzes the “one China” policy since U.S. Presidents began in 1971 to reach understandings with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Taiwan calls itself the...

U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress

This CRS Report, updated through the 113th Congress, discusses policy issues regarding military-to-military (mil-to-mil) contacts with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and records major contacts and crises since 1993. The United States suspended military contacts with China and imposed sanctions on arms sales in response to the Tiananmen Crackdown in 1989. In 1993, President Clinton reengaged with the top PRC leadership, including China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Renewed military exchanges with the PLA have not regained the closeness reached in the 1980s, when...

Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments

Since 2000, the U.S. military has been building up forward-deployed forces on the westernmost U.S. territory of Guam (west of Hawaii) to increase U.S. operational presence, deterrence, and power projection for potential responses to crises, disasters, or other contingencies to support Japan, Republic of Korea (ROK), the Philippines, Taiwan, or others in Asia. Since 2006, Valiant Shield exercises based at Guam have boosted U.S. military readiness for joint operations in the Pacific. The defense buildup on Guam has been moderate. China has concerns, suspecting Guam’s buildup to be directed...

China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues

Congress has long been concerned about whether policy advances the U.S. interest in reducing the role of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles that could deliver them. Recipients of PRC technology included Pakistan, North Korea, and Iran. This CRS Report, updated through the 113th Congress, discusses the security problem of China’s role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response since the mid-1990s. China has taken some steps to mollify U.S. and other foreign concerns about its role in...

Cyber Operations in DOD Policy and Plans: Issues for Congress

Cyberspace is defined by the Department of Defense as a global domain consisting of the interdependent networks of information technology infrastructures and resident data, including the Internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers. Attacks in cyberspace have seemingly been on the rise in recent years with a variety of participating actors and methods. As the United States has grown more reliant on information technology and networked critical infrastructure components, many questions arise about whether the nation is properly organized...

Taiwan: Major U.S. Arms Sales Since 1990

This report, updated through the 113th Congress, discusses U.S. security assistance to Taiwan (calling itself Republic of China (ROC)), including policy issues for Congress and legislation. Congress has oversight of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), P.L. 96-8, which has governed arms sales to Taiwan since 1979, when the United States recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) instead of the ROC. The U.S.-ROC Mutual Defense Treaty terminated in 1979. Two other relevant parts of the “one China” policy are the August 17, 1982, U.S.-PRC Joint Communique and the “Six Assurances” to Taiwan....

Contract Types: Legal Overview

This report provides an overview of the various contract types (e.g., fixed-price, cost-reimbursement) used in federal procurement and the legal requirements and issues pertaining to each. The types of contracts used by federal agencies have long been of interest to Congress and the executive branch, as they have sought to ensure that the most appropriate type of contract is used to acquire particular supplies or services.

Cuba: U.S. Policy and Issues for the 113th Congress

Cuba remains a one-party communist state with a poor record on human rights. The country’s political succession in 2006 from the long-ruling Fidel Castro to his brother Raúl was characterized by a remarkable degree of stability. In February 2013, Castro was reappointed to a second five-year term as President (until 2018, when he would be 86 years old), and selected 52-year old former Education Minister Miguel Díaz-Canel as his First Vice President, making him the official successor in the event that Castro cannot serve out his term. Raúl Castro has implemented a number of gradual economic...

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent Trends and FY2015 Appropriations

Geographic proximity has forged strong linkages between the United States and the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, with critical U.S. interests encompassing economic, political, and security concerns. U.S. policy makers have emphasized different strategic interests in the region at different times, from combating Soviet influence during the Cold War to advancing democracy and open markets since the 1990s. Current U.S. policy is designed to promote economic and social opportunity, ensure citizen security, strengthen effective democratic institutions, and secure a clean energy...

Definitions of “Inherently Governmental Function” in Federal Procurement Law and Guidance

Functions that federal law and policy require to be performed by government personnel, not contractor employees, are known as “inherently governmental functions.” Such functions have been a topic of interest in recent Congresses, in part, because of questions about sourcing policy (i.e., whether specific functions should be performed by government personnel or contractor employees). There have also been questions about the various definitions of inherently governmental function given in federal law and policy and, particularly, whether the existence of multiple definitions of this term may...

Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel Abroad: Legislative and Executive Branch Initiatives

The September 11, 2012, attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, prompted sustained congressional attention on the specific circumstances of the events in question, as well as broader questions regarding how U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities abroad are secured. Ensuring that the Department of State is better prepared for the possibility of similar attacks in the future has been a central congressional concern.

The Department of State undertook a number of measures in response to the attack, including immediate steps to bolster security at posts around the world; an...

NASA: Issues for Authorization, Appropriations, and Oversight in the 114th Congress

Spaceflight fascinates and inspires many Americans, but in a time of constrained federal budgets, it must compete with a multitude of other national priorities. As the 114th Congress conducts oversight and considers authorization and appropriations legislation for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an overarching question will be how NASA should move forward within budget constraints.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-267) set a new direction for NASA’s human spaceflight programs. For access to low Earth orbit,...

Latin America and the Caribbean: Key Issues for the 113th Congress

Geographic proximity has ensured strong linkages between the United States and the Latin American and Caribbean region, with diverse U.S. interests, including economic, political, and security concerns. U.S. policy toward the region under the Obama Administration has focused on four priorities: promoting economic and social opportunity; ensuring citizen security; strengthening effective democratic institutions; and securing a clean energy future. There was substantial continuity in U.S. policy toward the region during the first six years of the Obama Administration, which pursued some of...

Presidential Advisers’ Testimony Before Congressional Committees: An Overview

Since the beginning of the federal government, Presidents have called upon executive branch officials to provide them with advice regarding matters of policy and administration. While Cabinet members were among the first to play such a role, the creation of the Executive Office of the President (EOP) in 1939 and the various agencies located within that structure resulted in a large increase in the number and variety of presidential advisers. All senior staff members of the White House Office and the leaders of the various EOP agencies and instrumentalities could be said to serve as...

Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Overview of Major Issues, Current Laws, and Proposed Legislation

For more than a decade, various experts have expressed increasing concerns about cybersecurity, in light of the growing frequency, impact, and sophistication of attacks on information systems in the United States and abroad. Consensus has also been building that the current legislative framework for cybersecurity might need to be revised.

The complex federal role in cybersecurity involves both securing federal systems and assisting in protecting nonfederal systems. Under current law, all federal agencies have cybersecurity responsibilities relating to their own systems, and many have...

FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Ongoing operations in Afghanistan, along with the regular use of the reserve component personnel for operational missions, further heighten interest in a wide range of military personnel policies and issues.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has selected a number of the military personnel issues considered in deliberations on H.R. 4435, the initial House-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015; S. 2410, the version of the NDAA...

Fact Sheet: Some Highlights of H.R. 83, Division C, FY2015 Defense Appropriations Act

This Fact Sheet summarizes selected highlights of H.R. 83, Division C: the Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act for FY2015.

Overview of Federal Real Property Disposal Requirements and Procedures

The federal government holds thousands of properties that agencies no longer need to accomplish their missions. When the government disposes of unneeded properties—through transfer, donation, or sale—it generates savings by eliminating maintenance costs. In addition, when state or local governments, nonprofits, or businesses acquire unneeded federal properties, they may be used to provide services to the public, such as temporary housing, or contribute to economic development.

The General Services Administration (GSA) plays a central role in disposing of unneeded property at most federal...

Addressing the Long-Run Budget Deficit: A Comparison of Approaches

A small share of federal spending is for direct provision of domestic government services, which many people may think of when considering federal spending. Because this spending is normally about 10% of total federal spending and about 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) and deficits are projected to be 2.8% of GDP and rising in the future, cutting this type of spending can make only a limited contribution to reducing the deficit. (Note that direct provision of domestic services by the federal government is smaller than the total of nondefense discretionary spending, about 17% of spending,...

The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11

With enactment of the FY2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act on January 1, 2014 (H.R. 3547/P.L. 113-73), Congress has approved appropriations for the past 13 years of war that total $1.6 trillion for military operations, base support, weapons maintenance, training of Afghan and Iraq security forces, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the war operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks.

Of this $1.6 trillion total, CRS estimates that the total is distributed as follows:

$686 billion (43%) for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) for Afghanistan and other...

Security Assistance Reform: “Section 1206” Background and Issues for Congress

Section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2006, as amended and regularly extended, provides the Secretary of Defense with authority to train and equip foreign military forces for two specified purposes—counterterrorism and stability operations—and foreign security forces for counterterrorism operations. Section 1206 authority now extends through FY2017.

The conference version of the FY2015 NDAA somewhat modifies a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) proposal it its version of the FY2015 NDAA to codify this authority as permanent law under Title 10....

Nuclear Energy Cooperation with Foreign Countries: Issues for Congress

U.S. civil nuclear cooperation agreements (“123” agreements), which are bilateral agreements with other governments or multilateral organizations, have several important goals, including promoting the U.S. nuclear industry, which is increasingly dependent on foreign customers and suppliers, and preventing nuclear proliferation. Increased international interest in nuclear power has generated concern that additional countries may obtain fuel-making technology that could also be used to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons. Ensuring the peaceful use of transferred nuclear technology...

Army Active Component (AC)/Reserve Component (RC) Force Mix: Considerations and Options for Congress

The Army is composed of both an Active Component (AC) and a Reserve Component (RC). The AC consists of soldiers who are in the Army as their full-time occupation. The RC is composed primarily of soldiers who serve part-time but who can be ordered to full-time duty. The Army’s RC is made up of both the Army National Guard (ARNG) and the United States Army Reserve (USAR). AC/RC force mix refers to the distribution of units between the active and reserve components of the armed forces.

The congressional role in AC/RC force mix is most obvious in its authorization of end strengths for the...

Fact Sheet: Selected Highlights of H.R. 3979, the Carl Levin and Howard “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for FY2015

Following are selected highlights of S. 1847, the version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2015, agreed to on December 2, 2014, by negotiators for the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

On May 22, 2014, by a vote of 325-98, the House passed H.R. 4435, a version of the FY2015 NDAA that had been reported by the House Armed Services Committee. On the same day, the Senate Armed Services Committee reported S. 2410, its version of the FY2015 NDAA. To expedite final action on the bill (since the Senate did not take up S. 2410), negotiators from the House and Senate...

Medal of Honor Recipients: 1979-2014

The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the nation’s highest award for military valor. It is presented by the President in the name of Congress and is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor. Since its first presentation in 1863, nearly 3,500 MOHs have been awarded. In 1973, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs issued a committee print, Vietnam Era Medal of Honor Recipients 1964-72, followed by the committee print, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1978, in 1979. Both committee prints list recipients and provide the full text of the citation, which describes the actions that resulted in the...

The Budget Control Act and Trends in Discretionary Spending

Discretionary spending is provided and controlled through appropriations acts, which fund many of the activities commonly associated with such federal government functions as running executive branch agencies, congressional offices and agencies, and international operations of the government. Essentially all spending on federal wages and salaries is discretionary. Spending can be measured by budget authority (BA; what agencies can legally obligate the government to pay) or outlays (disbursements from the U.S. Treasury). This report mostly discusses trends in outlays.

Federal spending in...

Veterans Affairs: Presumptive Service Connection and Disability Compensation

The United States has provided benefits in varying degrees to those who have worn the uniform and suffered disabilities in service to the nation. In general, a veteran is entitled to compensation for disabilities incurred in or aggravated during active military, naval, or air service. It should be noted that not all persons who served in the military are considered veterans for purposes of veterans benefits. Veterans could meet the burden of proving that their disabilities are service-connected through their military records, which may clearly describe and document the circumstances and...

When Will DOD Modernize its Electronic Health Records Systems?

This report discusses the Departments of Defense (DOD) efforts to mover from joint single integrated electronic health record to an "off-the-shelf" acquisition and VA announced it would pursue an "open-source" strategy.

U.S. Geological Survey: Background, Appropriations, and Issues for Congress

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) aims to provide unbiased scientific information to describe and understand the geological processes of the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect the nation’s quality of life. The USGS is a scientific agency that is housed within the Department of the Interior. Its primary mission is conducting science; it has no regulatory authority, nor does it manage any significant federal lands. The USGS also collects and stores scientific information that is...

Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations

Qatar, a small peninsular country in the Persian Gulf, emerged as a partner of the United States in the mid-1990s and currently serves as host to major U.S. military facilities. Qatar holds the third-largest proven natural gas reserves in the world, and is the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. Its small citizenry enjoys the world’s highest per capita income. Since the mid-1990s, Qatari leaders have overseen a course of major economic growth, increased diplomatic engagement, and limited political liberalization. The Qatari monarchy founded Al Jazeera, the first all-news Arabic...

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 113th Congress

Immigration reform was an active legislative issue in the first session of the 113th Congress. The Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744), a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes provisions on border security, interior enforcement, employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement, legalization of unauthorized aliens, immigrant visas, nonimmigrant visas, and humanitarian admissions. For its part, the House took a different approach to immigration reform. Rather than considering a single comprehensive...

Nuclear Energy Policy

Nuclear energy issues facing Congress include reactor safety and regulation, radioactive waste management, research and development priorities, federal incentives for new commercial reactors, nuclear weapons proliferation, and security against terrorist attacks.

The earthquake and resulting tsunami that severely damaged Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011, raised questions in Congress about the disaster’s possible implications for nuclear safety regulation, U.S. nuclear energy expansion, and radioactive waste policy. The tsunami knocked out electric power at the...

Increased Department of Defense Role in U.S. Ebola Response

On September 16, 2014, President Obama announced a major increase in the United States response to the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The Department of Defense (DOD) submitted requests to Congress to make excess Overseas Contingency Operations funds appropriated for FY2014 available to support this effort. This report briefly outlines these requests.

Phased Retirement: In Brief

On July 6, 2012, P.L. 112-141, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), was signed into law. Section 100121 of P.L. 112-141 provides authority for a new phased retirement option for certain federal employees.

Phased retirement allows eligible, full-time employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) to move to a part-time work schedule while simultaneously receiving partial retirement benefits. Employees participating in phased retirement, with the exception of U.S. Postal Service employees, must...

Syria's Chemical Weapons: Progress and Continuing Challenges

This report briefly covers the formal declaration and subsequent destruction of Syria's chemical weapons program. The report also mentions newer allegations of further use of chemical weapons that did not fall under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) ban.

Israel's Iron Dome Anti-Rocket System: U.S. Assistance and Coproduction

This report provides a background of Israel's Iron Dome anti-rocket system and then briefly touches on other topics including U.S.-Israeli co-production of the system, and proposed future U.S. funding.

India-U.S. Economic Relations: In Brief

Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R43741 Summary As the world’s 3rd largest economy, India is an important trade and economic partner for the United States. The upcoming September 29-30 visit by recently elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his first to Washington, DC, has heightened congressional interest in the current status of the relationship. Modi’s visit provides the Obama Administration with an opportunity to advance the U.S.-India strategic partnership, including by discussing ways to foster greater trade and investment between the two nations. May 2014...

U.S. Military Action Against the Islamic State: Answers to Frequently Asked Legal Questions

Ongoing U.S. military operations against the Islamic State (which formerly referred to itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and is also commonly referred to as IS, ISIS, or ISIL) raise issues concerning the allocation of war powers between Congress and the President, including whether such operations have been (or are required to be) authorized by an act of Congress. In August 2014, President Obama ordered U.S. forces to commence airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq to assist the Iraqi government in combating the insurgent force, protect U.S. military and nonmilitary...

Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2012 (74th-112th Congresses)

A “lame duck” session of Congress occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the term of the current Congress ends. Under present conditions, any meeting of Congress after election day in November, but before the following January 3, is a lame duck session. Prior to 1933, when the Twentieth Amendment changed the dates of the congressional term, the last regular session of Congress was always a lame duck session. Today, however, the expression is used not only for a separate session of Congress that convenes after a sine die adjournment, but also for any...

Ebola Virus Disease (Ebola or EVD): Experts List

Ebola virus disease (Ebola or EVD) is a severe, often fatal disease that was first detected near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1976. Originating in animals, EVD is spread to and among humans through contact with the blood, other bodily fluids, organs, and corpses of those infected. It is not transmitted through the air. In March 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that an EVD outbreak had begun in Guinea. The outbreak has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal.

Russia's Compliance with the INF Treaty

This report discusses the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the Obama administration's claim that Russia has violated the treaty by testing a land-based cruise missile with a range greater than 500 kilometers.

U.S.-Vietnam Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: Issues for Congress

U.S.-Vietnamese cooperation on nuclear energy and nonproliferation has grown in recent years along with closer bilateral economic, military, and diplomatic ties. In 2010, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding that Obama Administration officials said would be a “stepping stone” to a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement. This agreement was signed by the two countries on May 6, 2014, and transmitted to Congress for review on May 8. The required congressional review period for this agreement was completed in early September, and the agreement will enter into force after an...

The Islamic State: Q&A

This report provides answers to some of the basic question regarding the Islamic State (IS).

Judicial Activity Concerning Enemy Combatant Detainees: Major Court Rulings

As part of the conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the United States has captured and detained numerous persons believed to have been part of or associated with enemy forces. Over the years, federal courts have considered a multitude of petitions by or on behalf of suspected belligerents challenging aspects of U.S. detention policy. Although the Supreme Court has issued definitive rulings concerning several legal issues raised in the conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, many others remain unresolved, with some the subject of ongoing litigation.

This report discusses major judicial...

Offices of Inspectors General and Law Enforcement Authority: In Brief

Federal inspectors general (IGs) have been granted substantial independence and powers to combat waste, fraud, and abuse within designated federal departments and agencies. To execute their missions, offices of inspector general (OIGs) conduct and publish audits and investigations—among other duties. Established by public law as permanent, nonpartisan, and independent offices, OIGs exist in more than 70 federal agencies, including all departments and larger agencies, along with numerous boards and commissions and other entities. Many OIGs have been vested with law enforcement authority to...

Defense Surplus Equipment Disposal, Including the Law Enforcement 1033 Program

The effort to dispose of surplus military equipment dates back to the end of World War II when the federal government sought to reduce a massive inventory of surplus military equipment by making such equipment available to civilians. (The disposal of surplus real property, including land, buildings, commercial facilities, and equipment situated thereon, is assigned to the General Services Administration, Office of Property Disposal.)

The Department of Defense (DOD) through a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) component called DLA Disposition Services has a policy for disposing of government...

Mongolia: Issues for Congress

Mongolia is a sparsely populated young democracy in a remote part of Asia, sandwiched between two powerful large neighbors, China and Russia. It made its transition to democracy and free market reforms peacefully in 1990, after nearly 70 years as a Soviet satellite state. A quarter of a century later, the predominantly Tibetan Buddhist nation remains the only formerly Communist Asian nation to have embraced democracy. Congress has shown a strong interest in Mongolia since 1990, funding assistance programs, approving the transfer of excess defense articles, ratifying a bilateral investment...

The “1033 Program,” Department of Defense Support to Law Enforcement

The United States has traditionally kept military action and civil law enforcement apart, codifying that separation in the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. On the other hand, Congress has occasionally authorized the Department of Defense (DOD) to undertake actions specifically intended to enhance the effectiveness of domestic law enforcement through direct or material support.

One such effort is the so-called “1033 Program,” named for the section of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 1997 that granted permanent authority to the Secretary of Defense to transfer defense material to...

The Defense Production Act of 1950, Before Passage of P.L. 113-172

The Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950 (P.L. 81-774, 50 U.S.C. Appx §2061 et seq.), as amended, confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in the interest of national defense. The authorities can be used across the federal government to shape the domestic industrial base so that, when called upon, it is capable of providing essential materials and goods needed for the national defense.

Though initially passed in response to the Korean War, the DPA is historically based on the War Powers Acts of World War II. Gradually, Congress has expanded the...

Manufacturing Nuclear Weapon “Pits”: A Decisionmaking Approach for Congress

A “pit” is the plutonium “trigger” of a thermonuclear weapon. During the Cold War, the Rocky Flats Plant (CO) made up to 2,000 pits per year (ppy), but ceased operations in 1989. Since then, the Department of Energy (DOE) has made at most 11 ppy for the stockpile, yet the Department of Defense stated that it needs DOE to have a capacity of 50 to 80 ppy to extend the life of certain weapons and for other purposes. This report focuses on 80 ppy, the upper end of this range.

Various options might reach 80 ppy. Successfully establishing pit manufacturing will require, among other things,...

Border Security: CRS Experts

The following table lists the names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns related to border security. Policy areas identified include the following: Mission: scope, magnitude, relationship to departmental mission, functions and their interrelationships. Border surveillance: airports and air space; detection of nuclear and radiological materials; land borders; seaports and waterways. Immigration and foreign visitors: immigration; border “look out” systems; illegal entry; visa issuance and alien tracking. Transnational issues: border violence; foreign cooperation with...

India’s New Government and Implications for U.S. Interests

The United States and India have been pursuing a “strategic partnership” since 2004, and a 5th Strategic Dialogue session was held in New Delhi in late July 2014. A May 2014 national election seated a new Indian government led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and new Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Top U.S. officials express eagerness to engage India’s new leadership and re-energize what some see as a relationship flagging in recent years. High hopes for the engagement have become moderated as expectations held in both capitals remain unmet, in part due to a global...

U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit: Frequently Asked Questions and Background

This report provides information about the early August 2014 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC, and policy issues likely to be addressed by participants in the summit and other events being held in conjunction with it. In providing background on key U.S.-Africa policy issues, the report addresses: Africa’s development and economic challenges; U.S.-Africa trade, investment, and economic cooperation; U.S. aid to Africa; Governance, democracy, and human rights issues; and Peace and security issues, including selected U.S. responses. The summit is organized around the theme...

NATO: Response to the Crisis in Ukraine and Security Concerns in Central and Eastern Europe

Russia’s actions in Ukraine and its alleged role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 have caused observers and policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic, including Members of Congress, to reassess the role of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in upholding European security. The security concerns of NATO’s Central and Eastern European member states and non-NATO member states such as Moldova and Ukraine are of particular concern.

NATO has strongly condemned Russian actions in Ukraine and has taken steps aimed both at reassuring allies and...

Algeria: Current Issues

U.S.-Algeria ties are highly focused on counterterrorism cooperation and U.S. interest in Algeria’s oil and gas production. The Obama Administration has indicated a desire to deepen and broaden bilateral relations, including security assistance, while periodically urging greater political and economic openness. While both governments express appreciation for bilateral cooperation, U.S. officials may lack well-developed levers of influence in Algiers due to Algeria’s economic self-reliance and ties to non-Western strategic players such as Russia, along with Algerian leaders’ storied...

Shipping U.S. Crude Oil by Water: Vessel Flag Requirements and Safety Issues

New sources of crude oil from North Dakota, Texas, and western Canada have induced new routes for shipping crude oil to U.S. and Canadian refineries. While pipelines have traditionally been the preferred method of moving crude overland, they either are not available or have insufficient capacity to move all the crude from these locations. While rail has picked up some of this cargo, barges, and to a lesser extent tankers, also are moving increasing amounts of crude in domestic trade.

The rather sudden shift in transportation patterns raises concerns about the safety and efficiency of oil...

Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 111th Congress, 2009-2010

This report explains the process for filling positions to which the President makes appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate (also referred to as PAS positions). It also identifies, for the 111th Congress, all nominations to full-time positions requiring Senate confirmation in the 15 executive departments. It excludes appointments to regulatory boards and commissions and independent and other agencies, which are covered in other CRS reports.

The appointment process for advice and consent positions consists of three main stages. The first stage is selection, clearance, and...

The Federal Prison Industries: An Analysis of Sales, FY1993-FY2013

The Federal Prison Industries (FPI) is a government-owned corporation that employs offenders incarcerated in correctional facilities operated by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The FPI was created to serve as a means for managing, training, and rehabilitating inmates in the federal prison system through employment in one of its industries.

The FPI manufactures products and provides services that are primarily sold to executive agencies in the federal government. In the past, federal departments and agencies were required to purchase products from the...

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2014 Appropriations

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill provides funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and more than two dozen independent agencies. Among those independent agencies are the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the United States Postal Service (USPS). The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is funded in the House through the...

Panama: Background and U.S. Relations

The Central American nation of Panama has had five successive elected civilian governments since its return to democratic rule in 1989, and a sixth is scheduled to assume power on July 1, 2014 with the inauguration of current Vice President Juan Carlos Varela as President. Hailing from the center-right Panameñista Party, Varela won the May 4, 2014 presidential election with 39% of the vote in a three-candidate race. Significantly, Varela defeated the candidate of the ruling Democratic Change party of current President Ricardo Martinelli, who was constitutionally prohibited from running for...

U.S.-Vietnam Relations in 2014: Current Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy

After communist North Vietnam’s victory over U.S.-backed South Vietnam in 1975, the United States and Vietnam had minimal relations until the mid-1990s. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1995, overlapping security and economic interests have led the two sides to expand relations across a wide range of sectors. In 2013, President Obama and his Vietnamese counterpart announced a “comprehensive partnership” that is to provide a framework for moving the relationship to a “new phase.” A key factor driving the two countries together is a shared concern about China’s increased...

C-130 Hercules: Background, Sustainment, Modernization, Issues for Congress

The United States primary tactical airlift aircraft is the C-130. Nicknamed the Hercules, this venerable aircraft has been the workhorse of U.S. tactical airlift for the past 57 years. The majority of C-130s in the U.S. government are assigned to the U.S. Air Force, but the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard also operate sizeable C-130 fleets. The potential concerns for Congress include oversight of and appropriations for an aging C-130 fleet.

As the C-130 fleet ages, management issues arise with reduced reliability, obsolescence and reduced parts availability, and changing aviation...

Iraq Crisis: CRS Experts

The table below provides names and contact information for CRS experts on various policy concerns of interest to Congress relating to the ongoing crisis in Iraq. Policy areas identified include the conflict in Iraq, al Qaeda affiliates, embassy security, military operations, war powers, sanctions, energy security, humanitarian issues and displaced persons, issues in the Middle East region, the United Nations, and other international actors.

U.S. Air Force Bomber Sustainment and Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

The United States’ existing long-range bomber fleet of B-52s, B-1s, and B-2s are at a critical point in their operational life span. With the average age of each airframe being 50, 28, and 20 years old, respectively, military analysts are beginning to question just how long these aircraft can physically last and continue to be credible weapon systems. As potential adversaries acquire 21st century defense systems designed to prevent U.S. access to the global commons (sea, air, space, and cyberspace) and to limit U.S. forces’ freedom of action within an operational area, the ability of these...

Defense Acquisitions: How DOD Acquires Weapon Systems and Recent Efforts to Reform the Process

The Department of Defense (DOD) acquires goods and services from contractors, federal arsenals, and shipyards to support military operations. Acquisition is a broad term that applies to more than just the purchase of an item or service; the acquisition process encompasses the design, engineering, construction, testing, deployment, sustainment, and disposal of weapons or related items purchased from a contractor.

As set forth by statute and regulation, from concept to deployment, a weapon system must go through a three-step process of identifying a required (needed) weapon system,...

Defense Acquisition Reform: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress

The Department of Defense (DOD) relies extensively on contractors to equip and support the U.S. military in peacetime and during military operations, obligating more than $300 billion on contracts in FY2013.

Congress and the executive branch have long been frustrated with waste, mismanagement, and fraud in defense acquisitions and have spent significant resources attempting to reform and improve the process. These frustrations have led to numerous efforts to improve defense acquisitions. Since the end of World War II, every Administration and virtually every Secretary of Defense has...

The Republic of the Philippines and U.S. Interests—2014

The United States and the Republic of the Philippines maintain close ties stemming from the U.S. colonial period (1898-1946), the bilateral security alliance bound by the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951, and common strategic and economic interests. In the past decade, the Philippines has been one of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign assistance in Southeast Asia, including both military and development aid. Many observers say that U.S. public and private support to the Philippines following Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), which struck the central part of the country on November 8, 2013,...

Maritime Territorial Disputes in East Asia: Issues for Congress

Rising tensions stemming from maritime territorial disputes in East Asia have become a pressing challenge for U.S. policy makers, and pose one of the most complicated issues for the Obama Administration’s policy of strategic “rebalancing” towards the Asia-Pacific.

Since around 2005-2006, long-disputed waters and land features in the South China Sea and, more recently, the East China Sea have seen increasingly aggressive behavior from nations trying to strengthen claims to disputed areas. Although China is not the only nation that has sought to press its maritime territorial claims, actions...

Select Committee on Benghazi: CRS Experts

The following table provides names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to the Select Committee on Benghazi (H.Res. 567). In addition to the policy expertise identified below, related CRS products include CRS Insight IN10055, House Select Committee Precedents and Procedures and H. Res. 567, Establishing a Select Committee on the 2012 Benghazi Attack, by Christopher M. Davis; CRS Insight IN10022, Diplomatic Security After Benghazi, by Alex Tiersky; CRS Report R43195, Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel Abroad: Legislative and Executive Branch...

South Africa: Politics, Economy, and U.S. Relations

South Africa is a multi-racial, majority black southern African country of nearly 52 million. It held its first universal suffrage elections in 1994, after a transition from white minority rule under apartheid, a system of state-enforced racial segregation and socioeconomic discrimination. South Africa entered a period of mourning in late 2013, upon the death of its first post-apartheid president, Nelson Mandela. He is viewed as the founding father of the countrys nonracial democratic system, the 20th anniversary of which was recently celebrated prior to national elections on May 7. South...

Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress

Trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purposes of exploitation is believed to be one of the most prolific areas of contemporary international criminal activity and is of significant interest to the United States and the international community as a serious human rights concern. TIP is both an international and a domestic crime that involves violations of labor, public health, and human rights standards, and criminal law.

In general, the trafficking business feeds on conditions of vulnerability, such as youth, gender, poverty, ignorance, social exclusion, political instability, and ongoing...

Achievements of and Outlook for Sanctions on Iran

Most experts agree that the multilateral sanctions imposed on Iran since 2010 have contributed significantly to producing flexibility in Irans position on the scope of its nuclear program. There is similar agreement that the effect of sanctions on Irans foreign policyparticularly on its core interests in the Middle East regionand on its human rights practices, appear to have been minimal to date. In assessing effectiveness, however, it is difficult to separate the effect of sanctions from other variables such as Irans purported economic mismanagement, attitudes of the Iranian public, and...

Department of Homeland Security: FY2014 Appropriations

This report analyzes the FY2014 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested $39.0 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for DHS for FY2014, as part of an overall budget of $60.0 billion (including fees, trust funds, and other funding that is not appropriated or does not score against the budget caps). Net requested appropriations for major agencies within DHS were as follows: Customs and Border Protection (CBP), $10,833 million; Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $4,997 million; Transportation Security...

Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Historical Background and Legal Implications

From the Washington Administration to the present, Congress and the President have enacted 11 separate formal declarations of war against foreign nations in five different wars. Each declaration has been preceded by a presidential request either in writing or in person before a joint session of Congress. The reasons cited in justification for the requests have included armed attacks on United States territory or its citizens and threats to United States rights or interests as a sovereign nation.

Congress and the President have also enacted authorizations for the use of force rather than...

Military Uniform Procurement: Questions and Answers

Military uniforms are procured through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), an agency of the Department of Defense (DOD). DLA is DODs largest combat support agency, providing worldwide logistics support for the United States military services, civilian agencies, and foreign countries. With headquarters in Fort Belvoir, VA, DLA operates three supply centers: DLA Aviation, DLA Land and Maritime, and DLA Troop Support. Military uniforms are procured through DLA Troop Support in Philadelphia, PA.

DLA Troop Support is responsible for procuring nearly all of the food, clothing, and medical...

The DHS S&T Directorate: Selected Issues for Congress

Policy makers generally believe that science and technology can and will play significant roles in improving homeland security. When Congress established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296), it included the Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) to ensure that the new department had access to science and technology advice and research and development (R&D) capabilities.

The S&T Directorate is the primary organization for R&D in DHS. It conducts R&D in several DHS laboratories and funds R&D conducted by other government...

Lebanon: Background and U.S. Policy

Lebanons small geographic size and population belie the important role it has long played in the security, stability, and economy of the Levant and the broader Middle East. Congress and the executive branch have recognized Lebanons status as a venue for regional strategic competition and have engaged diplomatically, financially, and at times, militarily to influence events there. For most of its independent existence, Lebanon has been torn by periodic civil conflict and political battles between rival religious sects and ideological groups. External military intervention, occupation, and...

Global Security Contingency Fund: Summary and Issue Overview

The FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 112-81), Section 1207, created a new Global Security Contingency Fund (GSCF) as a four-year pilot project to be jointly administered and funded by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the State Department. The purpose of the fund is to carry out security and counterterrorism training, and rule of law programs. (There also are three one-year transitional authorities for assistance to Africa and Yemen.) The GSCF is placed under the State Department budget. Although decisions are to be jointly made by the Secretaries of State and Defense, the...

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests

The United States recognized the independence of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia when the former Soviet Union broke up at the end of 1991. The United States has fostered these states ties with the West in part to end their dependence on Russia for trade, security, and other relations. The United States has pursued close ties with Armenia to encourage its democratization and because of concerns by Armenian Americans and others over its fate. Close ties with Georgia have evolved from U.S. contacts with its pro-Western leadership. Successive Administrations have supported U.S. private...

Foreign Assistance to North Korea

Between 1995 and 2008, the United States provided North Korea with over $1.3 billion in assistance: slightly more than 50% for food aid and about 40% for energy assistance. Since early 2009, the United States has provided virtually no aid to North Korea, though episodically there have been discussions about resuming large-scale food aid. Additionally, the Obama Administration officials have said that they would be willing to consider other types of aid if North Korea takes steps indicating that it will dismantle its nuclear program, a prospect that most analysts view as increasingly...

Contractor Fraud Against the Federal Government: Selected Federal Civil Remedies

Because the federal government relies heavily on contractors to supply it with goods and services, fraud by these contractors potentially costs the government billions of dollars annually. Detecting, prosecuting, and deterring contractor fraud poses a challenge to federal agencies, which often possess limited resources. To combat contractor fraud, Congress has enacted several statutes that allow the federal government—and in some instances, private parties—to recover damages, civil penalties, or forfeitures against parties that make false or fraudulent claims for payment or engage in other...

Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests

Russia made uneven progress in democratization during the 1990s, but this limited progress was reversed after Vladimir Putin rose to power in 1999-2000, according to many observers. During this period, the State Duma (lower legislative chamber) became dominated by government-approved parties, gubernatorial elections were abolished, and the government consolidated ownership or control over major media and industries, including the energy sector. The Putin government showed low regard for the rule of law and human rights in suppressing insurgency in the North Caucasus, according to critics....

The Debate Over Selected Presidential Assistants and Advisors: Appointment, Accountability, and Congressional Oversight

A number of the appointments made by President Barack H. Obama to his Administration or by Cabinet secretaries to their departments have been referred to, especially by the news media, as “czars.” For some, the term is used to convey an appointee’s title (e.g., climate “czar”) in shorthand. For others, it is being used to convey a sense that power is being centralized in the White House or certain entities. When used in political science literature, the term generally refers to White House policy coordination or an intense focus by the appointee on an issue of great magnitude. Congress has...

Tort Suits Against Federal Contractors: Selected Legal Issues

Contractors have played a considerable role in U.S. military operations over the last decade, and some commentators anticipate they will continue to do so in the future. Due in part to their heavy involvement in military operations, contractors have faced numerous tort suits, or suits seeking remedy for civil wrongs, in recent years. Many of these tort suits have alleged that contractors negligence, or failure to take due care, in performing contractual obligations has caused harms to third/private parties (as opposed to the contracting agency). Contractors have often responded to such...

Central Asia: Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests

This report discusses the current status of Central Asian states and U.S. policy, which has been aimed at facilitating their cooperation with U.S. and NATO stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and their efforts to combat terrorism, proliferation, and trafficking in arms, drugs, and persons.

Comparison of Rights in Military Commission Trials and Trials in Federal Criminal Court

The renewal of military commission proceedings against Khalid Sheik Mohammad and four others for their alleged involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks has focused renewed attention on the differences between trials in federal court and those conducted by military commission. The decision to try the defendants in military court required a reversal in policy by the Obama Administration, which had publicly announced in November 2009 its plans to transfer the five detainees from the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the United States to stand trial in the U.S. District Court...

U.S. Nuclear Weapon “Pit” Production: Background and Options in Brief

Congress is involved in the long-running and costly decision regarding the future production of “pits”; a pit is a nuclear weapon’s plutonium core. Rocky Flats Plant (CO) mass-produced pits during the Cold War; production ceased in 1989. The Department of Energy (DOE), which maintains U.S. nuclear weapons, then established a small pit manufacturing capability at PF-4, a building at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) (NM). PF-4 has made at most 11 pits per year (ppy). DOE also proposed higher-capacity facilities; none came to fruition.

U.S. policy is to maintain existing nuclear weapons....

Military Base Closures: Frequently Asked Questions

These FAQs examine the provisions in the Constitution and in permanent statute that define and limit federal authority to disestablish or diminish employment at defense sites. They do not discuss the special, temporary BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) process that Congress has periodically authorized for the reduction of defense infrastructure.

The Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

In April 2009, then-Secretary of Defense Gates announced he intended to significantly restructure the Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program. The FCS was a multiyear, multibillion dollar program that had been underway since 2000 and was at the heart of the Army’s transformation efforts. In lieu of the cancelled FCS manned ground vehicle (MGV), the Army was directed to develop a ground combat vehicle (GCV) that would be relevant across the entire spectrum of Army operations and would incorporate combat lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Army reissued a request for proposal (RFP) for...

U.S. Diplomatic Missions: Background and Issues on Chief of Mission (COM) Authority

“Chief of Mission,” or COM, is the title conferred on the principal officer in charge of each U.S. diplomatic mission to a foreign country, foreign territory, or international organization. Usually the term refers to the U.S. ambassadors who lead U.S. embassies abroad, but the term also is used for ambassadors who head other official U.S. missions and to other diplomatic personnel who may step in when no ambassador is present. Appointed by the President, each COM serves as the President’s personal representative, leading diplomatic efforts for a particular mission or in the country of...

Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006: Background and Performance

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (Perkins IV; P.L. 109-270) supports the development of academic and career and technical skills among secondary education students and postsecondary education students who elect to enroll in career and technical education (CTE) programs, sometimes referred to as vocational education programs. Perkins IV was authorized through FY2012, which ended on September 30, 2012. The authorization was extended through FY2013 under the General Education Provisions Act, although the act continues to receive appropriations in...

Direct Overt U.S. Aid Appropriations for and Military Reimbursements to Pakistan, FY2002-FY2015

This report provides data regarding the direct overt U.S. aid appropriations and military reimbursements to Pakistan.

Department of Defense Trends in Overseas Contract Obligations

This report examines Department of Defense's (DOD) overseas contract obligations in the larger context of U.S. government and DOD contract spending, and how contract obligations are used to support DOD operations in different regions. This report also examines the extent to which this data is sufficiently reliable to use as a factor when developing policy or understanding government operations.

Marine Corps Drawdown, Force Structure Initiatives, and Roles and Missions: Background and Issues for Congress

The Marine Corps characterizes itself as a crisis response expeditionary force which is task organized and able to conduct operations across the entire spectrum of military operations. The Corps is a “middleweight force” that is designed to fill the void in our Nation’s defense structure between light Special Operations Forces (SOF) and heavier conventional units. The Marines’ missions are codified in U.S. Code, Title 10, Section 5063, United States Marine Corps: Composition and Functions, and marines are the nation’s primary amphibious force, capable of conducting amphibious assault...

Army Drawdown and Restructuring: Background and Issues for Congress

On January 26, 2012, senior DOD leadership unveiled a new defense strategy based on a review of potential future security challenges, current defense strategy, and budgetary constraints. This new strategy envisions a smaller, leaner Army that is agile, flexible, rapidly deployable, and technologically advanced. This strategy will rebalance the Army’s global posture and presence, emphasizing where potential problems are likely to arise, such as the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.

As part of the Administration’s original proposal, two armored brigade combat teams (ABCTs) in Europe...

Energy and Water Development: FY2014 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Department of Energy (DOE), and several independent agencies.

FY2013 Energy and Water Development appropriations were considered in the context of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25), which established discretionary spending limits for FY2012-FY2021. On March 26, 2013, the President signed H.R. 933, the FY2013 Defense and Military Construction/VA, Full Year...

FY2014 Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components

Four continuing resolutions (CRs) were enacted during the FY2014 appropriations process, to provide temporary funding until the Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2014, was enacted on January 17, 2014 (P.L. 113-76).

The first two CRs were enacted before and during the FY2014 funding gap, which commenced on October 1, 2013, and terminated on October 17, 2013. Both of these were “narrow” CRs, in that they only funded certain prior year projects and activities. The first CR, the Pay Our Military Act (H.R. 3210; P.L. 113-39), was enacted on September 30, 2013. It provided funds for certain...

Reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts: Disclosure of FISA Opinions

In response to the disclosure of various National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance and data collection programs, a number of legislative changes to the government’s intelligence operations authority have been suggested. Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) reviews government applications to conduct surveillance and engage in data collection for foreign intelligence purposes, and the FISA Court of Review reviews rulings of the FISC. Most FISA opinions are classified by the executive branch. Some have raised...

FY2014 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Ongoing operations in Afghanistan, along with the operational role of the Reserve Components, further heighten interest in a wide range of military personnel policies and issues.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has selected a number of the military personnel issues considered in deliberations on the initial House-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 and on the bill that was enacted and became law (P.L. 113-66). This report...

The 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) and Defense Strategy: Issues for Congress

By statute, the Department of Defense (DOD) is required, by Section 118, Title 10, U.S. Code, to submit to Congress a report based on its most recent Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) process, no later than the President submits his budget request for Fiscal Year 2015. The “2014 QDR” review process took place against the backdrop of key changes in the global strategic context, recent evolutions in U.S. strategic priorities, and a tighter fiscal context. The 2014 process also drew on a series of recent reviews and guidance documents—a 2011 DOD “comprehensive review” initially launched by...

The Berry Amendment: Requiring Defense Procurement to Come from Domestic Sources

This report examines the original intent and purpose of the Berry Amendment and legislative proposals to amend the application of domestic source restrictions, as well as potential options for Congress. In order to protect the U.S. industrial base during periods of adversity and war, Congress passed domestic source restrictions as part of the 1941 Fifth Supplemental Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act. These provisions later became known as the Berry Amendment. The Berry Amendment (Title 10 United States Code [U.S.C.] §2533a, Requirement to Buy Certain Articles from American...

U.S. Nuclear Weapon “Pit” Production Options for Congress

A “pit” is the plutonium core of a nuclear weapon. Until 1989, the Rocky Flats Plant (CO) mass-produced pits. Since then, the United States has made at most 11 pits per year (ppy). U.S. policy is to maintain existing nuclear weapons. To do this, the Department of Defense states that it needs the Department of Energy (DOE), which maintains U.S. nuclear weapons, to produce 50-80 ppy by 2030. While some argue that few if any new pits are needed, at least for decades, this report focuses on options to reach 80 ppy.

Pit production involves precisely forming plutonium—a hazardous, radioactive,...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2014

Congress completed action on the FY2014 regular appropriations bills with enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (P.L. 113-76), in January 2014. The act contains the 12 regular appropriations bills that fund federal departments and agencies and provide funding for most research and development (R&D) supported by the federal government. Prior to enactment of P.L. 113-76, FY2014 funding was provided by two continuing resolutions (P.L. 113-46 and P.L. 113-73). Where possible, CRS has identified and included in this report R&D funding in P.L. 113-76 for agencies and programs....

Reducing Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Military Retirees and the Bipartisan Budget Act: In Brief

In addition to raising budget caps in FY2014 and FY2015, the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) reduced the cost of living adjustments (COLAs) provided to working-age military retirees under the age of 62 from the full Consumer Price Index (CPI) to the CPI less 1%. Military retirees would then receive a “bump-up” at age 62 that would raise their benefit level to an amount that included full rather than partial CPI adjustments for each year below the age of 62. This new benefit level would then be increased for full CPI adjustments in later years. According to CBO, this change would have saved the...

TRICARE and VA Health Care: Impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)

The 111th Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148; ACA), which was later amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152; HCERA), and is hereinafter referred to as ACA. In general, ACA did not make any significant changes to the Department of Defense (DOD) TRICARE program or to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. However, many have sought clarification as to whether certain provisions in ACA, such as a mandate for most individuals to have health insurance, or...

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda): U.S. and International Response to Philippines Disaster

This report examines the impact of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which struck the central Philippines on November 8, 2013, and the U.S. and international response. Haiyan was one of the strongest typhoons to strike land on record. Over a 16 hour period, the “super typhoon,” with a force equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane and sustained winds of up to 195 mph, directly swept through six provinces in the central Philippines. The disaster quickly created a humanitarian crisis. In some of the hardest hit areas, particularly in coastal communities in Leyte province and the southern tip of Eastern...

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2014 Budget and Appropriations

On April 10, 2013, the Obama Administration submitted to Congress its budget request for FY2014. The request for State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs totaled $51.84 billion, which was about 2% below the FY2013 post-sequester estimated funding level of $52.88 billion. Within the request, $3.81 billion was designated as Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding, which was 68% below FY2013-estimated OCO funding of $11.92 billion. Of the total request, $16.88 billion was for State Department Operations and related agencies, a 5.8% decline from the FY2013 funding estimate of...

The Specialty Metal Clause: Oversight Issues and Options for Congress

This report examines the specialty metal clause, potential oversight issues, and options for Congress. The specialty metal clause in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from acquiring end units or components for aircraft, missile and space systems, ships, tank and automotive items, weapon systems, or ammunition unless these items have been manufactured with specialty metals that have been melted or produced in the United States. Thousands of products used for defense, aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy...

Bangladesh Apparel Factory Collapse: Background in Brief

The April 24, 2013, collapse of an eight-story garment factory, called Rana Plaza, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulted in the deaths of more than 1,100 workers. It is reportedly now considered the deadliest accident in the history of the apparel industry. Congress has had a long-standing interest in supporting internationally recognized worker rights in developing countries, and the building collapse has raised concerns about worker conditions in Bangladesh.

Rana Plaza was allegedly structurally unsound and poorly maintained for apparel production. Apparel production is generally known as an...

The Social Security Number: Legal Developments Affecting Its Collection, Disclosure, and Confidentiality

While the social security number (SSN) was first introduced as a device for keeping track of contributions to the Social Security program, its use has been expanded by government entities and the private sector to keep track of many other government and private sector records. Use of the SSN as a federal government identifier was based on Executive Order 9397, issued by President Franklin Roosevelt. Beginning in the 1960s, federal agencies started adopting the SSN as a governmental identifier, and its use for keeping track of government records, on both the federal and state levels,...

Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier (CVN) Homeporting at Mayport: Background and Issues for Congress

The Navy’s proposed FY2014 budget, like the Navy’s proposed FY2013 budget, requested no funding for Military Construction (MilCon) projects required to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) at Mayport, FL. The Navy’s FY2013 budget deferred the Navy’s plan to homeport a CVN at Mayport, and the Navy’s FY2013-FY2017 Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP) contained no funding for MilCon projects required to homeport a CVN at Mayport. The Navy stated in its FY2013 budget submission: “Although the FY 2013 budget does not contain a construction project supporting the homeporting of a CVN in...

Algae’s Potential as a Transportation Biofuel

Congress continues to debate the federal role in biofuel research, biofuel tax incentives, and renewable fuel mandates. The debate touches on topics such as fuel imports and security, job creation, and environmental benefits, and is particularly significant for advanced biofuels, such as those produced by algae.

Congress established the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2), a mandate requiring that the national fuel supply contain a minimum amount of fuel produced from renewable biomass. The RFS2 is essentially composed of two biofuel mandates—one for unspecified biofuel, which is being met...

“Leahy Law” Human Rights Provisions and Security Assistance: Issue Overview

Congressional interest in the laws and processes involved in conditioning U.S. assistance to foreign security forces on human rights grounds has grown in recent years, especially as U.S. Administrations have increased emphasis on expanding U.S. partnerships and building partnership capacity with foreign military and other security forces. Congress has played an especially prominent role in initiating, amending, supporting with resources, and overseeing implementation of long-standing laws on human rights provisions affecting U.S. security assistance.

First sponsored in the late 1990s by...

Contractors and HealthCare.gov: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

The widely reported problems with the rollout of the HealthCare.gov website—the federal online health insurance portal called for by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) (P.L. 111-148, as amended)—have prompted interest in the role that contractors played in developing this site. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) relied upon the services of over 50 vendors to build the site, which was reportedly largely unusable when it first became available to the public on October 1, 2013, and has been the subject of ongoing work since then.

Given HealthCare.gov’s...

Detention of U.S. Persons as Enemy Belligerents

The detainee provisions passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2012, P.L. 112-81, affirm that the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), P.L. 107-40, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, authorizes the detention of persons captured in connection with hostilities. The act provides for the first time a statutory definition of covered persons whose detention is authorized pursuant to the AUMF. During debate of the provision, significant attention focused on the applicability of this detention authority to U.S. citizens and other persons...

Health Care for Rural Veterans: The Example of Federally Qualified Health Centers

This report discusses considerations that may arise during possible attempts to increase collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and describes policy levers Congress might use to encourage VA-FQHC collaboration. These approaches might also be employed to encourage collaboration between the VA and other types of facilities that may serve rural veterans.

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide. It capitalizes military family housing and the U.S. share of the NATO Security Investment Program and finances the implementation of installation closures and realignments. It underwrites veterans benefit and health care programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), provides for the creation and maintenance of U.S. cemeteries and...

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: A Primer

The term “STEM education” refers to teaching and learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It typically includes educational activities across all grade levels—from pre-school to post-doctorate—in both formal (e.g., classrooms) and informal (e.g., afterschool programs) settings. Federal policy makers have an active and enduring interest in STEM education, and the topic is frequently raised in federal science, education, workforce, national security, and immigration policy debates. For example, more than 225 bills containing the term “science education”...

Defense: FY2014 Authorization and Appropriations

Congressional action on DOD’s FY2014 budget was hobbled by the prevailing uncertainty over the entire federal budget that dissipated only in mid-December, when Congress passed and the President signed H.J.Res. 59, which set binding caps on discretionary spending for defense and nondefense programs in FY2014. The bill’s defense cap, while about $31 billion below the amount requested for defense programs by President Obama, was more than $20 billion higher than the FY2014 defense cap that had been set by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 (P.L. 112-25).

President Obama’s FY2014 base budget...

Threats to U.S. National Security Interests in Space: Orbital Debris Mitigation and Removal

After decades of activities in space, Earth’s orbit is littered with man-made objects that no longer serve a useful purpose. This includes roughly 22,000 objects larger than the size of a softball and hundreds of thousands of smaller fragments. This population of space debris potentially threatens U.S. national security interests in space, both governmental (military, intelligence, and civil) and commercial. Congress has broadly supported the full range of these national security interests and has a vested concern in ensuring a strong and continued U.S. presence in space.

Two events in...

Post-Employment, “Revolving Door,” Laws for Federal Personnel

Federal personnel may be subject to certain conflict of interest restrictions on private employment activities even after they leave service for the United States government. These restrictions—applicable when one enters private employment after having left federal government service—are often referred to as “revolving door” laws. For the most part, other than the narrow restrictions specific to procurement officials or bank examiners, these laws restrict only certain representational types of activities for private employers, such as lobbying or advocacy directed to, and which attempt to...

Next Steps in Nuclear Arms Control with Russia: Issues for Congress

In his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama stated that the United States would “engage Russia to seek further reductions in our nuclear arsenals.” These reductions could include limits on strategic, nonstrategic and nondeployed nuclear weapons. Yet, arms control negotiations between the United States and Russia have stalled, leading many observers to suggest that the United States reduce its nuclear forces unilaterally, or in parallel with Russia, without negotiating a new treaty. Many in Congress have expressed concerns about this possibility, both because they question the...

War in Afghanistan: Campaign Progress, Political Strategy, and Issues for Congress

This is a critical time for U.S. efforts in the war in Afghanistan. U.S. military engagement beyond December 2014, when the current NATO mission ends, depends on the achievement of a U.S.-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), specifying the status of U.S. forces. Afghan President Hamid Karzai threw the BSA process into confusion by introducing new terms and conditions after a deal had been reached by negotiators. Even if a BSA is reached, U.S. decisions are still pending regarding the scope, scale, and timeline for any post-2014 U.S. force presence in Afghanistan. President Obama has...

Military Medical Care: Questions and Answers

The primary objective of the military health system, which includes the Defense Department’s hospitals, clinics, and medical personnel, is to maintain the health of military personnel so they can carry out their military missions and to be prepared to deliver health care during wartime. The military health system also covers dependents of active duty personnel, military retirees, and their dependents, including some members of the reserve components. The military health system provides health care services through either Department of Defense (DOD) medical facilities, known as “military...

Science and Technology Issues in the 113th Congress

Science and technology (S&T) have a pervasive influence over a wide range of issues confronting the nation. Public and private research and development spurs scientific and technological advancement. Such advances can drive economic growth, help address national priorities, and improve health and quality of life. The constantly changing nature and ubiquity of science and technology frequently create public policy issues of congressional interest.

The federal government supports scientific and technological advancement by directly funding research and development and indirectly by creating...

Rare Earth Elements in National Defense: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress

Some Members of Congress have expressed concern over U.S. acquisition of rare earth materials composed of rare earth elements (REE) used in various components of defense weapon systems. Rare earth elements consist of 17 elements on the periodic table, including 15 elements beginning with atomic number 57 (lanthanum) and extending through number 71 (lutetium), as well as two other elements having similar properties (yttrium and scandium). These are referred to as “rare” because although relatively abundant in total quantity, they appear in low concentrations in the earth’s crust and...

The Budget Control Act, Sequestration, and the Foreign Affairs Budget: Background and Possible Impacts

Congress has an interest in the cost and effectiveness of foreign affairs activities that promote U.S. interests overseas. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25), as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240/H.R. 8, signed into law on January 2, 2013) required across-the-board reductions (sequestration) in most federal defense and nondefense discretionary programs, projects, and activities including those in foreign affairs for FY2013, and additional spending reductions each year through FY2021. These automatic cuts for FY2013 were ordered on March 1,...

Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency

With congressional approval, the Nixon Administration established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 under an executive branch reorganization plan, which consolidated numerous federal pollution control responsibilities that had been divided among several federal agencies. EPA’s responsibilities grew over time as Congress enacted an increasing number of environmental statutes and major amendments to these statutes. EPA’s primary responsibilities have evolved to include the regulation of air quality, water quality, and chemicals in commerce; the development of regulatory...

Rare Earth Elements: The Global Supply Chain

The concentration of production of rare earth elements (REEs) outside the United States raises the important issue of supply vulnerability. REEs are used for new energy technologies and national security applications. Two key questions of interest to Congress are: (1) Is the United States vulnerable to supply disruptions of REEs? (2) Are these elements essential to U.S. national security and economic well-being?

There are 17 rare earth elements (REEs), 15 within the chemical group called lanthanides, plus yttrium and scandium. The lanthanides consist of the following: lanthanum, cerium,...

Turkmenistan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests

When Turkmenistan gained independence with the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, the former republic’s president and head of the Turkmen Communist Party, Saparamurad Niyazov, retained power. He was reelected president in another uncontested race in 1992, and a referendum in 1994 extended his term until 2002. Before facing reelection, however, constitutional amendments approved in 1999 proclaimed him president for life. The country’s May 1992 constitution granted Niyazov overwhelming powers to rule by decree as head of state and government. According to several...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2013

President Obama’s budget request for FY2013 included $140.820 billion for research and development (R&D), a $1.951 billion (1.4%) increase from the FY2012 estimated funding level of $138.869 billion. The FY2013 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 113-6), signed into law on March 26, 2013, provided year-long appropriations to all agencies for FY2013. The law included divisions incorporating five of the regular appropriations bills—Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies;...

The September 2013 Terrorist Attack in Kenya: In Brief

On September 21, 2013, masked gunmen attacked the upscale Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya taking hostages and killing at least 67 people. Almost 200 people, including at least five U.S. citizens, were wounded in the siege, which lasted four days. The attack is the most deadly terrorist incident in Kenya since the 1998 Al Qaeda bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi. A Somali Islamist insurgent group, Al Shabaab, which has ties to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the Westgate attack. Al Qaeda and affiliated groups like Al Shabaab have had a presence in East Africa for almost 20...

China’s Political Institutions and Leaders in Charts

This report provides a snapshot of China’s leading political institutions and current leaders in the form of nine organization charts and three tables. The report is a companion to CRS Report R41007, Understanding China’s Political System, by Susan V. Lawrence and Michael F. Martin, which provides a detailed explanation of China’s political system. This chart-based report is intended to assist Members and their staffs seeking to understand where political institutions and individuals fit within the broader Chinese political system and to identify which Chinese officials are responsible for...

The Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA)

This report discusses the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA, 50 U.S.C. Appx § 2061 et seq.), which confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in the interest of national defense.

Georgia’s October 2013 Presidential Election: Outcome and Implications

This report discusses Georgia’s October 27, 2013, presidential election and its implications for U.S. interests. The election took place one year after a legislative election that witnessed the mostly peaceful shift of legislative and ministerial power from the ruling party, the United National Movement (UNM), to the Georgia Dream (GD) coalition bloc. The newly elected president, Giorgi Margvelashvili of the GD, will have fewer powers under recently approved constitutional changes.

Most observers have viewed the 2013 presidential election as marking Georgia’s further progress in...

Federal Financial Reporting: An Overview

Federal financial reporting—defined here as the process of recording retrospective executive department-level financial and performance information—can provide both a snapshot of the government’s financial health at a given moment in time, as well as an accounting of its financial performance over a particular time frame. Federal financial reports may help the federal government demonstrate accountability, provide information for policy formulation and planning, and be used to evaluate governmental performance. Multiple reports are required by law, and all are intended to permit...

Improper Payments and Recovery Audits: Legislation, Implementation, and Analysis

As Congress searches for ways to generate savings, reduce the deficit, and fund federal programs, it has held hearings and passed legislation to prevent and recover improper payments. Improper payments—which exceeded $115 billion in FY2011—are payments made in an incorrect amount, payments that should not have been made at all, or payments made to an ineligible recipient or for an ineligible purpose. The total amount of improper payments may be even higher than reported because several agencies have yet to determine improper payment amounts for many programs, including some with billions...

Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Appropriations Process: FAQs Regarding Potential Legislative Changes and Effects of a Government Shutdown

Congress has yet to complete legislative action on any of the 12 regular appropriations bills to fund the routine operations of federal agencies for FY2014, which began on October 1, 2013. Moreover, lawmakers have been unable to agree on a continuing appropriations bill, or continuing resolution (CR), to provide funding for part or all of the new fiscal year. As a result, the federal government has begun a shutdown of programs that lack budget authority to continue operations in FY2014, except in certain circumstances.

Congress is deeply divided over implementation of the Patient...

Syria’s Chemical Weapons: Issues for Congress

Syria has produced, stored, and weaponized chemical agents, but it remains dependent on foreign suppliers for chemical precursors. The regime of President Bashar al Asad possesses stocks of nerve (sarin, VX) and blister (mustard gas) agents, possibly weaponized into bombs, shells, and missiles. The government also has associated production facilities. Chemical weapons and their agents can deteriorate depending on age and quality; little is known from open sources about the current condition of the stockpile. Syria continues to attempt to procure new supplies of chemical weapons precursors,...

Tajikistan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests

Tajikistan is a significant country in Central Asia by virtue of its geographic location bordering China and Afghanistan and its ample water and other resources, but it faces ethnic and clan schisms, deep poverty, poor governance, and other severe challenges. Tajikistan was one of the poorest of the new states that gained independence at the end of 1991 after the break-up of the former Soviet Union. The new country was soon plunged into a devastating civil conflict between competing regional and other interests that lasted until a peace settlement in 1997. Former state farm chairman...

Issues in Homeland Security Policy for the 113th Congress

With the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), many observers have made a fresh assessment of where America’s homeland security enterprise stands today. DHS is currently the third-largest department in the federal government, although it does not incorporate all of the homeland security functions at the federal level. The definition of homeland security remains unsettled, and questions about the effectiveness and efficiency of the department have been raised since it was first proposed. Evolution of America’s response to terrorist threats has...

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993: History, Implementation, and Effects

After the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. §1973–1973aa-6), legislation had been urged for over two decades that would create a national voter registration system designed to make registration easier and more uniform from state to state. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA, P.L. 103-31, 107 Stat.77, [42 U.S.C. §1973gg et seq.]), the so-called “motor-voter” bill, was signed into law by President Clinton on May 20, 1993. It required states to establish voter registration procedures for federal elections so that eligible citizens might apply to register to...

Intelligence Spending and Appropriations: Issues for Congress

It is now publicly acknowledged that intelligence appropriations are a significant component of the federal budget, over $78 billion in FY2012 for both the national and military intelligence programs. Limited publicly available data suggest intelligence spending, measured in constant 2014 dollars, has roughly doubled since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and, before declines over the last three years, was almost double spending at its peak at the end of the Cold War. The recent disclosure by the Washington Post of details from the Administration’s FY2013 National Intelligence...

Chemical Weapons: A Summary Report of Characteristics and Effects

The potential for terrorist use of chemical agents is a noted concern highlighted by the Tokyo sarin gas attacks of 1995. The events of September 11, 2001, increased congressional attention towards reducing the vulnerability of the United States to such unconventional attacks. The possibility that terrorist groups might obtain insecure chemical weapons led to increased scrutiny of declared Libyan chemical weapon stockpiles following the fall of the Qadhafi regime. Experts have expressed similar concerns regarding the security and use of Syrian chemical weapons, reportedly including stocks...

U.S. Sanctions on Burma: Issues for the 113th Congress

In March 2011, Burma’s ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) formally dissolved itself and transferred power to a semi-military/semi-civilian government known as the Union Government, headed by President Thein Sein, ex-general and former prime minister for the SPDC. President Thein Sein, with the support of Burma’s Union Parliament, has implemented a number of political and economic reforms, to which the Obama Administration has responded by waiving or easing sanctions.

Although the presidential waivers effectively lift the sanctions, they do not revoke or...

Egypt in Crisis: Issues for Congress

This report provides a brief overview of the key issues for the 113th Congress related to Egypt.

Possible U.S. Intervention in Syria: Issues for Congress

Reports of a mass casualty chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus are reshaping the long-running and contentious debate over possible U.S. intervention in Syria’s bloody civil war. Obama Administration officials and some foreign governments report that on August 21, 2013, forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Asad attacked opposition-controlled areas in the suburbs of the capital with chemical weapons, killing hundreds of civilians, including women and children. The Syrian government has denied the accusations categorically and blames the opposition for the attack. United...

Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Aid Conditions, Restrictions, and Reporting Requirements

The 113th Congress continues to debate levels of U.S. assistance to Pakistan in light of signs that Pakistan may not be a fully willing and effective U.S. partner, and that official Pakistani elements continue to support Islamist militant forces. During a period of economic and budget crises in the United States, Obama Administration officials and some senior Members of Congress have voiced concerns about the efficacy of continuing the flow of billions of U.S. aid dollars into Pakistan, with some in Congress urging more stringent conditions on, or even curtailment of, such aid. At issue is...

Sexual Assaults Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ): Selected Legislative Proposals

Recent high-profile military-related cases involving sexual assaults by U.S. servicemembers have resulted in increased public and congressional interest in military discipline and the military justice system. Questions have been raised regarding how allegations of sexual assault are addressed by the chain of command, the authority and process to convene a court-martial, and the ability of the convening authority to provide clemency to a servicemember convicted of an offense.

Under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the power to raise and support armies; provide and...

Sri Lanka: Background and U.S. Relations

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, is a constitutional democracy with a relatively high level of development. For two and a half decades, political, social, and economic development was seriously constrained by years of ethnic conflict and war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers. After a violent end to the civil war in May 2009, in which authorities crushed LTTE forces and precipitated a humanitarian emergency in Sri Lanka’s Tamil-dominated north, attention has turned to...

Possible Intervention in Syria: CRS Experts

The table below provides names and contact information for CRS experts on various policy concerns of interest to Congress relating to the prospect of international military responses to the suspected use of chemical weapons in Syria. Policy areas identified include the conflict in Syria, chemical weapons, military operations, intelligence issues, war powers, the humanitarian response, issues in the Middle East region, the United Nations, other international actors, and other foreign policy instruments.

China’s Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy

Given its relatively low savings rate, the U.S. economy depends heavily on foreign capital inflows from countries with high savings rates (such as China) to meet its domestic investment needs and to fund the federal budget deficit. The willingness of foreigners to invest in the U.S. economy and purchase U.S. public debt has helped keep U.S. real interest rates low. However, many economists contend that U.S. dependency on foreign savings exposes the U.S. economy to certain risks, and some argue that such low-cost capital inflows were a contributing factor to the U.S. housing bubble and...

Bangladesh: Political and Strategic Developments and U.S. Interests

Bangladesh (the former East Pakistan) is an Islamic-majority nation in South Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, dominated by low-lying riparian zones. It is the world’s eighth-largest country in terms of population, with 164 million people housed in a land mass the size of Iowa. Roughly 80% of Bangladesh’s population lives on less than $2 per day. It suffers from high levels of corruption and, at times, a faltering democratic system that has been subject to pressure from the military, though the nation has an established reputation as a largely moderate and democratic majority Muslim...

Health Workforce Programs in Title VII of the Public Health Service Act

Title VII of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) supports health professions education and training through grants to and contractual agreements with institutions, and direct assistance to individuals. Institutions may receive Title VII support for such activities as residency programs at medical and dental schools, recruitment and retention initiatives in community-based educational settings, and health workforce data collection and analysis within state health departments. Individuals typically receive direct assistance through scholarships, loans, loan repayments, or fellowships. Title...

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Other Mental Health Problems in the Military: Oversight Issues for Congress

Military servicemembers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and depression, as well as military suicides, continue to be a major concern of Congress. Numerous legislative provisions have been enacted over the past years to address these issues. Members will likely seek to offer legislation in the 113th Congress to address this complex set of issues. This report is intended to provide assistance in understanding the issues associated with psychological health in the active duty forces, potential congressional responses, and what questions may...

National Security Strategy: Mandates, Execution to Date, and Issues for Congress

Strategy—together with decision-making, planning and execution, budgeting, and congressional oversight—is a critical component of U.S. government thinking and practice in the arena of national security. In theory, effective national security strategy-making can sharpen priorities and refine approaches; provide a single shared vision for all concerned agencies; clarify the roles and responsibilities of all concerned agencies so that they may more effectively plan and resource; offer a coherent baseline for congressional oversight; and communicate U.S. government intent to key audiences at...

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: A Legal Analysis

In 1993, after many months of study, debate, and political controversy, Congress passed and President Clinton signed legislation establishing a revised “[p]olicy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces.” The legislation reflected a compromise regarding the U.S. military’s policy toward members of the Armed Forces who engage in homosexual conduct. This compromise, colloquially referred to as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT),” held that “[t]he presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the...

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): An Overview

This report discusses the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), as amended, is intended to help employees balance work and family life. The act provides eligible employees with two types of job-protected leave: regular leave and military family leave. In turn, military family leave consists of qualifying exigency leave and military caregiver leave.

U.S.-China Relations: An Overview of Policy Issues

The United States relationship with China touches on an exceptionally broad range of issues, from security, trade, and broader economic issues, to the environment and human rights. Congress faces important questions about what sort of relationship the United States should have with China and how the United States should respond to China’s “rise.” After more than 30 years of fast-paced economic growth, China’s economy is now the second-largest in the world after that of the United States. With economic success, China has developed significant global strategic clout. It is also engaged in an...

U.S.-Cambodia Relations: Issues for the 113th Congress

The United States and the Kingdom of Cambodia have been expanding their once-limited ties for a number of years, although U.S. concerns about Cambodia’s human rights record still limit the scope of the bilateral relationship. The Obama Administration has taken steps to broaden engagement with Cambodia, partly in response to China’s growing diplomatic and economic influence in Cambodia and the Lower Mekong Delta region. U.S. interests in Cambodia include promoting development, trade and investment, regional security, civil society, democracy, and human rights. U.S. military engagement with...

International Illegal Trade in Wildlife: Threats and U.S. Policy

Global trade in illegal wildlife is a potentially vast illicit economy, estimated to be worth billions of dollars each year. Some of the most lucrative illicit wildlife commodities include elephant ivory, rhino horn, sturgeon caviar, and so-called “bushmeat.” Wildlife smuggling may pose a transnational security threat as well as an environmental one. Numerous sources indicate that some organized criminal syndicates, insurgent groups, and foreign military units may be involved in various aspects of international wildlife trafficking. Limited anecdotal evidence also indicates that some...

Kazakhstan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests

Kazakhstan is an important power in Central Asia by virtue of its geographic location, large territory, ample natural resources, and economic growth, but it faces ethnic, political, and other challenges to stability. Kazakhstan gained independence at the end of 1991 after the break-up of the former Soviet Union. Kazakhstan’s president at the time, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was one of the top leaders of the former Soviet Union and was instrumental in forming the successor Commonwealth of Independent States. He has been reelected president of Kazakhstan several times and in June 2010 was...

Air Force F-22 Fighter Program

Procurement of Air Force F-22 Raptor fighters began in FY1999, and a total of 195 (177 production aircraft, 16 test aircraft, and 2 development aircraft) were procured through FY2009. In the FY2010 budget, the Administration proposed to end F-22 procurement at 187, and Congress approved that termination. The F-22 assembly line in Marietta, GA, has been shut down, with its tools and equipment placed in storage.

Since 2010, operational issues have arisen. Following a November 2010 fatal crash of an F-22 in Alaska, the Air Force recorded at least 25 “physiological incidents” of F-22 pilots...

Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance

In the post-2001 era, the United States has viewed Pakistan as a key ally, especially in the context of counterterrorism and Afghan and regional stability. Pakistan has been among the leading recipients of U.S. foreign assistance both historically and in recent years, although assistance levels have fluctuated considerably over the decades of Pakistani independence. In the wake of 9/11, however, aid to Pakistan increased steadily. Since 1948, the United States has pledged more than $30 billion in direct aid, about half for military assistance, and more than two-thirds appropriated in the...

Financial Services and General Government: FY2013 Appropriations

The Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill provides funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and more than two dozen independent agencies. Among those independent agencies are the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the United States Postal Service (USPS). The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is funded in the House through the...

U.S. and South Korean Cooperation in the World Nuclear Energy Market: Major Policy Considerations

A South Korean consortium signed a contract in December 2009 to provide four commercial nuclear reactors to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signaling a new role for South Korea in the world nuclear energy market. The $20 billion deal indicates that South Korea has completed the transition from passive purchaser of turn-key nuclear plants in the 1970s to major nuclear technology supplier, capable of competing with the largest and most experienced nuclear technology companies in the world.

In the 1970s, South Korea launched its nuclear power program through the government-owned Korea...

Georgia [Republic]: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests

The small Black Sea-bordering country of Georgia gained its independence at the end of 1991 with the dissolution of the former Soviet Union. The United States had an early interest in its fate, since the well-known former Soviet foreign minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, soon became its leader. Democratic and economic reforms faltered during his rule, however. New prospects for the country emerged after Shevardnadze was ousted in 2003 and the U.S.-educated Mikheil Saakashvili was elected president. Then-U.S. President George W. Bush visited Georgia in 2005, and praised the democratic and...

Department of Homeland Security: FY2013 Appropriations

This report describes the FY2013 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested $39.510 billion in adjusted net discretionary budget authority for DHS for FY2013, as part of an overall budget of $59.501 billion (including fees, trust funds, and other funding that is not appropriated or does not score against the budget caps). The request amounted to a $90 million, or 0.2%, decrease from the $39.600 billion enacted for FY2012 through the consolidated appropriations act (P.L. 112-74).

Congress did not enact final FY2013 appropriations legislation...

Senegal: Background and U.S. Relations

Successive U.S. Administrations have viewed Senegal as a democratic leader in Africa, an anchor of regional stability, and a partner in addressing development challenges and combating transnational security threats. Senegalese President Macky Sall met with President Barack Obama at the White House in March 2013, and President Obama is expected to visit Senegal in late June. A small, arid nation on West Africa’s Atlantic coast, Senegal has struggled with widespread poverty and a long-running, low-level separatist insurgency in its southern Casamance region. Still, the country’s democratic...

Transforming Government Acquisition Systems: Overview and Selected Issues

Increasingly, the federal government uses technology to facilitate and support the federal acquisition process. Primary beneficiaries of this shift to online systems (websites and databases) are the government’s acquisition workforce and prospective and incumbent government contractors. The suite of web-based systems supports contracting officers’ efforts to ensure the government contracts only with responsible parties, is essential to the dissemination of information regarding contracting opportunities, and facilitates interagency contracting. From the contractor perspective, the...

Asian Pacific Americans in the United States Congress

This report presents information on Senators, Representatives, and Delegates, including previous occupations and leadership positions (such as committee and subcommittee chairmanships), and the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. It also provides a list of Members' and Delegates' party affiliations, length and dates of service, and committee assignments. Also included in the report is a map showing the total number of Asian Pacific Americans and the states or territories they represent in the 113th Congress.

The United States and Europe: Responding to Change in the Middle East and North Africa

U.S. and European Responses to Changes in the Middle East and North Africa

Over the last two years, many U.S. policymakers, Members of Congress, and their European counterparts have struggled with how best to respond to the wide range of challenges posed by the popular uprisings and political upheaval in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Almost immediately after the onset of the so-called “Arab Spring” in early 2011, U.S. and European leaders alike declared their intention to put greater emphasis than in the past on democratic reform and economic development in...

The “Deeming Resolution”: A Budget Enforcement Tool

“Deeming resolution” is a term that refers to legislation deemed to serve as an annual budget resolution for purposes of establishing enforceable budget levels for a budget cycle. A deeming resolution is used when the House and Senate have not agreed on a budget resolution.

The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 provides for the annual adoption of a budget resolution establishing aggregate levels of revenues, spending, the debt limit, and the surplus or deficit, as well as allocations of spending. Enforcement of the budget resolution relies primarily upon points of order and reconciliation...

Terrorism and Transnational Crime: Foreign Policy Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of transnational security issues related to patterns of interaction among international terrorist and crime groups. In addition, the report discusses the U.S. government’s perception of and response to the threat. It concludes with an analysis of foreign policy options.

In recent years, the U.S. government has asserted that terrorism, insurgency, and crime interact in varied and significant ways, to the detriment of U.S. national security interests. Although unclassified anecdotal evidence largely serves as the basis for the current understanding of...

Peru: Overview of Political and Economic Conditions and Relations with the United States

This report provides an overview of Peru’s government and economy and a discussion of issues in relations between the United States and Peru.

Peru and the United States have a strong and cooperative relationship. Several issues in U.S.-Peru relations are likely to be considered in decisions by Congress and the Administration on future aid to and cooperation with Peru. The United States supports the strengthening of Peru’s democratic institutions, its respect for human rights, environmental protection, and counternarcotics efforts. A dominant theme in bilateral relations is the effort to...

Transfer and Reprogramming of Appropriations: An Overview of Authorities, Limitations, and Procedures

Enacted appropriations and other budgetary legislation may vary in the level of detail they provide regarding how agencies should spend the funds that have been provided. Even when the purpose of appropriations is specified in great detail, agencies may be provided with some flexibility to make budgetary adjustments throughout the fiscal year. These adjustments may be necessary due to changing or unforeseen circumstances. In some instances, agencies are provided with transfer authority (i.e., authority to shift funds from one appropriations or fund account to another). In addition,...

Military Parents and Child Custody: State and Federal Issues

The increased deployment of servicemembers beginning in 2001 as a result of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom has raised difficult military child custody issues that in some cases potentially affect the welfare of military children as well as servicemembers’ ability to effectively serve their country. Approximately 142,000 members of the Armed Forces (active, Guard, and Reserve) are single custodians of minor children. Temporary duty assignments, mobilization, and deployments to areas that do not allow the military member’s dependent(s) to accompany them require the servicemember to...

Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Congress passed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), which granted the President the authority “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those ... [who] planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks” against the United States. Many persons subsequently captured during military operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere were transferred to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for detention and possible prosecution. Although nearly 800 persons have been held at Guantanamo since early 2002, the...

Department of Defense’s Use of Contractors to Support Military Operations: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress

Throughout its history, the Department of Defense (DOD) has relied on contractors to support a wide range of military operations. Operations over the last thirty years have highlighted the critical role that contractors play in supporting U.S. troops—both in terms of the number of contractors and the type of work being performed. Over the last decade in Iraq and Afghanistan, and before that, in the Balkans, contractors accounted for 50% or more of the total military force.

Regardless of whether future operations are similar to-or significantly different from- those of the past decade most...

Defense: FY2013 Authorization and Appropriations

President Obama requested $613.9 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Department of Defense in Fiscal Year 2013, which is $31.8 billion less than had been appropriated for the agency in FY2012. The end of U.S. combat in Iraq and the declining tempo of operations in Afghanistan accounted for the bulk of the overall reduction: The budget request for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO)—DOD activities in those two countries—was $88.5 billion, which is $26.6 billion less than was provided for those operations in FY2012.

However, the Administration’s $525.4 billion request for...

Serbia: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

Serbia faces an important crossroads in its development. It is seeking to integrate into the European Union (EU), but its progress has been hindered by tensions with the United States and many EU countries over the independence of Serbia’s former Kosovo province. The global economic crisis poses serious challenges for Serbia. Painful austerity measures have been required for Serbia by the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions.

Serbia held parliamentary and presidential elections in May 2012. One party in the former government, the Socialist Party, did...

Government Procurement in Times of Fiscal Uncertainty

When confronted with actual or potential funding gaps, funding shortfalls, or budget cuts, the federal government has a number of options as to prospective and existing procurement contracts. Many of these options arise from contract law and, in particular, certain standard clauses included in federal procurement contracts. Among other things, these clauses may allow the government to (1) unilaterally change certain terms of the contract, such as the specifications or the method and manner of performing the work; (2) delay, suspend, or “stop work” on the contract; and (3) terminate the...

Energy and Water Development: FY2014 Appropriations, Preliminary Tables

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Department of Energy (DOE), and for a number of independent agencies.

FY2013 Energy and Water Development appropriations were considered in the context of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25), which established discretionary spending limits for FY2012-FY2021. On March 26, 2013, the President signed H.R. 933, the FY2013 Defense and Military Construction, and...

Kosovo: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. The United States and 22 of the 27 European Union countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence. The Kosovo government claims that 98 countries in all have extended diplomatic recognition to it. EULEX, a European Union-led law-and-order mission, is tasked with improving the rule of law in Kosovo. KFOR, a NATO-led peacekeeping force that includes more than 700 U.S. soldiers, has the mission of providing a secure environment.

Serbia strongly objects to Kosovo’s declaration of independence. It has used diplomatic means to...

No-Fly Zones: Strategic, Operational, and Legal Considerations for Congress

In conflicts in Kosovo, Iraq, and Libya, the United States has taken part in establishing and maintaining no-fly zones. As no-fly zones represent a significant commitment of U.S. forces, and may prove a precursor to other military actions, Congress may wish to consider issues surrounding the strategy, international authorization, congressional authorization, operations, and costs of establishing and maintaining no-fly zones.

The military strategy designed to support U.S. grand strategy, it has been suggested, might be based on these considerations: the operational-level military objectives...

Nuclear Weapons R&D Organizations in Nine Nations

Seven nations—China, France, India, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—possess nuclear weapons. North Korea tested a nuclear explosive device in 2006, and announced that it had conducted a test in 2009 and another in 2013. Israel is widely thought to have nuclear weapons. As an aid to Congress in understanding nuclear weapons, nuclear proliferation, and arms control matters, this report describes which agency is responsible for research and development (R&D) of nuclear weapons (i.e., nuclear explosive devices, as distinct from the bombers and missiles that deliver...

Energy and Water Development: FY2013 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), for the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Department of Energy (DOE), and for a number of independent agencies.

President Obama’s FY2013 budget request for Energy and Water Development was released in February 2012.

For FY2013 the level of overall spending has been a major issue. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25) contained an overall discretionary spending cap for FY2013 of $1.047 trillion. On March 29,...

Terrorism, Miranda, and Related Matters

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides in part that “No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” In Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court declared that statements of an accused, given during a custodial interrogation, could not be introduced in evidence in criminal proceedings against him, unless he were first advised of his rights and waived them. In Dickerson v. United States, the Court held that the Miranda exclusionary rule was constitutionally...

Intelligence Issues for Congress

To address the challenges facing the U.S. intelligence community in the 21st century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. In December 2004, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458) was signed, providing for a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) with authorities to manage the national intelligence effort. The legislation also established a Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Making cooperation effective presents substantial leadership...

Ricin: Technical Background and Potential Role in Terrorism

In April 2013, envelopes sent to President Obama and a U.S. Senator tested positive for ricin, a deadly toxin derived from castor beans. Ricin has been identified as a potential bioweapon. Ricin is extremely toxic by ingestion, inhalation, and injection. No treatment or prophylaxis currently exists, though research into new therapies and vaccines against ricin exposure continues. Additionally, research to improve ricin detection is ongoing. Although governments have investigated ricin’s potential use as a military weapon, individuals have used ricin in small quantities. Most experts...

Cybersecurity: Selected Legal Issues

This report discusses selected legal issues that frequently arise in the context of legislation to address vulnerabilities of private critical infrastructure to cyber threats, efforts to protect government networks from cyber threats, and proposals to facilitate and encourage sharing of cyber threat information amongst private sector and government entities. This report also provides an overview of the ways in which federal laws of these types may preempt or affect the applicability of state law.

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Acquisition: Issues for Congress

Increasing calls for intelligence support and continuing innovations in intelligence technologies combine to create significant challenges for both the executive and legislative branches. Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems are integral components of both national policymaking and military operations, including counterterrorism operations, but they are costly and complicated and they must be linked in order to provide users with a comprehensive understanding of issues based on information from all sources. Relationships among organizations responsible for...

International Trade and Finance: Key Policy Issues for the 113th Congress

This report discusses a variety of issues faced by the 113th Congress. Topics include trade negotiations with China, export controls and sanctions, import policies, intellectual property rights, international investments and international financial institutions.

DOD Alternative Fuels: Policy, Initiatives and Legislative Activity

This report provides background information and identifies issues for Congress regarding Department of Defense (DOD) alternative fuel initiatives, a subject of debate at congressional hearings on DOD’s proposed FY2013 budget. The services (the Army, Navy, and Air Force) have spent approximately $48 million to purchase alternative fuels, and the Navy has proposed a $170 million investment in biofuel production capacity. The services have also spent funds on testing, certification and demonstrations of alternative fuels. By comparison, DOD purchases of petroleum fuels totaled approximately...

Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions

Published reports have suggested that in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Pentagon has expanded its counterterrorism intelligence activities as part of what the Bush Administration termed the global war on terror. Some observers have asserted that the Department of Defense (DOD) may have been conducting certain kinds of counterterrorism intelligence activities that would statutorily qualify as “covert actions,” and thus require a presidential finding and the notification of the congressional intelligence committees.

Defense officials have asserted that none of DOD’s current...

FY2013 Continuing Resolutions: Analysis of Components and Congressional Action

This report provides analysis of the components of the two FY2013 continuing resolutions (CR) and congressional action on those CRs.

Prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees each reported 11 out of 12 regular appropriations bills. Seven regular appropriations bills were passed by the House; no regular appropriations bills were passed by the Senate. None of the regular appropriations bills were enacted into law. The first CR for FY2013 was signed into law on September 28, 2012 (H.J.Res. 117; P.L. 112-175). On March 26, 2013, H.R. 933 (P.L....

The European Union: Foreign and Security Policy

The United States often looks to Europe as its partner of choice in addressing important global challenges. Given the extent of the transatlantic relationship, congressional foreign policy activities and interests frequently involve Europe. The relationship between the United States and the European Union (EU) has become increasingly significant in recent years, and it is likely to grow even more important. In this context, Members of Congress often have an interest in understanding the complexities of EU policy making, assessing the compatibility and effectiveness of U.S. and EU policy...

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent Trends and FY2013 Appropriations

Geographic proximity has forged strong linkages between the United States and the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, with critical U.S. interests in the region encompassing economic, political, and security concerns. U.S. policymakers have emphasized different strategic interests in the region at different times, from combating Soviet influence during the Cold War to advancing democracy and open markets since the 1990s. Current U.S. policy toward the region is designed to promote economic and social opportunity, ensure citizen security, strengthen effective democratic...

El Salvador: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

Congress has maintained a strong interest in developments in El Salvador, a small Central American country with a population of 6 million. During the 1980s, El Salvador was the largest recipient of U.S. aid in Latin America as its government struggled against the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) insurgency during a 12-year civil war. A peace accord negotiated in 1992 brought the war to an end and formally assimilated the FMLN into the political process as a political party. After the peace accords were signed, U.S. involvement shifted toward helping successive...

Alternative Fuels and Advanced Technology Vehicles: Issues in Congress

Alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles are seen by proponents as integral to improving urban air quality, decreasing dependence on foreign oil, and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. However, major barriers—especially economics—currently prevent the widespread use of these fuels and technologies. Because of these barriers, and the potential benefits, there is continued congressional interest in providing incentives and other support for their development and commercialization.

Key tax incentives for the use of biofuels, for the expansion of alternative fuel infrastructure,...

Foreign Investment and National Security: Economic Considerations

The United States is the largest foreign direct investor in the world and also the largest recipient of foreign direct investment. This dual role means that globalization, or the spread of economic activity by firms across national borders, has become a prominent feature of the U.S. economy and that through direct investment the U.S. economy has become highly enmeshed with the broader global economy. This also means that the United States has important economic, political, and social interests at stake in the development of international policies regarding direct investment. With some...

North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons: Technical Issues

This report summarizes what is known from open sources about the North Korean nuclear weapons program—including weapons-usable fissile material and warhead estimates—and assesses current developments in achieving denuclearization. Little detailed open-source information is available about the DPRK’s nuclear weapons production capabilities, warhead sophistication, the scope and success of its uranium enrichment program, or extent of its proliferation activities. In total, it is estimated that North Korea has between 30 and 50 kilograms of separated plutonium, enough for at least half a...

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2013 Budget and Appropriations

International affairs expenditures typically amount to about 1.5% of the total federal budget. While some foreign policy and defense experts view that share as a small price to pay for a robust foreign affairs budget that they believe is essential to meeting national security and foreign policy objectives, others see international affairs spending, particularly foreign aid, as an attractive target for significant spending cuts in order to reduce deficit spending.

On February 13, 2012, the Obama Administration submitted its FY2013 budget proposal. The FY2013 request totaled $54.87 billion...

Department of Defense Energy Initiatives: Background and Issues for Congress

The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars per year on fuel, and is pursuing numerous initiatives for reducing its fuel needs and changing the mix of energy sources that it uses. DOD’s energy initiatives pose several potential oversight issues for Congress, and have been topics of discussion and debate at hearings on DOD’s proposed FY2013 budget.

By some accounts, DOD is the largest organizational user of petroleum in the world. Even so, DOD’s share of total U.S. energy consumption is fairly small. DOD is by far the largest U.S. government user of energy. The amount of...

Intelligence Authorization Legislation: Status and Challenges

Since President Bush signed the FY2005 Intelligence Authorization Act (P.L. 108-487) in December 2004, no subsequent intelligence authorization legislation was enacted until the FY2010 bill was signed by President Obama in October 2010 (after the end of FY2010), becoming P.L. 111-259. Although the National Security Act requires intelligence activities to be specifically authorized, this requirement had been satisfied in previous years by one-sentence catchall provisions in defense appropriations acts authorizing intelligence activities. This procedure meets the statutory requirement but...

Understanding China’s Political System

This report is designed to provide Congress with a perspective on the contemporary political system of China, the only Communist Party-led state in the G-20 grouping of major economies. China’s Communist Party dominates state and society in China, is committed to maintaining a permanent monopoly on power, and is intolerant of those who question its right to rule. Nonetheless, analysts consider China’s political system to be neither monolithic nor rigidly hierarchical. Jockeying among leaders and institutions representing different sets of interests is common at every level of the system....

A Unified National Security Budget? Issues for Congress

In recent years a number of observers and practitioners have identified various facets of U.S. government national security practice—decision-making, strategy-making, budgeting, planning and execution, and congressional oversight—as inherently “cross-cutting.” They have in mind arenas—such as counterterrorism, and stabilization and reconstruction—that by definition involve multiple agencies, or for which responsibilities could be divided up in any number of ways among various agencies. For such facets of national security, they argue, the U.S. government is seldom able to conduct genuinely...

U.S. Policy Towards Burma: Issues for the 113th Congress

U.S. policy towards Burma has undergone a discernible shift in its approach since a quasi-civilian government was established in March 2011. While the overall objectives of U.S. policy towards the country remain in place—the establishment of civilian democratic government based on the rule of law and the protection of basic human rights—the Obama Administration has moved from a more reactive, “action-for-action” strategy and a skeptical and cautious attitude towards the newly created Union Government and Union Parliament to a more proactive mode. The new approach is designed to foster...

U.S. Trade and Investment in the Middle East and North Africa: Overview and Issues for Congress

U.S. interest in deepening economic ties with certain countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has increased in light of the political unrest and transitions that have swept the region since early 2011. Policymakers in Congress and the Obama Administration are discussing ways that U.S. trade and investment can bolster long-term economic growth in the region. In May 2011, President Obama announced the MENA “Trade and Investment Partnership Initiative” (MENA-TIP), through which various federal government agencies are engaged in efforts to enhance trade and investment with the...

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC): Transfer and Disposal of Military Property

The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (P.L. 100-526) and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (P.L. 81-152) provide the basic framework for the transfer and disposal of military installations closed during the base realignment and closure (BRAC) process. In general, property at BRAC installations is first subjected to screening for use by the Department of Defense and by other federal agencies. If no federal use for the property can be found or if an application for transfer is rejected, the property is deemed “surplus” to the needs of the federal...

Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs: Status of the Integrated Electronic Health Record (iEHR)

The purpose of this report is to provide a background on the long-standing efforts in sharing health information between Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Securing America’s Borders: The Role of the Military

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is charged with preventing the entry of terrorists, securing the borders, and carrying out immigration enforcement functions. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a component of DHS, has primary responsibility for securing the borders of the United States, preventing terrorists and their weapons from entering the United States, and enforcing hundreds of U.S. trade and immigration laws. Within CBP, the U.S. Border Patrol’s mission is to detect and prevent the illegal entry of aliens across the nearly 7,000 miles of Mexican and...

Insourcing Functions Performed by Federal Contractors: Legal Issues

Recent Congresses and the Obama Administration have taken numerous actions to promote “insourcing,” or the use of government personnel to perform functions that contractors have performed on behalf of federal agencies. Among other things, the 109th through the 111th Congresses enacted statutes requiring the development of policies and guidelines to ensure that agencies “consider” using government employees to perform functions previously performed by contractors, as well as any new functions. The Obama Administration has similarly promoted insourcing, with officials calling for...

Summary Report: Congressional Action on the FY2013 Disaster Supplemental

On January 29, 2013, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013, a $50.5 billion package of disaster assistance largely focused on responding to Hurricane Sandy, was enacted as P.L. 113-2.

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy impacted a wide swath of the East Coast of the United States, resulting in more than 120 deaths and major disaster declarations for 12 states plus the District of Columbia. The Administration submitted a request to Congress on December 7, 2012, for $60.4 billion in supplemental funding and legislative provisions to address both the immediate losses and damages from...

Congressional Authority to Limit Military Operations

Controversy continues over the appropriate role that Congress should play in regulating U.S. military operations against foreign entities. U.S. action against Libya reignited consideration of long-standing questions concerning the President’s constitutional authority to use military force without congressional authorization, as well as congressional authority to regulate or limit the use of such force. There may be a renewed focus in the 113th Congress on whether or to what extent Congress has the constitutional authority to legislate limits on the President’s authority to conduct military...

FY2013 Supplemental Funding for Disaster Relief

On January 29, 2013, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013, a $50.5 billion package of disaster assistance largely focused on responding to Hurricane Sandy, was enacted as P.L. 113-2.

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy impacted a wide swath of the East Coast of the United States, resulting in more than 120 deaths and the major disaster declarations for 12 states plus the District of Columbia. The Administration submitted a request to Congress on December 7, 2012, for $60.4 billion in supplemental funding and legislative provisions to address both the immediate losses and damages...

Child Well-Being and Noncustodial Fathers

The structure of a family plays an important role in children’s well-being. A contributing factor to the high rates of child poverty over the long term, and the increase in child poverty during the period from 2001-2007, was the increasing likelihood of children living in families headed by a single female. In 2012, about one-third of all children lived in families without their biological father present. According to some estimates, about 50% of children (who are currently under age 18) will spend or have spent a significant portion of their childhood in a home without their biological...

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): Manufacturing Trends

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) represent a bright spot for the technology-intensive aerospace manufacturing sector, but military and civil government agencies will likely be the predominant customers for an extended period while such systems are integrated into the U.S. National Airspace System ("national airspace"). This report discusses the market for UAS in 2013 and briefly discusses UAS manufacturers.

Mexico and the 112th Congress

The United States and Mexico have a close and complex bilateral relationship as neighbors and partners under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Although security issues have recently dominated the U.S. relationship with Mexico, analysts predict that bilateral relations may shift toward economic matters now that President Enrique Peña Nieto has taken office. Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) defeated leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Josefina Vázquez Mota of the conservative National Action Party...

U.S.-India Security Relations: Strategic Issues

In today’s fluid geopolitical environment, the relationship between the United States, the world’s oldest democracy and an established global power, and India, its most populous democracy and an aspiring global power, is seen as a key variable in the unfolding international dynamics of the 21st century. As U.S. foreign policy attention shifts toward the Asia-Pacific (or Indo-Pacific) region, and as India’s economic and military capabilities grow, Washington’s pursuit of a strategic partnership with New Delhi demonstrates that the mutual wariness of the Cold War era has rapidly faded. A...

Federal Contracting and Subcontracting with Small Businesses: Issues in the 112th Congress

Congress has generally broad authority to impose requirements upon the federal procurement process, or the process whereby agencies obtain goods and services from the private sector. One of the many ways in which Congress has exercised this authority is by enacting measures intended to promote contracting and subcontracting with “small businesses” by federal agencies. Among other things, these measures (1) declare a congressional policy of ensuring that a “fair proportion” of federal contract and subcontract dollars are awarded to small businesses; (2) establish government-wide and...

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

In recent years, many analysts have expressed concern that the international community’s efforts over the past 17 years to stabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina are failing. Milorad Dodik, president of the Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two semi-autonomous “entities” within Bosnia, has obstructed efforts to make Bosnia’s central government more effective. He has repeatedly asserted the RS’s right to secede from Bosnia, although he has so far refrained from trying to make this threat a reality. Some ethnic Croat leaders in Bosnia have called for more autonomy for Croats within Bosnia, perhaps...

FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Policy Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Recent military operations in Iraq and ongoing operations in Afghanistan, along with the operational role of the Reserve Components, further heighten interest in a wide range of military personnel policies and issues.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has selected a number of the military personnel issues considered in deliberations on the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2013. This report provides a brief synopsis of sections...

Circular A-76 and the Moratorium on DOD Competitions: Background and Issues for Congress

This report discusses the status of the ongoing moratorium on the conduct of Department of Defense (DOD) public-private competitions under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76, and potential issues for Congress.

OMB Circular A-76 is a federal executive branch policy for managing public-private competitions to perform functions for the federal government. A-76 states that, whenever possible, and to achieve greater efficiency and productivity, the federal government should conduct competitions between public agencies and the private sector to determine who should perform the...

United Nations System Funding: Congressional Issues

The congressional debate over United Nations funding focuses on several questions, including (1) What is the appropriate level of U.S. funding for U.N. system operations and programs? (2) What U.S. funding actions are most likely to produce a positive continuation of U.N. system reform efforts?

The U.N. system includes the United Nations, a number of specialized or affiliated agencies, voluntary and special funds and programs, and U.N. peacekeeping operations. Participating states finance the system with assessed contributions to the budgets of the United Nations and its specialized...

Cuba: Issues for the 112th Congress

Cuba remains a one-party communist state with a poor record on human rights. The country’s political succession in 2006 from the long-ruling Fidel Castro to his brother Raúl was characterized by a remarkable degree of stability. The government of Raúl Castro has implemented limited economic policy changes, including an expansion of self-employment. A party congress held in April 2011 laid out numerous economic goals that, if implemented, could significantly alter Cuba’s state-dominated economic model. Few observers expect the government to ease its tight control over the political system....

Organized Crime: An Evolving Challenge for U.S. Law Enforcement

In the last two decades, organized crime has grown more complex, posing evolving challenges for U.S. federal law enforcement. These criminals have transformed their operations in ways that broaden their reach and make it harder for police to combat them. They have adopted more-networked structural models, internationalized their operations, and grown more tech savvy. They are a significant challenge to U.S. law enforcement.

Modern organized criminals often prefer cellular or networked structural models for their flexibility and avoid the hierarchies that previously governed more...

Venezuela: Issues for Congress, 2009-2012

Under the rule of populist President Hugo Chávez, first elected in 1998, Venezuela has undergone enormous political changes, with a new constitution and unicameral legislature, and even a new name for the country, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Human rights organizations have expressed concerns about the deterioration of democratic institutions and threats to freedom of expression under the Chávez government. President Chávez won reelection to another six-year term on October 7, 2012, by a margin of 11%, capturing about 55% of the vote compared to 44% for opposition candidate...

Abortion Services and Military Medical Facilities

In 1993, President Clinton modified the military policy on providing abortions at military medical facilities. Under the change directed by the President, military medical facilities were allowed to perform abortions if paid for entirely with non-Department of Defense (DOD) funds (i.e., privately funded). Although arguably consistent with statutory language barring the use of Defense Department funds, the President’s policy overturned a former interpretation of existing law barring the availability of these services. On December 1, 1995, H.R. 2126, the FY1996 DOD appropriations act, became...

Environmental Considerations in Federal Procurement: An Overview of the Legal Authorities and Their Implementation

Coupled with increasing concerns about the environment, the magnitude of federal spending on contracts has prompted questions from Members of Congress and the public about the role of environmental considerations in federal procurement. These include: to what extent do agencies consider environmental factors when procuring goods or services? What legal authorities presently require or allow agencies to take environmental factors into account when acquiring goods or services? How are existing provisions authorizing agencies to consider environmental factors implemented? This report provides...

Ghana: Recent Developments and U.S. Relations

Ghana: Bilateral Cooperation and Leadership Engagement

Ghana is considered a model for many of the outcomes that many Members of Congress have long sought to achieve in sub-Saharan Africa in the areas of authorizations; appropriations and program guidance; and oversight. Ghana has received a large U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact and may soon receive a second. It is also a recipient of substantial U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department bilateral aid, much of which is channeled through three presidential development initiatives:

the Global...

The Unified Command Plan and Combatant Commands: Background and Issues for Congress

The Unified Command Plan (UCP) and associated Combatant Commands (COCOMs) provide operational instructions and command and control to the Armed Forces and have a significant impact on how they are organized, trained, and resourced—areas over which Congress has constitutional authority. The UCP is a classified executive branch document prepared by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) and reviewed and updated every two years that assigns missions; planning, training, and operational responsibilities; and geographic areas of responsibilities to COCOMs. Functional COCOMs operate...

Latin America and the Caribbean: U.S. Policy and Key Issues for Congress in 2012

Geographic proximity has ensured strong linkages between the United States and the Latin American and Caribbean region, with diverse U.S. interests, including economic, political and security concerns. U.S. policy toward the region under the Obama Administration has focused on four priorities: promoting economic and social opportunity; ensuring citizen security; strengthening effective democratic institutions; and securing a clean energy future. There has been substantial continuity in U.S. policy toward the region under the Obama Administration, which has pursued some of the same basic...

The Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: Issues for Congress

On December 22, 2010, President Obama signed P.L. 111-321 into law. It called for the repeal of the existing law (Title 10, United States Code, §654) barring open homosexuality in the military by prescribing a series of steps that must take place before repeal occurs. One step was fulfilled on July 22, 2011, when the President signed the certification of the process ending the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, which was repealed on September 20, 2011. However, in repealing the law and the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, a number of issues have been raised, but were not addressed by...

Peacekeeping and Stabilization Missions Abroad: The Development of Civilian Capabilities, 2004-2011

In November 2011, the Obama Administration announced the creation of a new State Department Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) to provide the institutional focus for policy and “operational solutions” to prevent, respond to, and stabilize crises in priority states. This bureau represents a “second generation” effort to develop civilian capacity to deal with conflict, integrating the “first generation” Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS).

Congress established S/CRS by law in the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act,...

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 10 C.F.R. 37, A New Rule to Protect Radioactive Material: Background, Summary, Views from the Field

This report analyzes 10 C.F.R. 37, a forthcoming rule promulgated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Physical Protection of Byproduct Material. Byproduct material includes specified types of radioactive material other than uranium or plutonium. The rule regulates byproduct material of types and in quantities that could be used to make a dirty bomb.

Congress may find this analysis of interest for several reasons: Congress attaches great importance to protecting the United States against terrorist threats; the rule will affect the many industrial, research, and medical activities...

Iran’s Ballistic Missile and Space Launch Programs

Iran has long been a source of concern for the United States and other countries because its goals are at odds with core U.S. objectives in the Middle East. Although it is not certain that Iran has made the decision to develop a nuclear weapon, it is taking steps to drastically reduce the time needed to obtain nuclear weapons should a decision be made to do so. It is the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon mated to an effective missile delivery capability that is especially worrisome to most.

Congress has long been interested in these matters. Congress has held numerous hearings on Iran,...

In Brief: Next Steps in the War in Afghanistan? Issues for Congress

On May 1, 2012, President Obama gave a speech from Bagram Air Field in which he laid out U.S. government approaches for “winding down” the war in Afghanistan. While a number of observers have challenged the logical plausibility of a unilateral decision to “wind down” a war, the Administration’s commitment to decreasing U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan is clear.

Many observers point to a coalescing vision of the way forward—shared by the governments of the United States, Afghanistan, and other international partners—that includes bringing the current campaign to a close by the end...

Technology Transfer: Use of Federally Funded Research and Development

The federal government spends approximately one-third of its annual research and development (R&D) budget for intramural work to meet mission requirements in over 700 government laboratories (including Federally Funded Research and Development Centers). The technology and expertise generated by this endeavor may have application beyond the immediate goals or intent of federally funded R&D. These applications can result from technology transfer, a process by which technology developed in one organization, in one area, or for one purpose is applied in another organization, in another area,...

Cooperative R&D: Federal Efforts to Promote Industrial Competitiveness

In response to the foreign challenge in the global marketplace, the United States Congress has explored ways to stimulate technological advancement in the private sector. The government has supported various efforts to promote cooperative research and development activities among industry, universities, and the federal R&D establishment designed to increase the competitiveness of American industry and to encourage the generation of new products, processes, and services.

Collaborative ventures are intended to accommodate the strengths and responsibilities of all sectors involved in...

Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement: Debate Over Government Policy

There is ongoing interest in the pace of U.S. technological advancement due to its influence on U.S. economic growth, productivity, and international competitiveness. Because technology can contribute to economic growth and productivity increases, congressional attention has focused on how to augment private-sector technological development. Legislative activity over the past 30 or more years has created a policy for technology development, albeit an ad hoc one. Because of the lack of consensus on the scope and direction of a national policy, Congress has taken an incremental approach...

Federal Emergency Management: A Brief Introduction

The federal government plays a significant role in emergency management, which generally refers to activities associated with avoiding and responding to natural and human-caused hazards. Emergency management in the United States is highly decentralized and contextual in nature: activities often involve multiple jurisdictions as well as a vast number of agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private sector entities. In addition, the number and type of actors involved in an incident will vary tremendously depending on the context and severity of the event. Similarly, the legal...

Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange and U.S.-Vietnam Relations

Since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, there has been a gradual warming of bilateral relations between the United States and Vietnam, culminating in the appointment of the first U.S. ambassador to Vietnam in 1996 and the granting of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Vietnam in 2007. Over the last three decades, many—but not all—of the major issues causing tension between the two nations have been resolved.

One major legacy of the Vietnam War that remains unresolved is the damage that Agent Orange, and its accompanying dioxin, have done to the people and the environment of...

Colombia: Background, U.S. Relations, and Congressional Interest

Colombia, a key U.S. ally, has made measurable progress in providing security despite having endured the longest internal armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere. It has long been a source for both cocaine and heroin. Drug trafficking has helped to perpetuate civil conflict by funding both left-wing and right-wing armed groups. Over the years, Colombia and the United States forged a close partnership focused initially on counternarcotics and later counterterrorism. Building on that cooperation, the U.S.-Colombia partnership has broadened to include development, human rights, and trade....

Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector

Damage to or destruction of the nation’s water supply and water quality infrastructure by terrorist attack or natural disaster could disrupt the delivery of vital human services in this country, threatening public health and the environment, or possibly causing loss of life. Interest in such problems increased after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

Across the country, water infrastructure systems extend over vast areas, and ownership and operation responsibility are both public and private, but are overwhelmingly non-federal. Since the attacks, federal dam...

Contracting Programs for Alaska Native Corporations: Historical Development and Legal Authorities

The widely reported increase in federal contract dollars awarded to Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and their subsidiaries in recent years has generated congressional and public interest in the legal authorities that govern contracting with these entities. Currently, federal agencies may contract with ANCs or their subsidiaries under several different statutory authorities. These include (1) the Armed Services Procurement Act (ASPA) and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA); (2) Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act; and (3) Section 15 of the Small Business Act....

Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations Through 2012

With five successive elected civilian governments, the Central American nation of Panama has made notable political and economic progress since the 1989 U.S. military intervention that ousted the regime of General Manuel Antonio Noriega from power. Current President Ricardo Martinelli of the center-right Democratic Change (CD) party was elected in May 2009, defeating the ruling center-left Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) in a landslide. Martinelli was inaugurated to a five-year term on July 1, 2009. Martinellis Alliance for Change coalition with the Panameñista Party (PP) also...

DOD Purchase of Renewable Energy Credits Under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012

The Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005 established renewable energy goals for federal government agencies. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 directs the Secretary of Defense “to establish a policy to maximize savings for the bulk purchase of replacement renewable energy certificates in connection with the development of facility energy projects using renewable energy sources.” This requires that each service purchase replacement renewable energy certificates (RECs) through either a centralized purchasing authority within the respective department, or the Defense...

Gun Control Legislation

Congress has debated the efficacy and constitutionality of federal regulation of firearms and ammunition, with strong advocates arguing for and against greater gun control. During the 112th Congress, several mass-casualty shootings punctuated public discourse on gun control. In a January 8, 2011, Tucson, AZ, shooting, 6 people were killed and 14 wounded, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was grievously wounded. In a July 20, 2012, Aurora, CO, theater shooting, 12 people were killed and 58 wounded. In an August 5, 2012, Milwaukee, WI, Sikh temple shooting, 6 people were...

Government Transparency and Secrecy: An Examination of Meaning and Its Use in the Executive Branch

From the beginnings of the American federal government, Congress has required executive branch agencies to release or otherwise make available government information and records. Some scholars and statesmen, including James Madison, thought access to information—commonly referred to in contemporary vernacular as “transparency”—was an essential cornerstone of democratic governance. Today, the federal government attempts to balance access to information with the need to protect certain information (including national security information and trade secrets) in order to achieve transparency....

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

This report discusses the Small Business Innovation Development Act (P.L. 97-219. The report also discusses the program's extensions and reauthorization activity over the years.

India-U.S. Security Relations: Current Engagement

U.S.-India engagement on shared security interests is a topic of interest to the U.S. Congress, where there is considerable support for a deepened U.S. partnership with the world’s largest democracy. Congressional advocacy of closer relations with India is generally bipartisan and widespread; House and Senate caucuses on India and Indian-Americans are the largest of their kind. Caucus leaders have encouraged the Obama Administration to work toward improving the compatibility of the U.S. and Indian defense acquisitions systems, as well as to seek potential opportunities for co-development...

Veterans’ Benefits: Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-154)

Congress has in the past enacted legislation providing authority for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to treat certain veterans for specific medical conditions resulting from their exposure to certain toxic substances or environmental hazards while on active military duty.

In the 1980s, officials at Camp Lejeune became aware of the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in drinking water samples. Camp Lejeune was placed on the National Priorities List by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1989, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry continues to monitor...

Australia and the U.S. Rebalancing to Asia Strategy

Australia, a traditionally staunch U.S. ally, is exploring ways to support the U.S. strategy of increasing its involvement in Asia—often called the rebalancing to Asia strategy—at a time when Australia has embarked on significant cuts to its defense budget. Australia is seeking to strengthen its long-standing defense alliance with the United States without jeopardizing its important trade relationship with China. Australia’s strategic geography is increasingly focused on its north and west at a time when the United States is also increasingly focused on the same areas, namely Southeast...

Proliferation Control Regimes: Background and Status

Weapons of mass destruction (WMD), especially in the hands of radical states and terrorists, represent a major threat to U.S. national security interests. Multilateral regimes were established to restrict trade in nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and missile technologies, and to monitor their civil applications. Congress may consider the efficacy of these regimes in the 112th Congress. This report provides background and current status information on the regimes.

The nuclear nonproliferation regime encompasses several treaties, extensive multilateral and bilateral diplomatic...

The 2012 Farm Bill: A Comparison of Senate-Passed S. 3240 and the House Agriculture Committee’s H.R. 6083 with Current Law

Congress periodically establishes agricultural and food policy in an omnibus farm bill. The 112th Congress faces reauthorization of the current five-year farm bill (the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-246) because many of its provisions expire in 2012. The 2008 farm bill contained 15 titles covering farm commodity support, horticulture, livestock, conservation, nutrition assistance, international trade and food aid, agricultural research, farm credit, rural development, bioenergy, and forestry, among others.

The Senate approved its version of the 2012 omnibus farm...

U.S. Sanctions on Burma

Existing U.S. sanctions on Burma are based on various U.S. laws and presidential executive orders. This report provides a brief history of U.S. policy towards Burma and the development of U.S. sanctions, a topical summary of those sanctions, and an examination of additional sanctions that have been considered, but not enacted, by Congress, or that could be imposed under existing law or executive orders. It also discusses recent easing of some of those sanctions and provisions under which additional sanctions could be waived or removed. The report concludes with a discussion of options for...

Managing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Policy Implications of Expanding Global Access to Nuclear Power

After several decades of widespread stagnation, nuclear power has attracted renewed interest in recent years. New license applications for 30 reactors have been announced in the United States, and another 548 are under construction, planned, or proposed around the world. In the United States, interest appears driven, in part, by tax credits, loan guarantees, and other incentives in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, as well as by concerns about carbon emissions from competing fossil fuel technologies.

A major concern about the global expansion of nuclear power is the potential spread of nuclear...

In Brief: State Department Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO)

[Suppress Summary and Table of Contents] Key Words: State Department, stabilization, reconstruction, conflict, conflict management, conflict prevention, conflict transitions, peacebuilding, post-conflict, stability operations, interagency, foreign assistance.

Sudan and South Sudan: Current Issues for Congress and U.S. Policy

Congress has played an active role in U.S. policy toward Sudan for more than three decades. Efforts to support an end to the country’s myriad conflicts and human rights abuses have dominated the agenda, as have counterterrorism concerns. When unified (1956-2011), Sudan was Africa’s largest nation, bordering nine countries and stretching from the northern borders of Kenya and Uganda to the southern borders of Egypt and Libya. Strategically located along the Nile River and the Red Sea, Sudan was historically described as a crossroads between the Arab world and Africa. Domestic and...

Sequestration: A Review of Estimates of Potential Job Losses

Policymakers and economists have expressed concern that spending cuts and tax increases (commonly referred to as the “fiscal cliff”) may push a slowly growing economy into recession in 2013. In summer 2012, policymakers particularly focused on how sequestration as delineated in the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 (P.L. 112-25) might affect employment in the near term. (Sequestration refers to an automatic cancellation of a portion of federal agencies’ budgetary resources.) Effective on January 2, 2013, the BCA imposes across-the-board spending cuts split about equally (in dollar terms)...

Israel: Possible Military Strike Against Iran’s Nuclear Facilities

Several published reports indicate that top Israeli decisionmakers are seriously considering whether to order a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and if so, when. Twice in Israel’s history, it has conducted air strikes aimed at halting or delaying what Israeli policymakers believed to be efforts to acquire nuclear weapons by a Middle Eastern state—destroying Iraq’s Osirak reactor in 1981 and a facility the Israelis identified as a reactor under construction in Syria in 2007. Today, Israeli officials generally view the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran as an unacceptable threat...

U.S. Public Diplomacy: Legislative Proposals to Amend Prohibitions on Disseminating Materials to Domestic Audiences

Public diplomacy involves U.S. government activities to conduct U.S. foreign policy and promote U.S. national interests through direct outreach and communication with the population of foreign countries. Public diplomacy and international broadcasting activities, conducted by the Department of State, U.S. diplomatic personnel abroad, and U.S. international broadcasters such as the Voice of America, include providing information to foreign publics through broadcast and Internet media and at libraries and other outreach facilities in foreign countries; conducting cultural diplomacy, such as...

The Senior Executive Service: Background and Options for Reform

The Senior Executive Service (SES) was established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA; P.L. 95-454, 92 Stat. 1111). Congress created the SES to provide a government-wide, mobile corps of managers within federal agencies. The SES, comprising mostly career appointees who are chosen through a merit staffing process, is the link between the politically appointed heads of agencies and the career civil servants within those agencies. The creators of the SES envisioned it as a cadre of high-level managers in the government who would provide leadership for agencies across...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2004-2011

This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions. Similar data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations...

Afghanistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance

The U.S. program of assistance to Afghanistan is intended to stabilize and strengthen the Afghan economic, social, political, and security environment so as to blunt popular support for extremist forces in the region. Since 2001, nearly $83 billion has been appropriated toward this effort.

Since FY2002, nearly two-thirds of U.S. assistance—roughly 62%—has gone to the training and equipping of Afghan forces. The remainder has gone to development and humanitarian-related activities from infrastructure to private sector support, governance and democratization efforts, and counter-narcotics...

The Executive Budget Process: An Overview

The U.S. Constitution vests Congress with the power to raise revenue and borrow money. Those funds may only be drawn from the Treasury in consequence of appropriations made by law. The Constitution, however, is largely silent with respect to the President’s role in the budget process. Instead, the current executive budget process is largely the result of statutes enacted by Congress.

The executive budget process consists of three main phases: development of the President’s budget proposal, submission and justification of the President’s budget proposal, and execution of enacted...

Presidential Authority to Impose Requirements on Federal Contractors

Executive orders requiring agencies to impose certain conditions on federal contractors as terms of their contracts have raised questions about presidential authority to issue such orders. Such executive orders typically cite the President’s constitutional authority, as well as his authority pursuant to the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (FPASA). FPASA authorizes the President to prescribe any policies or directives that he considers necessary to promote “economy” or “efficiency” in federal procurement.

There have been legal challenges to orders (1) encouraging...

U.S. Nuclear Cooperation with India: Issues for Congress

India, which has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and does not have International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on all of its nuclear material, exploded a “peaceful” nuclear device in 1974, convincing the world of the need for greater restrictions on nuclear trade. The United States created the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as a direct response to India’s test, halted nuclear exports to India a few years later, and worked to convince other states to do the same. India tested nuclear weapons again in 1998. However, President Bush announced July 18, 2005, he would “work to...

The Navy Biofuel Initiative Under the Defense Production Act

The Secretaries of Energy, Agriculture, and the Navy have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to “assist the development and support of a sustainable commercial biofuels industry.” The objective of the MOU is the construction or retrofitting of multiple domestic commercial or pre-commercial scale advanced drop-in biofuel plants and refineries. The MOU would support the Navy’s goal of deploying a “Green Strike Group” by the end of 2012, and “Great Green Fleet” by 2016 fueled in part with a 50/50 blend of hydrotreated renewable jet fuel (biofuel). The Navy proposes to use...

Military Construction: A Snapshot of the President’s FY2013 Appropriations Request

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide. Title I of the bill capitalizes military family housing and the U.S. share of the NATO Security Investment Program and finances the implementation of installation closures and realignments. Other titles within the legislation fund veterans benefit and health care programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), provide for the...

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act: A Summary of Superfund Cleanup Authorities and Related Provisions of the Act

Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA; P.L. 96-510) in response to a growing desire for the federal government to ensure the cleanup of the nation’s most contaminated sites to protect the public from potential harm. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-499, SARA) clarified the applicability of the statute’s requirements to federal facilities, and modified various response, liability, and enforcement provisions. Several other laws also have amended CERCLA for specific purposes, including relief...

Congressional Oversight and Related Issues Concerning International Security Agreements Concluded by the United States

The United States is a party to numerous security agreements with other nations. The topics covered, along with the significance of the obligations imposed upon agreement parties, may vary. Some international security agreements entered by the United States, such as those obliging parties to come to the defense of another in the event of an attack, involve substantial commitments and have traditionally been entered as treaties, ratified with the advice and consent of the Senate. Other agreements dealing with more technical matters, such as military basing rights or the application of a...

Pakistan-U.S. Relations

In a security alliance since 2004 and “strategic partners” since 2006, the United States and Pakistan for decades experienced major shifts in the nature and tone of their relations. In the post-9/11 period, assisting in the creation of a more stable, democratic, and prosperous Pakistan actively combating religious militancy has been among the most important U.S. foreign policy efforts. Vital U.S. interests are seen to be at stake in its engagement with Pakistan related to regional and global terrorism; efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan; nuclear weapons proliferation; links...

Proliferation of Precision Strike: Issues for Congress

Iron emerged in the eighth century B.C., helping to usher in the use of cavalry instead of chariots. Today’s new technologies, including the development of precision-guided weaponry, have given rise to new methods of war fighting, thus bringing dramatic change to the operational battlefield. As will other decision makers, Members of Congress will confront significant challenges in making their choices about how to adapt to the continually evolving environment, particularly with respect to what are called “precision strike” capabilities.

The United States took the early lead in the...

NATO’s Chicago Summit

NATO’s 2012 summit of alliance heads of state and government is scheduled to take place in Chicago on May 20-21. U.S. and NATO officials have outlined what they expect to be the Summit’s three main agenda items:

Defining the next phase of formal transition in Afghanistan and shaping a longer term NATO commitment to the country after the planned end of combat operations by the end of 2014;

Securing commitments to maintain and develop the military capabilities necessary to meet NATO’s defense and security goals, including through a new “Smart Defense” initiative; and

Enhancing NATO’s...

China’s Rare Earth Industry and Export Regime: Economic and Trade Implications for the United States

Over the past few years, the Chinese government has implemented a number of policies to tighten its control over the production and export of “rare earths”—a unique group of 17 metal elements on the periodic table that exhibit a range of special properties, such as magnetism, luminescence, and strength. Rare earths are important to a number of high technology industries, including renewable energy and various defense systems.

China’s position as the world’s dominant producer and supplier of rare earths (97% of total output) and its policies to limit exports have raised concerns among many...

Fact Sheet: The FY2013 State and Foreign Operations Budget Request

On February 13, 2012, the Obama Administration submitted to Congress its FY2013 budget request for State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs totaling $54.7 billion, $8.2 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding. Of the total request, $18.6 billion is for State Department Operations and related agencies (a 4.6% increase over FY2012 funding) and $36.1 billion is for Foreign Operations (an increase of 0.1% over the FY2012 level). This fact sheet provides a brief overview of that request. A full report on FY2013 State and Foreign Operations budget and appropriations...

The Commercial Space Industry and Launch Market

The space industry refers to economic activities related to the manufacture and delivery of components that go into Earth’s orbit or beyond. The space industry is a subset of the U.S. aerospace industry and U.S. strength in aerospace has helped to provide U.S. strength in space. The space industry was originally developed by government entities, and government policies and spending continue to exercise a strong influence on commercial space activities in the United States and elsewhere. Space-oriented manufacturing, which includes launch vehicles, spacecraft, satellites, and parts and...

FY2013 Defense Budget Request: Overview and Context

This report analyzes President Obama’s FY2013 defense budget request and the long-term deficit reduction issues relevant to congressional discussion of that request. Congressional action on the FY2013 defense budget will be analyzed in a separate report.

The FY2013 Department of Defense (DOD) budget request includes a total of $613.9 billion in discretionary budget authority: $525.4 billion for the so-called “base budget” (excluding operations in Afghanistan and Iraq), and $88.5 billion for war costs or “Overseas Contingency Operations” (OCO). Overall, that request is $31.8 billion less...

V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft Program

The V-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft that takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter and flies forward like an airplane. Department of Defense plans call for procuring a total of 458 V-22s, including 360 MV-22s for the Marine Corps; 50 CV-22 special operations variants for U.S. Special Operations Command, or USSOCOM (funded jointly by the Air Force and USSOCOM); and 48 HV-22s for the Navy.

Through FY2012, a total of 282 V-22s have been procured—241 MV-22s for the Marine Corps and 41 CV-22s for USSOCOM. These totals include several V-22s that have been procured in recent years...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2012

Federal research and development (R&D) funding for FY2012 is estimated to total $138.869 billion, $3.845 billion (-2.7%) below the FY2011 funding level of $142.714 billion, and $9.042 billion (-6.1%) below the President’s request of $147.911 billion. Among the overarching issues that Congress contended with in the FY2012 appropriations process were the extent to which the federal R&D investment could grow in the context of increased pressure on discretionary spending and how available funding would be prioritized and allocated. The appropriations legislation was incorporated into two...

The Republic of the Philippines and U.S. Interests

The United States and the Republic of the Philippines maintain close ties stemming from the U.S. colonial period, the bilateral security alliance, extensive military cooperation, and common strategic and economic interests. Although the United States closed its military bases in the Philippines in 1992, the two treaty allies have continued joint military activities related to counterterrorism and maritime security. This report looks at the U.S. foreign policy towards the Philippines.

Trade Law: An Introduction to Selected International Agreements and U.S. Laws

The United States has trade obligations under multilateral trade agreements, including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the other World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, as well as bilateral and regional trade agreements. A variety of domestic laws implement these agreements, prescribe U.S. trade policy goals, or regulate international trade to achieve specific foreign policy objectives. This report provides an overview of both international and domestic trade law, focusing on a select group of international agreements and statutes that are most commonly implicated...

Pivot to the Pacific? The Obama Administration’s “Rebalancing” Toward Asia

In the fall of 2011, the Obama Administration issued a series of announcements indicating that the United States would be expanding and intensifying its already significant role in the Asia-Pacific, particularly in the southern part of the region. The fundamental goal underpinning the shift is to devote more effort to influencing the development of the Asia-Pacific’s norms and rules, particularly as China emerges as an ever-more influential regional power. Given that one purpose of the “pivot” or “rebalancing” toward the Asia-Pacific is to deepen U.S. credibility in the region at a time of...

Latin America and the Caribbean: Illicit Drug Trafficking and U.S. Counterdrug Programs

Drug trafficking is viewed as a primary threat to citizen security and U.S. interests in Latin America and the Caribbean despite decades of anti-drug efforts by the United States and partner governments. The production and trafficking of popular illicit drugs—cocaine, marijuana, opiates, and methamphetamine—generate a multi-billion dollar black market in which Latin American criminal and terrorist organizations thrive. These groups challenge state authority in source and transit countries where governments are often fragile and easily corrupted. According to the Department of Justice,...

Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Has It Been Utilized?

The deadly attacks on Afghan civilians allegedly by a U.S. servicemember have raised questions regarding the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) in place between the United States and Afghanistan that would govern whether Afghan law would apply in this circumstance. SOFAs are multilateral or bilateral agreements that generally establish the framework under which U.S. military personnel operate in a foreign country and how domestic laws of the foreign jurisdiction apply toward U.S. personnel in that country.

Formal requirements concerning form, content, length, or title of a SOFA do not...

Russia’s March 2012 Presidential Election: Outcome and Implications

Challenges to Russia’s democratic development have long been of concern to Congress as it has considered the course of U.S.-Russia cooperation. The Obama Administration has been critical of the apparently flawed Russian presidential election which took place on March 4, 2012, but has called for continued engagement with Russia and newly elected President Vladimir Putin on issues of mutual strategic concern. Some in Congress also have criticized the conduct of the election, but have endorsed continued engagement, while others have called for stepping back and reevaluating the...

Veterans Affairs: A Preliminary Analysis of the FY2013 Budget Proposal

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a range of benefits and services to veterans who meet certain eligibility criteria. These benefits and services include hospital and medical care, disability compensation and pensions, education, vocational rehabilitation and employment services, assistance to homeless veterans, home loan guarantees, administration of life insurance as well as traumatic injury protection insurance for servicemembers, and death benefits that cover burial expenses.

This report provides a preliminary analysis of the President’s budget request for FY2013 for the...

Securing Nuclear Materials: The 2012 Summit and Issues for Congress

In an April 2009 speech in Prague, President Obama pledged that his Administration would launch “a new international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years.” To motivate world leaders to achieve this goal, the President hosted a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, on April 12-13, 2010. Leaders of 47 countries attended the summit, including many heads of state. Attendees represented a wide geographic range of states and nuclear capabilities, and include China, India, Israel, and Pakistan. The summit resulted in a joint statement saying...

Financial Services and General Government: FY2012 Appropriations

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and more than two dozen independent agencies. Among those independent agencies are the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the United States Postal Service (USPS). The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is funded in the House through the...

Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction Assistance: U.S. Programs in the Former Soviet Union

Congress passed the Nunn-Lugar amendment, authorizing U.S. threat reduction assistance to the former Soviet Union, in November 1991, after a failed coup in Moscow and the disintegration of the Soviet Union raised concerns about the safety and security of Soviet nuclear weapons. The annual program has grown from $400 million in the DOD budget to over $1 billion per year across three agencies—DOD, DOE, and the State Department. It has also evolved from an emergency response to impending chaos in the Soviet Union, to a more comprehensive threat reduction and nonproliferation effort, to a...

Rising Gasoline Prices 2012

Homeland Security Department: FY2012 Appropriations

This report describes the FY2012 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a total appropriation (mandatory and discretionary) of $45,015 million in budget authority for FY2012. This amounts to a $1,610 million, or a 3.7%, increase from the $43,405 million enacted for FY2011 through the continuing resolution (P.L. 112-10). Total budget authority, including appropriations, fee revenues, and trust funds in the Administration’s budget request for DHS for FY2012 amounts to $57,079 million as compared to $55,783 million enacted for FY2011.

Net...

Sourcing Policy: Statutes and Statutory Provisions

This report discusses the federal government's sourcing policy, which dates to the 1950s with the publication of three Bureau of the Budget bulletins. Congressional interest and involvement in sourcing policy, as measured by legislation that has been enacted, has grown over the years. Recently enacted provisions have addressed, for example, protest rights for federal government employees, funding limits on competitive sourcing activities, the development of a single consistent definition of “inherently governmental,” and the development of “insourcing” guidelines.

NATO Common Funds Burdensharing: Background and Current Issues

For decades, Congress has maintained an interest in burdensharing arrangements with allies, particularly with those of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The 28 NATO member states contribute to the activities of the alliance in several ways, the chief of which is through the deployment of their own armed forces, funded by their individual national budgets. Certain commonly conducted activities, however, are paid for out of three NATO-run budgets. These three accounts—the civil budget, the military budget, and the security investment program—are funded by individual...

Defense: FY2012 Budget Request, Authorization and Appropriations

President Obama’s FY2012 budget request, sent to Congress on February 14, 2011, included $670.9 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Department of Defense (DOD), of which $553.1 billion was for the so-called “base budget” of the department (that is, the cost of routine, peacetime operations excluding the cost of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan). The remaining $117.8 billion in the DOD budget request was to cover the cost of so-called “overseas contingency operations (OCO),” including operations in those two countries.

However, the Budget Control Act (BCA) enacted in...

A Historical Perspective on “Hollow Forces”

Senior Department of Defense (DOD) leaders have invoked the specter of a “hollow force” to describe what could happen to the U.S. Armed Forces if significant cuts to the defense budget are enacted. While some Members and staff might be familiar with the hollow force and its causes, newer Members and staff might not have a similar understanding of the conditions that led to the hollow force and what actions were taken to improve the condition of the U.S. Armed Forces.

After several years of rapid growth in defense budgets, measures to reduce federal budget deficits have led to projections...

Building Civilian Interagency Capacity for Missions Abroad: Key Proposals and Issues for Congress

Within the past two decades, prominent foreign policy organizations and foreign policy experts have perceived serious deficiencies in the authorities, organizations, and personnel used to conduct interagency missions that prevent the United States from exercising its power to full advantage. For the 112th Congress, proposals to address these problems may be of interest for their perceived potential not only to enhance performance, but also to save money by streamlining processes, encouraging interagency cooperation, and reducing duplication. These proposals also provide context for current...

Military Base Closures: Socioeconomic Impacts

The most recent Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission submitted its final report to the Administration on September 8, 2005. Implementation of the BRAC round was officially completed on September 15, 2011. In the report, the commission rejected 13 of the initial Department of Defense recommendations, significantly modified the recommendations for 13 other installations, and approved 22 major closures. The loss of related jobs, and efforts to replace them and to implement a viable base reuse plan, can pose significant challenges for affected communities. However, while base...

Sourcing Policy: Selected Developments and Issues

Dating back to the 1950s, federal sourcing policy generally has focused on the premise that the government should rely on the private sector for the provision of certain goods and services. Additionally, it has centered around guidance for conducting public-private competitions to determine whether federal employees, or contractor employees, should be selected to perform certain agency functions. The Administration of President George W. Bush, in particular, emphasized subjecting eligible agency functions to public-private competitions. Branding this policy, and related guidance, as...

Energy and Water Development: FY2012 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies.

President Obama’s FY2012 budget request for Energy and Water Development was released in February 2011, but the Congress was concerned for the first months of the year with completing the appropriations cycle for FY2011. As with other funding bills, the FY2011 Energy and Water Development bill was not taken to the floor in either the...

Lebanon and the Uprising in Syria: Issues for Congress

As Congress exercises oversight and prepares to consider programs for Lebanon in the coming year, some observers have expressed fear that Syrian instability may negatively affect Lebanon. Syria exerts a strong political influence on Lebanon and Syrian business interests remain prominent in the Lebanese economy. Both Lebanon and Syria have diverse societies where ethnic and sectarian groups compete and cooperate as they seek power within the confines of a rigid political system. Primary concerns about the implications of Syrian unrest include:

Negative effects on the Lebanese economy;...

Federal Agency Authority to Contract for Electric Power and Renewable Energy Supply

The federal government purchases roughly 57 million megawatt-hours of electricity annually (based on FY2007 data, the latest information available), making it the single largest U.S. energy consumer. The Department of Defense (DOD) alone consumes over 29 million megawatt-hours. The federal Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) sell electricity at more than twice the volume of federal power purchases, over 127 million megawatt-hours of hydropower annually, and are projected to produce wind-generated energy far in excess of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPAct) mandates for increasing federal...

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2012 Appropriations

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide. It capitalizes military family housing and the U.S. share of the NATO Security Investment Program and finances the implementation of installation closures and realignments. It underwrites veterans benefit and health care programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), provides for the creation and maintenance of U.S. cemeteries and...

FY2012 Appropriations Overview: Status of Discretionary Appropriations Legislation

This report presents an overview of proposed and enacted FY2012 appropriations legislation. The report consists primarily of a table showing discretionary appropriations, by bill title, for each of the proposed and enacted appropriations bills, together with the comparable figures enacted for FY2011. The product is intended to allow for broad comparison between the House and Senate FY2012 proposals, the Administration’s FY2012 request, and the FY2011 and FY2012 enacted appropriations. The figures do not necessarily reflect budget scorekeeping adjustments allowable under the Budget Control...

Iran’s Threat to the Strait of Hormuz

Some officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have recently renewed threats to close or exercise control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s threats appear to have been prompted by the likely imposition of new multilateral sanctions targeting Iran’s economic lifeline—the export of oil and other energy products. In the past, Iranian leaders have made similar threats and comments when the country’s oil exports have been threatened. However, as in the past, the prospect of a major disruption of maritime traffic in the Strait risks damaging Iranian interests. U.S. and allied military...

Coast Guard Deepwater Acquisition Programs: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress

The term Deepwater referred to more than a dozen separate Coast Guard acquisition programs for replacing and modernizing the service’s aging fleet of deepwater-capable ships and aircraft. Until April 2007, the Coast Guard pursued these programs as a single, integrated acquisition program that was known as the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) program or Deepwater program for short. Since April 2007, the Coast Guard has pursued them as separate acquisition programs. These acquisition programs include plans for, among other things, 91 new cutters, 124 new small boats, and 247 new or...

Jurisdiction over Challenges to “Large” Orders Under Federal Contracts

On December 31, 2011, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2012. This act amends Title 41 of the United States Code to extend the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) jurisdiction over protests involving “large” orders issued under civilian agency contracts and clarifies that protests of such orders may not be heard after September 30, 2016, if this jurisdiction is not reauthorized (P.L. 112-81, § 813). Title 41’s provisions regarding the protests of “large” orders previously had a May 27, 2011, sunset date. However, the language of these provisions was...

Kim Jong-il’s Death: Implications for North Korea’s Stability and U.S. Policy

North Korea represents one of the United States’ biggest foreign policy challenges due to its production and proliferation of nuclear weapons and missiles, the threat of attacks against South Korea, its record of human rights abuses, and the possibility that its internal problems could destabilize Northeast Asia. The North Korean government’s December 19, 2011 announcement of the death of the country’s “Dear Leader,” Kim Jong-il, has the potential to be a watershed moment in the history of the Korean Peninsula and the region. Ever since the death of his father, the “Great Leader” Kim Il...

F-35 Alternate Engine Program: Background and Issues for Congress

On December 2, 2011, General Electric and Rolls-Royce announced that they were ending development of the F136 alternate engine for the F-35, ending what had been a contentious and long-running battle.

The alternate engine program began in FY1996, when defense authorization conferees directed DOD to ensure that the JSF (then “JAST”) program “provides for adequate engine competition” and required the Department of Defense to develop an alternative to the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine that currently powers the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Development of the alternative, the General...

Navy LPD-17 Amphibious Ship Procurement: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

The Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget requested funding for the procurement of an 11th and final San Antonio (LPD-17) class amphibious ship. The ship had received $184.0 million in prior-year advance procurement (AP) funding, and the Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget requested the remaining $1,847.4 million needed to complete the ship’s estimated procurement cost of $2,031.4 million.

The Navy’s FY2012 30-year shipbuilding plan calls for the procurement of a new class of amphibious ship called the LSD(X) starting in FY2017. Some observers have suggested using the LPD-17 design as the basis for the...

Horn of Africa Region: The Humanitarian Crisis and International Response

As a result of the worst drought in 60 years, regional conflicts, and conflict within states, a humanitarian emergency of massive proportion has unfolded over the past year in the Horn of Africa region. Current estimates suggest that more than 13.3 million people are currently affected, 250,000 of whom need food assistance in the near term to avoid death. Somalia has been hardest hit so far, creating population displacement within its borders and a refugee crisis of nearly 1 million people in the region, primarily in Kenya and Ethiopia.

The international community continues to respond...

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2012 Budget and Appropriations

Some in the 112th Congress view the foreign affairs budget as a place to cut funds in order to reduce the budget deficit. Foreign affairs expenditures typically amount to about 1% of the annual budget. Others, including Members of Congress of both political parties, view a robust foreign affairs budget as essential for America’s national security and foreign policy interests.

The State Department, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies appropriations bills, in addition to funding U.S. diplomatic and foreign aid activities, have been the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress...

Gray Area Retirees—Issues and Legislation

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a broad range of benefits and services to American veterans and to certain members of their families. In addition, the Department of Defense (DOD) offers a variety of benefits to veterans who are also military retirees. When members of the National Guard or the reserves who have not yet reached the age of 60 retire (usually after at least 20 years of service), they may not necessarily meet the statutory definition of “veterans” for VA purposes or be eligible for DOD health benefits. These military retirees are commonly known as...

FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Policy Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Recent military operations in Iraq and ongoing operations in Afghanistan, along with the operational role of the Reserve Components, further heighten interest in a wide range of military personnel policies and issues.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has selected a number of the military personnel issues considered in deliberations on the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2012. This report provides a brief synopsis of sections...

Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications

Presidential signing statements are official pronouncements issued by the President contemporaneously to the signing of a bill into law that, in addition to commenting on the law generally, have been used to forward the President’s interpretation of the statutory language; to assert constitutional objections to the provisions contained therein; and, concordantly, to announce that the provisions of the law will be administered in a manner that comports with the administration’s conception of the President’s constitutional prerogatives. While the history of presidential issuance of signing...

U.S. Unmanned Aerial Systems

Unmanned aerial systems comprise a rapidly growing portion of the military budget, and have been a long-term interest of Congress. At times, Congress has encouraged the development of such systems; in other instances, it has attempted to rein in or better organize the Department of Defense’s efforts.

Unmanned aircraft are commonly called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and when combined with ground control stations and data links, form UAS, or unmanned aerial systems.

The use of UAS in conflicts such as Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and humanitarian relief operations such as Haiti,...

The National Security Council: An Organizational Assessment

The National Security Council (NSC) was established by statute in 1947 to create an inter-departmental body to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to the national security so as to enable the military services and the other departments and agencies of the government to cooperate more effectively in matters involving the national security. Currently, statutory members of the Council are the President, Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and, since 2007, the Secretary of Energy; but, at the...

American Jobs Act: Provisions for Hiring Targeted Groups, Preventing Layoffs, and for Unemployed and Low-Income Workers

In response to continuing high rates of unemployment and a weak economy, President Obama announced his American Jobs Act on September 8, 2011. As stated by the President, the proposal aims to “put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working.” The proposal was introduced, by request, as S. 1549 and H.R. 12. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid subsequently introduced the proposal with a different spending offset, as S. 1660 on October 6. Since then, individual pieces of the American Jobs Act have been considered—and some provisions enacted—as freestanding...

Monitoring and Verification in Arms Control

The United States and Russia signed a new START Treaty on April 8, 2010, and the treaty entered into force on February 5, 2011. Many analysts, both in the United States and Russia, supported negotiations on a new treaty so that the two sides could continue to implement parts of the complex monitoring and verification regime in the 1991 START Treaty. This regime was designed to build confidence in compliance with the START and to provide transparency and cooperation during the treaty’s implementation. The verification regime in the new START Treaty differs in some respects from the regime...

Intelligence Estimates: How Useful to Congress?

National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) are often of considerable interest to many Members of Congress. They represent the most formal assessment of a given national security issue by the U.S. intelligence community. The intelligence process, however, is not an exact science and, on occasion, NIEs have proved unreliable because they were based on insufficient evidence or contained faulty analysis. This was demonstrated in the NIE produced in 2002 on Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction, parts of which were significantly inaccurate.

At best NIEs provide an in-depth understanding of a complex...

Detainee Provisions in the National Defense Authorization Bills

The House and Senate bills competing to become the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2012 contain a subtitle addressing issues related to detainees at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and more broadly, hostilities against Al Qaeda and other entities. At the heart of both bills’ detainee provisions appears to be an effort to confirm or, as some observers view it, expand the detention authority that Congress implicitly granted the President via the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF, P.L. 107-40) in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11,...

REINS Act: Number and Types of “Major Rules” in Recent Years

Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA, 5 U.S.C. §§801-808), a covered agency regulation takes effect as provided by law unless Congress disapproves the rule with a joint resolution of disapproval. In contrast, the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 10 and S. 299, 112th Congress) would (if enacted) generally require the enactment of a joint resolution of approval before any “major rule” could take effect (e.g., rules that are expected to have a $100 million annual impact on the economy). The REINS Act was reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary...

Military Retirement Reform: A Review of Proposals and Options for Congress

Few military subjects have generated as much interest or commentary as the military retirement system and efforts to reform the system have been many. Heightened concern over the national debt crisis, the economic recession, and stubbornly high unemployment has resulted in renewed congressional interest in the cost and effectiveness of the system. This report reviews various reform proposals and presents several potential options for Congress, ranging from maintaining the current system to a national commission to review military compensation, benefits, and retirement.

The military...

Wartime Contracting in Afghanistan: Analysis and Issues for Congress

Government contracting in Afghanistan and other wartime environments is different than contracting in peacetime. In peacetime, the goal of contracting is generally to obtain the good or service that is required. The measurements of success are generally getting the right good or service, on schedule, and at a fair price. In wartime, however—and particularly in a counterinsurgency environment—cost, schedule, and performance are often secondary to larger strategic goals of promoting security and denying popular support for the insurgency.

From FY2005 through 2011, the U.S. government...

Federal Research and Development Funding at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

The historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which have traditionally educated a significant number of the nation’s blacks, have faced, and continue to face, substantial challenges in attempting to enhance their academic and research capabilities. Some of these institutions have a myriad of problems—aging infrastructures, limited access to digital and wireless networking technology, absence of state-of-the-art equipment, low salary structures, small endowments, and limited funds for faculty development and new academic programs for students. While many of these problems exist...

Presidential Policy Directive 8 and the National Preparedness System: Background and Issues for Congress

Presidential Policy Directive 8: National Preparedness (PPD-8) was signed and released by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2011. PPD-8 and its component policies intend to guide how the nation, from the federal level to private citizens, can “prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from those threats that pose the greatest risk to the security of the Nation.” These threats include terrorist acts, natural disasters, and other man-made incidents. PPD-8 evolves from, and supersedes, Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8, which was released under...

Navy F/A-18E/F and EA-18G Aircraft Program

The Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget requests about $2.4 billion for the procurement of 28 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters and about $1.1 billion for the procurement of 12 EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. The F-18s will be procured under a multiyear procurement contract approved by Congress in FY2011.

FY2012 defense authorization bill:

The House Armed Services Committee funded the F-18 program at the requested level. The Senate Armed Services Committee cut $495 million and nine aircraft from the request for F/A-18E/Fs, citing Navy projections that the fighter shortfall would...

The Helium-3 Shortage: Supply, Demand, and Options for Congress

The world is experiencing a shortage of helium-3, a rare isotope of helium with applications in homeland security, national security, medicine, industry, and science. For many years the supply of helium-3 from the nuclear weapons program outstripped the demand for helium-3. The demand was small enough that a substantial stockpile of helium-3 accumulated. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the federal government began deploying neutron detectors at the U.S. border to help secure the nation against smuggled nuclear and radiological material. The deployment of this equipment...

Performance of Inherently Governmental and Critical Functions: The Obama Administration’s Final Policy Letter

On September 12, 2011, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued its final policy letter on Performance of Inherently Governmental and Critical Functions. The policy letter is to guide executive branch agencies in (1) identifying inherently governmental and critical functions; (2) ensuring that only federal employees perform inherently governmental functions or work that “otherwise needs to be reserved to the public sector;” and (3) managing functions that are closely associated with inherently governmental functions and...

National Security Professionals and Interagency Reform: Proposals, Recent Experience, and Issues for Congress

There is a growing consensus among many practitioners and scholars, across the political spectrum, broadly in favor of reforming the U.S. government interagency system to encourage a more effective application of all elements of national power. The reform debates have included proposals and initiatives to establish and foster an interagency community of national security professionals (NSPs) from all relevant departments and agencies. According to proponents, NSPs, through participating in activities that might include shared educational and training opportunities, and rotational tours in...

Rothe Development Corporation v. Department of Defense: The Constitutionality of Federal Contracting Programs for Minority-Owned and Other Small Businesses

This report discusses Rothe Development Corporation v. Department of Defense, a case involving a constitutional challenge to a minority contracting program authorized under Section 1207 of the Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization Act of 1987. This program allowed DOD to take 10% off the price of offers submitted by “small disadvantaged businesses” in determining which offer had the lowest price or represented the best value for the government. Section 1207 also incorporated a presumption that minorities are socially and economically disadvantaged.

On November 4, 2008, the U.S. Court...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2003-2010

This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions. Similar data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations...

Africa: U.S. Foreign Assistance Issues

This report discusses the issue of U.S. economic assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the importance of continued assistance in light of U.S. national security and also various U.S.-led efforts to promote reform amongst African citizens themselves. U.S. assistance finds its way to Africa through a variety of channels, including the USAID-administered DA program, food aid programs, and indirect aid provided through international financial institutions and the United Nations.

FY2011 Appropriations: A Side-by-Side Comparison of Key Proposals and Enacted Legislation

FY2011 funding levels were not enacted in the 111th Congress. Thus, the debate over FY2011 appropriations continued into the 112th Congress and FY2011 spending proposals became a key focal point in the budget debates between the now-Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Obama Administration.

This report was originally intended to facilitate comparison of three key spending proposals for FY2011—the Administration’s budget request, H.R. 1, and S.Amdt. 149 to H.R. 1—to FY2010 enacted funding levels. It has been updated to include the enacted FY2011 appropriations in P.L....

India: Domestic Issues, Strategic Dynamics, and U.S. Relations

South Asia emerged in the 21st century as increasingly vital to core U.S. foreign policy interests. India, the region’s dominant actor with more than 1 billion citizens, is often characterized as a nascent great power and “indispensable partner” of the United States, one that many analysts view as a potential counterweight to China’s growing clout. Since 2004, Washington and New Delhi have been pursuing a “strategic partnership” based on shared values and apparently convergent geopolitical interests. Numerous economic, security, and global initiatives, including plans for civilian nuclear...

Somalia: Current Conditions and Prospects for a Lasting Peace

Proposals to Reform “Holds” in the Senate

“Holds” are an informal senatorial custom unrecognized in Senate rules or precedents. They allow Senators to give notice to their respective party leader that certain measures or matters should not be brought up on the floor. This report examines, over a more than three-decade period, a wide range of proposals to reform holds.

Tanzania: Background and Current Conditions

This report discusses the current political climate in Tanzania, an important U.S. ally in Africa. The report also provides some general background information.

Russian Military Reform and Defense Policy

Russia has undertaken several largely piecemeal and halting efforts to revamp the armed forces it inherited from the Soviet Union. In 2007, near the end of then-President Vladimir Putin’s second term in office, he appointed Anatoliy Serdyukov—the former head of the Federal Tax Service—as defense minister as part of an effort to combat corruption in the military and carry out reforms. After the August 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict revealed large-scale Russian military operational failures, the leadership became more determined to boost military capabilities. U.S. government and congressional...

The Budget Control Act of 2011

The Budget Control Act (BCA) is the result of negotiations between the President and Congress held in response to the federal government having nearly reached its borrowing capacity.

The BCA authorized increases in the debt limit of at least $2.1 trillion dollars (and up to $2.4 trillion under certain conditions), subject to a disapproval process that would likely require securing the support of two-thirds of each chamber to prevent a debt limit increase. It established caps on the amount of money that could be spent through the annual appropriations process for the next 10 years, which...

The State Secrets Privilege: Preventing the Disclosure of Sensitive National Security Information During Civil Litigation

The state secrets privilege is a judicially created evidentiary privilege that allows the federal government to resist court-ordered disclosure of information during litigation if there is a reasonable danger that such disclosure would harm the national security of the United States. Although the common law privilege has a long history, the Supreme Court first described the modern analytical framework of the state secrets privilege in the 1953 case of United States v. Reynolds, 345 U.S. 1 (1953). In Reynolds, the Court laid out a two-step procedure to be used when evaluating a claim of...

The National Guard State Partnership Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

The State Partnership Program (SPP) is a Department of Defense (DOD) security cooperation program run by the National Guard. It also serves as a mechanism for training National Guard personnel. Since the program began in 1992, it has expanded to the point where nearly every state National Guard participates, as do the National Guard of Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

The SPP relates to several areas of potential interest to Congress, including improving the capabilities of partner nations to protect their citizens; strengthening relationships with...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2011

President Obama requested $147.696 billion for research and development (R&D) in FY2011, a $343 million (0.2%) increase from the estimated FY2010 R&D funding level of $147.353 billion. Congress plays a central role in defining the nation’s R&D priorities, especially with respect to two overarching issues: the extent to which the federal R&D investment can grow in the context of increased pressure on discretionary spending and how available funding will be prioritized and allocated. Low or negative growth in the overall R&D investment may require movement of resources across disciplines,...

Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress

Congress has played a central role in the MRAP program, suggesting to defense and service officials that MRAPs would provide far superior protection for troops than the up-armored High Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs ). Congressional support for MRAPs, as well as fully funding the program, has been credited with getting these vehicles to Iraq and Afghanistan in a relatively short timeframe, thereby helping to reduce casualties. Congress will likely continue to be interested in the MRAP program to ensure that the appropriate types and numbers are fielded, as well as to monitor the...

U.S. Policy Towards Burma: Issues for the 112th Congress

A robust discussion has arisen around U.S. policy towards Burma. Some Members of Congress, senior officials in the Obama Administration, noted Burma scholars, and representatives of various interest groups have weighed in on this discussion, offering their views on the merits of current U.S. policy towards Burma and what policy changes ought to be made.

Among the commentators, there is general agreement that more than 20 years of political and economic sanctions, and nearly two years of “pragmatic engagement,” have not led to the achievement of the stated goals of U.S. policy towards...

Set-Asides for Small Businesses: Recent Developments in the Law Regarding Precedence Among the Set-Aside Programs and Set-Asides Under Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity Contracts

In government contracting law, a “set-aside” is a procurement in which only certain businesses can compete. Set-asides can be exclusive or partial, depending upon whether the entire procurement, or just part of it, is so restricted. Eligibility for set-asides is typically based on business size, as well as demographic characteristics of the business owners. Currently, federal law provides, in various ways, for set-asides for (1) small businesses generally, (2) small businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) (HUBZone small businesses), (3) service-disabled...

The Debt Limit: CRS Experts

Homeland Security Department: FY2011 Appropriations

This report describes the FY2011 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a net appropriation of $45.0 billion in budget authority for FY2011. This amounts to a $1.1 billion, or a 2.4% increase from the $43.9 billion enacted for FY2010. Total budget authority requested by the Administration for DHS for FY2011 amounts to $52.6 billion as compared to $51.7 billion enacted for FY2010.

Net requested appropriations for major agencies within DHS were as follows: Customs and Border Protection (CBP), $9,809 million; Immigration and Customs...

International Criminal Court Cases in Africa: Status and Policy Issues

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has, to date, opened cases exclusively in Africa. Cases concerning 25 individuals are open before the Court, pertaining to crimes allegedly committed in six African states: Libya, Kenya, Sudan (Darfur), Uganda (the Lord’s Resistance Army, LRA), the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. A 26th case, against a Darfur rebel commander, was dismissed. The ICC Prosecutor has yet to secure any convictions. In addition, the Prosecutor has initiated preliminary examinations—a potential precursor to a full investigation—in Côte...

Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S. Military in Africa

In recent years, analysts and U.S. policymakers have noted Africa’s growing strategic importance to U.S. interests. Among those interests are the increasing importance of Africa’s natural resources, particularly energy resources, and mounting concern over violent extremist activities and other potential threats posed by under-governed spaces, such as maritime piracy and illicit trafficking. In addition, there is ongoing concern for Africa’s many humanitarian crises, armed conflicts, and more general challenges, such as the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS. In 2006, Congress authorized a...

Other Transaction (OT) Authority

An other transaction (OT) is a special vehicle used by federal agencies for obtaining or advancing research and development (R&D) or prototypes. An OT is not a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement, and there is no statutory or regulatory definition of "other transaction." Only those agencies that have been provided OT authority may engage in other transactions.

Military Construction: Analysis of the FY2012 Appropriation and Authorization

This report focuses on those government activities funded under the FY2012 military construction appropriation, examines trends in military construction funding, and outlines military construction issues extant in each of the major regions of U.S. military activity.

President Barack Obama submitted his FY2012 appropriations request to Congress on February 14, 2011. His military construction appropriations request for $14.7 billion in new budget authority fell approximately $9.9 billion below the amount enacted for FY2010 and $3.0 billion below that enacted for FY2011. Much of that...

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2011 Appropriations

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President, the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and 26 independent agencies. Among the independent agencies funded by the bill are the Small Business Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, and the United States Postal Service.

The FSGG FY2010 appropriations were provided through P.L. 111-117, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010. P.L. 111-117 provided $46.265 billion for FSGG agencies in FY2010. In addition, P.L. 111-80...

“Dirty Bombs”: Technical Background, Attack Prevention and Response, Issues for Congress

Congress has long sought, through legislation and oversight, to protect the United States against terrorist threats, especially from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. Radiological dispersal devices (RDDs) are one type of CBRN weapon. Explosive-driven “dirty bombs” are an often-discussed type of RDD, though radioactive material can also be dispersed in other ways. This report provides background for understanding the RDD threat and responses, and presents issues for Congress.

Radioactive material is the necessary ingredient for an RDD. This material is composed...

Congressionally Chartered Nonprofit Organizations (“Title 36 Corporations”): What They Are and How Congress Treats Them

The chartering by Congress of organizations with a patriotic, charitable, historical, or educational purpose is essentially a 20th century practice. There are currently some 92 nonprofit corporations listed in Title 36, Subtitle II, of the U.S. Code. These so-called “Title 36 corporations,” such as the Girl Scouts of America and the National Academy of Public Administration, are typically incorporated first under state law, then request that Congress grant them a congressional or federal charter.

Chartered corporations listed in Title 36 are not agencies of the United States, and their...

Veterans Medical Care: FY2011 Appropriations

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility criteria. Benefits to veterans range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. The VA provides these benefits through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA).

This report focuses on the VHA. The VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services to veterans through the...

Uganda: Current Conditions and the Crisis in North Uganda

Kenya: Current Conditions and the Challenges Ahead

Tax Expenditures and the Federal Budget

Interagency Collaborative Arrangements and Activities: Types, Rationales, Considerations

Interagency collaboration among federal agencies with overlapping jurisdictions and shared responsibilities is not a new phenomenon. Attempts to foster cooperation among agencies, reduce their number in particular policy areas, or clarify the division of labor among them date to the early days of the republic. Such arrangements are increasing in the contemporary era in number, prominence, and proposals across virtually all policy areas. The reasons for the current upsurge are the growth in government responsibilities, cross-cutting programs, and their complexity; certain crises which...

New Zealand: Background and Bilateral Relations with the United States

New Zealand is increasingly viewed as a stalwart partner of the United States that welcomes U.S. presence in its region. New Zealand and the United States enjoy very close bilateral ties across the spectrum of relations between the two countries. These ties are based on shared cultural traditions and values as well as on common interests. New Zealand is a stable and active democracy with a focus on liberalizing trade in the Asia-Pacific region. New Zealand also has a history of fighting alongside the United States in most of its major conflicts including World War I, World War II, Korea,...

Sending Mail to Members of the Armed Forces at Reduced or Free Postage: An Overview

Members of the Armed Forces on duty in designated combat areas can send personal correspondence, free of postage, to addresses in the United States. However, there is not a comparable policy to permit individuals in the United States to send letters and packages to troops serving overseas free of charge.

H.R. 1935 has been introduced in the 112th Congress to establish a new, free postage benefit. Military personnel who are deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq, or who are hospitalized as a result of such deployment, would receive one postage voucher or coupon per month. The recipient may then...

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa: The FY2012 Request

Sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s poorest region, receives over a quarter of all U.S. bilateral foreign assistance. Aid to Africa more than quadrupled over the past decade, primarily due to sizable increases in global health spending during the Bush Administration and more measured increases in development, economic, and security assistance. The Obama Administration’s FY2012 bilateral Africa aid budget request, at $7.8 billion, represents an increase of roughly 10% compared to FY2010, albeit at a more restrained growth rate than in previous years (see “The FY2012 Request by the Numbers”)....

Defense: FY2011 Authorization and Appropriations

The President’s FY2011 budget request, released February 1, 2010, requested authorization of $725.9 billion in new budget authority in the FY2011 National Defense Authorization Act. In addition to $548.9 billion for the regular (non-war) operations of the Department of Defense (DOD), the authorization request included $159.3 billion for ongoing military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, bringing the total DOD request for FY2011 to $708.2 billion. The request also included $17.7 billion for defense-related activities of the Department of Energy.

The President’s FY2011 DOD appropriations...

Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico: CRS Experts

The Department of Defense’s Use of Private Security Contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq: Background, Analysis, and Options for Congress

The United States relies on contractors to provide a wide variety of services in Afghanistan and Iraq, including armed security. While DOD has previously contracted for security in Bosnia and elsewhere, it appears that in Afghanistan and Iraq DOD is for the first time relying so heavily on armed contractors to provide security during combat or stability operations. Much of the attention given to private security contractors (PSCs) by Congress and the media is a result of numerous high-profile incidents in which security contractors have been accused of shooting civilians, using excessive...

Department of Defense Contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq: Background and Analysis

The critical role contractors play in supporting military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq necessitates that the Department of Defense (DOD) effectively manage contractors during contingency operations. Lack of sufficient contract management can delay or even prevent troops from receiving needed support and can also result in wasteful spending. Some analysts believe that poor contract management has played a role in permitting abuses and crimes committed by certain contractors against local nationals, which may have undermined U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

DOD...

Energy and Water Development: FY2011 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies.

As with other funding bills, the FY2011 Energy and Water Development bill was not taken to the floor in either the House or the Senate in the 111th Congress. Funding for its programs was included in a series of continuing resolutions, and at the beginning of the 112th Congress was part of a major debate over overall spending levels....

Osama bin Laden’s Death: Implications and Considerations

The May 1, 2011, killing of Osama bin Laden (OBL) by U.S. forces in Pakistan has led to a range of views about near- and long-term security and foreign policy implications for the United States. Experts have a range of views about the killing of OBL. Some consider his death to be a largely symbolic event, while others believe it marks a significant achievement in U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Individuals suggesting that his death lacks great significance argue that U.S. and allied actions had eroded OBL’s ability to provide direction and support to Al Qaeda (AQ). For these analysts, OBL’s...

Building the Capacity of Partner States Through Security Force Assistance

Historically, the U.S. military’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) have had primary responsibility for training, advising, and assisting foreign military forces. Today, although this mission has not been completely relegated to conventional forces, the National Security Strategies of the current and previous administrations direct the U.S. military services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines) to organize, train, and equip themselves to carry out these activities on a larger scale with conventional (non-SOF) forces. This responsibility in its broad sense of building the capacity of partner...

Piracy off the Horn of Africa

Pirate attacks in the waters off Somalia and the Horn of Africa, including those on U.S.-flagged vessels, have brought renewed international attention to the long-standing problem of maritime piracy. According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), at least 219 attacks occurred in the region in 2010, with 49 successful hijackings. Somali pirates have attacked ships in the Gulf of Aden, along Somalia’s eastern coastline, and outward into the Indian Ocean. Using increasingly sophisticated tactics, these pirates now operate as far east as the Maldives in good weather, and as far south as...

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2011 Budget and Appropriations

The annual State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations bill has been the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. international affairs budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making in recent years, as Congress has not regularly considered these issues through a complete authorization process for State Department diplomatic activities since 2003 and for foreign aid programs since 1985. Funding for Foreign Operations and State Department/Broadcasting programs has been steadily rising since FY2002, after a period of decline in the...

The Kaesong North-South Korean Industrial Complex

This purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the role, purposes, and results of the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) and examine U.S. interests, policy issues, options, and legislation. The KIC is a six-year-old industrial park located in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) just across the demilitarized zone from South Korea. As of the end of 2010, over 120 medium-sized South Korean companies were employing over 47,000 North Korean workers to manufacture products in Kaesong. The facility, which in 2010 produced $323 million in output, has the land...

France: Factors Shaping Foreign Policy, and Issues in U.S.-French Relations

The factors that shape French foreign policy have changed since the end of the Cold War. The perspectives of France and the United States have diverged in some cases. More core interests remain similar. Both countries’ governments have embraced the opportunity to build stability in Europe through an expanded European Union (EU) and NATO. Each has recognized that terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are the most important threats to their security today.

Several factors shape French foreign policy. France has a self-identity that calls for efforts to spread French...

Survey of Federal Laws Containing Goals, Set-Asides, Priorities, or Other Preferences Based on Race, Gender, or Ethnicity

This report provides a broad, but by no means exhaustive, survey of federal statutes that specifically refer to race, gender, or ethnicity as factors to be considered in the administration of any federal program. Such measures may include, but are not limited to, goals, timetables, set-asides, quotas, priorities, and preferences, as those terms are generally (however imperfectly) understood. Based on searches of the LEXIS/NEXIS and WESTLAW legal databases using a variety of search strategies, the compilation seeks to be as comprehensive as possible. With certain noted exceptions, the...

Military Construction: Analysis of the President’s FY2012 Appropriations Request

President Barack Obama submitted his Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 request for appropriations to Congress on Monday, February 14, 2012. At the time, the federal government was operating under the fourth FY2011 continuing appropriation. Congress is currently considering H.R. 1473, the eighth continuing appropriation.

This report explains those government activities funded under the military construction appropriation, examines trends in military construction funding over the past few years, and outlines military construction issues extant in each of the major regions of U.S. military activity.

As...

Turkey-U.S. Defense Cooperation: Prospects and Challenges

Congress and the Obama Administration are seeking to manage longstanding bilateral and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-based defense cooperation with Turkey at a time when a more independent Turkish foreign policy course and changes in regional security conditions are creating new challenges for both countries. Defense cooperation rooted in shared threat perceptions from the Cold War era and built on close U.S. ties with the Turkish military leadership now must be reconciled with a decline of the military’s political influence in Turkish society and some negative turns in Turkish...

Japan 2011 Disaster: CRS Experts

Tort Suits Against Federal Contractors: An Overview of the Legal Issues

This report provides an overview of key legal issues that have been raised to date in recent tort suits against government contractors. Most of these issues pertain to jurisdiction, or the court’s power over the parties or subject matter of the case. A number of cases are pending that could affect courts’ treatment of the issues discussed here.

Nepal: Political Developments and Bilateral Relations with the United States

Nepal has undergone a radical political transformation since 2006, when a 10-year armed struggle by Maoist insurgents, which claimed at least 13,000 lives, officially came to an end. The country’s king stepped down in 2006, and two years later Nepal declared itself a republic, electing a Constituent Assembly in 2008 to write a new constitution, which is currently being drafted. Though the process of democratization has had setbacks and been marked by violence at times, Nepal has conducted reasonably peaceful elections, brought former insurgents into the political system, and in a broad...

The Japanese Nuclear Incident: Technical Aspects

Japan’s nuclear incident has engendered much public and congressional concern about the possible impact of radiation on the Japanese public, as well as possible fallout on U.S. citizens. This report provides information on technical aspects of the nuclear incident, with reference to human health.

While some radioactive material from the Japanese incident may reach the United States, it appears most unlikely that this material will result in harmful levels of radiation. In traveling thousands of miles between the two countries, some radioactive material will decay, rain will wash some out...

Operation Odyssey Dawn (Libya): Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of military operations in Libya under U.S. command from March 19 to March 29, 2011, and the most recent developments with respect to the transfer of command of military operations from the United States to NATO on March 30.

The ongoing uprising in Libya against the government of Muammar al Qadhafi has been the subject of evolving domestic and international debate about potential international military intervention, including the proposed establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya. On March 17, 2011, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution...

Educational Assistance Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

This report provides a detailed description of the six educational assistance programs that are available to veterans or other eligible individuals through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Although the programs are administered by the VA, some of the funding for the programs is provided by the Department of Defense (DOD), which transfers monies from its education trust fund to the VA for disbursement.

The Marines’ Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV): Background and Issues for Congress

The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is an armored amphibious vehicle program that originated two decades ago to replace the 1970s-era Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV). Like current AAVs, the EFV is designed to roll off a Navy amphibious assault ship, move under its own power to the beach, and cross the beach and operate inland. The EFV has experienced a variety of developmental difficulties, resulting in significant program delays and cost growth. The EFV is currently in its second systems design and development (SDD) phase attempting to improve the EFV’s overall poor reliability and...

Fact Sheet: The FY2012 State and Foreign Operations Budget Request

This fact sheet provides a brief overview of the Obama Administration's request for International Affairs programs.

War in Afghanistan: Strategy, Operations, and Issues for Congress

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States launched and led military operations in Afghanistan in order to end the ability of the Taliban regime to provide safe haven to al Qaeda and to put a stop to al Qaeda’s use of the territory of Afghanistan as a base of operations for terrorist activities. Many observers argue that in succeeding years, as U.S. and world attention shifted sharply to the war in Iraq, the Afghan war became the “other war” and suffered from neglect. The Obama Administration, however, has made the war in Afghanistan a higher...

Department of Defense “Section 1207” Security and Stabilization Assistance: Background and Congressional Concerns, FY2006-FY2010

Now expired, Section 1207 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2006 (P.L. 109-163) provided authority for the Department of Defense (DOD) to transfer to the State Department up to $100 million per fiscal year in defense articles, services, training or other support for reconstruction, stabilization, and security activities in foreign countries. From FY2006 through FY2010, Section 1207 funded $445.2 million in projects in 23 countries on a bilateral basis and in five countries on a multilateral basis (including one also funded bilaterally). Section 1207 authority...

U.S. Immigration Policy on Temporary Admissions

U.S. law provides for the temporary admission of various categories of foreign nationals, who are known as nonimmigrants. Nonimmigrants are admitted for a designated period of time and a specific purpose. They include a wide range of visitors, including tourists, foreign students, diplomats, and temporary workers. There are 24 major nonimmigrant visa categories. These visa categories are commonly referred to by the letter and numeral that denotes their subsection in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA); for example, B-2 tourists, E-2 treaty investors, F-1 foreign students, H-1B...

FY2011 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Policy Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the emerging operational role of the Reserve Components, further heighten interest in a wide range of military personnel policies and issues.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has selected a number of the military personnel issues considered in deliberations on the House-passed and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2011. This report provides a brief synopsis of sections that...

Foreign Aid Reform, National Strategy, and the Quadrennial Review

Several development proponents, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and policymakers have pressed Congress to reform U.S. foreign aid capabilities to better address 21st century development needs and national security challenges. Over the past 50 years, the legislative foundation for U.S. foreign aid has evolved largely by amending the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195), the primary statutory basis for U.S. foreign aid programs, and enacting separate freestanding laws to reflect specific U.S. foreign policy interests. Many describe U.S. aid programs as fragmented, cumbersome,...

The Family and Medical Leave Act: Current Legislative Activity

This report offers a brief overview of the major features of the Family and Medical Leave Act(FMLA) and its regulations. The various proposals made to amend the Act since its inception are then categorized and discussed. It closes with a review of legislative activity.

United Nations Peacekeeping: Issues for Congress

A major issue facing the United Nations, the United States, and the 111th Congress is the extent to which the United Nations has the capacity to restore or keep the peace in the changing world environment. Associated with this issue is the expressed need for a reliable source of funding and other resources for peacekeeping and improved efficiencies of operation.

For the United States, major congressional considerations on U.N. peacekeeping stem from executive branch commitments made in the U.N. Security Council. The concern with these commitments, made through votes in the Council, is the...

Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Officials: Process for Adjusting Pay and Current Salaries

Leaders and Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Vice President, individuals in positions on the Executive Schedule (EX), and federal justices and judges—all hereafter referred to as federal officials—are to receive an annual pay adjustment under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, P.L. 101-194 (103 Stat. 1716, at 1769, 5 U.S.C. §5318 note). The percentage change in the wages and salaries for the private industry workers element of the Employment Cost Index (ECI), minus 0.5% (December indicator), provides the basis for the pay adjustment. In January 2011, the Vice...

Conversion from the National Security Personnel System to Other Pay Schedules: Issues for Congress

Most federal employees (59.1%) are paid on the General Schedule (GS), a pay scale that consists of 15 pay grades in which an employee’s pay increases are to be based on performance and length of service. Some Members of Congress, citizens, and public administration scholars have argued that federal employee pay advancement should be more closely linked to job performance than it currently is on the GS. With these concerns in mind and with explicit congressional authorization, the Department of Defense (DOD) began developing the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) in 2003 as a unique...

Federal Efforts to Address the Threat of Bioterrorism: Selected Issues and Options for Congress

Reports by congressional commissions, the mention of bioterrorism in President Obama’s 2010 State of the Union address, and issuance of executive orders have increased congressional attention to the threat of bioterrorism. Federal efforts to combat the threat of bioterrorism predate the anthrax attacks of 2001 but have significantly increased since then. The U.S. government has developed these efforts as part of and in parallel with other defenses against conventional terrorism. Continued attempts by terrorist groups to launch attacks targeted at U.S. citizens have increased concerns that...

Nuclear Arms Control: The Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty

On May 24, 2002, President Bush and Russia’s President Putin signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (known as the Moscow Treaty). It mandated that the United States and Russia reduce their strategic nuclear weapons to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads by December 31, 2012. The U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification on March 6, 2003; the Russian Parliament did the same on May 14, 2003. The treaty entered into force on June 1, 2003, and lapsed on February 5, 2011, when the New START Treaty entered into force.

Russia entered the negotiations seeking a “legally...

Military Personnel and Freedom of Religion: Selected Legal Issues

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides the freedom to individuals to exercise their religious beliefs without governmental interference, and simultaneously prohibits government actions that benefit followers of one faith over another. At times, when government actions would otherwise burden individuals’ religious exercise, the government makes efforts to accommodate the religious practice. However, accommodation of religion to prevent violations of the Free Exercise Clause must be carefully considered in order to prevent violation of the Establishment Clause.

The tension...

Lebanon: Background and U.S. Relations

Lebanon is a religiously diverse country transitioning toward independence and democratic consolidation after a ruinous civil war and the subsequent Syrian and Israeli occupations. The United States and Lebanon have historically enjoyed a good relationship due in part to cultural and religious ties; the democratic character of the state; a large Lebanese American community in the United States; and the pro-western orientation of Lebanon, particularly during the Cold War. Current policy priorities of the United States include strengthening the weak democratic institutions of the state,...

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010, As Enacted

This report identifies and examines selected changes that the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 makes to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and other GI Bills, including expanded eligibility.

Indonesia: Domestic Politics, Strategic Dynamics, and U.S. Interests

With a population of 240 million, Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia and the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world. Its size, its emerging democracy and economic vibrancy, and its strategic position across critical sea lanes linking the Middle East with East Asia have led many to consider it an emerging middle-tier power. The U.S. maintains close relations with Indonesia, with considerable security, economic, and trade ties, although human rights concerns about the Indonesian armed forces have long been a thorn in the relationship.

In the 12 years since a...

The Future of NASA: Space Policy Issues Facing Congress

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-267) authorized major changes of direction for NASA. Among these, it called for the development of a new, crew-capable, heavy-lift rocket, and it provided for the development of commercial services to transport NASA crews into low Earth orbit. However, under the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (P.L. 111-242 as amended by P.L. 111-322), NASA continues to operate under a requirement to proceed with its previous human spaceflight program. Moreover, in a period of fiscal constraint, it is unclear whether...

Medicare Provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA): Summary and Timeline

Medicare is a federal program that pays for covered health services for most persons 65 years old and older and for most permanently disabled individuals under the age of 65. The rising cost of health care, the impact of the aging baby boomer generation, and declining revenues in a weakened economy continue to challenge the program’s ability to provide quality and effective health services to its 47 million beneficiaries in a financially sustainable manner.

On March 23, 2010, the President signed into law H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA; P.L. 111-148), as...

The National Response Framework: Overview and Possible Issues for Congress

In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress and President Bush moved to consolidate numerous federal emergency plans into a single, unified national response plan. The end product of these efforts was the National Response Plan (NRP), which established broad lines of authority for agencies responding to emergencies and major disasters.

Perceived problems with the implementation of the NRP during Hurricane Katrina led Congress to enact the Post-Katrina Management Reform Act (P.L. 109-295) to integrate preparedness and response authorities. The legislation directed...

U.S. Security Assistance to Lebanon

The United States has provided security assistance to Lebanon in various forms since the 1980s, and the program has expanded considerably in recent years. Since fiscal year 2007, the United States has provided more than $700 million in security assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and Internal Security Forces (ISF) to equip those forces to combat terrorism and secure Lebanon’s borders against weapons smuggling to Hezbollah and other armed groups. U.S. security assistance is part of a broader assistance program designed to foster a stable, independent Lebanese government. Primary...

Navy Aegis Cruiser and Destroyer Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

The Navy has begun a program to modernize its 22 in-service Aegis cruisers and the 62 Aegis destroyers procured in FY2005 and prior years. Under Navy plans, the modernization of these 84 ships would occur over a period of more than 20 years. The program’s estimated total cost is about $16.6 billion in constant FY2010 dollars. The modernizations are intended to ensure that the ships can be operated cost-effectively throughout their entire 35- or 40-year intended service lives. The modernizations of all 62 destroyers and at least 10 of the cruisers are to include the installation of a...

U.S.-Australia Civilian Nuclear Cooperation: Issues for Congress

Australia and the United States have cooperated in the peaceful use of nuclear energy since the mid-1950s. The framework for this cooperation is a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement as required by section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act. President Obama transmitted the text of the latest renewal agreement to Congress on May 5, 2010, along with the required Nuclear Proliferation Assessment Statement (NPAS) and his determination that the agreement promotes U.S. national security. Congress had 30 days of continuous session for consultations with the Administration, followed by an additional...

Navy Nuclear-Powered Surface Ships: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

All of the Navy’s aircraft carriers, but none of its other surface ships, are nuclear-powered. Some Members of Congress, particularly on the House Armed Services Committee, have expressed interest in expanding the use of nuclear power to a wider array of Navy surface ships, starting with the CG(X), a planned new cruiser that the Navy had wanted to start procuring around FY2017. Section 1012 of the FY2008 Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4986/P.L. 110-181 of January 28, 2008) made it U.S. policy to construct the major combatant ships of the Navy, including ships like the CG(X), with...

Economic Development Assistance for Communities Affected by Employment Changes Due to Military Base Closures (BRAC)

This report is intended to discuss the geographic impact of base closures and realignments; provide an analysis of federal economic assistance programs for communities and individuals affected by military base closures and realignments (BRAC); and analyze possible policy issues for Congress.

Unlike previous rounds, the 2005 BRAC round is focused on creating the infrastructure needed to support a transformed, expeditionary armed force—concentrated more on shifting forces and installation assets to promote the centralization of units in places from which they can be deployed rapidly. Thus,...

Can Marine Highways Deliver?

Policymakers have been discussing the potential for shifting some freight traffic from roads to river and coastal waterways as a means of mitigating highway congestion. While waterways carry substantial amounts of bulk commodities (e.g., grain and coal), seldom are they used to transport containerized cargo (typically finished goods and manufactured parts) between points within the contiguous United States. Trucks, which carry most of this cargo, and railroads, which carry some of it in combination with trucks, offer much faster transit. Yet, at a time when many urban highways are...

Guantanamo Detention Center: Legislative Activity in the 111th Congress

The detention of alleged enemy belligerents at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, together with proposals to transfer some such individuals to the United States for prosecution or continued detention, has been a subject of considerable interest for Congress. Several authorization and appropriations measures enacted during the 111th Congress addressed the disposition and treatment of Guantanamo detainees. This report analyzes legislation enacted in the 111th Congress concerning persons held at the Guantanamo detention facility.

Nine laws that were enacted during the 111th...

Pakistan: Key Current Issues and Developments

A stable, democratic, prosperous Pakistan actively combating religious militancy is considered vital to U.S. interests. U.S. concerns regarding Pakistan include regional and global terrorism; efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan; nuclear weapons proliferation; the Kashmir problem and Pakistan-India tensions; democratization and human rights protection; and economic development. Pakistan is praised by U.S. leaders for its ongoing cooperation with U.S.-led counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts, although long-held doubts exist about Islamabad’s commitment to some core U.S....

Navy CG(X) Cruiser Program: Background for Congress

The Navy’s FY2011 budget proposed canceling the CG(X) program as unaffordable and instead building an improved version of the Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class Aegis destroyer called the Flight III version. This report provides background information on the CG(X) program as it existed prior to its proposed cancellation. For further discussion of the proposal to build Flight III DDG-51s in lieu of CG(X)s, see CRS Report RL32109, Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 111th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices

The Endangered Species Act (ESA; P.L. 93-205, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1543) has been one of the more contentious environmental laws. This may stem from its strict substantive provisions, which can affect the use of both federal and nonfederal lands and resources. Under ESA, species of plants and animals (both vertebrate and invertebrate) can be listed as endangered or threatened according to assessments of their risk of extinction. Once a species is listed, powerful legal tools are available to aid its recovery and protect its habitat. ESA may also be controversial because dwindling species are...

The Military Survivor Benefit Plan: A Description of Its Provisions

The military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) was created in 1972. Since its creation, it has been subjected to many legislative changes. This report describes the basic provisions of the military Survivor Benefit Plan and all relevant changes or modifications that have occurred.

Specifically, the military Survivor Benefit Plan is described and explained in terms of its eligibility provisions, costs, benefits, and its current or former integration with other federal programs (including Social Security and Department of Veterans Affairs Dependency and Indemnity Compensation) for members and...

Missile Defense and NATO’s Lisbon Summit

For several years, the United States and NATO have pursued parallel paths to develop a ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability to defend U.S. troops and European populations against potential ballistic attacks from countries such as Iran. At the November 2010 Lisbon Summit, alliance heads of state approved a plan to integrate existing NATO member BMD capabilities as part of the overall alliance defense posture. NATO officials have placed the estimated cost of the new territorial BMD system at 200 million euros (approximately $260 million), to be borne among all 28 member states over the...

Interagency Contracting: An Overview of Federal Procurement and Appropriations Law

Recently, federal agencies have increasingly resorted to interagency contracting, relying on the contracts or contracting operations of other agencies to acquire goods and services. This increased use of interagency contracting has made it a topic of interest to some members of Congress. This report provides an overview of the federal procurement and appropriations laws governing interagency contracting. It defines key terms used in discussing interagency contracting; surveys the various interagency contracting vehicles; and describes recently enacted and proposed amendments to the laws...

U.S.-Russian Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: Issues for Congress

The bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and Russia entered into force after an exchange of diplomatic notes on January 11, 2011. The United States and Russia signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement on May 6, 2008. President Bush submitted the agreement to Congress on May 13. The agreement was withdrawn from congressional consideration by President George W. Bush on September 8, 2008, in response to Russia’s military actions in Georgia. President Obama transmitted the proposed text of the agreement to Congress on May 10, 2010, along with the required...

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): Background and Implementation

Beginning in the late 1950s and through the 1960s, Congress reacted to increasing public concern about the impact that human activity could have on the environment. A key legislative option to address this concern was the declaration of a national environmental policy. Advocates of this approach argued that without a specific policy, federal agencies were neither able nor inclined to consider the environmental impacts of their actions in fulfilling the agency’s mission. The statute that ultimately addressed this issue was the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. §§...

Critical Infrastructure Security: CRS Experts

The following table provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to critical infrastructure security. Policy areas identified include: mission, magnitude, importance, relationship to departmental mission; policy, organization, and operations across all infrastructures; information disclosure, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); security services, airport screeners, guards; specific sectors, assessing vulnerabilities, planning and implementation; agriculture; banking and finance; chemical; defense industry; emergency systems; energy;...

Research and Development (R&D) to Enhance Homeland Security: CRS Experts

The following table provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to research and development (R&D) to enhance homeland security. Policy areas identified include: mission, scope, magnitude, relationship to other federal homeland security goals; developing countermeasures policy and strategic plan; access to scientific and technical information; establishing R&D policy and priorities; conducting and coordinating homeland security R&D; Department of Homeland Security; Department of Agriculture; Department of Defense; Department of Health and...

South Africa: Current Issues and U.S. Relations

Over fifteen years after the South African majority gained its independence from white minority rule under apartheid, a system of racial segregation, the Republic of South Africa is firmly established as a regional power. With Africa’s largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a diverse economy, and a government that has played an active role in promoting regional peace and stability, South Africa is poised to have a substantial impact on the economic and political future of Africa. The country is also playing an increasingly prominent role in the G20 and other international fora. South Africa...

Cuba: Issues for the 111th Congress

Cuba remains a one-party communist state with a poor record on human rights. The country’s political succession in 2006 from the long-ruling Fidel Castro to his brother Raúl was characterized by a remarkable degree of stability. The government of Raúl Castro implemented limited economic policy changes in 2008 and 2009, and in September 2010 began a significant series of reforms to reduce the public sector and increase private enterprise. Few observers expect the government to ease its tight control over the political system, although it has reduced the number of political prisoners...

Economics and National Security: Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy

As the world begins the second decade of the twenty-first century, the United States holds what should be a winning hand of a preeminent military, large economy, strong alliances, and democratic values. The nation’s security should be secure. Yet the debate over national security seems to be both intensifying and broadening. The problem appears not only in the difficulty of finding a winning strategy in the long war against acts of terrorism but having to face economic constraints that loom large in the public debate. In addition, the global financial crisis and recession have highlighted...

U.S. Initiatives to Promote Global Internet Freedom: Issues, Policy, and Technology

Modern means of communications, led by the Internet, provide a relatively inexpensive, open, easy-entry means of sharing ideas, information, pictures, and text around the world. In a political and human rights context, in closed societies when the more established, formal news media is denied access to or does not report on specified news events, the Internet has become an alternative source of media, and sometimes a means to organize politically.

The openness and the freedom of expression allowed through blogs, social networks, video sharing sites, and other tools of today’s...

Inherently Governmental Functions and Other Work Reserved for Performance by Federal Government Employees: The Obama Administration’s Proposed Policy Letter

On March 31, 2010, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed policy letter on inherently governmental functions and other “work reserved for performance by federal government employees.” While not final, the policy letter represents the Obama Administration’s proposed guidance for agencies determining (1) whether particular functions are inherently governmental and (2) when functions closely associated with the performance of inherently governmental functions and critical functions should be performed by government...

Hezbollah: Background and Issues for Congress

Lebanon’s Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist militia, political party, social welfare organization, and U.S. State Department-designated terrorist organization. Its armed element receives support from Iran and Syria and possesses significant paramilitary and unconventional warfare capabilities. In the wake of the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and an armed domestic confrontation between Hezbollah and rival Lebanese groups in May 2008, Lebanon’s political process is now intensely focused on Hezbollah’s future role in the country. Lebanese factions are working to define Hezbollah’s...

The Inapplicability of Limitations on Subcontracting to “Preference Contracts” for Small Businesses: Washington-Harris Group

This report discusses Washington-Harris Group, a protest filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) alleging, among other things, that an agency improperly awarded a “preference contract” to a service-disabled veteran-owned small business that proposed to subcontract a greater percentage of work on the contract than allowed under the Small Business Administration’s limitations on subcontracting. GAO denied the protest, in part, because it found that limitations on subcontracting apply only to contracts “set aside” for small business, not to preference contracts. A preference...

Location-Based Preferences in Federal and Federally Funded Contracting: An Overview of the Law

This report discusses constitutional and other legal issues related to the creation and implementation of location-based preferences in federal contracting, as well as summarizes key authorities requiring or allowing federal agencies to "favor" contractors located in specific places. The report does not address federal preferences for domestic products or provisions of federal law that could, depending upon their implementation, effectively prefer local contractors, such as project labor agreements.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: Military Policy and the Law on Same-Sex Behavior

In 1993, new laws and regulations pertaining to homosexuality and U.S. military service came into effect reflecting a compromise in policy. This compromise, colloquially referred to as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” (DADT), holds that the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in same-sex acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion which are the essence of military capability. Under this policy, but not the law, service members are not to be asked about nor allowed to...

The United Arab Emirates Nuclear Program and Proposed U.S. Nuclear Cooperation

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has embarked on a program to build civilian nuclear power plants and is seeking cooperation and technical assistance from the United States and others. The 111th Congress approved a U.S.-UAE bilateral agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation pursuant to Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954. Then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed the proposed agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation with the UAE January 15, 2009. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg signed a new version of the agreement May 21, 2009; the Obama Administration...

Military Recruitment on High School and College Campuses: A Policy and Legal Analysis

In recent years, many academic institutions have enacted rules that protect individuals who are gay from discrimination on campus. As a result, some high schools and institutions of higher education have sought to bar military recruiters from their campuses and/or to eliminate Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs on campus in response to the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy, which prohibits homosexual conduct by members of the armed services. These efforts, however, have largely been thwarted due to several laws that bar giving federal funds to campuses that block...

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and All-Hazard Warnings

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is built on a structure conceived in the 1950s when over-the-air broadcasting was the best-available technology for widely disseminating emergency alerts. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) jointly administers EAS with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in cooperation with the National Weather Service (NWS), an organization within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NOAA/NWS weather radio system has been upgraded to include an all-hazard warning capability. Measures to improve the NOAA network and a new...

The Stuxnet Computer Worm: Harbinger of an Emerging Warfare Capability

In September 2010, media reports emerged about a new form of cyber attack that appeared to target Iran, although the actual target, if any, is unknown. Through the use of thumb drives in computers that were not connected to the Internet, a malicious software program known as Stuxnet infected computer systems that were used to control the functioning of a nuclear power plant. Once inside the system, Stuxnet had the ability to degrade or destroy the software on which it operated. Although early reports focused on the impact on facilities in Iran, researchers discovered that the program had...

The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act

Since 1995, legislation that would guarantee collective bargaining rights for state and local public safety officers has been introduced in Congress. The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (PSEECA)—introduced in the 111th Congress as H.R. 413 by Representative Dale E. Kildee, S. 1611 by Senator Judd Gregg, and S. 3194 and S. 3991 by Senator Harry Reid—would recognize such rights by requiring compliance with federal regulations and procedures if these rights are not provided under state law. Supporters of the measure maintain that strong partnerships between public safety...

Securing America’s Borders: The Role of the Intelligence Community

Maintaining the security of U.S. borders is a fundamental responsibility of the federal government. Various border security missions are assigned to the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies that work in cooperation with state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. The success of their efforts depends on the availability of reliable information on the nature of potential threats to border security.

Given the extent of the land borders and the long coastlines of the United States and the number of individuals and vehicles crossing...

Hamas: Background and Issues for Congress

This report and its appendixes provide background information on Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, and U.S. policy towards it. It also includes information and analysis on (1) the threats Hamas currently poses to U.S. interests, (2) how Hamas compares with other Middle East terrorist groups, (3) Hamas’s ideology and policies (both generally and on discrete issues), (4) its leadership and organization, and (5) its sources of assistance. Finally, the report raises and discusses various legislative and oversight options related to foreign aid strategies, financial sanctions, and...

Ghana, an Emergent Oil Producer: Background and U.S. Relations

This report provides information on current developments in Ghana and Ghanaian-U.S. relations, which are close. Warm bilateral relations were signaled by President Barack Obama's July 2009 trip to Ghana. Ghana was chosen for his first travel as president to Africa because of its democratic and economic development successes. In Ghana, President Obama made the last of a four-part thematic series of major overseas speeches on key foreign policy issues. The speech in Ghana, to the national parliament, centered on the integral relationship between democracy, good governance, and development in...

Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, and Missile Proliferation Sanctions: Selected Current Law

The proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, and the means to deliver them, are front and center today for policy makers who guide and form U.S. foreign policy and national security policy, and economic sanctions are considered a valuable asset in the national security and foreign policy toolbox. The United States currently maintains robust sanctions regimes against foreign governments it has identified as proliferators (particularly Iran, North Korea, and Syria). If the 112th Congress takes up even a fraction of the proposals introduced by its predecessor involving...

Hate Crime Legislation

This report provides an overview of the hate crime debate, with background on current law and hate crime statistics, and a legislative history of hate crime prevention bills in recent Congresses. This report does not analyze the constitutional or other legal issues that often arise as part of the hate crime debate.

Turkey: Selected Foreign Policy Issues and U.S. Views

This report focuses on the foreign policy of Turkey, a long-time valued U.S. NATO ally, and examines the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) recalculation of the country's approach to foreign affairs and its possible effects on relations with the United States. This report surveys Turkish foreign policy issues that are of critical interest to U.S. officials and Members of Congress.

North Korea’s 2009 Nuclear Test: Containment, Monitoring, Implications

On May 25, 2009, North Korea announced that it had conducted its second underground nuclear test. Unlike its first test, in 2006, there is no public record that the second one released radioactive materials indicative of a nuclear explosion. How could North Korea have contained these materials from the May 2009 event and what are the implications?

As background, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) would ban all nuclear explosions. It was opened for signature in 1996. Entry into force requires ratification by 44 states specified in the treaty, including the United States and...

Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 110th Congress, 2007-2008

The appointment process for advice and consent positions consists of three main stages. The first stage is selection, clearance, and nomination by the President. This step includes preliminary vetting, background checks, and ethics checks of potential nominees. At this stage, the president may also consult with Senators who are from the same party if the position is located in a state. The second stage of the process is consideration of the nomination in the Senate, most of which takes place in committee. Finally, if a nomination is approved by the full Senate, the nominee is given a...

House Legislative Procedures and House Committee Organization: Options for Change in the 112th Congress

Members and leaders of both parties have questioned whether legislative practices, while consistent with House rules, have gotten out of balance, with too much deliberation sacrificed to efficiency or electioneering. They have made speeches, introduced resolutions, and, when in the minority, issued critiques of the House’s legislative management. Practices targeted have included waivers of layover rules, use of structured and closed special rules, and waivers of committee assignment limitations. The purpose of this report is to provide Members with an analysis of House legislative rules...

Countering Terrorism in East Africa: The U.S. Response

The United States government has implemented a range of programs to counter violent extremist threats in East Africa in response to Al Qaeda’s bombing of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998 and subsequent transnational terrorist activity in the region. These programs include regional and bilateral efforts, both military and civilian. The programs seek to build regional intelligence, military, law enforcement, and judicial capacities; strengthen aviation, port, and border security; stem the flow of terrorist financing; and counter the spread of extremist ideologies. Current...

History of the Joint Committee on Reduction of Non-Essential Federal Expenditures (1941-1974), with Observations on Oversight Today

With today’s large federal deficit, some Members of Congress have become interested in institutional mechanisms that Congress has used in the past in attempts to address one component of this issue—federal spending. One mechanism that has drawn interest is the Joint Committee on Reduction of Non-Essential Federal Expenditures, which existed from 1941 to 1974. It was also known eponymously as the Byrd committee, after its advocate and long-time chair, Senator Harry F. Byrd. The joint committee was established by Section 601 of the Revenue Act of 1941, and terminated by the Congressional...

Defense Acquisition: Use of Lead System Integrators (LSIs)—Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress

Some in Congress have expressed concern about the government’s use of private-sector lead system integrators (LSIs) for executing large, complex, defense-related acquisition programs. LSIs are large, prime contractors hired to manage such programs. Supporters of the LSI concept argue that it is needed to execute such complex acquisition efforts, and can promote better technical oversight and innovation. Two LSI-managed programs—the U.S. Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deepwater program—have been strongly criticized by some observers because of cost and schedule...

Federal Land Management Agencies’ Mandatory Spending Authorities

The four major land management agencies have numerous special funds and trust funds that have mandatory spending authority, with the money available to be spent without further action by Congress. The four agencies have 81 accounts with mandatory spending authority, averaging $2.7 billion in annual budget authority for FY2005-FY2009, more than a quarter of annual agency funding. Most accounts are funded with receipts from the sale or lease of federal lands and resources; other sources include excise taxes, licensing fees, import duties, donations, and more. Many accounts fund agency...

Improper Payments Information Act of 2002: Background, Implementation, and Assessment

This report discusses the Improper Payments Information Act (IPIA), which was signed into law in 2002 with the intention of increasing financial accountability in the federal government, thereby reducing wasteful spending.

Inherently Governmental Functions and Other Work Reserved for Performance by Federal Government Employees: The Obama Administration's Proposed Policy Letter

On March 31, 2010, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed policy letter on inherently governmental functions and other "work reserved for performance by federal government employees." While

not final, the policy letter represents the Obama Administration's proposed guidance for agencies determining (1) whether particular functions are inherently governmental and (2) when functions closely associated with the performance of inherently governmental functions and critical functions should be performed by government...

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2011 Appropriations

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide. It capitalizes military family housing and the U.S. share of the NATO Security Investment Program, and finances the implementation of installation closures and realignments. It underwrites veterans benefit and health care programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, provides for the creation and maintenance of U.S. cemeteries and...

Veterans Affairs: Health Care and Benefits for Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange

This report provides an overview of health care services and disability compensation benefits available to Vietnam veterans, Children of Vietnam Era veterans, and non-Vietnam veterans

exposed to herbicides. This is followed by a discussion of litigation pertaining to Navy veterans of the Vietnam Era who served offshore and were never physically present on Vietnamese soil. The report concludes with a discussion of epidemiologic research conducted to study the health effects of Agent Orange and dioxin exposure on Vietnam veterans.

Defense Logistical Support Contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan: Issues for Congress

This report examines Department of Defense (DOD) logistical support contracts for troop support services in Iraq and Afghanistan administered through the U.S. Army’s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP), as well as legislative initiatives which may impact the oversight and management of logistical support contracts. LOGCAP is an initiative designed to manage the use of civilian contractors that perform services during times of war and other military mobilization. The first LOGCAP was awarded in 1992. Four LOGCAP contracts have been awarded for combat support services in Iraq and...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2002-2009

This report provides Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions.

International Travel by Congress: Legislation in the 111th Congress, Background, and Potential Policy Options

International travel by Members of Congress and their staff is an issue of longstanding interest among some members of the public, media outlets, and Members. Questions regarding the purposes and destinations of international travel by Congress frequently arise, as do questions about the ability to track the costs and benefits of such travel. This report provides information and analysis on the use of foreign currency expended in support of congressional travel to international destinations that is paid for with appropriated funds and authorized by the House or Senate; on measures related...

Independent Evaluators of Federal Programs: Approaches, Devices, and Examples

Congress and the executive, as well as outside organizations, have long been attentive to the evaluation of federal programs, with frequent interest paid to the independent status of the evaluator. This interest continues into the current era, with numerous illustrations of the multi-faceted approaches adopted and proposed.

An evaluation may provide information at any stage of the policy process about how a federal government policy, program, activity, or agency is working. Congress has required evaluations through legislation (or requested these via its committee and Member offices); and...

FY2010 Supplemental for Wars, Disaster Assistance, Haiti Relief, and Other Programs

The Administration requested $64.3 billion in FY2010 supplemental appropriations: $5.1 billion to replenish the U.S. Disaster Relief Fund administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); $33 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) primarily for deploying 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan; $4.5 billion in war-related foreign aid; and $2.8 billion for Haiti earthquake-related relief and reconstruction aid; $243 million for activities related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; $600 million for border security, and $129 million to reduce backlogs in patent requests;...

Sudan: The Crisis in Darfur and Status of the North-South Peace Agreement

This report discusses the history of Sudan's civil unrest and the subsequent crisis in Darfur, as well as United Nations and United States aid and peacekeeping efforts, and current related policy under the Obama Administration.

Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy

Opium poppy cultivation and drug trafficking have eroded Afghanistan’s fragile political and economic order over the last 30 years. In spite of ongoing counternarcotics efforts by the Afghan government, the United States, and their partners, Afghanistan remains the source of over 90% of the world’s illicit opium. Since 2001, efforts to provide viable economic alternatives to poppy cultivation and to disrupt drug trafficking and related corruption have succeeded in some areas. However, insecurity, particularly in the southern province of Helmand, and widespread corruption fueled a surge in...

U.S.-China Counterterrorism Cooperation: Issues for U.S. Policy

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States faced a challenge in enlisting the full support of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the counterterrorism fight against Al Qaeda. This effort raised short-term policy issues about how to elicit cooperation and how to address PRC concerns about the U.S.-led war (Operation Enduring Freedom). Longer-term issues have concerned whether counterterrorism has strategically transformed bilateral ties and whether China’s support was valuable and not obtained at the expense of other U.S. interests.

The extent of U.S.-China...

Instability and Humanitarian Conditions in Chad

As the Sahel region weathers another year of drought and poor harvests, the political and security situation in Chad remains volatile, compounding a worsening humanitarian situation in which some 2 million Chadians are at risk of hunger. In the western Sahelian region of the country, the World Food Program warns that an estimated 60% of households, some 1.6 million people, are currently food insecure. Aid organizations warn that the situation is critical, particularly for remote areas in the west with little international aid presence, and that the upcoming rainy season is likely to...

North Korea: Back on the Terrorism List?

Whether North Korea should be included on the U.S. list of terrorism-supporting countries has been a major issue in U.S.-North Korean diplomacy since 2000, particularly in connection with negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear program. North Korea demanded that the Clinton and Bush Administrations remove it from the terrorism support list. On October 11, 2008, the Bush Administration removed North Korea from the terrorism list.

This move was one of the measures the Bush Administration took to implement a nuclear agreement that it negotiated with North Korea in September 2007 and...

Costs of Major U.S. Wars

This CRS report provides estimates of the costs of major U.S. wars from the American Revolution through current conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. It presents figures both in “current year dollars,” that is, in prices in effect at the time of each war, and in inflation-adjusted “constant dollars” updated to the most recently available estimates of FY2011 prices. All estimates are of the costs of military operations only and do not include costs of veterans benefits, interest paid for borrowing money to finance wars, or assistance to allies. The report also provides estimates of...

U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Middle East: Historical Background, Recent Trends, and the FY2011 Request

This report is an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East from FY2006 to FY2010, and of the FY2011 budget request. It includes a brief history of aid to the region, a review of foreign aid levels, a description of selected country programs, and an analysis of current foreign aid issues. It will be updated periodically to reflect recent developments. For foreign aid terminology and acronyms, please see the glossary appended to this report. For details on U.S. reconstruction aid for Iraq, please see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth...

Congressionally Designated Special Management Areas in the National Forest System

In 1891, Congress authorized the President to reserve public forests to protect the lands and resources. The many presidential proclamations and subsequent land purchases have led to the current National Forest System. These lands are managed to balance the many purposes and values through an interdisciplinary planning process, with public involvement, under the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 and the National Forest Management Act of 1976.

Congress has also designated many specific national forest areas to emphasize particular values or resources, and continues to consider...

Detection of Nuclear Weapons and Materials: Science, Technologies, Observations

Detection of nuclear weapons and special nuclear material (SNM, plutonium, and certain types of uranium) is crucial to thwarting nuclear proliferation and terrorism and to securing weapons and materials worldwide. Congress has funded a portfolio of detection R&D and acquisition programs, and has mandated inspection at foreign ports of all U.S.-bound cargo containers using two types of detection equipment.

Nuclear weapons contain SNM, which produces suspect signatures that can be detected. It emits radiation, notably gamma rays (high-energy photons) and neutrons. SNM is dense, so it...

A Federal Chief Technology Officer in the Obama Administration: Options and Issues for Consideration

In November 2007, Senator Barack Obama announced his intention, if elected President, to appoint a federal chief technology officer (CTO). He also identified several specific areas of responsibility of the CTO including transparency of government operations, computer and network security (sometimes referred to as cybersecurity), identification and adoption of best technologies and practices by federal agencies, and interoperability of emergency communications technologies for first responders.

On April 18, 2009, President Obama appointed Virginia Secretary of Technology Aneesh P. Chopra...

The Defense Base Act (DBA): The Federally Mandated Workers’ Compensation System for Overseas Government Contractors

Many overseas federal contractors are covered by the Defense Base Act (DBA), which mandates that they provide workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. As the U.S. military has increased operations in Iraq, the size of the DBA program has grown. Since September 2001, there have been 49,472 DBA cases, including 1,584 cases involving the deaths of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly $200 million in cash and medical benefits were paid to DBA claimants in 2008.

Congress has become increasingly concerned with the costs involved in the DBA program because the federal...

Democratic Reforms in Taiwan: Issues for Congress

Taiwan, which its government formally calls the Republic of China (ROC), is a success story for U.S. interests in the promotion of universal freedoms and democracy. Taiwan’s people and their leaders transformed politics from rule imposed from the outside with authoritarian abuses to the relatively peaceful achievement of self-government, human rights, and democracy. The purpose of this CRS report is to succinctly discuss Taiwan’s transformation and current concerns, paying particular attention to the role of Congress and implications and options for U.S. policy.

Taiwan’s people did not...

Ballistic Missile Defense and Offensive Arms Reductions: A Review of the Historical Record

The United States and Russia signed the New START Treaty on April 8, 2010, and it awaits Senate consideration. The preamble to the Treaty contains a “provision on the interrelationship of strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms.” This statement does not contain any limits on current or planned U.S. missile defense programs. However, some analysts have questioned whether Russia’s threat to withdraw from New START if the United States expands its missile defense capabilities might have a “chilling effect” on U.S. missile defense plans and programs.

Ballistic missile defenses...

Liberia’s Post-War Development: Key Issues and U.S. Assistance

This report covers developments in Liberia, a small, poor West African country. Liberia held elections in October 2005, with a presidential runoff in November, a key step in a peace-building process following its second civil war in a decade. That war began in 1999, escalated in 2000, and ended in 2003. It pitted the forces of Charles Taylor, elected president in 1997 after Liberia’s first civil war (1989-1997), against two armed anti-Taylor rebel groups. The war also destabilized neighboring states, which accepted Liberian refugees and, in some cases, hosted anti-Taylor forces and became...

Quadrennial Defense Review 2010: Overview and Implications for National Security Planning

On February 1, 2010, the Defense Department released a report on the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), a legislatively mandated assessment of defense strategy and priorities. The review is the sixth full scale assessment of U.S. defense policy since the end of the Cold War, beginning with the 1990 Base Force analysis and the 1993 Bottom-Up Review and continuing with QDRs completed in 1997, 2001, 2006, and 2010. These official reviews have been supplemented by assessments of independently chartered panels.

The four QDRs reflect an ongoing evolution of strategic thinking away from...

Post-Employment, "Revolving Door," Laws for Federal Personnel

This report provides a brief discussion of the post-employment restrictions, often called "revolving door" laws, that are applicable to members, officers, and employees of Congress after they leave congressional service or employment.

Strategic Arms Control After START: Issues and Options

The United States and Russia signed a new strategic arms reduction treaty (New START) on April 8, 2010. This Treaty replaces the original START Treaty, which the United States and Soviet Union signed in July 1991. START entered into force in December 1994 and expired on December 5, 2009.

The original START Treaty counted each deployed ICBM, SLBM, and bomber as a single delivery vehicle under the Treaty limit of 1,600 delivery vehicles and attributes an agreed number of warheads to each deployed delivery vehicle. This attribution rule provides the total number of warheads that count under...

2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference: Key Issues and Implications

The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which entered into force in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995, is the centerpiece of international nuclear nonproliferation efforts. The NPT recognizes five nations (the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China) as nuclear-weapon states; 189 countries are parties to the NPT. India, Israel, and Pakistan have never signed the treaty and possess nuclear weapons. North Korea acceded to the NPT but announced its withdrawal in 2003. Several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa, ended their nuclear weapons programs...

Department of Homeland Security Assistance to States and Localities: A Summary and Issues for the 111th Congress

In light of lessons learned from the September 2001 terrorist attacks and other catastrophes such as Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav, the second session of the 111th Congress is expected to consider questions and issues associated with federal homeland security assistance. Federal homeland security assistance, for the purpose of this report, is defined as U.S. Department of Homeland Security programs that provide funding, training, or technical assistance to states, localities, tribes, and other entities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from man-made and natural disasters. Since the...

The Export Administration Act: Evolution, Provisions, and Debate

The 111th Congress may consider legislation to renew, modify, or reauthorize the Export Administration Act (EAA). On July 31, 2009, Representative Sherman introduced the Export Control Improvements Act (H.R. 3515), co-sponsored by Representative Manzullo and Representative A. Smith, that contains provisions on export controls enforcement, integration of export control data in the AES, and diversion control. The House Foreign Affairs Committee is also reportedly working to produce as comprehensive rewrite of the EAA. As part of the Administration’s export control review, Defense Secretary...

Long-Range Ballistic Missile Defense in Europe

In early 2007, after several years of internal discussions and consultations with Poland and the Czech Republic, the Bush Administration formally proposed to defend against an Iranian missile threat by deploying a ground-based mid-course defense (GMD) element in Europe as part of the global U.S. BMDS (Ballistic Missile Defense System). The system would have included 10 interceptors in Poland, a radar in the Czech Republic, and another radar that would have been deployed in a country closer to Iran, to be completed by 2013 at a reported cost of at least $4 billion. The proposed European BMD...

Guinea’s New Transitional Government: Emerging Issues for U.S. Policy

A “government of national unity” was formed in Guinea on January 15, 2010, a year after a military junta, the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), took power in a coup d’état. While the CNDD has not been dissolved, it has agreed to share power with civilian opposition groups in the lead-up to presidential elections, scheduled for June 27, 2010. Defense Minister Sekouba Konate has assumed executive power as interim president, while opposition spokesman Jean-Marie Dore was named prime minister.

The formation of a unity government followed six weeks of political uncertainty...

The War Powers Resolution: After Thirty-Six Years

This report discusses and assesses the War Powers Resolution and its application since enactment in 1973, providing detailed background on various cases in which it was used, as well as cases in which issues of its applicability were raised.

Iran’s Economic Conditions: U.S. Policy Issues

The Islamic Republic of Iran, a resource-rich and labor-rich country in the Middle East, is a central focus of U.S. national security policy. The United States asserts that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism and that Iran’s uranium enrichment activities are for the development of nuclear weapons. To the extent that U.S. sanctions and other efforts to change Iranian state policy target aspects of Iran’s economy as a means of influence, it is important to evaluate Iran’s economic structure, strengths, and vulnerabilities.

Since 2000, Iran has enjoyed broad-based economic growth. However,...

Mérida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: Funding and Policy Issues

Increasing violence perpetrated by drug trafficking organizations and other criminal groups is threatening citizen security in Mexico and Central America. Drug trafficking-related violence claimed more than 6,500 lives in Mexico in 2009, and several Central American countries have among the world’s highest homicide rates. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) dominate the illicit drug market in the United States and are expanding their operations by forming partnerships with U.S. gangs.

On October 22, 2007, the United States and Mexico announced the Mérida Initiative, a package of...

North Korea’s Second Nuclear Test: Implications of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874

The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Res. 1874 on June 12, 2009, in response to North Korea’s second nuclear test. The resolution puts in place a series of sanctions on North Korea’s arms sales, luxury goods, and financial transactions related to its weapons programs, and calls upon states to inspect North Korean vessels suspected of carrying such shipments. The resolution does allow for shipments of food and nonmilitary goods. As was the case with an earlier U.N. resolution, 1718, that was passed in October 2006 after North Korea’s first nuclear test, Resolution 1874...

East Asian Regional Architecture: New Economic and Security Arrangements and U.S. Policy

The global financial crisis, the end of the Cold War, the rise of China, globalization, free trade agreements, the war on terror, and an institutional approach to keeping the peace are causing dramatic shifts in relationships among countries in East Asia. A new regional architecture in the form of trade, financial, and political arrangements among countries of East Asia is developing that has significant implications for U.S. interests and policy. This report examines this regional architecture with a focus on China, South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. The types of arrangements include...

U.S. Military Stop Loss Program: Key Questions and Answers

Stop Loss is a frequently misunderstood DOD force management program that retains servicemembers beyond their contractually agreed-to separation date. Because of the involuntary nature of this extension, some critics have referred to the program as a “backdoor draft” or “involuntary servitude”.

Stop Loss was initially used in the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and later in Bosnia and the Kosovo Air Campaign. All of the Services used Stop Loss at the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) but only the Army has consistently employed some form of Stop Loss...

Air Force C-17 Aircraft Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress

A total of 223 C-17s have been procured through FY2010. The Administration’s proposed FY2011 defense budget proposed to end C-17 procurement and did not request any funding for the procurement of additional C-17s. The Administration argues that enough C-17s have now been procured to meet future operational needs. Supporters of procuring additional C-17s in FY2011 believe additional C-17s will be needed to meet future operational needs. The issue of how much airlift capability will be needed in the future is currently being examined in a congressionally mandated study being done by the...

Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court

After the Supreme Court held that federal courts have jurisdiction under the federal habeas corpus statute to hear legal challenges on behalf of persons detained at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in connection with the conflict against Al Qaeda and associated groups (Rasul v. Bush), the Pentagon established administrative hearings, called “Combatant Status Review Tribunals” (CSRTs), to allow the detainees to contest their status as enemy combatants, and informed them of their right to pursue habeas relief in federal court. Lawyers subsequently filed dozens of petitions on...

Inherently Governmental Functions and Department of Defense Operations: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

An “inherently governmental function” is one that, as a matter of law and policy, must be performed by federal government employees and cannot be contracted out because it is “intimately related to the public interest.” Two main definitions of “inherently governmental functions” currently exist within federal law and policy. One is a statutory definition, enacted as part of the Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act of 1998. This definition states that an inherently governmental function is “a function so intimately related to the public interest as to require performance by...

Minority Contracting and Affirmative Action for Disadvantaged Small Businesses: Legal Issues

Since the early 1960s, minority participation “goals” have been an integral part of federal policies to promote racial and gender equality in contracting on federally financed construction projects and in connection with other large federal contracts. Federal contract “set-asides” and minority subcontracting goals evolved from Small Business Administration (SBA) programs to foster participation in the federal procurement process by small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs), or small businesses owned and controlled by “socially and economically disadvantaged” individuals. Minority group members...

Limits on Discharge in Bankruptcy Not Codified in the Bankruptcy Code, Title 11, United States Code

Article I, Section 8, clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to enact “uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States.” Bankruptcy is a method through which financially troubled debtors can receive relief from financial pressures by discharging some or all of their debts under procedures designed to provide some protection to both debtors and creditors. Bankruptcy is often said to provide debtors with a “fresh start,” eliminating their debts and allowing them to move forward. However, some debts cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. To the extent...

Medicare Program Changes in Senate-Passed H.R. 3590

Medicare is a federal program that pays for covered health services for most persons 65 years and older and for most permanently disabled individuals under the age of 65 years. The rising cost of health care, the impact of the aging baby boomer generation, and declining revenues in a weakened economy continue to challenge the program’s ability to provide quality and effective health services to its 45 million beneficiaries in a financially sustainable manner.

On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed its version of health insurance reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in...

Federal Complaint-Handling, Ombudsman, and Advocacy Offices

Federal complaint-handling, ombudsman, and advocacy offices have different forms, capacities, and designations. This report, which reviews the state of research in this field and the heritage of such offices, examines and compares them, along with recent legislative developments and past proposals to establish a government-wide ombudsman. In so doing, the report identifies the basic characteristics of these offices, recognizing differences among them with regard to their powers, duties, jurisdictions, locations, and resources, as well as control over them. This study covers only...

Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs

The United States has two main programs for temporarily importing low-skilled workers, or guest workers. Agricultural guest workers enter through the H-2A visa program, and other guest workers enter through the H-2B visa program. Before an employer can file a petition with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to import workers under either program, the employer must apply to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for a certification that U.S. workers capable of performing the work are not available and that the employment of alien workers will not adversely affect the wages and...

Misuse of Government Purchase Cards

Since the mid-1990s, the use of government purchase cards has expanded at a rapid rate. Spurred by legislative and regulatory reforms designed to increase the use of purchase cards for small acquisitions, the dollar volume of government purchase card transactions grew from $527 million in FY1993, to $19.3 billion in FY2009. While the use of purchase cards has been credited with reducing administrative costs, audits of agency purchase card programs have found varying degrees of waste, fraud, and abuse. One of the most common risk factors cited by auditors is a weak internal control...

German Foreign and Security Policy: Trends and Transatlantic Implications

German Chancellor Angela Merkel began her first term in office in November 2005 and was elected to a second term in September 2009. Most observers agree that under her leadership, relations between the United States and Germany have improved markedly since reaching a low point in the lead-up to the Iraq war in 2003. U.S. officials and many Members of Congress view Germany as a key U.S. ally, have welcomed German leadership in Europe, and voiced expectations for increased U.S.-German cooperation on the international stage.

German unification in 1990 and the end of the Cold War represented...

The International Criminal Court (ICC): Jurisdiction, Extradition, and U.S. Policy

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.” Currently, 110 countries are States Parties to the ICC. Since its inception in 2002, the ICC has received three referrals for investigations by States Parties and one referral from the United Nations Security Council.

While the U.S. executive branch initially supported the idea of creating an international criminal court, the United States ultimately voted against the Statute of the ICC (the...

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Security Issues and Implications for U.S. Interests

The South Caucasus region has been the most unstable in the former Soviet Union in terms of the number, intensity, and length of ethnic and civil conflicts. Other emerging or full-blown security problems include crime, corruption, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and narcotics trafficking. The regional governments have worked to bolster their security by combating terrorism, limiting political dissent they view as threatening, revamping their armed forces, and seeking outside assistance and allies.

The roles of neighbors Iran, Russia, and Turkey have been of...

Central Asia’s Security: Issues and Implications for U.S. Interests

The Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) face common security challenges from crime, corruption, terrorism, and faltering commitments to economic and democratic reforms. However, cooperation among them remains halting, so security in the region is likely in the near term to vary by country. Kyrgyzstan’s and Tajikistan’s futures are most clouded by ethnic and territorial tensions, and corruption in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan could spoil benefits from the development of their ample energy resources. Authoritarianism and poverty in...

Chile Earthquake: U.S. and International Response

On February 27, 2010, an earthquake of magnitude 8.8 struck off the coast of central Chile. Centered 70 miles northeast of Chile’s second-largest city, Concepción, at a depth of 22 miles, the earthquake was the second largest ever recorded in Chile and the fifth largest recorded worldwide since 1900. Over 100 aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or greater were recorded following the initial earthquake. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which struck Chile’s coast roughly 20 minutes after the earthquake and moved 2,000 feet onto shore in some places, devastated parts of the country. Although...

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2010 Appropriations

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and 26 independent agencies. Among the independent agencies funded by the bill are the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

On May 7, 2009, the Obama Administration delivered its FY2010 budget request to...

Iraq: Oil and Gas Sector, Revenue Sharing, and U.S. Policy

Development in Iraq’s oil and natural gas sector is proceeding, amid ongoing debates. Iraqis differ strongly on a number of key issues, including the proper role and powers of federal and regional authorities in regulating oil and gas development; the terms and extent of potential foreign participation in the oil and gas sectors; and proposed formulas and mechanisms for equitably sharing oil and gas revenue. Concurrent, related discussions about the administrative status of the city of Kirkuk and proposed amendments to articles of Iraq’s constitution that outline federal and regional oil...

Illegal Drug Trade in Africa: Trends and U.S. Policy

Africa has historically held a peripheral role in the transnational illicit drug trade, but in recent years has increasingly become a locus for drug trafficking, particularly of cocaine. Recent estimates suggest that in recent years, apart from late 2008 and 2009, between 46 and 300 metric tons of South American cocaine may have transited West Africa en route to Europe. Recent cocaine seizure levels are sharply higher than those in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which in all of Africa rarely exceeded 1 metric ton a year. Africa’s emergence as a trafficking nexus appears to have resulted...

Costa Rica: Background and U.S. Relations

Costa Rica is a politically stable Central American nation with a relatively well-developed economy. Former president (1986-1990) and Nobel-laureate Oscar Arias of the historically center-left National Liberation Party was elected President in 2006. Throughout his term, Arias has advanced so-called “third-way” policies, embracing his party’s traditional support for social welfare programs while rejecting state-led development in favor of market-oriented economic policies. Considerable economic growth and social protection programs have provided Costa Rica’s citizens with a relatively high...

Foreign Direct Investment: Current Issues

This report presents an overview of current issues related to foreign direct investment in the economy and the development of U.S. policy toward inward and outward direct investment. This report also assesses the role of foreign direct investment in the economy and the costs and benefits of direct investment.

The 2009 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Meetings and U.S. Trade Policy in Asia

Congress and the Executive Branch have historically identified the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) as potentially important in the promotion of liberalized international trade and investment in Asia, and possibly the rest of the world. APEC’s commitment to the goal of trade and investment liberalization is embodied in its Bogor Goals, in which APEC members pledged to free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.

The 2009 APEC Leaders’ and Ministerial Meetings focused on balanced growth,...

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2010 Appropriations

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide. It capitalizes military family housing and the U.S. share of the NATO Security Investment Program, and finances the implementation of installation closures and realignments. It underwrites veterans benefit and health care programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, provides for the creation and maintenance of U.S. cemeteries and...

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2010 Budget and Appropriations

The annual State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. international affairs budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making in general, as these activities have not been considered regularly by Congress through the authorization process since 2003. Funding for Foreign Operations and State Department/Broadcasting programs has been steadily rising since FY2002, after a period of decline in the 1980s and 1990s. Amounts approved for FY2004 in regular and supplemental bills reached an...

Paraguay: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

Paraguay, a landlocked nation in the center of South America, has friendly relations with the United States and has been a traditional ally. Paraguay’s turbulent political history and tradition of political authoritarianism have resulted in international isolation that the country is seeking to overcome. The population of 6.9 million people is one the most homogenous mestizo populations in the hemisphere. Paraguay’s largely agrarian economy has grown well in recent years on the strength of global commodity prices. However, in 2009, a severe drought and the impact of the global economic...

Disability Evaluation of Military Servicemembers

On February 18, 2007, the Washington Post published the first in a series of articles describing problems with outpatient medical care and other services provided at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). The series noted, among other things, concerns about the processes used to evaluate disability in injured military servicemembers. Both the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) conduct disability evaluations and assign disability ratings to servicemembers or veterans under their respective authorities. An individual’s disability rating, from either...

Renditions: Constraints Imposed by Laws on Torture

Persons suspected of criminal or terrorist activity may be transferred from one State (i.e., country) to another for arrest, detention, and/or interrogation. Commonly, this is done through extradition, by which one State surrenders a person within its jurisdiction to a requesting State via a formal legal process, typically established by treaty. Far less often, such transfers are effectuated through a process known as “extraordinary rendition” or “irregular rendition.” These terms have often been used to refer to the extrajudicial transfer of a person from one State to another. In this...

North Korea: Economic Leverage and Policy Analysis

In early and mid-2009, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) embarked on a course that included a series of extremely provocative military actions, a shift in power toward the military, emphasis on ideological purity, rising criticism of the United States, and going forward with its nuclear and missile program in spite of sanctions and objections from much of the rest of the world. As 2009 ended, the DPRK was in the midst of a “charm offensive” in which it took specific actions to ease tensions with the United States and South Korea and appears to have...

Nuclear Weapons in U.S. National Security Policy: Past, Present, and Prospects

The Bush Administration outlined a strategy of “tailored deterrence” to define the role that nuclear weapons play in U.S. national security policy. There has been little discussion of this concept, either in Congress or in the public at large. This leaves unanswered questions about how this strategy differs from U.S. nuclear strategy during the Cold War and how it might advise decisions about the size and structure of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Throughout the Cold War, the United States relied on nuclear weapons to deter an attack by the Soviet Union and its allies and to forestall the...

Veterans Medical Care: FY2010 Appropriations

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility criteria. Benefits to veterans range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. The VA provides these benefits through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA).

This report focuses on the VHA. The VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services to veterans through the...

U.N. Convention Against Torture (CAT): Overview and Application to Interrogation Techniques

The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) requires signatory parties to take measures to end torture within their territorial jurisdiction and to criminalize all acts of torture. Unlike many other international agreements and declarations prohibiting torture, CAT provides a general definition of the term. CAT generally defines torture as the infliction of severe physical and/or mental suffering committed under the color of law. CAT allows for no circumstances or emergencies where torture could be permitted.

The United...

CRS Issue Statement on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations

The closing, reduction in scope, or expansion of military installations on domestic soil and overseas, the privatization of government-built military housing, the provision of benefits and medical care to eligible veterans, and the redeployment of military units to the United States from overseas garrisons have drawn congressional attention in recent sessions. The funds to support all of these activities are provided by the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act debated annually in both chambers.

Legislative Branch: FY2010 Appropriations

Approximately $5.0 billion was requested for legislative branch operations in FY2010, an increase of 14.5% over the FY2009 enacted level. The Subcommittees on the Legislative Branch of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees held hearings during which Members considered the legislative branch requests.

On September 23, 2009, the House ordered the previous question (Roll No. 733, 240-171) and agreed by voice vote to a conference with the Senate on H.R. 2918, the FY2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. A motion to instruct conferees failed (Roll No. 734, 191-213), and the House...

Iran: Regional Perspectives and U.S. Policy

As the Administration and Congress move forward to pursue engagement, harsher sanctions, or both, regional actors are evaluating their policies and priorities with respect to Iran. Iran’s neighbors share many U.S. concerns, but often evaluate them differently than the United States when calculating their own relationship with or policy toward Iran. Because Iran and other regional concerns—the Arab-Israeli peace process, stability in Lebanon and Iraq, terrorism, and the ongoing war in Afghanistan—have become increasingly intertwined, understanding the policies and perspectives of Iran’s...

Korea-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress

The United States has had a military alliance with South Korea (R.O.K.) and important interests in the Korean peninsula since the Korean War of 1950-1953. Many U.S. interests relate to communist North Korea. Since the early 1990s, the issue of North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons has been the dominant U.S. policy concern. Experts in and out of the U.S. government believe that North Korea has produced plutonium for at least six atomic bombs. North Korea tested nuclear devices in October 2006 and May 2009. In 2007, a six party negotiation (among the United States, North Korea, China,...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2010

In his FY2010 budget request, President Obama sought $147.620 billion for R&D, a $555 million (0.4%) increase from the estimated FY2009 R&D funding level of $147.065 billion (not including FY2009 R&D funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5). According to the Obama Administration, preliminary allocations of R&D funding provided under P.L. 111-5 brought total FY2009 R&D funding to $165.400 billion. Unless otherwise noted in this report, comparisons of FY2009 and FY2010 R&D funding do not incorporate funding provided under P.L. 111-5. To the extent...

Cybersecurity: Current Legislation, Executive Branch Initiatives, and Options for Congress

Increasing focus on current cyber threats to federal information technology systems, nonfederal critical information infrastructure, and other nonfederal systems has led to numerous legislative cybersecurity proposals and executive branch initiatives. The proposed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (NDAA FY2010) and the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (IIA FY2010) both contain provisions that would affect programs and funding for current and future cybersecurity-related programs. In May 2009, the Obama Administration issued its 60-day review of...

CRS Issue Statement on Animal Welfare

This report discusses the questions whether additional measures are needed to protect the health and well-being of animals.

U.S. Security Assistance to the Palestinian Authority

Since shortly after the establishment of limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the mid-1990s, the United States has periodically provided assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for civil security and counterterrorism purposes. Following the death of Yasser Arafat in late 2004 and the election of Mahmoud Abbas as his successor as PA President in early 2005, then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice created the office of U.S. Security Coordinator (USSC) for Israel and the Palestinian Authority to help reform, train, and equip PA security forces which had...

Private Security Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Legal Issues

U.S. departments and agencies contributing to combat or stability operations overseas are relying on private firms to perform a wider scope of security services than was previously the case. The use of private security contractors (PSCs) to protect personnel and property in Iraq and Afghanistan has been a subject of debate in the press, in Congress, and in the international community. While PSCs are widely viewed as being vital to U.S. efforts in the region, many Members are concerned about transparency, accountability, and legal and symbolic issues raised by the use of armed civilians to...

North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Development and Diplomacy

Since August 2003, negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs have involved six governments: the United States, North Korea, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia. Since the talks began, North Korea has operated nuclear facilities at Yongbyon and apparently has produced weapons-grade plutonium estimated as sufficient for five to eight atomic weapons. North Korea tested a plutonium nuclear device in October 2006 and apparently a second device in May 2009. North Korea admitted in June 2009 that it has a program to enrich uranium; the United States had cited evidence of such a...

Energy and Water Development: FY2010 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies.

Key budgetary issues for FY2010 involving these programs may include:

the distribution of Corps appropriations across the agency’s authorized planning, construction, and maintenance activities (Title I);

support of major ecosystem restoration initiatives, such as Florida Everglades (Title I) and California “Bay-Delta” (CALFED) and...

Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2010 Appropriations

The FY2010 Agriculture appropriations bill provides funding for all of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) except the Forest Service, plus the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Appropriations jurisdiction for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is split between two subcommittees—the House Agriculture appropriations subcommittee and the Senate Financial Services appropriations subcommittee.

The FY2010 Agriculture appropriations bill (P.L. 111-80) was enacted on October 21, 2009. This is the first time that the bill was...

The Statutory PAYGO Process for Budget Enforcement: 1991-2002

“Pay-as-you-go” (PAYGO) procedures play an important role in enforcing budget policies with respect to the consideration of revenue and direct spending legislation. Generally, the purpose of PAYGO procedures is to discourage or prevent the enactment of legislation that would cause, or increase, a deficit or reduce a surplus in the federal budget. PAYGO procedures are not a comprehensive means of budget enforcement because they do not apply to discretionary spending, which is provided in annual appropriations acts; such spending is subject to other enforcement procedures. Further, PAYGO...

Defense: FY2010 Authorization and Appropriations

For the Department of Defense (DOD) in FY2010, the Administration requested a total of $663.8 billion in discretionary budget authority. This includes $533.8 billion for the so-called “base budget”—all DOD activities other than combat operations—and $130.0 billion for “overseas contingency operations,” including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Administration also requested $75.9 billion in supplemental DOD appropriations for FY2009 to cover war costs. The Administration’s DOD request, made public May 7, 2009, incorporated Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s April 6 recommendations to...

VH-71/VXX Presidential Helicopter Program: Background and Issues for Congress

The VH-71 program is intended to provide 23 new presidential helicopters to replace the current fleet of 19 aging presidential helicopters. As part of its proposed FY2010 Department of Defense (DOD) budget, the Administration proposed terminating the VH-71 program in response to substantial cost growth and schedule delays in the program. As a successor to the VH-71 program, the Administration proposed beginning a new presidential helicopter program in FY2010 called the VXX Presidential Helicopter Program.

The Administration’s proposed FY2010 budget requested $85.2 million in Navy research...

Air Force Next-Generation Bomber: Background and Issues for Congress

As part of its proposed FY2010 defense budget, the Administration proposed deferring the start of a program to develop a next-generation bomber (NGB) for the Air Force, pending the completion of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) and associated Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), and in light of strategic arms control negotiations with Russia. The Administration’s proposed FY2010 budget requested no funding specifically identified in public budget documents as being for an NGB program. Prior to the submission of the FY2010 budget, the Air Force was conducting research and development work...

U.S. Public Diplomacy: Background and Current Issues

This report provides background on U.S. public diplomacy, and discusses the United States information agency, current structure of public diplomacy within the Department of State, and the public diplomacy budget.

Pay-for-Performance: Lessons from the National Security Personnel System

Most federal employees (59.8%) are paid on the General Schedule, a pay scale that consists of 15 pay grades in which an employee’s pay increases are to be based on performance and length of service. Some Members of Congress, citizens, and public administration scholars have argued that federal employee pay advancement should be more closely linked to job performance. With explicit congressional authorization enacted in 2003, the Department of Defense (DOD) created the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) as a unique pay scale attempting to more closely link employee pay to job...

U.S. Public Diplomacy: Background and Current Issues

Public diplomacy is defined in different ways, but broadly it is a term used to describe a government’s efforts to conduct foreign policy and promote national interests through direct outreach and communication with the population of a foreign country. Public diplomacy activities include providing information to foreign publics through broadcast and Internet media and at libraries and other outreach facilities in foreign countries; conducting cultural diplomacy, such as art exhibits and music performances; and administering international educational and professional exchange programs. The...

Greece Update

The Greek city-state of Athens is believed to have developed the first known democracy around 500 B.C. Modern Greece has been a democracy since the toppling of a military junta in 1974. Since then, the New Democracy (ND) party and the PanHellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) have alternated leadership of the government. ND ruled from March 2004 until October 4, 2009, when PASOK won national elections and a clear majority of the seats in parliament. PASOK’s victory has been attributed to anti-ND public sentiment caused by the economic recession, corruption scandals, and law-and-order issues....

Homeland Security Department: FY2010 Appropriations

This report describes the FY2010 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a net appropriation of $44.1 billion in budget authority for FY2010. This amounts to a $2.8 billion, or a 6.7% increase over the $41.2 billion enacted for FY2009 (not including supplemental funding). Total budget authority requested by the Administration for DHS for FY2010 amounts to $55.1 billion.

Net requested appropriations for major agencies within DHS were as follows: Customs and Border Protection (CBP), $10,049 million; Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

Proposals for a Commission to Address the Federal Government’s Long-Term Fiscal Situation

In the 111th Congress, Members have introduced several proposals to establish a commission that would make potentially far-reaching recommendations on how to address the federal government’s long-term fiscal situation. Generally speaking, the measures would include Members of Congress as some or most of a commission’s membership, provide for a majority of commission members to be appointed by congressional leaders, have varying degrees of partisan balance in membership, and require supermajority votes of commission members to approve recommendations. Each of the bills also would provide...

NATO in Afghanistan: A Test of the Transatlantic Alliance

The mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Afghanistan is seen by many as a test of the alliance’s political will and military capabilities. Since the Washington Summit in 1999, the allies have sought to create a “new” NATO, capable of operating beyond the European theater to combat emerging threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Afghanistan is NATO’s first “out-of-area” mission beyond Europe. The purpose of the mission is the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan. The mission has proven difficult, an...

Army Future Combat System (FCS) “Spin-Outs” and Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV): Background and Issues for Congress

The Future Combat System (FCS) was a multiyear, multibillion dollar program at the heart of the Army’s transformation efforts. It was to be the Army’s major research, development, and acquisition program, consisting of 14 manned and unmanned systems tied together by an extensive communications and information network. FCS was intended to replace current systems such as the M-1 Abrams tank and the M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The FCS program has been characterized by the Army and others as a high-risk venture because of the advanced technologies involved and the challenge of...

Pakistan—Internal Stability and U.S. Response: CRS Experts

China’s Assistance and Government-Sponsored Investment Activities in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia

In recent years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has bolstered its diplomatic presence and garnered international goodwill in the developing world through financing infrastructure and natural resource development projects, assisting in the execution of such projects, and backing PRC state enterprises in many developing countries. This report examines China’s foreign assistance and government-supported, often-preferential investment ventures in three regions: Africa, Latin America (Western Hemisphere), and Southeast Asia. These activities often are collectively referred to as “economic...

Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress

Tactical aircraft are a major component of U.S. military capability, and account for a significant portion of U.S. defense spending. In early 2009, the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps collectively had an inventory of about 3,500 tactical aircraft. Current efforts for modernizing U.S. tactical aircraft center on three aircraft acquisition programs—the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, the Air Force F-22 fighter program, and the Navy F/A-18E/F strike fighter program. For discussions of issues relating specifically to these three programs, see CRS Reports RL30563, RL31673, and...

China-U.S. Relations: Current Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy

The bilateral relationship between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is vitally important, touching on a wide range of areas including, among others, economic policy, security, foreign relations, and human rights. U.S. interests with China are bound together much more closely now than even a few years ago. These extensive inter-linkages have made it increasingly difficult for either government to take unilateral actions without inviting far-reaching, unintended consequences. The Administration of President Barack Obama has inherited from the George W. Bush Administration...

Federal Employees' Retirement System: Legislation Enacted in the 111th Congress

This report discusses legislation passed during the 111th Congress that affect retirement plans for federal employees, specifically the "Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 2009".

FY2010 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Policy Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the emerging operational role of the Reserve Components, further heighten interest in a wide range of military personnel policies and issues.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) selected a number of the military personnel issues considered in deliberations on the House-passed and Senate passed-versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010 (P.L. 111-84). This report provides a brief synopsis of...

Taiwan’s Political Status: Historical Background and Its Implications for U.S. Policy

In 1979, official U.S. relations with Taiwan (the Republic of China) became a casualty of the American decision to recognize the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as China’s sole legitimate government. Since then, U.S. unofficial relations with Taiwan have been built on the framework of the Taiwan Relations Act (P.L. 96-8) and shaped by three U.S.-China communiqués. Under these agreements, the United States maintains its official relations with the PRC while selling Taiwan military weapons and having extensive economic, political, and security interests there. But...

Taiwan-U.S. Relations: Developments and Policy Implications

U.S. policy toward Taiwan is unique. Since both the Chinese governments on Taiwan and on mainland China held that they alone were China’s legitimate ruling government, U.S. diplomatic relations with Taiwan had to be severed in 1979 when the United States recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government as China’s sole legitimate government. While maintaining diplomatic relations with the PRC, the United States maintains extensive but unofficial relations with Taiwan based on the framework of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA—P.L. 96-8) and shaped by three U.S.-PRC communiqués....

2009 H1N1 "Swine Flu": CRS Experts

This report includes a table which provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to swine influenza A virus (H1N1). Policy areas identified include: Identification, diagnosis, and surveillance of the virus; Treatment and prevention: antiviral drugs (Tamiflu, Relenza) and vaccines; Declarations of emergencies; Official plans and organizational responsibilities; and Restrictions on travel and trade.

Awards of Attorneys’ Fees by Federal Courts and Federal Agencies

In the United States, the general rule, which derives from common law, is that each side in a legal proceeding pays for its own attorney. There are many exceptions, however, in which federal courts, and occasionally federal agencies, may order the losing party to pay the attorneys’ fees of the prevailing party. The major common law exception authorizes federal courts (not agencies) to order a losing party that acts in bad faith to pay the prevailing party’s fees.

There are also roughly two hundred statutory exceptions, which were generally enacted to encourage private litigation to...

Terrorism in Southeast Asia

Since September 2001, the United States has increased focus on radical Islamist and terrorist groups in Southeast Asia, particularly those in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. Southeast Asia has been a base for terrorist operations. Al Qaeda penetrated the region by establishing local cells, training Southeast Asians in its camps in Afghanistan, and by financing and cooperating with indigenous radical Islamist groups. Indonesia and the southern Philippines have been particularly vulnerable to penetration by Islamic terrorist groups.

Members of one indigenous...

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA): Does It Provide for a Private Cause of Action?

Congress has long recognized the need for protective legislation for servicemembers whose service to the nation may compromise their ability to meet obligations and protect their legal interests. The purpose of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is to provide for, strengthen, and expedite the national defense by protecting servicemembers, enabling them to “devote their entire energy to the defense needs of the Nation.” The SCRA protects servicemembers by temporarily suspending certain judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions that may adversely affect their legal...

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Legislation in the 110th Congress

This report reviews the status of energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation introduced during the 110th Congress. Most action in the second session is focused on the FY2009 budget request and legislation that would extend or modify selected renewable energy and energy efficiency tax incentives.

Intelligence Reform at the Department of Energy: Policy Issues and Organizational Alternatives

After the repeated urging of the Department of Energy (DOE), Congress in 2006 agreed to temporarily consolidate separate counterintelligence (CI) offices at the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) into a single CI office under DOE control. The Senate version of the FY2010 National Defense Authorization Bill contains language that would make the consolidation permanent. DOE had complained that the dual office structure was ineffective. In permitting DOE to consolidate the two offices, Congress reversed its 1999 authorization to establish a separate...

Department of Defense Fuel Spending, Supply, Acquisition, and Policy

Department of Defense (DOD) fuel consumption varies from year to year in response to changes in mission and the tempo of operations. DOD may consume upwards of 1% of the petroleum products refined in the United States annually. Petroleum products purchased and consumed overseas may double DOD’s consumption. The majority of DOD’s bulk fuel purchases are for jet fuel, which has ranged as high as 101 million barrels annually in the past decade. The U.S. refining industry has been supplying 50% of the jet fuel demand. DOD has consumed as much as 145 million barrels in overall petroleum...

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA): Background and Proposed Amendments

On November 13, 2001, President Bush issued a Military Order (M.O.) authorizing trial by military commission of certain non-citizens suspected of participating in the war against terrorism. The Supreme Court struck down military commissions established pursuant to the M.O. as inconsistent with the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). To permit military commissions to go forward, Congress approved the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA), conferring authority to promulgate rules that depart from the strictures of the UCMJ and possibly U.S. international obligations. The Department of...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2001-2008

This report is provides data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions.

Interrogation of Detainees: Requirements of the Detainee Treatment Act

U.S. treatment of enemy combatants and terrorist suspects captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other locations has been a subject of long-standing debate, including whether such treatment complies with U.S. statutes and treaties such as the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention Against Torture (CAT). In response to this controversy, Congress approved additional guidelines concerning the treatment of detainees via the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), which was enacted pursuant to both the Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of...

The Global Economic Downturn and Protectionism

In today’s severe global economic downturn, concerns are being raised that countries may try to improve their own trade positions in order to help domestic industries at the expense of others by imposing measures that artificially increase their exports or restrict imports. Such efforts are considered by some to be a form of “protectionism” and are often referred to as beggar-thy-neighbor policies.

This report develops three scenarios to approximate different dimensions of the relationship between the global economic downturn and protectionism. The scenarios are not predictions, but...

Foreign Aid Reform: Agency Coordination

In the decades since the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 became law, Congress, various Administrations, and a number of Commissions, have reviewed U.S. foreign aid programs and proposed ways to improve the coordination and effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance by consolidating or otherwise restructuring various agencies. Two recent trends in foreign assistance have renewed interest in this issue. First, foreign assistance funding has expanded considerably since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, from just over $15 billion in FY2001 to more than $45 billion in FY2007, including...

Iraq: Reconstruction Assistance

A large-scale assistance program has been undertaken by the United States in Iraq since mid-2003. To date, over $49 billion has been appropriated for Iraq reconstruction.

Most recently, in June 2009, Congress provided $439 million in ESF and $20 million in INCLE funds for Iraq in the FY2009 supplemental appropriations (P.L. 111-32, H.R. 2346). The $1 billion in ISFF funding appropriated previously in P.L. 110-252 was rescinded and reappropriated in this bill. The CERP appropriation of $453 million is to be shared with Afghanistan.

A significant number of reconstruction activities,...

Foreign Aid Reform: Studies and Recommendations

Both the 111th Congress and the Obama Administration have expressed interest in foreign aid reform and are looking at ways to improve and strengthen the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), coordination among implementing agencies, and monitoring effectiveness of aid activities. Legislation containing elements of reform includes H.R. 2410, the Foreign Relations Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011; H.R. 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009; and S. 1524, the Foreign Assistance Revitalization Accountability Act of 2009.

Since the terrorist attacks of...

Venezuela: Political Conditions and U.S. Policy, 2003-2009

Under the populist rule of President Hugo Chávez, first elected in 1998 and reelected to a six-year term in December 2006, Venezuela has undergone enormous political changes, with a new constitution and unicameral legislature, and a new name for the country, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. U.S. officials and human rights organizations have expressed concerns about the deterioration of democratic institutions and threats to freedom of expression under President Chávez, who has survived several attempts to remove him from power. The government benefitted from the rise in world oil...

The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program: Background and Current Developments

Most current U.S. nuclear warheads were built in the 1970s and 1980s and are being retained longer than was planned. Yet they deteriorate and must be maintained. To correct problems, a Life Extension Program (LEP), part of a larger Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP), replaces components. Modifying some components would require a nuclear test, but the United States has observed a test moratorium since 1992. Congress and the Administration prefer to avoid a return to testing, so LEP rebuilds these components as closely as possible to original specifications. With this approach, the...

Homosexuals and the U.S. Military: Current Issues

This report examines the "don't ask, don't tell," policy in the U.S. military. "Don't ask, don't tell," holds that the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion which are the essence of military capability. Service members are not to be asked about nor allowed to discuss their homosexuality.

The Unified Agenda: Implications for Rulemaking Transparency and Participation

The Obama Administration has launched an initiative to make the policymaking process more open and transparent, and has asked for comments from the public on how the rulemaking process in particular can be improved in these respects. Some observers have concluded that the most critical part of that process occurs before a proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, and (for significant rules) possibly even earlier—before the rule is approved by the issuing agency and submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget for...

FY2009 Spring Supplemental Appropriations for Overseas Contingency Operations

On June 11, 2009, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees announced a conference agreement on H.R. 2346, a bill providing supplemental appropriations for the remainder of FY2009. The House passed the conference report (226 to 202) on June 16; the Senate passed it (91 to 5) on June 18. President Obama signed it into law (P.L. 111-32) on June 24.

On key issues, the agreement includes: $5 billion, as in the Senate bill, to support U.S. loans to the International Monetary Fund, does not include a Senate provision allowing the Secretary of Defense to exempt photos of military detainees...

Troop Levels in the Afghan and Iraq Wars, FY2001-FY2012: Cost and Other Potential Issues

In February and March 2009, the Obama Administration announced its plans to increase troop levels in Afghanistan and decrease troop levels in Iraq. In Afghanistan, 30,000 more troops are deploying this year while in Iraq, troops will gradually decline to 35,000 to 50,000 by August 31, 2011 with all troops to be out of Iraq by December 31, 2011. The most commonly cited measure of troop strength is “Boots on the Ground” or the number of troops located in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Based on average monthly Boots on the Ground figures, the number of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq increased from...

Pakistan-U.S. Relations

Kyrgyzstan and the Status of the U.S. Manas Airbase: Context and Implications

In February 2009, Kyrgyzstan announced that it was terminating an agreement permitting U.S. forces to upgrade and use portions of the Manas international airport near the capital of Bishkek to support coalition military operations in Afghanistan. U.S. forces faced leaving the airbase by late August 2009. Major U.S. concerns included working out alternative logistics routes and support functions for a surge in U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan and possibly cooler security ties with Kyrgyzstan that could set back U.S. counter-terrorism efforts and other U.S. interests in Central Asia....

Federally Funded Innovation Inducement Prizes

Since at least the 18th century, philanthropic organizations, industry, governments, and nongovernmental organizations throughout the world have offered many different kinds of prizes with a variety of objectives to reward accomplishments in science and technology. In the United States, Congress authorized most of today’s federally-funded innovation inducement prizes beginning with the 108th Congress (2003). This analysis focuses on federally-funded “innovation inducement prizes,” which are sponsored by federal organizations and designed to encourage scientists and engineers to pursue...

The DHS Directorate of Science and Technology: Key Issues for Congress

The Directorate of Science and Technology is the primary organization for research and development (R&D) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). With an appropriated budget of $932.6 million in FY2009, it conducts R&D in several laboratories of its own and funds R&D conducted by other government agencies, the Department of Energy national laboratories, industry, and universities. The directorate consists primarily of six divisions: Chemical and Biological; Explosives; Command, Control, and Interoperability; Borders and Maritime Security; Infrastructure and Geophysical; and Human...

Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Much of the debate over U.S. policy toward Iran has centered on the nature of the current regime; some believe that Iran, a country of about 70 million people, is a threat to U.S. interests because hardliners in Iran's regime dominate and set a policy direction

intended to challenge U.S. influence and allies in the region. President George W. Bush, in his January 29, 2002, State of the Union message, labeled Iran part of an "axis of evil" along with

Iraq and North Korea. This report discusses the political history of Iran, U.S. strategy in Iran, and the Obama Administration's policies...

Haiti: Current Conditions and Congressional Concerns

Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Since the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986, Haiti has struggled to overcome its centuries-long legacy of authoritarianism, extreme poverty, and underdevelopment. While some progress has been made in developing democratic institutions, they remain weak. Economic and social stability have improved considerably. But poverty remains massive and deep, and economic disparity is wide.

In May 2006, René Préval began his second five-year term as President of Haiti. During his first two years in office, Préval began to...

North Korean Counterfeiting of U.S. Currency

The United States has accused the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) of counterfeiting U.S. $100 Federal Reserve notes (Supernotes) and passing them off in various countries, although there is some doubt by observers and other governments that the DPRK is capable of creating Supernotes of the quality found. What has been confirmed is that the DPRK has passed off such bills in various countries and that the counterfeit bills circulate both within North Korea and around its border with China. Defectors from North Korea also have provided information on Pyongyang’s...

The Global Peace Operations Initiative: Background and Issues for Congress

In its May 2009 budget request for FY2010, the Obama Administration has requested $96.8 million for the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). GPOI was established in mid-2004 as a five-year program with intended annual funding to total $660 million from FY2005 through FY2009. (Actual funds allocated to the GPOI program from FY2005 through FY2009 totaled, as of April 2009, some $480.4 million.) The centerpiece of the Bush Administration’s efforts to prepare foreign security forces to participate in international peacekeeping operations, GPOI’s primary purpose has been to train and...

Military Installation Real Property and Services: Proposed Legislation in the 111th Congress

Several bills (S. 590, H.R. 1959, and H.R. 2295) that would modify or expand statutory authorities granted to senior executives of the Department of Defense (DOD) have been introduced to the 111th Congress. These authorities relate to the exchange of real property, the outsourcing of some military installation support services, and the reimbursement by DOD of some costs associated with military site cleanup. The proposed legislation would also amend the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, the BRAC law, to expand existing legal protections granted to those who have taken title...

The Role of the Department of Defense During A Flu Pandemic

A flu pandemic is a worldwide epidemic of an influenza virus. As such, the United States’ response to a flu pandemic would have both international and domestic components. Additionally, the domestic response effort would include contributions from every governmental level (local, state, tribal, and federal), non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. This report will focus largely on the role of the Department of Defense (DOD) in supporting the nation’s domestic response effort, although it will also touch on DOD’s international role.

The Department of State would lead the...

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Updated “Safeguards” and Net Assessments

Limitations on nuclear testing have been on the international agenda since 1954. The United States ratified one such treaty in 1963 and two in 1990 that together bar all but underground nuclear tests with an explosive yield of 150 kilotons or less. The United States has observed a unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests since 1992. In 1996, this nation signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which would ban all nuclear explosions.

The Senate rejected the CTBT in 1999. That debate focused on such pros and cons as whether the United States could maintain its nuclear weapons...

Hiring and Pay Authorities for Federal Scientific and Technical (S&T) Personnel

In recent decades, the federal government has made many efforts to recruit and retain scientists, engineers, and technical workers, who otherwise may find a more attractive environment in the private and nonfederal sectors. As a group, these science and technology (S&T) personnel may be called the federal S&T workforce. A large subset of the S&T workforce is composed of scientific and engineering (S&E) personnel. By one count, the federal government employs over 200,000 scientists and engineers.

Several factors have contributed to concerns about the federal S&T workforce. These include...

U.S. Civilian Space Policy Priorities: Reflections 50 Years After Sputnik

The “space age” began on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union (USSR) launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. Some U.S. policymakers, concerned about the USSR’s ability to launch a satellite, thought Sputnik might be an indication that the United States was trailing behind the USSR in science and technology. The Cold War also led some U.S. policymakers to perceive the Sputnik launch as a possible precursor to nuclear attack. In response to this “Sputnik moment,” the U.S. government undertook several policy actions, including the establishment of the National Aeronautics...

Political Turmoil in Thailand and U.S. Interests

Thailand has been destabilized by years of political turmoil since a military coup deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006. Mass demonstrations on both sides of the political divide have disrupted tourism and business in the kingdom, and twice forced the postponement of an international Asian leaders’ summit. Since late 2008, a new coalition government has struggled to hold on to power by offering conciliatory gestures to the opposition and avoiding a violent military crackdown. This report examines the government’s performance, the role of the military, Thaksin’s...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2009

In February 2008, President Bush proposed total research and development (R&D) funding of $147.0 billion in his FY2009 budget request to Congress, a $3.9 billion (2.7%) increase over the estimated FY2008 level of $143.1 billion. President Bush’s request included $29.3 billion for basic research, up $847 million (3.0%) from FY2008; $27.1 billion for applied research, down $1.0 billion (-3.6%); $84.0 billion for development, up 1.6 billion (1.9%); and $6.5 billion for R&D facilities and equipment, up $2.5 billion (61.7%).

In the absence of final action on the regular FY2009 appropriations...

U.S.-Iraq Agreements: Congressional Oversight Activities and Legislative Response

On November 26, 2007, President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki co-signed the Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America, which set out a number of issues concerning, among other things, a security agreement between the United States and Iraq. On November 17, 2008, the Bush Administration concluded a security agreement providing the legal basis for the continued presence, operation, and eventual withdrawal of U.S. armed forces in Iraq once the U.N. Security Council mandate...

Increases in Tricare Costs: Background and Options for Congress

The Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget submission does not include any proposals to increase fees or copayments for Tricare beneficiaries. Previously, the FY2007, FY2008, and FY2009 budget submissions had proposed increases in Tricare enrollment fees, deductibles, and pharmacy co-payments for retired beneficiaries not yet eligible for Medicare. These actions were justified by DOD as necessary to constrain the growth of health care spending as an increasing proportion of the overall defense budget in the next decade. Congress passed legislation each year to prohibit the proposed...

Defense Production Act: Purpose and Scope

This report discusses the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950, which confers upon the President authority to force private industry to give priority to defense and homeland security contracts and to allocate the resources needed.

Future of the Balkans and U.S. Policy Concerns

The United States, its allies, and local leaders have achieved substantial successes in the Balkans since the mid-1990s. The wars in the region have ended, and all of the countries are undertaking political and economic reforms at home and orienting their foreign policies toward Euro-Atlantic institutions. However, difficult challenges remain, including dealing with the impact of Kosovo’s independence; fighting organized crime, corruption, and enforcing the rule of law; bringing war criminals to justice; and reforming the economies of the region.

The goal of the United States and the...

Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Education: Status and Issues

An important aspect of U.S. efforts to maintain and improve economic competitiveness is the existence of a capable scientific and technological workforce. A major concern of the 111th Congress may be regarding the future ability of the U.S. science and engineering base to generate the technological advances needed to maintain economic growth. Discussions have centered on the quality of science and mathematics education and training and on the scientific knowledge of those students entering other disciplines. Even students pursuing nonscientific and nonmathematical specialities are likely...

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2009 Appropriations

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and 26 independent agencies. Among the independent agencies funded by the bill are the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

On September 30, 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing...

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2009 Appropriations

On February 4, 2008, President Bush sent his FY2009 budget request to Congress. The House Appropriations State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee marked up its then-unnumbered bill on July 16. The Chairwoman’s Mark totaled $36.62 billion, $3.82 billion more than FY2008 enacted levels. No further action on that bill occurred. The Senate took up its State Department-Foreign Operations appropriation bill (S. 3288) on July 18; the full Senate Appropriations Committee reported it out the same day with $36.78 billion for FY2009. With no further progress on several appropriations bills, on September...

Selected Federal Compensation Programs for Physical Injury or Death

Congress has established a number of programs to compensate or assist victims of certain specific circumstances, including negligence, terrorism, and “acts of God.” Federal compensation programs can be described by certain common attributes. These include aspects of program administration; requirements for and determination of individual eligibility; eligibility of health care providers; types of benefits provided; whether certain diseases are presumed to be eligible for compensation; and the means by which the program is financed.

Though federal compensation programs display considerable...

NATO’s 60th Anniversary Summit

NATO Enlargement: Albania, Croatia, and Possible Future Candidates

At the April 2-4, 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, a principal issue was consideration of the candidacies for membership of Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia. The allies agreed to extend invitations to Albania and Croatia. Although the alliance determined that Macedonia met the qualifications for NATO membership, Greece blocked the invitation due to an enduring dispute over Macedonia’s name. After formal accession talks, on July 9, 2008, the foreign ministers of Albania and Croatia and the permanent representatives of the 26 NATO allies signed accession protocols amending the North...

Navy-Marine Corps Strike-Fighter Shortfall: Background and Options for Congress

This report discusses congressional concerns about a projected inventory shortfall in Navy and Marine Corps strike-fighters. Some industry sources believe the shortfall is likely to be much larger than the Navy currently projects. Options for addressing the shortfall include extending strike-fighter service lives and increasing planned procurement of strike-fighters.

The Global Financial Crisis: Foreign and Trade Policy Effects

The global financial and economic crisis affects all three of the essential national interests of the United States: national security, economic well being, and value projection. Only occasionally does an event of this magnitude occur that generates such daunting challenges yet also opportunities for U.S. policy. The effects of the crisis on foreign policy, trade, and security are so diverse and widespread that, out of necessity, policy responses must range from the highly specific to the broad and ethereal.

This report provides an overview of the major non-financial effects of the global...

U.S. Policies on Iraq: CRS Experts

The following table provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to Iraq. Policy areas identified include: U.S. policies on Iraq; governance in Iraq and U.S. military issues; refugees, internally displaced persons, and humanitarian assistance; prospects for Iraq's economy; resource and funding requirements; and the international context--the regional political and security environment.

Operation Iraqi Freedom: Strategies, Approaches, Results, and Issues for Congress

Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the U.S.-led coalition military operation in Iraq, was launched on March 20, 2003, with the immediate stated goal of removing Saddam Hussein’s regime and destroying its ability to use weapons of mass destruction or to make them available to terrorists. Over time, the focus of OIF shifted from regime removal to the more open-ended mission of helping the Government of Iraq (GoI) improve security, establish a system of governance, and foster economic development.

In 2009, the war in Iraq appears to be winding down, as security gains made since the height of the...

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the 2008 Meetings in Lima, Peru

Congress and the Executive Branch have historically identified the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as an important organization to help promote the U.S. goal of liberalizing international trade and investment in Asia, and possibly the rest of the world. APEC’s commitment to the goal of trade and investment liberalization is embodied in its Bogor Goals, in which APEC members pledged to free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.

However, several alternative avenues for the promotion of trade...

Energy and Water Development: FY2009 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies.

Key budgetary issues for FY2009 involving these programs included

the distribution of Corps appropriations across the agency’s authorized planning, construction, and maintenance activities (Title I);

support of major ecosystem restoration initiatives, such as Florida Everglades (Title I) and California “Bay-Delta” (CALFED)...

The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture: Issues for Congress

The U.S. government has implemented a series of programs to protect the nation against terrorist nuclear attack. Some of these programs predate September 11, 2001, while others were established since then. Most programs are within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; the Departments of Defense, Energy, and State; and agencies that became part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) upon its creation, and they are focused on detecting the illicit acquisition and shipment of nuclear and radiological materials and protecting and securing nuclear weapons. These disparate programs have...

The International Space Station and the Space Shuttle

The International Space Station (ISS) program began in 1993, with Russia joining the United States, Europe, Japan, and Canada. Crews have occupied ISS on a 4-6 month rotating basis since November 2000.

The U.S. Space Shuttle, which first flew in April 1981, has been the major vehicle taking crews and cargo back and forth to ISS, but the shuttle system has encountered difficulties since the Columbia disaster in 2003. Russian Soyuz spacecraft are also used to take crews to and from ISS, and Russian Progress spacecraft deliver cargo, but cannot return anything to Earth, since they are not...

Information Operations, Cyberwarfare, and Cybersecurity: Capabilities and Related Policy Issues

This report describes the emerging areas of information operations, cybersecurity, and cyberwar in the context of U.S. national security. It also notes related policy issues of potential interest to Congress.

For military planners, the control of information is critical to military success, and communications networks and computers are of vital operational importance. The use of technology to both control and disrupt the flow of information has been generally referred to by several names: information warfare, electronic warfare, cyberwar, netwar, and Information Operations (IO). Currently,...

CRS Issue Statement on Abortion, Family Planning, and Reproductive Health

The 111th Congress will likely consider a variety of issues involving family planning and reproductive health. Legislation related to family planning and Title X of the Public Health Service Act, including appropriations measures that could affect the funding of Title X family planning initiatives, is expected.

Potential F-22 Raptor Export to Japan

Japan has expressed interest in purchasing the F-22A Raptor aircraft from the United States. Although the export of the plane is now prohibited by U.S. law, Congress has recently and may again consider repealing this ban. Arguments for the sale include potential benefits to U.S. industry, contribution to the defense of Japan and the region, and promotion of U.S. interoperability with the Japanese military. Arguments against the transfer include concerns about technology proliferation and the potential for undermining regional stability. This report will be updated as warranted.

Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative: Legal Authorities and Policy Considerations

Federal agencies report increasing cyber-intrusions into government computer networks, perpetrated by a range of known and unknown actors. In response, the President, legislators, experts, and others have characterized cybersecurity as a pressing national security issue.

Like other national security challenges in the post-9/11 era, the cyber threat is multi-faceted and lacks clearly delineated boundaries. Some cyber attackers operate through foreign nations’ military or intelligence-gathering operations, whereas others have connections to terrorist groups or operate as individuals. Some...

National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Overview, FY2009 Budget, and Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), FY 2009 budget, the vision for space exploration, the science program, and NASA aeronautics research.

Homeland Security Department: FY2009 Appropriations

This report describes the FY2009 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a net appropriation of $38,849 million in budget authority for FY2009. The House Appropriations Committee reported its version of the FY2009 DHS Appropriations bill on June 24, 2008. The bill was filed on September 18, 2008, as H.R. 6947, and the accompanying report has been numbered H.Rept. 110-862. House-reported H.R. 6947 would have provided a net appropriation of $41,137 million in budget authority for DHS for FY2009. This amounted to an increase of $2,288...

Russia-Georgia Conflict in August 2008: Context and Implications for U.S. Interests

In the early 1990s, Georgia and its breakaway South Ossetia region had agreed to a Russian-mediated ceasefire that provided for Russian “peacekeepers” to be stationed in the region. Moscow extended citizenship and passports to most ethnic Ossetians. Simmering long-time tensions escalated on the evening of August 7, 2008, when South Ossetia and Georgia accused each other of launching intense artillery barrages against each other. Georgia claims that South Ossetian forces did not respond to a ceasefire appeal but intensified their shelling, “forcing” Georgia to send in troops. On August 8,...

Expedited Citizenship Through Military Service: Current Law, Policy, and Issues

Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003, there has been and continues to be considerable congressional interest in further streamlining and expediting the naturalization process for military personnel and in providing immigration benefits specifically for immediate relatives of such personnel. The reported deaths in action of noncitizen soldiers drew attention to the immigration laws that grant posthumous citizenship and to the advantages of further expediting naturalization for noncitizens serving in the United States military. President George W. Bush officially...

Defense: FY2009 Authorization and Appropriations

Soon after the 111th Congress convened, it began drafting H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, generally referred to as the “economic stimulus” bill. This bill added a total of $8.5 billion to amount previously appropriated for DOD in FY2009. Of the additional funds provided by H.R. 1, $4.6 billion was for accounts funded by the regular FY2009 DOD appropriations provided by Division D of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act for FY2009, generally referred to as the “continuing resolution,” which President George W. Bush...

China's Foreign Aid Activities in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia

This report examines China's economic impact in three regions -- Africa, Latin America (Western Hemisphere), and Southeast Asia -- with an emphasis on bilateral foreign assistance. In the past several years, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has bolstered its diplomatic presence and garnered international goodwill through its financing of infrastructure and natural resource development projects, assistance in the carrying out of such projects, and large economic investments in many developing countries

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2009 Appropriations

Soon after it convened, the 111th Congress initiated H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), otherwise known as the “economic stimulus.” Passed by both chambers and enacted by President Barak Obama on February 17, 2009, the Act adds approximately $4.3 billion to the $119.6 billion regular FY2009 appropriations for military construction and veterans affairs accounts contained in Division E of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act for FY2009. The President’s request for those funds and Congress’ disposition of the request...

North Korean Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States

This report briefly reviews North Korea’s ballistic missile program. In summer 2007, North Korea tested modern, short-range missiles. In February 2009, South Korea reported the DPRK had deployed a new intermediate-range missile. This report may be updated periodically. Additional information is provided by CRS Report RL33590, North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Development and Diplomacy, by Larry A. Niksch.

China’s Sovereign Wealth Fund

China established its major sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation (CIC) on September 29, 2007—six months after it first announced its intention to create such a fund. Financed with $200 billion in initial capital, the CIC is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the world.

The creation of CIC was somewhat controversial in China. Both the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) reportedly wanted the CIC under their authority. In the end, the CIC reports directly to China’s ruling State Council. However, as part of the interagency...

End-of-Life Care: Services, Costs, Ethics, and Quality of Care

End-of-life care can be broadly defined as health care provided to persons who are very ill, have a prognosis that is likely to worsen, and most likely will die in the near term from their illness. End-of-life care may be in the form of acute care provided in the days or months prior to death or palliative care, which focuses on relieving the patient’s suffering and reducing the severity of disease symptoms as well as improving quality of life. Hospice care is a form of palliative care that delivers comfort care to those who forgo curative treatment and have a life expectancy that can be...

Overview of Filipino Veterans’ Benefits

The United States has had a continuous relationship with the Philippine Islands since 1898, when they were acquired by the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War. Filipinos have served in, and with, the U.S. Armed Forces since the Spanish-American War, and especially during World War II. The Islands remained a possession of the United States until 1946.

Since 1946, Congress has passed several laws affecting various categories of Filipino veterans. Many of these laws have been liberalizing laws that have provided Filipino World War II veterans with medical and monetary...

Japan’s Nuclear Future: Policy Debate, Prospects, and U.S. Interests

Japan, traditionally one of the most prominent advocates of the international non-proliferation regime, has consistently pledged to forswear nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, evolving circumstances in Northeast Asia, particularly North Korea’s nuclear test in October 2006 and China’s ongoing military modernization drive, have raised new questions about Japan’s vulnerability to potential adversaries and, therefore, the appeal of developing an independent nuclear deterrent. The previous taboo within the Japanese political community of discussing a nuclear weapons capability appears to have been...

Israel and Hamas: Conflict in Gaza

This report closely examines the conflict in Gaza (2008-2009), assessing the impact of the conflict on civilians, possible consequences and unresolved issues, the regional and international implications and possible modes of action for the 111th Congress to consider in response.

Department of Defense Facilities Energy Conservation Policies and Spending

In the early 1970s, Congress began mandating reductions in energy consumed by federal agencies; primarily by improving building efficiency, and reducing fossil fuel use. Early legislation mandated a 10% reduction in federal building energy and a recent Executive Order mandates a 30% further reduction by 2015. President-elect Obama has included the goal of improving public building energy efficiency in his administration’s economic recovery plan.

This report reviews energy conservation legislation and Executive Orders that apply to the Department of Defense, directives and instructions to...

Whales and Sonar: Environmental Exemptions for the Navy's Mid-Frequency Active Sonar Training

This report discusses laws related to the protection of marine mammals when using mid-frequency active sonar including the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). The report discusses each of the laws generally, and then reviews the litigation surrounding the Navy's compliance with these laws in the context of using the sonar for training purposes off California's coast.

Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: A Deepening Humanitarian Crisis?

Some aspects of the humanitarian crisis many feared would take place in March 2003 with the initial military operation in Iraq unfolded later as a result of the ongoing insurgency and sectarian violence. It is estimated that in total (including those displaced prior to the war) there may be as many as 2 million Iraqi refugees who have fled to Jordan, Syria, and other neighboring states, and approximately 2.7 million Iraqis who have been displaced within Iraq itself.

Between 2004-2007, the violence and insecurity resulting from the ongoing sectarian strife, terrorism, and insurgency in Iraq...

China-U.S. Relations in the 110th Congress: Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy

This report deals with U.S.-China relations during the 110th Congress (2007-2008) and with a number of key events involving China during the two-year period. These events included: China’s anti-satellite weapon test (January 2007); the 17th Party Congress (October 2007); a crackdown against demonstrations in Tibet (March 2008); the election of a new, pro-engagement government in Taiwan (March 2008); the massive Sichuan earthquake (May 2008); and Beijing’s hosting of the 2008 Olympics (August 2008).

U.S.-China relations were remarkably smooth for much of the 110th, although there were...

Polygraph Use by the Department of Energy: Issues for Congress

Four years after Congress directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to revamp its polygraph program, taking into account a 2003 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report that questioned the scientific basis for the accuracy of polygraph testing, particularly when used to “screen” employees, DOE promulgated a regulation on October 30, 2006, that eliminated polygraph screening tests without specific cause. DOE said its counterintelligence evaluation policies were now consistent with existing Intelligence Community practices and the NAS 2003 report’s recommendations, particularly for cases when...

Iran’s Ballistic Missile Programs: An Overview

Iran has an active interest in developing, acquiring, and deploying a broad range of ballistic missiles, as well as developing a space launch capability. This was spotlighted several times since 2008. In mid-July 2008, Iran launched a number of ballistic missiles during military exercises, reportedly including the medium-range Shahab-3. At the time, a Pentagon spokesman said Iran was “not testing new technologies or capabilities, but rather firing off old equipment in an attempt to intimidate their neighbors and escalate tension in the region.” Subsequent analysis of the July 2008 missile...

Foreign Aid Reform: Issues for Congress and Policy Options

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the role of foreign assistance as a tool of foreign policy has come into sharper focus. The President elevated global development as a third pillar of national security, with defense and diplomacy, as articulated in the U.S. National Security Strategy of 2002, and reiterated in 2006. At the same time that foreign aid is being recognized as playing an important role in U.S. foreign policy, it has also come under closer scrutiny by Congress, largely in response to a number of presidential initiatives, and by critics who argue that the U.S....

Conventional Warheads for Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of the Administration's rationale for the possible deployment of conventional warheads on long-range ballistic missiles. It also reviews the Air Force and Navy efforts to develop these systems and summarizes congressional reaction to these proposals, with a more detailed account of the issues raised by these concepts and programs.

Cuba: Issues for the 110th Congress

Since the early 1960s, U.S. policy toward Cuba has consisted largely of isolating the communist nation through economic sanctions, which the Bush Administration has tightened significantly. A second policy component has consisted of support measures for the Cuban people, including private humanitarian donations and U.S.-sponsored radio and television broadcasting to Cuba. As in past years, the main issue for U.S. policy toward Cuba in the 110th Congress was how to best support political and economic change in one of the world’s remaining communist nations. Unlike past years, however,...

Wilderness Laws: Permitted and Prohibited Uses

This report discusses the Wilderness Act generally prohibits commercial activities, motorized uses, and infrastructure developments in congressionally designated wilderness areas. However, the Wilderness Act and many subsequent laws designating wilderness areas also contain provisions authorizing activities that do not conform with these general prohibitions. The general prohibitions and the authorized uses are important because controversies persist over permissible and prohibited activities in wilderness areas, and because bills often seek to modify existing areas or activities.

Taiwan-U.S. Relations: Recent Developments and Their Policy Implications

This report focuses on current developments in Taiwan, analyzing how those developments are affecting choices the United States makes about its policy toward Taiwan specifically and toward the People's Republic of China (PRC) more broadly.

Training the Military to Manage Contractors During Expeditionary Operations: Overview and Options for Congress

The Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for performing a wide range of expeditionary missions, including domestic emergency operations and military operations outside of the continental United States. DOD increasingly relies on contractors during expeditionary operations to perform a wide range of services. For example, more contractors are working for DOD in Iraq and Afghanistan than are U.S. military personnel. As a result, military personnel in the field are increasingly interacting with and responsible for managing contractors. Yet many observers argue that the military is not...

Organizing the U.S. Government for National Security: Overview of the Interagency Reform Debates

A growing community of interest, including Members of Congress, senior officials in the executive branch, and think-tank analysts, is calling for a reexamination of how well the U.S. government, including both the executive branch and Congress, is organized to apply all instruments of national power to national security activities. The organizations and procedures used today to formulate strategy, support presidential decision-making, plan and execute missions, and budget for those activities are based on a framework established just after World War II. That framework was designed to...

Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2009 (P.L. 110-329): An Overview

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 110th Congress

Comprehensive immigration reform was the subject of much discussion at the start of the 110th Congress. In the spring of 2007, the Senate considered several broad immigration reform measures aimed at addressing a host of perceived problems with the U.S. immigration system. These measures combined border security and interior enforcement provisions with provisions on temporary workers, permanent admissions, and unauthorized aliens. In June 2007, the Senate voted on a motion to invoke cloture on one of these measures (S. 1639), which, if approved, would have ultimately brought the bill to a...

The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress

The Department of Defense (DOD) has long played a role in U.S. efforts to assist foreign populations, militaries, and governments. The use of DOD to provide foreign assistance stems in general from the perception that DOD can contribute unique or vital capabilities and resources because it possesses the manpower, materiel, and organizational assets to respond to international needs. Over the years, Congress has helped shape the DOD role by providing DOD with its mandate for such activities through a wide variety of authorities.

The historical DOD role in foreign assistance can be regarded...

Federal Employee Awards and Incentives: Title 5 Authorities and Potential Issues for Congress

Federal law establishes many authorities governing employee awards and incentives. The authorities generally have been established by Congress to provide agencies with tools to help them manage their workforces and, thereby, to better accomplish agency missions and public policy goals that cut across agency boundaries. Some of these authorities are contained within Title 5 of the United States Code, and cover most agencies in the executive branch and some in the legislative branch. These authorities are the subject of this report. Other statutory authorities may be unique in their coverage...

Presidential Directives: Background and Overview

This report provides an overview of the different kinds of directives that have been utilized primarily by twentieth century Presidents. It presents background on their historical development, accounting, use, and effect.

The Executive Office of the President: An Historical Overview

Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with Russia: Statutory Procedures for Congressional Consideration and Their Implementation

On May 13, 2008, President Bush submitted to Congress a proposed agreement for nuclear cooperation with the Russian Federation. On September 8, the President announced that he was rescinding his certification of the proposed U.S.-Russia nuclear cooperation agreement. This action, in effect, withdrew the proposed agreement from further congressional consideration for the foreseeable future

Under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the text of such an agreement is to be submitted to the committees of jurisdiction for at least 30 days of consultation, and the agreement itself is then to be submitted...

Islamist Militancy in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Region and U.S. Policy

Increasing militant activity in western Pakistan poses three key national security threats: an increased potential for major attacks against the United States itself; a growing threat to Pakistani stability; and a hindrance of U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. This report will be updated as events warrant.

A U.S.-Pakistan relationship marked by periods of both cooperation and discord was transformed by the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the ensuing enlistment of Pakistan as a key ally in U.S.-led counterterrorism efforts. Top U.S. officials have praised...

Federal Budget Process Reform in the 110th Congress: A Brief Overview

Military Base Closures: Cleanup of Contaminated Properties for Civilian Reuse

In 2005, the 109th Congress approved a new Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round. As the Department of Defense (DOD) implements the new round, issues for Congress include the pace and costs of closing and realigning the selected installations and the impacts on surrounding communities. The disposal of surplus property has stimulated interest among affected communities in how the land can be redeveloped to replace jobs lost as a result of the planned closures. Environmental contamination can limit the potential for economic redevelopment if the availability of funding or technological...

Developments in Oil Shale

Homeland Emergency Preparedness and the National Exercise Program: Background, Policy Implications, and Issues for Congress

This report provides an overview of emergency preparedness authorities and guidance; development and management of the National Exercise Program (NEP); and current exercise planning, scheduling, and evaluation processes. Additionally, it provides analysis of national preparedness policy issues and exercise operations issues that Congress might wish to consider.

Climate Change Legislation in the 110th Congress

Congressional interest in climate change legislation has grown in recent years. In the 110th Congress, Members have introduced numerous bills that directly address various aspects of climate change. These bills cover a wide spectrum, ranging from climate change research to comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cap-and-trade programs. As of the date of this report, Congress has enacted six broader pieces of legislation that—among many other non-climate-related provisions—address climate change in some fashion:

P.L. 110-140 expands the carbon capture research and development program,...

Federal Crime Control: Background, Legislation, and Issues

States and localities have the primary responsibility for prevention and control of domestic crime. As crime became more rampant, the federal government increased its involvement in crime control efforts. Over a period of 10 years, Congress passed five major anti-crime bills and increased appropriations for federal assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, however, federal law enforcement efforts have been focused more on countering terrorism and maintaining homeland security. Amid these efforts, however, Congress continues to address many...

Veterans Medical Care: FY2009 Appropriations

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility rules. Benefits to veterans range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. The VA provides these benefits through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). The VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services to veterans through the nation’s largest integrated health...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2000-2007

This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions. Similar data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations...

Wind Power in the United States: Technology, Economic, and Policy Issues

Rising energy prices and concern over greenhouse gas emissions have focused congressional attention on energy alternatives, including wind power. Although wind power currently provides only about 1% of U.S. electricity needs, it is growing more rapidly than any other energy source. In 2007, over 5,000 megawatts of new wind generating capacity were installed in the United States, second only to new natural gas-fired generating capacity. Wind power has become “mainstream” in many regions of the country, and is no longer considered an “alternative” energy source.

Wind energy has become...

Veterans' Benefits: Issues in the 110th Congress

This report provides a general discussion of veterans' benefits issues that are part of the legislative agenda of the 110th Congress or are likely to be of legislative interest. Among those issues are disability compensation and pensions; education benefits; homelessness; life insurance; the status or eligibility of groups such as U.S. merchant seamen and World War II Filipino veterans for veterans' benefits; Reserve and National Guard eligibility for veterans' benefits; the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; and legal representation for veterans. For each issue, an overview is...

U.S. Foreign Aid to East and South Asia: Selected Recipients

This report analyzes annual budget justifications and legislation for foreign operations appropriations and discusses U.S. foreign aid trends, programs, and restrictions in 16 East Asian and South Asian countries. It does not cover aid to Pacific Island nations, North Korea, and Afghanistan. Country tables do not include assistance from U.S. State Department programs funded outside the foreign operations budget, such as educational and cultural exchange programs, and assistance from other departments and agencies.

Since the war on terrorism began in 2001 and the Millennium Challenge...

Navy Trident Submarine Conversion (SSGN) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

The FY2006 budget completed the funding required in the Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy (SCN) account for the Navy’s program to refuel and convert four Trident ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) into cruise-missile-carrying and special operations forces (SOF) support submarines (SSGNs). Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the program was declared on November 1, 2007. The total estimated cost of the program is about $4.0 billion. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Extending NASA’s Exemption from the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act

The Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 (INA) was enacted to help stop foreign transfers to Iran of weapons of mass destruction, missile technology, and advanced conventional weapons technology, particularly from Russia. Section 6 of the INA banned U.S. payments to Russia in connection with the International Space Station (ISS) unless the U.S. President determined that Russia was taking steps to prevent such proliferation. When the President in 2004 announced that the Space Shuttle would be retired in 2010, the Russian Soyuz became the only vehicle available after that date to transport...

FY2009 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Policy Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of what the Bush Administration terms the Global War on Terror, along with the emerging operational role of the Reserve Components, further heighten interest and support for a wide range of military personnel policies and issues.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) selected a number of the military personnel issues that Congress considered as it deliberated the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2009. In...

Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues

The United States is relying heavily on private firms to supply a wide variety of services in Iraq, including security. From publicly available information, this is apparently the first time that the United States has depended so extensively on contractors to provide security in a hostile environment, although it has previously contracted for more limited security services in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and elsewhere. In Iraq, private firms known as Private Security Contractors (PSCs) serve to protect individuals, transport convoys, forward operating bases, buildings, and other economic...

China’s Space Program: Options for U.S.-China Cooperation

China has a determined, yet still modest, program of civilian space activities planned for the next decade. The potential for U.S.-China cooperation in space—an issue of interest to Congress—has become more controversial since the January 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test. The test reinforced concerns about Chinese intentions in outer space and jeopardized space assets of more than two dozen countries by creating a large cloud of orbital space debris. Some argue that Chinese capabilities now threaten U.S. space assets in low earth orbit. Others stress the need to expand dialogue with...

Proposals for a New Foreign Service Compensation System in the 110th Congress

Proponents of revisions in the Foreign Service compensation system point out that as increasing numbers of Foreign Service personnel are going to posts of increased hardship and danger, Foreign Service personnel serving abroad receive 20.89% less than their colleagues who are posted in Washington, D.C. due to the loss of locality pay when serving abroad. These proponents of revision maintain that this difference negatively impacts morale and assignment considerations, and eventually retention also. Both the 109th and 110th Congresses have considered proposals to eliminate this pay...

Taiwan: Overall Developments and Policy Issues in the 109th Congress

This report discusses the U.S. relations with Taiwan as especially troubled during the 109th Congress in 2005-2006. Two developments concerning Taiwan were particularly nettlesome to U.S. policymakers in 2005-2006.

The Department of Defense, Science and Technology Program: An Analysis, FY1998-FY2007

Every year Congress appropriates billions of dollars for the Science and Technology Program of the Department of Defense. Besides deciding on how much money to appropriate, Congress must also decide on how best to allocate those resources. Over the last ten years, the Science and Technology program has grown to historic levels in inflation-adjusted dollars. However, the funding increases appear to have peaked. In light of growing federal budget deficits, Congress may re-examine its investments in DOD’s S&T program. Before doing that, it might be helpful to understand how the budget...

The Budget for Fiscal Year 2009

On February 4, 2008, President Bush sent his fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget to Congress. The President’s budget predicted a deficit of $407 billion for FY2008 and $410 billion for FY2009, up from $162 billion in FY2007. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the FY2008 deficit would total $396 billion if the President’s proposals were enacted, about $39 billion more than the current-law baseline. CBO projected that the President’s proposals would generate a FY2009 deficit of $342 billion. Tax rebates and business investment incentives enacted in the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008...

Weak and Failing States: Evolving Security Threats and U.S. Policy

Although long a component of U.S. foreign policy, strengthening weak and failing states has increasingly emerged as a high-priority U.S. national security goal since the end of the Cold War. Numerous U.S. government documents point to several threats emanating from states that are variously described as weak, fragile, vulnerable, failing, precarious, failed, in crisis, or collapsed. These threats include providing safe havens for terrorists, organized crime, and other illicit groups; causing conflict, regional instability, and humanitarian emergencies; and undermining efforts to promote...

North Korean Crime-for-Profit Activities

Strong indications exist that the North Korean (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK) regime has been involved in the production and trafficking of illicit drugs, as well as of counterfeit currency, cigarettes, and pharmaceuticals. It appears that drug trafficking has declined and counterfeiting of cigarettes may be expanding. Reports indicate that North Korea may engage in insurance fraud, human trafficking, and wildlife trafficking as a matter of state policy. DPRK crime-for-profit activities have reportedly brought in important foreign currency resources and come under the...

Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76: Implications for the Future

This report examines the issues surrounding the Walter Reed public-private competition conducted under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76 and its potential impact on future Department of Defense (DOD) competitions. Circular A-76 is a policy and a process first initiated in 1966 that was designed to determine whether federal employees or private sector contractors are best to perform activities deemed commercial. A series of articles that first appeared in the Washington Post chronicled the dilapidated conditions and the substandard medical treatment afforded to returning...

Comparing Global Influence: China’s and U.S. Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Trade, and Investment in the Developing World

This report compares the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) and U.S. projections of global influence, with an emphasis on non-coercive means or “soft power,” and suggests ways to think about U.S. foreign policy options in light of China’s emergence. Part One discusses U.S. foreign policy interests, China’s rising influence, and its implications for the United States. Part Two compares the global public images of the two countries and describes PRC and U.S. uses of soft power tools, such as public diplomacy, state diplomacy, and foreign assistance. It also examines other forms of soft power...

Suits Against Terrorist States by Victims of Terrorism

In 1996 Congress amended the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to allow U.S. victims of terrorism to sue designated State sponsors of terrorism for their terrorist acts. The courts have handed down large judgments against the terrorist State defendants, generally in default, and successive Administrations have intervened to block the judicial attachment of frozen assets to satisfy judgments. After a court ruled that Congress never created a cause of action against terrorist States themselves, but only against their officials, employees, and agents, plaintiffs have based claims on...

Lawsuits Against State Supporters of Terrorism: An Overview

A 1996 amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) enables American victims of international terrorist acts supported by certain States designated by the State Department as sponsors of terrorism—Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and previously Iraq and Libya—to bring suit in U.S. courts for damages. Despite congressional efforts to make blocked (or “frozen”) assets of such States available for attachment by judgment creditors in such cases, plaintiffs encountered difficulties in enforcing the awards. Congress passed, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for...

U.S. Assistance to North Korea

This report summarizes U.S. assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea). It will be updated periodically to track changes in U.S. provision of aid to North Korea.

Tibet: Problems, Prospects, and U.S. Policy

On March 10, 2008, a series of demonstrations began in Lhasa and other Tibetan regions of China to mark the 49th anniversary of an unsuccessful Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. The demonstrations appeared to begin peacefully with small groups that were then contained by security forces. Both the protests and the response of the PRC authorities escalated in the ensuing days, spreading from the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) into parts of Sichuan, Gansu, and Qinghai Provinces with Tibetan populations. By March 14, 2008, mobs of angry people were burning and looting...

U.S.-Russian Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: Issues for Congress

The United States and Russia signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement on May 6, 2008. President Bush submitted the agreement to Congress on May 13. This report discusses key policy issues related to that agreement, including future nuclear energy cooperation with Russia, U.S.-Russian bilateral relations, nonproliferation cooperation and Russia's policies toward Iran.

NATO’s Prague Capabilities Commitment

With the end of the Cold War, NATO began to reassess its collective defense strategy and to anticipate possible new missions. The conflicts in the Balkans highlighted the need for more mobile forces, for greater technological equality between the United States and its allies, and for interoperability. In 1999, NATO launched the Defense Capabilities Initiative (DCI), an effort to enable the alliance to deploy troops quickly to crisis regions, to supply and protect those forces, and to equip them to engage an adversary effectively. At its 2002 summit, NATO approved a new initiative, the...

High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) and High Power Microwave (HPM) Devices: Threat Assessments

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) is an instantaneous, intense energy field that can overload or disrupt at a distance numerous electrical systems and high technology microcircuits, which are especially sensitive to power surges. A large scale EMP effect can be produced by a single nuclear explosion detonated high in the atmosphere. This method is referred to as High-Altitude EMP (HEMP). A similar, smaller-scale EMP effect can be created using non-nuclear devices with powerful batteries or reactive chemicals. This method is called High Power Microwave (HPM). Several nations, including reported...

China’s Foreign Policy: What Does It Mean for U.S. Global Interests?

Since the late 1990s, China’s robust international engagement has caught many by surprise and prompted growing American debate over the PRC’s motivations and objectives. This international engagement has expanded while the United States has been preoccupied with its military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress and other U.S. policymakers are becoming increasingly concerned that China’s expanded international engagement could have its “soft power” projection and affect U.S. economic and strategic interests.

Experience suggests that abrupt, unexplained shifts in policy occur with...

FY2008 Spring Supplemental Appropriations and FY2009 Bridge Appropriations for Military Operations, International Affairs, and Other Purposes (P.L. 110-252)

On June 30, 2008, President Bush signed into law a bill, H.R. 2642 (P.L. 110-252), that makes supplemental appropriations for FY2008 and FY2009, extends unemployment payments, and expands veterans’ educational benefits. The House approved the measure on June 19 and the Senate on June 26. As enacted, the bill reflects compromises with the White House on several key issues. It extends unemployment benefits for 13 weeks but not 26, allows veterans’ educational benefits to be transferred to dependents, does not include an offsetting tax increase, limits other domestic spending, and delays...

Advanced Nuclear Power and Fuel Cycle Technologies: Outlook and Policy Options

Current U.S. nuclear energy policy focuses on the near-term construction of improved versions of existing nuclear power plants. All of today’s U.S. nuclear plants are light water reactors (LWRs), which are cooled by ordinary water. Under current policy, the highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel from LWRs is to be permanently disposed of in a deep underground repository.

The Bush Administration is also promoting an aggressive U.S. effort to move beyond LWR technology into advanced reactors and fuel cycles. Specifically, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), under the Department of...

Making Private Entities and Individuals Immune from Tort Liability by Declaring Them Federal Employees

The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), 2671-2680, makes the United States liable, in accordance with the law of the state where a tort occurs, for some of the torts of its employees committed within the scope of their employment. It also makes federal employees immune from all lawsuits arising under state law for torts committed within the scope of their employment. (The FTCA does not prevent a federal employee from being sued for violating the Constitution or a federal statute that authorizes suit against an individual.) Sometimes, Congress wishes to immunize a private...

Abortion Services and Military Medical Facilities

In 1993, President Clinton modified the military policy on providing abortions at military medical facilities. Under the change directed by the President, military medical facilities were allowed to perform abortions if paid for entirely with non-Department of Defense (DOD) funds (i.e., privately funded). Over the last three decades, the availability of abortion services at military medical facilities has been subjected to numerous changes and interpretations.

Mérida Initiative: U.S. Anticrime and Counterdrug Assistance for Mexico and Central America

In October 2007, the United States and Mexico announced the Mérida Initiative, a multi-year proposal for $1.4 billion in U.S. assistance to Mexico and Central America aimed at combating drug trafficking, gangs, and organized crime. On May 14, 2008, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved a bill, H.R. 6028 (Berman), which would authorize $1.6 billion for the Initiative from FY2008 through FY2010. The Bush Administration requested $500 million for Mexico and $50 million for Central American countries in its FY2008 supplemental appropriations request. In late June 2008, Congress...

The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture: Issues for Congress

This report discusses the global nuclear detection architecture: a multi-layered system of detection technologies, programs, and guidelines designed to enhance the nation's ability to detect and prevent a radiological or nuclear attack.

Record Voting in the House of Representatives: Issues and Options

Record voting in the House of Representatives appears to be a straightforward process but is an activity steeped in parliamentary complexity. While this report analyzes the evolution of voting beginning with the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (LRA), some House rules related to voting have existed since the First Congress. The House has had nearly 220 years of experience with voting that manifests itself in precedents relevant today.

The LRA contained two major departures related to record voting. First, it authorized development of an electronic voting system. Second, it allowed...

A Brief History of Veterans' Education Benefits and Their Value

This report reviews the evolution of veterans' education benefit programs and describes the types of education benefits that have been made available under these programs. The first section provides an historical overview of education benefits for military veterans, beginning with the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of Rights). The second section is an analysis of the estimated value of veterans' education benefits relative to average college prices. This section focuses on the estimated value of veterans' education benefits and college prices at four-year public and private...

North Korea: Economic Sanctions Prior to Removal from Terrorism Designation

This paper explains the U.S. economic sanctions in place up to the point when North Korea was delisted as a state sponsor of acts of international terrorism.

Until June 2008, U.S. economic sanctions were imposed against North Korea for five primary reasons: (1) North Korea is seen as posing a threat to U.S. national security; (2) North Korea is designated by the Secretary of State as a state sponsor or supporter of international terrorism; (3) North Korea is a Marxist-Leninist state, with a Communist government; (4) North Korea has been found by the State Department to have engaged in...

Assistance to Firefighters Program

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, also known as the FIRE Act grant program, was established by Title XVII of the FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 106-398). The program provides federal grants directly to local fire departments and unaffiliated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations to help address a variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related and EMS needs. A related program is the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters (SAFER) program, which provides grants for hiring, recruiting, and retaining...

Veterans Benefits: An Overview

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a wide range of benefits and services to eligible veterans, members of their families, and survivors of deceased veterans. VA programs include disability compensation and pensions, readjustment benefits, and health care programs. The VA also provides life insurance, burial benefits,

housing and other loan guaranty programs, and special counseling and outreach programs. While eligibility for specific benefits varies, veterans generally must meet requirements related to discharge type and length of active duty military service. This report...

Kosovo and U.S. Policy: Background to Independence

Close to nine years after NATO intervened militarily in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo, Kosovo declared itself an independent and sovereign state on February 17, 2008. A new Kosovo constitution came into force on June 15. These developments marked a new stage in, but not the end of, international concern and engagement in the western Balkan region. Serbia strenuously objects to and does not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Kosovo represented the last major unfinished business from the wars of Yugoslav succession in the 1990s. In 1998 and 1999, the United States and its NATO allies...

Election Reform: The Help America Vote Act and Issues for Congress

In November 2000, the nation faced the unusual circumstance of not knowing the winner of the election for President for several weeks. The public scrutiny resulting from that experience exposed a wide range of weaknesses with the American system of elections. Many of the weaknesses had been known for years by election administrators, but they had been unsuccessful at drawing sufficient attention to them to effect the needed changes. In October 2002, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act (HAVA, P.L. 107-252), which addressed many of those weaknesses. It created a new federal agency,...

Lebanon

This report provides an overview of Lebanese politics, recent events in Lebanon, and current issues in U.S.-Lebanon relations.

Saudi Arabia: Terrorist Financing Issues

According to the U.S. State Department 2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, “Saudi donors and unregulated charities have been a major source of financing to extremist and terrorist groups over the past 25 years.” The September 11, 2001 attacks fueled criticisms within the United States of alleged Saudi involvement in terrorism or of Saudi laxity in acting against terrorist groups. The final report released by the bipartisan National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission) indicates that the Commission “found no evidence that the Saudi...

Presidential Appointments to Full-time Positions in Executive Departments During the 109th Congress, 2005-2006

During the 109th Congress, the President submitted to the Senate 283 nominations to executive department full-time positions. Of these 283 nominations, 233 were confirmed; nine were withdrawn; and 41 were returned to him in accordance with Senate rules. For those nominations that were confirmed, an average of 75 days elapsed between nomination and confirmation. The median number of days elapsed was 57. These statistics do not include the days during which the Senate was adjourned for its summer recesses and between sessions of Congress.

President George W. Bush made a total of 13 recess...

Strategic Airlift Modernization: Analysis of C-5 Modernization and C-17 Acquisition Issues

This report discusses an issue currently before Congress regarding the appropriate size of strategic airlift fleet. There is a consensus among policy makers that the Department of Defense (DOD) must maintain a robust and effective strategic airlift fleet.

Homeland Security: Roles and Missions for United States Northern Command

In 2002, President Bush signed a new Unified Command Plan (UCP) establishing United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM) to provide command and control of the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) homeland defense efforts and to coordinate military support to civil authorities. As a geographical combatant command, NORTHCOM has an area of responsibility that includes the continental United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and surrounding waters out to approximately 500 nautical miles, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. The NORTHCOM Commander also commands North American...

Bangladesh: Political Turmoil and Transition

Bangladesh (the former East Pakistan) gained its independence in 1971, following India’s intervention in a rebellion against West Pakistan (currently called Pakistan). The Bangladesh National Party (BNP), which led the ruling coalition of the previous government, and the leading opposition party, the Awami League (AL), traditionally have dominated Bangladeshi politics. The BNP has been led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia; the AL has been led by Sheikh Hasina. In the years since independence, Bangladesh has established a reputation as a largely moderate and democratic majority Muslim...

Congressional Oversight and Related Issues Concerning the Prospective Security Agreement Between the United States and Iraq

On November 26, 2007, U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Kamel Al-Maliki signed a Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America. Pursuant to this Declaration, the parties pledged to “begin as soon as possible, with the aim to achieve, before July 31, 2008, agreements between the two governments with respect to the political, cultural, economic, and security spheres.” Among other things, the Declaration proclaims the parties’ intention to enter an agreement that...

Maritime Security: Potential Terrorist Attacks and Protection Priorities

This report outlines the key dimensions of maritime terrorism and how these dimensions may characterize specific attacks in the global maritime domain. The report illustrates credible maritime attack scenarios based on actual past attacks or potential attacks developed for maritime security exercises or other U.S. counter terrorism activities. It discusses the challenge to maritime security planners of facing a virtually unlimited number of potential attack scenarios and how certain federal programs address this challenge. It also reviews various perspectives on the overall likelihood of...

Reauthorization of the E-Government Act: A Brief Overview

December 2007 marked the fifth anniversary of the passage of the E-Government Act of 2002. Shortly before this anniversary, authorization of appropriations for several key provisions expired on September 30, 2007. Some of the activities and offices affected by the expiring authorizations include, but are not limited to, the Office of Electronic Government (OEG) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the General Services Administration (GSA) E-Government Fund; the GSA program to operate a federal Internet portal; and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)...

Rising Energy Competition and Energy Security in Northeast Asia: Issues for U.S. Policy

Asia has become a principal driver in world energy markets, largely due to China’s remarkable growth in demand. As the gap between consumption and production levels in Asia expands, the region’s economic powers appear to be increasingly anxious about their energy security, concerned that tight supplies and consequent high prices may constrain economic growth. Rising energy competition in East Asia promises to affect U.S. policy in many ways, from contributing to price spikes because of China’s rapidly increasing demand to altering the geostrategic landscape in the years to come as regional...

The NATO Summit at Bucharest, 2008

NATO held a summit in Bucharest, Romania, April 2-4, 2008. The summit did not become the occasion to adopt major new ideas or initiatives. A “Strategic Vision” paper on Afghanistan clarified several issues but did not lead to a greater sharing of the combat burden among NATO governments. Croatia and Albania, but not Macedonia, were invited to begin accession negotiations for membership. In a contentious debate, neither Georgia nor Ukraine were admitted to the MAP process. The debate over missile defense led to the consolidation of an evolving allied position. See also CRS Report RL34415,...

Suicide Prevention Among Veterans

Exemptions from Environmental Law for the Department of Defense (DOD)

Whether broader exemptions from federal environmental laws are needed to preserve military readiness has been an issue. Questions have been raised as to whether environmental requirements have limited military training activities to the point that readiness would be compromised. The potential impacts of broader exemptions on environmental quality have raised additional questions. Although certain exemptions the Department of Defense (DOD) first requested in FY2003 have been enacted into law, Congress has opposed others. The 107th Congress enacted an exemption from the Migratory Bird Treaty...

Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF)

The Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) was created by executive order in 1951. As a result, the Departments of Commerce (DOC) and Defense (DOD) formulated a contingency plan to meet the nation’s airlift needs in times of crisis. When the Department of Transportation (DOT) was created, it assumed DOC’s role in the CRAF program, and today, DOD and DOT work together to manage the CRAF program.

The CRAF supports DOD airlift requirements in emergencies when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of the military aircraft fleet. All CRAF participants must be U.S. carriers fully certified by the...

FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations for Global War on Terror Military Operations, International Affairs, and Other Purposes

During the 1st session of the 110th Congress, in calendar year 2007, the Administration requested emergency FY2008 supplemental appropriations of $196.5 billion to cover costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, for war-related and other international affairs programs, and for some other activities. The request included $189.3 billion for the Department of Defense, $6.9 billion for international affairs, and $325 million for other agencies.

Through the end of December 2007, Congress provided $86.8 billion in emergency funds for the Defense Department and $2.4 billion for...

FY2008 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for International Affairs

Congress approved an FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764) during the week of December 17, 2007, that included some emergency supplemental funding for international affairs requested by the White House. The President signed the spending measure on December 26 (P.L. 110-161). The White House had submitted emergency supplemental requests to Congress for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and international affairs programs totaling $196.5 billion. The request was made in two installments—an estimate of additional expenses was sent to Congress with the FY2008 regular...

Enlargement Issues at NATO’s Bucharest Summit

NATO held a summit in Bucharest on April 2-4, 2008. A principal issue was consideration of the candidacies for membership of Albania, Croatia, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM, or the Republic of Macedonia). These states are small, with correspondingly small militaries, and their inclusion in the alliance cannot be considered strategic in a military sense. However, it is possible that they could play a role in the stabilization of southeastern Europe. The allies issued invitations only to Albania and Croatia.

At Bucharest NATO decided not to offer a Membership Action...

Cleanup of U.S. Military Munitions: Authorities, Status, and Costs

How to address safety, health, and environmental risks from potential exposure to abandoned or discarded military munitions has been a long-standing issue. There has been particular concern among the public about such risks at older decommissioned military properties that have been in civilian use for many years, and at closed military bases still awaiting redevelopment. Many of these properties contain former training ranges and munitions disposal sites where the extent of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and related environmental contamination is not fully understood. The approval of another...

Judicial Security: Responsibilities and Current Issues

Security Implications of Taiwan’s Presidential Election of March 2008

This CRS Report analyzes the security implications of Taiwan’s presidential election of March 22, 2008. This analysis draws in part from direct information gained through a visit to Taiwan to observe the election and to discuss views with a number of interlocutors, including those advising or aligned with President Chen Shui-bian and President-elect Ma Ying-jeou. This CRS Report will discuss the results of Taiwan’s presidential election and symbolic yet sensitive referendums on U.N. membership, outlook for Taiwan’s stability and policies, implications for U.S. security interests, and...

Fischer-Tropsch Fuels from Coal, Natural Gas, and Biomass: Background and Policy

This report provides background information and policy analysis regarding the ways to develop that directly and indirectly convert coal into liquid fuel.

Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing: U.S. Policy Development

As part of the World War II effort to develop the atomic bomb, reprocessing technology was developed to chemically separate and recover fissionable plutonium from irradiated nuclear fuel. In the early stage of commercial nuclear power, reprocessing was thought essential to supplying nuclear fuel. Federally sponsored breeder reactor development included research into advanced reprocessing technology. Several commercial interests in reprocessing foundered due to economic, technical, and regulatory issues. President Carter terminated federal support for reprocessing in an attempt to limit the...

Military Death Benefits: Status and Proposals

Department of Defense (DOD) benefits for survivors of deceased members of the armed forces vary significantly in purpose and structure. Benefits such as the death gratuity provide immediate cash payments to assist these survivors in meeting their financial needs during the period immediately following a member’s death. Similarly, the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) provides the life insurance policy value in a lump sum payment following the servicemember’s death. Other benefits such as the Veterans Affairs Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and the Survivor Benefit...

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: Background, Federal Policy, and Legislative Action

This report provides the background and context to understand these legislative developments. The report first presents data on the state of Schience, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. It then examines the federal role in promoting STEM education. The report concludes with a discussion of the legislative actions recently taken to address federal STEM education policy.

K-12 Teacher Quality: Issues and Legislative Action

This report provides a brief overview of some of the most salient issues regarding the K-12 teaching force, describes the current federal role in this area, describes major federal programs, and tracks major legislative action by the Congress.

Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2008 Appropriations

FY2008 appropriations for Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) agencies were originally proposed in H.R. 2829. The bill included funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and 20 independent agencies. Among the independent agencies funded by the bill are the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

On June 28, 2007, the House approved $43.8 billion for H.R. 2829, a...

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Issues and Arguments

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty would ban all nuclear explosions. It was opened for signature in 1996. As of March 2008, 178 nations had signed it and 144 had ratified. To enter into force, 44 specified nations must ratify it; 35 have done so. The Senate rejected the treaty in 1999; the Bush Administration opposes it. The United States has observed a nuclear test moratorium since 1992.

There have been many calls worldwide for the United States and others to ratify the treaty. Many claim that it would promote nuclear nonproliferation; some see it as a step toward nuclear...

The War Powers Resolution: After Thirty-Four Years

Comparison of Selected Recommendations of the President’s Commission on Returning Wounded Warriors (the Dole-Shalala Commission) and the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission

This report compares selected recommendations of the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors (PCCWW), often called the Dole-Shalala Commission in reference to its co-chairs, and the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC). The VDBC was established in 2004 to study veterans’ benefits in a broad context. The PCCWW was established in 2007 following reports of problems among injured servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with medical rehabilitation and access to benefits. The PCCWW was charged to focus specifically on the needs of these...

Congressional Authority to Limit U.S. Military Operations in Iraq

On October 16, 2002, President Bush signed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. Since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, Congress has enacted appropriation bills to fund the continuation of the Iraq war, including military training, reconstruction, and other aid for the government of Iraq. In April, 2007, however, Congress passed a supplemental appropriations bill to fund the war that contained conditions and a deadline for ending some military operations. The President vetoed the bill, arguing in part that some of its provisions are unconstitutional....

Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons and Missiles: Status and Trends

The United States has long recognized the dangers inherent in the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons, and missiles. This report, which analyzes NBC weapons programs potential threat patterns around the globe, is updated as needed.

The total number of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in the world is shrinking as the major powers scale back their inventories through unilateral reductions and arms control, but other countries and groups still try to acquire these weapons. There are five established nuclear weapon states (China, France, Russia, the United...

Poland’s New Government: Background and Issues for the United States

After a governmental deadlock caused by intra-coalition squabbling, Poland held snap parliamentary elections on October 21, 2007; the vote was seen by many as a referendum on the governing style and policies of the then-ruling Law and Justice party. Under that government, the presidency and prime minister’s post were held by twin brothers Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Their government’s nationalist policies caused controversy domestically and in the international arena as well. Many observers believe that under the new center-right Civic Alliance-led government, domestic policies will...

Homeland Security Department: FY2008 Appropriations

This report describes the FY2008 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a net appropriation of $35.5 billion in net budget authority for FY2008. The requested net appropriation for major components of the department included the following: $8,783 million for Customs and Border Protection (CBP); $4,168 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); $3,608 million for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA); $8,457 million for the U.S. Coast Guard; $1,399 million for the Secret Service; $1,047 for the National Protection...

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD): FY2008 Appropriations

The FY2008 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bill (THUD) provides funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and five independent agencies related to these two departments.

The Bush Administration requested $100.3 billion (after scorekeeping adjustments) for FY2008, an increase of $300 million (less than 1%) over FY2007. DOT would receive $64.5 billion, $1.3 billion more than provided in FY2007. HUD would receive $35.6 billion, $1.0 billion less than provided in FY2007.

A...

“Wounded Warrior” and Veterans Provisions in the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act

This report summarizes provisions in Division A, Titles XVI and XVII, of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, P.L. 110-181, signed by the President on January 28, 2008. Titles XVI and XVII address matters related to the care and treatment of servicemembers and former servicemembers (i.e., veterans) who were wounded, or who contracted an illness, while serving on active duty. These individuals are widely referred to as “wounded warriors.”

Provisions in the act reflect congressional concern about the quality and availability of medical, mental health, and dental care...

Military Retirement, Concurrent Receipt, and Related Major Legislative Issues

The military retirement system includes benefits for retirement after an active or reserve military career, disability retirement, and survivor benefits for eligible survivors of deceased retirees.

The change to the system that has generated the most recent legislative activity involves whether some or all military retirees should be allowed to receive both military retired pay and any VA disability compensation to which they are otherwise entitled; this is referred to as “concurrent receipt.” Until 2004, the law provided that military retired pay had to be reduced by the amount of VA...

Active Military Sonar and Marine Mammals: Events and References

This report summarizes legal and political events related to active sonar and marine mammals since 1994. The report discusses the deployment of active sonar by the U.S. Navy and its potential impacts on marine mammals has been an ongoing issue of intense debate; regulatory, legislative, and judicial activity; and international concern.

FY2009 Defense Budget: Issues for Congress

Title VII Health Professions Education and Training: Issues in Reauthorization

In 1963, responding to projections of an impending physician shortage, Congress passed the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act (P.L. 88-129). This act was the first comprehensive legislation to address the supply of health care providers. Relevant programs, authorized in Title VII of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), have evolved in subsequent reauthorizations, to provide grants to institutions for primary care curriculum and faculty development, scholarships and loans to individuals training in certain health professions, and other programs. Title VII programs are...

Military Base Closures and the Impact Aid Program for Education

The FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Policy Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of what the Bush Administration terms the Global War on Terror, along with the emerging operational role of the Reserve Components, have further heightened interest and support for a wide range of military personnel policies and issues.

CRS selected a number of issues addressed by Congress as it considered the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1585/S. 1547/H.R. 4986). In each case, a brief synopsis is...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2008

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161) was the measure used by Congress and the President to wrap up action on the regular appropriations acts in late 2007. On December 19, 2007, Congress completed action on the act, and it was signed into law by President Bush on December 26, 2007. Previously, action had been completed on only one of the regular appropriations acts, the Defense Appropriations Act, FY2008 (P.L. 110-116) which was signed into law by President Bush on November 13, 2007. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 provides appropriations covered in the eleven...

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2008 Appropriations

The President submitted his FY2008 appropriations request to Congress on February 5, 2007, including $105.2 billion for programs covered in this appropriations bill: $21.2 billion for Title I (military construction and family housing); $83.9 billion for Title II (veterans affairs); and $163 million for Title III (related agencies). With no regular appropriation passed or enacted for FY2007, this must be compared with the combined totals of the subsequent continuing resolutions and emergency supplemental appropriations: $17.9 billion for Title I; $79.6 billion for Title II; and $149 million...

Navy-Marine Corps Amphibious and Maritime Prepositioning Ship Programs: Background and Oversight Issues for Congress

The Navy is proposing to maintain in coming years a Navy with 31 amphibious ships and an additional squadron of 14 Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future), or MPF(F), ships. The MPF(F) squadron is intended to implement a new operational concept called sea basing, under which forces would be staged at sea and used to conduct expeditionary operations ashore with little or no reliance on nearby land bases.

The Navy’s proposed FY2008 budget requests $1,398.3 million in procurement funding for a ninth San Antonio (LPD-17) amphibious ship to be procured in FY2008. The Navy estimates the total...

Alternative Fuels and Advanced Technology Vehicles: Issues in Congress

This report provides an overview of current issues surrounding alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles.

Military Forces: What Is the Appropriate Size for the United States?

For several years, some Members of Congress and many military analysts have argued that the U.S. Armed Forces are too small to adequately meet all the requirements arising after the Cold War, particularly with the advent of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). In January 2004, the Department of Defense acknowledged a problem by temporarily adding 30,000 troops to the authorized active duty end strength of the Army. Congress addressed the issue by raising ground force statutory end strengths in the FY2005 defense authorization bill (P.L. 108-375), the FY2006 bill (P.L. 109-163), and again in...

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2008 Appropriations

The annual State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. international affairs budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making in general. Funding for Foreign Operations and State Department/Broadcasting programs has been steadily rising since FY2002, and amounts approved for FY2004 in regular and supplemental bills reached an unprecedented level compared with the past 40 years. Emergency supplementals enacted since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to assist the front-line...

Energy and Water Development: FY2008 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies.

Key budgetary issues involving these programs include

the distribution of Army Corps of Engineers appropriations across the agency’s authorized construction and maintenance activities (Title I);

support of major ecosystem restoration initiatives, such as Florida Everglades (Title I) and California “Bay-Delta” (CALFED) (Title...

Botnets, Cybercrime, and Cyberterrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy Issues for Congress

Cybercrime is becoming more organized and established as a transnational business. High technology online skills are now available for rent to a variety of customers, possibly including nation states, or individuals and groups that could secretly represent terrorist groups. The increased use of automated attack tools by cybercriminals has overwhelmed some current methodologies used for tracking Internet cyberattacks, and vulnerabilities of the U.S. critical infrastructure, which are acknowledged openly in publications, could possibly attract cyberattacks to extort money, or damage the U.S....

U.S. Army and Marine Corps Equipment Requirements: Background and Issues for Congress

The United States Army and Marine Corps have been at war—first in Afghanistan and then Iraq—since November 2001. The Army’s and Marine Corps’ equipment has been employed in what has been described as “the harsh operating environments of Iraq and Afghanistan” where the heat, sand, and dust as well as operational rates “well in excess of peacetime rates” have taken a heavy toll on the Army’s and Marines’ equipment.

Re-equipping Reserve and National Guard units that, in many cases, were under-equipped to start with and then required to leave their equipment in theater also presents challenges...

Diplomacy for the 21st Century: Transformational Diplomacy

Many foreign affairs experts believe that the international system is undergoing a momentous transition affecting its very nature. Some, such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, compare the changes in the international system to those of a century ago. Secretary of State Rice relates the changes to the period following the Second World War and the start of the Cold War. At the same time, concerns are being raised about the need for major reform of the institutions and tools of American diplomacy to meet the coming challenges. At issue is how the United States adjusts its...

NATO and the European Union

Since the end of the Cold War, both NATO and the European Union (EU) have evolved along with Europe’s changed strategic landscape. While NATO’s collective defense guarantee remains at the core of the alliance, members have also sought to redefine its mission as new security challenges have emerged on Europe’s periphery and beyond. At the same time, EU members have taken steps toward political integration with decisions to develop a common foreign policy and a defense arm to improve EU member states’ abilities to manage security crises, such as those that engulfed the Balkans in the...

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT): Issues for Congress

Open source information (OSINT) is derived from newspapers, journals, radio and television, and the Internet. Intelligence analysts have long used such information to supplement classified data, but systematically collecting open source information has not been a priority of the U.S. Intelligence Community. In recent years, given changes in the international environment, there have been calls, from Congress and the 9/11 Commission among others, for a more intense and focused investment in open source collection and analysis. However, some still emphasize that the primary business of...

Ballistic Missile Defense: Historical Overview

For some time now, ballistic missile defense (BMD) has been a key national security priority, even though such interest has been ongoing since the end of World War II. Many current BMD technologies date their start to the 1980s, and even earlier. This effort has been challenging technically and politically controversial. For a 25-year review of the major BMD technology thrust, see CRS Report RL33240, Kinetic Energy Kill for Ballistic Missile Defense: A Status Overview, by Steven A. Hildreth.

More than $120 billion has been spent on a range of BMD programs since the mid-1980s; Congress...

Haiti: Developments and U.S. Policy Since 1991 and Current Congressional Concerns

Following the first free and fair elections in Haiti’s history, Jean-Bertrand Aristide first became Haitian President in February 1991. He was overthrown by a military coup in September 1991. For over three years, the military regime resisted international demands that Aristide be restored to office. In September 1994, after a U.S. military intervention had been launched, the military regime agreed to Aristide’s return, the immediate, unopposed entry of U.S. troops, and the resignation of its leadership. President Aristide returned to Haiti in October 1994 under the protection of some...

Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, considerable concern has been raised because the 19 terrorists were aliens who apparently entered the United States with temporary visas despite provisions in immigration laws that bar the admission of terrorists. Foreign nationals not already legally residing in the United States who wish to come to the United States generally must obtain a visa to be admitted, with certain exceptions noted in law. The report of the 9/11 Commission maintained that border security was not considered a national security matter prior to September 11, and as a...

Defense: FY2008 Authorization and Appropriations

The President’s FY2008 federal budget request, released February 5, 2007, included $647.2 billion in new budget authority for national defense including $483.2 billion for the regular operations of the Department of Defense (DOD), $141.8 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, $17.4 billion for the nuclear weapons and other defense-related programs of the Department of Energy, and $4.8 billion for defense-related activities of other agencies. On July 31, 2007, the President requested an additional $5.3 billion for war-fighting costs, and on October 22 he requested an...

U.S. Nuclear Weapons: Changes in Policy and Force Structure

The Bush Administration conducted a review of U.S. nuclear weapons force posture during its first year in office. The review sought to adjust U.S. nuclear posture to address changes in the international security environment at the start of the new century. Although it continued many long-standing policies and programs, it also introduced new elements into both U.S. policy and U.S. nuclear weapons programs. This report, which will be updated as needed, provides an overview of the U.S. nuclear posture to highlight areas of change and areas of continuity.

During the Cold War, the United...

Does the Army Need a Full-Spectrum Force or Specialized Units? Background and Issues for Congress

This report is intended to provide information that might be of interest to Congress on the current debate surrounding the creation of special U.S. Army units and organizations, which some believe are needed to address current and future security requirements. While the Army has recently changed from a division-based force to a brigade-centric force, it has resisted the creation of special units to deal with counterinsurgency, stabilization, and training/advisory operations. In contrast, there have been a number of proposals to create new units and organizations better suited to address...

Islamic Terrorism and the Balkans

In the 1990s, wars and political instability provided an opportunity for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups to infiltrate the Balkans. However, U.S. and European peacekeeping troops, aid, and the prospect of Euro-Atlantic integration have helped to bring more stability to the region in recent years. Moreover, the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States underscored for the countries of the region the dangers of global terrorism, and resulted in increased U.S. attention and aid to fight the terrorist threat. In part as a result, many experts currently do not view the Balkans as a...

Bosnia and the European Union Military Force (EUFOR): Post-NATO Peacekeeping

On December 2, 2004, NATO formally concluded its Stabilization Force (SFOR) mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and handed over peace stabilization duties to a European Union force (EUFOR). The mission of the EU’s Operation Althea has been to ensure continued compliance with the 1995 Dayton peace agreement and contribute to a secure environment and Bosnia’s efforts towards European integration. In 2007, the EU carried out a reconfiguration of EUFOR that reduced its strength from 6,500 to around 2,500 troops. NATO retains a small headquarters presence in Sarajevo to provide advice on defense...

Foreign Language and International Studies: Federal Aid Under Title VI of the Higher Education Act

Title VI of the Higher Education Act (HEA)—International Education Programs—authorizes a variety of grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) and related entities to enhance instruction in foreign language and area studies (FLAS). This is one of the oldest U.S. Department of Education (ED) programs of support to higher education, having been initiated as Title VI of the National Defense Education Act of 1958. This program reflects the special priority placed by the federal government on FLAS, especially with respect to diplomacy, national security, and trade competitiveness....

Emerging Trends in the Security Architecture in Asia: Bilateral and Multilateral Ties Among the United States, Japan, Australia, and India

Some analysts have questioned whether U.S. security interests in the Asia Pacific region are best served by its existing framework of bilateral alliances. The region is now facing an array of changes: deepening trade links, the formation of new regional institutions, and increased attention to the threat of Islamic terrorism. Against this backdrop, China’s rise represents the key driver in the evolving security landscape in Asia. China is now attracting regional states with its economic power and is offering competing vision to the U.S.-centric “hub and spoke” system of alliances. In...

K-12 Education: Highlights of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110)

On January 8, 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, legislation to extend and revise the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was signed into law as P.L. 107-110. This legislation extensively amended and reauthorized most federal elementary and secondary education aid programs.

Major features of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 include the following: (a) states were required to implement standards-based assessments in reading and mathematics for pupils in each of grades 3-8 by the end of the 2005-2006 school year, and at three grade levels in science by the end of the...

Pakistan’s Political Crises

The year 2007 has seen Pakistan buffeted by numerous and serious political crises culminating in the December 27 assassination of former Prime Minster and leading opposition figure Benazir Bhutto, who had returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile in October. Bhutto’s killing in an apparent gun and bomb attack (the circumstances remain controversial) has been called a national tragedy for Pakistan and does immense damage to already troubled efforts to democratize the country. The assassination came just 12 days after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had lifted a 6-week-old emergency...

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: FY2006-FY2008

Trends in U.S. assistance to the Latin America and Caribbean region generally reflect the trends and rationales for U.S. foreign aid programs globally. Aid to the region increased during the 1960s with the Alliance for Progress, and during the 1980s with aid to Central America. Since 2000, aid levels have increased, especially in the Andean region, as the focus has shifted from Cold War issues to counternarcotics and security assistance. Current aid levels to Latin America and the Caribbean comprise about 5.8% of the worldwide FY2007 aid budget, including both bilateral and multilateral...

Iraq: Foreign Contributions to Stabilization and Reconstruction

U.S. policymakers have made securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq a major priority since the preparation period for the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. This report highlights and discusses important changes in financial and personnel contributions from foreign governments to Iraq since 2003.

To date, foreign donors have pledged an estimated $16.4 billion in grants and loans for Iraq reconstruction, with most major pledges originating at a major donors’ conference in Madrid, Spain, in October 2003. However, only a...

The U.S.-Australia Treaty on Defense Trade Cooperation

The United States and Australia signed a Treaty on Defense Trade Cooperation in September 2007 that would facilitate defense trade and cooperation between the two nations. On the strategic level, the treaty would further develop ties between two very close allies who have fought together in most of America’s conflicts, including most recently in Iraq and in Afghanistan. This treaty is proposed at a time when the United States has found few friends that have been willing to work as closely with the United States in its efforts to contain militant anti-Western Islamists as Australia has...

Federal Contract Labor Standards Statutes: An Overview

In the late 1920s, following action taken in a number of states in dealing with state contracts, the federal government began development of a body of labor standards protections for workers employed by private contractors in federal contract work. The first of these statutes, the Davis-Bacon Act (1931), set basic labor standards (primarily, prevailing wage rates) for workers engaged in construction work, under contract, for the federal government. Two other major contract labor standards statutes followed: the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (1936) and the McNamara-O’Hara Service...

Nuclear Warheads: The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program and the Life Extension Program

Current U.S. nuclear warheads were deployed during the Cold War. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) maintains them with a Life Extension Program (LEP). NNSA questions if LEP can maintain them indefinitely on grounds that an accretion of minor changes introduced in replacement components will inevitably reduce confidence in warhead safety and reliability over the long term.

Congress mandated the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program in 2004 “to improve the reliability, longevity, and certifiability of existing weapons and their components.” Since then, Congress has...

Veterans’ Health Care Issues

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides services and benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility criteria. VA carries out its programs nationwide through three administrations and the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA). The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is responsible for veterans’ health care programs. The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is responsible for providing compensation, pensions, and education assistance, among other things. The National Cemetery Administration’s (NCA) responsibilities include maintaining national veterans cemeteries.

VHA operates the...

Earned Value Management (EVM) as an Oversight Tool for Major Capital Investments

This report focuses on a technique—earned value management (EVM)—for overseeing the cost, schedule, and performance of major capital investments during the investment process (e.g., information technology systems, structures, weapons systems). EVM provides metrics to help inform assessments of whether capital investments are “on track” from three perspectives: the investment’s planned cost, time schedule, and functionality. Variance from a project’s planned cost, schedule, and functionality might occur due to the inherent complexity and uncertainty of a project, poor planning or...

The Military Commissions Act of 2006: Analysis of Procedural Rules and Comparison with Previous DOD Rules and the Uniform Code of Military Justice

On November 13, 2001, President Bush issued a Military Order (M.O.) pertaining to the detention, treatment, and trial of certain non-citizens in the war against terrorism. Military commissions pursuant to the M.O. began in November 2004 against four persons declared eligible for trial, but proceedings were suspended after a federal district court found that one of the defendants could not be tried under the rules established by the Department of Defense (DOD). The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in Rumsfeld v. Hamdan, but the Supreme Court granted review and reversed...

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the 2007 Meetings in Sydney, Australia

There is apparent agreement between Congress and the Bush Administration that the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a potential vehicle for advancing U.S. economic, trade, diplomatic, and security interests both globally and regionally. In particular, APEC offers the United States an organizational counterpoint to other proposed regional associations in Asia. However, the organization’s approach and perspective on these issues may pose problems for the United States. By design, APEC operates on the basis of consensus, under which its members voluntarily liberalize their economic...

Caribbean-U.S. Relations: Issues in the 110th Congress

With some 42 million people encompassing 16 independent countries and 13 overseas territories, the Caribbean is a diverse region that includes some of the hemisphere’s richest and poorest nations. The region consists of 13 island countries, from the Bahamas in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south; Belize, which is geographically located in Central America; and the two countries of Guyana and Suriname, located on the north central coast of South America. With the exception of Cuba and Haiti, regular elections in the region are the norm, and for the most part have been free and...

India-U.S. Economic and Trade Relations

After decades of strained political relations, the U.S. and Indian governments are currently pursuing a “strategic partnership” based on numerous overlapping interests, shared values, and improved economic and trade relations. India is in the midst of a rapid economic expansion, and many U.S. companies view India as a lucrative market and a candidate for foreign investment. For its part, the current Indian government sees itself continuing the economic reforms started in 1991, aimed at transforming a quasi-socialist economy into a more open, market-oriented economy. However, the U.S....

Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI) and Related Funding Programs: FY2007 Assistance

In February 2007, the 110th Congress finished consideration of FY2007 foreign operations appropriations legislation, held over from 2006, that provided foreign assistance to the Andean region. In addition to the Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI), Andean countries benefit from Foreign Military Financing (FMF), International Military Education and Training (IMET) funds, and other types of economic aid. Congress continued to express concern with the volume of drugs readily available in the United States and elsewhere in the world. The three largest producers of cocaine are Colombia,...

The Budget for Fiscal Year 2007

Foreign Operations (House)/State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (Senate): FY2007 Appropriations

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill in the House, and the State, Foreign Operations measure in the Senate are the primary legislative vehicles through which Congress reviews the U.S. international affairs budgets and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. They contain the largest shares—the House bill, about two-thirds; the Senate bill, about 97%—of total U.S. international affairs spending.

Due to subcommittee structural differences between the House and Senate in the 109th Congress, the House Appropriations Committee considered the Foreign Operations...

India-Iran Relations and U.S. Interests

India’s growing energy needs and its relatively benign view of Iran’s intentions will likely cause policy differences between New Delhi and Washington. India seeks positive ties with Iran and is unlikely to downgrade its relationship with Tehran at the behest of external powers, but it is unlikely that the two will develop a broad and deep strategic alliance. India-Iran relations are also unlikely to derail the further development of close and productive U.S.-India relations on a number of fronts. See also CRS Report RL33529, India-U.S. Relations, and CRS Report RL32048, Iran: U.S....

Poland: Background and Policy Trends of the Kaczynski Government

Poland held presidential and parliamentary elections in the fall of 2005. After several months, a ruling coalition consisting of three populist-nationalist parties was formed; the presidency and prime minister’s post are held by Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, identical twin brothers who have increasingly consolidated their power. Their government’s nationalist policies have caused controversy domestically, in both the political and economic arenas, and in foreign relations as well. Relations with some neighboring states and the European Union have been strained at times, but ties with the...

Bangladesh: Background and U.S. Relations

Bangladesh (the former East Pakistan) gained its independence in 1971, following India’s intervention in a rebellion against West Pakistan (currently called Pakistan). Democratic elections in 1991 ended two decades of authoritarian rule in Dhaka. The Bangladesh National Party (BNP), which led the ruling coalition of the previous government, and the leading opposition party, the Awami League (AL), traditionally have dominated Bangladeshi politics. The BNP is led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia while the AL is led by Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh has been a largely moderate and democratic...

Nepal: Background and U.S. Relations

The three-way contest for control of Nepal—among King Gyanendra, a coalition of seven parties seeking democracy for the country, and the Maoists—ended with the king relinquishing power to the democrats in April 2006 after large scale popular demonstrations against him. King Gyanendra’s inability to subdue the Maoist insurgency and his repression of pro-democratic elements in the country undermined his legitimacy and led to his fall from power. The United States sought to assist the government of Nepal in its struggle against the Maoist armed insurgency and has promoted the democratic...

Air Force Transformation

Many believe that the Department of Defense (DOD)—including the Air Force—must transform itself to ensure future U.S. military effectiveness. The Air Force has a transformation plan that includes advanced technologies, concept development, and organizational innovation. Issues for Congress include the efficacy of this plan, its feasibility, and the attendant costs. This report will be updated.

The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center: Issues for Congress

The mission of the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) is to understand current and future biological threats; assess vulnerabilities and determine potential consequences; and provide a national capability for conducting forensic analysis of evidence from bio-crimes and bio-terrorism. The NBACC is operational, with a program office and several component centers occupying interim facilities.

A laboratory facility dedicated to executing the NBACC mission and to contain two NBACC component centers is being built at Fort Detrick, Maryland, as part of the National...

Iraq: U.S. Military Operations

Romania: Background and Current Issues

On January 1, 2007, Romania was formally admitted into the European Union. The accession marked a major milestone for the country, which has been struggling through a difficult, lengthy transition from communism and the 24-year era of oppressive rule under Nicolae Ceausescu. In 2004 national elections, the center-right captured a majority in parliament along with the presidency. Over the past two years, however, there has been a great deal of infighting among the governing coalition partners. Observers believe that the parties held together out of a common desire to achieve EU membership....

Walter Reed Army Medical Center: Realignment Under BRAC 2005 and Options for Congress

The 2005 Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended that the Department of Defense (DOD) establish a new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) on the site of the current National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Maryland. The President approved the recommendation in September 2005, and the Secretary of Defense is required by statute to implement it within six years of the date of that approval.

Part of that recommendation is the realignment of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), which entails the transfer of many functions from...

Airborne Laser (ABL): Issues for Congress

The United States has pursued a variety of ballistic missile defense concepts and programs over the past fifty years. Since the 1970s, some attention has focused on directed energy weapons, such as high-powered lasers for missile defense. Today, the Airborne Laser (ABL) program is the furthest advanced of these directed energy weapons in relative terms and remains the subject of some technical and program debate.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has remained a strong advocate for the ABL and its predecessor programs. The Defense Department and most missile defense advocates argue that the...

Pakistan: Significant Recent Events, March 26 - June 21, 2007

Many see Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf as currently facing the most serious challenges to his authority since he wrested control of Pakistan’s government in a 1999 coup. Set off by the March 9, 2007 suspension of the chief justice, Pakistan’s citizenry has grown vocal in its objections to Musharraf. Subsequent restrictions on the media increased the outrage, and journalists have joined thousands of lawyers and social activists in the streets to demonstrate against the president and demand his resignation. Pro-government groups have countered, resulting in factional fighting...

The Southwest Pacific: U.S. Interests and China’s Growing Influence

This report focuses on the 14 sovereign nations of the Southwest Pacific, or Pacific Islands region, and the major external powers (the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, and China). It provides an explanation of the region’s main geographical, political, and economic characteristics and discusses United States interests in the Pacific and the increased influence of China, which has become a growing force in the region. The report describes policy options as considered at the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders, held in Washington, DC, in March 2007.

Although small in...

Navy CG(X) Cruiser Design Options: Background and Oversight Issues for Congress

The Navy has stated that it would like to use the design of its new DDG-1000 destroyer as the basis for its planned CG(X) cruiser. Ships based on other hull designs are possible. Nuclear propulsion is an option being studied for the CG(X). For a more general discussion of both the CG(X) and DDG-1000, see CRS Report RL32109, Navy DDG-1000 and DDG-51 Destroyer Programs: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress, by Ronald O’Rourke. This report on basic CG(X) design options will be updated as events warrant.

FY2007 Supplemental Appropriations for Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Other Purposes

On Thursday, May 24, the House and Senate approved a compromise on H.R. 2206, a bill providing $120 billion in supplemental appropriations for FY2007. The President signed the bill into law, P.L. 110-28, on May 25. In the House, the key vote to pass the bill was on approval of the rule, H.Res. 438, which was adopted by 218-201. The rule deemed the bill to be passed after the House adopted two amendments, which were subsequently approved by votes of the Senate then approved the House-passed measure by a vote of 80-14.

The final bill provides money for military operations in Iraq,...

Elections in France, 2007

On May 6, 2007, the Gaullist Nicolas Sarkozy defeated the Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal in the second round of the French elections to become President of France. He will serve a five-year term. His party lost seats but maintained a solid majority in subsequent legislative elections.

Since 1981, France has had only two presidents. There is a sense of malaise in the country, in part due to high unemployment and slow economic growth. Sarkozy represents a younger generation of leaders.

Sarkozy casts himself as a tough-minded former Interior Minister. His campaign built on his reputation...

Defense Procurement: Full Funding Policy—Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

The full funding policy is a federal budgeting rule imposed on the Department of Defense (DOD) by Congress in the 1950s that requires the entire procurement cost of a weapon or piece of military equipment to be funded in the year in which the item is procured. Although technical in nature, the policy relates to Congress’s power of the purse and its responsibility for conducting oversight of DOD programs. Support for the policy has been periodically reaffirmed over the years by Congress, the Government Accountability Office, and DOD.

In recent years some DOD weapons—specifically, certain...

Navy Ship Procurement: Alternative Funding Approaches—Background and Options for Congress

Some observers have proposed procuring Navy ships using incremental funding or advance appropriations rather than the traditional full funding approach that has been used to procure most Navy ships. Supporters believe these alternative funding approaches could increase stability in Navy shipbuilding plans and perhaps increase the number of Navy ships that could be built for a given total amount of ship-procurement funding. The issue for Congress is whether to maintain or change current practices for funding Navy ship procurement. Congress’s decision could be significant because the full...

The Department of Defense: Reducing Its Reliance on Fossil-Based Aviation Fuel—Issues for Congress

The Department of Defense (DOD) is a factor in the nation’s discussion about national energy security. As the largest single consumer of fuel in the United States, DOD has the potential to make important contributions to the national effort to reduce the use of and reliance on fossil fuel. Aviation fuel makes up the largest portion of fossil fuel consumed by DOD and therefore represents the area of greatest potential energy savings. This report examines DOD’s use of aviation fuel and possibilities to reduce that use by examining related issues and presenting options Congress may choose to...

Military Airlift: C-17 Aircraft Program

U.S. Military Space: Status of Selected Programs

The 1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act specified that military space activities be conducted by the Department of Defense (DOD). DOD and the intelligence community manage a broad array of space activities, including launch vehicle development, communications satellites, navigation satellites (the Global Positioning System—GPS), early warning satellites to alert the United States to foreign missile launches, weather satellites, reconnaissance satellites, and developing capabilities to protect U.S. satellite systems and to deny the use of space to adversaries (called “space control” or...

Transportation, the Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, the Executive Office of the President, and Independent Agencies (TTHUD): FY2007 Appropriations

The Bush Administration requested $138.5 billion (after scorekeeping adjustments) for these agencies for FY2007, an increase of $2.3 billion over the $136.2 billion Congress provided in the agencies’ FY2006 appropriations act (this FY2006 figure reflects a 1.0% across-the-board rescission that was included in the FY2006 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, P.L. 109-148). The total FY2006 funding (after scorekeeping adjustments) for the agencies in this bill was $146.3 billion, due to emergency supplemental funding provided to deal with the effects of the Gulf Coast hurricanes of...

Military Base Closures and Realignment: Status of the 2005 Implementation Plan

As part of the implementation for the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round, the Department of Defense (DOD) required the military departments and defense agencies to create action plans for each of the BRAC Commission’s recommendations. These plans, called “Business Plans”, describe the implementing actions, their timing, cost, and other related issues. DOD is to use these plans as a mechanism to ensure proper coordination among the defense agencies, allocate BRAC resources more efficiently, and to monitor the status of the commission’s recommendations. To date, 219 of the...

Free Mail for Troops Overseas

Congressional Restrictions on U.S. Military Operations in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Somalia, and Kosovo: Funding and Non-Funding Approaches

The main body of this report is a series of tables and an Appendix that summarize and cite bill language that was intended to end or restrict U.S. military operations in Vietnam and Indochina, Somalia, and Kosovo. The report covers enacted provisions as well as those where there were roll call votes but the provision was not ultimately enacted. The first table outlines proposals that restrict funding and the second table describes other types of restrictions.

The other legislation discussed in this report either cut off funding or called on the President to take certain military actions,...

Energy and Water Development: FY2007 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill in the past included funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. For FY2006, the Congress reorganized the appropriations subcommittees and the content of the various appropriations bills to be introduced. In the case of Energy and Water Development, the only changes were the consolidation of DOE programs that had previously been funded by the Interior and Related Agencies...

Privatization and the Federal Government: An Introduction

During the past two decades, the privatization of federal agencies and activities has been much debated. That said, privatization—here defined as the use of the private sector in the provision of a good or service, the components of which include financing, operations (supplying, production, delivery), and quality control—is not a recent phenomenon. Since its founding in 1789, the federal government has used private firms to provide goods and services. Hence, privatization, in all its forms, which include contracting out, vouchers, and prize competitions, is of perennial interest to...

China’s Anti-Satellite Weapon Test

On January 11, 2007, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) conducted its first successful direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons test in destroying one of its own satellites in space. The test raised international concerns about more space debris. Longer-term, the test raised questions about China’s capability and intention to attack U.S. satellites. The purpose of this CRS Report, based on open sources and interviews, is to discuss that ASAT test by China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and issues about U.S. assessments and policies. This report will not be updated.

North Korean Actions, 1950 - 2007: Controversy and Issues

This selective list of events provides information on instances of North Korean provocative actions between June 1950 and 2007. The purpose of this report is to place current provocations in the context of past actions to better judge their significance and to determine changes in trends. The term “provocation” is defined to include armed invasion; border violations; infiltration of armed saboteurs and spies; hijacking; kidnapping; terrorism (including assassination and bombing); threats/intimidation against political leaders, media personnel, and institutions; incitement aimed at the...

Military Base Closures and Affected Defense Department Civil Service Employees

As a step in the 2005 round of the base realignment and closure (BRAC) process, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (commonly referred to as the BRAC Commission) recommended on September 8, 2005, that a number of domestic U.S. military installations be closed or realigned. Overall, the BRAC Commission estimated that the recommended closures or realignments would result in a net decrease of 15,874 federal civilian jobs at the Department of Defense (DOD). On September 15, 2005, the President approved the commission’s recommendations and transmitted them to Congress. Congress...

Defense Transformation: Background and Oversight Issues for Congress

The Bush Administration identified transformation as a major goal for the Department of Defense (DOD) soon after taking office, and initially justified many of its proposals for DOD on the grounds that they were needed for defense transformation. Although defense transformation is still discussed in administration defense-policy documents and budget-justification materials, the concept is now less prominent in discussions of U.S. defense policy and programs than it was during the earlier years of the Bush Administration.

The Administration’s vision for defense transformation calls for...

Federal White-Collar Pay: FY2006 and FY2007 Salary Adjustments

Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76: Selected Issues

Navy Force Structure: Alternative Force Structure Studies of 2005—Background for Congress

This CRS report summarizes three studies submitted to Congress in 2005 on potential future Navy ship force structures, and is intended as a lasting reference source on these three studies.

Two of the three studies were conducted in response to Section 216 of the conference report (H.Rept. 108-354 of November 7, 2003) on the FY2004 defense authorization act (H.R. 1588/P.L. 108-136 of November 24, 2003). The two studies were conducted by the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) and the Office of Force Transformation (OFT, which was then a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense). They were...

Student Loan Repayment for Federal Employees

Under a law enacted in 1990 (P.L. 101-510) and amended in 2000 (P.L. 106-398) and 2003 (P.L. 108-123 and P.L. 108-136), federal agencies may repay portions of the student loans of highly qualified General Schedule (GS) and non-GS (including Foreign Service) employees they seek to recruit and retain. Eligible employees must sign at least a three-year service agreement to remain with their agencies. In return, these employees may receive loan repayments of up to $10,000 per year and up to $60,000 in total from an agency. Various student loans specified in law and authorized by the Higher...

The Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act and Circular A-76

This report begins with a brief history of Circular A-76, a review of the its key components, and an assessment of the implementation of the circular. The section on FAIR (Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act) describes how it emerged from a series of compromises, explains the statute's key provisions, and reviews the implementation process, including guidance issued by OMB. The final section addresses recent initiatives, notably the President's competitive sourcing initiative and the Commercial Activities Panel.

H.R. 1 (Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007) and S. 4 (Improving America’s Security Act of 2007): A Comparative Analysis

This comparative analysis of H.R. 1 (Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007) and S. 4 (Improving America’s Security Act of 2007) is an assessment of major similarities and differences between the two bills as passed by the House (January 9, 2007) and Senate (March 13, 2007) and under conference consideration.

References to the two bills are to engrossed versions. The presentation is organized to follow the basic construct of the House bill because its coverage remained more stable through the legislative process and as the analyses began. Titles unique to S. 4 follow...

Military Support to the Severely Disabled: Overview of Service Programs

Ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused serious injuries to some military personnel. Many have been returned to medical facilities in the U.S., especially Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the National Naval Medical Center, and Brooke Army Medical Center. These severe and traumatic injuries—including amputations, burns, blindness, brain injury, and paralysis—often create significant hardships for the affected individuals that make independent living difficult or impossible. For example, an injured service member may need extensive physical therapy, transportation...

Navy Aircraft Carriers: Retirement of USS John F. Kennedy - Issues and Options for Congress

The conventionally powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CV-67) was decommissioned at Mayport, FL, on March 23, 2007. The ship will be towed to the Navy’s inactive ship facility at Philadelphia, where it will be placed in preservation (“mothball”) status. The Navy had proposed retiring the Kennedy and reducing the size of the carrier force from 12 ships to 11 as part of its proposed FY2006 and FY2007 budgets. Until mid-2005, the Kennedy was homeported in Mayport, FL. Prior to the proposal to retire the Kennedy, the Navy’s plan was to maintain a 12-carrier force and keep the Kennedy in...

Article 98 Agreements and Sanctions on U.S. Foreign Aid to Latin America

During 2006, the Administration and Congress began to reassess some aspects of U.S. policy towards the International Criminal Court (ICC) because of unintended negative effects of that policy on relations with some ICC member countries, especially in Latin America. In Congress, support for aid restrictions on foreign aid to ICC member countries that have not agreed to exempt U.S. citizens from the court’s jurisdiction has diminished. This policy shift has occurred largely because of increasing concerns about the negative effects that ICC-related sanctions have had on U.S. relations with...

Exon-Florio Foreign Investment Provision: Overview of H.R. 556

Air Force Aerial Refueling

Network Centric Operations: Background and Oversight Issues for Congress

Network Centric Operations (also known as Network Centric Warfare) is a key component of DOD planning for transformation of the military. Network Centric Operations (NCO) relies on computer equipment and networked communications technology to provide a shared awareness of the battle space for U.S. forces. Proponents say that a shared awareness increases synergy for command and control, resulting in superior decision-making, and the ability to coordinate complex military operations over long distances for an overwhelming war-fighting advantage. NCO technology saw limited deployment in...

Cruise Missile Defense

Congress has expressed interest in cruise missile defense for years. Cruise missiles (CMs) are essentially unmanned attack aircraft—vehicles composed of an airframe, propulsion system, guidance system, and weapons payload. They may possess highly complex navigation and targeting systems and thus have the capability to sustain low, terrain-hugging flight paths as well as strike with great accuracy. CMs can be launched from numerous platforms—air-, land-, or sea-based—and they can be outfitted with either conventional weapons or weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The Department of Defense is...

North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons: Latest Developments

On October 9, 2006, North Korea conducted a nuclear test, with a yield of under 1 kiloton (vice the anticipated 4-kiloton yield). The United States and other countries condemned the test and the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1718 on October 14, which requires North Korea to refrain from nuclear or missile tests, rejoin the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), and dismantle its WMD programs. The test is the latest provocative act of many since 2002, when North Korea ended an eight-year freeze on its plutonium production program, expelled international inspectors and restarted...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2007

On February 15, 2007 President Bush signed into law P.L. 110-5 (H.J.Res. 20), which provides funding for the nine outstanding regular appropriations bills through September 30, 2007.The 109th Congress passed two appropriations bills, the Department of Defense (P.L. 109-289, H.Rept. 109-676) and the Department of Homeland Security (P.L. 109-295, H.Rept. 109-699). P.L. 110-5 will fund most agencies at FY2006 levels through September 30, 2007. However, P.L. 110-5 contains some exceptions to those guidelines, including the centerpiece of the President’s proposed FY2007 R&D budget, the American...

Agroterrorism: Threats and Preparedness

The potential for terrorist attacks against agricultural targets (agroterrorism) is increasingly recognized as a national security threat, especially after the events of September 11, 2001. Agroterrorism is a subset of bioterrorism, and is defined as the deliberate introduction of an animal or plant disease with the goal of generating fear, causing economic losses, and/or undermining social stability.

The goal of agroterrorism is not to kill cows or plants. These are the means to the end of causing economic damage, social unrest, and loss of confidence in government. Human health could be...

Iran’s Nuclear Program: Recent Developments

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections since 2003 have revealed two decades’ worth of undeclared nuclear activities in Iran, including uranium enrichment and plutonium separation efforts. Iran agreed in 2003 to suspend sensitive activities in negotiations with Germany, France, and the UK (EU-3), which broke down in August 2005. On September 24, 2005, the IAEA Board of Governors found Iran to be in noncompliance with its Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) safeguards agreement and reported Iran’s case to the U.N. Security Council in February 2006. The Security Council...

The Direct Recording Electronic Voting Machine (DRE) Controversy: FAQs and Misperceptions

Most voting systems used in U.S. elections rely on computers in some way. The most computerized is the direct recording electronic voting machine, or DRE. In this system, votes are recorded directly onto computer memory devices. While DREs have been in use since the early 1990s, questions about their security and reliability were previously a relatively minor issue, even following the November 2000 presidential election and the subsequent congressional deliberations leading to the enactment of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA, P.L. 107-252).

However, at least two factors led to a...

Military Construction, Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs: FY2007 Appropriations

The structure of the Committees on Appropriations were changed at the beginning of the 109th Congress, altering jurisdictions over the appropriations covered in this report, including military construction, military housing allowances, military installation maintenance and operation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other veteran-related agencies, rested in the House Committee on Appropriations with the new Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs. In the Senate Committee on Appropriations, jurisdiction for military construction, the Department of Veterans...

Federal Emergency Management Policy Changes After Hurricane Katrina: A Summary of Statutory Provisions

Reports issued by committees of the 109th Congress, the White House, federal offices of Inspector General, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), among others, concluded that the losses caused by Hurricane Katrina were due, in part, to deficiencies such as questionable leadership decisions and capabilities, organizational failures, overwhelmed preparation and communication systems, and inadequate statutory authorities. As a result, the 109th Congress revised federal emergency management policies vested in the President; reorganized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA);...

Homeland Security: Compendium of Recommendations Relevant to House Committee Organization and Analysis of Considerations for the House, and 109th and 110th Congresses Epilogue

This report has been updated with an epilogue on the creation of a standing House Committee on Homeland Security in the 109th Congress, the election of a new chair September 15, 2005, and the committee’s organization in the 110th Congress. The original report was not changed; its summary follows:

The 9/11 Commission and other commissions and think tanks studying homeland security recommended congressional committee reorganization to increase Congress’s policy and oversight coordination. This report analyzes selected recommendations relevant to House committee reorganization.

In the 108th...

U.S. Assistance to the Former Soviet Union

Since 1992, the United States has provided more than $28 billion in assistance to the 12 states of the former Soviet Union (FSU). It continues to provide nearly $2 billion annually. This report describes the broad framework of U.S. assistance programs and policies in the region and then focuses on the FREEDOM Support Act (FSA) account under the foreign operations budget which, encompassing all U.S. objectives in the region, has often been the means by which Congress has expressed its views and sought to influence policy.

Three objectives have been most prominent in the U.S. assistance...

Veterans’ Medical Care: FY2007 Appropriations

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility rules. Benefits to veterans range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. VA provides these benefits to veterans through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services to veterans through an integrated health care...

Election Reform: Issues and Legislative Proposals in the 109th Congress

Despite the passage of the Help America Vote Act (P.L. 107-252) in 2002, many election-reform issues have continued to arise in conjunction with subsequent federal elections. Attempts to address those issues legislatively took form in many bills introduced in recent Congresses, particularly the 109th. Some of those bills responded specifically to issues that arose from the passage of HAVA. Others responded to events, especially problems that occurred during the 2004 federal election and as a result of the hurricanes of 2005. Still others addressed longstanding election-reform issues. Some...

The Foreign Service and a New Worldwide Compensation System

At a time when increasing numbers of Foreign Service personnel are going to posts of greater hardship and danger, an 18.5% pay differential that currently exists between service in Washington, DC, and service abroad is impacting morale and assignment considerations. Provisions implementing a new compensation system to address this issue were developed and supported by the George W. Bush administration, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), and the bipartisan leadership of both the House Committee on International Relations (HIRC) and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations...

Intelligence Spending: Public Disclosure Issues

Although the United States Intelligence Community encompasses large Federal agencies—the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the National Security Agency (NSA)—among others—neither Congress nor the executive branch has regularly made public the total extent of intelligence spending. Rather, intelligence programs and personnel are largely contained, but not identified, within the capacious budget of the Department of Defense (DOD). This practice has long been...

Child Support Provisions Considered But Not Enacted During the 2002-2005 Welfare Reauthorization Debate

The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program, Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act, was enacted in January 1975 (P.L. 93-647) and most recently amended by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171). The CSE program is administered by the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is funded by general revenues. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and nine tribal nations operate CSE programs and are entitled to federal matching funds. In FY2005, the CSE program collected $23...

India: Chronology of Events, November 2006-February 2007

This report provides a reverse chronology of recent events involving India and India-U.S. relations. Sources include, but are not limited to, major newswires, the U.S. Department of State, and Indian news outlets. For a substantive review, see CRS Report RL33529, India-U.S. Relations. This report will not be updated.

Senior Executive Service (SES) Pay for Performance System

U.S. Military Dispositions: Fact Sheet

The United States maintains a global military presence to support foreign policy and military strategy. Representation ranges from one Marine in Sierra Leone to an Army Corps in Germany, and is found in 144 nations. In some countries, presence is maintained continuously and service members are assigned tours of one to three years. In other countries, there may be short term deployments of units or teams in response to emergencies or training opportunities. This report describes the worldwide distribution of U.S. military personnel and related concerns of Congress. It will be updated quarterly.

Navy Ship Propulsion Technologies: Options for Reducing Oil Use—Background for Congress

General strategies for reducing the Navy’s dependence on oil for its ships include reducing energy use on Navy ships; shifting to alternative hydrocarbon fuels; shifting to more reliance on nuclear propulsion; and using sail and solar power.

Reducing energy use on Navy ships. A 2001 study concluded that fitting a Navy cruiser with more energy-efficient electrical equipment could reduce the ship’s fuel use by 10% to 25%. The Navy has installed fuel-saving bulbous bows and stern flaps on many of its ships. Ship fuel use could be reduced by shifting to advanced turbine designs such as an...

Nigeria: Background and U.S. Relations

U.S. Army’s Modular Redesign: Issues for Congress

In what the Army describes as the “most significant Army restructuring in the past 50 years,” it is redesigning its current active duty division force to a 48 brigade combat team (BCT) force. The Army National Guard and Army Reserves will also redesign their forces in a similar fashion. The planned addition of active duty brigades and the conversion of Army National Guard brigades could provide a larger force pool of deployable combat units to ease the burden on units presently deployed, and possibly to shorten the length of time that units are deployed on operations. The Army has three...

Treatment of “Battlefield Detainees” in the War on Terrorism

In June 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rasul v. Bush that U.S. courts have jurisdiction to hear challenges on behalf of persons detained at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in connection with the war against terrorism. The Court overturned a ruling that no U.S. court has jurisdiction to hear petitions for habeas corpus on behalf of the detainees because they are aliens detained abroad, but left questions involving prisoners’ rights and status unanswered. The 9/11 Commission recommended a common coalition approach to such detention. Congress enacted the Detainee...

Undisclosed U.S. Detention Sites Overseas: Background and Legal Issues

President Bush’s announcement on September 6, 2006, that 14 “high-value detainees” suspected of terrorist activity have been transferred from locations abroad to the U.S. detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station confirmed for the first time the existence of secret U.S. prison facilities abroad, the subject of previously unsubstantiated media allegations and investigations by foreign governments and human rights bodies. Before September, the Bush Administration had neither admitted nor denied the allegations, but had defended the related long-standing practice of transporting...

Democracy in Russia: Trends and Implications for U.S. Interests

U.S. attention has focused on Russia’s fitful democratization since Russia emerged in 1991 from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Many observers have argued that a democratic Russia with free markets would be a cooperative bilateral and multilateral partner rather than an insular and hostile national security threat. Concerns about democratization progress appeared heightened after Vladimir Putin became president in 2000. Since then, Russians have faced increased government interference in elections and campaigns, restrictions on freedom of the media, large-scale human rights abuses in the...

Restructuring U.S. Foreign Aid: The Role of the Director of Foreign Assistance in Transformational Development

The creation of a new State Department position—Director of Foreign Assistance—has sparked congressional interest regarding the management, budgeting, and proposals for reform of U.S. foreign aid programs. Charged with coordinating U.S. assistance programs, the Director of Foreign Assistance (DFA) will have authority over most State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs, although major foreign aid programs, such as the Millennium Challenge Account and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator will remain outside of his scope. The DFA is also tasked with...

U.S. Strategic and Defense Relationships in the Asia-Pacific Region

This report begins with a question. What changes in U.S. strategic and defense relationships in the Asia-Pacific region, if any, are needed to respond to major developments in the region, particularly China’s emergence as a major power, the continuing potential for inter-state conflict, and the struggle against militant Islamists? The report addresses this central question by setting it within the larger dynamics of American strategy in both a global and regional context. It discusses the shifting correlates of power in Asia before considering the current strategic debate, force structure,...

Veterans’ Benefits Issues in the 109th Congress

Presidential Appointments to Full-time Positions in Executive Departments During the 108th Congress, 2003-2004

During the 108th Congress, the President submitted to the Senate 166 nominations to executive department full-time positions. Of these 166 nominations, 120 were confirmed; eight were withdrawn; one was returned to the President at the end of the first session; and 37 were returned to him at the end of the second session of the 108th Congress. For those nominations that were confirmed, an average of 98 days elapsed between the time of the nomination and the nomination’s receipt and confirmation. The median number of days elapsed was 83. These statistics do not include the days during which...

Kinetic Energy Kill for Ballistic Missile Defense: A Status Overview

For some time, U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) programs have focused primarily on developing kinetic energy interceptors to destroy attacking ballistic missiles. These efforts have evolved over 30 years and have produced a significant amount of test data from which much can be learned. This report provides a broad overview of the U.S. investment in this approach to BMD.

The data on the U.S. flight test effort to develop a national missile defense (NMD) system remains mixed and ambiguous. There is no recognizable pattern to explain this record nor is there conclusive evidence of a...

Radioactive Tank Waste from the Past Production of Nuclear Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress

How to safely dispose of wastes from producing nuclear weapons has been an ongoing issue. The most radioactive portion of these wastes is stored in underground tanks at Department of Energy (DOE) sites in Idaho, South Carolina, and Washington State. There have been concerns about soil and groundwater contamination from some of the tanks that have leaked. DOE proposed to remove the “pumpable” liquid waste, classify the sludge-like remainder as “waste incidental to reprocessing,” and seal it in the tanks with a cement grout. DOE has argued that closing the tanks in this manner would be a...

China-U.S. Relations in the 109th Congress

“Sensitive But Unclassified” Information and Other Controls: Policy and Options for Scientific and Technical Information

Providing access to scientific and technical information (S&T) for legitimate uses while protecting it from potential terrorists poses difficult policy choices. Federally funded, extramural academic research is to be “classified” if it poses a security threat; otherwise, it is to be “unrestricted.” Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, controls increasingly have been placed on some unclassified research and S&T information, including that used to inform decision making and citizen oversight. These controls include “sensitive but unclassified” (SBU) labels; restrictive contract...

India's Nuclear Separation Plan: Issues and Views

On July 18, 2005, President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the creation of a "global partnership," which would include "full" civil nuclear cooperation between the United States and India. This is at odds with nearly three decades of U.S. nonproliferation policy and practice. President Bush promised India he would persuade Congress to amend the pertinent laws to approve the agreement, as well as persuade U.S. allies to create an exception to multilateral Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) guidelines for India. India committed to, among other things, separating its...

U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation: A Side-By-Side Comparison of Current Legislation

In March 2006, the Bush Administration proposed legislation to create an exception for India from certain provisions of the Atomic Energy Act to facilitate a future nuclear cooperation agreement. After hearings in April and May, the House International Relations Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee considered bills in late June 2006 to provide an exception for India to certain provisions of the Atomic Energy Act related to a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement. On July 26, 2006, the House passed its version of the legislation, H.R. 5682, by a vote of 359 to 68. On...

Latin America and the Caribbean: Issues for the 109th Congress

Over the past two decades, the Latin America and Caribbean region has made enormous strides in terms of political and economic development. In 2006, elections for head of government were held in 12 countries in the region, including the close election in Mexico in July, the re-election of presidents in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, and Venezuela, and the election of former heads of government in Costa Rica, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru, and St. Lucia. Although the region overall experienced an economic setback in 2002-2003, it has rebounded since 2004. Nevertheless, several nations faced...

Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade: Key Issues for the 110th Congress

The 110th Congress will face a number of pressing foreign affairs, defense, and trade issues in the opening days of its tenure. This report identifies major issues most likely to be on the legislative agenda, discusses critical policy choices at stake, and summarizes some of the major alternatives that Congress may consider. The report lists Congressional Research Service reports that address these issues, and it identifies key analysts and their areas of responsibility.

A major issue confronting the new Congress is what to do in Iraq. The Baker/Hamilton-led Iraq Study Group recommended...

Environmental Protection Issues in the 109th Congress

Cuba: Issues for the 109th Congress

Since the early 1960s, U.S. policy toward Cuba under Fidel Castro has consisted largely of isolating the communist nation through comprehensive economic sanctions, which have been significantly tightened by the Bush Administration. Another component of U.S. policy has consisted of support measures for the Cuban people, including private humanitarian donations and U.S.-sponsored radio and television broadcasting to Cuba. While there appears to be broad agreement on the overall objective of U.S. policy toward Cuba—to help bring democracy and respect for human rights to the island—there are...

Chemical Facility Security

Facilities handling large amounts of potentially hazardous chemicals (i.e., chemical facilities) might be of interest to terrorists, either as targets for direct attacks meant to release chemicals into the community or as a source of chemicals for use elsewhere. Because few terrorist attacks have been attempted against chemical facilities in the United States, the risk of death and injury in the near future is estimated to be low, relative to the likelihood of accidents at such facilities or attacks on other targets using conventional weapons. For any individual facility, the risk is very...

Border Security and Military Support: Legal Authorizations and Restrictions

The military generally provides support to law enforcement and immigration authorities along the southern border. Reported escalations in criminal activity and illegal immigration, however, have prompted some lawmakers to reevaluate the extent and type of military support that occurs in the border region. On May 15, 2006, President Bush announced that up to 6,000 National Guard troops would be sent to the border to support the Border Patrol. Addressing domestic laws and activities with the military, however, might run afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits use of the armed...

Radioactive Waste Streams: Waste Classification for Disposal

Radioactive waste is a byproduct of nuclear weapons production, commercial nuclear power generation, and the naval reactor program. Waste byproducts also result from radioisotopes used for scientific, medical, and industrial purposes. The legislative definitions adopted for radioactive wastes, for the most part, refer to the processes that generated the wastes. Thus, waste disposal policies have tended to link the processes to uniquely tailored disposal solutions. Consequently, the origin of the waste, rather than its radiologic characteristics, often determines its fate.

Plutonium and...

North Korea’s Nuclear Test: Motivations, Implications, and U.S. Options

On October 9, 2006, North Korea announced it conducted a nuclear test. After several days of evaluation, U.S. authorities confirmed that the underground explosion was nuclear, but that the test produced a low yield of less than one kiloton. As the United Nations Security Council met and approved a resolution condemning the tests and calling for punitive sanctions, North Korea remained defiant, insisting that any increased pressure on the regime would be regarded as an act of war. China and South Korea, the top aid providers to and trade partners with the North, supported the resolution...

Evolutionary Acquisition and Spiral Development in DOD Programs: Policy Issues for Congress

The Department of Defense (DOD) in 2001 adopted a new approach for developing major weapon systems, called evolutionary acquisition with spiral development (EA/SD), as its preferred standard. EA/SD is intended to make DOD’s acquisition system more responsive to rapid changes in military needs. EA/SD poses potentially important challenges for Congress in carrying out its legislative functions, particularly committing to and effectively overseeing DOD weapon acquisition programs. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Navy Ship Acquisition: Options for Lower-Cost Ship Designs—Issues for Congress

Rising procurement costs for Navy ships are a matter of concern for both Navy officials and Members of Congress who track Navy-related issues. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that executing the 30-year shipbuilding plan that the Navy submitted to Congress in early 2006 may require annual funding levels about 33% higher than the Navy plans, and about 76% more than the Navy has received on average in recent years. The issue for Congress is how to respond to rising Navy ship procurement costs.

Aside from reducing planned ship procurement rates, one option would be to reduce...

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 109th Congress

Security concerns have figured prominently in the development of and debate on immigration legislation in the 109th Congress. In May 2005, the REAL ID Act became law as Division B of P.L. 109-13. It contains a number of immigration and identification document-related provisions intended to improve homeland security. Among these are provisions: to make changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) with respect to asylum and other forms of relief from removal; to expand the terrorism-related grounds for alien inadmissibility and deportation; and to set standards for state-issued...

9/11 Commission Recommendations: Implementation Status

This report provides a review of the 9/11 Commission recommendations and the status of their implementation at the end of the 109th Congress. The discussions herein are organized on the basis of policy themes that are at the core of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations, rather than through a review of each numbered item set out in the Commission’s final report. The analysis was produced by a large team of CRS Specialists, analysts, and attorneys who are responsible for the wide variety of policy areas covered by the 9/11 Commission in its work. The authors of the varied segments of this...

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Trade Between North Korea and Pakistan

In October 2002, the United States confronted North Korea about its alleged clandestine uranium enrichment program. Soon after, the Agreed Framework collapsed, North Korea expelled international inspectors, and withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). U.S. intelligence officials claimed Pakistan was a key supplier of uranium enrichment technology to North Korea, and some media reports suggested that Pakistan had exchanged centrifuge enrichment technology for North Korean help in developing longer range missiles.

U.S. official statements leave little doubt that cooperation...

Homeland Security Department: FY2007 Appropriations

The annual consideration of appropriations bills (regular, continuing, and supplemental) by Congress is part of a complex set of budget processes that also encompasses the consideration of budget resolutions, revenue and debt-limit legislation, other spending measures, and reconciliation bills. In addition, the operation of programs and the spending of appropriated funds are subject to constraints established in authorizing statutes. Congressional action on the budget for a fiscal year usually begins following the submission of the President’s budget at the beginning of each annual session...

Minimum Wage, Overtime Pay, and Child Labor: An Inventory of Proposals in the 109th Congress to Amend the Fair Labor Standards Act

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

India and Iran: WMD Proliferation Activities

Members of Congress have questioned whether India’s cooperation with Iran might affect U.S. and other efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. India’s long relationship with Iran and its support of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) positions on nonproliferation are obstacles to India’s taking a hard line on Iran, yet the Bush Administration has asserted that U.S.-India nuclear cooperation would bring India into the “nonproliferation mainstream.” India, like most other states, does not support a nuclear weapons option for Iran. However, its views of the Iranian threat and...

International Drug Trade and U.S. Foreign Policy

Efforts to significantly reduce the flow of illicit drugs from abroad into the United States have so far not succeeded. Moreover, over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and marijuana production has roughly doubled and coca production tripled. The effectiveness of international narcotics control programs in reducing consumption is a matter of ongoing concern.

Despite apparent national political resolve to deal with the drug problem, inherent contradictions regularly appear between U.S. anti-drug policy and other national policy goals and...

Demilitarization of Significant Military Equipment

This report examines the process and problems associated with demilitarizing significant military equipment in the United States. The demilitarization of military equipment is an important issue today; evidence has shown that because of some failures in enforcement, potentially harmful weaponry and parts are finding their way into the hands of private citizens, as well as possible enemies of the United States.

The effort to dispose of and demilitarize surplus military equipment dates back to the end of World War II, when the federal government decided to reduce a massive inventory of...

The Fair Labor Standards Act: Minimum Wage in the 109th Congress

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005

This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its various policy oversight functions. All agreement and delivery data in this report for the United States are government-to-government (FMS) transactions. Some general data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers by all suppliers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the...

Defense: FY2007 Authorization and Appropriations

In the week before Congress adjourned for recess on September 30, the House and Senate passed conference agreements on both the FY2007 national defense authorization bill, H.R. 5122, and the FY2007 defense appropriations bill, H.R. 5631. The President signed the appropriations bill into law, P.L. 109-289, on September 29, and he signed the authorization bill into law, P.L. 109-364, on October 17.

The conference agreement on the appropriations bill provides $436.6 billion for defense, including $366.6 billion in regular appropriations and $70 billion in additional appropriations, mainly as...

The FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Policy Issues

Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of the Global War on Terror, along with the emerging operational role of the Reserve Components, further heightened interest and support for a wide range of military personnel policies and issues.

CRS selected a number of issues considered by Congress as it acted on the FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act. In each case, a brief synopsis is provided that includes background information, a comparison of the...

Globalizing Cooperative Threat Reduction: A Survey of Options

Increasingly, Congress and the Bush Administration are looking to utilize nonproliferation assistance programs, including cooperative threat reduction, to help reduce the risk of terrorist access to weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In the FY2004 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 108-136, Sec. 1308), Congress authorized the Bush Administration to spend $50 million of unobligated funds from the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program in states outside the former Soviet Union. As of September 2006, the Administration had spent such funds only in Albania ($38.5 million) for the purpose...

Defense Outsourcing: The OMB Circular A-76 Policy

This report provides information on the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Circular A-76, "Performance of Commercial Activities," and the impact of a related reform initiative, the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act (FAIR) of 1998, within the Department of Defense (DOD). The Circular defines federal policy for determining whether recurring commercial activities should be transferred to performance by the private sector, or performed by federal government employees. The FAIR Act creates statutory reporting requirements for federal executive agencies, by requiring federal executive...

Disarming Libya: Weapons of Mass Destruction

On December 19, 2003, Libya announced it would dismantle its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs. Since then, U.S., British, and international officials have inspected and removed or destroyed key components of those programs, and Libya has provided valuable information, particularly about foreign suppliers. Libya’s WMD disarmament has been a critical step towards reintegration into the world community. This report will be updated as needed. See CRS Report RL33142, Libya: Background and U.S. Relations, by Christopher M. Blanchard.

Immigration Related Border Security Legislation in the 109th Congress

Border security is considered a central aspect of the United States’ overall homeland security. Securing the border involves controlling the official ports of entry (POE) through which legitimate travelers and commerce enter the country, as well as monitoring and patrolling the nation’s land and maritime borders to detect and interdict the entry of illegal persons and contraband. The Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the lead federal agency charged with securing our nation’s borders at and between POE.

In the 109th Congress, there are a...

Lebanon: The Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah Conflict

This report analyzes the conflict between Israel and two U.S. State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), the Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and the radical Palestinian Hamas organization. On July 12, 2006, what had been a localized conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip instantly became a regional conflagration after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a surprise attack along the Israeli-Lebanese border. Israel responded by carrying out air strikes against suspected Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, and Hezbollah countered...

Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is now three years old. Initially, 11 nations pledged their cooperation in interdicting shipments of weapons of mass destruction-related (WMD) materials; more than 70 nations now support PSI. Many observers believe PSI’s “strengthened political commitment of like-minded states to follow through” is a successful approach to countering proliferation, although details about PSI are sketchy. The 109th Congress has introduced eight bills supporting PSI. The State Department credits PSI with halting 11 WMD-related transfers from 2004 to 2005, and more...

Coast Guard Deepwater Program: Background and Issues for Congress

The Coast Guard’s FY2007 budget requests $934.431 million for the Deepwater acquisition program. The House-reported version of H.R. 5441, the FY2007 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill, recommends $892.64 million for the Deepwater program; the Senate-reported version recommends $993.631 million.

Potential Military Use of Airships and Aerostats

The Department of Defense (DOD) has a history of using lighter-than-air (LTA) platforms. Aerostats have recently been fielded to protect deployed U.S. troops. Contemporary interest is growing in using airships for numerous missions. This report examines the various concepts being considered and describes the issues for Congress. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Science and Technology Policy: Issues for the 109th Congress

Federal Counter-Terrorism Training: Issues for Congressional Oversight

Federal counter-terrorism training programs are varied and are provided by numerous federal agencies and departments. Some of these departments and agencies include the Departments of Defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), Homeland Security (DHS), Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice (DOJ), Transportation (DOT), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Each department and agency provides specific counter-terrorism training targeted to given categories of recipients. Training recipients include federal, state, and local government personnel, emergency responders, and private and public...

U.S. Policy Regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC)

One month after the International Criminal Court (ICC) officially came into existence on July 1, 2002, the President signed the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act (ASPA), which limits U.S. government support and assistance to the ICC; curtails certain military assistance to many countries that have ratified the Rome Statute establishing the ICC; regulates U.S. participation in United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping missions commenced after July 1, 2003; and, most controversially among European allies, authorizes the President to use “all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the...

Commemorative Observances: A Chronological List

Historically, national commemorative observances were often recommended by Congress through the legislative process. This practice was for the most part discontinued by the House of Representatives in January 1995, although the Senate continues to issue sense of the Senate resolutions recommending for special observances to be designated by a proclamation issued by the President. This report is a chronological list of proclamations for the years 2004 through early 2006, indicating the proclamation number and its Federal Register citation.

Cuba and the State Sponsors of Terrorism List

Cuba was first added to the State Department’s list of states sponsoring international terrorism in 1982, pursuant to Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (P.L. 96-72). At the time, numerous U.S. government reports and statements under the Reagan Administration alleged Cuba’s ties to international terrorism and its support for terrorist groups in Latin America. Cuba had a history of supporting revolutionary movements and governments in Latin America and Africa, but in 1992 Fidel Castro stressed that his country’s support for insurgents abroad was a thing of the past....

The Persian Gulf States: Issues for U.S. Policy, 2006

The U.S.-led war to overthrow Saddam Hussein virtually ended Iraq’s ability to militarily threaten the region, but it has produced new and un-anticipated security challenges for the Persian Gulf states (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates). The Gulf states, which are all led by Sunni Muslim regimes, fear that Shiite Iran is unchecked now that Iraq is strategically weak. The Gulf states strongly resent that pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim groups and their Kurdish allies (who are not Arabs) have obtained preponderant power within Iraq. This has led most of the...

Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS): Background and Issues for Congress

The Navy's proposed FY2007 budget requests $521 million to procure two Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs). The House-reported version of the FY2007 defense appropriations bill recommends approval of this request. The Senate-reported version recommends funding one LCS in FY2007 and rescinding funding for one of the three LCSs procured in FY2006. For a longer discussion of the LCS program, see CRS Report RL32109, Navy DDG-1000 (DD(X)), CG(X), and LCS Ship Acquisition Programs: Oversight Issues and Options for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Legislation in the 109th Congress

This report reviews the status of energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation introduced during the 109th Congress. Action in the second session has focused on appropriations bills; the first session focused on omnibus energy policy bill H.R. 6 ( P.L. 109-58 ), H.R. 3 ( P.L. 109-59 ), and several appropriations bills. The enacted version of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( P.L. 109-58 , H.R. 6 ) authorizes or reauthorizes several energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. It also establishes several new commercial and consumer product efficiency standards, sets new goals...

U.S. Conventional Forces and Nuclear Deterrence: A China Case Study

Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD) are engaged in an extended discourse over the future direction of U.S. defense strategy and military force structure. In the past, these discussions have focused almost exclusively on questions related to U.S. conventional military forces, with discussions about nuclear weapons held in separate fora. However, the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) examined both nuclear and conventional forces, a first in the QDR's history. This indicates that analysts both inside and outside government are beginning to review and assess the potential...

Federal Emergency Management and Homeland Security Organization: Historical Developments and Legislative Options

This report provides background information about the establishment and evolution of federal emergency management and related homeland security organization since 1950. Post-Katrina assessments of current arrangements by Congress and the White House are also discussed. Finally, the report provides a brief summary of related legislation that had been introduced as of July 17, 2006.

Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

Child Nutrition and WIC Legislation in the 108th and 109th Congresses

Child nutrition programs (e.g., school meal programs, summer food service, child care food programs) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (the WIC Program) are subject to periodic comprehensive reviews, when appropriations and other authorities expire and have to be reauthorized. They were up for reauthorization review in the 108th Congress, and the only substantial child nutrition-WIC legislation in the 108th Congress, and so far in the 109th Congress, has been the 2004 reauthorization law -- the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of...

Combat Aircraft Sales to South Asia: Potential Implications

On June 28, 2006, the Bush Administration announced its proposal to sell 36 F-16 C/D Block 50/52 Falcon combat aircraft to Pakistan at an estimated case value of $3 billion. The F-16 Falcon is a single engine multi-role aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp. Its relatively low cost and high versatility make the F-16 one of the most exported fighter aircraft in the world. The F-16 was first fielded in 1979 and has been upgraded significantly. The capabilities of the F-16 vary greatly depending on the upgrade or modification fielded. The most modern F-16 flown by the...

Army Officer Shortages: Background and Issues for Congress

The Army’s enlisted recruiting shortfall in 2005 generated significant congressional and media interest, and served as the impetus for several legislative initiatives. However, until very recently, there has been little mention or visibility of potential shortages in the Army’s officer corps. This problem is currently unique to the Army. While specific skill shortages and imbalances have been reported by the other services, only the Army is reflecting service-wide active component shortages.

The Army currently projects an officer shortage of nearly 3,000 in FY2007, with the most acute...

United Nations Peacekeeping: Issues for Congress

Transportation Security: Issues for the 109th Congress

The nation's air, land, and marine transportation systems are designed for accessibility and efficiency, two characteristics that make them highly vulnerable to terrorist attack. The focus of this issue brief is how best to construct and finance a system of deterrence, protection, and response that effectively reduces the possibility and consequences of another terrorist attack without unduly interfering with travel, commerce, and civil liberties.

Nuclear Weapons: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

Foreign Policy Budget Trends: A Thirty-Year Review

There have been sharp debates over the past three decades concerning the appropriate level of funding for U.S. foreign policy programs, and it is likely that these debates will continue as Congress reviews the President's FY2007 budget proposal. The past 30 years have witnessed wide swings in the amounts of U.S. resources committed to advancing foreign policy and national security interests, reflecting changes in global challenges faced by the United States. Efforts to promote peace in the Middle East, to confront Soviet influence, to support new democracies in the post-Cold War era,...

FY2006 Supplemental Appropriations: Iraq and Other International Activities; Additional Hurricane Katrina Relief

This report discusses the two separate FY2006 supplemental appropriations requests submitted on February 16, 2006. The first, totaling $72.4 billion, would fund ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan ($67.9 billion), non-DOD intelligence operations ($0.3 billion), State Department operations in Iraq and various foreign aid programs, including additional assistance for Iraq ($4.2 billion), and other counter-terrorism funding for other agencies ($12 million). The other supplemental would provide $19.8 billion for recovery and reconstruction activities in hurricane affected Gulf...

U.S. Space Programs: Civilian, Military, and Commercial

The future of the U.S. human space flight program is dominating debate about NASA. Pursuant to the "Vision for Space Exploration" announced by President Bush in January 2004, the shuttle program is to be terminated in 2010. The Vision directs NASA to focus its activities on returning humans to the Moon by 2020 and eventually sending them to Mars. How to manage Department of Defense (DOD) space programs to avoid the cost growth and schedule delays that have characterized several recent projects is a key issue facing DOD. The appropriate role of the government in facilitating commercial...

Defense Authorization and Appropriations Bills: FY1970-FY2006

This report is a research aid, which lists the DOD authorization bills (Table 1) and appropriations bills (Table 2). This report includes all the pertinent information on the passage of these bills through the legislative process: bill numbers, report numbers, dates reported and passed, recorded vote numbers and vote tallies, dates of passage of the conference reports with their numbers and votes, vetoes, substitutions, dates of final passage, and public law numbers. Table 3 shows real growth or decline in national defense funding for FY1940-FY2009. Table 4 gives a more detailed picture of...

Taiwan: Recent Developments and U.S. Policy Choices

Under the Bush Administration, U.S.-China-Taiwan relations have undergone a number of changes. Initially, the new Administration seemed to abandon the long-standing U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan in favor of "strategic clarity" that placed more emphasis on Taiwan's interests and less on PRC concerns. President Bush's first term has been a time of increasing complexity and unpredictability in Taiwan's political environment. Political trends in Taiwan have raised anxieties about its future and the implications for U.S. policy.

Nigeria in Political Transition

On June 8, 1998, General Sani Abacha, the military leader who took power in Nigeria in 1993, died of a reported heart attack and was replaced by General Abdulsalam Abubakar. General Abubakar released political prisoners and initiated political, economic, and social reforms. Relations between the United States and Nigeria improved with the subsequent transfer of power to a civilian government. Nigeria continues to make progress in strengthening its fragile democracy but faces serious economic challenges. Nigeria remains relatively stable, although ethnic and religious clashes in some parts...

POWs and MIAs: Status and Accounting Issues

There has been a long-running controversy about the fate of certain U.S. prisoners of war (POWs) and servicemembers missing in action (MIAs) as a result of various U.S. military operations. While few people familiar with the issue feel that any Americans are still being held against their will in communist countries associated with the Cold War, more feel that some may have been so held in the past in the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, or North Vietnam. Similarly, few believe there has been a “conspiracy” to cover up the existence of live POWs, but many would maintain that there was, at...

Technology Transfer: Use of Federally Funded Research and Development

The government spends approximately one third of the $83 billion federal R&D budget for intramural research and development to meet mission requirements in over 700 government laboratories. Congress has established a system to facilitate the transfer of technology to the private sector and to state and local governments. Despite this, use of federal R&D results has remained restrained, although there has been a significant increase in private sector interest and activities over the past several years. At issue is whether incentives for technology transfer remain necessary, if additional...

Cooperative R&D: Federal Efforts to Promote Industrial Competitiveness

In response to the foreign challenge in the global marketplace, the United States Congress has explored ways to stimulate technological advancement in the private sector. The government has supported various efforts to promote cooperative research and development activities among industry, universities, and the federal R&D establishment designed to increase the competitiveness of American industry and to encourage the generation of new products, processes, and services.

Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement: Debate Over Government Policy

There is ongoing interest in the pace of U.S. technological advancement due to its influence on U.S. economic growth, productivity, and international competitiveness. Because technology can contribute to economic growth and productivity increases, congressional interest has focused on how to augment private-sector technological development. Congressional action has mandated specific technology development programs and obligations in federal agencies that did not initially support such efforts. Some legislative activity, beginning in the 104th Congress, has been directed at eliminating or...

India-U.S. Relations

The end of the Cold War freed India-U.S. relations from the constraints of global bipolarity, but interactions continued for a decade to be affected by the burden of history, most notably the longstanding India-Pakistan rivalry and nuclear weapons proliferation in the region. Recent years, however, have witnessed a sea change in bilateral relations, with more positive interactions becoming the norm. India's swift offer of full support for U.S.-led counterterrorism operations after September 2001 was widely viewed as reflective of such change. The United States seeks to curtail the...

Environmental Protection Issues in the 109th Congress

Environmental protection concerns span a wide variety of issues, including clean air, water quality, chemical security, and environmental aspects of other major issue areas such as transportation and defense. This issue brief provides an overview of key environmental issues that are receiving or may receive attention in the 109th Congress. The sections on specific issues contain references to more detailed and extensive CRS reports on the subjects covered.

Israel: Background and Relations with the United States

Central Asia: Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests

This report provides an overview of U.S. policy concerns and relations with countries in central Asia. The report discusses issues such as Fostering Pro-Western Orientations, Obstacles to Peace and Independence, Democratization and Human Rights, Security and Arms Control, Trade and Investment, and provides an Aid Overview.

Pakistan-U.S. Relations

Russia

Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress

This report discusses the Japan - U.S. relations. The alliance, with its access to bases in Japan, where about 53,000 U.S. troops are stationed, facilitates the forward deployment of U.S. military forces in the Asia-Pacific, thereby undergirding U.S. national security strategy.

Nuclear Command and Control: Current Programs and Issues

The Nuclear Command and Control System (NCCS) infrastructure supports the President and his combatant commanders when they direct nuclear forces. This report discusses the current role of the NCCS in light of the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), examines current issues surrounding the NCCS, reviews modernization initiatives, summarizes NCCS functions and characteristics, and reviews NCCS platforms. Key NCCS platforms include fixed locations such as the National Military Command Center (NMCC), the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Global...

Military Medical Care Services: Questions and Answers

North Korea: A Chronology of Events in 2005

This report provides a chronology of events relevant to U.S. relations with North Korea in 2005 and is a continuation of CRS Report RL32743, North Korea: A Chronology of Events, October 2002-December 2004, by Mark E. Manyin, Emma Chanlett-Avery, and Helene Machart. The chronology includes significant meetings, events, and statements that shed light on the issues surrounding North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. An introductory analysis highlights the key developments and notes other significant regional dynamics. Particular attention is paid to the Six-Party Talks, inter-Korean relations,...

Nuclear Arms Control: The U.S.-Russian Agenda

China-Southeast Asia Relations: Trends, Issues, and Implications for the United States

Southeast Asia has been considered by some to be a region of relatively low priority in U.S. foreign and security policy. The war against terror has changed that and brought renewed U.S. attention to Southeast Asia, especially to countries afflicted by Islamic radicalism. To some, this renewed focus, driven by the war against terror, has come at the expense of attention to other key regional issues such as China's rapidly expanding engagement with the region. Some fear that rising Chinese influence in Southeast Asia has come at the expense of U.S. ties with the region, while others...

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean

Trends in U.S. assistance to the Latin America and Caribbean region generally reflect the trends and rationales for U.S. foreign aid programs globally. Aid to the region increased during the 1960s with the Alliance for Progress and during the 1980s with aid to Central America. Since 2000, aid levels have increased, especially in the Andean region as the focus has shifted from Cold War issues to counternarcotics and security assistance. Current aid levels to Latin America and the Caribbean comprise about 11.8% of the worldwide FY2006 bilateral aid budget. Amounts requested for FY2007 would...

Transnational Organized Crime: Principal Threats and U.S. Responses

This report examines the growing threat of transnational organized crime to U.S. national security and global stability. The end of the Cold War -- along with increasing globalization beginning in the 1990s -- has helped criminal organizations expand their activities and gain global reach. Criminal networks are believed to have benefitted from the weakening of certain government institutions, more open borders, and the resurgence of ethnic and regional conflicts across the former Soviet Union and many other regions. Transnational criminal organizations have also exploited expanding...

Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress

DOD's National Security Personnel System: Statute, Regulations, and Implementation Plans

Title XI of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2004, P.L. 108-136 , includes provisions on a National Security Personnel System (NSPS) for the Department of Defense (DOD) and provisions on personnel management that are applicable government-wide. The law was enacted on November 24, 2003. Title XI, Subtitle A, of the law authorizes the Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish a new human resources management (HRM) system for DOD's civilian employees and to jointly prescribe regulations for the system. The Secretary and the...

Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues

Military Pay and Benefits: Key Questions and Answers

U.S.-India Bilateral Agreements and "Global Partnership"

India is enjoying rapidly growing diplomatic and economic clout on the world stage, and the course of its rise (along with that of China) is identified as one of the most important variables in 21st century international relations. In recognition of these developments, U.S. policy makers have sought to expand and deepen U.S. links with India. On July 18, 2005, President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a Joint Statement resolving to establish a “global partnership” between the United States and India through increased cooperation on numerous economic, security, and...

Energy Policy Act of 2005: Summary and Analysis of Enacted Provisions

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( P.L. 109-58 ), signed by President Bush on August 8, 2005, was the first omnibus energy legislation enacted in more than a decade. Spurred by rising energy prices and growing dependence on foreign oil, the new energy law was shaped by competing concerns about energy security, environmental quality, and economic growth. Major provisions in the bill include: Electricity. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is authorized to certify a national electric reliability organization (ERO) to enforce mandatory reliability standards for the bulk-power...

China and the CNOOC Bid for Unocal: Issues for Congress

The bid by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to acquire the U.S. energy company Unocal for $18.5 billion raised many issues with U.S. policymakers. This report provides an overview and analysis of the CNOOC bid, U.S. interests, implications for U.S. energy security, U.S. investment in the PRC’s (People’s Republic of China’s) oil industry, the process for reviewing the security and other implications of foreign investment in the United States, Congressional activity, and a listing of unresolved issues.

Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal

"Bunker Busters": Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator Issues, FY2005-FY2007

Earth penetrator weapons, often called "bunker busters," burrow into the ground some tens of feet before detonating, greatly increasing their ability to destroy buried targets. The United States has several types of conventional earth penetrators. The current U.S. nuclear earth penetrator, the B61-11 bomb, cannot penetrate certain types of terrain in which hardened underground facilities may be located, so the Air Force and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) are studying a more effective penetrator, the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP). While Secretary of Defense...

Homeland Security: Protecting Airliners from Terrorist Missiles

Recent events have focused attention on the threat that terrorists with shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), referred to as Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS), pose to commercial airliners. Most believe that no single solution exists to effectively mitigate this threat. Instead, a menu of options may be considered, including installing infrared (IR) countermeasures on aircraft; modifying flight operations and air traffic control procedures; improving airport and regional security; and strengthening missile non-proliferation efforts. Equipping aircraft with...

POWs and MIAs: Status and Accounting Issues

Terrorism in Southeast Asia

Nuclear Terrorism: A Brief Review of Threats and Responses

China: Economic Sanctions

The United States currently maintains the following economic sanctions against China: limits on U.S. foreign assistance;
U.S. “No” votes or abstention in the international banks;
ban on Overseas Private Investment Corporation programs;
ban on export of defense articles or defense services;
ban on import of munitions or ammunition;
ban on procurement of goods and services listed on the munitions list in the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations;
denial of Generalized System of Preferences status;
substantial export controls on dual-use items,...

China: Suspected Acquisition of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Secrets

This CRS Report discusses China’s suspected acquisition of U.S. nuclear weapon secrets, including that on the W88, the newest U.S. nuclear warhead. This serious controversy became public in early 1999 and raised policy issues about whether U.S. security was further threatened by China’s suspected use of U.S. nuclear weapon secrets in its development of nuclear forces, as well as whether the Administration’s response to the security problems was effective or mishandled and whether it fairly used or abused its investigative and prosecuting authority. The Clinton Administration acknowledged...

Nuclear Weapons Complex Reconfiguration: Analysis of an Energy Department Task Force Report

Congress annually funds the nuclear weapons complex (the Complex), those sites that develop, maintain, manufacture, and dismantle nuclear weapons. In hearings held in 2004, the House Appropriations Committee pressed the Secretary of Energy "for a systematic review of requirements for the weapons complex over the next twenty-five years." The committee expressed its concern that the Complex is not well suited to the post-Cold War situation, and should reflect presidential decisions on the stockpile as well as issues of cost, security, and Complex size. In response, the Nuclear Weapons...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2006

The Bush Administration requested $132.4 billion in federal research and development (R&D) funding for FY2006. This sum represents a $400 million increase over the FY2005 estimated funding level of $132 billion. CRS estimates that Congress has approved a record $135.7 billion for federal R&D in FY2006, a 2.8% increase over the FY2005 estimated funding level. However, nearly all of that increase can be attributed to increases in defense weapons systems and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's $877 million increase for human space exploration technology. (1) (See Table 13) ...

Military Space Programs: Issues Concerning DOD's SBIRS and STSS Programs

The Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) programs to develop new satellites to alert U.S. military commanders to foreign missile launches, and to support missile defense objectives, are controversial because of cost growth and schedule slippage. SBIRS-High, managed by the Air Force, would replace existing Defense Support Program “early warning” satellites. The Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS, formerly SBIRS-Low), managed by the Missile Defense Agency, would perform missile tracking and target discrimination for missile defense objectives. The SBIRS-High program has breached...

Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI) and Related Funding Programs: FY2006 Assistance

In 2005, Congress considered a number of issues relating to the Andean region and drug trafficking, including continued funding for the Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI) and conditions on U.S. assistance. In addition to ACI, Andean countries benefit from Foreign Military Financing (FMF), International Military Education and Training (IMET) funds, and other types of economic aid. Congress continues to express concern with the volume of drugs readily available in the United States and elsewhere in the world. The three largest producers of cocaine are Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. Ninety...

Foreign Operations (House)/State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (Senate): FY2006 Appropriations

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill in the House, and the State, Foreign Operations measure in the Senate are the primary legislative vehicles through which Congress reviews the U.S. international affairs budgets and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. They contain the largest shares—the House bill, about two-thirds; the Senate bill, about 97%—of total U.S. international affairs spending.

Funding for Foreign Operations and State Department/Broadcasting programs have been rising for five consecutive years, while amounts approved in FY2004 reached an...

Military Aviation: Issues and Options for Combating Terrorism and Counterinsurgency

By all accounts, the U.S. military dominates state-on-state conflict. In the past, non-state actors (terrorists, guerrillas, drug traffickers) appeared to be less threatening to U.S. national security than the well funded, well organized, and potent armed forces of an enemy nation-state. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 illustrate, however, that small groups of non-state actors can exploit relatively inexpensive and commercially available technology to conduct very destructive attacks over great distances. Today's U.S. armed forces were developed principally with state-on-state...

Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom: Questions and Answers About U.S. Military Personnel, Compensation, and Force Structure

This report provides short answers to commonly asked questions about military personnel, compensation, and force structure issues related to Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Operation Noble Eagle is the name given to military operations related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Operation Enduring Freedom includes ongoing operations in Afghanistan, operations against terrorists in other countries, and training assistance to foreign militaries which...

U.S. Military Overseas Basing: New Developments and Oversight Issues for Congress

On August 16, 2004, President Bush announced a program of sweeping changes to the numbers and locations of military basing facilities at overseas locations, now known as the Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy (IGPBS) or Global Posture Review. Roughly 70,000 personnel would return from overseas locations from Europe and Asia to bases in the continental United States (CONUS). Other overseas forces would be redistributed within current host nations such as Germany and South Korea, while new bases would be established in nations of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Africa. In the...

Teacher Recruitment and Retention: Federal, State, and Local Programs

European Union's Arms Embargo on China: Implications and Options for U.S. Policy

The European Union (EU) has been considering lifting its arms embargo on China, which was imposed in response to the June 1989 Tiananmen Crackdown. France, Germany, and other EU members claim that the embargo hinders the development of a "strategic partnership" with China. The Bush Administration and Members of Congress strongly oppose an end to the EU's arms embargo and urge stronger arms export controls. The United States contends that engagement with China need not send the wrong signals on China's human rights record and military buildup that threatens a peaceful resolution of Taiwan...

High Performance Computers and Export Control Policy: Issues for Congress

Congress has a strong interest in export control policy with regard to technologies that may have both commercial and military applications outside of the United States. Through its constitutionally delegated authority to regulate foreign commerce, Congress has the authority to control exports for national security or foreign policy purposes. This report examines congressional interest in the exportation of High Performance Computers, which are either single computing machines (usually called supercomputers) or a cluster of easily available, high-end workstations or personal computers.

NPT Compliance Issues

President Bush remarked in 2005 that "[Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty] NPT Parties must take strong action to confront the threat of noncompliance with the NPT...We cannot allow rogue states that violate their commitments...to undermine the NPT's fundamental role in strengthening international security." North Korea and Iran pose two clear compliance challenges to the treaty. However, some NPT parties are adamant that the United States and other nuclear weapon states are not complying with their own obligations to pursue nuclear disarmament. This report, which will be updated as needed,...

Hurricane Katrina: DOD Disaster Response

The issue that has received the most attention in post-Katrina discussions is the speed of rescue and relief operations. The Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) Northern Command began its alert and coordination procedures before Katrina’s landfall; however, many deployments did not reach the affected area until days later. An examination of the timeline of DOD’s response and the decision points along that timeline could provide insight into whether the response could have been accelerated given the intensity of the storm and the extent of the destruction. Both the National Response Plan and...

Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment

This report discusses the recent controversy that has arisen regarding U.S. treatment of enemy combatants and terrorist suspects detained in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, and whether such treatment complies with U.S. statutes and treaties such as the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Congress recently approved additional guidelines concerning the treatment of detainees. The Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic...

Homeland Security Department: FY2006 Appropriations

This report describes the FY2006 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a net appropriation of $30.6 billion in net budget authority for FY2006, of which $29.6 billion is discretionary budget authority, and $1 billion is mandatory budget authority. P.L. 109-90 was signed into law on October 18, 2005, and provides a net appropriation of $31.9 billion for DHS and $30.8 billion in discretionary budget authority.

The President’s request for appropriations includes the following break out of net budget authority for the four Titles of the DHS...

The United States and Europe: Possible Options for U.S. Policy

The United States and Europe share a long and intertwined history, replete with many ups and downs. The modern transatlantic relationship was forged in the aftermath of World War II to deter the Soviet threat and to promote security and stability in Europe. NATO and the European Union (EU), the latest stage in a process of European integration begun in the 1950s, are the two key pillars upon which the U.S.-European partnership still rests. The U.S. Congress and successive U.S. administrations have supported both organizations as means to nourish democracy, foster reliable military allies,...

Libya: Legislative Basis for U.S. Economic Sanctions

This report discusses U.S. laws and executive orders that impose economic sanctions currently in place against Libya, including whether they can be changed by executive action, and exemptions to the sanctions that could make foreign assistance available. This report will be updated as events warrant.

U.S. Military Operations in the Global War on Terrorism: Afghanistan, Africa, the Philippines, and Colombia

U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, Africa, the Philippines, and Colombia are part of the U.S.-initiated Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). These operations cover a wide variety of combat and non-combat missions ranging from combating insurgents, to civil affairs and reconstruction operations, to training military forces of other nations in counternarcotics, counterterrorism, and counterinsurgency tactics. Numbers of U.S. forces involved in these operations range from 19,000 to just a few hundred. Some have argued that U.S. military operations in these countries are achieving a degree of...

Defense: FY2006 Authorization and Appropriations

The House approved conference agreements on the FY2006 defense appropriations (H.R. 2863) and defense authorization (H.R. 1815) bills on December 19, 2005. The Senate approved both measures on December 21, though only after removing from the appropriations bill a provision to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. On December 22, the House approved an enrolling resolution that removed the ANWR provision, clearing the measure for the President. The appropriations bill is also a vehicle for other measures, including reallocation of $29 billion in Hurricane Katrina...

Nuclear Nonproliferation Issues

Transportation, the Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, the Executive Office of the President, and Independent Agencies: FY2006 Appropriations

At the beginning of the 109th Congress, both the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations reorganized their subcommittee structure, affecting the coverage of the FY2006 appropriations bills. As a result, the appropriations subcommittees that previously oversaw the Departments of Transportation and the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President, and Independent Agencies now also oversee the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and (in the case of the House, but not the Senate) the District of Columbia.

The Bush Administration requested $126.1 billion for...

Military Health Care: The Issue of "Promised" Benefits

Many military health care beneficiaries, particularly military retirees, their dependents, and those representing their interests, state that they were promised "free health care for life at military facilities" as part of their "contractual agreement" when they entered the armed forces. Efforts to locate authoritative documentation of such promises have not been successful. Congressional report language and recent court decisions have rejected retiree claims seeking 'free care at military facilities' as a right or entitlement. These have stated that the medical benefit structure made up...

The Rise of China and Its Effect on Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea: U.S. Policy Choices

The economic rise of China and the growing network of trade and investment relations in northeast Asia are causing major changes in human, economic, political, and military interaction among countries in the region. This is affecting U.S. relations with China, China's relations with its neighbors, the calculus for war across the Taiwan Straits, and the basic interests and policies of China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. These, in turn, affect U.S. strategy in Asia. China, for example, has embarked on a "smile strategy" in which it is attempting to coopt the interests of neighboring...

FY2006 Appropriations for the Department of Transportation

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is funded through annual appropriations acts. For FY2006, the Administration requested $58.3 billion for the Department of Transportation. This is $1.4 billion (2%) less than the $59.7 billion provided for FY2005. The major proposed reductions were the Administration’s zeroing out of Amtrak (down from $1.2 billion in FY2005) and a reduction in funding for the Airport Improvement Program (to $3.0 billion, $500 million (14%) below FY2005’s $3.5 billion).

The FY2006 budget also reflected a statutory change to one of the DOT’s...

Military Quality of Life/VA (House) and Military Construction/VA (Senate): FY2006 Appropriations

The structure of the Committees on Appropriations underwent significant change with the beginning of the 109th Congress. As a result, jurisdictions over the appropriations covered in this report, including military construction, military housing allowances, military installation maintenance and operation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other veteran-related agencies, rest in the House Committee on Appropriations with the new Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs. In the Senate Committee on Appropriations, jurisdiction for military construction, the...

Space Stations

Science, State, Justice, Commerce and Related Agencies (House)/Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (Senate): FY2006 Appropriations

This report monitors actions taken by the 109th Congress for the House’s Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies (SSJC) and the Senate’s Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) FY2006 appropriations legislation. Appropriations bills reflect the jurisdiction of the subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in which they are considered. Jurisdictions for the subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees changed at the beginning of the 109th Congress. In the 108th Congress, both the House and Senate subcommittees had...

Missile Defense: The Current Debate

The United States has pursued missile defenses since the dawn of the missile age shortly after World War II. The development and deployment of missile defenses has not only been elusive, but has been one of the most divisive issues of the past generation until recent years. The Bush Administration substantially altered the debate over missile defenses. The Administration requested significant funding increases for missile defense programs, eliminated the distinction between national and theater missile defense, restructured the missile defense program to focus more directly on developing...

Energy and Water Development: FY2006 Appropriations

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill in the past included funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies.

After the budget request for FY2006 was submitted in February 2005, both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees reorganized their subcommittee structure and with it the content of the various appropriations bills to be introduced. In the case of Energy and Water Development, the only changes were...

The International Space Station and the Iran Nonproliferation Act (INA): The Bush Administration's Proposed INA Amendment

The Iran Nonproliferation Act (P.L. 106-178), as originally enacted, prohibited the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from purchasing Russian goods and services for the U.S.-led International Space Station (ISS) unless the President certified that Russia was not proliferating certain technologies to Iran. On July 12, 2005, the Bush Administration submitted to Congress an amendment to allow NASA to purchase goods and services from Russia to support the ISS. That presented a classic policy dilemma. Without access to Russian spacecraft, the U.S. use of the ISS could...

Homeland Security: Navy Operations — Background and Issues for Congress

This report discusses the Navy's homeland security (HLS) and homeland defense (HLD) operations, which raise several potential oversight issues for Congress, including Navy coordination with the Coast Guard in HLS and HLD operations.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress

The war on terrorism has put a high premium on a primary mission of UAVs, intelligence gathering. Furthermore, the military effectiveness of UAVs in recent conflicts such as Iraq (1990) and Kosovo (1999) opened the eyes of many to both the advantages and disadvantages provided by unmanned aircraft. Long relegated to the sidelines in military operations, UAVs are now making national headlines as they are used in ways normally reserved for manned aircraft. Conventional wisdom states that UAVs offer two main advantages over manned aircraft: they are considered more cost-effective, and they...

The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) and the Army's Future Combat System (FCS): Issues for Congress

The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) is a Department of Defense (DOD) program that would play a significant role in the U.S Army's proposed Future Combat System (FCS) program. (For a more detailed description of the FCS program see CRS Report RL32888 , The Army's Future Combat System(FCS): Background and Issues for Congress , by Andrew Feickert.) JTRS, envisioned as a family of software programmable radios, has been described as the "backbone" of the FCS and is intended to link the 18 manned and unmanned systems that would constitute FCS. Two JTRS sub-programs managed by the Army --...

Committee Controls of Agency Decisions

Congress has a long history of subjecting certain types of executive agency decisions to committee control, either by committees or subcommittees. Especially with the beginning of World War II, the executive branch agreed to committee controls as an accommodation that allowed Congress to delegate authority and funds broadly while using committees to monitor the use of that discretionary authority. These committee-agency arrangements took the form of different procedures: simply notifying the committee, obtaining committee approval, "coming into agreement" understandings, and using the...

Hurricane Katrina Recovery: Contracts Awarded by the Federal Government

Information about contracts and other types of government procurements made in support of hurricane recovery efforts may be obtained online from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command websites. The government-wide database, FPDS, provides the most comprehensive and detailed information, but the other three websites include contracts not currently listed in FPDS. Available information about government procurements includes, among other things, the type of award (for...

U.S. Treatment of Prisoners in Iraq: Selected Legal Issues

Photographs depicting the apparent abuse of Iraqi detainees at the hands of U.S. military personnel at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq resulted in numerous investigations, congressional hearings, and prosecutions, raising questions regarding the applicable law. The international law of armed conflict, in particular, those parts relating to belligerent occupation, applies in Iraq. The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 related to the treatment of prisoners of war (POW) and civilian detainees, as well as the Hague Regulations define the status of detainees and state responsibility for...

The Vietnam-U.S. Normalization Process

Pakistan's Domestic Political Developments

Pakistan is a strategically important country and home to one of the world's largest Muslim populations. In October 1999, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Gen. Pervez Musharraf replaced Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup. Following the military overthrow of an elected government, Islamabad faced considerable international opprobrium and was subjected to automatic coup-related U.S. sanctions. The September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and Musharraf's ensuing withdrawal of support for the Afghan Taliban regime, however, had the effect of greatly reducing Pakistan's...

Foreign Relations Authorization, FY2006 and FY2007: An Overview

The foreign relations authorization process dovetails with the annual appropriation process for the Department of State, foreign policy, and foreign assistance. Congress is required by law to authorize the spending of appropriations for the State Department and foreign policy activities every two years. The last time Congress passed a stand-alone foreign relations authorization bill was in FY2003 ( P.L. 107-228 ). Foreign assistance authorization measures (such as authorization for the U.S. Agency for International Development, economic and military assistance to foreign countries,...

Hurricane Katrina: Shipping Disruptions

This report discusses hurricane Katrina, the extent of the damage, how soon normal port operations can resume, and which shippers in particular will have the hardest time adapting should the disruption continue for an extended period.

Terrorism in South Asia

This report reviews the recent incidence of terrorism in South Asia, concentrating on Pakistan and India, but also including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. The existence of international terrorist groups and their supporters in South Asia is identified as a threat to both regional stability and to the attainment of central U.S. policy goals. Al Qaeda forces that fled from Afghanistan with their Taliban supporters remain active on Pakistani territory, and Al Qaeda is believed to have links with indigenous Pakistani terrorist groups that have conducted anti-Western attacks...

Republic of the Marshall Islands Changed Circumstances Petition to Congress

In September 2000, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) government submitted to the United States Congress a Changed Circumstances Petition related to U.S. nuclear testing on the Marshall Islands atolls of Bikini and Enewetak during the 1940s and 1950s. The Petition requests additional compensation for personal injuries and property damages and restoration costs, medical care programs, health services infrastructure and training, and radiological monitoring. According to various estimates, between 1954 and 2004, the United States spent over $500 million on nuclear test compensation...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004

This report is prepared annually to provide unclassified quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years. Some general data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world.

Developing nations continue to be the primary focus of foreign arms sales activity by weapons suppliers. During the years 1997-2004, the value of arms transfer agreements with...

Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination

Stopping the ability of terrorists to finance their operations is a key component of the U.S. counterterrorism strategy. To accomplish this, the Administration has implemented a three-tiered approach based on (1) intelligence and domestic legal and regulatory efforts; (2) technical assistance to provide capacity-building programs for U.S. allies; and (3) global efforts to create international norms and guidelines. Effective implementation of this strategy requires the participation of, and coordination among, several elements of the U.S. Government. This report provides an...

Cruise Missile Proliferation

About 75 countries currently possess cruise missiles. (1) Many experts predict that anti -- ship and land attack cruise missile proliferation will increase in terms of both scope and technological sophistication. This report will be updated as events warrant.

  1. Cruise missiles differ from ballistic missiles in that they are powered throughout their entire flight and fly a relatively flat, as opposed to ballistic, course to the target.

Missile Survey: Ballistic and Cruise Missiles of Selected Foreign Countries

This report provides a current summary of ballistic and cruise missile activity in selected countries and discusses implications for U.S. national security policy. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Terms of Reference Handbook defines a ballistic missile as “a missile that is guided during powered flight and unguided during free flight when the trajectory that it follows is subject only to the external influences of gravity and atmospheric drag” and a cruise missile as “a long-range, low-flying guided missile that can be launched from air, sea, and land.”...

Omnibus Energy Legislation, 109th Congress: Side-by-Side Assessment of House and Senate Versions of H.R. 6

The House approved an omnibus energy bill ( H.R. 6 ) on April 21, 2005, that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas leasing, substantially change oversight of electric utilities, increase the use of alternative motor fuels, provide $8.1 billion in energy tax incentives, and authorize numerous energy R&D programs. The Senate passed its version of H.R. 6 on June 28 without ANWR provisions but with $14.1 billion in tax incentives -- including a nuclear energy production credit -- and provisions on global climate change. Highlights of the bills include:

...

Liberia's Post-War Transition: Key Issues

Liberia appears on course to hold elections in October 2005, a key goal of a peace accord signed in August 2003. It ended Liberia's second civil war in a decade, and led to the current post-war transition process, which is U.S.-aided. Liberia's security situation is stable but subject to periodic volatility. Humanitarian conditions are improving. Progress on governance has been mixed. The case of Liberia's former president, Charles Taylor, a war crimes indictee living in exile in Nigeria, remains unresolved. This periodically updated report augments CRS Report RL32243 , ...

Vieques and Culebra Islands: An Analysis of Cleanup Status and Costs

For decades, the U.S. Navy conducted ship-to-shore bombing exercises and other live-fire training activities on Vieques Island and Culebra Island, located off the coast of Puerto Rico. In response to concerns about risks to public safety, human health, and the environment, Congress directed the Navy to close its training facilities on Vieques Island in 2003 and to relocate them elsewhere. The Navy has begun to investigate the presence of munitions and related contamination on Vieques to determine the cleanup actions that will be necessary to protect human health and the environment, and...

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Pro and Con

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) would ban all nuclear explosions. President Clinton signed it in 1996 and transmitted it to the Senate in 1997. The Senate rejected it in 1999. To enter into force, 44 named nations, including the United States, must ratify the treaty. The Bush Administration opposes ratification but has maintained a moratorium on nuclear testing begun in 1992. This report presents pros and cons of key arguments: the treaty's implications for nuclear nonproliferation, for maintaining and developing nuclear weapons, for the value of nuclear weapons, and for...

Active Sonar and Marine Mammals: Chronology with References

The deployment of active sonar by the U.S. Navy and its potential impacts on marine mammals has been an ongoing issue of intense debate; regulatory, legislative, and judicial activity; and international concern. This report provides a chronology of significant events and documents since 1994.

Poland: Background and Current Issues

Poland and the United States have enjoyed close relations, particularly since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Warsaw has been a reliable supporter and ally in the global war on terrorism and has contributed troops to the U.S.-led coalitions in Afghanistan and in Iraq -- where it assumed a leading role. Over the past year, however, many Poles have concluded that their country's involvement in Iraq has increasingly become a political liability, particularly on the domestic front. With elections scheduled for September 2005, the government has announced a phased...

Macedonia (FYROM): Post-Conflict Situation and U.S. Policy

In early 2001, an eight-month conflict between ethnic Albanian insurgent forces and Macedonian police and security forces threatened to derail the country's fragile stability and lead to another extended conflict in the Balkans. Later that year, U.S. and European intervention led to the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which outlined a package of political reforms to expand the rights of the ethnic Albanian minority while rebel forces were disarmed and disbanded under NATO supervision. Implementation of the Ohrid agreement proceeded slowly at first but has progressed in recent...

Palestinian Factions

Military Base Closures: Implementing the 2005 Round

On November 15, 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced the first steps in implementing the new 2005 base realignment and closure (BRAC) law. These included development of a force structure plan, comprehensive inventory of military installations, and establishment of criteria for selecting bases for closure and realignment. The Secretary of Defense submitted a report to Congress on March 23, 2004, confirming the need for a further BRAC round and certifying that an additional round of closures and realignments would result in annual net savings, over a period ending no later...

Pakistan's Nuclear Proliferation Activities and the Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission: U.S. Policy Constraints and Options

In calling for a clear, strong, and long-term commitment to the military-dominated government of Pakistan despite serious concerns about that country's nuclear proliferation activities, The 9/11 Commission cast into sharp relief two long-standing dilemmas concerning U.S. policy towards Pakistan and South Asia. First, in an often strained security relationship spanning more than five decades, U.S. and Pakistani national security objectives have seldom been congruent. Pakistan has viewed the alliance primarily in the context of its rivalry with India, whereas American policymakers have...

Vaccine Policy Issues

This report’s focus is on vaccination, one of the most cost-effective methods available to prevent infectious diseases. Whether a vaccine’s target is naturally occurring or present because of hostile intent, the issues policy makers must deal with include vaccine development, production, availability, safety, effectiveness, and access. Vaccines are biologics: their basic components begin as living material. They introduce bacteria or dead or weakened viruses into a person or animal to stimulate an immune reaction that the body will remember if assaulted by the same pathogen in the future. ...

Combat Aircraft Sales to South Asia: Potential Implications

In March 2005, the Bush Administration announced a willingness to resume sales of F-16 combat aircraft to Pakistan. Potential sales to India are also being considered. These potential sales have political, military, and defense industrial base implications for the United States and the South Asia region. H.R. 1553 and S. 12 would impose nonproliferation conditions on these sales.

U.S.-China Counter-Terrorism Cooperation: Issues for U.S. Policy

FY2005 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan, Tsunami Relief, and Other Activities

On February 14, 2005, President Bush submitted an $81.9 billion supplemental appropriation request for FY2005 (subsequently amended to total $82.04 billion) to provide funds for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the “global war on terror,” reconstruction in Afghanistan, Tsunami relief and rehabilitation, and other activities. As the fifth supplemental of the Bush Administration to focus on the “global war on terrorism” and homeland security, these supplemental funds for FY2005 would be in addition to the $25.7 billion received in August 2004 as part of the FY2005 DOD...

Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI) and Related Funding Programs: FY2005 Assistance

In 2004, Congress considered a number of issues relating to the Andean region and drug trafficking. The Administration requested $731 million for the Andean Counterdrug Initiative for FY2005, and $114 million for economic assistance programs. Congress also changed the level of U.S. military and civilian contractor personnel allowed to be deployed in Colombia, in response to an Administration request. Congress continues to express concern with the volume of drugs readily available in the United States and elsewhere in the world. The three largest producers of cocaine are Colombia, Bolivia,...

Strategic Mobility Innovation: Options and Oversight Issues

Since the George W. Bush Administration announced its proposal to reduce the U.S. military overseas basing posture, strategic mobility has been the topic of many policy discussions. The Administration’s identification of transformation as a major goal for the Department of Defense (DOD), technological advances, the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) deployment goals, and anti-access issues also have relevance with regard to the topic of strategic mobility. The issue for the 109th Congress is to determine which investments should be pursued today to develop strategic mobility platforms to...

Detention of U.S. Citizens

In 1971, Congress passed legislation to repeal the Emergency Detention Act of 1950 and to enact the following language: “No citizen shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress.” The new language, codified at 18 U.S.C. §4001(a), is called the Non-Detention Act. This statutory provision received attention after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when the Administration designated certain U.S. citizens as “enemy combatants” and claimed the right to detain them indefinitely without charging them, bringing them to trial, or giving them access to...

Israel: U.S. Foreign Assistance

Defense Budget: Long-Term Challenges for FY2006 and Beyond

Over the next few months, Congress will be considering Administration requests for more than half a trillion dollars for national defense, including money in the regular defense budget for Fiscal Year 2006 (FY2006), supplemental appropriations for costs of ongoing military operations in FY2005, and, possibly, additional funds in FY2006 to provide a "bridge" until future supplemental appropriations for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are available. The Administration's defense budget plans face some potentially daunting, though by no means unprecedented, long-term challenges,...

Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act Contracts and Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma v. Leavitt: Agency Discretion to Fund Contract Support Costs

On March 1, 2005, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma v. Leavitt . The conflicts in the case (actually two consolidated cases) involved federal agencies’ duty to fund contract support costs for contracts with Indian tribes under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDA).

While the case in some ways turned on technical questions of statutory interpretation and appropriations law, it also presented interesting questions regarding the federal government’s legal responsibility to honor ISDA contracts and how this responsibility...

Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants

The Supreme Court in 2004 issued three decisions related to the detention of “enemy combatants,” including two that deal with U.S. citizens in military custody on American soil. In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld , a plurality held that a U.S. citizen allegedly captured during combat in Afghanistan and incarcerated at a Navy brig in South Carolina is entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard by a neutral decision-maker regarding the government’s reasons for detaining him. The Court in Rumsfeld v. Padilla overturned a lower court’s grant of habeas corpus to another U.S. citizen in military...

Strategic Airlift Modernization: Background, Issues and Options

Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami: Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Operations

On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, unleashed a tsunami that affected more than 12 countries throughout south and southeast Asia and stretched as far as the northeastern African coast. Current official estimates indicate that more than 250,000 people are dead or missing and millions of others are affected, including those injured or displaced, making this the deadliest tsunami on record. Sections of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand have suffered the worst devastation. In response, the United Nations, the...

Iraq: Frequently Asked Questions About Contracting

This report provides answers to frequently asked questions about contracts for the reconstruction and recovery in Iraq after Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and questions about contracts for providing support services to the U.S. military during and after OIF. The report describes the governing authorities for federal government contracting policy in general, and Iraqi contracting policy in particular; the contracting process, issues, and challenges; the authority of individual federal agencies; contract awards and the identity of major prime contractors; the business procurement process,...

Navy Force Architecture and Ship Acquisition: Selected FY2006 Issues for Congress

This report is based on CRS testimony at a March 10, 2005, hearing on Navy force structure and ship acquisition before the Projection Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. Since February 2003, if not earlier, there has been no current, officially approved, unambiguous plan for the future size and structure of the Navy.

The Cost of Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Enhanced Security

This CRS report estimates that the Department of Defense (DOD) has received over $201 billion for combat operations, occupation, and support for military personnel deployed or supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for enhanced security at military installations, collectively called the “global war on terrorism.”

Appropriations for FY2005: Interior and Related Agencies

The Interior and related agencies appropriations bill includes funds for the Department of the Interior (DOI), except for the Bureau of Reclamation, and for some agencies or programs within three other departments—Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services. It also funds numerous related agencies. H.R. 4568, the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for FY2005, was passed by the House (334-86) on June 17, 2004. The bill contained $20.03 billion. The Senate companion bill, S. 2804, was reported by the Senate Committee on Appropriations (S.Rept. 108-341) on September 14,...

European Union's Arms Control Regime and Arms Exports to China: Background and Legal Analysis

In recent months, discussions have been held within the European Union (EU) on the question of lifting the embargo on arms exports to the People’s Republic of China that was imposed on China on June 27, 1989. The prospect that the EU would lift its embargo on arms exports to China has led to a number of on-going discussions between EU member states and the United States government, which strongly opposes such an action at this time on human rights and security issues grounds. Key nations within the European Union, particularly France and Germany, strongly support lifting of the embargo....

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC): Property Transfer and Disposal

The Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990 and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 provide the basic framework for the transfer and disposal of military installations closed during the base realignment and closure (BRAC) process. This report provides an overview of the various authorities available under the current law and describes the planning process for the redevelopment of BRAC properties.

House Committees: A Framework for Considering Jurisdictional Realignment

The House has chosen to handle committee jurisdiction in a number of ways. It has chosen to concentrate jurisdiction over an issue in new, existing, and temporary committees. It has chosen to keep jurisdiction over components of an issue distributed among several committees. And, it has chosen to vest in one committee jurisdiction over a narrow subject matter that could just as readily have been considered a component of subject matter within another committee's jurisdiction. Rules relating to referral and the Speaker's referral authority have also been changed to deal with jurisdictional...

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Programs: Issues for Congress

Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) functions are principal elements of U.S. defense capabilities, and include a wide variety of systems for acquiring and processing information needed by national security decisionmakers and military commanders. ISR systems range in size from hand-held devices to orbiting satellites. Some collect basic information for a wide range of analytical products; others are designed to acquire data for specific weapons systems. Some are "national" systems intended primarily to collect information of interest to Washington-area agencies; others are...

Indian and Pakistani Nuclear Weapons

Until 2005, India and Pakistan were the only states outside the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to declare, openly, their nuclear weapons capability. In 1998, they tested nuclear weapons and since then, deployed ballistic missiles, enunciated nuclear doctrine, and made organizational changes to their nuclear establishments. In 2002, they teetered on the brink of war in Kashmir. This paper summarizes Indian and Pakistani nuclear weapon capabilities and thinking, and discusses some confidence-building measures in place intended to help avert nuclear war. It will be updated as events warrant.

Nuclear Threat Reduction Measures for India and Pakistan

Since India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons in 1998, there has been a debate on whether the United States should provide assistance in making those weapons safer and more secure. In the wake of September 11, 2001, interest in this kind of assistance has grown for several reasons: the possibility of terrorists gaining access to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons seems higher, the U.S. military is forging new relationships with both Pakistan and India in the war on terrorism, and heightened tension in Kashmir in 2002 threatened to push both states closer to the brink of nuclear war. In October...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2005

This report discusses federal research and development (R&D) funding for FY2005. The Bush Administration requested $131.9 billion in R&D funding for FY2005. This was $5.9 billion above the estimated $126 billion that was appropriated for federal R&D in FY2004.

North Korea: A Chronology of Events, October 2002-December 2004

This report provides a chronology of events relevant to U.S. relations with North Korea from October 2002 through December 31, 2004. The chronology includes significant meetings, events, and statements that shed light on the issues surrounding North Korea's nuclear weapons program. An introductory analysis provides background on U.S. policy preceding October 2002 as well as an overview of developments and dynamics among the major players in the North Korea nuclear dispute: South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and the United States. Particular attention is paid to the demise of the Agreed...

Terrorist Nuclear Attacks on Seaports: Threat and Response

A terrorist nuclear attack on a U.S. seaport could cause local devastation and affect the global economy. Terrorists might obtain a bomb in several ways, though each poses difficulties. Ability to detect a bomb appears limited. The United States is using technology, intelligence, international cooperation, etc., to try to thwart an attack. Issues for Congress include safeguarding foreign nuclear material, mitigating economic effects of an attack, and allocating funds between ports and other potential targets. This report will be updated as needed.

National Security Education Program: Background and Issues

The National Security Education Program (NSEP), authorized by the David L. Boren National Security Education Act of 1991 (NSEA, Title VIII of P.L. 102-183 ), provides aid for international education and foreign language studies by American undergraduate and graduate students, plus grants to institutions of higher education. The statement of purpose for the NSEA emphasizes the needs of federal government agencies, as well as the Nation's postsecondary education institutions, for an increased supply of individuals knowledgeable about the languages and cultures of foreign nations,...

Appropriations for FY2005: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. foreign aid budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. It contains the largest share—about two-thirds—of total U.S. international affairs spending.

Funding for Foreign Operations programs have been rising for five consecutive years, although amounts approved in FY2003 and FY2004 have reached unprecedented levels over the past 40 years. Substantial supplementals in both years for assistance to the front line states in the war on terrorism...

Foreign Aid: An Introductory Overview of U.S. Programs and Policy

China-U.S. Relations During the 108th Congress

"Bunker Busters": Sources of Confusion in the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator Debate

The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP), often called a "bunker buster," is at present the subject of a cost and feasibility study to determine if either of two nuclear bombs, the B61 and the B83, could be modified, mainly by adding a heavy, pointed case, so as to be able to penetrate perhaps 10 meters into earth or rock. This penetration would increase the weapon's ability, by a factor of 20 to 50, to destroy hardened and deeply buried facilities. The Department of Defense has expressed concern that potential U.S. adversaries are using such facilities because the 1991 and 2003 wars...

COLAs for Military Retirees: Summary of Congressional and Executive Branch Action, 1982-2004 (FY1983-FY2005)

The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1982 (which applied to FY1983 budget issues) suspended previously existing permanent law pertaining to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for federal civilian and military retirees, and changed the COLA calculation formulas to postpone and/or reduce future COLAs for military retirees during 1983-1985 (FY1984-FY1986). Although the COLA situation during 1983 (FY1984) remained unchanged, despite some proposals to modify the 1982 legislation so as to further reduce COLAs, the period from 1984 (the FY1985 budget) to 1986 (the FY1987 budget) was marked by...

Homeland Security: Department Organization and Management -- Implementation Phase

After substantial congressional entreatment, President George W. Bush gave impetus to the creation of a Department of Homeland Security when, on June 6, 2002, he proposed the establishment of such an entity by the 107th Congress. The President transmitted his department proposal to the House of Representatives on June 18, where it was subsequently introduced by request ( H.R. 5005 ). The House approved the bill in amended form on July 26. The Senate did not begin consideration of the legislation until after an August recess. Senate deliberations on the matter were slower due to partisan...

Science and Technology Policy: Issues for the 108th Congress, 2nd Session

Germany's Role in Fighting Terrorism: Implications for U.S. Policy

This report examines Germany's response to global Islamic terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. It looks at current German strategy, domestic efforts, and international responses, including possible gaps and weaknesses. It examines the state of U.S.-German cooperation, including problems and prospects for future cooperation. This report may be updated as needed. Although somewhat overshadowed in the public view by the strong and vocal disagreements over Iraq policy, U.S.-German cooperation in the global fight against international terrorism has been...

Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade: Key Issues for the 109th Congress

The 109th Congress will likely address a number of pressing foreign affairs, defense and trade issues. This report identifies the issues most likely to be taken up in the first session, and provides information and analysis to support Congress in shaping U.S. policy on these key issues. The report also provides lists of selected CRS products that provide more detailed analysis. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress has increasingly been confronted with issues relating to the war on terrorism and homeland security. Congress will likely be particularly interested in...

Veterans' Medical Care Appropriations and Funding Process

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility rules. Benefits to veterans range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. VA provides these benefits to veterans through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services to veterans through an integrated health care system....

Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Locations and Inventory

Appropriations for FY2005: Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies

The FY2005 Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies appropriations bill was passed as Division H of P.L. 108-447 , an omnibus appropriations bill, and was signed into law on December 8, 2004. The bill provides $90.6 billion for Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies. However, the bill also includes an across-the-board rescission of 0.80%, which will reduce the Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies funding by approximately $725 million. This will make the final figure $89.9 billion, slightly less than FY2004’s $90.3 billion but more than...

Latin America and the Caribbean: Issues for the 108th Congress

The Latin American and Caribbean region has made enormous strides over the past two decades in political development, with all countries but Cuba having regular free and fair elections for head of state. But several nations have faced considerable challenges that have threatened political stability, including economic decline and rising poverty, violent guerrilla conflicts, drug trafficking, and increasing crime. Bush Administration officials maintain that U.S. policy toward Latin America has three overarching goals: strengthening security; promoting democracy and good governance;...

Defense Cleanup and Environmental Programs: Authorization and Appropriations for FY2005

The Department of Defense (DOD) administers five environmental programs: environmental cleanup, compliance, pollution prevention, environmental technology, and conservation. The Department of Energy (DOE) manages defense nuclear waste and cleans up contaminated nuclear weapons sites. In the second session of the 108th Congress, the most controversial issues regarding these activities were whether to provide further exemptions for military readiness activities from certain air quality and hazardous waste cleanup requirements, and whether to provide DOE with the authority to classify certain...

Environmental Protection Issues in the 108th Congress

Authorization and Appropriations for FY2005: Defense

Early on the morning on October 7, 2004, a conference agreement on the FY2005 defense authorization bill ( H.R. 4200 ) was announced. The House approved the conference agreement by a vote of 359-14 on October 8, and the Senate approved it by unanimous consent on October 9. The President signed the bill into law ( P.L. 108-375 ) on October 23. On the key issues, conferees rejected a House provision to delay military base closures; authorized purchases, but not leasing, of Boeing KC-767 or other refueling aircraft; increased statutory caps on Army and Marine Corps active duty end-strength in...

Appropriations for FY2005: Energy and Water Development

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. The Bush Administration requested $27.94 billion for these programs for FY2005, compared with $27.26 billion appropriated for FY2004 ( P.L. 108-137 , and rescissions included in P.L. 108-199 ). On June 16 the House Appropriations Committee reported out its bill ( H.R. 4614 ) with $27.99 billion, and the bill passed the...

Cuba: Issues for the 108th Congress

Cuba under Fidel Castro remains a hard-line communist state with a poor record on human rights that has deteriorated significantly since 2003. With the cutoff of assistance from the former Soviet Union, Cuba experienced severe economic deterioration from 1989 to 1993. While there has been some improvement since 1994, as Cuba has implemented limited reforms, the economy remains in poor shape. Since the early 1960s, U.S. policy toward Cuba has consisted largely of isolating the island nation through comprehensive economic sanctions. Another component of U.S. policy consists of support...

Commemorative Observances: A Chronological List

Historically, national commemorative observances were recommended by Congress through the legislative process. This practice was discontinued by the House of Representatives in January 1995, although the Senate continues to issue sense of the Senate resolutions recommending the establishment of commemoratives. It has now become standard practice for special observances to be designated by a proclamation issued by the President. This report is a chronological list of these proclamations for 1997 and 1998, indicating the proclamation number and its Federal Register citation

Appropriations for FY2005: Military Construction

The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill provides funding for (1) military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family housing operations and construction; (3) U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program; and (4) the bulk of base realignment and closure (BRAC)costs. The President forwarded his FY2005 budget request of $9.6 billion to the Congress on February 2, 2004. Military construction subcommittees held hearings between February 25 and June 22, 2004. The House Appropriations Committee its bill ( H.R. 4837 ) on July 15,...

International Military Education and Training Program

This report provides background on the International Military Education and Training Program (IMET). It discusses the program’s main features and purposes, perspectives of the IMET’s supporters and critics, and recent issues surrounding the program and its implementation. The United States in recent years has trained annually, on average, over 10,000 students from approximately 130 countries. Formal instruction under IMET involves over 2,000 courses, nearly all of which are taught in the United States at approximately 150 military schools and installations. As the size of the United States...

Liberia: Transition to Peace

This report, which is updated periodically, covers recent events in Liberia and related U.S. policy. In 2003, Liberia began a post-conflict transition process to achieve enduring peace, socio-economic reconstruction and democratic governance. This process resulted from the signing of a peace accord and the resignation of then-president Charles Taylor in August 2003, after months of international mediation. The accord ended a civil war that burgeoned in 2000 which pitted the forces of Taylor against two armed anti-Taylor rebel groups. The war led to an extreme deterioration in...

H.R. 10 (9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act) and S. 2845 (National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004): A Comparative Analysis

This comparative analysis of H.R. 10 (9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act) and S. 2845 (National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004) is an assessment of major similarities and differences between the two bills as passed by the House (October 8, 2004) and Senate (October 6, 2004) and under conference consideration.

References to the two bills are to engrossed versions. The presentation is organized to follow the basic construct of the House bill, because its coverage remained more stable through the legislative process to date. For purposes of clarity, we refer to the House-passed bill as...

9/11 Commission Recommendations: Joint Committee on Atomic Energy -- A Model for Congressional Oversight?

In its July 22, 2004, final report, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the "9/11 Commission") proposed a five-part plan to build unity of effort across the U.S. government in fighting terrorism. The commission's report includes specific recommendations for "centralizing and strengthening congressional oversight of intelligence and homeland security issues" including a recommendation that Congress consider creating a joint committee for intelligence, using the Joint Atomic Energy Committee as its model. Created in the wake of the explosion of...

Military Base Closures: A Historical Review from 1988 to 1995

The United States has experienced difficulty in closing military bases to match the requirements of downsized forces with changed composition. During the decade of the 1980s, major military base closures were seriously hampered by procedural requirements established by Congress, to the point that none occurred. The mismatch between real estate assets and defense requirements grew with the military downsizing that began late in the Reagan Administration and continued under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Clinton. After several legislative efforts to break the deadlock had failed,...

Requirements for Linguists in Government Agencies

Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 108th Congress

The 108th Congress has considered and is considering legislation on a wide range of immigration issues. Chief among these are the immigration-related recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission), expedited naturalization through military service, and foreign temporary workers and business personnel.

Several major bills that seek to implement recommendations of the 9/11 Commission propose significant revisions to U.S. immigration law: H.R. 10 , S. 2845 , S. 2774 / H.R. 5040 , and H.R. 5024 . Of these bills,...

Expanding Threat Reduction and Nonproliferation Programs: Concepts and Definitions

President Bush, Members of Congress, and analysts outside government have suggested that the United States provide threat reduction and nonproliferation assistance to nations outside the former Soviet Union. Some propose expanding assistance to contain proliferation; others support programs to stop terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Some support assisting only those nations with WMD programs; others support assistance for any nation with WMD materials or knowledge. Some support assistance with the storage or elimination of weapons; others believe the United States...

The U.S. Intelligence Budget: A Basic Overview

The 9/11 Commission recommended that a new National Intelligence Director (NID) should have control over personnel and budgets of all agencies that collect and analyze national foreign intelligence in order to foster more cooperation. This CRS report describes the intelligence budget and gives rough estimates of amounts for major components of the budget based on unclassified sources. It also reviews current procedures for formulating and executing the budget. And it highlights how proposed legislation addresses the issue. For a more extensive description of the Defense Department agencies...

Proposals for Intelligence Reorganization, 1949-2004

Proposals for the reorganization of the United States Intelligence Community have repeatedly emerged from commissions and committees created by either the executive or legislative branches. The heretofore limited authority of Directors of Central Intelligence and the great influence of the Departments of State and Defense have inhibited the emergence of major reorganization plans from within the Intelligence Community itself. Proposals to reorganize the Intelligence Community emerged in the period immediately following passage of the National Security Act of 1947 (P.L. 80-253) that...

Military Role in Space Control: A Primer

This report reviews Department of Defense (DOD) military space control efforts and related policy and resources. Since the 1991 Gulf War, U.S. military forces have become increasingly reliant on space resources for communications, intelligence imagery, weather, warning, navigation, and timing. Asserting that U.S. space assets have become an integral part of today's warfare, the Department of Defense (DOD) has begun to emphasize the importance of protecting these resources. Although U.S. military space systems have been relatively unchallenged, military leaders anticipate...

Armenia Update

Armenia has experienced domestic political turmoil since independence. Since political assassinations in October 1999, President Robert Kocharian has outmaneuvered his opponents and secured his March 2003 re-election amid accusations of electoral irregularities. The economy is rebounding, except a majority of the people remain poor. A cease fire holds in the war with Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. In general, Armenia relies on Russia for security and on the United States for economic aid. Its relations with neighboring Iran are good, but those with Turkey are troubled....

Project BioShield: Legislative History and Side-by-Side Comparison of H.R. 2122, S. 15, and S. 1504

Few effective countermeasures currently exist to deal with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terror agents. In early 2003, the Bush administration proposed Project BioShield to stimulate the development of such countermeasures and to procure them for the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). Congress considered three bills that incorporated much of the administration's proposal: S. 15 (Gregg), H.R. 2122 (Tauzin), and S. 1504 (Gregg). H.R. 2122 passed the House on July 16, 2003. S. 15 passed the Senate on May 25, 2004 in an amended form similar to H.R. 2122 . This...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1996-2003

This report is prepared annually to provide unclassified quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years. Some general data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world. The data in the report illustrate how global patterns of conventional arms transfers have changed in the post-Cold War and post-Persian Gulf War years.

Iran's Ballistic Missile Capabilities

The Baltic States: U.S. Policy Concerns

This report provides background and analysis on the political and economic situations on Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia (commonly collectively referred to as the Baltic states), their foreign policies, and U.S. policy toward them. The Baltic states achieved their long-held dream of full independence from the Soviet Union in the aftermath of the failed August 1991 coup by Soviet hard-liners. Since 1991, the these three countries have made great strides in building democracies and free market economies. They have also sought integration into Western economic and security structures, in...

Turkey: Update on Selected Issues

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) remain popular and have a firm hold on power in Turkey. The AKP is trying to recast itself from an Islamist-rooted party to a centrist "conservative democratic" party. Although some AKP actions fuel secularist suspicions of a hidden Islamist agenda, the high priority that the party gives to attaining European Union (EU) membership may mitigate fears about its intentions and support its centrist ambitions. The government remains focused on the economy. With the aid of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it...

Terrorism: Key Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and Recent Major Commissions and Inquiries

This report highlights key recommendations set out in the report of the 9/11 Commission organized by the following major thematic areas: (1) Focus of U.S. International Anti-Terrorism Policy; (2) Institutional Steps to Protect Against and Prepare for Terrorist Attacks; (3) Intelligence Issues; and (4) Congress and Oversight Issues. A bulleted summary is made, under each of these major thematic headings, of the key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, the Gilmore Commission, the Bremer Commission, the Joint Inquiry of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, and the Hart-Rudman...

The Endangered Species Act (ESA), Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), and Department of Defense (DOD) Readiness Activities: Background and Current Law

The relationship of military readiness activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was the subject of legislative proposals in the 107th Congress and again in the 108th. P.L. 107-314 was silent as to ESA issues, but does contain MBTA provisions. Section 315 of that act directs that regulations be developed to exempt the Armed Forces from MBTA penalties for the incidental taking of migratory birds during military readiness activities. Until such regulations are finalized, Section 315 provides that the...

The Administration's FY2005 Request for $25 Billion for Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan: Precedents, Options, and Congressional Action

Administrations have periodically asked Congress to give the Department of Defense flexibility in allocating funds to cover the costs of military operations. Most recently, on May 12, 2004, the White House requested $25 billion as a “contingent emergency reserve fund” for FY2005 to cover the costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for part of the fiscal year. If enacted in its current form, DOD could transfer funds, in any amounts, to individual accounts as long as the Office of Management and Budget agreed and Congress received a five-day advance notification. The issue for...

FY2005 Defense Budget: Frequently Asked Questions

This report is designed to provide facts and figures about the United States defense budget in order to help answer frequently asked questions about defense spending. The answers to these questions are based on analysis of recent and historical trends in the defense budget up to and including the fiscal year (FY) 2005 budget request. Using figures taken primarily from the White House Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2005: Historical Tables (February 2004), this report answers frequently asked questions that fall within four...

India's 2004 National Elections

U.S. relations with India depend largely on India's political leadership. India's 2004 national elections ended governance by the center-right coalition headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and brought in a new center-left coalition led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Following the upset victory for the historically-dominant Indian National Congress Party led by Sonia Gandhi, Gandhi declined the post of Prime Minister in the new left-leaning United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government, instead nominating her party lieutenant, Oxford-educated economist Manmohan Singh,...

Homeland Security Research and Development Funding and Activities in Federal Agencies: A Preliminary Inventory

According to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), federal agency funding for homeland security research and development (R&D) was requested at $3.6 billion for FY2005, a 5.4% increase over the enacted FY2004 level, and about 63% more than enacted for FY2003, and about double the resources used in FY2002. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) R&D programs constitute about one-third of total federal homeland security R&D funding. Other agencies which have substantial homeland security R&D budgets, listed in descending funding order, include the National Institutes of Health, the...

Federal Homeland Security Research and Development Funding: Issues of Data Quality

Section 889 of the Homeland Security Act, P.L. 107-296 , requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to report homeland security budget data annually to Congress and to consult with Congress to identify homeland security activities for this purpose. Accurate information is needed in order to set and coordinate priorities and policy for federal homeland security research and development (R&D). P.L. 107-296 gave the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, coordination responsibilities to ensure that federal...

Military Helicopter Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

Recent military operations, particularly those in Afghanistan and Iraq, have brought to the fore a number of outstanding questions concerning helicopters in the U.S. armed forces, including deployability, safety, survivability, affordability, and operational effectiveness. These concerns are especially relevant, and made more complicated, in an age of "military transformation," the "global war on terrorism," and increasing pressure to rein in funding for the military, all of which provide contradictory pressures with regard to DOD's large, and often complicated, military...

Small-scale Terrorist Attacks Using Chemical and Biological Agents: An Assessment Framework and Preliminary Comparisons

This report, which will be updated as necessary, presents a means of assessing the relative threat from terrorist-use of individual chemical, biological, and toxin agents. It focuses on small-scale, targeted chemical and biological attacks, rather than mass-casualty attacks. The framework considers the elements of access, public health impact, medical treatment, prophylaxis, and dissemination. Other factors that may affect potential use by terrorists include the range of lethality, covert employment of an agent, and the availability of dual-use technologies. The results of this framework...

Appropriations for FY2004: Interior and Related Agencies

The Interior and related agencies appropriations bill includes funds for the Department of the Interior (DOI), except for the Bureau of Reclamation, and for some agencies or programs within three other departments -- Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services. It also funds numerous smaller related agencies. President Bush's FY2004 budget for Interior and related agencies totaled $19.89 billion, $220.5 million (1%) less than enacted for FY2003 ($20.11 billion). On July 17, 2003, the House passed H.R. 2691 (268-152) containing a total of $19.60 billion for Interior and...

Virginia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Statutory Authorities Summarized

This report is one of a series that profiles the emergency management and homeland security statutory authorities of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and three territories (American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each profile identifies the more significant elements of state statutes, generally as codified. This report focuses on the state of Virginia.

General Management Laws: Major Themes and Management Policy Options

This report is a companion to CRS Report RL30795, General Management Laws: A Compendium (hereafter “compendium”). In combination, these reports have three main objectives: (1) to identify and describe the major management laws under which the executive branch is required to operate, including their rationale, design, and scope; (2) to assist Members of Congress and their staff in oversight of executive branch management; and (3) to help Congress when considering potential changes to the management laws, as well as other legislation, including authorization statutes and appropriations.

This...

General Management Laws: A Compendium

This report (hereafter "compendium") is a companion to CRS Report RL32388(pdf) , General Management Laws: Major Themes and Management Policy Options . In combination, these reports have three main objectives: (1) to identify and describe the major management laws under which the executive branch of the federal government is required to operate, including their rationale, design, and scope; (2) to assist Members of Congress and their staff in oversight of executive branch management; and (3) to help Congress when considering potential changes to the management laws themselves, as well as...

Adequacy of the Army's FY2004 Funding for Operations in Iraq

With the upsurge in violence in Iraq in recent months, Members of Congress and others have voiced concerns about whether the $37.3 billion received by the Army in the fiscal year 2004 Emergency Supplemental ( P.L.108-106 ) will be sufficient to fund operations for the remainder of the fiscal year or whether a second supplemental is needed before the end of the fiscal year. In recent testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers suggested that the Army is facing a shortfall of $4 billion for FY2004 and stated that the Department of...

The Marshall Islands and Micronesia: Amendments to the Compact of Free Association with the United States

On April 30, 2003 and May 15, 2003, the United States signed agreements with two Freely Associated States (FAS), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), to amend provisions of the Compact of Free Association. The Compact of Free Association, along with the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985 ( P.L. 99-239 ), has governed the political, economic, and military relationships between the United States and the FAS since 1986. The Compact, as amended, provides for continued U.S. financial and program assistance to the RMI and FSM and...

Federal White-Collar Pay: FY2004 Salary Adjustments

Federal white-collar employees are to receive an annual pay adjustment and a locality-based comparability payment, effective in January of each year, under Section 529 of P.L. 101-509 , the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA) of 1990. In January 2004, they received a 1.5% annual pay adjustment and a 0.5% locality-based comparability payment under Executive Order 13322, issued by President George W. Bush on December 30, 2003. P.L. 108-199 , enacted on January 23, 2004, provides a 4.1% pay adjustment for 2004. Under the law, an additional 2.1% pay adjustment, allocated as an...

Computer Security: A Summary of Selected Federal Laws, Executive Orders, and Presidential Directives

This report provides a short summary of selected federal laws, executive orders, and presidential directives, currently in force, that govern computer security. The report focuses on the major roles and responsibilities assigned various federal agencies in the area of computer security. This report will not be updated.

One major area of federal activity in computer security deals with securing federal computer systems. The roles and responsibilities for securing federal computer systems are split between national security systems and all other federal systems. The Federal Information...

Foreign Relations Authorization, FY2004 and FY2005: State Department and Foreign Assistance

The foreign relations authorization process dovetails with the annual appropriation process for the Department of State (within the Commerce, Justice, State and Related Agency appropriation) and foreign policy/foreign aid activities (within the foreign operations appropriation). Congress is required by law to authorize the spending of appropriations for the State Department and foreign policy activities every two years. Foreign assistance authorization measures (such as authorization for the U.S. Agency for International Development, economic and military assistance to...

Terrorist "Dirty Bombs": A Brief Primer

Homeland Security: The Presidential Coordination Office

Responding to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President George W. Bush, among other actions, announced in his September 20 address to a joint session of Congress, his intention to create an Office of Homeland Security (OHS), headed by a director who would have Cabinet rank and would report directly to the President. OHS, as subsequently chartered with E.O. 13228 of October 8, 2001, is an agency of the Executive Office of the President. The success of this office as a coordinator of federal preparations and response to terrorism,...

Policing in Peacekeeping and Related Stability Operations: Problems and Proposed Solutions

One of the most crucial and difficult tasks in peacekeeping and related stability operations is creating a secure and stable environment, both for the foreign peacekeepers and for the indigenous population. During the past decade, the United States and the international community have tried various approaches to providing that security. Most of these approaches have included the use of United Nations International Civilian Police (UNCIVPOL), whose forces are contributed on a case by case basis by U.N. Member states. (While other countries usually contribute police personnel from their own...

Nuclear Warhead "Pit" Production: Background and Issues for Congress

A "pit" is the fissile core of a nuclear warhead. In modern warheads, it creates a nuclear explosion that triggers a substantially larger thermonuclear explosion. All pits currently in the U.S. nuclear stockpile were made at the Rocky Flats Plant near Denver, CO, which opened in 1952. The Department of Energy (DOE) halted pit manufacturing operations there in 1989; the United States has been unable to make stockpile-quality pits -- and therefore complete nuclear warheads -- since then. Inability to make pits may have adverse consequences. For example: (1) The United States cannot replace...

Appropriations for FY2004: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. foreign aid budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. It contains the largest share -- about two-thirds -- of total U.S. international affairs spending. President Bush asked Congress to appropriate $18.89 billion for FY2004 Foreign Operations. The budget proposal was $2.7 billion, or 16.7% higher than regular (non-supplemental) Foreign Operations appropriations for FY2003. If enacted, the President's recommendation would...

The Davis-Bacon Act: Issues and Legislation During the 108th Congress

This report discusses the debate surrounding the Davis-Bacon Act (1931, as amended), which requires, among other things, that not less than the locally-prevailing wage be paid to workers employed in federal contract construction. Through recent decades, the Act has become a continuing source of contention, particularly regarding its impacts, whether it should be modified, strengthened, or repealed, and if it is being administered effectively.

Foreign Assistance Authorization Act, FY2005

Congress last enacted a broad foreign assistance authorization act in 1985. In the absence of omnibus foreign aid measures, the majority of foreign assistance legislation has been enacted as part of annual Foreign Operations appropriation measures. Division B of S. 2144 -- Foreign Assistance Authorization for FY2005 -- is an effort to "reinforce" the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's role in foreign aid policy making. It is not an attempt to comprehensively review and re-write existing foreign aid legislation, but rather it is a first step in providing necessary authorization for...

Restricting Trademark Rights of Cubans: WTO Decision and Congressional Response

The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled against certain restrictions on the trademark rights of Cubans imposed under § 211 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1998. Congress has responded with several proposals to comply with the ruling, some focused on repeal of § 211 as part of broader proposed amendments to Cuban trade sanctions, others on repeal coupled with alternative methods of ensuring Cuba’s protection of trademark rights of Americans. This report will be updated as legislative activity occurs or...

Nuclear Weapon Initiatives: Low-Yield R&D, Advanced Concepts, Earth Penetrators, Test Readiness

The Bush Administration completed its congressionally-mandated Nuclear Posture Review in December 2001. The review led to major changes in U.S. nuclear policy. It found that the Cold War relationship with Russia was "very inappropriate" and that this nation must be able to deal with new threats. It planned to retain Cold War-era nuclear weapons, which would suffice for many contingencies, though at reduced numbers. To complement these weapons so as to improve U.S. ability to deal with new, more dispersed threats in various countries, the Administration sought to explore additional nuclear...

NATO's Decision-Making Procedure

This report provides a brief analysis of NATO's decision-making procedures, with several examples of how the allies have handled sensitive issues in the past. It describes the February 2003 dispute over providing NATO defense planning and equipment to Turkey, and analyzes the debate over the decision-making process, including possible alterations of that process. This report will be periodically updated. See also CRS Report RS21354 , The NATO Summit at Prague, 2002.

Appropriations for FY2004: Transportation, Treasury, Postal Service, Executive Office of the President, General Government, and Related Agencies

For FY2004 Congress began providing, in a single bill, appropriations for the Departments of Transportation and the Treasury, the United States Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and Related Agencies, as well as General Government provisions. On January 23, 2004, President Bush signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 ( H.R. 2673 ; P.L. 108-199 ), which included the conference version of the FY2004 Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies Appropriations bill. On September 9, 2003, the House passed H.R. 2989 , the FY2004 Transportation, Treasury and...

Omnibus Energy Legislation, 108th Congress: Comparison of Non-Tax Provisions in the H.R. 6 Conference Report and S. 2095

House and Senate conferees approved an omnibus energy bill ( H.R. 6 , H.Rept. 108-375 ) on November 17, 2003, and the House approved the measure the following day (246-180). However, on November 21, 2003, a cloture motion to limit Senate debate on the conference report failed (57-40). On February 12, 2004, Senator Domenici introduced a revised version of the bill ( S. 2095 ) with a lower estimated cost and without a controversial provision on the fuel additive MTBE. Major non-tax provisions in the conference measure and S. 2095 include:

Ethanol. An increase in ethanol production to...

Andean Regional Initiative (ARI): FY2003 Supplemental and FY2004 Assistance for Colombia and Neighbors

In 2003, Congress considered President Bush's requests for FY2004 and FY2003 supplemental assistance for Colombia and six regional neighbors in a continuation of the Andean Regional Initiative (ARI) launched in 2001. ARI was proposed as an expansion of support for Plan Colombia, under the Clinton Administration, with more funding for social and economic development programs for Colombia and its neighbors, who are affected by Colombia's struggle against guerrillas and drug traffickers. From FY2000 through FY2003, Colombia and other ARI recipients have received more than $3 billion in U.S....

Appropriations for FY2004: Energy and Water Development

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. The Bush Administration requested $26.95 billion for these programs for FY2004 compared with $26.20 billion appropriated for FY2003. On July 18 the House passed a bill, H.R. 2754 , containing appropriations of $27.08 billion. On September 16 the Senate passed its version of H.R. 2754, funding energy and water development...

Nuclear Weapons in Russia: Safety, Security, and Control Issues

When the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, it reportedly possessed more than 27,000 nuclear weapons, and these weapons were deployed on the territories of several of the former Soviet republics. All of the nuclear warheads have now been moved to Russia, but Russia still has around 5,500 strategic nuclear weapons and perhaps as many as 12,000 warheads for nonstrategic nuclear weapons. Many analysts in the United States and Russia have expressed concerns about the safety, security, and control over these weapons. Some of these concerns focus on Russia's nuclear command and control...

NASA Workforce Flexibilities: H.R. 1085 and S. 610, 108th Congress

Various personnel flexibilities would be provided to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under legislation currently pending in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. H.R. 1085 , the NASA Flexibility Act of 2003, was introduced by Representative Sherwood Boehlert on March 5, 2003. S. 610 , the NASA Flexibility Act of 2003, was introduced by Senator George Voinovich on March 13, 2003. H.R. 1836 , the Civil Service and National Security Personnel Improvement Act, introduced by Representative Tom Davis on April 29, 2003, includes, in Title III, Subtitle B,...

Transnational Organized Crime: U.S. Policy, Programs, and Related Issues

Transnational organized crime presents a serious threat to U.S. national security and global stability. Organized criminal groups have benefitted from the demise of legal structures following the collapse of the Soviet Union and in many failed states. They have been able to expand their networks across national borders. Globalism serves these groups which increasingly rely upon advanced technology and the global financial system to accumulate wealth from their illicit activities. These groups engage in a wide array of criminal activities across national borders that include the illicit...

Defense Cleanup and Environmental Programs: Authorization and Appropriations for FY2004

The Department of Defense (DOD) administers five environmental programs in response to various requirements under federal environmental laws. These programs include environmental cleanup, environmental compliance, pollution prevention, environmental technology, and conservation. In addition, the Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing defense nuclear waste and cleaning up contaminated nuclear weapons sites. Some of the ongoing issues associated with these programs are the adequacy, cost, and pace of cleanup, whether DOD and DOE adequately comply with environmental laws and...

COLAs for Military Retirees: Summary of Congressional and Executive Branch Action, 1982-2003 (FY1983-FY2004)

The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1982 (which applied to FY1983 budget issues) suspended previously existing permanent law pertaining to cost-of-living adjustments(COLAs) for federal civilian and military retirees, and changed the COLA calculation formulas to postpone and/or reduce future COLAs for military retirees during 1983-1985 (FY1984-FY1986).This report examines executive and congressional COLA-related initiatives associated with each of the fiscal year budgeting processes from calendar year 1982 (FY1983) through calendar year 2000 (FY2001).

Iraq: International Attitudes to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Reconstruction

On May 1, 2003, President Bush announced the end of the combat phase of the U.S.-led war in Iraq. President Bush referred to the war as a "victory" and claimed that "in the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." ("President Bush Announces that Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended," White House Press , May 1, 2003). In the aftermath of the war, the U.S. military presence in postwar Iraq persists. Approximately 130,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq and are partaking in the reconstruction and stabilization of the country. Under UNSC Res. 1483, the Administration's...

Authorization and Appropriations for FY2004: Defense

With passage of the FY2004 DOD Authorization Act by the House on November 7 and by the Senate on November 12, 2003, Congress completed action on this year's defense authorization ( H.R. 1588 / H.Rept. 108-384 ). The President signed the bill on November 24, 2003 ( P.L. 108-384 ). On September 30, just in time for the new fiscal year, the President signed H.R. 2658 , the FY2004 DOD Appropriations Act ( P.L. 108-87 ), completing action on FY2004 defense appropriations. The recently enacted FY2004 DOD authorization bill provides a total of $401.3 billion for defense programs, including...

Military Aviation Safety

Military aviation safety is a concern to policy makers in both the Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress. DoD is concerned about improving safety because aviation accidents erode DoD's war fighting capabilities in many tangible and intangible ways. DoD aviation accidents are classified by the severity of injury or property damage. Class A accidents are the most severe events and the rate at which these accidents occur is the most frequently used yardstick for measuring aviation safety. The Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the military Services (including the Coast...

Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Programs: Issues for Congress

Congress established the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program in 1991, authorizing the use of Defense Department funds to assist with the safe and secure transportation, storage, and dismantlement of nuclear, chemical and other weapons in the former Soviet Union. Initially, many supported U.S. assistance as an emergency response to fears about a loss of control over nuclear weapons in the disintegrating Soviet Union. Now, many see the CTR program as a part of a more comprehensive threat reduction and nonproliferation effort. Congress has demonstrated continuing support...

Chemical Weapons Convention: Issues for Congress

More than 100 years of international efforts to ban chemical weapons culminated January 13, 1993, in the signing of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The Convention entered into force April 29, 1997. One hundred fifty-three of the 178 signatories have ratified the Convention. On April 24, 1997, the Senate passed the CWC resolution of ratification ( S.Res. 75 , 105th Congress) by a vote of 74-26. President Clinton signed the resolution and the United States became the 75th nation to ratify the CWC Convention, and Congress retains a continuing oversight role in its implementation. The...

FY2004 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terrorism: Military Operations & Reconstruction Assistance

In a nationwide address on September 7, 2003, the President announced that he would request an additional $87 billion for ongoing military operations and for reconstruction assistance in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. On September 17, the White House submitted a formal request for FY2004 supplemental appropriations of that amount to Congress. Administration officials said they would like to see congressional action completed some time before October 24, when an international donors conference was scheduled to meet in Madrid to seek pledges of economic assistance for Iraq. On October...

DOD Transformation Initiatives and the Military Personnel System: Proceedings of a CRS Seminar

On April 9, 2003, the Congressional Research Service sponsored a seminar for the purpose of examining the Department of Defense's transformation plans, assessing the impacts these plans might have on the military personnel system, and discussing what issues these impacts might raise for Congress. This report summarizes that seminar and provides a transcript of it. The impetus for this seminar was the Department of Defense's ongoing efforts to "transform" the U.S. military. There are a number of competing definitions of precisely what "transformation" is, but the term generally refers to...

Appropriations for FY2004: Military Construction

The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill provides funding for (1) military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family housing operations and construction; (3) U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program; and (4) the bulk of base realignment and closure (BRAC)costs.

The President forwarded his fiscal year 2004 budget request to the Congress on February 3, 2003. The original military construction request of $9.0 billion was later increased to $9.2 billion due to reprogramming from the defense appropriations bill ( H.R. 2658 )...

International Terrorism in South Asia

Africa's Great Lakes Region: Current Conditions in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda

Africa's Great Lakes region is slowly becoming more stable after almost a decade of conflicts. The region remains vulnerable, however, since armed rebel groups are active in eastern Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and northern Uganda. This report discusses conflicts in these areas in detail, as well as U.S.-led efforts to reach peaceful resolutions.

Missile Proliferation and the Strategic Balance in South Asia

This report analyzes the policy implications of missile proliferation in South Asia, providing information on India's and Pakistan's missile programs and their role in regional security. The report also provides background on the India-Pakistan conflict and the U.S. role, and reviews the region's strategic security dynamics. The report concludes with a review of key issues and options for U.S. policy. The United States has long been concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems in South Asia. This concern became acute after May 1998, when both India...

Reorganization of the Senate: Modern Reform Efforts

Numerous reviews of the operations and structure of the Senate have been conducted in the past 60 years. Three joint committees, two select committees, two commissions, one study group, one standing committee, and party conferences have studied various aspects of the Senate and its committee system. The contemporary Senate is primarily a product of two major laws and a significant overhaul of Senate Rules. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, among other things, codified committee jurisdictions, streamlined the committee system, and instituted a professional committee staffing...

Military Pay: Controversy Over Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay and Family Separation Allowance Rates

Recently, controversy has surfaced over the rate of pay for two specific types of military compensation: Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay (HF/IDP) and the Family Separation Allowance (FSA). The rates for these forms of compensation were temporarily increased for FY2003 by the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003, and extended by a continuing resolution, H.J.Res. 69 . If no further action is taken by Congress, the statutory authority for the higher rates will expire on October 31, 2003. However, both the House and Senate versions of the 2004 Emergency Supplemental...

Iraq: U.N. Inspections for Weapons of Mass Destruction

China: Possible Missile Technology Transfers under U.S. Satellite Export Policy - Actions and Chronology

This CRS Report discusses security concerns, significant congressional and administration action, and a comprehensive chronology pertaining to satellite exports to the PRC. The report discusses issues for U.S. foreign and security policy (including that on China and weapons nonproliferation), such as: What are the benefits and costs of satellite exports to China for U.S. economic and security interests? Should the United States continue, change, or cease the policy in place since the Reagan Administration that has allowed exports of satellites to China (for its launch and – increasingly –...

China: Possible Missile Technology Transfers Under U.S. Satellite Export Policy -- Actions and Chronology

Congress has been concerned about whether U.S. firms, in activities connected with exporting satellites, provided expertise to China for use in its ballistic missile and space programs and whether U.S. policy has facilitated transfers of military-related technology to China. This CRS Report discusses security concerns, policy changes, congressional action, and a chronology of major developments since 1988 under President Reagan. It is updated as warranted. Some critics opposed satellite exports to China, while others were concerned that the Clinton Administration relaxed export controls...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2004

Weapons of Mass Destruction Counterproliferation: Legal Issues for Ships and Aircraft

President Bush outlined a specific plan to counter WMD proliferation in his National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction of December, 2002. The Administration's plan combines efforts aimed at counterproliferation, nonproliferation, and WMD consequence management. The intent, it says, is to eliminate or "roll back" WMD in the possession of certain States and terrorist groups, including potentially the use of force and aggressive methods of interdiction of WMD-related goods, technologies, and expertise. The use of interdiction as a counterproliferation measure appears to be part...

Defense Research: DOD's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Program

The Administration has requested $34.4 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) program for FY2000. This is almost $3 billion below what was available for RDT&E in FY1999. In addition, the 6-year budget would maintain RDT&E between $34 billion and $35 billion over the next 6 years. In constant dollars, RDT&E spending will decline.

First Responder Initiative: Policy Issues and Options

This report provides background information and policy analysis pertinent to proposals to restructure first responder assistance programs. Specifically, this report provides information on existing programs, appropriations, legislation in the 108th Congress, and selected policy issues. This report does not discuss all relevant policy issues, but, rather, those issues that may be germane to any significant restructuring of existing programs.

Internet Voting

Among the many issues in the ongoing national discussion about the Internet is its use in the voting process. Because voting determines who runs the government and entails two absolute requirements -- the secret ballot and security from fraud -- the stakes are higher than for many other transactions routinely conducted via the Internet. Public confidence about Internet security is increasing, but many feel that voting online requires a degree of security from fraud beyond the current standard for everyday Internet use. The National Defense Authorization Act for FY2002 and the Help...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1995-2002

This report is prepared annually to provide unclassified quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years. Some general data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world. The data in the report illustrate how global patterns of conventional arms transfers have changed in the post-Cold War and post-Persian Gulf War years.

The Former Soviet Union and U.S. Foreign Assistance

Nuclear Weapons and U.S. National Security: A Need for New Weapons Programs?

In the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review, the Bush Administration outlined a new role for U.S. nuclear weapons that goes beyond the concept of deterrence from the Cold War. It also identified a new targeting strategy that would seek to threaten specific capabilities in adversary nations. Furthermore, the Administration has pledged to restore and enhance the U.S. nuclear weapons infrastructure, as part of the U.S. effort to deter the emergence of new threats in the future. In implementing the NPR, the Administration has requested funding for studies on new types of nuclear weapons....

High-Threat Chemical Agents: Characteristics, Effects, and Policy Implications

Terrorist use of chemical agents has been a noted concern, highlighted after the Tokyo Sarin gas attacks of 1995. The events of September 11, 2001, increased Congressional attention towards reducing the vulnerability of the United States to such attacks. High-threat chemical agents, which include chemical weapons and some toxic industrial chemicals, are normally organized by military planners into four groups: nerve agents, blister agents, choking agents, and blood agents. While the relative military threat posed by the various chemical types has varied over time, use of these chemicals...

Creation of Executive Departments: Highlights from the Legislative History of Modern Precedents

On November 25, 2002, President George W. Bush signed legislation to establish a Department of Homeland Security ( P.L. 107-296 , 106 Stat. 2135). In the period from World War II until the establishment of this latest department, Congress also created or implemented major reorganizations of seven other Cabinet departments. This report provides a brief legislative history of the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and for the purpose of comparison, describes the principal elements of the legislative process that established the Departments of Defense; Health,...

The Air Force KC-767 Tanker Lease Proposal: Key Issues For Congress

The Air Force wishes to replace its KC-135E aircraft by leasing 100 new Boeing KC-767 tankers. The Air Force indicates that leasing is preferred because it will result in faster deliveries than outright purchasing. Air Force leaders argue that a lease will allow them to husband scarce procurement dollars by making a small down payment. Although Congress authorized the proposed lease in the FY2002 DOD Appropriations Act, it stipulated that the defense oversight committees must approve the lease -- only the Senate Armed Services Committee has yet to approve. The lease proposal has been...

Long-Range Bombers: Background and Issues for Congress

The Air Force's long-range bombers were designed during the Cold War to deliver nuclear strikes against the Soviet Union. Although they can be vulnerable to enemy defenses if detected, they combine the ability to fly extended distances, much farther than most other combat aircraft, with the ability to carry weapons payloads many times larger than that of fighters. Over the past decade, the Air Force has taken advantage of these characteristics by migrating its bomber fleet from a nuclear to a conventional role. Today, the Air Force maintains three bombers: the B-1B, the B-2, and the B-52,...

Nuclear Weapons in Russia: Safety, Security, and Control Issues

Military Health Care: The Issue of "Promised" Benefits

International Support for the U.S.-Led War on Terrorism

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, the U.S.-led war on terrorism has evolved from ridding Afghanistan of the ruling Taliban regime and seeking to prevent Al Qaeda from using the nation as a base for worldwide operations to encompass confronting and defeating terrorism in a number of countries. Many countries and international organizations have become involved in the war on terrorism, ranging from military support and basing rights to reconstruction assistance and diplomatic support.

This report summarizes international support for the ongoing war on...

Steel: Legislative and Oversight Issues

Military Base Closures: Implementing the 2005 Round

Iran: Current Developments and U.S. Policy

Defense Cleanup and Environmental Programs: Authorization and Appropriations for FY2003

The Department of Defense (DOD) administers five environmental programs in response to various requirements under federal environmental laws. These programs include environmental cleanup, environmental compliance, pollution prevention, environmental technology, and conservation. Additionally, the Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing defense nuclear waste and cleaning up contaminated nuclear weapons sites. The Administration requested a total of $11.17 billion for these programs in FY2003, about $390 million more than the FY2002 funding level of $10.78 billion. Some of the...

Andean Regional Initiative (ARI): FY2002 Supplemental and FY2003 Assistance for Colombia and Neighbors

In 2002 and continuing into 2003, Congress considered President Bush's requests for FY2002 supplemental and FY2003 assistance for Colombia and six regional neighbors in a continuation of the Andean Regional Initiative launched in 2001. On February 4, 2002, President Bush submitted a FY2003 budget request that would provide $979.8 million for the Andean Regional Initiative (ARI), with $731 million in counternarcotics assistance under the Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI). This request included $537 million in ARI funding for Colombia, with $439 million in ACI funding and $98 million in...

Federal Prison Industries: UNICOR

The Jones Act: An Overview

The Jones Act is a perennial issue in Congress. The Act requires that all waterborne shipping between points in the United States be carried by vessels built in the United States and owned and operated by Americans. The purpose of the Act is to ensure that the nation has a sufficient merchant marine and shipbuilding base to protect the nation's defense and commercial interests. Critics claim that the Act does not accomplish this goal and furthermore raises shipping costs, thereby making U.S. farmers and manufacturers less competitive. Jones Act supporters claim that the Act is needed to...

Chemical Weapons Convention: Issues for Congress

The CWC bans the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons by members signatories. It also requires the destruction of all chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities. Neither the United States nor Russia will be able to meet the original CWC’s deadlines for destruction of their CW stockpiles, and have been granted extensions to at least 2012. The Convention provides the most extensive and intrusive verification regime of any arms control treaty, extending its coverage to not only governmental but also civilian facilities. The Convention also requires...

Army Aviation: The RAH-66 Comanche Helicopter Issue

Although it has been a high Army priority, a number of factors have complicated the RAH-66 Comanche program. Since its inception, the program has been restructured several times--postponing the initial operational capability (IOC) and increasing overall program costs. In late 2002, DoD restructured the RAH-66 program again, cutting the number of aircraft to be procured in half. This report will be updated

Emergency Communications: Meeting Public Safety Spectrum Needs

This report has two main sections. In the first section “Identifying Public Safety Needs,” some of the organizations involved with public safety telecommunications are introduced, and key activities dealing with wireless and spectrum issues are summarized. The second main section, “Spectrum for Public Safety,” is organized by the major spectrum bands where public safety wireless communications are in use or planned. These are at: 100-512 MHz; 700 MHz; 800 MHz; 900 MHz and 4.9 GHz. Ultra-wide band (UWB), that broadcasts across a broad range of frequencies, is also discussed. The final...

Monkeypox: Technical Background and Outbreak Implications for Bioterrorism Preparedness

Monkeypox, a viral disease related to smallpox, has appeared in humans in the Midwest. Though monkeypox usually has a fatality rate of 1 to 10%, no fatalities have occurred in the outbreak, which has been linked to pet rodents. Although officials do not believe that this outbreak is bioterrorism, the delay between the initial presentation of an unusual disease and the notification to the federal government has raised concerns regarding the state of bioterrorism preparedness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have provided guidance to local communities regarding handling...

Smallpox Vaccine Injury Compensation

Four and a half months after announcing his decision to vaccinate military personnel and front-line civilian health workers against smallpox, President George W. Bush, on April 30, 2003, signed the Smallpox Emergency Personnel Protection Act of 2003 ( P.L. 108-20 ). Under the new law, the federal government will provide -- to eligible individuals (or their survivors), for covered injuries -- payment for related medical care, lost employment income, and death benefits. Compensation had emerged as a major obstacle to the successful implementation of the Administration's smallpox...

Iraq War: Defense Program Implications for Congress

The recent war against Iraq may have implications for various defense programs of interest to Congress. This report surveys some of those potential implications, and will be updated periodically as new information becomes available. Three cautionary notes associated with post-conflict "lessons-learned" reports apply to this report: Information about the Iraq war is incomplete and imperfect, so early lessons are subject to change. Each war is unique in some ways, so observers should avoid "overlearning" the lessons of the Iraq war. And potential U.S. adversaries can derive lessons from the...

Iraq's Economy: Past, Present, Future

This report discusses the government of Iraq and its active role in stimulating and directing the Iraqi economy.This report identifies issues to be addressed before Iraq can participate normally in the world economy.

Civil Service Reform: H.R. 1836, Homeland Security Act, and Current Law

On May 8, 2003, the House Government Reform Committee ordered a bill to be reported that would significantly change the system for managing civilian personnel within the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). If passed, H.R. 1836 would also change the compensation system for Senior Executive Service members throughout the government and make other general systemic changes with regard to human resources management. In April 2003, DOD General Counsel William Haynes sent Congress a significant reform proposal packaged as the "Defense...

Intelligence to Counter Terrorism: Issues for Congress

For well over a decade international terrorism has been a major concern of the U.S. Intelligence Community. Collection assets of all kinds have long been focused on Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Intensive analytical expertise has been devoted to determining such groups' memberships, locations, and plans. Intelligence agencies had been acutely aware of the danger for years. In February 2001, Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) George Tenet publicly testified to Congress that "the threat from terrorism is real, it is immediate, and it is evolving." Furthermore, "[Osama] bin Ladin...

Defense Department Original Transformation Proposal: Compared to Existing Law

The Department of Defense (DOD) has sent the Congress a major proposal entitled "Defense Transformation for the 21st Century Act of 2003"on April 10, 2003. The complex proposal would have made many changes, and in some cases, major changes, in the military personnel and acquisition systems, and in the statutory basis for much of DOD's civilian personnel system. The changes would have affected in a number of titles in the United States Code but primarily in Title 5 (Government Organization and Employees), and Title 10 (Armed Forces). A number of congressional committees have begun action on...

Colombia: Summary and Tables on U.S. Assistance, FY1989-FY2004

Over the past 15 years, from FY1989-FY2003, the United States has provided Colombia with over $3.6 billion in assistance, most of it directed to counternarcotics or related efforts. During the first 11 fiscal years (FY1989-FY1999), when assistance totaled just over $1 billion, the annual levels were considerably lower than during the past three fiscal years and the current fiscal year. From FY2000-FY2003, assistance totals about $2,556 billion. The Clinton Administration increased assistance in FY2000 to fund its "Plan Colombia" programs to counter the spread of coca cultivation in...

Defense Acquisition Reform: Status and Current Issues

The end of the Cold War and its impact on defense spending has created a strong need to reform Department of Defense’s (DOD) acquisition system. With procurement spending down, DOD expects to depend on savings from acquisition reform to help finance future force modernization. Policymakers believe that DOD should use more commercial products because, in many instances, they cost less and their quality is comparable to products built according to DOD military specifications. Many such reform proposals are based on recognition that DOD regulatory barriers and a Cold War acquisition “culture”...

Homeland Security: The Department of Defense's Role

Mercury in Products and Waste: Legislative and Regulatory Activities to Control Mercury

Mercury is a highly volatile, naturally-occurring element. It is a potent neurotoxin that can cause brain, lung, and kidney damage. Mercury also has properties that make it useful in a variety of household, medical, and industrial products and processes. It is a component in such products as thermometers, flourescent lamps, electrical switches, dental fillings, and batteries. This report discusses the health effects of mercury, how it is released into the environment, and current federal and state activities and recent legislative activity in Congress to control mercury releases into...

Appropriations for FY2003: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. foreign aid budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. It contains the largest share -- about two-thirds -- of total U.S. international affairs spending. President Bush requested $16.45 billion (amended on September 3, 2002) for FY2003 Foreign Operations, an amount 7% higher than regular FY2002 appropriations, but slightly less than enacted FY2002 foreign aid appropriations when amounts ($1.2 billion) allocated from two...

Appropriations for FY2003: Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies

The Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and other related agencies (often referred to as CJS) appropriations for FY2003 were completed by Congress and signed ( P.L. 108-7 ) by the President on February 20, 2003, five months into the budget year. The enacted CJS appropriation provides $44,773.7 million in new budget authority (before applying an across-the-board rescission of 0.65%). President Bush sent the FY2003 budget request to Congress on February 4, 2002 seeking a total budget authority level for CJS appropriations of $44,019.0 million -- a mandatory level of $649.3 million...

Post-War Iraq: Potential Issues Raised by Previous Occupation and Peacekeeping Experiences

In the immediate aftermath of the coalition victory in Iraq, U.S. policymakers face a number of decisions regarding security and government in post-war Iraq. While there are significant differences between the Iraq situation and other post-war experiences, observations and "lessons learned" from such experiences might be relevant. This report will discuss six security and governance issues raised by previous experiences, with particular reference to U.S. post-World War II occupation experiences and also peacekeeping experiences in the Balkans and Afghanistan. It may be updated as new...

Workplace Codes of Conduct in China and Related Labor Conditions

This report provides an overview of U.S. interests and policies regarding China's labor conditions. It compares a cross section of labor codes of conduct utilized by U.S. corporations and their suppliers that manufacture toys, shoes, apparel, and other labor intensive merchandise in China for export. Many consumer goods imported from China to the United States are produced by Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and South Korean factories in China for U.S. brands. Serious labor rights abuses have been reported in many of these factories. All of the codes sampled in this report mandate labor standards...

Budget FY2003: A Chronology with Internet Access

This is a select chronology of, and a finding guide for information on, congressional and presidential actions and documents related to major budget events in calendar year 2002, covering the FY2003 budget. Brief information is provided for the President’s budget, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations measures (regular, continuing, supplementals, and rescissions), budget reconciliation, House and Senate votes, line-item vetoes, publications, testimony, charts, and tables.

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and International Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (ICOC): Background and Issues for Congress

On November 25, 2002, ninety-two countries, including the United States, signed a draft international code of conduct (ICOC) intended to control the proliferation of ballistic missiles. This code of conduct joins the 1987 Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) as the primary means by which the international community attempts to regulate missile proliferation. Both are arrangements, not treaties, requiring voluntary application of standards and measures by participating countries. While the MTCR has been credited with a number of successes over the years, critics point out that it lacks...

Terrorist Motivations for Chemical and Biological Weapons Use: Placing the Threat in Context

There is widespread belief that the likelihood of terrorist use of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) is increasing, in part as a result of publicized new evidence of terrorist interest and capabilities, as well as the political fall-out from the war in Iraq. This is a serious present concern that deserves examination in the broader framework provided by the patterns, motivations and historical context for the current terrorist threat. Although it can have a powerful psychological impact, past CBW use by terrorists has been rare and has not caused a large number of...

Pakistan-U.S. Anti-Terrorism Cooperation

Pakistan is a key front-line ally in the U.S.-led anti-terrorism coalition. After September 2001, Pakistani President Musharraf ended his government's ties with the Taliban regime of Afghanistan and has since cooperated with and contributed to U.S. efforts to track and capture remnants of Al Qaeda and Taliban forces that have sought refuge inside Pakistani territory. Pakistan's cooperation has been called "crucial" to past and ongoing U.S. successes in the region, but there is growing concern that the bilateral relationship is fragile and may be undermined by potentially...

Total Information Awareness Programs: Funding, Composition, and Oversight Issues

Late last year controversy erupted about a Department of Defense (DOD) R&D effort called Total Information Awareness (TIA) under an office headed by retired Admiral John D. Poindexter within the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). By integrating various new tools designed to detect, anticipate, train for, and provide warnings about potential terrorist attacks, DARPA hopes to develop a prototype Total Information Awareness system. This system would integrate a number of ongoing R&D efforts, referred to in this paper as Total Information Awareness programs. While concern has...

Appropriations for FY2003: Interior and Related Agencies

The Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill includes funds for the Department of the Interior (DOI), except for the Bureau of Reclamation, and funds for some agencies or programs within three other departments--Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services. It also funds numerous smaller related agencies. On February 4, 2002, President Bush submitted his FY2003 budget for Interior and related agencies, totaling $18.94 billion compared to $19.17 billion enacted for FY2002 ( P.L.107-63 ). While the House passed an Interior funding bill in the 107th Congress, the Senate did...

Environmental Protection Issues in the 107th Congress

This report discuss issues that received congressional attention in the 107th Congress, such as The impact of air quality regulations, key water quality issues, superfund, solid/hazardous wastes, multibillion dollar cleanup and compliance programs, climate change, pesticides, EPA budget, and Science and Technology.

Risk Assessment and Regulation in the Federal Government: A Brief Overview

An important function of the regulatory process on the federal level is to assess and control risks--damage from events that may or may not occur--that confront the citizenry. Some agencies use risk assessment methods to help understand and control risks; they then use the rulemaking process to select which methods of risk control to use. Risk assessment, the rulemaking process, and methods of risk control all generate controversy. Congress sometimes mandates which risks federal agencies address, to what extent they are controlled, and how they are controlled. Congress may change how...

Iraq: The Debate Over U.S. Policy

The passage of H.J.Res. 114 ( P.L. 107-243 ) in both the House and Senate on October 11, 2002, appeared to reflect a consensus on giving the President the authority, subject to several important conditions, to use United States' Armed Forces to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD). At the same time, the debate over the Iraq war resolution also reflected continuing divisions in Congress regarding how to deal with the challenge posed by Saddam Hussein's WMD programs and capabilities, and the Administration's handling of this issue. These divisions continue and in some ways...

Appropriations for FY2003: Energy and Water Development

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. The Bush Administration requested $25.5 billion for these programs for FY2003 compared with $25.2 billion appropriated in FY2002. The House Appropriations Committee recommended a bill, H.R. 5431 , with $26.0 billion on September 5, 2002. On July 24, 2002, the Senate Appropriations Committee had reported out its own bill, S....

Homeland Security: Department Organization And Management -- Legislative Phase

After substantial congressional entreatment, President George W. Bush gave impetus to the creation of a Department of Homeland Security when, on June 6, 2002, he proposed the establishment of such an entity by Congress. At the time, bills to mandate a department were pending in both houses of Congress. The President's action was viewed as an effort to move beyond the coordination efforts of the Office of Homeland Security, established by E.O. 13228 of October 8, 2001, to a strong administrative structure for managing consolidated programs concerned with border security and effective...

Amtrak Issues in the 108th Congress

This report discusses a number of issues connected with Amtrak that Congress may consider. Amtrak does not earn enough revenue, or receive enough assistance, to cover its operating costs and capital needs. As a result, Amtrak is regularly on the verge of insolvency.

Appropriations for FY2003: Military Construction

The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill provides funding for (1) military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family housing operations and construction; (3) U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program; and (4) the bulk of base realignment and closure (BRAC)costs. On February 4, 2002, the Administration submitted a $379 billion FY2003 defense budget request. Of this, $9.0 billion was designated for accounts falling within the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committees' subcommittees on military construction. This request...

Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 107th Congress, 2001-2002

During the 107th Congress, 354 nominations to executive department full-time positions were submitted to the Senate. Of these nominations, seven were submitted by President Clinton before he left office and were withdrawn by President Bush on March 19, 2001. President Bush submitted 347 nominations, of which 297 were confirmed, two were withdrawn, 35 were returned to him at the August 2001 recess, one was returned to him at the adjournment of the first session, and 12 were returned to him at the end of the 107th Congress. President Clinton made eight recess appointments during the...

Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2003

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Medicaid

This report begins with an overview of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It then discusses the distinction made in IDEA between medical services and health services. The report then summarizes the provisions in law that link Medicaid funding to IDEA. Next the report provides an overview of the complexities of Medicaid eligibility and covered services. Following that discussion, the report analyzes possible reasons why Medicaid appears to cover relatively little of IDEA health-related costs. Finally the report outlines possible legislative approaches with respect to...

China-U.S. Relations

This report discusses the background information and most recent development in U.S.-China relations since mid-1996. The relations also have been marred by continuing allegations of Chinese espionage, ongoing controversy over human rights, charges that China continues to violate its non-proliferation commitments, controversy over the accidental NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, and renewed tensions over Taiwan. The report describes current issues in U.S.-China relations such as; Human Rights Issues, Issues in U.S.-China Security Relations, Economic Issues, and Sovereignty...

A Primer on E-Government: Sectors, Stages, Opportunities, and Challenges of Online Governance

Electronic government (e-government) intersects many legislative issues, including privacy, digital divide (the lack of equal access to computers, whether due to a lack of financial resources or necessary skills), public access to government information, service delivery, and information security. E-government solutions are prominently represented in efforts to improve the management and efficiency of government information technology resources. To help policymakers discern e-government initiatives relative to their role in various issues, this report identifies and defines the principal...

Nuclear Earth Penetrator Weapons

Military Base Closures: Agreement on a 2005 Round

Ninety-seven major military bases were recommended for closure and realignment by the 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995 base realignment and closure (BRAC) commissions. Action on all 451 installations (major and minor) from the first four rounds was completed by the end of FY2001, as scheduled. The U.S. General Accounting Office has estimated that these closures and realignments produced net savings of about $16.7 billion as of the end of FY2001 and will continue to produce an estimated annual recurring savings thereafter of about $6.6 billion. In mid-1997, Secretary of Defense William Cohen...

Military Transformation: Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance

The Department of Defense (DOD) indicates it is undertaking a major alteration in its capabilities, from a force designed to fight the Soviet Union to one tailored to 21st century adversaries including terrorism. This shift has been prompted by the perception of a changing threat and improved technology, especially information technology. As the military services attempt to increase the agility and versatility of their weapon systems, they also see a need to increase the capabilities of military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) to support the new weapon systems...

U.S. Bilateral Assistance to Russia: 1992-2002

For more than ten years, the U.S. program of foreign assistance to Russia has supported three aims -- security , by promoting nuclear and chemical weapons nonproliferation activities; stability , by supporting a range of programs to create a democratic and economically prosperous Russia that would be a cooperative member of the international community; and humanitarian relief , reflecting traditional American values. Since it was launched, the Russia foreign aid program has been subject to considerable criticism. Some argued the amount of funding was too little, too late; others that...

Smallpox Vaccine Stockpile and Vaccination Policy

On December 13, 2002, President George W. Bush announced the administration's long-awaited policy for vaccinating U.S. citizens against smallpox. That same day, the government began vaccinating an estimated 500,000 troops and other personnel who serve in high risk parts of the world. Voluntary vaccination of up to 500,000 civilian health care and public health workers probably would not begin until after January 24, 2003, a date set by Section 4 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( P.L. 107-296 ). The Bush Administration plan for civilian health care workers follows the October 17, 2002,...

Combating Terrorism: First Emergency Supplemental Appropriations - Distribution of Funds to Departments and Agencies

This report provides background on the 2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States, P.L. 107-38 (H.R. 2888) as well as the criteria for use of the funds developed by The Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It also outlines information about supplemental fund distributions in three tables.

Iran: Arms and Weapons of Mass Destruction Suppliers

Successive U.S. administrations since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution have viewed Iran as a potential threat to U.S. allies and forces in the Persian Gulf and in the broader Middle East and have sought to limit its strategic capabilities. The greater visibility of moderate elements inside Iran since 1997 led the United States to seek to engage Iran in a formal governmental dialogue, but the Clinton and George W. Bush Administration did not reduce U.S. efforts to deny Iran advanced conventional arms and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) technology. Iran's moderates appear to see...

Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade: Key Issues for the 108th Congress

The 108th Congress will be faced early on with a number of pressing foreign affairs, defense, and trade issues. This report provides background information on the issues most likely to be taken up in the first session, analyzes the congressional role in shaping U.S. policy on these key issues, and lists CRS products that provide more detailed discussion and analysis. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon dramatically altered the U.S. political environment, pushing issues of war and homeland security to the top of the policy agenda. Of particular concern to...

The Export Administration Act: Controversy and Prospects

The 108th Congress again is expected to consider legislation to rewrite or to reauthorize the Export Administration Act (EAA). In the 107th Congress, the Export Administration Act of 2001 (S. 149) was introduced on January 23, 2001. The Senate passed S. 149 on September 6, 2001 by a vote of 85-14. A companion version in the House, H.R. 2581, was introduced by Rep. Gilman on July 20, 2001. The House International Relations Committee reported the measure with 35 amendments on August 1. The House Armed Services Committee further amended H.R. 2581 and reported out the bill on March 6, 2002....

Export Administration Act of 1979 Reauthorization

The Export Administration Act of 2001 was introduced on January 23, 2001. Hearings were held by the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and the bill was reported for consideration by the full Senate by a vote of 19-1 to March 22, 2001. A companion version in the House, H.R. 2581, was introduced by Rep. Gilmanon July 20, 2001. The House International Relations Committee reported the measure with 35 amendments on August 1. The Export Administration Act of 1979 expired on August 20, 2001, however the President extended export control authority and the Export Administration...

The Military Draft and a Possible War with Iraq

Since the possibility of a second major war with Iraq became apparent in mid-2002, interest and concern about a return to the draft have manifested themselves for the first time since the 1991 Persian Gulf War. As was the case in 1991, a review of military manpower levels and potential war scenarios suggests that only a prolonged war, with major military reverses for U.S. forces, or new international developments creating the need for substantially larger armed forces, would result in a military requirement to reinstitute the draft. Virtually all proposed scenarios for a war with...

Government Performance and Results Act: Overview of Associated Provisions in the 106th Congress

The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (P. L. 103-62, known as GPRA, or the Results Act) established a new framework for performance management and budgeting in federal agencies. In complying with GPRA, agencies must set goals, devise performance measures, and assess results achieved. This report identifies and analyzes provisions in public laws and committee reports from the 106th Congress (1999-2000) relating to GPRA and its implementation, including comparisons to similar provisions in the 104th and 105th Congresses. The purpose of these studies is to review ways in which...

State and Local Preparedness for Terrorism: Selected Policy Issues

Latin America and the Caribbean: Legislative Issues in 2001-2002

This report provides an overview of the major legislative issues Congress dealt with in 2001 and 2002 relating to Latin America and the Caribbean. Organized by the regions and subregions of the Western Hemisphere, the report provides reference and linkages to other reports covering the issues in more detail. The importance of the region to the United States has been emphasized by President Bush's trips to Mexico in February 2001 and March 2002 and his trips to Peru and El Salvador in March 2002, and by a number of congressional trips to the region. At the hemispheric level, the major...

Authorization and Appropriations for FY2003: Defense

Congress has completed action on the FY2003 defense authorization ( H.R. 4546 ) and defense appropriations ( H.R. 5010 ) bills. The President signed the FY2003 defense appropriations act into law on October 23 ( P.L. 107-248 ), and he signed the FY2003 defense authorization act into law on December 2 ( P.L. 107-314 ). In addition, Congress has approved, and the President has signed, the military construction appropriations bill ( H.R. 5011 , P.L. 107-249 ). The House and Senate Appropriations Committees did not, however, take up bills to provide $10 billion that the Administration...

U.S.-India Security Relations

Department of Homeland Security: Appropriations Transfer Authority

The Administration’s proposals regarding appropriations transfer authority have sparked controversy and engendered significant modifications in pending legislative proposals. This report defines appropriations transfer authority and explains its legal basis, examines recent congressional practices in this area, and assesses the current proposals regarding appropriations transfer authority for the DHS.

Concurrent Receipt of Military Retirement and VA Disability Benefits: Budgetary Issues

House and Senate conferees on the FY2003 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4546) are currently considering provisions that would lift the longstanding prohibition on concurrent receipt (simultaneous payment) of Department of Defense (DoD) retired pay and Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) disability benefits. The House-passed bill would phase in partial concurrent receipt by providing both retirement and VA benefits for those with disabilities of 60 percent or above by FY2007. The Senate-passed bill provides full concurrent receipt for military retirees with any disability rating...

Foreign Relations Authorization, FY2003: An Overview

Congress is required by law to authorize the spending of appropriations for the State Department and foreign policy activities every two years. The authorization process dovetails with the annual appropriation process for the Department of State (within the Commerce, Justice, State and Related Agency appropriation) and foreign policy/foreign aid activities (within the foreign operations appropriation). While Congress intended the legislation would serve as authorization for both FY2002 and FY2003, the delay in getting it through Congress led to a waiver of the authorization...

Defense Fellows Programs

Each year, over one hundred commissioned military officers and Department of Defense (DOD) civilians participate in diverse programs outside DOD aimed at professional education of the individual and enrichment for the services and the host agency. Over the years, the general process of assigning DOD personnel, and especially military officers, outside of the Department has drawn public scrutiny. With U.S. forces involved in numerous military operations around the world and experiencing a high degree of personnel tempo, many have raised concerns that assignment of military officers to...

Nuclear Smuggling and International Terrorism: Issues and Options for U.S. Policy

The collapse of the USSR and its framework of totalitarian control raised fears of rampant nuclear proliferation, fueled by leakages of fissile materials from increasingly insecure Russian stockpiles. A major U.S. concern is that such materials and even complete nuclear weapons could gravitate into dangerous hands, increasing the array of potentially lethal dangers to Western security and stability. The dimensions of this threat have not been precisely calibrated. The amount of weapons-usable material leaking out of Russia has been small. Little visible evidence exists of participation...

European Counterterrorist Efforts: Political Will and Diverse Responses in the First Year After September 11

The attacks of September 11 prompted the Bush Administration to improve law enforcement and other coordination between the United States and European governments dealing with international terrorism. European governments have also taken measures to enhance cooperation among themselves. Most notable are European Union efforts to enhance cross-border sharing of intelligence and police information, extend the reach of warrants, and strengthen external border controls. Some European countries have a long history of fighting terrorism, and have refined existing practices as part of their...

F-22 Raptor Aircraft Program

This report discusses the background information, analysis and the recent developments in the F-22 Raptor Aircraft Program. The F-22 program raises questions about its cost and the need for this aircraft, the capabilities it would have, and the number of these planes needed to meet military requirements. The F-22 has had strong congressional support, although some have criticized the program on grounds of cost, requirements, and coordination with other tactical aircraft programs. Deletion of procurement funds in the FY2000 defense appropriation bill passed by the House made the future of...

Japan's Economic and Security Challenges

This report provides a snapshot of U.S.-Japan relations, current economic and security challenges facing Japan, and policies being adopted or considered to deal with them. The information was gathered primarily during a trip to Japan in February 2002 and augmented by subsequent research. Japan's economy is beginning to recover from its third recession over the past twelve years. This "lost decade of the 1990s" and slow growth means that Japanese gross domestic product is as much as $1.3 trillion dollars (equivalent to Brazil's GDP) below what it could have been if it had continued to...

Iraq: Differing Views in the Domestic Policy Debate

The debate over whether, when, and how to prosecute a major U.S. military intervention in Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein is complex, despite a general consensus in Washington that the world would be much better off if Hussein were not in power. Although most U.S. observers, for a variety of reasons, would prefer some degree of allied or U.N. support for military intervention in Iraq, some observers believe that the United States should act unilaterally even without such multilateral support. Some commentators argue for a stronger, more committed version of the current policy approach...

The Impact Of Mobilization On Student Reservists

The ongoing mobilization of reservists in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle (OEF/ONE), has been the largest reserve call-up since the Persian Gulf War. Most of these reservists held civilian jobs prior to mobilization and, as such, are entitled to certain legal protections under the Uniformed Servicemembers Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA; 38 U.S.C. 4301-4333). However, a substantial number of reservists today are students at institutions of higher education, either on a full-time or part-time basis. Their academic status is not covered by USERRA, or...

German Elections of 2002: Aftermath and Implications for the United States

The German parliamentary elections of September 22, 2002, returned Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Red-Green coalition by the narrowest of margins. The Chancellor begins his second term weakened by the slimness of his coalition's majority in parliament and the lack of a clear mandate from the voters. He must deal with serious economic problems left over from his first term. He also faces the challenge of overcoming tensions with the United States brought on by his sharp campaign statements condemning U.S. Iraq policy that may have won him the election. Many now wonder whether...

Combating Terrorism: 2001 Congressional Debate on Emergency Supplemental Allocations

Within days of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Congress approved a $40 billion emergency supplemental appropriations ( P.L. 107-38 / H.R. 2888 ) to aid victims of the terrorist attacks, to bolster security at airports and other sites, to pursue the investigation and prosecution of those responsible, and to support national security. The appropriation measure partitioned the $40 billion into three clusters. The first $10 billion was available immediately for allocation by the President. The second $10 billion was available 15 days after the...

Federal Research and Development Organization, Policy, and Funding for Counterterrorism

Before the September 11th terrorist attacks, experts questioned whether the government was prepared adequately to conduct and use research and development (R&D) to counter terrorism. They cited inadequate planning; conflicting information about agency funding; the absence of coordinated ways to set priorities and eliminate duplication; and the need to use research resources effectively. Mechanisms have been established since then to set specific R&D priorities and to coordinate interagency policy. The Office of Homeland Security (OHS), created by Executive Order 13228, does not list R&D...

Budget FY2002: A Chronology with Internet Access

This is a select chronology of, and a finding guide for information on, congressional and presidential actions and documents related to major budget events in calendar year 2001, covering the FY2002 budget. Brief information is provided for the President’s budget, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations measures (regular, continuing, supplementals, and rescissions), budget reconciliation, House and Senate votes, line-item vetoes, publications, testimony, charts, and tables.

Trade Legislation in the 107th Congress: An Overview

Supplemental Appropriations for FY2002: Combating Terrorism and Other Issues

On March 21, 2002, President Bush requested $27.1 billion in emergency supplemental funding to continue the war on terrorism and provide additional assistance for New York City and aviation security as well as other homeland security needs. With the $1.3 billion FY2002 supplemental request for Pell grants in the President's February budget, the Administration's request was $28.4 billion. Although there was broad congressional support for the new supplemental, Congress debated the total spending level, the amount for homeland security, and inclusion of budget ceilings for FY2003, as well...

Russian National Security Policy After September 11

Russian President Putin appears to have made a strategic decision to shift Russian policy toward cooperation with the United States and the West. This is a major departure from the policy that Putin inherited from his predecessors, which saw Russia as the leader of a coalition aimed at opposing U.S. "global domination." Putin seized upon the events of September 11 to promote his new policy by: cooperating with the United States against Al Qaeda and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan; softening Russian opposition to NATO enlargement, including admission of former Soviet republics, and...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1994-2001

This report is prepared annually to provide unclassified quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years. Some general data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world. The data in the report illustrate how global patterns of conventional arms transfers have changed in the post-Cold War and post-Persian Gulf War years.

Informing Congress: The Role of the Executive in Times of War and Military Conflict, 1941-2001

Under the Constitution of the United States, the President is responsible for prosecuting war and directing the armed forces during military conflicts, including attacks upon the nation. Congress is constitutionally empowered to declare war, may otherwise authorize the involvement of American armed forces in military conflict, appropriates funds for government activities and operations, including military actions, and engages in oversight to assess the extent to which government operations have been efficiently, economically, and effectively conducted using appropriated funds. Congress...

China's Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Current Policy Issues

This report provides a brief background analysis and recent developments regarding China’s Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles. The report includes topics such as: Recent Proliferation Transfers, chemical, nuclear, and missile technology sales to Iran, Pakistan, Libya, Syria, trade controls, nonproliferation and arms control.

France: Election by Default, 2002

On May 5, 2002, the French people re-elected Jacques Chirac president, and on June 16 gave him a center-right parliamentary majority. The tumultuous two-round presidential elections saw the elimination of Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in the first round, and left the racist, extreme right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen as Chirac's opponent in the second round. Chirac won by a wide margin, but many voters, perhaps a majority, were voting against Le Pen. Chirac and Le Pen both ran on a campaign to quell "insecurity," a euphemism for a rising crime rate. Many observers believe that the...

Crusader XM2001 Self-Propelled Howitzer: Background and Issues for Congress

The Army has been seeking to enhance its self-propelled 155mm artillery capabilities since the late 1970's. In addition to several programs to modify the M109 artillery system, culminating in the current M109A6 Paladin, since 1987 these efforts have focused on what is now called the XM2001 Crusader. Initially begun in order to match the mobility and firepower of Soviet artillery, the Crusader program is now the center of a controversy over whether it is an appropriate investment given the Army's on-going transformation to a lighter, more mobile force. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has...

National Missile Defense: Russia's Reaction

In the late 1990s, the United States began to focus on the possible deployment of defenses against long-range ballistic missiles. The planned National Missile Defense (NMD) system would have exceeded the terms of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Recognizing this, the Clinton Administration sought to convince Russia to modify the terms of the Treaty. But Russia was unwilling to accept any changes to the Treaty. It also decried the U.S plan to deploy NMD, insisting that it would upset strategic stability and start a new arms race. Russia claimed that the ABM Treaty is the...

Foreign Intercity Passenger Rail: Lessons for Amtrak?

Congress is debating the federal government's role in providing intercity passenger rail service. Many believe that Amtrak's future is now at a crossroads. Amtrak's worsening financial situation and its relatively small overall share of the intercity passenger market have led some policymakers to consider other models of passenger rail regulation. The experience of other countries is often cited in debates about passenger rail regulatory regimes. The foreign experience can provide some perspective and some insight in the debate on U.S. intercity passenger rail. Many countries have...

Steel Industry and Trade Issues

Turkey: Issues for U.S. Policy

Hate Crimes: Summary of Selected Proposals and Congressional Authority

Hate crime legislation ( S. 625 / H.R. 1343 ), comparable to a measure which passed the Senate as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (but which was dropped prior to passage), has been introduced with a substantial number of cosponsors in both the House and Senate. It has been reported out of committee without change in the Senate, S.Rept. 107-147 . It outlaws hate crimes, establishes a system of Justice Department and grant program assistance, and instructs the Sentencing Commission to examine adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes....

Hate Crimes: Sketch of Selected Proposals and Congressional Authority

Hate crime legislation ( S. 625 / H.R. 1343 ), comparable to a measure which passed the Senate as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (but which was dropped prior to passage), has been introduced with a substantial number of cosponsors in both the House and Senate. It outlaws hate crimes, establishes a system of Justice Department and grant program assistance, and instructs the Sentencing Commission to examine adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes. It has been reported out of committee unchanged in the Senate, S.Rept. 107-147 (2002)....

Arms Control and Strategic Nuclear Weapons: Unilateral vs. Bilateral Reductions

On November 13, 2001, President Bush announced that he planned to reduce U.S. strategic nuclear weapons to between 1,700 and 2,000 operationally deployed warheads. He noted that he would make these reductions unilaterally, without pursuing a formal arms control agreement with Russia. President Putin welcomed the proposed reductions, but argued that they should be made through a formal treaty. Although the United States eventually agreed to sign a "legally binding" agreement, officials in the Bush Administration have argued that the United States should not be bound by formal arms control...

Election Reform Legislation: Comparison of House and Senate Versions of H.R. 3295

In the wake of the November 2000 presidential election, Congress, the states, and various commissions have examined election procedures, the reliability and costs of different voting technologies, whether national standards are necessary, and the federal role in the election process. More than 80 bills addressing various aspects of federal election reform have been introduced in the 107th Congress. One bill, H.R. 3295 , has passed the House and Senate in different forms and is awaiting conference. The Help America Vote Act (Ney-Hoyer), passed the House on December 12, 2001. The Martin...

Foreign Assistance: An Overview of U.S. Aid Agencies and Programs

The Administration's $16.1 billion FY2003 foreign assistance request is intended to serve a wide range of U.S. foreign policy interests, including security, political, economic, commercial, and humanitarian goals overseas. Congress annually appropriates foreign aid funds in the Foreign Operations Appropriations, plus overseas food aid in the Agriculture spending bill. Funds are channeled through about 40 appropriation accounts that are managed by four major Federal agencies, and several independent organizations. This report provides a short description of each account, organized by the...

Navy Shipbuilding: Recent Shipyard Mergers -- Background and Issues for Congress

In April 2001, General Dynamics (GD) and Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) announced an agreement under which GD would purchase NNS. The following month, Northrop Grumman (NOC) announced an unsolicited counteroffer to purchase NNS. The Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Department of Defense (DoD) reviewed the two merger proposals and in October 2001 announced that they would oppose the GD merger proposal on the grounds that it would eliminate competition in nuclear submarines and harm competition for emerging technologies for both nuclear submarines and surface ships. DoJ and DoD did not...

Export Administration Act of 2001: Side-by-Side of S. 149 and H.R. 2581

This report compares the major provisions of the Export Administration Act of 2001 (EAA); S. 149 as passed by the Senate, H.R. 2581 as amended by the House International Relations Committee, and H.R. 2581 as further amended by the House Armed Services Committee. These bills reauthorize and revamp the primary authority for controlling exports and technologies for reasons of foreign policy and national security. The Export Administration Act of 2001 was introduced in the Senate as S. 149 on January 23, 2001, by Senator Michael P. Enzi. The bill was reported out by the Senate Banking,...

Angola: Recent Developments and U.S. Policy

A permanent cease-fire agreement between the Angolan government and its long-time military adversary, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) was signed on April 4, 2002. The accord provides for the demobilization of UNITA’s forces, and for their integration into a unified national military. Under a separate law passed prior to ratification of the accord, UNITA’s armed forces will receive a general amnesty for wartime offenses committed against the state and Angolan people. The agreement followed the death of Jonas Savimbi, the founder and long-time leader of UNITA,...

Appropriations for FY2002: Military Construction

The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill provides funding for (1) military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family housing operations and construction; (3) U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program; and (4) the bulk of base realignment and closure (BRAC) costs. Funding for rebuilding parts of the Pentagon destroyed in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, is likely to be included in military construction appropriations. Preliminary estimates of the total cost vary from $100 million to $1 billion. Part of the...

Preventing Proliferation of Biological Weapons: U.S. Assistance to the Former Soviet States

The former Soviet and subsequently Russian biological weapons program possessed capabilities far in excess of any such program known to have existed elsewhere. These capabilities included genetically-altered, antibiotic-resistant pathogens and sophisticated delivery systems. Approximately fifty biological research and production centers (BRPCs) throughout the former Soviet Union devoted either all or part of their work to the program. In the post-Soviet era, former Soviet states drastically reduced and in some cases eliminated funding for these BRPCs. Thousands of BW scientists became...

Imagery Intelligence: Issues for Congress

Intelligence derived from satellites has become an essential element of military operations and foreign policymaking. In particular, precise imagery from space-based collection systems makes possible the effective use of precision-guided munitions that is becoming the basis of U.S. defense planning. Imagery intelligence also provides the factual bases for addressing many foreign policy issues. Imagery is collected by satellites acquired and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an organization with a record of enormous technological achievements since its creation...

Joint Strike Fighter (JSF): Potential National Security Questions Pertaining to a Single Production Line

The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program is intended to develop and build a family of new-generation tactical combat aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Navy, and Britain's Royal Navy. As now projected, the JSF will become the U.S. Defense Department's (DoD) largest ever acquisition program in terms of future cost and number of aircraft to be produced. A controversial aspect of the JSF program has been the "winner-take-all" approach that DoD used to award the development and demonstration contract. On October 26, 2001, senior DoD officials announced that a team led by...

Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation

The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation was created pursuant to language contained in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2001 (H.R. 5408), which was incorporated into the H.R. 4205 conference report (H.Rept. 106-945), enacted into law on October 30, 2000 (P.L. 106-398). The Institute was created by Congress in response to a legislative initiative sponsored by the Clinton Administration. When the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation was formally established in Section 2166 of Title 10 U.S.C., the authorities of its controversial predecessor, the...

Russian Fighter Aircraft Industrial Base: Parallels with the United States?

There are many differences between the fighter aircraft industry in the United States and in Russia. The United States has traditionally produced its weaponry within a capitalist framework which allowed free enterprise and competition between companies in private industry. The former Soviet Union's economy, and its fighter aircraft industry was based on a Marxist, command economy, where the central government dictated the type and number of aircraft produced and allocated resources for construction. Once among the most glamorous components of the Soviet military industrial complex,...

Possible Impacts of Major Counter Terrorism Security Actions on Research, Development, and Higher Education

The Congress, the executive branch, and scientific and technical communities have adopted and are considering research and development (R&D) and education-related security measures to counteract terrorism. There is widespread agreement on the need for these measures, but some experts say that they could have unintended consequences. Some of these actions are included in the PATRIOT/USA Act, P.L. 107-56 ; in addition the Office of Homeland Security, federal agencies, and the scientific and technical community have proposed or taken other actions. Activities relating to higher education (in...

Defense Budget for FY2003: Data Summary

This report is designed to be a readily accessible source of facts and figures on the FY2003 defense budget. Part I presents basic data on the national defense budget request, including figures on budget authority and outlays for the Department of Defense and for the national defense budget function. Part II shows trends in overall defense spending, including figures on the growth and decline of defense spending, on defense outlays as a share of federal expenditures, on defense outlays as a share of gross domestic product, and on foreign military spending. Part III defines key defense...

Macedonia: Country Background and Recent Conflict

Sharing borders with Kosovo and Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) managed to avoid becoming directly involved in the drawn-out wars in Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s. Inter-ethnic relations between the Slav majority and ethnic Albanian minority in Macedonia, while often tense, never reached the crisis state of Albanian-Serb relations in the province of Kosovo. Since Macedonia's independence in 1991, ethnic Albanian political parties in Macedonia have been represented in government and in parliament. However, in early 2001, ethnic Albanian rebels calling...

Japan-U.S. Cooperation on Ballistic Missile Defense: Issues and Prospects

The issue of missile defense cooperation with Japan intersects with several issues of direct concern to Congress, ranging from support for developing a capability to protect U.S. regional forces, Asia-Pacific allies, and Taiwan, from Chinese short- and medium-range missiles, to countering a possible future threat to U.S. territory from long-range missiles developed by North Korea. Japan's current participation in the U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) program dates from August 1999, when the Japanese government agreed to conduct cooperative research on four components of the interceptor...

Appropriations for FY2002: An Overview

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.

Recruiting and Retention in the Active Component Military: Are There Problems?

This report provides information on recruiting and retention trends in the active component of the armed forces since 1989, including recruiting and retention shortfalls that occurred within the past few years; the congressional and executive branch response to these shortfalls; and an assessment of the current situation. Additionally, it contains an analysis of factors that may have an impact on recruiting and retention in the future, and discusses policy options that could be considered to minimize any negative effects that these factors might cause. In recent years, the Military...

Andean Regional Initiative (ARI): FY2002 Assistance for Colombia and Neighbors

In April and May 2001, the Bush Administration proposed $882.29 million in FY2002 economic and counter-narcotics assistance, as well as extension of trade preferences and other measures, for Colombia and regional neighbors in an initiative called the "Andean Regional Initiative" (ARI). Critics of the Andean Regional Initiative argue that it is a continuation of what they regard as the misguided approach of Plan Colombia assistance approved in 2000, with an overemphasis on military and counter-drug assistance, and with inadequate support for human rights and the peace process in...

Appropriations for FY2002: Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies

This report tracks action by the 107th Congress on FY2002 appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and other related agencies (often referred to as CJS appropriations). President Bush's FY2002 budget request totals $40.81 billion, about one billion dollars (2.6%) above the FY2001 total. The House agreed to $41.46 billion, the committee total, and passed the bill ( H.R. 2500 ) on July 18th. The Senate Appropriations Committee recommended a total of $41.53 billion ( S. 1215 ). The Senate passed its version of H.R. 2500 , as amended, on September 13,...

Appropriations for FY2002: Energy and Water Development

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. The Bush Administration requested $22.5 billion for these programs for FY2002 compared with $23.6 billion appropriated in FY2001. The House bill, ( H.R. 2311 ), passed on June 28, 2001, allocated $23.7 billion for these programs. The Senate approved its version of the bill July 19, 2001, with $25.0 billion. The final bill...

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2001

Appropriations for FY2002: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. foreign aid budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. It contains the largest share -- over two-thirds -- of total U.S. international affairs spending. President Bush requested $15.167 billion for FY2002 Foreign Operations, an amount 1.5% higher than enacted FY2001 appropriations. By comparison, foreign policy resources proposed for State Department, U.N. contributions, and other non-foreign aid activities would increase by 13.2% from...

Appropriations and Authorization for FY2002: Defense

On June 27, the Administration submitted an amended fiscal year 2002 defense budget request to Congress. The request totaled $343.5 billion in funding for the national defense budget function, $32.9 billion above the amount originally enacted for FY2001, an 11% increase. The total included funding for the Department of Defense and for defense-related activities of the Department of Energy and other agencies. Both House and Senate versions of the DOD appropriations bill provided the total for national defense that the Administration requested. To accommodate that level, Congress adjusted...

Appropriations for FY2002: Interior and Related Agencies

The Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill includes funds for the Department of the Interior (DOI), except the Bureau of Reclamation, and funds for some agencies or programs within three other departments--Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services. It also funds numerous smaller agencies. On April, 9, 2001, President Bush submitted his FY2002 budget for Interior and Related Agencies, totaling $18.19 billion compared to the $19.07 billion enacted for FY2001 ( P.L. 106-291 ). These figures reflect scorekeeping adjustments. (See Table 10 and Table 11 ). Title VIII...

The Nuclear Posture Review: Overview and Emerging Issues

The Bush Administration released the results of its Nuclear Posture Review in January 2002. That study states that the United States will no longer base its nuclear planning on the need to address the "Russian threat." Instead, it will develop forces with the capabilities needed to address a range of threats from unspecified countries. Furthermore, offensive nuclear weapons will combine with missile defenses and conventional strike weapons to deter and defeat potential threats. The United States will reduce its nuclear forces to between 1,700 and 2,200 "operationally deployed"...

Defense Budget for FY2002: Data Summary, Final Version

This report outlines the amended FY2002 defense budget request from the Bush administration, delivered to the Hill in June 2001. The report presents defense budget data in a manner designed to provide various perspectives on U.S. military spending. Part I presents basic data on the amended Bush Administration FY2002 national defense budget request, including data on budget authority and outlays for the Department of Defense and for the national defense budget function. Part II shows trends in overall defense spending, including figures on the growth and decline of defense spending, on...

Appropriations for FY2002: Transportation and Related Agencies

On December 18, 2001, the President Bush signed the FY2002 Department of Transportation (DOT) and Related Agencies conference agreement ( H. Rept. 107-308 ), appropriating a total of $59.588 billion for DOT, a 2.5% increase over the FY2001 enacted level. The enacted bill provides $507 million more than the House-passed version and $391 million less than the Senate-passed bill. At $32.895 billion, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will receive slightly less than in FY 2001. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will receive $734 million, $21 million less than in FY2001. The...

Government Information Technology Management: Past and Future Issues (The Clinger-Cohen Act)

Government reform and improved management of public resources have been a common theme in congressional policymaking over the past decade. This report provides an overview of the Information Technology Management Reform Act (ITMRA) of 1996, or as it is better known, the Clinger-Cohen Act. Although the Clinger Cohen Act is a combination of the Federal Acquisition Reform Act (FARA) and the ITMRA, this report focuses on the information technology procurement and management reforms only. At the time of its passage, ITMRA reflected a growing concern that the federal government was not...

U.S. Assistance to the Former Soviet Union 1991-2001: A History of Administration and Congressional Action

The future of the 12 successor states of the former Soviet Union is a major concern of U.S. foreign policy and congressional attention, and the U.S. assistance program has been a major tool for influencing the direction of that region. This report provides a chronological history of U.S. assistance to the Soviet Union and the New Independent States (NIS) to the end of 2001, focusing on Administration and Congressional actions -- proposals, policy pronouncements, debate, and legislation -- rather than the details of program implementation in the field. During 1991, the thrust of the...

Disadvantaged Businesses: A Review of Federal Assistance

It is the policy of the federal government to encourage the development of small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) owned by minorities and women. SDBs are statutorily defined as small businesses that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias and who have limited capital and credit opportunities. This report presents an overview of the major federal programs now in existence and indicates where interested persons can obtain further information about specific programs.

V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft

Assassination Ban and E.O. 12333: A Brief Summary

In the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon, some attention has been focused upon the assassination ban contained in Executive Order (E.O.) 12333, Section 2.11, and whether it would prohibit the United States from responding to the attacks by targeting those who orchestrated these acts of terrorism. In considering the challenges involved in effectively combating terrorism and protecting the United States from future terrorist attacks, there has been wide-ranging debate as to what approaches might be beneficial. Part of that...

CONTOMS (Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Operational Medical Support Program)

Since the September 11th terrorist attack, greater attention has focused on federal, state, and local readiness to respond to situations involving terrorism or weapons of mass destruction (WMD). One such federal program that provided federal support to local law enforcement and first responders is CONTOMS (Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Operational Medical Support).

The Office of Attending Physician in the U.S. Congress

The Office of Attending Physician (OAP) was established by congressional resolution in 1928 to meet the medical needs of Members of Congress. (1) Over the years, the services offered by the office have expanded. During the anthrax scare on Capitol Hill in 2001, it coordinated all the testing of the Capitol complex as well as the care and treatment of Members and staff who may have been exposed to the bacteria. The office has always been headed by a naval officer who is a physician. Six Navy doctors have served as attending physician. (2) The staffing and funding of the office have...

Electronic Warfare: EA-6B Aircraft Modernization and Related Issues for Congress

Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) face difficult and potentially costly choices when considering updating a key facet of the U.S. electronic warfare (EW) force structure. Presently, the Navy's EA-6B Prowler is the only airborne radar jamming system available to protect Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force aircraft. The Prowler, though still capable, is aging and in short supply. Its retirement is scheduled for 2015. There has been debate on how much EW is required to protect an aircraft force that increasingly incorporates stealth technology. However, recent operational...

Operation Enduring Freedom: Potential Air Power Questions for Congress

The United States is employing military air power in a variety of roles in the Afghan conflict. Congress may have questions concerning the effective use of air power, including which aircraft are likely to be involved and how they are used. Other questions include what risks U.S. aircraft may face, potential readiness issues, logistical challenges, and the effectiveness of U.S. air forces against a "low-tech" enemy.

Research and Development Funding: Fiscal Year 2002

China's Maritime Territorial Claims: Implications for U.S. Interests

The relatively shallow and resource-rich waters surrounding the People's Republic of China (PRC) are of growing economic and strategic importance, yet they often remain invisible in the American foreign policy process. The United States, along with most of the international community, regards these as international waters, through which approximately half of the world's sea-going commercial shipments pass each year. Consequently, a primary U.S. economic and strategic objective in the region has been the maintenance of freedom-of-navigation through these waters. But apart from their...

The Department of Energy's Tritium Production Program

Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen used to enhance the explosive yield of every thermonuclear weapon. Tritium has a radioactive decay rate of 5.5% per year and has not been produced in this country for weapons purposes since 1988. To compensate for decay losses, tritium levels in the existing stockpile are being maintained by recycling and reprocessing it from dismantled nuclear weapons. To maintain the nuclear weapons stockpile at the level called for in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) II (not yet in force), however, a new tritium source would be needed by the year...

China's Foreign Conventional Arms Acquisitions: Background and Analysis

This CRS Report examines the major, foreign conventional weapon systems that China has acquired or has committed to acquire since 1990, with particular attention to implications for U.S. security concerns. It is not the assumption of this report that China's military, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), will engage in conflict with other forces in Asia. Nonetheless, since the mid-1990s, there has been increasing concern about China's assertiveness in Asia and military buildup against Taiwan. Since 1990, China has acquired or sought to acquire select types and modest quantities of modern...

Peacekeeping: Military Command and Control Issues

Coalition warfare and the leadership of foreign commanders has played a part in U.S. history since the War for Independence, when the commander of the troops of the predecessor colonies, George Washington, entrusted a key mission and command of 2,000 Continental soldiers to a French Major General, the Marquis de Lafayette. Since 1900, there have been at least seventeen military operations in which the United States has placed U.S. troops under a foreign commander. As of November 1, 2001, some 6,515 U.S. troops serve under a French general in the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR). Some 865 troops...

Missile Defense, Arms Control, and Deterrence: A New Strategic Framework

The Bush Administration has argued that a "new strategic framework" should shape the U.S. relationship with Russia. The Administration states that the United States no longer faces the threat of global nuclear war, and must instead respond to emerging threats. In this environment, it argues, the United States must rely on both offensive and defensive weapons to deter and repel attacks. The Administration maintains that Russia is no longer an enemy, so the United States and Russia need not rely on formal arms control agreements to manage the nuclear balance. Each can reduce its...

China-U.S. Aircraft Collision Incident of April 2001: Assessments and Policy Implications

The serious incident of April 2001 between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC) involved a collision over the South China Sea between a U.S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane and a People's Liberation Army (PLA) naval F-8 fighter that crashed. After surviving the near-fatal accident, the U.S. crew made an emergency landing of their damaged plane onto the PLA's Lingshui airfield on Hainan Island, and the PRC detained the 24 crew members for 11 days. Washington and Beijing disagreed over the cause of the accident, the release of the crew and plane, whether Washington...

Reserve Funds in the FY2002 Budget Resolution

Nuclear Sanctions: Section 102(b) of the Arms Export Control Act and Its Application to India and Pakistan

Section 102(b) of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) requires the President to impose sanctions on any country that he has determined is a "non-nuclear-weapon state" and has received or detonated a "nuclear explosive device." Sanctions include prohibitions on foreign assistance; munitions sales and licenses; foreign military financing; government credits, guarantees, and financial assistance; U.S. support for multilateral financial assistance; private bank lending to the affected government; and exports of certain specific controlled goods and technology. Specific exceptions exist...

Costs of Major U.S. Wars and Recent U.S. Overseas Military Operations

The direct costs of U.S. military operations have varied greatly, with a high of some $4.7 trillion (in constant FY2002 dollars) for the incremental costs of World War II, to a few million per operation for U.S. peacekeeping efforts in Cambodia, Angola, and the Western Sahara. The incremental military costs of the war in Vietnam to the United States was $572 billion in FY2002 dollars, and the Persian Gulf War incremental costs totaled some $80 billion in FY2002 dollars, most of which was covered by allied contributions. For the decade after the war, from FY1991 through FY2000, the DOD has...

Initial Federal Budget Response to the 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor

This report discusses initial federal budget response to attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which occurred as the federal government was half way through FY1942.

Defense Trade Security Initiative: Background and Status

In response to complaints voiced by the U.S. defense industry and foreign customers about the unwieldiness of the defense export licensing review process, the Department of State, with the Department of Defense, developed a set of seventeen reform proposals. Referred to as the Defense Trade Security Initiative (DTSI), it was announced by the Secretary of State during May of 2000. This report gives the background on the DTSI and discusses associated congressional actions that are reflected in the Security Assistance Act of 2000. It also gives the current status of each of the proposals. It...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1993-2000

This report is prepared annually to provide unclassified quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years. Some general data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world. The data in the report illustrate how global patterns of conventional arms transfers have changed in the post-Cold War and post-Persian Gulf War years.

Theater Missile Defense: Issues for Congress

Biological Weapons: A Primer

In the past decade, public and congressional concerns over biological weapons (BW), and bioterrorism in particular, have sharply increased. Though the use of living organisms (e.g. bacteria, viruses, fungi) to harm or kill humans, livestock, or plants has never occurred on a large scale, many government officials are viewing a BW attack as a "when, not if" scenario. Some experts, however, question this assertion, noting that BW production and employment is significantly more difficult than often portrayed, and that there are significant political down sides for any nation or group...

National Missile Defense: Issues for Congress

National Missile Defense and Alaska

Colombia: Plan Colombia Legislation and Assistance (FY2000-FY2001)

On February 7, 2000, the Clinton Administration, as part of its annual budget request, asked Congress for FY2000 supplemental appropriations of $954 million for assistance to Colombia and other Andean counternarcotics efforts. FY2000 allocated funding for Colombia, from appropriations made in 1999, already totals some $164.0 million. At the same time, the Administration requested $318 million for FY2001 assistance to Colombia and other regional efforts, in addition to the $150 million that it previously indicated it had planned to allocate to Colombia in FY2001. The Clinton...

Military Housing Privatization Initiative: Background and Issues

This report describes the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), a pilot program authorized by Congress in 1996 to encourage privately-funded development of housing for use by members of the U.S. Military Services (including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force). The quality of housing available to members of the Military Services is considered one of the most important components (along with pay and quality of workplace) in defining the military's "quality of life," directly influencing the ability of the Military Services to retain personnel on active duty. As part of...

Arms Control After START II: Next Steps on the U.S.-Russian Agenda

The United States and Russia signed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) on January 3, 1993. This report presents the background on the Russian parliament approval of the START II ratification. The report also discusses the linkage between U.S. withdrawal from ABM treaty and Russia’s possible withdrawal from START II. It discusses the alternative approaches for the United States and the future for the U.S.-Russian arms control process.

Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR): Background, Process, and Issues

The congressionally mandated Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) directs DoD to undertake a wide-ranging review of strategy, programs, and resources. Specifically, the QDR is expected to delineate a national defense strategy consistent with the most recent National Security Strategy by defining force structure, modernization plans, and a budget plan allowing the military to successfully execute the full range of missions within that strategy. The report will include an evaluation by the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the military's ability to successfully...

Putin's Economic Strategy and U.S. Interests

President Putin has set as a goal the conversion of Russia to a functioning market system in this decade. Without successful reform to develop a functioning market system with sustained growth, the Russian economy is likely to recede in performance toward the level of a developing country. Putin's strategy calls for rapid and comprehensive changes in the structure of the Russian economy, including radical changes in fiscal, financial, enterprise and administrative systems. Whether Putin is able and willing to implement the difficult decisions to bring about successful market reform...

Cyberwarfare

Cyberwarfare raises issues of growing national interest and concern. Cyberwarfare can be used to describe various aspects of defending and attacking information and computer networks in cyberspace, as well as denying an adversary’s ability to do the same. Some major problems encountered with cyber attacks, in particular, are the difficulty in determining the origin and nature of the attack and in assessing the damage incurred.

Globalization: Implications for U.S. National Security

Globalization is a term usually used to describe intercontinental economic, social, and political integration. Many people, businesses, and countries benefit from globalization but others may be hurt economically, some cultures may be harmed, and the environment may suffer. U.S. national security faces both benefits and risks from globalization. Several contemporary developments that effect U.S. security are often linked to globalization even though they may not be not directly related to multinational integration. Developments such as decreased defense budgets, increased military use...

Croatia: Basic Facts

This short report provides background and analysis on Croatia, including its history, current political and economic situation, foreign policy, and U.S. policy toward Croatia. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Russia's Paris Club Debt and U.S. Interests

Russia faced both fiscal and external debt crises in August 1998. Russia's external debt became unmanageable as the servicing of the debt would have required 80% to 90% of the anticipated federal revenue. These crises threatened Russia's ability to govern and to continue a process of transition to a democratic market system. U.S. interests were directly involved because of the danger posed by a potentially unstable Russian economic, political and security system and the possible linkage by policy makers between economics, security, political interests and debt settlement. Relief came from...

Taiwan: Annual Arms Sales Process

This CRS Report discusses the low-profile annual arms talks process that successive Administrations used from the early 1980s to 2001 in determining arms sales to Taiwan, which are governed by the Taiwan Relations Act. The discussion is based on interviews in 1998 and 1999 with U.S. and Taiwan observers as well as U.S. and Taiwan news reports. This report on the process will not be updated. (On April 24, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that he would drop this annual arms talks process in favor of one with considerations on an "as-needed basis." See also CRS Report RL30957 , ...

U.S. Nuclear Weapons: Policy, Force Structure, and Arms Control Issues

During the Cold War, the United States maintained nuclear weapons to deter, and if necessary, defeat the Soviet Union. These weapons were designed to deter nuclear attack on the United States, and nuclear, chemical, and conventional attacks on U.S. allies in Europe and Asia. The United States deployed a wide variety of nuclear weapons delivery vehicles and was prepared to destroy large numbers of military, industrial, and leadership targets in the Soviet Union. The United States agreed to restrict the deployment of strategic ballistic missile defenses in the 1972 Anti-ballistic...

Defense Budget for FY2002: An Overview of Bush Administration Plans and Key Issues for Congress

Details of Bush Administration plans for the defense budget have been on hold for several months as senior officials have undertaken a reassessment of defense policy known as the “National Defense Review.” The initial Bush budget outline, A Blueprint for New Beginnings, released on February 28, and the Administration’s official FY2002 budget request, released on April 9, include $325 billion in new budget authority for national defense in FY2002, but that total remains subject to change as the defense review proceeds. Moreover, official Administration defense budget projections beyond...

Military Spending by Foreign Nations: Data from Selected Public Sources

This report provides data on defense spending of foreign nations from two sources: the U.S. State Department's World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers (WMEAT) and the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), The Military Balance . Although the Department of State and IISS endeavor to provide consistent and accurate information, cross-national comparison of military spending are inherently imperfect. Available sets of data are useful but inevitably suffer from shortcomings of one type or another.

Appropriations for FY2001: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. foreign aid budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. It contains the largest share over two-thirds of total U.S. international affairs spending. President Clinton asked Congress initially to appropriate $15.1 billion for FY2001 Foreign Operations, plus $1.25 billion in FY2000 supplemental funds. Congress approved some of the supplemental spending in P.L. 106-246 , but in October 2000 reconsidered and approved as FY2001 emergency...

Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 106th Congress, 1999-2000

This report focuses on presidential nominations and Senate confirmations to the 330 full-time positions in the 14 executive departments to which the President makes appointments, with the advice and consent of the Senate. During the 106th Congress, President Clinton submitted 136 nominations and made 18 recess appointments to full-time positions requiring Senate confirmation. The Senate confirmed 108 nominations and returned 24; the President withdrew four nominations. On average, the Senate took 105 days (three and a half months) to confirm a nomination. Sixty-eight nominations (63%)...

Military Technicians: Proposals to Improve Their Retirement Options

Military technicians are federal civilian employees who provide support primarily to wartime deployable units of the Selected Reserve. Unlike regular civilian employees, however, military technicians are generally required to maintain membership in the Selected Reserve as a condition of their employment. As members of the federal civil service, technicians can earn an entitlement to an annuity under either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) in the same manner as most other civil servants. The civil service retirement options...

Veterans’ Issues in the 106th Congress

Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Policy: Key Issues in the 107th Congress

Among the 107th Congress' first orders of business will be dealing with the initiatives--both domestic and foreign policy--proposed by President Bush throughout his presidential campaign. The 2000 congressional campaigns suggested that the agenda of the 107th Congress will be largely domestic: Social Security, health care, education, taxes, and military pay were prominent in campaigns across America and on post-election news programs. Indeed, many issues discussed in this report will be affected by the resolution of a contentious battle for the presidency. In the Congress, the 50-50...

Appropriations for FY2001: An Overview

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 broad overview of all appropriations activity and a guide to the CRS Appropriation Product Series that provides analytical perspectives on the 13 annual FY2001 appropriations bills.

The Vice Presidency: Evolution of the Modern Office, 1933-2001

Something of an afterthought, the vice presidential office came to the attention of the delegates to the constitutional convention in the closing days of their deliberations in 1787. The Vice President's constitutional mandate vested him with two responsibilities: presiding over the deliberations of the Senate and standing by to succeed to the presidency in the event of the incumbent's death. For the next 140 years, those holding the vice presidential office served only these functions. Indeed, the Vice President soon came to be regarded as a legislative branch official. However, for...

South Korea: "Sunshine Policy" and Its Political Context

Into his third year of rule, President Kim Dae Jung continues to receive high ratings in polls, except for his handling of political matters. The political situation is volatile and uncertain, with his ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) locked in a partisan standoff with the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) led by Lee Hoi Chang. President Kim also has a tenuous relationship with his former coalition partner, the United Liberal Democrats (ULD). This fluid situation has complicated domestic support for the President's "sunshine policy"of engagement with North Korea....

Airborne Electronic Warfare: Issues for the 107th Congress

Electronic warfare (EW) has been an important component of military air operations since the earliest days of radar. Radar, EW, and stealth techniques have evolved over time as engineers, scientists, and tacticians have struggled to create the most survivable and effective air force possible. Several recent events suggest that airborne EW merits congressional attention. Operation Allied Force, the 1999 NATO operation in Yugoslavia, appears to have marked an important watershed in the debate over current and future U.S. airborne EW. It appears that every air strike on Serbian targets was...

Ecuador: International Narcotics Control Issues

Colombian drug traffickers and narco-linked insurgents have taken advantage of easy access to Ecuador's border areas for a number of years, primarily for rest and recreation, and purchase of supplies. Concern has been voiced that U.S. supported military operations against narco- trafficking/guerilla groups in Colombia could accelerate guerilla encroachment into Ecuador. Increased presence of Colombian drug traffickers and narco-linked insurgents could limit the effectiveness of U.S. anti-drug support to Colombia and threaten the territorial integrity and stability of Ecuador. However,...

Taiwan: Findings of a Congressional Staff Research Trip, December 2000

This report summarizes findings from a congressional staff trip to Taiwan (Republic of China), December 10-17, 2000, with supplemental material from other sources. The staff delegation met with Taiwan government and military officials, political party representatives, leading private citizens, and United States officials and business persons in Taipei, the capital. The findings include major factors that have shaped relations between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC) since Chen Shui-bian's election as President of Taiwan in March 2000. Taiwan's democratization and the growth...

Jonathan Pollard: Background and Considerations for Presidential Clemency

Jonathan Jay Pollard and his wife, Anne Henderson Pollard, were arrested in 1985 on charges of spying for Israel. Pollard pleaded guilty and received a life sentence, and remains in prison. Anne Henderson Pollard received a five-year sentence, and was released early in 1989. At first, the Israeli government claimed Pollard's activities were not sanctioned by the Israeli government and were part of a rogue operation, but the Israeli government granted citizenship to Pollard in 1996, and admitted that Pollard was spying for the government of Israel in 1998. Israeli Prime Ministers on...

DNA Evidence: Legislative Initiatives in the 106th Congress

DNA evidence is a powerful forensic tool in criminal cases. Its use and capabilities have increased substantially since it was first introduced in the late 1980s. That growth has led to the emergence of the following issues that were considered by the 106th Congress in legislative initiatives: eliminating the nationwide backlog of unanalyzed DNA samples, expanding the kinds of offenders who are profiled, providing opportunities for postconviction testing of DNA evidence, and continuing development of forensic science capabilities. A DNA profile may provide powerful evidence in many...

Crime Control: The Federal Response

Under the federal system in the United States, the states and localities traditionally have held the major responsibility for prevention and control of crime and maintenance of order. For most of the Republic’s history, “police powers” in the broad sense were reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. Many still hold that view, but others see a string of court decisions in recent decades as providing the basis for a far more active federal role. Several bills are discussed in this report that address issues related to crime, juvenile justice, and school violence.

Government at the Dawn of the 21st Century: A Status Report

Shortly after the beginning of the 20th century, the federal government entered a new phase the rise of the administrative state. Among the forces propelling this development was the Progressive Movement, which sought greater government engagement with and regulation of various sectors of American society. An autonomous Department of Labor, with Cabinet status, was established in 1913, along with the Federal Reserve. The Federal Trade Commission was created the following year. With the entry of the United States into World War I, regulatory activities further expanded, and the number of...

Defense Cleanup and Environmental Programs: Authorization and Appropriations for FY2001

The Department of Defense operates six environmental programs: cleanup of past contamination at military facilities, acceleration of cleanup at military bases designated for closure, compliance with environmental laws and regulations that apply to ongoing military operations, pollution prevention, natural resource conservation, and environmental technology. In addition to these activities, the Department of Energy is responsible for managing defense nuclear waste and remediating contaminated sites. This report discusses the federal laws that established these programs, describes their...

China's Military-Owned Businesses

Defense companies of the People's Republic of China (PRC) fall under two hierarchies: those belonging to the military, or the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and those in the defense industries under the State Council. This CRS Report focuses on PLA-owned businesses. Some advocate limiting economic ties with PLA companies. Others say targeting the PLA would unnecessarily hurt strategic goals with China and would be formidable to enforce. Complicating the issue is the ban on the PLA doing business that China's president ordered on July 22, 1998. The FY1999 National Defense Authorization Act...

The National Security Agency: Issues for Congress

The National Security Agency (NSA), one of the largest components of the U.S. Intelligence Community, has reached a major watershed in its history. Responsible for obtaining intelligence from international communications, NSA’s efforts are being challenged by the multiplicity of new types of communications links, by the widespread availability of low-cost encryption systems, and by changes in the international environment in which dangerous security threats can come from small, but well organized, terrorist groups as well as hostile nation states.

NSA’s efforts to adjust to the changing...

Appropriations for FY2001: Defense

House and the Senate action on annual FY2001 defense funding was completed in December when Congress approved the FY2001 omnibus appropriations bill. In all, Congress provided about $310.0 billion for national defense, including $287.8 billion in the Department of Defense Appropriations bill. The national defense total is about $4.7 billion above the Administration's request. The conference agreement on the FY2001 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations/Omnibus appropriations bill, H.R. 4577 , approved in the House and Senate on December 15, provides some additional FY2001 funds for the...

Department of Energy Research and Development Budget for FY2001: Description and Analysis

This report focuses on the R&D programs. It divides the programs into four categories: energy resources R&D, science, national security R&D, and environmental management R&D. Those categories, which approximate the way DOE has divided up its programs, are set up to keep similar research activities together.1 This arrangement is somewhat different from the way the R&D budget is approached by the congressional appropriations committees. This report gives a description of the programs within each category including their research objectives and the activities where significant budget changes...

Budget FY2001: A Chronology with Internet Access

This is a select chronology of, and a finding guide for information on, congressional and presidential actions and documents related to major budget events in calendar year 2000, covering the FY2001 budget. Brief information is provided for the President’s budget, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations measures (regular, continuing, supplementals, and rescissions), budget reconciliation, House and Senate votes, line-item vetoes, publications, testimony, charts, and tables.

Economic Sanctions: Legislation in the 106th Congress

Economic sanctions are coercive measures imposed by one country, or coalition of countries, against another country, its government or individual entities therein, to bring about a change in behavior or policies. Economic sanctions regimes typically include a range of measures such as trade embargoes; restrictions on exports or imports; denial of foreign assistance, loans and investments; control of foreign assets held in the United States; or the restriction of economic transactions that involve U.S. citizens or businesses. As one part of the foreign policy tool kit, economic sanctions...

Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR): The U-2 Aircraft and Global Hawk UAV Programs

The ability to gather accurate and timely information on enemy forces is an essential enabler of modern military operations. The growing use of precision guided munitions (PGMs) which can destroy specific targets without extensive collateral damage depends upon the availability of precise information. No single platform or technology can satisfy the needs of the Department of Defense (DoD) for information at all times in all scenarios. However, airborne platforms will likely continue to satisfy a large portion of DoD's ISR requirements over the next several decades. Among airborne ISR...

HIV-1/AIDS and Military Manpower Policy

In October 1985, the Department of Defense (DOD) began screening all applicants for military service for Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 or HIV-1. Such screening was controversial. Since then, DOD has taken other actions and issued guidlelines on various aspects of its AIDS policy which have been carefully watched and scrutinized by Congress, and other Federal and State agencies because of their ground-breaking nature. This report examines aspects of DOD policy on HIV-1/AIDS and legislation introduced to modify this policy. Under current DOD policy, applicants who test positive for HIV-1...

China's Emergence as a Major Economic Power: Implications for U.S. Interests

China's likely development as a major economic power over the next quarter century holds important implications for U.S. interests. Assuming a continuation of current trends, by 2025 China is likely to become a medium income economy with an estimated $3.5 trillion to $5.8 trillion gross domestic product and a 1.5 billion population. An optimistic view of China in 2025 is for it to be well integrated into the world economy with global standards for trade, investments, finance, labor, and the environment and with a booming investment and trading relationship with the United States conducted...

Appropriations for FY2001: Energy and Water Development

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. The Administration requested $22.7 billion for these programs for FY2001 compared with $21.2 billion appropriated in FY2000. The House bill, H.R. 4733 , passed on June 28, 2000, allocated $21.74 billion. The Senate passed its version of H.R. 4733 September 7, appropriating $22.5 billion. The conference bill, reported September...

Prisons: Policy Options for Congress

Department of Defense Anthrax Vaccination

The Department of Defense (DOD) intends to immunize 1.4 million active duty and 900,000 Selected Reserve personnel against anthrax. The vaccine, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has been in use since 1970. About 455,000 personnel have started the vaccination series, and, according to DOD, at least 442 have refused the vaccine. DOD deems the immunization to be mandatory, and active duty personnel who have refused have been subject to administrative discharge or court martial for failure to obey a lawful order. Some Reserve and National Guard personnel have resigned rather...

Appropriations for FY2001: Military Construction

The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill finances (1) military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family housing operations and construction; (3) U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program; and (4) most base realignment and closure costs. This report reviews the appropriations and authorization process for military construction. The congressional debate perennially centers on the adequacy of the President's budget for military construction needs and the necessity for congressional add-ons, especially for Guard and...

The U.S. Defense Industrial Base: Trends and Current Issues

The end of the Cold War precipitated one of the greatest reductions in U.S. defense spending since the final months of World War II. The Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. defense industry have struggled coming to terms with smaller defense budgets and ill-defined threats to U.S. security. Cold War's end also transformed the defense business environment, marking the rapid worldwide globalization of economics and trade and changes in DOD policy toward the industry itself. Technological change, especially visible in the information processing and telecommunications industries, has forced...

Executive Order 12919: Emergency Powers of the President

Executive Order 12919 concerns industrial preparedness during times of war and national emergency. This brief report uses simple language to describe what Executive Order 12919 does. It is intended to clarify common misunderstandings about the Order's purpose and scope.

Appropriations for FY2001: Interior and Related Agencies

The Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill includes funding for agencies and programs in four separate federal departments as well as numerous smaller agencies and diverse programs. The bill includes funding for the Interior Department except the Bureau of Reclamation, but only segments of the funding of the other three departments, Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services. On February 7, 2000, President Clinton submitted his FY2001 budget to Congress. The FY2001 request for Interior and Related Agencies totals $16.32 billion compared to the $14.91 billion enacted...

Missiles for Standoff Attack: Air-Launched Air- to-Surface Munitions Programs

Increasing the standoff range of air-delivered munitions and improving their accuracy and lethality have become matters of major emphasis in U.S. defense plans since the 1991 Gulf War. The 1999 conflict in Kosovo especially highlighted the value of air-to-surface munitions that could be launched from safe standoff ranges and guided to their targets with precision. Since cancellation in late 1994 of the Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile (TSSAM) program, various alternatives have been proposed, including development of a new missile or a derivative of currently operational missiles....

Foreign Aid Authorization: The Technical Assistance, Trade Promotion, and Anti-Corruption Act of 2000

For one of the few times during the past 15 years, legislation was reported in the Senate authorizing broad portions of U.S. foreign assistance programs. In the absence of foreign aid authorizations, Congress has overseen and funded the program through annual Foreign Operations appropriations bills. S. 2382 , the Technical Assistance, Trade Promotion, and Anti-Corruption Act of 2000, as reported by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 7, selectively authorizes a range of foreign aid activities, updates permanent foreign assistance laws, expands several aid initiatives such as...

Philippine-U.S. Security Relations

In 1999, the Philippines and the United States reached agreements to revive the security relationship, which had declined following the U.S. withdrawal from military bases in 1992. The two governments concluded a Visiting Forces Agreement that will allow U.S. military personnel to enter the Philippines for joint training and other cooperative activities. The two governments also agreed to formulate a new U.S. military support program for the Philippines. The future of the security relationship will be affected by several issues such as the Philippine-China dispute in the South China Sea,...

The Open Skies Treaty: Observation Overflights of Military Activities

On March 24, 1992, the United States, Canada, and 22 European nations signed the Treaty on Open Skies. The United States officially ratified the treaty on November 3, 1993. The treaty has not yet entered into force, however, because Russia and Belarus have not yet ratified it. President Bush revived the Open Skies concept in May 1989. At the time, the United States believed that the Open Skies concept would reduce the chances of military confrontation and build confidence in Europe by providing participants with the ability to collect information about the military forces and activities...

527 Organizations: How the Differences in Tax and Election Laws Permit Certain Organizations to Engage in Issue Advocacy without Public Disclosure and Proposals for Change

Virtually all political organizations are "section 527" political organizations, which means that they are tax-exempt. 527 organizations are created to influence the election or defeat of public officials. This report compares the tax and election laws relating to political organizations and political committees prior to the enactment of P.L. 106-230 in an attempt to highlight the differences between them, and discusses some of the proposals in the 106th Congress to require additional reporting by organizations engaging in political activities. This report does not address the taxation of...

National Missile Defense and Early Warning Radars: Background and Issues

The Clinton Administration is scheduled to decide by Fall 2000 whether the United States should begin deploying a National Missile Defense (NMD) system. This system could achieve initial operational capability by 2005 and would be designed to protect the United States from a limited attack by intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). As currently envisioned, the NMD system would operate as an integrated system that would rely on a variety of sensors to detect and track incoming missiles. One key program element is to upgrade the existing Early Warning Radars (EWR) so that they can...

Elementary and Secondary School Teachers: Action by the 106th Congress

The quality and quantity of public elementary and secondary school teachers are of increasing concern to the 106th Congress. Although states and localities are responsible for most aspects of teacher preparation, recruitment, and employment, the federal government supports a wide array of programs for teachers. Several of these programs are being considered for amendment and extension by the 106th Congress including the Eisenhower Professional Development program and the Class Size Reduction program. The 106th Congress has before it a wide array of legislative proposals to address teacher...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1992-1999

This report is prepared annually to provide unclassified quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years. Some general data are provided on worldwide conventional arms transfers, but the principal focus is the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world. The data in the report illustrate how global patterns of conventional arms transfers have changed in the post-Cold War and post-Persian Gulf War years.

France and the United States: Allies and Rivals

France, while a key ally, has developed policies in pursuit of its national interests that challenge the United States on issues of importance to both countries. The end of the Cold War has altered a balance that once placed security above political and economic competition. The leading European Union members, including France, are enhancing political cooperation, raising questions about traditional areas of U.S. leadership in Europe. At the same time U.S. and French interests often intersect, and the two countries cooperate in important endeavors. France, like the United States,...

Involuntary Reserve Activations For U.S. Military Operations Since World War II

Since World War II, reservists have been involuntarily ordered to active duty for military operations nine times: during the Korean War (1950-1953), the Berlin Crisis (1961-62), the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the Vietnam War (1968-1969), the Persian Gulf War (1990-91), the intervention in Haiti (1994-1996), the Bosnian peacekeeping mission (1995-present), the Iraqi conflict (1998- present), and the Kosovo conflict and peacekeeping mission (1999-present). This report provides a summary of the circumstances surrounding the activation, the statutory authority used to activate the...

China: Ballistic and Cruise Missiles

This CRS report contains three parts. The first part discusses ballistic missiles of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The second discusses the PRC’s cruise missiles. The last section offers concluding observations. Two tables summarize the discussion on current ballistic and cruise missiles in service or under development. The appendix, prepared by Robert Shuey, discusses China’s reported application of global positioning system (GPS) technology to improve the accuracy of its missiles. This report focuses on the status and current developments of China’s missile programs, rather than...

China: Ballistic and Cruise Missiles

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is believed to have deployed a nuclear-armed missile force of over 100 nuclear warheads, with additional warheads in storage. Deployed in the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s Second Artillery, the nuclear-armed ballistic missiles currently launch single warheads. China's nuclear-armed missile force is deployed with about 25 launchers for the limited-range DF-4 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), about 25 launchers for the long-range DF-5A ICBM, about 40 launchers for the older DF-3A medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM), and about 50 launchers...

Latin America: Overview of Legislative Issues for Congress in 2000

In the second session of the 106th Congress, policymakers are facing an assortment of issues in U.S.-Latin American relations, ranging from such broad topics as trade policy and anti-drug policy to country-specific issues involving Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, and Mexico. In the trade arena, Congress has completed action on an initiative begun last year to provide preferential tariff treatment for countries of the Caribbean and Central America because of concerns that these countries are losing U.S. trade and investment opportunities to Mexico because of NAFTA. With regard to anti-drug policy,...

Armed Conflicts in the World Since the End of the Cold War (1989 - Present)

This report contains a compiled list of wars and armed conflicts in the world -- both civil and inter-state -- that began after 1989 or were in progress at that date. Because of definitional problems related to classifying wars, this information should be used with some caution. This report includes lists arranged both chronologically and alphabetically.

Electric-Drive Propulsion for U.S. Navy Ships: Background and Issues for Congress

The Navy in January 2000 selected electric-drive propulsion technology for use on its planned next-generation DD-21 land-attack destroyer and is considering it for use on other kinds of Navy ships as well. Electric drive poses issues for Congress concerning its costs, benefits and risks, and how the technology should be integrated into the DD-21 program or other ship-acquisition programs. Several foreign countries are developing or using electric drive in commercial or naval ships. The U.S. Navy's electric-drive development effort centers on the Integrated Power System (IPS) program....

Nuclear Weapons and Ballistic Missile Proliferation in India and Pakistan: Issues for Congress

The Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests of May 1998 ended South Asia's condition of "existential" deterrence. Both countries now have overt nuclear postures, and U.S. concerns in the region have focused on preservation of global nonproliferation regimes and related efforts, prevention of an arms race in South Asia, and movement toward reconciliation between India and Pakistan, especially on their mutual differences over the area of Kashmir. The "benchmarks" which provide a framework for U.S. policy in this area encompass key aspects of nonproliferation efforts. Progress toward stated...

National Guard and Reserve Funding, FY1990-2001

This report provides data on trends in funding for the National Guard and Reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces from FY1990-FY2001. The percentage of National Guard and Reserve (NG&R) funding has held fairly steady over this period at 7-8% of the Department of Defense (DOD) budget. The NG&R budgets range from a high of $28.2 billion in FY1992 to a low of $22.7 Billion in FY1997, as measured in constant FY2001 dollars. Personnel end-strength for the NG&R has decreased from a high of 1,154,570 service members in FY1991 to a low of 870,917 in FY1999. This is a 33% decline over that...

Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986: Proposals for Reforming the Joint Officer Personnel Management Program

The Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act (GNA) of 1986, commonly called the Goldwater-Nichols Act, is considered landmark legislation as it reorganized the Department of Defense (DoD) to a more unified military structure. Joint personnel officer management (organizing, directing, educating and evaluating military members of two or more military departments to accomplish an assigned mission) was established as a major aspect of GNA's design to improve war- fighting capabilities. The objective was to improve the quality of officers assigned to joint organizations,...

Supplemental Appropriations for FY2000: Plan Colombia, Kosovo, Foreign Debt Relief, Home Energy Assistance, and Other Initiatives

Early in each new session of Congress, the Administration routinely submits requests for supplemental appropriations for the current fiscal year. By late April 2000, through several submissions to Congress, President Clinton had requested $5 billion in FY2000 supplemental appropriations, including $955 million for a counternarcotics initiative in Colombia and the Andean region, about $2 billion for DOD peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, $600 million for diplomatic support and economic aid related to Kosovo and the Balkans, $210 million for poor country debt relief, $600 million for home...

Albania: Country Background Report

This report discusses the economic and political status of Albania in the year 2000, notably focusing on certain important events throughout the 1990s, such as the Kosovo Crisis and the rise to power of the Socialist Party in 1997.

Albania: Country Background Report

Albania has avoided direct involvement in neighboring Balkan wars, but continues to seek political stability and economic recovery. In 1998 and 1999, Albania was on the front line of the Kosovo crisis that culminated in the NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia. Over 400,000 Kosovar Albanian refugees flooded across the border into Albania, though most have since returned to Kosovo under an international protectorate. Albania strongly supported the NATO operation and seeks closer integration with the alliance and with the European Union. In early 1997, Albania went through a major financial...

Child Care: The Federal Role During World War II

During World War II, the federal government supported a nationwide program of child care centers, intended to boost war production by freeing mothers to work. Labor force participation of women grew significantly during the war, and children of working mothers were eligible for the child care service. The centers had a peak enrollment near 130,000 children in 1944. After the federal subsidy ended in February 1946, California, New York City and Philadelphia were the only locations to use public funds to continue child care programs indefinitely. This report describes federal child...

Greece: Election and Aftermath

Prime Minister Simitis of Greece called an early election for April 9, 2000 because he believed that his government's achievement in meeting the criteria for entry into the European Monetary Union (EMU) would return his PanHellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party to power. PASOK's narrow victory endorsed Simitis's decision, but the opposition New Democracy's (ND) strong showing also validated Costas Karamanlis's leadership of that party. The election continued a trend toward bipolarism, as votes for smaller parties, except for the Communists, declined appreciably. Simitis reappointed...

Environmental Protection Issues in the 106th Congress

The Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: The Use of the Military to Execute Civilian Law

The Posse Comitatus Act outlaws willful use of any part of the Army or Air Force to execute the law unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or an Act of Congress. History supplies the grist for an argument that the Constitution prohibits military involvement in civilian affairs subject to only limited alterations by Congress or the President, but the courts do not appear to have ever accepted the argument unless violation of more explicit constitutional command could also be shown. The provision for express constitutional authorization when in fact the Constitution contains no such...

Defense Outsourcing: OMB Circular A-76 Policy And Options for Congress -- Proceedings of a CRS Seminar

On April 13, 2000, the Congressional Research Service sponsored a policy seminar, for Members of Congress and staff, entitled "Defense Outsourcing: OMB Circular A-76 and Options for Congress." This report summarizes that seminar. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76 has long been viewed, by some, as a management reform tool to facilitate government outsourcing. The policy of transferring to the private sector functions performed by government employees dates back to the Eisenhower Administration. In 1966, the effort was codified through OMB Circular A-76. Executive...

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty Demarcation and Succession Agreements: Background and Issues

In September 1997, the United States and Russia signed several agreements related to the 1972 ABM Treaty. The Clinton Administration has stated that it will submit these agreements to the Senate as amendments to the ABM Treaty after the Russian parliament approves the START II Treaty. The Memorandum of Understanding on Succession responds to questions about the legal status of the ABM Treaty after the demise of the Soviet Union; it names Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan as the successors to the Soviet Union for that agreement. Together, these states can deploy the single ABM site...

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty Demarcation and Succession Agreements: Background and Issues

This report discusses the content of and issues related to the ABM Treaty Succession and Demarcation Agreements signed in September 1997.

START II Debate in the Russian Duma: Issues and Prospects

The 1993 START II Treaty would limit the United States and Russia to 3,500 warheads on their strategic offensive forces. It would also ban all land-based missiles with multiple warheads (MIRVed ICBMs). In September 1997, the United States and Russia signed a Protocol extending the elimination deadlines in START II from the beginning of the year 2003 to the end of the year 2007. The two nations also agreed that they would begin negotiations on deeper reductions in a START III Treaty as soon as START II entered into force. The United States Senate gave its consent to the ratification of...

Military Personnel and Food Stamps

In response to reports that members of the U.S. armed services qualify for and receive food stamps, there have been calls for a policy response to reduce or eliminate member eligibility. The desirability of such a response has been questioned, however, on several grounds, including cost and its potential affects on Department of Defense (DoD) personnel policy. This report examines the possible extent of service-member participation in the food stamp program and provides background information on several aspects of the policy debate. Quantitative estimates of military participation and...

Military Technicians: The Issue of Mandatory Retirement for Non- Dual-Status Technicians

Military technicians are federal civilian employees who provide support primarily to wartime deployable reserve units. Unlike regular civilian employees, military technicians are generally required to maintain membership in the Selected Reserve as a condition of their employment. These technicians are referred to as "dual-status" technicians, reflecting their status as both federal civilian employees and military reservists. The intent of this requirement is to guarantee that when a reserve unit is mobilized, the military technicians who support that unit will be mobilized as well....

Israel: Missile Defense Cooperation With the United States

The growing number and sophistication of ballistic missile threats in the Middle East has prompted the United States to help Israel develop several missile and rocket defense programs. The centerpiece of these efforts, the Arrow Weapons System, has demonstrated successes in tests and Israel unveiled it to the public on March 14, 2000. Some argue that these efforts cannot guarantee Israel's security, and that Israel's national interests are better served by peace agreements with its neighbors and other measures. Others believe that even if peace agreements are achieved, Israel will need a...

Russian Presidential Election: 2000

Russian President Boris Yeltsin's resignation at the end of 1999 elevated his little-known Premier, Vladimir Putin, to Acting President and set the scene for a presidential election on March 26, 2000 that Putin is considered certain to win. There is uncertainty in Russia and the West as to what sort of leader Putin might be. Some view him as an authoritarian, others as a pragmatic reformer. There is evidence to support either view. The character and policies of post-Yeltsin Russia affect a variety of important U.S. political, military, and economic interests.

C-17 Cargo Aircraft Program

The C-17 Globemaster III is a long-range cargo/transport aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force since 1993. Congress approved development of the aircraft in the late 1970s, when it was recognized that the Air Force did not have enough airlift capability. In 1981, the McDonnell Douglas C-17 emerged as winner of a competition with Boeing and Lockheed to develop a next-generation aircraft to replace C-130s and C-141s.

Mexico's Counter-Narcotics Efforts Under Zedillo, December 1994 to March 2000

This report provides information on Mexico's counter-narcotics efforts under President Ernesto Zedillo, with emphasis on the last year, as the Congress is considering President Clinton's decision, on March 1, 2000, to certify that Mexico was fully cooperative in drug control efforts. The report focuses on (1) Mexico's share of illicit drug traffic to the United States, (2) Mexico's efforts to control drug trafficking (seizures, arrests, eradication), and (3) Mexico's cooperation with the United States in counter-narcotics efforts. Share of Traffic. Mexico continued to be the transit...

Project Echelon: U.S. Electronic Surveillance Efforts

Last year Congress passed legislation ( P.L. 106-120 , Section 309) requiring that the Executive Branch report on the legal standards for electronic surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies. This action followed press reports and European Parliament studies claiming that the National Security Agency (NSA) has established a world-wide signals collection effort, known as Project Echelon, that jeopardizes the privacy rights of individuals and unfairly provides commercial advantage to U.S. Firms, There has been no official U.S. confirmation of the existence of Project Echelon, but...

Defense Budget for FY2001: Data Summary

This report presents defense budget data in a manner designed to provide various perspectives on U.S. military spending. Part I presents basic data on the Clinton Administration's FY2001 national defense budget request, including data on budget authority and outlays for the Department of Defense and for the national defense budget function. Part II shows trends in overall defense spending, including figures on the growth and decline of defense spending, on defense outlays as a share of federal expenditures, and on defense outlays as a share of gross domestic product. Part III defines key...

The Airborne Laser Anti-Missile Program

The Air Force is currently attempting to build and install a multi-megawatt airborne laser (ABL) and a complex optical system to direct the laser to the target, in a modified Boeing 747 to destroy theater ballistic missiles in their boost phase. As an operational platform, the 747, along with its multi-megawatt Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) is being designed to destroy missiles in the stratosphere above 40,000 feet (12 kilometers), within one to two minutes after launch, at ranges of up to several hundred kilometers (km). The 1991 "Gulf War" raised concerns about the destructive...

Budget FY2000: A Chronology with Internet Access

Iran: U.S. Policy and Options

Iran: U.S. Policy and Options

Iran and the United States have been adversaries, and have sometimes engaged in low-level military hostilities, since Iran's Islamic revolution on February 11, 1979. During its first term, the Clinton Administration sought to build on earlier policies designed to contain Iran and moderate its behavior. The Clinton Administration initially placed its policy of containing Iran within a broader framework for keeping both Iran and Iraq weak, terming the policy "dual containment." The Administration maintained that dual containment was a necessary departure from past Persian Gulf policies in...

Excess Defense Articles: Grants and Sales to Allies and Friendly Countries

The Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program provides one means by which the United States can advance foreign policy objectives assisting friendly and allied nations through provision of equipment excess to the requirements of its own defense forces. The current program is an outgrowth of military assistance programs developed by the United States in the 1950s and 1960s to provide allies and friends with relatively inexpensive military items during the Cold War. Since many EDA recipients already have U.S. military equipment in their inventories, U.S. EDA items can supplement earlier...

Appropriations for FY2000: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. foreign aid budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. It contains the largest share -- over two-thirds -- of total U.S. international affairs spending. For FY2000, President Clinton requested $14.1 billion (later amended upward to $14.4 billion), plus $1.9 billion over three years for the Wye River/Middle East peace accord. The President's proposal, excluding the Wye River funds, was about $1.35 billion, or 9% less than FY1999...

Appropriations for FY2000: Interior and Related Agencies

The Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill includes funding for agencies and programs in four separate federal departments as well as numerous smaller agencies and diverse programs. The bill includes funding for the Interior Department except the Bureau of Reclamation, but only segments of the funding of the other three departments, Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services. On February 1, 1999, President Clinton submitted his FY2000 budget to Congress. The FY2000 request for Interior and Related Agencies totaled $15.266 billion compared to the $14.298 billion enacted...

Japan-South Korea Relations: Converging Interests and Implications for the United States

Since South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung's historic October 1998 visit to Japan, relations between Seoul and Tokyo have improved dramatically, to a point where arguably the two countries are at their closest ever. The improvement in bilateral ties has been accompanied by an unprecedented degree of trilateral coordination among the United States, Japan, and South Korea on policy toward North Korea. In the short term, the impetus for better relations has come from two regional crises: North Korea's August 1998 launch of the Taepodong medium-range missile over Japan and the near-collapse of...

Slovenia: Country Background Report

Slovenia seeks membership in the European Union and NATO and is considered to be among the top candidates currently aspiring to join each organization. Independent from the former Yugoslavia since 1991, Slovenia has focused on consolidating its transition to a democratic market economy and integrating into western institutions. By most assessments, Slovenia has been successful in these efforts, especially in comparison with the conflict-ridden experience of the other former Yugoslav republics. This report provides background information on Slovenia, and may be updated as events warrant.

Missile Defense Options for Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan: A Review of the Defense Department Report to Congress

The FY 1999 National Defense Authorization Act ( P.L. 105-261 ) required the Secretary of Defense to study the U.S. missile defense systems that could protect, and could be transferred to, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The Secretary was directed to describe these missile defense systems and the factors used in the study in separate classified and unclassified reports to Congress. In May 1999, the Department of Defense (DoD) transmitted the unclassified report which provides a discussion of five missile defense systems that are currently being developed by the United States and could be...

Kosovo: Lessons Learned from Operation Allied Force

The March-June 1999 NATO war over Kosovo raised questions about many issues affecting the future of NATO. Questions arising from the conflict about political objectives, strategy, command arrangements, NATO-Russian relations, allied capabilities, future enlargement, allied unity, non- Article V operations, and the response of potential adversaries remain under debate. This report provides brief "lessons learned" from Operation Allied Force . NATO had limited political objectives in the conflict, most of which were at least partially met. Key considerations, such as avoiding civilian...

Military Funeral Honors for U.S. Veterans: Increasing Demands on the Department of Defense

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000, P.L. 106-65 , mandates military honors at funerals for all eligible veterans. The mandate will likely require the Department of Defense (DOD) to divert some defense funding and military manpower to a non-warfighting task. This Act converts honors details from a time-honored tradition, which the military services rendered according to their standards and resources, to a mandated requirement. Current funding pressures and tight manpower levels, coupled with increasing veterans' requests and expectations, may make it more...

Kosovo: Implications for Military Intelligence

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) aerial operations conducted in April-June 1999 against Serbian forces and installations (Operation Allied Force) demonstrated that an air campaign largely based on precision weapons can accomplish major military and political objectives even in the absence of a ground campaign. Eventual Serbian withdrawal from Kosovo was achieved with almost no casualties among friendly forces. The prerequisite to success in NATO's air campaign was highly accurate allied, particularly U.S., intelligence and precision weapons. The combined use of precise...

Economic Sanctions to Achieve U.S. Foreign Policy Goals: Discussion and Guide to Current Law

This report provides background on foreign policy sanctions. It addresses the following questions: Why do we apply sanctions? What objectives does the U.S. government seek to achieve when it imposes sanctions? Who imposes sanctions? What tools are available? How likely is it that sanctions will achieve the stated goal? What secondary consequences might sanctions have? What change is required for the sanctions to be lifted? Would multilateral sanctions be more desirable and achievable? The report also provides an uncomplicated map of where sanctions policies and options currently may be...

Economic Sanctions to Achieve U.S. Foreign Policy Goals: Discussion and Guide to Current Law

As the close of the 106th Congress, 1st session, nears, there are last-minute efforts to place one or more sanctions measures into a bill that has its own momentum. H.R. 434 , the African Growth and Opportunity Act, is under consideration to carry a variety of trade-related amendments. It has been mentioned in the press as a possible vehicle for S. 757 , the Sanctions Policy Reform Act. It is also possible that H.R. 434 could advance "Food and Medicine for the World Act." The Senate agreed to food and medicine exemption language earlier in the session; that language was excised from...

Department of Energy: Programs and Reorganization Proposals

Created in response to the energy crisis of the 1970s, the Department of Energy (DOE) survived an attempt to dismantle it early in the Reagan Administration, and another in the 104th Congress. Now the agency is again the subject of reorganization legislation, this time because of concern about the security of its nuclear weapons program. An amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY2000 ( H.R. 1555 ) was adopted by the Senate to create the Agency for Nuclear Stewardship within DOE. The head of that agency would report directly and only to the Secretary of Energy. The agency...

Appropriations for FY2000: Defense

On October 6, conferees reached agreement on the FY2000 defense appropriations bill, H.R. 2561 , and the conference report was filed on October 8. The House approved the conference agreement by a vote of 372-55 on October 13, and the Senate approved it by a vote of 87 to 11 on October 14, and the President signed the bill into law, P.L. 106-79 , on October 25. The key issue in the conference concerned funding for the F-22 fighter. The conference agreement provides a total of $2.522 billion for the program, including $1.222 billion for R&D, $1 billion for acquisition of test aircraft, and...

Appropriations for FY2000: Energy and Water Development

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes funding for civil projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec), most of the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies. The Administration requested $22 billion for these programs for FY2000. The House and Senate approved $21.3 billion. Low allocations under Section 302 (b) of the Budget Act created difficulties for Appropriations Committees in both Houses. The Senate Committee responded by cutting water projects for the Corps and BuRec, and...

Missile Defense: Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Flight Testing

After two successful intercepts in June and August 1999, the Pentagon announced it would scrap the remaining THAAD flight tests and proceed to the EMD (Engineering and Manufacturing Development) phase. Doing so, the Pentagon and others argue, would save some money and expedite THAAD deployment somewhat. THAAD supporters argue that these intercepts have validated the system's major component's and that the system's near-term deployment is now a possibility. Critics continue to argue that THAAD's checkered test legacy over a controlled test range is insufficient for the program to move...

North Korean Drug Trafficking: Allegations and Issues for Congress

At least 34 documented incidents, many involving arrest or detention of North Korean diplomats, link North Korea to drug trafficking. Such events, in the context of ongoing, credible, but unproven, allegations of large scale state sponsorship of drug production and trafficking, raise important issues for the Congress, the Administration, and America's allies in combating international drug trafficking. The challenge to policy makers, is how to pursue an effective counter drug policy and comply with U.S. law which may require cutting off aid to North Korea while pursuing other high priority...

Appropriations for FY2000: Military Construction

The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill finances (1) military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family housing operations and construction; (3) U.S. Contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program; and (4) most base realignment and closure costs. This paper reviews the appropriations and authorization process for military construction. The congressional debate perennially centers on the adequacy of the President's budget for military construction needs and the necessity for congressional add-ons, especially for Guard and...

Long Beach: Proposed Lease by China Ocean Shipping Co. (COSCO) at Former Naval Base

At issue was a proposal by the City of Long Beach, California, to lease a container terminal, to be built at the site of a closed naval station, to China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), a commercial shipping company owned by China. (The lease was later canceled over an issue unrelated to COSCO.) The proposed expansion of COSCO's facilities at the Port of Long Beach raised some security issues concerning smuggling of guns by Chinese defense-related companies, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, intelligence collection, and access to U.S. and Panamanian ports. In response, senior...

DOE Security: Protecting Nuclear Material and Information

Congress is focusing on problems with security at the Department of Energy's (DOE) national security facilities, especially the nuclear weapon laboratories. Problems include espionage from within the labs and protection of nuclear material and facilities from outside attack. This report describes the main components of DOE's security system and reviews current efforts to address shortcomings. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Defense Research: A Primer on the Department of Defense's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Program

Over the last 10 years, the country has spent an average of $36 billion a year on DOD's RDT&E program. About 80% of that goes toward the development of specific military systems or system components. Most of the rest, between $7 billion and $8 billion, goes toward more fundamental research, development, and demonstrations of sciences and technologies identified as important to military capabilities and operations (called the Science and Technology program). Total RDT&E funding for the last 10 years has remained relatively level in nominal terms. However, when accounting for inflation,...

Defense Research: A Primer on the Department of Defense's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT and E) Program

This report describes the basic elements and issues of the Department of Defense's (DOD) Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Program. It defines basic activities supported by the program, presents budget trends, discusses the management of program, and describes the infrastructure in which the program is implemented. This report is for staff new to the area of defense research and for senior staff interested in historical trends.

Military Changes to the Unified Command Plan: Background and Issues for Congress

The Unified Command Plan (UCP) establishes the basic organization of the U.S. armed forces. The purpose of the unified command plan is to provide effective control of U.S. forces in peace and war. The UCP defines the command structure from the National Command Authorities (the President and the Secretary of Defense) to the combatant commands. The plan establishes unified and specified commands, assigns missions and functions to those commands, provides for assignment of forces, defines geographic areas of responsibility (AORs), and depicts command arrangements. Congress has a continuing...

China's Technology Acquisitions: Cox Committee's Report -- Findings, Issues, and Recommendations

The House approved H.Res. 463 on June 18, 1998, to create the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China (PRC). The committee's six-month investigation looked beyond whether the satellite export policy resulted in missile technology transfers to China; it also examined other transfers, including high performance computers and nuclear weapon know-how. The committee made 38 recommendations for action by Congress or the Administration. On December 30, 1998, the bipartisan committee unanimously approved the final classified...

Kosovo Military Operations: Costs and Congressional Action on Funding

On April 19, the White House sent Congress a request for emergency supplemental funding of $6.05 billion to cover costs of U.S. military operations against Yugoslavia, assistance to Kosovo refugees, and some expenses of military operations in Iraq. On May 6, the House approved an emergency supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 1664 , that provided $13 billion, about $7 billion more than requested. Subsequently, House and Senate conferees on H.R. 1141 , a bill to provide supplemental appropriations for Central America disaster relief and other purposes, folded Kosovo-related funding into...

Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress

The United States Constitution divides the foreign policy powers between the President and Congress so that both share in the making of foreign policy. The executive and legislative branches each play important roles that are different but that often overlap. Both branches have continuing opportunities to initiate and change foreign policy, and the interaction between them continues indefinitely throughout the life of a policy. This report identifies and illustrates 12 basic ways to make U.S. foreign policy. The President or the executive branch can make foreign policy through: 1)...

The Expanded Threat Reduction Initiative for the Former Soviet Union: Administration Proposals for FY2000

Responding to the impact of Russia's financial crisis, President Clinton's budget requests $1 billion for FY2000 and $4.5 billion over five years for nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons threat reduction programs in the former Soviet Union. The added funds in this Expanded Threat Reduction Initiative (ETR) -- 35% over FY1999 levels -- will augment many ongoing programs funded under Department of Defense, Energy and Water, and Foreign Operations appropriations and significantly expand efforts in science and technology nonproliferation. Some members of Congress may question the...

U.S.-Taiwan Relations Under the Taiwan Relations Act: Lessons and Options -- Findings of a CRS Workshop

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act ( P.L. 96-8 , signed April 10, 1979). At the request of the Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), with partial funding from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, conducted a workshop to assess the lessons and options for U.S. policy stemming from the U.S. experience with Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) over the past 20 years. Workshop participants saw three general sets or clusters of lessons for U.S. policy stemming from the experience in managing...

Taiwan's Defense: Assessing The U.S. Department of Defense Report, "The Security Situation in the Taiwan Strait"

The 106th Congress is being called on to consider legislation on U.S. support for Taiwan's military defense needs, based in part on a congressionally-mandated U.S. Defense Department (DoD) report released in February 1999 on "The Security Situation in the Taiwan Strait." To respond to a number of inquiries, CRS has prepared this brief analysis of the 28-page DoD report. The DoD report provides an authoritative and straight-forward review of the status and short term outlook of military forces on the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan sides of the Taiwan Strait. It concludes that...

Appropriations for FY1999: An Overview

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 CRS reports that provide analytical perspectives on the 13 annual appropriations bills, and other related appropriation measures. It does not include a detailed explanation or description of the budget or appropriations processes.

Appropriations for FY1999: An Overview

Cruise Missile Inventories and NATO Attacks on Yugoslavia: Background Information

This short report provides background information on the Air Force’s Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) and the conventionally armed version of the Navy’s Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile (TLAM).

Military Contingency Funding for Bosnia, Southwest Asia, and Other Operations: Questions and Answers

For several years, Members of Congress have been concerned by the strains that military contingency operations have placed on the U.S. armed services and the Department of Defense budget. Because the costs of such missions rarely are funded in advance, problems arise when funds must be shifted from training, maintenance, or weapons modernization to cover their costs. The Administration has proposed mechanisms that would ease the strain, but Congress has rejected them as an unacceptable curtailment of Congress' influence over such operations. Congress' unprecedented funding in...

China and U.S. Missile Defense Proposals: Reactions and Implications

The Chinese government has strongly criticized U.S. announcements that it will develop or assist in deploying missile defense systems involving cooperation with U.S. allies in East Asia, and reports of such possible U.S. cooperation with Taiwan. For those in the United States, the U.S. plans have many perceived disadvantages and advantages; (1) the latter include notably providing degrees of protection for the United States and its allies against ballistic missile attack. Many in China believe that proposed U.S. development and deployment of ballistic missile defenses at home and in...

The Persian Gulf: Issues for U.S. Policy, 1999

The Persian Gulf region contains both challenges and opportunities for the United States in 1999. Since October 1997, the United States and its partners on the United Nations Security Council have faced repeated crises with Iraq over its failure to cooperate with U.N.-mandated disarmament efforts. As 1998 ended, U.N. weapons inspectors from the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) reported that they were unable to perform their disarmament mission. They left Iraq just prior to a 70 hour U.S./British bombing campaign against Iraqi sites that could be used to reconstitute weapons of...

Defense Acquisition Workforce: Issues for Congress

In each of the past four fiscal years (FY1996-FY1999), Congress has directed the Administration to reduce the size of the Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition workforce—defined as the employees who participate in the development and procurement of weapons, equipment, and provisions for the military services. These mandates reflect a view in Congress that the workforce has not been downsized in proportion to the decline in of the overall defense budget in general, nor of the acquisition portion of the defense budget, in particular.

As Congress and the Administration have debated the...

Executive Orders and Proclamations

Appropriations Supplemental for FY1999: Emergency Funding in P.L. 105-277 for Agriculture, Embassy Security, Y2K Problems, Defense, and Other Issues

During the final days of the 105th Congress, the House and Senate considered a series of emergency supplemental initiatives providing funds for American farmers affected by natural disasters and low commodity prices, embassy security and counter-terrorism programs in the wake of the August embassy bombings, year 2000 (Y2K) computer requirements, the costs of maintaining U.S. troops in Bosnia, defense readiness, counter-narcotics interdiction initiatives, and domestic natural disaster related needs. Supplementals officially requested by the President totaled about $8.9 billion. Following...

South Korea's Economic Prospects

As South Korea has completed a full year of restructuring under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) imposed program, the prospects for a sustained economic recovery are mixed. While the financial crisis that broke out in October 1997 has been alleviated, the contraction of South Korea's economy intensified in 1998. A significant drop in Gross National Product, as well as a rapid increase in unemployment, has precipitated Seoul's most serious economic and social crisis since the end of the Korean War. To return the economy to a healthy growth trajectory, the government is attempting to...

Turkey: Government Update

Capping three years of political instability, a fourth government since the December 1995 election has been formed in Turkey to lead the country to new elections on April 18, 1999. The maneuvering of politicians and the interference of the powerful Turkish military in politics have produced the governmental turnovers. The military continues to be wary of a possible strong showing by Islamists in the coming vote. New Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, an ardent secularist and nationalist, reportedly has little hope of accomplishing much during his very brief tenure. Pending foreign policy issues...

Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) and Human Rights: Background and Issues for Congress

Recent press articles describe U.S. special operations forces (SOF) training under the Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program in countries where human rights abuses have allegedly or actually taken place. Joint Combined Exchange Training is carried out under provisions in 10 USC 2011. The law allows the regional commanders and the commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command to pay for deploying and training U.S. SOF teams as long as the primary purpose of the activity is to train the U.S. special operations forces. One of the primary unconventional warfare / foreign...

Radio Free Iraq and Radio Free Iran: Background, Legislation, and Policy Issues for Congress

This report tracks legislation and issues pertaining to implementation of two new surrogate broadcasting entities: Radio Free Iraq and Radio Free Iran. Since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. government has continued to apply foreign policy tools (that had helped promote the overthrow of communism) to current targeted situations such as the threat posed by radical anti-American regimes in Iraq and Iran. One such tool is surrogate broadcasting. After the 1997-1998 confrontations over access to suspected weapons sites in Iraq, Congress began considering various nonmilitary ways to...

The International Criminal Court Treaty: Description, Policy Issues, and Congressional Concerns

The United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC) concluded five weeks of negotiations on July 17, 1998 in Rome, Italy, by adopting an agreement to establish a permanent international criminal court. Of the more than 160 nations that participated in the Rome Conference, 120 nations voted to adopt the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 7 nations voted against it, while 21 nations abstained. The United States rejected the final document primarily because of the broad jurisdictional powers granted to the...

Federal Government Information Technology Policy: Selected Issues

Federal government information technology (IT) is an important part of the federal mission to serve Americans. Federal government IT policy can improve how services and information are provided to citizens, increase the timeliness and quality of federal agencies' responses, and save federal tax dollars by improving government efficiency. Protection and security of individuals' privacy, as well as making appropriate federal data more transparent and available for its citizens, are the ultimate goals of federal agency IT policies. But there are some questions and concerns regarding federal...

Foreign and Defense Policy: Key Issues in the 106th Congress

When the 106th Congress comes to work in January, its first order of business will be to deal with the impeachment of the President of the United States. The 1998 congressional campaigns and elections suggested that the agenda of the 106th Congress also will be largely domestic in its focus: Social Security, health care, and education were the order of the day in campaigns across America and on post-election news programs. Indeed, of the issues discussed in this report, only increased defense spending to address military readiness and retention of trained military personnel has been...

Budget FY1999: A Chronology with Internet Access

This is a select chronology of, and a finding guide for information on, congressional and presidential actions and documents related to major budget events in calendar year 1998, covering the FY1999 budget. Brief information is provided for the President’s budget, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations measures (regular, continuing, supplementals, and rescissions), budget reconciliation, House and Senate votes, line-item vetoes, publications, testimony, charts, and tables.

Iraq: U.S. Policy Options

In the aftermath of the December 16-19 U.S.-British bombing campaign against Iraq (Operation Desert Fox), the United States continues to search for a sustainable and effective means of ending the threat posed by Iraq. Many in Congress believe that U.S. policy should focus primarily on removing Saddam Husayn from power. The Administration says it is working toward that outcome but that achieving it will be difficult. According to the Administration, near term U.S. policy should focus primarily on preventing any restart of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs and on containing...

Appropriations for FY1999: U.S. Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies

The conference agreement on the FY1999 omnibus appropriations bill ( P.L. 105-277 / H.R. 4328 ) was signed into law on October 21, 1998. The measure contains $55.9 billion in regular FY1999 appropriations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and related agencies and $5.9 billion in emergency disaster and economic assistance for agriculture, for a total of $61.8 billion. The House and Senate earlier had approved a separate conference agreement for FY1999 USDA appropriations ( H.R. 4101 ), but the President vetoed the measure because its emergency provisions did not authorize an increase...

Appropriations for FY1999: U.S. Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies

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 Subcommittees on Agriculture Appropriations.

The International Labor Organization and International Labor Issues in the 105th Congress

The International Labor Organization (ILO) is a specialized technical agency of the United Nations system. It has an assessed budget, which means that each nation's contribution is set as a percent of the total ILO budget. In the ILO, government representatives are joined by delegates representing a country's worker and employer organizations, who always, theoretically, speak and vote independently of their governments. The ILO addresses workers' rights, such as child labor and working conditions. It does this through the negotiation, adoption, and implementation of labor standards as...

Appropriations for FY1999: Defense

Congress completed action on FY1999 defense authorization and appropriations bills on October

  1. The House approved the conference report on the defense authorization bill ( H.R. 3616 ) on September 24 and the Senate on October 1. The President signed the bill into law ( P.L. 105-261 ) on October 17. The House approved the conference report on the defense appropriations bill (H.R. 4103) on September 28 and the Senate on September 29. The President signed the bill into law ( P.L. 105-262 ) on October 17, as well. Later Congress approved additional funding for defense programs in the FY1999...

Appropriations for FY1999: Defense

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 CRS reports that provide analytical perspectives on the 13 annual appropriations bills, and other related appropriation measures. It does not include a detailed explanation or description of the budget or appropriations processes. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittees.

Russian Missile Technology and Nuclear Reactor Transfers to Iran

Many in Congress and the Clinton Administration charge that Russian entities are assisting Iran in developing ballistic missiles. Russia is also building a nuclear power station in, and is furnishing other nuclear services to, Iran. Congress has passed legislation requiring the President to impose sanctions for missile technology transfers, arms sales, nuclear technology transfers, and large-scale investments in Iran. H.R. 2709 , which includes the "Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act of 1997," is one of several bills designed to tighten existing sanctions law. It was amended and...

A Defense Budget Primer

This report is a primer for those who wish to familiarize themselves with the process through which Congress acts on the U.S. defense budget. The report defines basic defense budget-related terms, describes the structure of the defense budget, briefly reviews the budget planning process within the Department of Defense (DOD), outlines in some detail the successive phases of the congressional defense budget process, and provides a short review of budget execution. The defense budget is not a single document or product, but more a series of spending commitments that can be measured and...

Child Nutrition Issues in the 105th Congress

India-Pakistan Nuclear Tests and U.S. Response

On May 11 and 13, 1998, India conducted a total of five underground nuclear tests, breaking a 24-year self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing. Pakistan followed claiming 5 tests on May 28, 1998, and an additional test on May 30. The Indian tests, which appear to have completely surprised the U.S. intelligence and policy community set off a world-wide storm of criticism. President Clinton announced, on May 13, 1998, that he was imposing economic and military sanctions mandated by Sec. 102 of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA.) The Administration applied the same sanctions to Pakistan on...

East Asia and the Pacific: Issues at the End of the 105th Congress

U.S. policy in East Asia and the Pacific since the end of the cold war is subject to often competing pulls from U.S. economic, security and political interests. Nonetheless, workable agreement has been reached on keeping some U.S. military forces actively involved in the region, keeping U.S. markets open to regional exports, and toning down at least temporarily earlier U.S. emphasis on human rights and other values in policy toward China and some other regional states. Interviews with twenty-five congressional staff members of both parties and both chambers who deal directly with issues...

Appropriations for FY1999: Military Construction

The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill finances (1) military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family housing operations and construction; (3) U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program; and (4) most base realignment and closure costs. This report reviews the appropriations and authorization process for military construction. The congressional debate perennially centers on the adequacy of the President's budget for military construction needs and the cases for and against congressional additions, especially for Guard...

Appropriations for FY1999: Military Construction

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 Subcommittees on Legislative Branch Appropriations.

The Trade and Development Agency: Background and Funding

Congressional interest in linking foreign aid more directly with commercial interests has waxed and waned throughout the 1990s as increasing demands have been placed on the U.S. budget, constituent support for more traditional foreign aid has dwindled, and U.S. industries have increasingly sought federal assistance in garnering foreign sales. The Trade and Development Agency (TDA), operating since 1982, is one of several government agencies involved in "aid for trade"--programs that combine development assistance and export promotion. The agency provides grants directly to...

Foreign Policy Agency Reorganization in the 105th Congress

On April 18, 1997, the Clinton Administration announced a plan to reorganize the foreign policy agencies. The two-year plan would require significant internal restructuring of the State Department, and eliminate two other agencies--the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) and the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) whose functions and personnel would be absorbed by State. It would integrate ACDA into State within the first year, and USIA into State by the end of 1999. The implementation process would begin after a 120-day planning period. The U.S. Agency for International Development...

Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process: The Wye River Memorandum

On October 23, 1998, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat signed the Wye River Memorandum which delineates parallel, incremental steps to be taken over a 12-week period to complete implementation of prior agreements. A time line attached to the Memorandum defines an exchange of Israeli redeployments from the West Bank for concrete security measures to be taken by the Palestinians. Congress may be concerned about provisions that appear to expand the U.S. role, especially about unusually visible Central Intelligence Agency activity...

The Encryption Debate: Intelligence Aspects

The 106th Congress is expected to resume an ongoing debate on restricting the export of sophisticated computer encryption systems. In the 105th Congress strong support for removing encryption export restrictions and allowing U.S. software firms to compete in the world marketplace was balanced by concern that widespread availability of such systems could undercut important law enforcement and intelligence interests. No encryption legislation passed in the 105th Congress. The Clinton Administration relaxed some restrictions on encryption sales based on existing export legislation, but...

Appropriations for FY1999: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

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 Subcommittees on Foreign Operations.

Appropriations for FY1999: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. foreign aid budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. It contains the largest share -- over two-thirds -- of total U.S. international affairs spending. For Foreign Operations programs, President Clinton sought $13.6 billion in discretionary budget authority for FY1999, nearly $800 million, or 6% higher than available for FY1998. But unlike a year ago, when the President concentrated most of the added funds requested on a few...

International Crime: Russian Organized Crime's Role and U.S. Interests

International crime has become a major problem throughout the world. Transnational criminal organizations have benefitted from the global economy, as well as the break-up of the Soviet empire and birth of fragile new democracies, vulnerable to criminal exploitation. Russian criminal groups have become increasingly active in Europe and North America, sometimes working with foreign crime groups. They have engaged in money laundering and trafficking in arms, illegal goods, and people. A growing share of organized crime in the United States has foreign roots, including Russian ones. Besides...

Appropriations for FY1999: Interior and Related Agencies

The Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill includes funding for agencies and programs in five separate federal departments as well as numerous smaller agencies and diverse programs. On February 2, 1998, the President submitted his FY1999 budget to Congress. The request for Interior and Related Agencies totals $14.26 billion compared to the $13.79 billion enacted for FY1998 ( P.L. 105-83 ), an increase of $470 million. The actual increase for Title I and Title II agencies in the FY1999 request is $1.17 billion, offset by a nonrecurring appropriation of $699 million for...

Appropriations for FY1999: Interior and Related Agencies

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 Subcommittees on Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations.

Burundi: Update

Taiwan: The "Three No's," Congressional-Administration Differences, and U.S. Policy Issues

The controversy between the Clinton Administration and congressional critics over President Clinton's public affirmation in Shanghai on June 30, 1998 of the so-called "three no's" regarding U.S. policy toward Taiwan is the latest episode in over 20 years of arguments between the Administration and the Congress over appropriate U.S. policy in the U.S.-People's Republic of China (PRC)-Taiwan relationship. The "three no's" involve U.S. non-support for: Taiwan independence; one China, one Taiwan; and Taiwan representation in international organizations where statehood is a requirement. ...

Hemispheric Free Trade: Status, Hurdles, and Opposition

At the 1994 Summit of the Americas in Miami, 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere agreed to complete negotiations to create a "Free Trade Area of the Americas" (FTAA) no later than the year 2005. Since the summit, two approaches have emerged for promoting hemispheric free trade. The first approach involves the expansion and deepening of sub-regional groupings such as MERCOSUR (the Southern Cone Common Market) and the proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements. Most all countries of the Western Hemisphere -- except the United States -- have been active in this process. The...

Women in the Armed Forces

Women have become an integral part of the armed forces, but they are excluded from most combat jobs. Several issues remain. One is whether to reduce, maintain, or expand the number of women in the services as the total forces are being reduced. A second question is to what extent women should continue to be excluded from some combat positions by policy. Would national security be jeopardized or enhanced by increasing reliance on women in the armed forces? Should women have equal opportunities and responsibilities in national defense? Or do role and physical differences between the sexes,...

International Labor Organization: A Fact Sheet

This paper provides basic information on the International Labor Organization (ILO) and issues of interest to Congress. It is updated periodically. CRS Report 97-942(pdf) , The International Labor Organization and International Labor Issues in the 105th Congress, contains more detailed information on ILO issues of congressional interest.

U.S. Military Participation in Southwest Border Drug Control: Questions and Answers

Among its counternarcotics activities in the United States, the U.S. military provides substantial assistance to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) upon their request to control drug trafficking through the four southwest states that border Mexico. About two decades ago, Congress began to authorize expanded U.S. military support to other U.S. agencies in enforcing U.S. laws, particularly counterdrug laws. Over the last several years, however, Department of Defense (DOD) funding for counterdrug activities along the Southwest border has dropped from a high of $186.7...

Military Youth Programs: ChalleNGe and STARBASE

Military youth programs are a type of civil-military cooperation in which military resources are used to assist young American civilians in a variety of ways. Typically, the programs provide civilian youth with educational and leadership opportunities in order to help them succeed as students and as adults. The programs are often targeted towards youth populations which are considered to be at disproportionately high risk for drug abuse, crime, academic failure, or unemployment. The National Guard Challenge (ChalleNGe) program and the STARBASE (Science and Technology Academies...

Iraqi Chemical & Biological Weapons (CBW) Capabilities

Iraqi Chemical and Biological Weapons (CBW) Capabilities

Iraq Crisis: U.S. and Allied Forces

Iraq Crisis: U.S. and Allied Forces

Bosnia Stabilization Force (SFOR) and U.S. Policy

In December 1995, a NATO-led implementation force (IFOR) was deployed to Bosnia to enforce the military aspects of the Bosnian peace agreement. President Clinton said the deployment would last "about one year." IFOR successfully completed its main military tasks, but implementation of the civilian aspects of the accord, for which IFOR did not have direct responsibility, was at best a mixed success. Faced with the possible collapse of the peace agreement if IFOR pulled out, on November 15, 1996, President Clinton pledged to keep U.S. troops in Bosnia as part of a NATO-led Stabilization...

Military Readiness: Background to Congressional Debate over Tiered Readiness

The Senate version of the FY1998 National Defense Authorization Act required the Department of Defense (DOD) prepare a second report on tiered readiness. (1) The House version ( H.R. 1119 ) opposed tiered readiness and specifically prohibited its implementation. (2) In the final conference report, the differences between the two chambers remained sharp over the issue of reducing current force readiness of some units for cost savings -- in this case to pay for force modernization. Given probable stringent budget realities in the future, this incident of difference of approach reflects a...

Manual on the Federal Budget Process

Russian Political Turmoil, August 1998

Russian President Yeltsin's dismissal of Premier Kirienko and his nomination of former Premier Chernomyrdin mark an intensification of political turmoil. This was triggered by a financial crisis and underlying economic depression. These political and economic developments have serious implications for Russia's stability, the post-Yeltsin succession, and U.S. interests in and policy toward Russia. This report will be updated if warranted by developments in Russia.

Terrorism: Middle Eastern Groups and State Sponsors, 1998

During the 1980s and the early 1990s, Iran and terrorist groups it sponsors have been responsible for the most politically significant acts of Middle Eastern terrorism. In late 1997, signs began to appear that major factions within Iran want to change Iran's image from a backer of terrorism to a constructive force in the region. If this trend in Iran takes hold, there is a chance that state-sponsored Middle Eastern terrorism will decline over time as Iran moves away from active opposition to the Arab-Israeli peace process. The Arab-Israeli peace process is a longstanding major U.S....

Landmines: Background and Congressional Concerns

The decade of the 1990s saw increasing awareness of the dangers to innocent civilians posed by the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel landmines (APL) in many conflict-torn countries. The deployment of U.S. military forces to Bosnia as part of the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR), refocused the attention of the Congress and citizenry on the dangers of APL. Prior to participation by the U.S. military in IFOR, the U.S. Congress had manifested a concern with the larger issue of AP landmine proliferation, through hearings and legislation. The history of warfare evinces three uses of AP...

Algeria: Developments and Dilemmas

This report provides background information on the civil strife in Algeria, updating developments since the government abandoned talks with the Islamist Salvation Front in 1995 and began a process of institution-building. The result, however, did not restore peace. Rather, violence has become more indiscriminate. The culprits are harder to identify and may include government forces as well as Islamist extremists. Policymakers face the dilemma of wishing to hold the government to a higher standard of conduct as the upholder of the rule of law, while not wanting terrorists to benefit...

Iraq: Humanitarian Needs, Impact of Sanctions, and the "Oil for Food" Program

Many private and international humanitarian agencies argue that under the U.N. sanctions, Iraqi civilians, and especially children, suffer and die from lack of adequate food and medical supplies despite the "oil for food" program and other international assistance. They argue that the sanctions are inhumane and should be lifted immediately. On the opposing side, defenders of international policy argue that it is not the sanctions causing suffering but deliberate Iraqi policies diverting resources and even manipulating the humanitarian "crisis". Some also accuse Iraqi officials...

U.S. Intelligence and India's Nuclear Tests: Lessons Learned

The U.S. Intelligence Community did not have advance knowledge that India intended to conduct nuclear tests beginning on May 11, 1998. Although intelligence agencies cannot have foreknowledge of every significant development in world affairs, many observers (and senior intelligence officials) believe that, in view of the election of an Indian government committed to "inducting" nuclear weapons, much greater attention should have been given to indications of impending nuclear tests. A commission headed by retired Admiral David Jeremiah reviewed the Intelligence Community's performance and...

Morocco: Political and Economic Changes and U.S. Policy

This report describes the unprecedented strides in democratization and economic liberalization occurring in Morocco, where the first opposition-led government took power in February 1998. The government of this long-term U.S. ally is trying to address endemic economic and social problems while adhering to stringent International Monetary Fund economic guidelines. Active Islamist groups capitalize on societal ills and create a troubling context for the government's efforts. They and others are victims of human rights abuses. The overall human rights situation is deficient; yet...

NATO: Senate Floor Consideration of the Accession of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland

The 1998 Senate debate on the accession to the North Atlantic Treaty by the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland was spread across eight days from March 17 to April 30. Enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was favored by the leadership of both parties, and during the debate the Resolution of Ratification was widely expected to pass. Opponents of NATO enlargement structured most of their arguments and amendments as expressions of concern about the future of the Alliance as it moves into the 21st century. The Senate gave its advice and consent on April 30, voting 80-19...

Indonesia: U.S. Relations With the Indonesian Military

Differences between the U.S. executive branch and Congress over U.S. policies toward the Indonesian military have persisted since the early 1960s. In the early 1960s, Indonesian policies under President Sukarno, including aggression against neighboring countries and a political alliance with the Indonesian Communist Party, led Congress to cut military and economic aid to Indonesia. The Kennedy Administration opposed this action. In the late 1970s, the policies of the Indonesian military in East Timor drew criticism from U.S. human rights groups and Members of Congress, who accused the...

The Ready Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Program

The Ready Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Program (RRMIIP) was a Department of Defense (DoD) program designed to help military reservists protect themselves from financial loss during an involuntary order to federal active duty. Though intended to be a self-financing program, the RRMIIP became insolvent soon after its debut in 1996 due to low enrollment and severe adverse selection. The program was terminated by Congress only a year later and Congress eventually appropriated a total of $119 million to pay off insurance claims associated with the RRMIIP. The failure of the RRMIIP...

Democracy-Building in the New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union: Progress and Implications for U.S. Interests

Since the end of the Cold War and the advent of independence for the former Soviet republics, these new independent states (NIS) have made varying progress in implementing democratic reforms. Some NIS such as Russia appear to be making some progress, a few such as Kyrgyzstan appear to be faltering, and several such as Turkmenistan appear to be making scant progress. Successive U.S. Administrations have fostered democracy-building in the NIS as a primary foreign policy objective. Broadly, U.S. policymakers have stressed that the containment policy of the Cold War has been replaced with...

NATO: A Brief History of Expansion

NATO has admitted new members on three different occasions. Depending on the countries admitted, debates in Congress have concentrated upon strategic and political issues, including burdensharing. From NATO's origins, Congress has shown strong interest in sharing the strategic and economic responsibilities in providing for Europe's defense. NATO admitted Greece and Turkey to the alliance in 1952, the Federal Republic of Germany in 1955, and Spain in 1982.

Iran: Relations With Key Central Asian States

Iran sees the Central Asian region as an arena for reducing its own isolation. Hoping to make itself an attractive economic and political partner to these states, Iran has been cautious in supporting radical Islamic opposition movements in the region. Several Central Asian states are proceeding with or contemplating energy projects that transit Iran. These projects present the Administration and Congress with the dilemma of how to keep Iran's financial resources constrained while at the same time fostering economic and political development in Central Asia. Provisions in S. 2334 ,...

Israeli-Turkish Relations

Agreements reached in the Arab-Israeli peace process from 1993 until 1995 made relations between Israel and its Arab and Muslim neighbors more acceptable in the latter circles. Israeli-Turkish ties are the most portentous development in this area, and they have not been impeded by subsequent difficulties in the peace process. The main dimension of Turkish-Israeli relations is military. Landmark agreements on military cooperation in February 1996 and on military industrial cooperation in April 1996 have produced unprecedented military exercises and training, arms sales, and strategic...

Taiwan: Texts of the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. - China Communiques, and the "Six Assurances"

This report discusses the U.S. policy on Taiwan, which is governed by the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), the 3 U.S. joint communiqués with China, and the so-called "Six Assurances" on Taiwan.

Department of Energy FY1999 Research and Development Budget: Description and Analysis

This report focuses on the R&D programs. It divides the programs into four categories: energy resources R&D, science, national security R&D, and environmental quality R&D. Those categories, which approximate the way DOE has divided up its programs, are set up to keep similar research activities together.(1) R&D funding is concentrated in the first three. The report gives a description of the programs within each category including their research objectives and the activities where significant budget changes were requested for FY1999. It then describes the request, and congressional...

Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation: Key to Peace in Bosnia?

The Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina was established in March 1994, with U.S. mediation. It aims to unite areas held by the largely Bosniak (Muslim) pre-war republic government with areas held by Croats. The Bosnian peace agreement, signed in Dayton in November 1995, recognized the Federation and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska as two largely autonomous entities within a weak, but sovereign Bosnia and Hercegovina union. Real political, economic and military integration of Bosniak and Croat-held areas has been slow to materialize. The United States has played a key role in setting up...

Nuclear Weapons Production Capability Issues: Summary of Findings, and Choices

The United States shows every intention of retaining nuclear weapons for the foreseeable future, thus committing itself to maintaining their safety, reliability, and performance. Maintenance requires R&D and production. While the former requirement is well understood, the latter is not. This report provides information on production and associated investment, people, and technology issues. Production is done for many reasons. Problems with existing warheads have historically emerged over time and seem likely to do so in the future. Warhead maintenance requires modifications, life...

China: Pending Legislation in the 105th Congress

The 105 Congress has been active on issues involving China. This report, which will be updated as developments occur, tracks pending human rights legislation, including bills concerning: prison conditions and prison labor exports; coercive abortion practices; China’s policies toward religion; and more general human rights issues.

China: Pending Legislation in the 105th Congress

This report tracks pending human rights legislation, including bills concerning: prison conditions and prison labor exports (H.R. 2195, H.R. 2358); coercive abortion practices (H.R. 2570); China’s policies toward religion (H.R. 967, H.R. 2431); and more general human rights issues (H.R. 2095). Other bills concern Taiwan — in particular, Taiwan’s entry into the World Trade Organization (H.Res. 190) and the U.S. role in helping Taiwan with a theater missile defense system (H.R. 2386). Also, legislation is pending on China’s missile proliferation activities (H.Res. 188), Radio Free Asia...

Child Nutrition Issues in the 105th Congress

This report covers proposed and enacted legislative initiatives to change child nutrition programs (including the WIC program) during 1997 and 1998.

Kosovo and U.S. Policy

Kosovo and U.S. Policy

South Asia Crisis: Effects on the Middle East

The May 1998 nuclear tests by India and Pakistan have raised concerns that these countries, particularly Pakistan, might transfer nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction technology to Iran or other Middle Eastern states. Iran has developed military ties to both India and Pakistan, and has tried to acquire advanced technology from Pakistan, but political and other differences have limited these relationships. There is little evidence that other Middle Eastern countries have tried to acquire weapons of mass destruction technology from India or Pakistan. This paper will not be updated.

Intelligence Collection Platforms: Satellites, Manned Aircraft, and UAVs

Imagery--photographs or electro-optical transmissions similar to television--is a key component of contemporary military planning and operations as well as civilian decisionmaking. This report provides an overview of the various imagery collection platforms, their strengths and limitations, the evolving organizational relationships that govern their use, as well as the steps Congress has taken to strengthen imagery capabilities. Imagery allows military commanders to undertake operations using precision-guided munitions with minimal civilian and friendly casualties; it also has a wide...

Colombia: The Problem of Illegal Narcotics and U.S. - Colombian Relations

The United States has long been concerned with Colombia as a major producer and trafficker of the illegal narcotics entering this country: first marijuana, then cocaine, and now also heroin. Colombia's drug trafficking business has been dominated by two cartels during the two decades in which cocaine trafficking became a major activity: first the Medellin cartel, which dominated during the 1980s and then the Cali cartel, which dominated during the early 1990s. With the arrests of the major Cali cartel leaders in the mid-1990s, independent traffickers have filled the void.

Mercosur: Formation, Status, Trade Effects, Policy Challenges, and U.S. Interests

Mercosur, consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, is the third largest preferential trading group in the world. Since its inception in 1991, Mercosur has made considerable progress in integrating the economies of its members. The integration -- an almost complete free trade area and a partial customs union has been accompanied by a significant increase in U.S. exports and investment to the region. In general, the United States has viewed the evolution of Mercosur as being supportive of its political interests as well, although Mercosur is seen as favoring a slower approach...

Armenia: Unexpected Change in Government

This report describes the recent change in the Armenian government and its possible consequences. President Levon Ter-Petrosyan resigned on February 3, 1998, primarily because of domestic opposition to his acceptance of an international peace plan to resolve the conflict over Nagorno- Karabakh with Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan assumed power for an interim period and then won the special presidential election of March 1998. His new government wants to advance market reforms and change the Constitution to balance power among the branches of government. Kocharyan rejects the...

Asian Financial Crisis: An Analysis of U.S. Foreign Policy Interests and Options

The principal focus of this report is on the foreign policy ramifications of the Asian financial crisis and U.S. options for addressing them. This report tracks and analyzes the efforts of the most seriously affected Asian countries to deal with their economic and financial problems, and their interaction with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United States, and other major sources of financial support and policy advice. It also addresses the implications of the crisis for such U.S. interests as regional stability and the prevention of conflict, trade liberalization, and U.S....

NATO and the European Union: Economic Capacity of New Member Countries and Opportunity Costs

Formal entry of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is scheduled for spring 1999, with accession to the European Union (EU) several years later. In tight budgets over the coming decade defense spending in these three nations, with or without NATO membership, would have to compete with other incremental programs designed to further economic transition and meet European Union (EU) accession requirements. The cost of opportunities foregone by choice of one required program over another could represent significant opportunity costs when...

Bosnia War Crimes: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and U.S. Policy

War crimes were an integral part of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. Bosnian Serb militias drove hundreds of thousands of non-Serb civilians from their homes, committing tens of thousands of acts of murder, rape and torture, in a systematic policy of "ethnic cleansing." Most observers believe most war crimes committed by the Bosnian Serbs from 1992 until the end of the war in 1995 were a vital part of the political and military strategy of Bosnian Serb leaders. Although Serbs are seen by many observers as the main culprits, Croats and Muslims also committed substantial numbers of war crimes...

Foreign Military Troops in the United States

This report discusses to what extent and why military personnel and forces from foreign nations are sometimes stationed in the United States. Upon discovering specific instances of foreign troop presence, some members of the public have expressed concern. In general, however, the presence of such foreign representation on U.S. soil is neither a new nor unusual phenomenon. This report will be updated when significant, new information becomes available.

NATO Enlargement and Russia

NATO Enlargement and Russia

Jerusalem: Legislation to Move the U.S. Embassy

Report discussing the legislation proposal to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

NATO Enlargement and the Former European Neutrals

With the NATO enlargement process now underway, Europe's former neutral states Austria, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Ireland are re-evaluating the role they should play in the changing European security setting. In Austria, there is a major political debate dividing partners in the governing coalition over whether or not to seek NATO membership. The key role of NATO in European security has created both opportunities and dilemmas for the former neutrals. On the one hand, their governments recognize that the new global environment has removed the Cold War rationale for a posture as a...

Summit of the Americas II, April 18-19, 1998: Background, Objectives, and Expectations

President William Clinton will attend Summit of the Americas II in Santiago, Chile, on April 18-19, 1998, with 34 democratic Presidents and Prime Ministers from Latin American and Caribbean countries expected to attend. This is a follow up to Summit of the Americas I hosted by President Clinton in Miami in December 1994. The 1994 Miami Summit created a Plan of Action with 23 initiatives in four major areas. Under the leadership of various countries and organizations, these initiatives have been advanced, and major agreements have been concluded and are in the process of being implemented....

Civilian Nuclear Spent Fuel Temporary Storage Options

The Department of Energy (DOE) is studying a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for a permanent underground repository for highly radioactive spent fuel from nuclear reactors, but delays have pushed back the facility’s opening date to 2010 at the earliest. In the meantime, spent fuel is accumulating at U.S. nuclear plant sites at the rate of about 2,000 metric tons per year. Major options for managing those growing quantities of nuclear spent fuel include continued storage at reactors, construction of a DOE interim storage site near Yucca Mountain, and licensing of private storage facilities....

U.N. Reform in the 1997 General Assembly

This short report provides background and summarizes U.N. reforms considered and adopted by the 1997 U.N. General Assembly. During 1997, Congress considered legislation which would pay some of the U.S. arrears (debt) to the United Nations, the U.N. Specialized Agencies, and other international organizations but only in exchange for specific reforms adopted and implemented by the United Nations. Although the legislation did not pass, Secretary of State Albright has maintained that arrears payment is one of her top priorities for 1998, and in fact, a top priority for legislative action this...

Drug Certification of Mexico in 1998: Arguments For and Against Congressional Resolutions of Disapproval

This report presents arguments for and against congressional resolutions which have been introduced to disapprove President Clinton's February 26, 1998 certification of Mexico as a fully cooperative country in efforts to control illicit narcotics. (1) These resolutions, which must be approved within 30 calendar days of the President's certification, would disapprove the President's certification and require the withholding of assistance and support from Mexico ( S.J.Res. 42 ), or they would disapprove the President's certification, but would permit him to avoid withholding of assistance...

NATO's Evolving Role and Missions

NATO's Evolving Role and Missions

FEMA and Disaster Relief

The Peace Corps: Background and Issues for Congress

Since the Peace Corps was established by President Kennedy on March 1, 1961, more than 151,000 volunteers have served in 132 countries. The Peace Corps Act sets out three goals for the Agency: to help people of other countries meet their needs for trained personnel; to help promote a better understanding of the American people by those served; and to help promote a better understanding of other people by Americans. Volunteers serve in a diverse range of sectors -- in education, health, small business, the environment, and agriculture -- working at the grassroots level, usually in...

FEMA and Disaster Relief

NATO Policy: Selected Legislation in the 103d, 104th, and 105th Congresses

This report is intended to portray the broad array of issues concerning the future of NATO -- primarily, enlargement to include new members, burdensharing, and financial assistance -- that Congress has considered during the past few years. For the 105th Congress, enacted bills, other bills, and resolutions are listed. By contrast, for the 103d and 104th Congresses, only legislation that became public law is highlighted. The report, mainly formulated using the Legislative Information Service, may not necessarily be a comprehensive list of all measures on NATO that were introduced. (1) ...

Africa: Trade and Development Initiatives by the Clinton Administration and Congress

In February 1997, the Clinton Administration submitted the second of five annual reports on the Administration's Comprehensive Trade and Development Policy for Africa as required by section 134 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (House Document 103-3415, Vol. 1.). On April 24, 1997, members of the African Trade and Investment

Caucus introduced a bill, H.R. 1432, on U.S.-Africa trade and investment issues. In his State of the Union address in January 1998, President Clinton called on Congress to pass the trade legislation.

Appropriations for FY1998: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. foreign aid budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. It contains the largest share -- about 67% -- of total U.S. international affairs spending. For Foreign Operations programs, President Clinton sought $13.324 billion in discretionary budget authority for FY1998, $1.056 billion, or 8.6% higher than available for last year. Most of the increases were concentrated in three activities: multilateral development bank (MDB) contributions,...

NATO Expansion: Cost Issues

During their December 1997 summit in Brussels, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) signed protocols that would add three countries -- Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary -- to the alliance; the national legislatures of the current 16 current member countries must now approve the enlargement; one major question being considered is how much expansion might cost. Early in 1997, the Clinton Administration sent to Congress a report detailing its rationale and cost estimates for NATO enlargement. The report noted that, with the collapse of the Soviet threat, NATO has...

Appropriations for FY1998: Military Construction

The military construction (MilCon) appropriations bill finances (1) military construction projects in the United States and overseas; (2) military family housing operations and construction; (3) U.S. contributions to the NATO Security Investment Program; and (4) most base realignment and closure costs. This paper reviews the appropriations and authorization process for military construction. The appropriators have finished their work on H.R. 2016 . Both chambers approved the conference report for the military construction appropriations bill ( H.Rept. 105-247 ) and the President signed...

NATO Expansion: Cost Issues

China's Economy: Findings of a Research Trip

China's economic ascendency has aroused great interest in the Congress. This report combines first-hand impressions of China's economy and U.S.-China commercial relations with an analysis of publicly available data and reporting. China's economy presents divergent and contradictory images. On the one hand, it is dynamic with considerable potential to become a world class power in many areas. On the other hand, visions of China as an economic power constantly collide with the stark reality of the country's poverty, uneven development, and glaring structural weaknesses. While Asia's...

The Au Pair Program

In 1997, the au pair program received considerable media attention as a result of the Louise Woodward court case regarding possible involvement of an au pair in the death of a child in Massachusetts. That same year, Senator Helms introduced S. 1211 ( P.L. 105-48 , signed October 1, 1997) providing permanent authority for the U.S. Government to administer the au pair program. (Previously, the program had to be reauthorized by Congress about every year or two.) In addition, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), the administering agency for the au pair program, amended existing federal...

Bosnia Stabilization Force (SFOR) and U.S. Policy

In December 1995, a NATO-led implementation force (IFOR) was deployed to Bosnia to enforce the military aspects of the Bosnian peace agreement. After fierce debate, the House and Senate passed separate resolutions in December 1995 expressing support for the U.S. troops in Bosnia, although not necessarily for the mission itself. Legislative efforts to bar funds for the deployment of U.S. troops to Bosnia were narrowly rejected. In the 105th Congress, similar efforts to bar a U.S. deployment after June 1998 were also rejected, although the FY 1998 defense authorization and appropriations...

Defense Export Loan Guarantee Program (DELG)

This report provides an overview of the Defense Export Loan Guarantee Program (DELG) which became operational on November 8, 1996. It discusses the major features of the program, which is aimed at assisting prospective foreign purchasers of U.S. defense equipment finance those purchases through private sector loans. This report will be revised only as notable events relating to the program warrant.

Military Readiness, Operations Tempo (OPTEMPO) and Personnel Tempo (PERSTEMPO): Are U.S. Forces Doing Too Much?

Are U.S. forces doing too much? Arguably. Although the armed forces of the United States are meeting mission requirements while maintaining an acceptable level of readiness, indications are that under the current strategy, with existing forces postured and organized for high intensity conflict, the sustainment of both high levels of activity and high readiness will be difficult. Whether or not U.S. forces can continue to sustain the current level of effort is an open question. With either the addition of new global commitments, a reduction in available forces, or a decrease in...

Bosnia: Civil Implementation of the Peace Agreement

Since Dayton Peace Accords, the civilian side of peace implementation has been challenged by the scope of the tasks, and by the lack of commitment demonstrated by the Bosnian parties to various aspects of the peace agreement. In addition, issues such as International Framework for peace implementation, formation of governmental institution, election, civil police task force and displaced persons are discussed in this report.

Bosnia: Civil Implementation of the Peace Agreement

The long and brutal war in Bosnia came to an end in December 1995 with the signing of the Dayton peace agreement. The agreement paved the way for the deployment of a 55,000-strong NATO Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia for one year. While IFOR's military tasks focused on keeping the peace and providing for a secure environment, the implementation of many other civil tasks, coupled with an inflow of humanitarian and reconstruction aid, was seen as essential to building a lasting peace in Bosnia. NATO deployed a smaller Stabilization Force (SFOR) in December 1996 in order to continue to...

Appropriations for FY1998: Interior and Related Agencies

The Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill includes funding for agencies and programs in four separate federal departments as well as numerous smaller agencies and diverse programs. On February 6, 1997, the President submitted his FY1998 budget to Congress. The FY1998 request totals $13.09 billion compared to the $13.14 billion enacted by Congress for FY1997 ( P.L. 104-208 ). It should be noted that the FY1997 amount included $715 million in nonrecurring emergency appropriations. An additional $386 million was appropriated in the recently enacted Emergency Supplemental...

Bosnia Options After June 1998: Summary of a CRS/GAO Seminar

A seminar held on November 6, 1997, cosponsored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the General Accounting Office (GAO), considered options for the Bosnia peace operation after June 1998, the expiration date of the current NATO operation. On December 18, President Clinton announced his support in principle for a continued NATO presence in Bosnia, including U.S. troops, beyond June 1998. NATO is expected to decide on a post-SFOR force in early 1998. At the November seminar, speakers reviewed progress to date in implementing the Dayton peace agreement, the performance of the NATO...

U.S. Issues in the Pacific Islands: Setting Priorities

The participants in a CRS Seminar on U.S. relations with Pacific Island states and territories came to consensus on several areas.. They are that the U.S. Government bears greatest responsibility for the three U.S. territories (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)), and for the three self-governing states in free association with the United States (the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau). Current issues center on Guam's seeking change in its political status, immigration flows affecting Guam and...

Senate Consideration of the North Atlantic Treaty and Subsequent Accessions: Historical Overview

The Senate debate over the original North Atlantic Treaty and three subsequent accessions (Greece and Turkey in 1952, Germany in 1955, and Spain in 1982) took place under very different circumstances than the current debate over the proposed accessions of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The historical setting, of course, has fundamentally changed. Then there was a broad consensus in the United States that the Soviet Union posed a threat to U.S. interests in Europe. Today, there is an equally broad consensus that there is no such threat. Some issues raised in the earlier debates by...

China: Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND) and Defense Industries

Congressional interest in the Chinese military, or People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has increased as a result of the March 1996 tensions in the Taiwan Strait, continuing allegations of Chinese proliferation of technology useful in weapons of mass destruction, and reports that some Chinese defense-related corporations have circumvented U.S. export controls to acquire dual-use technology. The Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND), an important, high-level PLA organization, plays a role in China’s weapon programs, sales of civilian goods, acquisition of...

China: Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND) and Defense Industries

Congressional interest in the Chinese military, or People's Liberation Army (PLA), has increased as a result of the March 1996 tensions in the Taiwan Strait, continuing allegations of Chinese proliferation of technology useful in weapons of mass destruction, and reports that some Chinese defense-related corporations have circumvented U.S. export controls to acquire dual-use technology. The Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND), an important, high-level PLA organization, plays a role in China's weapon programs, sales of civilian goods, acquisition...

Fiscal Year 1998 Continuing Resolutions

Congress annually considers 13 regular appropriations bills providing funding for agency operations. If any of these bills are not enacted by the start of the fiscal year (October 1), the nonessential activities of the agencies funded in the outstanding bills must cease. In those years in which all 13 bills are not enacted by the deadline, Congress adopts measures continuing funding until the regular bills are enacted. This report discusses these measures, which are referred to as continuing resolutions.

Fiscal Year 1998 Continuing Resolutions

Appropriations for FY1998: Defense

On October 23, House and Senate conferees announced agreement on a compromise version of the FY1998 defense authorization bill, H.R. 1119 . The House approved the conference report on October 28 by a vote of 268-123, and the Senate approved the agreement on November 6 by a vote of 90-10. The President signed the bill into law ( P.L. 105-85 ) on November 18. The issue that had held up agreement in the conference for several weeks was how to allocate work between public Air Force depots in Utah, Oklahoma, and Georgia and two recently privatized facilities in California and Texas. The...

Global Climate Change: The Role of U.S. Foreign Assistance

This report discusses the role of U.S. foreign assistance to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that most experts believe cause global warming

Chinese Nuclear Testing and Warhead Development

Several rationales may explain the development of Chinese nuclear weapons. These include international benefits (nuclear weapons may enhance security, influence, and prestige); technology (warhead development is constrained to certain paths by technological imperatives regardless of leadership or doctrinal preferences); doctrine (recent Chinese thinking may envision broadening nuclear weapons' role); and others. These rationales may have shifted in salience, with international benefits dominant early on and doctrine becoming more influential over time. Data on China's nuclear test...

China and the Multilateral Development Banks

Congress is currently considering appropriations for U.S. contributions to the World Bank and other multilateral development banks (MDBs) as well as separate legislation that would require U.S. representatives to these institutions to oppose all concessional loans to China. This report provides a brief analysis of China’s relationship with the MDBs to highlight some issues and help Members of Congress, congressional staff, and observers better understand the context for the current debates in Congress and the multilateral agencies.

Radio Free Asia

China-U.S. Summit, October 1.997

The Israeli Economy: Overview and Developments Through 1997

The Israeli economy belies simple categorization. Based on a per capita income level of $16,783, a large services sector, and hundreds of dynamic high-tech companies, it is modern and advanced. Based on the large role the government still plays in the economy, it is interventionist and regulated. And based on the country's high defense requirements, chronic trade deficits, and political economy, it can be described as distinctive or unique. Since 1948, the economy has experienced three different stages of development. The first (1948-1972) and third stages (1989-1995) were classic boom...

China: U.S. Economic Sanctions

The use of sanctions as a foreign policy tool to bring states into conformity with certain international norms, whether on human rights, nonproliferation, aggression, or a number of other issues, plays a central and controversial part in current U.S. foreign policy debates. Much of the authority to impose, waive, or lift sanctions rests with the President. In the case of the People's Republic of China, however, Congress has played an active part in constructing the U.S. sanction regime and, given current tensions, will probably examine the issue of U.S.-China relations in the coming...

China: U.S. Economic Sanctions

This report presents a history of U.S. economic sanctions imposed against the People's Republic of China for foreign policy reasons since 1949. It highlights sanctions that are currently active and details occasions on which those restrictions have been modified, waived or permanently lifted. The report provides citations for Presidential authority in current law and the Administration's issuance of regulations and administrative orders.

Turkey: Situation Update

This report briefly discusses recent political, economic, and security issues in Turkey, especially relating to Turkey's relationship with Greece, the European Union, and the United States.

Turkey: Situation Update

Turkey's year-long experiment with Islamist-led government ended in July, when a multi-party secularist coalition headed by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz took office for what is viewed as a transition to early national elections sometime in 1998. The political situation is fluid. The government is addressing some economic problems and redirecting Turkey's foreign policy back toward the West and toward Turkic kin in Azerbaijan and Central Asia. There are problems in Turkey's relations with the European Union, with efforts to reach an international settlement on Cyprus, and in Turkish-Greek...

Russian Conventional Armed Forces: On the Verge of Collapse?

All quantitative indicators show a sharp, and in most cases an accelerating, decline in the size of the Russian armed forces. Since 1986, Russian military manpower has decreased by over 70 percent; tanks and other armored vehicles by two-thirds; and artillery, combat aircraft, and surface warships by one-third. Weapons procurement has been plummeting for over a decade. In some key categories, such as aircraft, tanks, and surface warships, procurement has virtually stopped. This has led not only to a decline in present inventory, but implies a long-term crisis of bloc obsolescence in the...

Greece and Turkey: Aegean Issues -- Background and Recent Developments

For many years, NATO allies Greece and Turkey have been adversaries in bilateral disputes which have produced crises and even brought them to the brink of war. One series of disputes involves Aegean Sea borders. The two disagree over the border in the air, continental shelf, and territorial sea, over the status of islands in the Sea, and over the ownership of Aegean islets. In the aftermath of a January 1996 crisis over the sovereignty of the Imia/Kardak islet, various dispute resolution initiatives were undertaken. NATO proposed military-related confidence-building measures, some of...

Conventional Arms Transfers to Latin America: U.S. Policy

This report provides background on United States policy regarding conventional arms transfers to Latin America. It focuses on the development of U.S. policy toward arms sales and transfers to Latin America, and the debate over modifying existing policy and practices regarding such sales and transfers to countries in this region. United States policy on arms transfers to Latin America, as implemented, has gone through various modifications over the last forty years. However, there has always been some reluctance to provide large quantities of arms to this region. And, there has been a...

Kenya: The Challenges Ahead

NATO's Evolution: A Selected Chronology from the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Madrid Summit 1989-1997

Today's NATO is different in many ways from the alliance that existed prior to the November 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. This chronology records some significant developments affecting the dual processes of NATO enlargement and adaptation from that time until the July 8-9, 1997 NATO summit meeting in Madrid, Spain.

NATO: Article V and Collective Defense

Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty does not guarantee the use of force to assist an ally under attack. Nonetheless, the U.S. pledge of collective defense has been the core of the alliance. NATO views collective defense, and not collective security, as its core function. This study will not be updated.

NATO Enlargement: The Process and Allied Views

In December 1996, NATO countries expressed the intention to name one or more candidate states for membership at the alliance summit in Madrid on July 8-9, 1997. Designation of candidates would be the first significant step in the process of admitting central European countries. NATO has set a target date of April 1999 for completion of current members' constitutional processes to revise the North Atlantic Treaty to incorporate new members. Expansion of the alliance has triggered a broad debate about NATO's purpose and future. Since the end of the Cold War, NATO's missions have been...

Nicaragua: Changes Under the Chamorro Government and U.S. Concerns

National reconciliation was the primary goal of President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's administration from 1990-1996. Yet many critics, both in Nicaragua and in the U.S. Congress, saw her commitment to keeping the peace within the Nicaraguan national family as slowing the pace of political, institutional, and economic reform in the early years of her seven-year term. During the last two years, however, Nicaragua began to develop the institutions that contribute to a pluralist system. Primary U.S. concerns have been the development of democracy and of the economy, and the settlement of...

The U.S.-North Korea Nuclear Accord of October 1994: Background, Status, and Requirements of U.S. Nonproliferation Law

This document also available in PDF Image . Congress plays a critical role in the ability of the Clinton Administration to carry out an October 21, 1994, executive agreement between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that defused a confrontation over the latter's suspected nuclear weapons program. Under the U.S.-DPRK Agreed Framework, North Korea pledged to freeze its existing nuclear program and eventually to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to carry out inspections designed to account for all of its nuclear material, after which...

South Korea's Economic Reforms And U.S. Interests

From the perspective of U.S. exporters and investors, gaining fair and effective access to South Korea's market is part of a broader problem of doing business in an economy that limits the role of market forces. Extensive government intervention and regulation of economic activity, non- transparent and often discriminatory bureaucratic actions, and a strong drive for autonomy all make South Korea one of the most difficult markets in the world to do business in. To the extent that the South Korean government implements economic reforms that expose more segments of its economy to market...

Defense Budget: Role of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council

This document also available in PDF Image . In 1986, Congress addressed perceived inefficiencies in the organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff through the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. Title II of Goldwater-Nichols broadened the responsibilities of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), and created the position of Vice-Chairman. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC), an instrument of the Chairman, assists him in assessing military requirements for defense acquisition programs; the extent to which the program recommendations...

Taiwan's National Development Conference: Proposed Policy Changes and Implications for the United States

Taiwan's National Development Conference of December 1996 set forth policy changes important to Taiwan, the People's Republic of China (PRC), and the United States. If implemented, these changes could exacerbate cross-Strait tensions and complicate U.S. efforts to develop constructive engagement with the PRC while sustaining close ties with Taiwan. Prospects for Taiwan's implementing the changes are mixed. U.S. options for dealing with the emerging situation range from quiet diplomacy to direct U.S. mediation of Taiwanese-mainland differences.

U.N. Development Program: Background and Issues for Congress

The U.N. Development Program (UNDP), established in 1966 by the U.N. General Assembly, coordinates and provides funding for most U.N. development assistance programs. In 1996, the U.S. contribution of $52 million (50% lower than the 1995 contribution) reduced the United States from the largest to the seventh largest donor for the first time since the organization was founded. This report discusses UNDP funding, programs, and role in international development activities. It describes briefly Congress' concerns that UNDP programs lack focus. Congress is also concerned about the growing role...

Nicaragua's 1996 Elections and Results

The acrimony surrounding Nicaragua's recent elections has raised new concerns for political conciliation and stability there. Nicaraguans voted for president, the legislature, and other offices on Sunday, October 20, 1996. It was more than a month later, however, before rightist Arnoldo Aleman was officially declared the winner of the presidential race. Rightist Aleman, mayor of Managua from 1990-1995, defeated leftist Daniel Ortega, head of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and president from 1985-1991, and 21 other candidates by a wide margin. After a highly polarized race,...

Bosnia Implementation Force (IFOR) and Stabilization Force (SFOR): Activities of the 104th Congress

U.S. military forces have been serving as peacekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina since shortly after the signing of the Dayton peace agreement in late 1995. The mission of the NATO multinational Implementation Force (IFOR) was to carry out the military provisions of the peace agreement, brokered under U.S. leadership, under a one-year mandate. In December 1996, NATO countries agreed to deploy a smaller Stabilization Force (SFOR) to succeed IFOR. SFOR will continue to deter a resumption of hostilities and lend selective support to civilian peace efforts. Other international organizations...

The Marshall Plan: Design, Accomplishments, and Relevance to the Present

Periodically, Members of Congress and others have recommended establishment of a 'Marshall Plan' for Central America, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and elsewhere. They do so largely because the original Marshall Plan, a program of U.S. assistance to Europe during the period 1948-1951, is considered by many to have been the most effective ever of U.S. foreign aid programs. An effort to prevent the economic deterioration of Europe, expansion of communism, and stagnation of world trade, the Plan sought to stimulate European production, promote adoption of policies leading to...

Economic Sanctions and the Former Yugoslavia: Current Status and Policy Considerations Through 1996

In November and December 1996, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in Serbia- Montenegro (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia-FRY) rallied daily in the capital in protest of attempts by the Serbian government under President Slobodan Milosevic to annul the electoral victories of the opposition in the municipal elections. Some international policymakers have threatened the Serbian leadership with sanctions should it resort to violent means of quelling the protests. In Bosnia, violations, of lack of satisfactory compliance with, aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement have periodically prompted...

Vietnam: Economic/Political Developments and U.S. Relations

Vietnam's experiment with economic reforms continues to outpace liberalization of its political system. The Eighth Vietnamese Party Congress, which ended on July 2, 1996, failed to resolve deep- rooted differences among the communist leadership concerning the pace and scope of economic reforms. These continuing divisions among Vietnam's top leaders likely will affect relations with the United States, including efforts to normalize commercial relations.

Cuba: U.S. Economic Sanctions Through 1996

This report first provides an overview of U.S.- Cuba relations and U.S. policy toward Cuba. It then examines the history and legislative and executive authorities of the various components of U.S. sanctions against Cuba, including aid, trade, and other restrictions through 1996. U.S.-Cuba relations deteriorated sharply in the early 1960s when Fidel Castro began to build a repressive communist dictatorship and moved his country toward close relations with the Soviet Union. Since then, U.S. policy has consisted largely of isolating Cuba through a comprehensive economic embargo. The often...

Covert Action: An Effective Instrument of U. S. Foreign Policy?

Of all the functions of the United States Intelligence Community, covert actions tend to receive the greatest attention, even though they consume only a small proportion of intelligence budgets. They are often controversial and have on several occasions figured prominently in major political scandals. Almost inevitably, they intrude upon another country's internal affairs and can result in the loss of human life. They are by definition secret and thus do not undergo the public review and debate that is a hallmark of democratic society. Most covert actions undertaken in the four decades...

Chinese Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Background and Analysis

To assist congressional deliberations, this report sets forth the background on and analysis of Chinese technology transfers suspected of contributing to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. For a discussion of policy options and approaches, see the related Issue Brief 92056, Chinese Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Current Policy Issues . The issue of Chinese proliferation involves three aspects: China's support for nonproliferation efforts, China's transfers that promote proliferation, and vertical proliferation (modernization of China's WMD and missile...

Indian and Pakistani Nuclear Tests? Potential Test Ban Risks and Technical Benefits

During the negotiations on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), India blocked the draft treaty from becoming an official Conference on Disarmament document; subsequently, India and Pakistan have refused to sign the treaty. Nonetheless, entry into force requires ratification by 44 specified nations with nuclear know-how; the list includes India and Pakistan. India holds that the CTBT must be a step toward disarmament, and insists that a treaty include a commitment by the five nuclear states to eliminate their nuclear weapons by a set time. Pakistan has declined to join the treaty...

World Health Organization: A Fact Sheet

The World Health Organization (WHO), established in 1948, is the U.N. System's authority on international public health issues. It assists governments in improving national health services and in establishing worldwide standards for foods, chemicals, and biological and pharmaceutical products. WHO concentrates on preventive rather than curative programs, including efforts to eradicate endemic and other widespread diseases, stabilize population growth, improve nutrition, sanitation, and maternal and child care. WHO works through contracts with other agencies and private voluntary organizations.

Europe and China -- An Emerging Relationship

Reflecting in large part European concern to become more closely linked with China's rising market, the 16-member European Union (EU) has been unusually active in the past few years in building ties with Beijing. This report briefly reviews major policy pronouncements, high-level exchanges and limited assistance programs, backed by EU-China trade flows that have more than tripled over the past decade. Prospects for increased trade and economic interchange appear good, but broader political and security interaction remains constrained by the relatively low priority Beijing assigns to...

NATO Adapts for New Missions: The Berlin Accord and Combined Joint Task Forces (CJTF)

The NATO Foreign Ministers, meeting on June 3, 1996 in Berlin, Germany, agreed in principle on significant new steps that, if implemented, would constitute a major transformation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's missions and methods of operation. In January 1994, NATO leaders had approved a U.S. proposal to create Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) headquarters that would allow the allies to prepare to use their forces for a wide variety of different military scenarios. The concept had not been put into action largely because of political differences over how to create the option...

China's Rising Power: Alternative U.S. National Security Strategies -- Findings of a Seminar

Although recent development of China's wealth and power poses opportunities as well as challenges for U.S. policy, participants at a CRS seminar on dealing with China's rise focused on the challenges. China was seen as a very large, strategically located country undergoing rapid economic growth and social change, and ruled by authoritarian political leaders. Since the Maoist era, China has made great strides in conforming to many international norms, but a combination of rising Chinese power and nationalistic assertiveness has posed serious problems for: U.S. security interests in Asia;...

War Powers Resolution: A Brief Summary of Pro and Con Arguments

The War Powers Resolution, Public Law 93-148, was enacted by Congress over the veto of President Nixon on November 7, 1973. Through more than twenty-two years of experience, the resolution has remained a focus of controversy on the war powers of the President and Congress under the Constitution. (1) Major areas of controversy include the constitutionality of some provisions, the proper roles for the President and Congress in entering armed conflicts, the effect on U.S. military operations, and the effectiveness of the resolution in achieving its purpose of assuring that the collective...

German Military Presence in the United States: The Case of Holloman Air Force Base

For four decades, Germany has sent pilots to the United States for training. On May 1, 1996, this bilateral military cooperation took an important step forward when Defense Secretary Perry and German Defense Minister Rühe activated the German Air Force Tactical Training Center (TTC) at Holloman Air Force Base (AFB) in New Mexico. By October 1999, the Germans plan to have 24 F-4 Phantom and 42 Tornado jets, together with roughly 900 German Air Force staff members at Holloman. The two governments praised this undertaking as another sign of their continuing, strong alliance. Many analysts...

Greece and Turkey: The Rocky Islet Crisis

The dispute between Greece and Turkey over the sovereignty of Imia/Kardak islet escalated rapidly because bilateral relations are hampered by historic distrust and unresolved issues, and because both countries have weak governments. Each marshalled legal arguments to support its position. The United States acted to defuse the crisis and restore the status quo ante, but some State Department comments complicated U.S.-Greek relations. In the aftermath, a politically damaged Greek government temporarily distanced itself from the United States and sought support from its European Union...

A U.N. Rapid Reaction Force? A Discussion of the Issues and Considerations for U.S. Policymakers

U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali recently called for Member States to consider creating a special U.N. force for U.N. peacekeeping operations. In a January 1995 report he proposed that the U.N. consider establishing a "strategic reserve" rapid reaction force (RRF), perhaps of battalion-sized units, to deploy when emergency needs for peacekeeping troops arise. They would be stationed in their home countries, but would be trained to the standards, use the same operating procedures and equipment, participate in regular joint exercises, and otherwise be maintained at a high state...

Defense Budget: Alternative Measures of Costs of Military Commitments Abroad

As of Sept. 30, 1994, about 286,594 U.S. active duty military personnel were stationed overseas, including about 128,000 in European NATO countries, over 45,000 in Japan, and almost 37,000 in Korea. (1) Under current plans, the number of U.S. troops stationed ashore in Europe will decline to 100,000 by the end of FY1996, but other overseas deployments will remain stable. The Department of Defense projects that it will spend $16 billion in FY1996 to pay and operate forces permanently stationed ashore in foreign countries. (2) This $16 billion figure, however, reflects only one way of...

Conventional Arms Transfers: President Clinton's Policy Directive

This report details and analyzes President Clinton's Conventional Arms Transfer Policy as embodied in Presidential Decision Directive 34 (PDD-34), released on February 17, 1995. It reviews in depth the content of the President's policy directive, some implications of that directive for U.S. arms transfer policy and practice, and provides an appendix providing the key elements of PDD-34, as released by the White House in February 1995. This report will not be updated unless there is a notable change in the President's arms transfer policy.

U.N. Development Program: A Fact Sheet

The U.N. Development Program (UNDP), established in 1966 by the U.N. General Assembly, coordinates and provides funding for most U.N. development assistance programs. In FY1994, the U.S. contribution of $116 million made the United States the largest donor, comprising about 12 percent of the agency's budget. The Administration supports a strong U.S. role and financial contribution to the UNDP. Some Members of Congress, however, argue that UNDP programs are unfocused and duplicative.

The National Guard, State Defense Forces, And the Militias: Official and Unofficial Status

Speculation about ties between suspects in the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing and "state militias" have raised concern over what these militias are and from where they derive their authority, if any.

Military Retirement and Veterans' Compensation: Concurrent Receipt Issues

Military retirees with disabilities incurred during their military service may receive military retired pay from the Department of Defense (DOD) and may be eligible for veterans' disability compensation from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). However, current law requires that military retired pay be reduced by the amount of the veterans' benefits. Some military retirees have sought a change in law to permit concurrent receipt of both military nondisability retired pay (retired pay computed solely on the basis of length of service after a military career) and veterans' compensation...

NATO: Origins of the Enlargement Debate in Central Europe

At the December 1994 NATO Ministerial meeting, the Clinton Administration will propose that the allies begin to draw criteria for possible new members. Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia are the likely initial candidates. Russia is not under consideration. Proponents of NATO expansion, or "enlargement," believe that it could serve to stabilize Central European states seeking to build democracies and free-market economies; promote U.S. investment and trade in the region; lend stability to the whole of Europe; and serve to contain Russia, should it become...

Radio and Television Broadcasting to Cuba: Background and Issues Through 1994

Radio Marti first began broadcasting to Cuba in 1985 while TV Marti began broadcasting in 1990. Both programs are within the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, United States Information Agency (USIA). Almost since the beginning, U.S. government broadcasting to Cuba has been controversial. Supporters say a source of news independent of the Cuban government is important, especially in the post-Cold War climate. They say there is less print and broadcast media available now to Cubans than ever before. Critics of U.S. government broadcasting in Cuba say it has too much Cuban- American focus, and...

Partnership For Peace

NATO's Partnership for Peace program seeks to encourage eligible states, above all the states of the former Warsaw Pact and the former Soviet Union, to build democracy and undertake greater responsibilities in international security. The program could open the door to, but does not promise, NATO membership. U.S. and NATO relations with Russia are likely to be the determining factor in deciding whether states move from Partnership to NATO membership. The Partnership program, established at NATO's summit of January 10-11, 1994, does not extend the Alliance's mutual security commitment to...

Israeli-Palestinian Agreement

On August 27, 1993, Israel and the Palestinians announced that Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) official Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) had initialed a landmark agreement on August 19 in Oslo, Norway on a Declaration of Principles on interim self-government for the West Bank and Gaza Strip. On September 9, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin exchanged letters of unprecedented mutual recognition. On September 10, President Clinton welcomed the agreement, thanked Congress for its support, and...

President Bush's Judicial Nominations During the 101st and 102nd Congresses

There are ten categories of courts (including the local courts of the District of Columbia) to which the President nominates judges. The report provides background and statistics concerning President Bush's judicial nominations in each court category as well as actions taken on those nominations by the United States Senate. Each of the report's ten sections discusses the composition and jurisdiction of the court in question and notes the committee to which nominations to this court were referred when received by the Senate. Also, statistics on judicial nominations received by the Senate...

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and Military Manpower Policy

This issue brief will discuss issues dealing with military manpower policy and the AIDS virus, including the level of the AIDS infection or HIV infection rates in the military; efforts to control the spread of AIDS to and among military personnel; and AIDS in the context of military personnel stationed overseas.