Congressional Research Service Reports - 22 Matching Results

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The Specialty Metal Provision and the Berry Amendment: Issues for Congress

Description: In order to protect the U.S. industrial base during periods of adversity and war, Congress passed a set of domestic source restrictions which became known as the Berry Amendment. Specialty metal represented one of fourteen items previously covered under the Berry Amendment. Congress took action in the FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act to move the specialty metal provision from the Berry Amendmgent into a separate section of Title 10. This report examines the specialty metal provision, p… more
Date: October 5, 2010
Creator: Grasso, Valerie Bailey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wildfires: CRS Experts

Description: 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; long-term land use 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.
Date: July 5, 2012
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Endangered Species: Difficult Choices

Description: This report discusses issues debated in the 108th Congress while is considering various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have included changing the role of science in decision-making, changing the role of critical habitat, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated including signi… more
Date: September 5, 2001
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Endangered Species: Difficult Choices

Description: This report discusses issues debated in the 107th Congress while is considering various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have included changing the role of science in decision-making, changing the role of critical habitat, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated including signi… more
Date: September 5, 2003
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Heritage Areas: Background, Proposals, and Current Issues

Description: This report focuses on heritage areas designated by Congress and related issues and legislation. Over more than two decades, Congress has established 40 National Heritage Areas (NHAs) to commemorate, conserve, and promote areas that include important natural, scenic, historic, cultural, and recreational resources.
Date: September 5, 2008
Creator: Vincent, Carol Hardy & Whiteman, David L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Funding for Wildfire Control and Management

Description: This report looks at four issues dominating wildfire funding debates: the high cost of fire management, funding for fuel reduction, the federal role in protecting nonfederal lands, and post-fire rehabilitation. The Forest Service (FS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) are responsible for protecting most federal lands from wildfires, however, many in Congress are concerned that wildfire costs are spiraling upward without a reduction in damages.
Date: July 5, 2011
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biosafety Protocol for Genetically Modified Organisms: Overview

Description: The Biosafety Protocol to the 1992 Convention on biological Diversity, adopted in early 2000, addresses the safe handling, transfer, and trade of biological organisms. The Protocol sets forth procedures and rules concerning trade in biological products, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that have engendered controversy, especially when they are used as agricultural crops. These rules are of key importance to U.S. economic interests in agriculture as well as those dealing in other … more
Date: July 5, 2000
Creator: Segarra, Alejandro E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity

Description: This report provides an overview of Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity. Industrial hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa and is of the same species of Marijuana. Farmers in more than 30 countries grow industrial hemp commercially for fiber etc.
Date: January 5, 2005
Creator: Rawson, Jean M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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African Elephant Issues: CITES and CAMPFIRE

Description: The conservation of African elephants has been controversial recently on two fronts: the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES, to which the United States is a party), and a Zimbabwean program for sustainable development called CAMPFIRE, which is partially funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Two controversies have sprung up recently about the African elephant. One is the changing status of this species under the Convention on International T… more
Date: August 5, 1997
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne & Fletcher, Susan R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Endangered Species List Revisions: A Summary of Delisting and Downlisting

Description: This report outlines the process and reasons for delisting or downlisting, and summarizes the 27 species delisted due to extinction, recovery, or data revision, and the 22 species that have been downlisted from endangered to threatened status due to stabilized or improving populations.
Date: January 5, 1998
Creator: Noecker, Robert J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Soil and Water Conservation Issues

Description: No Description Available.
Date: July 5, 2002
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wildfire Protection in the 108th Congress

Description: The 2000 and 2002 fire seasons were, by most standards, among the worst in the past 50 years. Many argue that the threat of severe wildfires has grown in recent years because of unnaturally high fuel loads (e.g., dense undergrowth and dead trees), raising concerns about damage to property and homes in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) — forests near or surrounding homes. Debates about fire control and protection, including funding and fuel treatments (e.g., thinning and prescribed burning), ha… more
Date: August 5, 2003
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Endangered Species Act: Consideration of Economic Factors

Description: The Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides for the listing and protection of species that are found to be “endangered” or “threatened” – species that might become extinct. The listing of a species as endangered triggers the prohibitions in the Act against “taking” (killing or harming) individuals of the protected species, unless a permit is obtained to take individuals incidental to an otherwise lawful proposed action, or an exemption for the proposed action is obtained. Unauthorized taking of a… more
Date: January 5, 2001
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Endangered Species Act and "Sound Science"

Description: This report provides a context for evaluating legislative proposals through examples of how science has been used in selected cases, a discussion of the nature and role of science in general, and its role in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) process in particular, together with general and agency information quality requirements and policies, and a review of how the courts have viewed agency use of science.
Date: October 5, 2006
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues

Description: Since the first genetically engineered (GE) crops (also called GM [genetically modified] crops, or GMOs, genetically modified organisms) became commercially available in the mid-1990s, U.S. soybean, cotton, and corn farmers have rapidly adopted them. As adoption has spread, there have been policy debates over the costs and benefits of GE products. Issues include the impacts of GE crops on the environment and food safety, and whether GE foods should be specially labeled. Congress generally has b… more
Date: September 5, 2006
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Cowan, Tadlock
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Lumber Imports from Canada: Issues and Events

Description: This report discuses lumber imports from Canada and provides a concise historical account of the dispute, summarizes the subsidy and injury evidence, and discusses the current issues and events.
Date: May 5, 2003
Creator: Gorte, Ross W. & Grimmett, Jeanne J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific relevant topics.
Date: June 5, 2014
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. Some general issues include Arctic territorial disputes; commercial shipping through the Arctic; Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered Arctic species; and increased military operations in the Arctic, which could cause the region in coming years to become an arena of international cooperation or competition.
Date: January 5, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hydropower: Federal and Nonfederal Investment

Description: This report analyzes a wide range of factors that would attribute to the success of investing in Hydropower, the use of flowing water to produce energy. Some factors include but are not limited to federal or nonfederal classifications, clean energy discussions, fluctuating electricity market rates.
Date: September 5, 2013
Creator: Bracmrot, Kelsi; Stern, Charles V. & Vann, Adam
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agreements to Promote Fishery Conservation and Management in International Waters

Description: Declining fish populations threaten an important food source. Natural catastrophes, pollution, habitat destruction, and overfishing contribute to the depletion of fish stocks. Overexploitation of fishery resources often occurs when management allows expanding and increasingly efficient fishing fleets to continue harvesting dwindling supplies. Although prevalent, overexploitation is not universal and its extent varies among areas, species, and fisheries. This report discusses the issue of overfi… more
Date: January 5, 1996
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, including sovereignty claims; commercial shipping through the Arctic; oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered species; and increased military operations in the region. It includes background information on the region and on a variety of issues for which Congress may want to consider legislation.
Date: April 5, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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