Congressional Research Service Reports - 40 Matching Results
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- Appropriations for FY2001: 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 Military Construction Appropriations.
- Biosafety Protocol for Genetically Modified Organisms: Overview
- 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 genetically modified organisms. This report provides a brief summary of the key provisions of the Protocol and the major issues associated with them.
- The Bradley Amendment: Prohibition Against Retroactive Modification of Child Support Arrearages
- This report provides an overview of the Bradley Amendment on prohibition against retroactive modification of child support.
- Capital Punishment: Summary of Supreme Court Decisions During the 1999-00 Term
- No Description Available.
- China and the WTO: Labor Issues
- This report discusses China's prospective membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the issues it raises for U.S. workers and organized labor.
- China-U.S. Relations: Chronology of Developments During the Clinton Administration
- This report chronicles major developments in U.S. - China relations during the Clinton Administration, and in the 103rd through the 106th Congresses, from late 1992 to 1999.
- China's Automobile Industry and WTO Accession
- No Description Available.
- Class Size Reduction Program: Background and Status
- This report provides an overview of the structure and status of the CSR program, the issues raised about the program, early reports on its implementation, and relevant legislative action by the 106th Congress. It also considers emerging results from the California class size reduction effort, the state effort most closely watched by proponents and opponents of the federal CSR program.
- Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986: Proposals for Reforming the Joint Officer Personnel Management Program
- No Description Available.
- Electric-Drive Propulsion for U.S. Navy Ships: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and discusses issues for Congress regarding the use of electric-drive propulsion technology (as opposed to traditional mechanical-drive technology) on U.S. Navy ships. As a result of technological developments over the last few years, electric-drive technology has matured to the point where the Navy has selected it 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.
- Electricity Restructuring: Comparison of Comprehensive Bills
- Once considered the nation's most regulated industry, the electric utility industry is evolving into a more competitive environment. Currently, the focus of this development is the generating sector, where the advent of new generating technologies has lowered both entry barriers to competitors of traditional utilities and the marginal costs of those competitors below those of some traditional utilities. This technological advance has combined with legislative initiatives, such as the Energy Policy Act (EPACT), to encourage the introduction of competitive forces into the electric generating sector.
- The Electronic Stock Market
- This report provides background against which the competing and visions of the market's future can be evaluated.
- EPA's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program: Highlights of the Final Revised Rule
- This report discusses the final rule and the key modifications of the August 1999 proposal. The final rule builds on the current TMDL regulatory program and adds details, specific requirements, and deadlines. It retains the basic elements of the 1999 proposal for more comprehensive identification of impaired waters, schedules and minimum elements for TMDLs, and new public participation requirements. At the same time, dropped from the final rule are several provisions that were most controversial in the proposal, including some potentially affecting agriculture and forestry, one that would have required pollutant discharge offsets in some circumstances, and one that would have required states to identify waters threatened but not yet impaired by pollution
- The Ethiopia-Eritrea Conflict
- Open conflict broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea in May 1998 after disagreements over several areas along the common border worsened. The war occurred despite earlier creation of a joint border commission to address complaints by both sides. An estimated 50,000-100,000 people were killed in the conflict and close to a million people have been displaced.
- Executive and Independent Agency Publications: Where to Get Official Documents
- This is a directory of telephone numbers and addresses that congressional offices may use to obtain publications from the Executive Office of the President, the executive departments, and the independent agencies and commissions of the federal government. Electronic sources are included for locating copies of government publications on the Internet. The information for each agency was provided by the agency itself.
- The Holocaust--Recovery of Assets from World War II: A Chronology (May 1995 to Present)
- This report is a compilation of recent investigations (May 7, 1995 - July 26, 2000) into the role of Swiss banks and other institutions dealing with the recovery of hidden or stolen assets of victims of the Holocaust from World War II (1939-1945).
- Joint Negotiation by Health-Care Professionals: H.R. 1304, “Quality Health-Care Coalition Act of 2000"
- No Description Available.
- Kosovo: U.S. and Allied Military Operations
- No Description Available.
- Marriage Tax Penalties: Legislative Proposals in the 106th Congress
- No Description Available.
- The Marriage Tax Penalty: An Overview of the Issues
- No Description Available.
- The Minimum Wage: An Overview of Issues Before the 106th Congress
- No Description Available.
- National Guard and Reserve Funding, FY1990-2001
- This report provides data on trends in funding for National Guard & Reserve components and end-strength levels for Fiscal Years (FY) 1990-2000 and the budget request for FY2001. The reserve components include the Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and Air Force Reserve.
- Nuclear Weapons and Ballistic Missile Proliferation in India and Pakistan: Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Overview of NEPA Requirements
- The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) establishes national environmental policies that apply to the federal government and also prescribes certain procedural requirements for federal agency actions. Except as otherwise provided by Congress, NEPA applies to all federal agency actions, although its requirements may vary depending on the nature of the action involved. This report provides an overview of NEPA's requirements. It is not anticipated that this report will be updated.
- Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress
- No Description Available.
- Russia's Paris Club Debt: U.S. Interests
- Russia is seeking substantial debt forgiveness from its Paris Club debt of some $42 billion. Germany holds about half this official debt; the United States share is 6%. The United States may adopt a policy of no debt relief, of rescheduling payments of principal and interest, or of debt forgiveness. The official position of creditor countries in the Paris Club is for no debt forgiveness. Many in Congress support linkage of any debt relief to an end of the Chechnya conflict and of aid to Serbia, and other foreign and security issues. H.R. 4118, "Russian-American Trust and Cooperation Act of 2000," dealing with a Russian intelligence facility in Cuba, was reported out of the U.S. House of Representatives to be debated starting Wednesday, July 19, 2000. Paris Club negotiations will be discussed at the Okinawa G-8 meeting, July 21-22, 2000. This report will not be updated.
- Social Security and the Federal Budget: What Does Social Security's Being "Off Budget" Mean?
- This report discusses social security and its place in the federal budget. As a result of a series of laws enacted in 1983, 1985 and 1990, Social Security is considered to be "off budget" for federal budget purposes. While the meaning of this might seem obvious--that Social Security is not to be considered as part of the federal budget--many people are confused by the continued use of aggregate budget figures that include Social Security's receipts and expenditures.
- Social Security and the Federal Budget: What Does Social Security's Being "Off Budget" Mean?
- No Description Available.
- Social Security: Taxation of Benefits
- No Description Available.
- Stratospheric Ozone Depletion: Implementation Issues
- For two decades, scientists have been warning that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons (bromine-containing fluorocarbons) may deplete the stratospheric ozone shield that screens out some of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet rays and thus regulates the amounts which reach the Earth's surface. CFCs have been used as refrigerants, solvents, foam blowing agents, and outside the United States, as aerosol propellants; Halons are used primarily as firefighting agents. Increased radiation could result in an increase in skin cancers, suppression of the human immune system, and decreased productivity of terrestrial and aquatic organisms, including some commercially important crops.
- Supplemental Appropriations for FY2000: Plan Columbia, Kosovo, Foreign Debt Relief, Home Energy Assistance, and Other Initiatives
- No Description Available.
- Supreme Court Opinions: October 1999 Term
- This report outlines Supreme Court opinions from the October 1999 term.
- Surplus Federal Property
- The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 created new procurement procedures for federal civilian agencies and established the General Services Administration as a central procurement agent.1 Since that time, this enabling law has evolved through amendments to provide GSA with an integrated system of administrative procedures to carry out its federal procurement and supply activities.
- Value-Added Tax as a New Revenue Source
- Some Members of Congress have expressed interest in the feasibility of using a value-added tax (VAT) to either replace all or part of the income tax or finance health care reform. A VAT is imposed at all levels of production on the differences between firms' sales and their purchases from all other firms. Policymakers may be interested in the following aspects of a VAT: revenue yield, international comparison of composition of taxes, vertical equity, neutrality, inflation, balance-of-trade, national saving, administrative cost, intergovernmental relations, size of government, and public opinion.
- VERMONT AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES V. UNITED STATES EX REL. STEVENS: THE SUPREME COURT LIMITS FALSE CLAIMS ACTIONS AGAINST STATES
- No Description Available.
- The Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement
- No Description Available.
- Voting in Primary Elections: State Rules On Participation
- No Description Available.
- What If the National Debt Were Eliminated? Some Economic Consequences
- This report examines various aspects of the national debt and explains what would happen if the debt were eliminated. The national debt currently held by the public stands at $3.4 trillion, or about 35% of gross domestic product (GDP).
- What if the National Debt Were Eliminated? Some Economic Consequences
- Asthe budget has moved from a position of large deficitsto large surpluses, then back to deficit again, a debate has emerged about the desirability of retiring the national debt. Although the national debt would not be retired under current baseline forecasts, it remains an important element of the budget surplus debate. By the end of the baseline window, the national debt is forecast to reach its lowest level in the post-war period as a percentage of GDP despite the dramatic deterioration in the surplus forecastsince 2001. This report will explore the economic issues surrounding budget surpluses and debt retirement
- World Heritage Convention and U.S. National Parks
- On July 13, 2000, the House passed H.R. 4811, the FY 2001 Foreign Operations bill, containing language prohibiting the use of any funds in the bill for the United Nations World Heritage Fund. This Fund provides technical assistance to countries requesting help in protecting World Heritage sites. On May 20, 1999, the House passed (by voice vote) the American Land Sovereignty Protection Act (H.R. 883), which requires congressional approval to add any additional U.S. national parks and monuments to the World Heritage List, a UNESCO-administered list established by the 1972 World Heritage Convention. This paper describes the operation of the UNESCO Convention and will be updated periodically.