Congressional Research Service Reports - 2,321 Matching Results
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- What Is the “Farm Bill”?
- No Description Available.
- What's the Difference?--Comparing U.S. and Chinese Trade Data
- This report provides a comparison of U.S. and Chinese trade data. The U.S. trade deficit with the People's Republic of China (China) remains a major source of bilateral tension. Members of Congress and other U.S. government officials often point to the bilateral trade imbalance as evidence that China is not competing fairly in the global market.
- Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of U.S. Financial Supervision
- This report provides an overview of current U.S. financial regulation. It discusses which agencies are responsible for which institutions and markets, and what kinds of authority they have.
- Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of U.S. Financial Supervision
- This report provides an overview of current U.S. financial regulation: which agencies are responsible for which institutions, activities, and markets, and what kinds of authority they have. Some agencies regulate particular types of institutions for risky behavior or conflicts of interest, some agencies promulgate rules for certain financial transactions no matter what kind of institution engages in it, and other agencies enforce existing rules for some institutions, but not for others. These regulatory activities are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
- A Whole-Farm Crop Disaster Program: Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE)
- This report discusses the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, 2008 farm bill), which created a set of disaster programs called "Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance." The programs supplement crop insurance coverage and provide disaster assistance for livestock (including aquaculture and honey bees), forage, and tree and nursery crops.
- Why Certain Trade Agreements Are Approved as Congressional-Executive Agreements Rather Than as Treaties
- U.S. trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), World Trade Organization agreements, and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) have been approved by majority vote of each house rather than by two-thirds vote of the Senate - that is, they have been treated as congressional-executive agreements rather than as treaties. The congressional-executive agreement has been the vehicle for implementing Congress's long-standing policy of seeking trade benefits for the United States through reciprocal trade negotiations. This report discusses this topic in brief.
- The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA): Protections, Federal Water Rights, and Development Restrictions
- No Description Available.
- Wind Energy: Offshore Permitting
- The focus of this report is the current law applicable to siting offshore wind facilities, including the relationship between state and federal jurisdictional authorities. The report also discusses the court challenges to early federal offshore wind energy permitting authorities and the effect that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 has had on the regulatory environment.
- Winter Fuels Outlook 2010-2011
- This report discusses findings gleaned through the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) publication titled Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook (STEWFO) for the 2010-2011 winter heating season. STEWFO projects how much American consumers should expect to see heating expenditures rise during the 2010-2011 winter season. These findings take into account the currently slow economic growth, high unemployment numbers, and uncertainty regarding the federal funding of the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
- The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
- No Description Available.
- World Trade Organization (WTO): Issues in the Debate on Continued U.S. Participation
- Following World War II, the United States led efforts to establish an open and nondiscriminatory trading system with the expressed goal of raising the economic well-being of all countries and bolstering world peace. These efforts culminated in the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1948, a provisional agreement on tariffs and trade rules that governed world trade for 47 years. The World Trade Organization (WTO) succeeded the GATT in 1995 and today serves as a permanent body that administers the rules and agreements negotiated and signed by 153 participating parties, as well as a forum for dispute settlement and negotiations. The purpose of this report is to analyze some of the main issues in any debate on U.S. participation in the WTO and to address some of the criticisms leveled at the organization. Academic studies indicate that the United States benefits from broad reductions in trade barriers worldwide, but some workers and industries might not share in those gains. Decisions in the WTO are made by member governments, which determine their negotiating positions, file dispute challenges, and implement their decisions. However, some argue that smaller countries are left out of decision-making and that governments tend to represent the interests of large corporations disproportionately.
- WTO Dispute Settlement: Status of U.S. Compliance in Pending Cases
- This report provides a summary of the status of U.S. compliance efforts in pending World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes that have resulted in adverse rulings against the United States. The report contains an overview of WTO dispute settlement procedures, a discussion of U.S. laws relating to WTO dispute proceedings, and a list of pending WTO disputes compliance phase, with a discussion of major issues and the U.S. compliance history in each.
- WTO Doha Round: Implications for U.S. Agriculture
- The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations began in November 2001. From an agricultural viewpoint, the goal of the negotiations was to make progress simultaneously across the three pillars of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Agricultural Agreement—domestic support, market access, and export competition—by building on the specific terms and conditions established during the previous Uruguay Round of negotiations. This report reviews the current status of agricultural negotiations for domestic support, market access, and export subsidies, and their potential implications for U.S. agriculture.
- Yemen: Background and U.S. Relations
- With limited natural resources, a crippling illiteracy rate, and high population growth, Yemen faces an array of daunting development challenges that some observers believe make it at risk for becoming a failed state in the next few decades. As the country's population rapidly rises, resources dwindle, and terrorist groups take root in the outlying provinces, the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress are left to grapple with the consequences of Yemeni instability. As President Obama and the 111th Congress reassess U.S. policy toward the Arab world, the opportunity for improved U.S.-Yemeni ties is strong, though recurring tensions over counterterrorism cooperation and lack of U.S. interest in Yemen within the broader foreign policy community persist.
- 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 at large in Yemen's hinterlands, and international efforts to bolster the country's stability despite an array of daunting socio-economic problems.
- 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 at large in Yemen's hinterlands, and international efforts to bolster the country's stability despite an array of daunting socio-economic problems.
- Zimbabwe
- This report provides background on events leading up to and surrounding Zimbabwe's most recent elections, in March and June 2008.
- Zimbabwe: Background
- This report provides background on events leading up to and surrounding the country's most recent elections, in March and June 2008.
- Zimbabwe: The Power Sharing Agreement and Implications for U.S. Policy
- This report provides an overview of Zimbabwe's March 2008 elections. The report discusses the power-sharing agreement, the transitional government, cholera outbreak, international reactions, and U.S. policy on Zimbabwe.
- Zimbabwe: The Transitional Government and Implications for U.S. Policy
- This report provides background information on 2008 elections in Zimbabwe. The report discusses the power sharing agreement, transitional government, cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, as well as the international reactions and U.S. policy on Zimbabwe.
- Zimbabwe: The Transitional Government and Implications for U.S. Policy
- This report discusses the transitional government in Zimbabwe, economic and humanitarian conditions, and concerns about the country's political future.