Congressional Research Service Reports - 996 Matching Results

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Agriculture in the WTO Doha Round: The Framework Agreement and Next Steps

Description: Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) reached agreement on July 31, 2004 on a framework for negotiating agricultural trade liberalization in the multilateral trade round known as the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). The framework, part of a work program for all negotiating issues in the DDA (nonagricultural market access, services, trade facilitation, etc.), sets the stage for negotiations, now underway, to determine specific targets or formulas (“modalities”) for curbing trade-d… more
Date: May 3, 2005
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Labor: The Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR)

Description: American agricultural employers have long utilized foreign workers on a temporary basis, regarding them as an important labor resource. At the same time, the relatively low wages and adverse working conditions of such workers have caused them to be viewed as a threat to domestic American workers. Some have argued that foreign guest workers compete unfairly with U.S. workers — both in terms of compensation that they are willing to accept and by making it somewhat more difficult for domestic work… more
Date: April 14, 2005
Creator: Whittaker, William G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs

Description: This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2005, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.
Date: April 11, 2005
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Dairy Policy Issues

Description: This report gives an overview of Dairy policy issues and the contents include Dairy forward pricing pilot program, Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) payments, Milk protein concentrate trade issues, and dairy price support program
Date: April 8, 2005
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Animal Identification and Meat Traceability

Description: Animal identification refers to marking individual or groups of farm animals so that they can be tracked from birth to slaughter. Animal identification is one segment of meat traceability, generally the tracking of identifiable products through the entire marketing chain to the ultimate consumer. This report details an overview of animal identification in the U.S., current programs to enforce animal identification, development of a National Identification Plan, the Foreign Trade Commission, and… more
Date: March 29, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Commodity Programs: Wool and Mohair

Description: This report discusses price support for wool and mohair, which became mandatory through legislation enacted in 1947 and in 1949. The National Wool Act of 1954 (P.L. 83-690) established direct payments for wool and mohair producers. The act’s stated purpose was to encourage production of wool because it was considered an essential and strategic commodity.
Date: March 29, 2005
Creator: Canada, Carol
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and FY2006 Budget Reconciliation

Description: This report compares and contrasts the differences in House and Senate action on a FY2006 budget resolution. The report details that both bills would require cuts to mandatory programs within each committee's jurisdiction. Although no cuts will be required until a conference agreement on the resolution is reached.
Date: March 22, 2005
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Commodity Policy: Programs and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses farm commodity programs, which represent the heart of U.S. farm policy. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) establishes farm income support and commodity price support programs for the 2002-2007 crop years. The 109th Congress is facing several issues regarding farm commodity programs, including budget reconciliation that could reopen the farm bill, payment limits (S. 385), dairy program extension (H.R. 1260, S. 273, S. 307), international trade, and planting flexibility (S.… more
Date: March 15, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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: March 7, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The FY2006 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Description: This report outlines the Administration’s FY2006 budget request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including estimated outlays of $94.6 billion. Discretionary budget authority would fall 12% from FY2005 levels to $19.4 billion ($21 billion outlays), and mandatory outlays would remain steady at $73 billion. The request included proposals to reduce mandatory spending for farm commodity programs, food stamps, rural development, and conservation.
Date: March 2, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation

Description: Falling agricultural exports and declining commodity prices led farm groups and agribusiness firms to urge the 106th Congress to pass legislation exempting foods and agricultural commodities from U.S. economic sanctions against certain countries. In completing action on the FY2001 agriculture appropriations bill, Congress codified the lifting of unilateral sanctions on commercial sales of food, agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical products to Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Sudan, and … more
Date: February 25, 2005
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Doha Development Agenda: The WTO Framework Agreement

Description: On July 31, 2004, the 147 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) reached a Framework Agreement for conducting future Doha Round trade negotiations. The Framework Agreement is the latest step in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) round of trade negotiations at the WTO, which was launched at the 4th Ministerial of the WTO at Doha, Qatar in November 2001. This report provides analysis of the framework agreement and its significant results (agriculture, industrial market access, services, and… more
Date: February 10, 2005
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F. & Hanrahan, Charles E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Grazing Fees: An Overview and Current Issues

Description: This report briefly discusses charging fees for grazing private livestock on federal lands, which is a long-standing but contentious practice. Generally, livestock producers who use federal lands want to keep fees low, while conservation groups and others believe fees should be raised to approximate "fair market value."
Date: February 8, 2005
Creator: Vincent, Carol H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Commodity Programs: A Short Primer

Description: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is required by law to subsidize approximately two dozen specified agricultural commodities. Several permanent statutes provide the basic authority for these subsidies; more recent multi-year farm bills shape their operation and funding levels. The most recent omnibus farm bill is the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L.107-171). However, Congress since FY1989 has also passed 30 appropriations, authorization, or farm disaster acts adding … more
Date: February 7, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agroterrorism: Threats and Preparedness

Description: The potential of terrorist attacks against agricultural targets (agroterrorism) is increasingly recognized as a national security threat, especially after the events of September 11, 2001. In this context, agroterrorism is defined as the deliberate introduction of an animal or plant disease with the goal of generating fear, causing economic losses, and/or undermining stability. This report addresses the use of biological weapons against agriculture, rather than the threat of terrorists using ag… more
Date: February 4, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Conservation Reserve Program: Status and Current Issues

Description: The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in 1985, provides payments to farmers to take highly erodible or environmentally sensitive cropland out of production for ten years or more to conserve soil and water resources. It is the federal government’s largest private land retirement program. The program is administered by the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with technical assistance provided by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Date: February 4, 2005
Creator: Johnson, Barbara
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): Status and Issues

Description: The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides farmers with financial and technical assistance to plan and implement soil and water conservation practices. EQIP was enacted in 1996 and most recently amended by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Section 2301 of P.L. 107-171). It is a mandatory spending program (i.e., not subject to annual appropriations), administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). EQIP is guaranteed a total of $6.1 billion f… more
Date: February 3, 2005
Creator: Canada, Carol & Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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