Congressional Research Service Reports - 1,190 Matching Results
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- Gasoline Prices: Policies and Proposals
- This report gives information related to Gasoline prices and also discusses Policies and Proposals.
- U.S.-Canada Wheat and Corn Trade Disputes
- No Description Available.
- U.S.-Canada Wheat and Corn Trade Disputes
- No Description Available.
- Federal Advertising Law: An Overview
- This report provides a brief overview of federal law with respect to six selected advertising issues: alcohol advertising, tobacco advertising, the federal trade commission act, advertising by mail, advertising by telephone, and commercial e-mail.
- U.S. Agriculture After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Status and Issues
- No Description Available.
- Inequality in the Distribution of Income: Trends and International Comparisons
- This report examines the distribution of income in the United States, including factors that may help explain it, how it has changed over time, and how it compares with those of other countries.
- Gasoline Prices: New Legislation and Proposals
- This report discusses legislation and proposals regarding prices of gasoline. Policy options, ANWR, and price gouging are among topics covered in this report.
- Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Fishing and Aquaculture Industries - Damage and Recovery
- This report summarizes damage assessments and recovery efforts, and will be updated as warranted to incorporate new information.
- Gasoline Prices: New Legislation and Proposals
- This report discusses the information related to new legislation and proposals of Gasoline Prices.
- Government-Sposored Enterprises (GSEs): Regulatory Reform Legislation
- This report summarizes legislative proposals in the 109th Congress that aim to strengthen the regulation of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), and will be updated as warranted.
- Accounting and Management Problems at Freddie Mac
- This report summarizes the extent of accounting and management problems at Freddie Mac. The report highlights the issues of selecting policies to report constant earnings, and undertaking certain transactions for the sake of creating a facade of reported earnings. Finally, the report discusses the consequences of these problems by stating that many of the Freddie Mac's executives have been replaced, fines were issued, and a lawsuit occurred.
- Accounting Problems at Fannie Mae
- On September 22, 2004, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Supervision (OFHEO) made public a report that was highly critical of accounting methods at Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise that plays a leading role in the secondary mortgage market. OFHEO charged Fannie Mae with not following generally accepted accounting practices in two critical areas: (1) amortization of discounts, premiums, and fees involved in the purchase of home mortgages and (2) accounting for financial derivatives contracts. According to OFHEO, these deviations from standard accounting rules allowed Fannie Mae to reduce volatility in reported earnings, present investors with an artificial picture of steadily growing profits, and, in at least one case, to meet financial performance targets that triggered the payment of bonuses to company executives. On November 15, 2004, Fannie Mae reported that it was unable to file a third-quarter earnings statement because its auditor, KPMG, refused to sign off on the accounting results. On December 15, 2004, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after finding inadequacies in Fannie’s accounting policies and methodologies, directed Fannie Mae to restate its accounting results since 2001. Shortly thereafter, the company’s CEO and CFO resigned. It is estimated that earnings since 2001 will be revised downwards by as much as $12 billion, but the formal restatement of earnings is not expected before late 2006.
- Strategic Petroleum Reserve
- This report includes information regarding strategic petroleum reserve. Background and analysis, purchases of crude oil, and drawdown of the reserve are among topics discussed in this report.
- Federal Business Taxation: The Current System, Its Effects, and Options for Reform
- No Description Available.
- Tax Incentives for Alternative Fuel and Advanced Technology Vehicles
- No Description Available.
- Tobacco Farmer Assistance
- No Description Available.
- Tobacco Farmer Assistance
- No Description Available.
- Tobacco Quota Buyout
- Report on the termination of U.S. tobacco farm price supports and the ripple effects of this decision, including payments to quota holders, producers, lump sum payments, imports, and more.
- Constitutionality of Requiring Sexually Explicit Material on the Internet to be Under a Separate Domain Name
- It is unclear whether making a “.xxx” domain mandatory would violate the First Amendment. Some propose making use of a “.xxx” domain voluntary, but others propose that Congress make it mandatory. The latter proposal raises the question whether a mandatory separate domain would violate the First Amendment, and this report focuses on that question.
- Plan Colombia: A Progress Report
- Report on Plan Colombia, a plan "to end Colombia's long armed conflict, eliminate drug trafficking, and promote economic and social development" (p. i).
- Chemical Facility Security
- Facilities handling large amounts of potentially hazardous chemical (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. For any individual facility, the risk is very small, but the risks may be increasing -- with potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment. Congress might choose to rely on existing efforts in the public and private sectors to improve chemical site security over time. Alternatively, Congress could expand existing environmental planning requirements for chemical facilities to require consideration of terrorism. Congress might also enact legislation to reduce risks, either by "hardening" defenses against terrorists or by requiring industries to consider use of safer chemicals, procedures, or processes.
- Health Insurance: A Primer
- This report provides information related to health insurance. The content includes what it is, why is it needed, health insurance regulation, and how are private health benefits delivered and financed.
- Constitutionality of Proposals to Prohibit the Sale or Rental to Minors of Video Games with Violent or Sexual Content or "Strong Language"
- It has been proposed that Congress prohibit the sale or rental to minors of video games that are rated “M” (mature) or “AO” (adults-only) by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. This board is a non-governmental entity established by the Interactive Digital Software Association, and its ratings currently have no legal effect.
- Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards
- This report discusses the CAFE Standards of Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy.
- Energy Efficiency: Budget, Oil Conservation, and Electricity Conservation Issues
- This report includes information related to energy efficiency, including history, various bills and budgets, and conservation. Climate change and energy security related to energy efficiency are also discussed in this report.
- Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs
- No Description Available.
- ANWR Development: Economic Impacts
- This report includes Economic impacts of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Development.
- Appropriations for the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service in FY2006: Issues for Congress
- This report examines the President's budget request for Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service(IRS) in FY2006, some of the key policy issues it raised, and congressional action on the request.
- The Pattern of Interest Rates in 2006: Could It Signal an Impending Recession?
- No Description Available.
- The Pattern of Interest Rates in 2006: Could It Signal an Impending Recession?
- No Description Available.
- Technology Transfer: Use of Federally Funded Research and Development
- Report on government spending for research and development of technology, with a focus on how that R&D can be transferred to other areas, including recent developments, background issues, the rationale behind federal activity, and more.
- Structure and Functions of The Federal Reserve System
- This report examines the structure and operations of the major components of the Federal Reserve System, and provides an overview of congressional oversight activities.
- "Bunker Busters": Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator Issues, FY2005-FY2007
- The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) program has been the most controversial nuclear weapon program in Congress for the last several years. Supporters argue that it is needed to attack hard and deeply buried targets (such as leadership bunkers) in countries of concern, thereby deterring or defeating challenges from such nations; critics assert that RNEP would lower the threshold for use of nuclear weapons and prompt other nations to develop nuclear weapons to deter U.S. attack. This report presents a brief technical background on RNEP, then discusses the history of RNEP in Congress and the Administration for the FY2005 and FY2006 budget cycles.
- Strategic Petroleum Reserve
- This report includes information regarding strategic petroleum reserve. Background, purchases of crude oil, and drawdown capability are among topics discussed in this report.
- The Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement: A Brief Description
- No Description Available.
- The Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement: A Brief Description
- No Description Available.
- Minority Contracting and Affirmative Action for Disadvantaged Small Businesses: Legal Issues
- This report discusses the minority participation “goals” that 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.
- 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.
- State and Local Sales and Use Taxes and Internet Commerce
- In theory, state sales and use taxes are based on the destination principle, which prescribes that taxes should be paid where the consumption takes place. States are concerned because they anticipate gradually losing more tax revenue as the growth of Internet commerce allows more residents to buy products from vendors located out-of-state and evade use taxes. The size of the revenue loss from Internet commerce and subsequent tax evasion is uncertain. Congress is involved in this issue because commerce conducted by parties in different states over the Internet falls under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The degree of congressional involvement is an open question.
- State and Local Sales and Use Taxes and Internet Commerce
- In theory, state sales and use taxes are consumption taxes based on the destination principle. The destination principle prescribes that taxes should be paid where the consumption takes place. Sales taxes collected at the point of sale achieve this if consumption takes place near the point of transaction. Thus, to remain consistent with the destination principle, consumers pay a use tax on products purchased out-of-state and used in their home state where consumption likely takes place.
- State and Local Sales and Use Taxes and Internet Commerce
- No Description Available.
- Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Trout: Managing Under the Endangered Species Act
- This report summarizes the reasons for the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings and outlines efforts to protect ESA-listed species.
- Softwood Lumber Imports from Canada: Issues and Events
- This report provides a concise historical account of the dispute over softwood lumber imports from Canada, summarizes the subsidy and injury evidence, and discusses current issues and events.
- Federal Government Corporations: An Overview
- This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category currently consisting of some 18 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to them in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is an agency of government, established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and intended to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.
- Chemical Facility Security
- Facilities handling large amounts of potentially hazardous chemical (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. For any individual facility, the risk is very small, but the risks may be increasing -- with potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment. Congress might choose to rely on existing efforts in the public and private sectors to improve chemical site security over time. Alternatively, Congress could expand existing environmental planning requirements for chemical facilities to require consideration of terrorism. Congress might also enact legislation to reduce risks, either by "hardening" defenses against terrorists or by requiring industries to consider use of safer chemicals, procedures, or processes.
- The Quasi Government: Hybrid Organizations with Both Government and Private Sector Legal Characteristics
- No Description Available.
- Data Security: Protecting the Privacy of Phone Records
- This report provides a brief discussion of efforts to protect the privacy of customer telephone records
- Immigration: The Effects on Native-Born Workers
- This report provides a discussions of how to analyze the impact of immigrants on the pay and job opportunities of native-born workers. It then uses this framework to examine and interpret the empirical literature on the subject. The report concludes with a discussion of policy implications.
- Association Sponsored Health Plans: Legislation in the 109th Congress
- This report describes H.R. 525/S. 406 and S. 1955 which focus on assisting small employers with offering health insurance to their workers.
- China's Impact on the U.S. Automotive Industry
- This report discusses China’s impact on the U.S. Automotive Industry. Congress has been concerned with broad policies giving Chinese exporters unfair trade advantages. The Senate approved a bill, added as an amendment to other legislation that would place a high tariff on Chinese imports unless China revalues its pegged exchange rate (S. 295). Further action has been postponed on this measure. Legislation to allow U.S. producers to bring countervailing duty cases against Chinese firms subsidized by their government has been approved in the House (H.R. 3283), and a new law has tightened rules against trade in counterfeited goods (P.L. 109-181).