Congressional Research Service Reports - 204 Matching Results
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- The Chained Consumer Price Index: How Is It Different?
- This report is categorized into four categories: (I) Introduction, (II) Methodological Differences, (III) Statistical Differences, (IV) Policy Consideration.
- Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages: Should a Radio and TV Ban be Imposed?
- This issue brief discusses the ongoing debate centered around television and radio advertising of alcoholic beverages, especially as it relates to the possible negative influence on the drinking habits of minors.
- A Brief Overview of Actions Taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in Its First Year
- Report that looks at actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) during its first year. The CFPB exists to implement and enforce federal consumer financial laws, ensure consumer access to financial products and services, and ensure that the markets for consumer financial services and products are fair, transparent, and competitive.
- A Brief Overview of Actions Taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in Its First Year
- This report looks at actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) during its first year. The CFPB exists to implement and enforce federal consumer financial laws, ensure consumer access to financial products and services, and ensure that the markets for consumer financial services and products are fair, transparent, and competitive.
- The Hatch-Waxman Act: Proposed Legislative Changes Affecting Pharmaceutical Patents
- This report presents legislative changes affecting Pharmaceutical Patents related to the Hatch-Waxman Act.
- The Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Reauthorization
- This report examines some of the history of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), focusing primarily on its creation and most recent legislative reauthorization. It also discusses the foremost active authorities of the DPA.
- The Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Reauthorization
- This report examines some of the history of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), focusing primarily on its creation and most recent legislative reauthorization. It also discusses the foremost active authorities of the DPA.
- Credit Card Minimum Payments
- Recently, credit card issuers began adjusting their minimum payment formulas, raising the amount of the required monthly payment. Congress has focused on the need to increase consumer awareness of the financial jeopardy that can result from paying only the required minimum. This report provides an overview of the issues and congressional action. It will be updated as events warrant.
- The Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Reauthorization
- This report examines some of the history of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), focusing primarily on its creation and most recent legislative reauthorization. It also discusses the foremost active authorities of the DPA.
- Consumers and Food Price Inflation
- This report focuses instead on the nature and measurement of retail food price inflation and its relationship to consumers.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- This report discusses products liability, which refers to the liability of a manufacturer or seller for injury caused by his product to the person or property of a buyer or third party. Legal developments starting in the 1960s, particularly the adoption of strict tort liability, have made it substantially easier for persons injured by defective products to recover damages.
- Consumer and Credit Reporting, Scoring, and Related Policy Issues
- This report provides background information on the consumer data industry and various specialty areas. One prominent specialty area--consumer scoring--is explained and includes information about various factors used to calculate credit scores. It provides a general description of the current regulatory framework of the consumer data industry. Finally, this report discusses selected policy issues pertaining to credit scoring and proposed modifications that may result in expanded consumer protection and credit access.
- Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (1998): Overview, Implementation by States, and Congressional Issues
- On November 23, 1998, attorneys general representing 46 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories signed an agreement with the major cigarette companies to settle all the state lawsuits seeking to recover the Medicaid costs of treating smokers. The Master Settlement Agreement, or MSA, contractually imposes some restrictions on tobacco advertising, marketing, and promotion and requires the manufacturers to make annual payments totaling about $206 billion through 2025. It follows earlier individual settlements with four states--Mississippi, Florida, Texas, and Minnesota--totaling more than $40 billion over the first 25 years. Cigarette price increases have passed on those settlement costs to smokers.
- Advertising Industry in the Digital Age
- This report discusses regulatory challenges faced by policymakers as the advertising industry enters a period of far-reaching change brought about by the economic downturn and structural shifts as consumers move to the Internet and other digital platforms for news, entertainment, and socializing.
- The Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Reauthorization
- This report examines some of the history of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), focusing primarily on its creation and most recent legislative reauthorization. It also discusses the foremost active authorities of the DPA.
- The Hatch-Waxman Act: Proposed Legislative Changes
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- Products Liability: A Legal Overview
- Report on the differing viewpoints manufacturers and consumers have on product liability, including background and analysis of the issues, relevant legislation, hearings, reports, and more.
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): A Legal Analysis
- This report provides an overview of the regulatory structure of consumer finance under existing federal law before the Dodd-Frank Act went into effect, and examines arguments for modifying the regime in order to more effectively regulate consumer financial markets. It then analyzes how the CFP Act changes the legal structure, with a focus on the Bureau's organization; the entities and activities that fall (and do not fall) under the Bureau's supervisory, enforcement, and rulemaking authorities; the Bureau's general and specific rulemaking powers and procedures; and the Bureau's funding.
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and International Trade: Legal Issues
- This report examines the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) role in regulating U.S. imported and exported consumer products. It also examines some of the international obligations that the United States has undertaken with respect to the promulgation of standards-related measures, such as mandatory consumer product safety regulations.
- Financial Market Turmoil and U.S. Macroeconomic Performance
- Lending in credit markets requires confidence in the borrowers' ability to repay the debt (principal and interest) in full and on schedule. The current turmoil in U.S. financial markets is the result of a breakdown in that necessary confidence. A number of indicators have pointed to a substantial rise in the cost of credit and a decrease in the flow of credit to the broader economy. Economic policy may be needed to get credit flowing smoothly again and to mitigate the damage incurred by households and non-financial businesses. Three types of policy response exist and are being applied in varying degrees. This report discusses each of these policy responses.
- Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008: P.L. 110-314
- This report provides an overview of the prior authority of the CPSC to establish consumer product safety standards and to inspect and recall unsafe consumer products, and discussing P.L. 110-314, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, reforming the CPSC and strengthening enforcement of consumer product safety standards.
- Telemarketing: Dealing with Unwanted Telemarketing Calls
- This report provides summaries of the federal laws and regulations particular to telemarketing, the establishment of a national do-not-call registry, and on the options that are available to consumers to attempt to limit the calls that they receive from telemarketers and to report questionable telemarketing practices to local or federal authorities. The report also lists sources of additional information with addresses, phone numbers, and Internet sites (if available) and will be updated as legislation or news events warrant.
- Overview of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003
- This report examines the the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which creates a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries and establishes a new Medicare Advantage program to replace the current Medicare+Choice program.
- Telemarketing: Dealing with Unwanted Telemarketing Calls
- This report provides summaries of the federal laws and regulations particular to telemarketing, the establishment of a national do-not-call registry, and the options that are available to consumers to limit the calls that they receive from telemarketers and to report questionable telemarketing practices to local or federal authorities. The report also lists sources of additional information with addresses, phone numbers, and Internet sites (if available).
- The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Titles III and VI, Regulation of Depository Institutions and Depository Institution Holding Companies
- This report discusses Titles III and VI of the Dodd-Frank Act, which effectuate changes in the regulatory structure governing depository institutions and their holding companies and, thus, constitute a substantial component of the reform effort.
- The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Titles III and VI, Regulation of Depository Institutions and Depository Institution Holding Companies
- This report discusses Titles III and VI of the Dodd-Frank Act, which effectuate changes in the regulatory structure governing depository institutions and their holding companies and, thus, constitute a substantial component of the reform effort.
- Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs
- This report describes the current status of direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising; analyzes issues surrounding it; and discusses potential options for Congress.
- Ecstasy: Actions of the 107th Congress to Control MDMA
- Legislation has been proposed in the 107th Congress to combat the use and abuse of Ecstasy (MDMA) and other “club drugs.” In a 2001 survey, 12% of 12th graders reported ever having taken the drug. The Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000, enacted by the 106th Congress, directed the U.S. Sentencing Commission to increase penalties for Ecstasy offenses. As of March 2001, MDMA penalties became more severe than for powder cocaine but less severe than for heroin.
- Ecstasy: Actions of the 107th Congress to Control MDMA
- Legislation has been proposed in the 107th Congress to combat the use and abuse of Ecstasy (MDMA) and other “club drugs.” In a 2001 survey, 12% of 12th graders reported ever having taken the drug. The Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000, enacted by the 106th Congress, directed the U.S. Sentencing Commission to increase penalties for Ecstasy offenses. As of March 2001, MDMA penalties became more severe than for powder cocaine but less severe than for heroin.
- Ecstasy: Actions of the 107th Congress to Control MDMA
- Legislation has been proposed in the 107th Congress to combat the use and abuse of Ecstasy (MDMA) and other “club drugs.” In a 2001 survey, 12% of 12th graders reported ever having taken the drug. The Ecstasy Anti-Proliferation Act of 2000, enacted by the 106th Congress, directed the U.S. Sentencing Commission to increase penalties for Ecstasy offenses. As of March 2001, MDMA penalties became more severe than for powder cocaine but less severe than for heroin.
- Overview of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003
- No Description Available.
- The Proposed Tobacco Settlement: Who Pays for the Health Costs of Smoking?
- No Description Available.
- The Proposed Tobacco Settlement: Effects on Prices, Smoking Behavior, and Income Distribution
- No Description Available.
- Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt
- Financial distress is most common among lower-income families, but its incidence has grown in all income brackets. This trend suggests that explanations for the rise in consumer bankruptcy filings are more likely to be found in micro-analysis of individuals and groups of debtors than in macroeconomic indicators. This report presents statistics on bankruptcy filings, household debt, and households in financial distress.