Congressional Research Service Reports - 1,392 Matching Results
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- Oil Industry Profits: Analysis of Recent Performance
- This report analyzes the profit performance of firms in the oil industry, evaluates factors that might have affected profitability in the oil industry, and examines the use of profits by the industry and the implications for the development of the oil market.
- Gasoline Price Surge Revisited: Crude Oil and Refinery Issues
- No Description Available.
- U.S. Crude Oil Exports to International Destinations
- This report discusses the export of crude oil produced in the United States and policy considerations in the wake of a provision contained in P.L. 114-113 which repealed a 40-year prohibition on the export.
- Energy Provisions in the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79): Status and Funding
- This report focuses on those policies contained in the 2014 farm bill that support agriculture-based renewable energy, especially biofuels. The introductory sections of this report briefly describe how USDA bioenergy policies evolved and how they fit into the larger context of U.S. biofuels policy. Then, each of the bioenergy provisions of the 2014 farm bill are defined in terms of their function, goals, administration, funding, and implementation status. In an appendix at the end of this report, Table A-1 presents data on 2014 farm bill budgetary authority for energy provisions, while Table A-2 presents the original budget authority for Title IX programs under the previous 2008 farm bill. A third table (Table A-3) provides a side-by-side comparison of Title IX energy-related provisions for current versus previous law.
- LIHEAP: Program and Funding
- This report discusses LIHEAP program rules and benefits, including household eligibility and how funds may be used, and presents the most recent data available from HHS regarding household characteristics and benefit levels.
- Pipeline Safety: Overdue Statutory Mandates
- This report discusses the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) failure to fulfill key mandates of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-90) and the PIPES Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-183).
- What Should Be the Energy Policy of the United States? (A Preliminary Bibliography on the 1978-1979 High School Debate Topic
- This bibliography was created to reflect energy policy issues for use in 1978 - 1979 high school debate topic, "What Should Be the Energy Policy of the United States?"
- Congress and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2016
- This report briefly discusses authorization legislation for the water resources activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) in 2016, which the 114th Congress is anticipated to consider. These issues span the agency's role in new and existing navigation improvements, coastal and riverine flood risk reduction, and environmental restoration and protection efforts.
- Electric Grid Physical Security: Recent Legislation
- This report briefly discusses legislative initiatives to address the physical safety of electrical transformers and 0other parts of the U.S. electric grid which are vulnerable to damage from theft, vandalism, or terrorist attacks.
- Energy Tax Policy
- This report brief discusses the history, current posture, and outlook for federal energy tax policy.
- The Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline: Background, Status, and Issues for Congress
- This report concerns itself with the construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline. The report considers the funding available for a natural gas pipeline and the potential for it to stimulate the economy. Moreover, the report discusses how the 2008 recession poses an obstacle to the creation of the pipeline due to it causing low gas prices.
- DOE’s Office of Science and the FY2016 Budget Request
- No Description Available.
- Agricultural Issues in the 110th Congress
- This report considers the issues the 110th Congress was confronted with in relation to agriculture and the issues inherited from the 109th Congress. The report also includes details about the upcoming farm bill and the usual problems that are examined with the creation of a new farm bill.
- Energy Prices and Tourism: Some Preliminary Observations
- No Description Available.
- Department of Defense Facilities Energy Conservation Policies and Spending
- This report reviews energy conservation legislation and Executive Ordrs that apply to the Department of Defense, directives and instructions to the military departments and agencies on implementing the legislation and orders, Defense spending on facility energy over the last decade, annual Defense appropriations that fund energy-conservation improvements, and Defense energy conservation investments.
- Gasoline Prices: Causes of Increases and Congressional Response
- No Description Available.
- S. 2262, Shaheen-Portman Bill 2014: Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act
- This report reviews the Senate bill S.2262 and considers the contentious pieces of the bill. Moreover, the report addresses possible amendments to the bill. The report also covers the budget of S. 2262 and describes the expansions it aims to make with energy restrictions and the enforcement of those restrictions.
- U.S. Crude Oil Exports to International Destinations
- This report discusses the export of crude oil produced in the United States and policy considerations in the wake of a provision contained in P.L. 114-113 which repealed a 40-year prohibition on the export.
- The Changing Role for Federal Energy R&D
- This paper discusses and analyzes the major issues evolving from the changes in funding.
- Energy and The 98th Congress: Overview
- This report is about perceptions of national energy problem
- Energy and the FY 1975 Budget Request: an Estimate of Totals in the Federal Energy Effort
- This report is about the budget of the FY 1975 regarding the energy resources
- Handbook of Alternative Energy Technology Development and Policy
- This report examines alternate energy policies and federal funding for these policies.
- U.S. Crude Oil Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas
- A brief look at how oil prices are affected by production.
- U.S. Oil Imports and Exports
- Oil import and export developments pose a host of policy issues. Concerns about import dependence continue to generate interest in policy options to directly discourage imports or to reduce the need for imports by increasing domestic supply and decreasing demand. Rising exports at a time of rising prices has led to calls for policies to restrict such trade. The debate around the Keystone XL pipeline involves concerns about imports, exports, and the environment. The rising cost for fuels has led to calls for release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, meant to provide a short term policy option in case of supply disruptions. Policy options may entail various economic, fiscal, and environmental trade-offs.
- The Federal Excise Tax on Gasoline and the Highway Trust Fund: A Short History
- A history and overview of current issues relating to the gasoline excise tax.
- 9/11 Commission Recommendations: Joint Committee on Atomic Energy — A Model for Congressional Oversight?
- From Summary: "This report provides an outline of the structure and history of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy and raises a number of issues that might be considered by policymakers as they weigh the suitability of the JCAE as a possible model when crafting congressional oversight mechanisms."
- The Federal Excise Tax on Gasoline and the Highway Trust Fund: A Short History
- Excise taxes have long been a part of our country's revenue history. In the field of gasoline taxation, the states led the way with Oregon enacting the first tax on motor fuels in 1919. By 1932, all states and the District of Columbia had followed suit with tax rates that ranged between two and seven cents per gallon. The federal government first imposed its excise tax on gasoline at a one cent per gallon rate in 1932. The gas tax was enacted to correct a federal budgetary imbalance.
- State-by-State Comparison of Selected Electricity Restructuring Provisions
- Since 1996, twenty-one states have restructured their electricity markets. While the extent of this restructuring varies by state, four issues have generally been considered by all state legislatures: stranded costs, aggregation, universal service, and public benefits. This report compares the treatment of these issues in the restructuring legislation of the twenty-one states. Using information collected directly from the relevant state laws and the rules promulgated by state public utility commissions, this report provides a state-by-state comparison of the restructuring provisions relating to the four issues.
- Transportation Fuel Taxes: Impacts of a Repeal or Moratorium
- Steep increases in the prices of gasoline, diesel, and other transportation fuels have prompted some Members of Congress to seek to ease the effects on households and businesses. Interest has focused on possible repeal or suspension of the levying of all or part of the federal excise taxes on those fuels. Current market conditions and the small amount of tax relief incorporated in most proposals, however, raise uncertainty as to whether prices to individuals and businesses would fall and whether any price decline would be meaningful to consumers. A reduction in transportation fuel taxes would result in a decrease in spending for transportation trust-fund-supported federal programs, unless Congress designated alternate sources of funding for these programs. As a result of the structure of the federal programs the effects of a fuel tax repeal on federal transportation programs would not necessarily be immediate, but depending on the length/scope of the repeal or suspension, they could be substantial.
- U.S. Fossil Fuel Resources: Terminology, Reporting, and Summary
- This report describes the characteristics of fossil fuels that make it necessary to use precise terminology (oil, natural gas, and coal), summarizes the major terms and their meanings, and provides a brief summary of U.S. endowment of fossil fuels and the relationship between the U.S. fossil fuel energy endowment and those of other nations.
- U.S. Fossil Fuel Resources: Terminology, Reporting, and Summary
- This report describes the characteristics of fossil fuels that make it necessary to use precise terminology, summarizes the major terms and their meanings, and provides a brief summary of the United States' endowment of fossil fuels and the relationship between the U.S. fossil fuel energy endowment and those of other nations.
- DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: FY2016 Appropriations
- This report discusses the Department of Energy's (DOE) FY2016 budget request seeks $2.723 billion, an increase of $809 million (42%) for Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The EERE conducts two types of programs: research and development (R&D), usually conducted in partnership with private sector firms, and grant funds that are distributed to state governments.
- The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): Program and Funding
- This report provides an overview of the program and funding of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
- The Federal Excise Tax on Gasoline and the Highway Trust Fund: A Short History
- Excise taxes have long been a part of our country's revenue history. The federal government first imposed its excise tax on gasoline at a one-cent per gallon rate in 1932 to correct a federal budgetary imbalance. The burden for much of the tax ultimately falls on the consumer. The Highway Revenue Act of 1956 established the federal Highway Trust Fund for the direct purpose of funding the construction of an interstate highway system and aiding in the finance of primary, secondary, and urban routes. This act increased the tax on gasoline from two to three cents per gallon. President Bush recently signed a piece of legislation that calls for the extension of the Highway Trust Fund excise tax and an eventual expiration after September 30, 2011.
- Iraq Oil: Reserves, Production, and Potential Revenues
- No Description Available.
- Iraq Oil: Reserves, Production, and Potential Revenues
- No Description Available.
- U.S. Trade Deficit and the Impact of Rising Oil Prices
- No Description Available.
- U.S. Trade Deficit and the Impact of Rising Oil Prices
- No Description Available.
- U.S. Trade Deficit and the Impact of Rising Oil Prices
- No Description Available.
- Gasoline Price Surge Revisited: Crude Oil and Refingery Issues
- Gasoline prices have been extremely volatile for well over a year, with three significant price spikes focusing the attention of consumers and policy makers on the gas pump. This report discusses the issue of gas price fluctuations, focusing on crude oil inventory and other factors.
- Iraq Oil: Reserves, Production, and Potential Revenues
- This report discusses Iraqi Oil in the post-Saddam period. Iraq’s potential oil wealth remains largely unrealized. Substantial proven reserves exist, and there are likely more resources awaiting discovery. But oil production has been slow to fully recover and many obstacles stand in the way of achieving a stable export flow.
- Impact of Rising Energy Costs on Older Americans
- No Description Available.
- Selected Environmental Provisions in the Energy Bill (H.R. 6/S. 2095)
- This report provides a short discussion of selected environmental provisions involving limits on the use of MTBE; a renewable fuel mandate for gasoline; stricter regulation of underground storage tanks; Clean Water Act requirements for oil and gas exploration; incentives and R&D funding for alternative fuels and vehicles; energy efficiency and conservation incentives; hydroelectric relicensing; ozone compliance deadlines; use of mining wastes; and hydraulic fracturing.
- European Union Wind and Solar Electricity Policies: Overview and Considerations
- The subject matter covered within this report is European Union (EU) renewable electricity generation--specifically onshore wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity.
- Market-Based Environmental Management: Issues in Implementation
- Increasingly, efforts to protect integral features of the natural environment that are essential to human well being face a double challenge. First, the magnitude of some conventional and emerging threats to environmental quality is growing, despite solid progress in controlling some causes. This is particularly the concern on a global scale in terms of atmospheric changes and loss of biological diversity. Second, easily-implemented uniform control methods using feasible technologies or other direct regulatory approaches are already in place for many pollution and resource management problems in the United States. Additional progress with so-called command and control policies can be expensive and disruptive, and thus counter productive to overall economic well being. This type of dilemma is common where environmental deterioration results from diffuse and complex causes inherent in technically-advanced high-consumption industrial societies such as the U.S. Solutions to these types of environmental problems are complicated by the diffuse benefits which obscures the net gains of additional controls that have concentrated and highly visible costs. Given this double bind, many policy analysts and academics have for years advocated more cost-effective and flexible approaches relying on market forces to further some environmental management objectives. Although market-based theory and practical environmental policy are still far apart, the incremental approach to environmental policymaking since the late seventies has resulted in some market-type innovations within traditional regulatory frameworks at all levels of government. The most prominent examples are the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) air emissions trading program and the recently enacted sulfur dioxide allowance trading program under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.
- Natural Gas in the U.S. Economy: Opportunities for Growth
- Report that examines what has changed in the natural gas industry and focuses on the demand side and ancillary benefits to the U.S. economy.
- The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve and the National Oilheat Research Alliance
- This report discusses the price of home heating oil in the Northeast. The Northeast demand for home heating oil has declined by 47% since 2000, from nearly 7 billion gallons to 3.6 billion gallons in 2011. The report provides detailed information regarding northeast home heating oil reserve and national Oilheat Research Alliance.
- Biofuels Incentives: A Summary of Federal Programs
- This report outlines federal programs that provide direct or indirect incentives for biofuels. For each program described, the report provides details including administering agency, authorizing statute(s), annual funding, and expiration date.
- Middle East and North Africa Unrest: Implications for Oil and Natural Gas Markets
- This report examines the consequences of the recent unrest in the Middle East and North Africa on oil and natural gas markets, both in the short term and the long term. It also discuses various policy considerations for Congress and includes an appendix of oil and gas exports and energy concerns by country.
- Energy and Water Development: FY2011 Appropriations
- This report covers key budgetary issues involving the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill, which provides funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and a number of independent agencies.