Congressional Research Service Reports - 1,392 Matching Results
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- 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.
- EPA's Affordable Clean Energy Proposal
- This report provides background information about the Clean Air Act (CAA) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the power sector, and also highlights some of the major components of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) "Affordable Clean Energy Rule" (ACE) proposal.
- Latin America: Energy Supply, Political Developments, and U.S. Policy Approaches
- This report examines Latin America’s current political environment and its apparent effect on energy production in the region. It also discusses efforts to help many Latin American and Caribbean countries dependent on energy imports, including Venezuela’s preferential oil programs, the Mexico-led Meso-American Energy Integration Program, and U.S.-Brazilian cooperation on biofuels. The report also examines policy approaches that have been proposed for increased hemispheric energy cooperation, congressional interest in the topic of hemispheric energy security, and related legislative initiatives.
- Energy Tax Incentives in the 108th Congress: A Comparison of the House and Senate Versions of H.R. 6 and the Senate Finance Committee Amendment
- This report discusses energy taxes incentives, which have long been an integral component of this nation’s energy policy. Efforts to significantly expand existing energy tax subsidies have been undertaken since the 106th Congress, but controversy over various non-tax energy policy provisions — corporate average fuel economy standards, the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, etc. — have helped stall the legislation.
- Entergy Louisiana, Inc. v. Louisiana Public Service Commission: Preemptive Effect of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Orders
- No Description Available.
- Biofuels Provisions in H.R. 3221 and H.R. 6: A Side-by-Side Comparison
- This report provides a side-by-side comparison of biofuels-related provisions in the House- and Senate- passed energy bills, H.R. 3221.
- An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems
- This report provides information on the natural gas industry and the types and sources of air pollutants in the sector. It examines the role of the federal government in regulating these emissions, including the provisions in the Clean Air Act and Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) regulatory activities. It concludes with a brief discussion of the outstanding issues.
- Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas and Crude Oil: Federal and State Regulatory Authority
- This report discusses the relationship between federal and state authority over siting and safety of crude oil and natural gas transmission and gathering pipelines and related facilities.
- Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) in the United States
- This report provides a summary and analysis of the current state of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) in the United States and current legislation and funding related to the CCS process and the regulation of air pollution and greenhouse gases.
- Domestic Solar Manufacturing and New U.S. Tariffs
- This report discusses solar energy panel manufacturing and the effects new U.S. tariffs on imports of solar energy materials may have on the industry.
- Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Key Issues
- This report describes the Keystone XL Project Presidential Permit application, and the process that the State Department is obligated to complete in processing that permit application. It also reviews selected issues that arose during the 2008 permit application process, particularly those that may affect the current permit application. This report also summarizes key arguments that have been raised, both for and against the pipeline, by the pipeline's developers, state and federal agencies, environmental groups, and other stakeholders. Finally, the report discusses the constitutional basis for the State Department's authority to issue a Presidential Permit, and opponents' possible challenges to this authority.
- Canadian Oil Sands: Life-Cycle Assessments of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- This report discusses the basic methodology of life-cycle assessments and compares several of the publicly available studies of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data for Canadian oil sands crudes against each other and against those of other global reference crudes. As congressional concern over the environmental impacts of Canadian oil sands production may encompass both a broad understanding of the resource as well as a specific assessment of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the report surveys both the general scientific literature as well as the individual findings in the State Department's 2011 Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and 2013 Draft Supplementary EIS for the Keystone XL Project.
- Prospects for Coal in Electric Power and Industry
- This report discusses future prospects for coal as the dominant fuel used in electricity production. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects coal to be a significant part of the U.S. power generation industry's future to well past 2030, but given price competition from natural gas, and emerging environmental regulations, that role will likely be smaller than in recent decades. Coal-fired generation is likely to face a challenging future.
- Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Key Issues
- This report describes the Keystone XL Project Presidential Permit application, and the process that the State Department is obligated to complete in processing that permit application. It also reviews selected issues that arose during the 2008 permit application process, particularly those that may affect the current permit application. This report also summarizes key arguments that have been raised, both for and against the pipeline, by the pipeline's developers, state and federal agencies, environmental groups, and other stakeholders. Finally, the report discusses the constitutional basis for the State Department's authority to issue a Presidential Permit, and opponents' possible challenges to this authority.
- Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Key Issues
- This report describes the Keystone XL Project and the process that the State Department is obligated to complete in processing that permit application. It also reviews selected issues that arose during the 2008 permit application process, particularly those that may affect the current permit application. This report also summarizes key arguments that have been raised by the pipeline's developers, state and federal agencies, environmental groups, and other stakeholders. Finally, the report discusses the constitutional basis for the State Department's authority to issue a Presidential Permit, and opponents' possible challenges to this authority.
- Clean Coal Loan Guarantees and Tax Incentives: Issues in Brief
- This report discusses certain federal financial incentive mechanisms for "clean coal" commercial projects; namely, loan guarantees and tax incentives. At issue for Congress is the extent to which the private sector has used these financial toolsto develop the technology needed for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions while continuing to use available domestic coal reserves for electricity generation.
- Magnetic Fusion: The DOE Fusion Energy Sciences Program
- For over 45 years, the United States has been trying to tame the energy source of the hydrogen bomb to produce electricity. Harnessing fusion, the nuclear reaction that powers the sun, requires confining and heating deuterium and tritium nuclei so that they will produce sustained, controlled nuclear energy. One path, called magnetic fusion energy (MFE), is to use very strong magnetic fields to confine a deuterium and tritium plasma while heating it to fusion temperatures.
- Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Key Issues
- This report describes the Keystone XL pipeline project, as proposed by TransCanada in its May 4, 2012, Presidential Permit application, and the process and procedures that the State Department is obligated to complete in processing that permit application. It also summarizes issues that arose during the 2008 permit application process, particularly those that may affect the current permit application. This report also summarizes key arguments that have been raised, both for and against the pipeline, by the pipeline’s developers, state and federal agencies, environmental groups, and other stakeholders. Finally, the report reviews the constitutional basis for the State Department’s authority to issue a Presidential Permit, and opponents’ possible challenges to this authority.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions Standard Market Design Activities
- No Description Available.
- Department of Energy: Programs and Reorganization Proposals
- This report analyzes the effect of proposed legislation on the nuclear weapons program; on the original mission of the department- enhancing energy security; and on DOE's energy R&D, basic research and environmental restoration programs.
- Carbon Capture and Sequestration: Research, Development, and Demonstration at the U.S. Department of Energy
- This report discusses research, development, and demonstration at the U.S. Department of Energy related to Carbon Capture and Sequestration.
- Energy Tax Policy
- This report discusses about energy tax policy. U.S energy tax policy promoted the supply of oil and gas but witnessed significant cutback, imposition of new excise taxes on oil and introduction of numerous tax preferences for energy conservation.
- Energy Tax Policy
- This report discusses about energy tax policy. U.S energy tax policy promoted the supply of oil and gas but witnessed significant cutback, imposition of new excise taxes on oil and introduction of numerous tax preferences for energy conservation.
- Energy Tax Policy
- This report discusses about energy tax policy. U.S energy tax policy promoted the supply of oil and gas but witnessed significant cutback, imposition of new excise taxes on oil and introduction of numerous tax preferences for energy conservation.
- Energy Tax Policy
- This report brief discusses the history, current posture, and outlook for federal energy tax policy.
- Abandoned Mine Land Fund Reauthorization: Selected Issues
- This report provides a summary of the structure of the Abandon Mine Land (AML) program, distribution of funds, and discusses major proposals considered in the 108th Congress.
- Central Asia: Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests
- This report mainly focuses on Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests in Central Asia after the collapse of soviet union in 1991.
- Derivatives, Risk Management, and Policy in the Energy Markets
- No Description Available.
- Cross-Border Energy Trade in North America: Present and Potential
- This report provides an overview of the United States' energy trade with Canada and Mexico. For the principal energy commodities, it summarizes estimates of the resource potential for the three countries, recent energy production, and expectations for future production.
- The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA): Compensation Related to Exposure to Radiation from Atomic Weapons Testing and Uranium Mining
- This report discusses the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which provides one-time benefit payments to persons who may have developed cancer or other specified diseases after being exposed to radiation from atomic weapons testing or uranium mining, milling, or transporting.
- Cross-Border Energy Trade in North America: Present and Potential
- This report provides an overview of the United States' energy trade with Canada and Mexico. For the principal energy commodities, it summarizes estimates of the resource potential for the three countries, recent energy production, and expectations for future production.
- Energy from the North: Selected References in Oil and Gas in Alaska and Canada 1969-1973
- This report provides a bibliography of resources related to oil deposits in Alaska and northwest Canada that were published between 1969 and 1973.
- Reorganization and Proposed Reorganization Relating to Energy and Natural Resources
- This report discusses the reorganization of the Executive Branch and proposals regarding the reorganization of the energy and natural resources sections.
- U.S. Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage
- This report focuses on the current situation with spent nuclear fuel storage in the United States. It does not address all of the issues associated with permanent disposal of SNF, but rather focuses on the SNF storage situation, primarily at current and former reactor facilities for the potentially foreseeable future.
- The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture: Issues for Congress
- This report discusses the global nuclear detection architecture which is a complicated system of systems. This report addresses only the global nuclear detection architecture, not programs focusing on events prior or subsequent to the detection opportunity.
- U.S. Natural Gas Exports and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement
- On October 5, 2015, President Obama announced the conclusion of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade agreement (FTA) among the United States and 11 other Asia-Pacific nations - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. This report briefly discusses the agreement and its potential effects.
- The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA): Compensation Related to Exposure to Radiation from Atomic Weapons Testing and Uranium Mining
- This report discusses the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which provides one-time benefit payments to persons who may have developed cancer or other specified diseases after being exposed to radiation from atomic weapons testing or uranium mining, milling, or transporting.
- Natural Gas for Cars and Trucks: Options and Challenges
- The increase in domestic supplies of natural gas has raised new interest in expanding its use in the transportation sector. This report considers issues related to wider use of natural gas as a fuel in passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
- Intelligence Reform at the Department of Energy: Policy Issues and Organizational Alternatives
- This report provides an overview of the policy issues and organizational alternatives of the intelligence reform at the department of energy.
- Electric Reliability: Options for Electric Transmission Infrastructure Improvements
- The electric utility industry is inherently capital intensive. At the same time, the industry must operate under a changing and sometimes unpredictable regulatory system at both the federal and state level. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 has set in place government activities intended to relieve congestion on the transmission system. Several factors have contributed to the lack of new transmission capacity; these are outlined within this report. This report also discusses earlier pieces of energy legislation.
- U.S. Home Heating Oil Price and Supply During Winter 2000-2001: Policy Options
- No Description Available.
- 9/11 Commission Recommendations: Joint Committee on Atomic Energy - A Model for Congressional Oversight?
- This report focuses on that portion of the 9/11 Commission recommendation that urges Congress to consider the model of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (JCAE). It provides an outline of the history, structure, and powers of the JCAE and analyzes 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 for intelligence.
- Fuel Ethanol: Background and Public Policy Issues
- This report provides background concerning various aspects of fuel ethanol, and a discussion of the current related policy issues.
- Fuel Ethanol: Background and Public Policy Issues
- This report provides background concerning various aspects of fuel ethanol, and a discussion of the current related policy issues.
- Fuel Ethanol: Background and Public Policy Issues
- This report provides background concerning various aspects of fuel ethanol, and a discussion of the current related policy issues.
- Electric Reliability: Options for Electric Transmission Infrastructure Improvements
- The electric utility industry is inherently capital intensive. At the same time, the industry must operate under a changing and sometimes unpredictable regulatory system at both the federal and state level. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 has set in place government activities intended to relieve congestion on the transmission system. Several factors have contributed to the lack of new transmission capacity; these are outlined within this report. This report also discusses earlier pieces of energy legislation.
- Fuel Ethanol: Background and Public Policy Issues
- This report provides background concerning various aspects of fuel ethanol, and a discussion of the current related policy issues.
- Electric Reliability: Options for Electric Transmission Infrastructure Improvements
- The electric utility industry is inherently capital intensive. At the same time, the industry must operate under a changing and sometimes unpredictable regulatory system at both the federal and state level. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 has set in place government activities intended to relieve congestion on the transmission system. Several factors have contributed to the lack of new transmission capacity; these are outlined within this report. This report also discusses earlier pieces of energy legislation.
- Electric Reliability: Options for Electric Transmission Infrastructure Improvements
- The electric utility industry is inherently capital intensive. At the same time, the industry must operate under a changing and sometimes unpredictable regulatory system at both the federal and state level. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 has set in place government activities intended to relieve congestion on the transmission system. Several factors have contributed to the lack of new transmission capacity; these are outlined within this report. This report also discusses earlier pieces of energy legislation.