Congressional Research Service Reports - 908 Matching Results
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- Campaign Finance Bills in the 107th Congress: House
- This report summarizes each House bill offered in the 107th Congress, arranged in both numerical order and by major issue addressed, with any legislative action shown.The provisions of these bills are grouped into 15 categories, based on type on issue addressed.
- HUD Proposes Administrative Modifications to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
- This report focuses on borrower disclosure, particularly with respect to making all pertinent information about loan terms and settlement costs transparent, so that consumers can make well-informed financial decisions when choosing mortgage products.
- Reporting Issues Under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
- This report describes current issues and recent changes to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) of 1975. The report also provides a brief explanation of how recent reporting revisions may affect the reporting of loans covered by the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 and the Federal Housing Administration.
- Social Security: Trust Fund Investment Practices
- This report explains current Social Security trust fund investment practices and briefly describes the issues involved in changing how the trust funds are invested.
- Why the Dollar Rose in 2005 and the Prospect for 2006: Insights into the State of International Asset Markets and the Global Economy
- The dollar exchange rate rose substantially in 2005, halting a three-year decline and moving counter to the expectations of many observers. This report discusses potential reasons for the dollar's appreciation.
- Averting Financial Crisis
- This report is about Averting a Financial crisis.
- China's "Hot Money" Problems
- China has experienced a sharp rise in the inflow of so-called "hot money," foreign capital entering the country supposedly seeking short-term profits, especially in 2008. Chinese estimates of the amount of "hot money" in China vary from $500 billion to $1.75 trillion. The influx of "hot money" is contributing to China's already existing problems with inflation. Efforts to reduce the inflationary effects of "hot money" may accelerate the inflow, while actions to reduce the inflow of "hot money" may threaten China's economic growth, as well as have negative consequences for the U.S. and global economy.
- Social Security, Saving, and the Economy
- This report examines the determinants of household saving, how household saving may be affected by Social Security, and the potential effects of possible changes in Social Security.
- Sovereign Wealth Funds: Background and Policy Issues for Congress
- This report provides background on sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) -- investment funds owned and managed by national governments -- including countries operating SWFs and the size of the SWF market. It also discusses broad areas of concern to Members of Congress and the international financial community.
- Social Security, Saving, and the Economy
- No Description Available.
- Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's Financial Problems: Frequently Asked Questions
- Recent turmoil in the housing and financial markets have caused concern over the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are chartered by Congress as government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and are widely believed to have an implicit guarantee from the federal government. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) -- the GSEs safety and soundness regulator -- has repeated assurances that Fannie and Freddie have adequate capital, but as highly leveraged financial intermediaries, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have limited resources against losses. This report analyzes various aspects of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in relation to the financial turmoil that began in September 2008.
- Investing Social Security Funds in the Stock Market: Some Economic Considerations
- For the time being, Social Security receipts are more than enough to fund current benefits. But beginning in 2017, under current law, benefits are projected to exceed Social Security receipts. At that point, if not before, either benefit will have to be cut, taxes will have to be raised, or the shortfall will have to be made up either by tapping non-Social Security revenues, which would reduce the unified federal budget surplus or by an increase in federal borrowing.
- Social Security, Saving, and the Economy
- No Description Available.
- Campaign Finance: Potential Legislative and Policy Issues for the 111th Congress
- This report discusses selected campaign finance policy issues that may receive attention during the 111th congress. Questions about the health of the presidential public financing system were especially prominent during the 2008 election cycle.
- Campaign Finance: Constitutional and Legal Issues of Soft Money
- This report is categorized into seven categories: (I) Most recent developments, (II) Background and Analysis, (III) Definitions of Hard and Soft Money in Federal Elections, (IV) Political Party Soft Money, (V) Corporate and Labor Union Soft Money, (VI) Soft Money Spent on Issue Advocacy and (VII) Selected 107th Congress Legislation.
- Iraq Reconstruction Resources: Fact Sheet
- No Description Available.
- Iraq Reconstruction Resources: Fact Sheet
- No Description Available.
- Iraq Reconstruction Resources: Fact Sheet
- This fact sheet provides Internet links to the federal agencies or departments currently involved in the contracting process, along with their specific Iraq reconstruction programs underway or proposed. It provides overview information on federal agency contract solicitations, application procedures, and contact information where appropriate.
- The Basel Accords: The Implementation of II and the Modification of I
- This report provides the basic information needed to understand the issues surrounding the proposed implementation of Basel II and the pending proposed modifications of Basel I in the United States. First, it gives a basic background on capital standards and how capital assessments were made before these accords. Second, it briefly explains how Basel I works. Third, it addresses the major problem with Basel I and the modifications being considered. Fourth, it describes the Basel II framework the United States may implement and the framework the EU is already implementing. The report concludes with a section on Congress and the Basel Accords.
- Securities Fees and SEC Pay Parity
- No Description Available.
- Securities Fees and SEC Pay Parity: H.R. 1088 and S. 143
- No Description Available.
- Currency Manipulation: The IMF and WTO
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO) approach the issue of "currency manipulation" differently. The IMF Articles of Agreement prohibit countries from manipulating their currency for the purpose of gaining unfair trade advantage, but the IMF cannot force a country to change its exchange rate policies. The WTO has rules against subsidies, but these are very narrow and specific and do not seem to encompass currency manipulation. Several options might be considered for addressing this matter in the future, if policymakers deem this a wise course of action.
- Campus-Based Student Financial Aid Programs Under the Higher Education Act
- This is a report on Computer-based Student Financial Aid Programs under the Higher Education Act.
- Highway and Transit Program Reauthorization Legislation in the 2nd Session, 108th Congress
- This report discusses significant legislative provisions in the two provisional bills that are likely to be the subject of congressional discussion to reauthorize federal highway, highway safety, and transit programs.
- Campaign Finance: Constitutional and Legal Issues of Soft Money
- This report discusses the political party soft money, corporate and labor union soft money and 107th congress legislative activity.
- Highway and Transit Program Reauthorization
- This report discusses significant legislative provisions in the two provisional bills that are likely to be the subject of congressional discussion to reauthorize federal highway, highway safety, and transit programs.
- Budget Reconciliation Legislation: Development and Consideration
- This report is about development and consideration in budget reconciliation legislation.
- The U.S. Financial Crisis: The Global Dimension with Implications for U.S. Policy
- This report examines the global ramifications of the financial crisis, which exposed fundamental weaknesses in financial systems worldwide, and despite coordinated easing of monetary policy by governments and trillions of dollars in intervention by governments and the International Monetary Fund, the crisis continues.
- The Global Financial Crisis: The Role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- This report discusses two potential roles the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have in helping to resolve the current global financial crisis: (1) immediate crisis control through balance of payments lending to emerging market and less-developed countries and (2) increased surveillance of the global economy through better coordination with the international financial regulatory agencies.
- The Global Financial Crisis: The Role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- This report discusses two potential roles the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have in helping to resolve the current global financial crisis: (1) immediate crisis control through balance of payments lending to emerging market and less-developed countries and (2) increased surveillance of the global economy through better coordination with the international financial regulatory agencies.
- Highway and Transit Program Reauthorization Legislation in the 2nd Session, 108th Congress
- This report discusses significant legislative provisions in the two provisional bills that are likely to be the subject of congressional discussion to reauthorize federal highway, highway safety, and transit programs.
- Hedge Funds: Should They Be Regulated?
- In view of the growing impact of hedge funds on a variety of financial markets, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in October 2004 adopted a regulation that requires hedge funds to register as investment advisers, disclose basic information about their operations, and open their books for inspection. The regulation took effect in February 2006, but on June 23, 2006, a court challenge was upheld and the rule was vacated. S. 1402 and H.R. 2586 would reinstate the SEC's authority. H.R. 2683 would require defined benefit pension plans to disclose investments in hedge funds. In December 2006, the SEC proposed raising the "accredited investor" standard - to be permitted to invest in hedge funds, an investor would need $2.5 million in assets, instead of $1 million.
- The Global Financial Crisis: Increasing IMF Resources and the Role of Congress
- This report provides information on the role the IMF has played in the financial crisis, international agreement to increase the financial resources of the IMF, and the role of Congress in increasing the Fund's resources. As will be discussed in detail at the end of the report, congressional authorization, and perhaps appropriation, would be required to increase U.S. contributions to the IMF.
- Multilateral Development Banks: U.S. Contributions FY1998-2009
- This report shows in tabular form how much the Administration requested and how much Congress appropriated during the past 11 years for U.S. payments to the multilateral development banks (MDBs). It also provides a brief description of the MDBs and the ways they fund their operations. It will be updated periodically. Three companion reports provide further information on the MDBs. See CRS Report RS20793, Multilateral Development Banks: Basic Background, CRS Report RS20791, Multilateral Development Banks: Procedures for U.S. Participation, and CRS Report RS22134 International Financial Institutions: Funding U.S. Participation.
- Campaign Finance Law: A Legal Analysis of the Supreme Court Ruling in McConnell v. FEC
- This report consists of campaign finance law with a legal analysis of the supreme court ruling in McConnell v. FEC.
- Charitable Choice: Constitutional Issues and Developments Through the 106th Congress
- This report is about the charitable choice of constitutional issues and developments through the 106th congress.
- Campaign Finance Reform: A Legal Analysis of Issue and Express Advocacy
- This report consists of campaign finance reform with a legal analysis of issue and express advocacy.
- Campaign Finance Bills Passed in the 107th Congress: Comparison of S. 27 (McCain-Feingold), H.R. 2356 (Shays-Meehan), and Current Law
- This report summarizes and compares the two campaign finance reforms bills that have passed the House and Senate in the 107th congress and current law cases.
- The Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA)
- This report outlines the background and original passage of the ILSA (Iran-Libya Sanctions Act), its key provisions which excluded Libya from the act, its implementation and effectiveness and the proposed modifications and extensions to the ILSA.
- Energy Policy: The Continuing Debate
- This report includes background and analysis of the debate on energy policy. Non-tax energy production initiatives, nuclear energy, and energy restructuring are also among topics discussed in this report.
- Iceland's Financial Crisis
- On November 19, 2008, Iceland and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finalized an agreement on a $6 billion economic stabilization program supported by a $2.1 billion loan from the IMF. Iceland's banking system had collapsed as a culmination of a series of decisions the banks made that left them highly exposed to disruptions in financial markets. The collapse of the banks also raises questions for U.S. leaders and others about supervising banks that operate across national borders, especially as it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish the limits of domestic financial markets.
- Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
- The U.S. merchandise trade deficit is a part of the overall U.S. balance of payments, a summary statement of all economic transactions between the residents of the United States and the rest of the world, during a given period of time. Some Members of Congress and other observers have grown concerned over the magnitude of the growing U.S. merchandise trade deficit and the associated increase in U.S. dollar-denominated assets owned by foreigners. This report provides an overview of the U.S. balance of payments, an explanation of the broader role of capital flows in the U.S. economy, an explanation of how the country finances its trade deficit or a trade surplus, and the implications for Congress and the country of the large inflows of capital from abroad.
- U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: Trends and Current Issues
- The United States is the largest investor abroad and the largest recipient of direct investment in the world. Some observers believe U.S. firms invest abroad to avoid U.S. labor unions or high U.S. wages, however, 70% of U.S. foreign direct investment is concentrated in high income developed countries. Even more striking is the fact that the share of investment going to developing countries has fallen in recent years. Most economists conclude that direct investment abroad does not lead to fewer jobs or lower incomes overall for Americans and that the majority of jobs lost among U.S. manufacturing firms over the past decade reflect a broad restructuring of U.S. manufacturing industries.
- Campaign Finance Legislation and Activity in the 109th Congress
- This report describes Campaign Finance Legislation and Activity in the 109th Congress.
- Campaign Finance and Prohibiting Contributions by Tax-Exempt Corporations: FEC v. Beaumont
- This report provides an analysis of the Court's decisions, including a brief discussion of possible implications for a pending Supreme Court case, McConnell v. FEC, which involves the constitutionality of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA).
- Campaign Finance: Potential Legislative and Policy Issues for the 111th Congress
- This report provides an overview of selected campaign finance policy issues that have received legislative attention, or have otherwise been prominent, and which could receive attention during the 111th Congress.
- Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Before the 107th Congress
- Bankruptcy reform legislation has been reintroduced in the 107th Congress and appears to be on a fast track for consideration and possible enactment. S. 220 was introduced on January 30, 2001, and H.R. 333, entitled the "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2001" was introduced on January 31.
- How Long Can the Defense Department Finance FY2008 Operations in Advance of Supplemental Appropriations?
- No Description Available.
- How Long Can the Defense Department Finance FY2008 Operations in Advance of Supplemental Appropriations?
- No Description Available.
- Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy Reform
- No Description Available.