Congressional Research Service Reports - 489 Matching Results
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- How the Food Stamp Program Works: A Resource Paper
- This report provides details on the food stamp program in the United States, such as eligibility criteria and how recipients can use their food stamps. In appendices, facts and figures on monthly coupon allotments, purchase requirements, and monthly net income standards are provided for the United States and its territories.
- The Food Situation in Pakistan
- This report provide comprehensive and accurate data on the production of food in Pakistan.
- Estimating the population eligible for food stamps
- This report Estimates the population eligible for food stamps who participate in the food stamp program.
- Agriculture Policy, Food Policy, Nutrition Policy, World Food Problems: A select Bibliography 1969-1975
- This report is a bibliography on agriculture policy, food policy, nutrition policy, world food problems.
- Hunger and Malnutrition in the United States: How Much?
- This report describes the brief review of the hunger issue in America is developed from an examination of various approaches to determining the nutritional status of the nation.
- Analysis of Food Stamp Program Participation and Costs, 1970-1980
- This report explores the causes of historical growth in the food stamp program.
- Federal Food Assistance Programs
- This report details the forms of food assistance such as the provision of meals, food subsidies, aid in food purchase, provision of foodstuffs, and supportive food services which are administered by three departments; Department of Agriculture, Community Services Administration, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
- Federal Food Assistance Programs And Selected Nutrition Education Programs.
- This report is about the Federal Food Assistance Programs And Selected Nutrition Education Programs.
- Food Power: A Review of the Options and Arguments of the Potential Use of U.S. Grain Exports as an Instrument of Foreign Policy
- This report outlines the United States position in foreign relations as it pertains to food exports.
- Food Testing and Inspection program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration
- No Description Available.
- Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, infants, and children (WIC): Background and Issues
- This report addresses the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which was created in 1972 as a two-year program to make supplemental foods available to pregnant and lactating women, infants, and to children who were determined by competent professionals to be nutritional risks because of inadequate income.
- A Concise History of the Food Stamp Program
- The Food Stamp Program has undergone a number of major changes since its modern version was established in 1961. It is now one of the largest "welfare" programs and provides an income supplement to the food-purchasing power of more than 18 million persons each month, at a cost of nearly $7 billion annually. This report traces the history of the program from 1961 through 1979, with an emphasis on how program rules, philosophy, participation, and costs have changed over the years.
- A Concise History of the Food Stamp Program
- The Food Stamp Program has undergone a number of major changes since its modern version was established in 1961. It is now one of the largest "welfare" programs and provides an income supplement to the food-purchasing power of more than 18 million persons each month, at a cost of nearly $7 billion annually. This report traces the history of the program from 1961 through 1979, with an emphasis on how program rules, philosophy, participation, and costs have changed over the years.
- The Alcohol Fuels: A Study of Technical and Supply Factors
- This report is a study of Technical and Supply Factors of the Alcohol Fuels.
- Holding down the food stamp budget: 1980 Legislation
- This report is about the food stamp budget.
- Legislative Changes in the Food Stamp Program
- This report is about the Food stamp amendments of 1980.
- How the Food Stamp Program Works
- This report briefly describes the present operation of the Food Stamp program, reflecting legislative revisions through 1982.
- Food Stamps: 1982 Legislation
- This report discusses legislative issues regarding food stamp appropriations. Authorization for food stamp appropriations was to have expired at the end of FY82; in addition, the FY83-85 budget resolution assumed substantial savings in food stamps. As a result, and with the potential of an FY82 food stamp funding shortfall averted by the appropriation of a $1 billion supplemental, Congress acted to reauthorize appropriations and limit program costs in the 1982 budget reconciliation process.
- Aspartame: An Artificial Sweetener
- Since 1973 when the Food and Drug Administration first approved the artificial sweetener, aspartame, for use in food products, some researchers have raised questions about possible health effects associated with its consumption. This paper provides an overview of the regulatory history and possible health problems associated with the use of aspartame.
- Infant Formula: National Problems
- This report discusses congressional concerns regarding infant formula that was deficient in a required nutrient.
- Cash and Non-Cash Benefits for Persons with Limited Income: Eligibility Rules, Recipient and Expenditure Data, FY1981-83
- This report summarizes basic eligibility rules, as of May 1984, for more than 70 cash and non-cash programs that benefit primarily persons of limited income. It also gives funding formulas, benefit levels, and, for fiscal years 1981-1983, recipient numbers and expenditure data for each program.
- Chronology and Brief Description of Federal Food Assistance Legislation, 1935-1983
- Since 1935 when Congress first approved the donation of agricultural surplus commodities to low-income populations and school lunch programs, some 57 laws have been passed creating and revising Federal food assistance programs. This report is a chronology of these laws. It briefly describes the major provisions which have led to the network of Federal food assistance programs we know today-- the food stamp program, school lunch and breakfast programs, summer food and child care food programs, special and commodity supplemental food programs for women, infants and children (WICa nd CSFP), elderly nutrition programs, and commodity donation programs.
- Primer on P.L. 480 -- Program History, Description, and Operations: A Brief Compilation of Explanatory Documents
- No Description Available.
- African Famine: U.S. Response
- This report discusses the 1985 African famine situation, especially regarding U.S. emergency assistance at a time of U.S. domestic budgetary restraints, the adequacy of U.S. measures for monitoring and anticipating food emergencies, and the scale and nature of U.S. agricultural development programs intended to prevent future famines.
- Ethiopian Food Situation: International Response
- The United States has donated the largest share of the world-wide relief effort. Members of Congress nave passed legislation, the African Famine Relief and Recovery Act of 1985 (2.L. 99-8), authorizing emergency relief assistance to Ethiopia and other famine-stricken countries. Some observers favor trying to remove restrictions that prohibit long-term agricultural development assistance and other forms of economic aid to Ethiopia, but many continue to believe that aid to this Marxist-oriented nation should be limited to humanitarian relief. The Ethiopian food situation will probably remain a central issue among U.S. lawmakers and relief officials during the 99th Congress.
- Artificial Sweeteners
- This report discusses the artificial sweeteners have been a source of controversy in the U.S. for over 73 years. One of the factors driving these issues has been an interplay of a large consumer demand for low calorie sweeteners and controversy concerning certain safety standards set forth in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA.
- 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.
- The Delaney Clause: The Dilemma of Regulating Health Risk for Pesticide Residues
- Under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for establishing tolerances for pesticide residues in or on foods and feeds. Tolerances are legal limits to the amount of pesticide residues that can be found on a raw agricultural commodity at the farm gate or in a processed food. The FFDCA has two sections, 408 and 409, which set up different and inconsistent criteria for setting tolerances for pesticide residues in foods.
- The Delaney Dilemma: Regulating Pesticide Residues in Foods -- Seminar Proceedings, March 16, 1993
- A provision in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Delaney Clause, appears to lower risks in the setting of tolerances for pesticide residues. It prohibits any substance from being added to processed foods if it induces cancer in man or animals. In reality, the provision created a dilemma because the zero-risk statute makes it difficult to regulate pesticides. Because of the prescription of Delaney, tolerances (legal limits) are established differently for carcinogens and non-carcinogens and in raw and processed foods.
- Food Additive Regulations: A Chronology
- The 104th Congress is actively debating proposals to reform several aspects of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) process for regulating consumer products, including its approval process for food additives. In June 1995, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced at a House Government Reform and Oversight Subcommittee hearing several policy shifts in its food additive pre-market approval process which will soon be implemented.
- The 1996 Farm Bill: Comparisons of Selected Provisions with Previous Law
- Final congressional approval was given to H.R. 2854, the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act, otherwise known as the "1996 farm bill," on March 28, 1996. President Clinton signed the bill into law on April 4, 1996 (P.L. 104-127). In tabular format, this CRS report lays out in descriptive, rather than legislative language, the major provisions of the new farm bill in contrast to preceding law.
- World Health Organization: A Fact Sheet
- The World Health organization (WHO), established in 1948, is the United Nations system's authority on international public health issues. It assists governments in improving national health services and in establishing worldwide standards for foods, chemicals, and biological and pharmaceutical products. WHO concentrates on preventive rather than curative programs, including efforts to eradicate endemic and other widespread diseases, stabilize population growth, improve nutrition, sanitation, and maternal and child care. WHO is not an operational agency. It works through contracts with other agencies and private voluntary organizations.
- Pesticide Legislation: Food Quality Protection Act of 1996
- The 104th congress enacted significant changes to the Federal Insecticide, fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), governing U.S. sale and use of pesticide products, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which limits pesticide residues on food. The vehicle of these changes was H.R. 1627, the "Food Quality Protection Act of 1996" (FQPA), enacted August 3, 1996, as Public Law 104-170. Under FIFRA, the new law will facilitate registrations and reregistrations of pesticides for special (so-called"minor") uses and authorize collection of maintenance fees of support pesticide reregistration. Food safety provisions will establish a single standard of safety for pesticide residue on raw and processed foods; provide information through large food retail stores to consumers about the health risks of pesticide residues and how to avoid them; preempt state and local food safety laws if they are based on concentrations of pesticide residues below recently established federal residue limits(called"tolerances"); and ensure that tolerances protect the health of infants and children.
- The World Food Summit
- Governments participating in the 1996 World Food Summit will examine how to deal with world hunger and malnutrition and achieve the goal of food security for all. There is broad agreement on the desirability of the Summit's goal, but controversy has developed over such issues as the relationship of trade liberalization and food security, the advisability of declaring a legal right to food, the link between population stabilization and reproductive health and food security, and responsibility within the UN system for Summit follow-up.
- Food and Agriculture: Prospective Issues in the 105th Congress
- Implementation of major farm and food program changes enacted last year under omnibus farm (P.L.104-127) and welfare (P.L.104-193) measures is likely to draw the attention of the 105th Congress. The size and cost of these programs also could make them a target for reductions in congressional efforts to balance the budget.
- Food and Agriculture Provisions in the FY1997 Supplemental Appropriations Act
- This report addresses Food and Agriculture provisions in the FY1997 Supplemental Appropriations Act.
- Food and Agriculture Provisions in the FY1997 Supplemental Appropriations Act
- Report providing an overview of provisions and funding related to food and agriculture program as a part of a supplemental appropriations bill (P.L. 105-18, H.R. 1871).
- Food Safety Agencies and Authorities: A Primer
- No Description Available.
- Food Safety Agencies and Authorities: A Primer
- Several federal agencies, in cooperation with state governments, are responsible for regulating the safety of the U.S. food supply. In the wake of an outbreak of foodborne illness and the largest recall of suspected contaminated meat in U.S. history in August 1997, several policymakers have reopened the debate on creating a single, independent, federal food safety agency. They assert that this would provide more effective regulatory control over the entire farm-to-table food production and marketing system by eliminating the overlapping and occasionally competing for objectives of multiple agencies. As background for further discussion on this and related food safety issues, this report describes the roles of the primary federal and cooperating state agencies responsible for food safety and enumerates the major legislative authorities currently governing them.
- Food and Drug Administration: Selected Funding and Policy Issues
- No Description Available.
- Child Nutrition Issues in the 105th Congress
- This report covers proposed and enacted legislative initiatives to change child nutrition programs (including the WIC program) during 1997 and 1998.
- Food Stamp Benefits for Legal Immigrants in P.L. 105-185
- No Description Available.
- Food Stamp Benefits for Legal Immigrants in P.L. 105-185
- The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA; P.L. 104-193) established significant new restrictions on the eligibility of legal immigrants, or "qualified aliens," for needs-based public assistance.' Previously, legal immigrants were eligible for public assistance on much the same basis as citizens. Food stamp eligibility will be provided for approximately 250,000 legal immigrants under P.L. 105-185, the "Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998," at a cost of $818 million for FY1999-FY2003. The food stamp eligibility provisions took effect on November 1, 1998.
- Iraq: Humanitarian Needs, Impact of Sanctions, and the “Oil for Food” Program. August 1998
- This report discusses these shortages, and what the "oil for food" program, established by the U.N. Security Council, is doing to alleviate them.
- Organic Foods and the Proposed Federal Certification and Labeling Program
- In mid-December 1997, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule to establish national standards for the marketing of organically produced foods. 1 The purpose of the rule is to give consumers confidence in the legitimacy of all products sold as organic, permit legal action against these who use the term fraudulently, and increase the supply and variety of available organic products, especially of meat and poultry products,
- U.S.-European Agricultural Trade: Food Safety and Biotechnology Issues
- The European Union (EU) is the second largest market for U.S. agricultural exports. The EU's ban on meat produced using growth-promoting hormones is a food safety issue that has been particularly contentious in U.S.-EU agricultural trade relations. EU policy on bio-engineered products has also been an issue. A World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel has ruled that the ban contravenes the EU's international obligations under the WTO, but left open the option to the EU to conduct a risk assessment of hormone-treated meat. Rules governing trade in bio-engineered products may become an issue in WTO agricultural trade negotiations scheduled to begin in 1999. This report will be updated as events warrant.
- Science Behind the Regulation of Food Safety: Risk Assessment and the Precautionary Principle
- Although Congress, the President and agency administrators support the use of science as a basis for food safety regulatory activities, there are controversies about how science can best be used for this purpose. Supporters of science-based regulations regard conclusions from well-designed scientific studies as largely impartial and fair;
- Federal Regulatory Structure for Egg Safety: Fact Sheet
- This report discusses the federal role in regulating egg safety. Although the egg industry is primarily responsible for ensuring the safety of its products, four federal agencies hold statutory responsibilities for egg safety.
- WIC Food Package: History of the Sugar Cap
- This report provides a historic review of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food package and the controversy over the sugar cap on cereals allowed in the program.
- Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs
- This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2002, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.