Congressional Research Service Reports - 490 Matching Results

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African Famine: U.S. Response

Description: 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.
Date: June 27, 1985
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.; Copson, Raymond W.; Epstein, Susan B.; Kenworthy, Holly & Nowels, Larry
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues

Description: Since the first genetically engineered (GE) crops (also called GM [genetically modified] crops, or GMOs, genetically modified organisms) became commercially available in the mid-1990s, U.S. soybean, cotton, and corn farmers have rapidly adopted them. As adoption has spread, there have been policy debates over the costs and benefits of GE products. Issues include the impacts of GE crops on the environment and food safety, and whether GE foods should be specially labeled. Congress generally has b… more
Date: March 7, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Artificial Sweeteners

Description: 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.
Date: July 12, 1985
Creator: Taylor, Sarah E
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Asian Soybean Rust: Background and Issues

Description: This report discusses the background and issues regarding Asian soybean rust (ASR) that was discovered in the United States in an experimental field in Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is coordinating a plan to deal with ASR that encompasses various USDA agencies, state land-grant universities, and industry participants. The arrival of ASR has implications for several public policies including pest control research (particularly the development of resistant varieties), pesti… more
Date: January 12, 2005
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cash and Non-Cash Benefits for Persons with Limited Income: Eligibility Rules, Recipient and Expenditure Data, FY1981-83

Description: 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.
Date: June 18, 1984
Creator: Burke, Vee
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Charitable Contributions of Food Inventory: Proposals for Change

Description: Early in the 109th Congress, both S. 6, the Family and Community Protection Act of 2005, and S. 94, the Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Act, have been introduced to encourage gifts of food by businesses for charitable purposes. While current law provides a deduction only to C corporations, these bills would expand the tax break to all business entities. The value of the existing deduction is the corporation’s basis in the donated product plus one half of the amount of appreciation, a… more
Date: January 31, 2005
Creator: Talley, Louis Alan & Jackson, Pamela J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Labor in West African Cocoa Production: Issues and U.S. Policy

Description: This report outlines how and where cocoa is produced, discusses the use of abusive child labor in the industry, efforts by Congress to counter abusive child labor — including the Harkin-Engel Protocol, and initiatives by affected governments and international organizations to address the problem. This report also provides possible policy options that might undertaken to stop the use of child labor in cocoa production.
Date: July 13, 2005
Creator: Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji; Hanrahan, Charles E. & Cook, Nicolas
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comparing Quota Buyout Payments for Peanuts and Tobacco

Description: The purpose of this analysis is to provide a generally consistent comparison of the benefits provided to peanut quota holders and producers and proposed benefits concerning tobacco. It is not the intention of this analysis to attempt to determine the appropriate size of these buyout payments.
Date: October 14, 2003
Creator: Womach, Jasper
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Dietary Supplements: International Standards and Trade Agreements

Description: The dietary supplement industry has long been concerned about international activities that could have a potential impact on supplement trade. As originally proposed, FDA reform legislation contained provisions on mutual agreements and global harmonization that would have applied to most products under FDA jurisdiction. However, Congress explicitly exempted supplements from the final provisions of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-115), which means that these … more
Date: July 15, 2005
Creator: Porter, Donna V.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Ethiopian Food Situation: International Response

Description: 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 n… more
Date: June 28, 1985
Creator: Barnes, Lafayette
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Labeling: Allergy Information

Description: Media attention to food allergies is the result of the recent tracking of food allergy sufferers and a clear rise in the number of affected individuals. Several efforts are underway to improve the ability of individuals who have a food allergy to avoid products that cause symptoms that can range from mild to serious. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Allergy Issues Alliance each have released guidelines to address the issues of labeling and cross-contamination. Nine state atto… more
Date: September 19, 2005
Creator: Porter, Donna V.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Genetically Engineered Fish and Seafood

Description: Genetic engineering techniques allow the manipulation of inherited traits to modify organisms. Genetically modified (GM) fish and seafood products are currently under development and may offer potential benefits such as increasing aquaculture productivity and addressing human health concerns. However, some critics of this rapidly evolving field are concerned that current technological and regulatory safeguards are inadequate to protect the environment and ensure public acceptance of these produ… more
Date: July 1, 2005
Creator: Borgatti, Rachel & Buck, Eugene H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Genetically Engineered Soybeans: Acceptance and Intellectual Property Rights Issues in South America

Description: This report discusses issues regarding genetically engineered soybeans in South America. U.S. soybean growers and trade officials charge that Argentina and Brazil–the United States’ two major export competitors in international soybean markets–gain an unfair trade advantage by routinely saving genetically-engineered (GE), Roundup Ready (RR) soybean seeds from the previous harvest (a practice prohibited in the United States) for planting in subsequent years.
Date: October 17, 2003
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Efforts to Control the Spread of Avian Influenza (H5N1) Virus: Affected Countries' Responses

Description: This report examines the efforts of overseas governments to combat the spread of avian influenza H5N1 which first appeared in birds and humans in Hong Kong in 1997, causing 100 reported human deaths from Vietnam to Turkey and appearing in birds in Africa and Europe.
Date: April 5, 2006
Creator: Chanlett-Avery, Emma; Cook, Nicolas; Dumbaugh, Kerry; Lum, Thomas; Manyin, Mark E.; Nichol, Jim et al.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Older Americans Act Nutrition Program

Description: This report discusses the elderly nutrition program of the Older Americans Act which provides grants to state agencies on aging to support congregate and home-delivered meals to persons 60 years and older. Funding and statistics of assistance are also addressed.
Date: April 29, 2004
Creator: O'Shaughnessy, Carol
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust: Background and Current Issues

Description: The Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust is becoming a critical component of the U.S. response to humanitarian food emergencies in Africa, Iraq, and elsewhere. The Trust, as presently constituted, was enacted in the 1998 Africa Seeds of Hope Act (P.L. 105- 385). It replaced the Food Security Commodity Reserve established in 1996 and its predecessor the Food Security Wheat Reserve of 1980. This report discusses the administration’s proposals to reduce food aid’s reliance on surplus commodities and an… more
Date: April 17, 2003
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues

Description: Since the first genetically engineered (GE) crops (also called GM [genetically modified] crops, or GMOs, genetically modified organisms) became commercially available in the mid-1990s, U.S. soybean, cotton, and corn farmers have rapidly adopted them. As adoption has spread, there have been policy debates over the costs and benefits of GE products. Issues include the impacts of GE crops on the environment and food safety, and whether GE foods should be specially labeled. Congress generally has b… more
Date: September 5, 2006
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Cowan, Tadlock
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The International Wine Market: Description and Selected Issues

Description: This report discusses the global trade in wine, which has increased rapidly during the past 25 years, steadily rising from under $1 billion in 1977 to over $7 billion in 2001. Reports of health benefits and rising global incomes have spurred increasing demand for wine, particularly in mid- to upper-income countries. In 2001, the United States was the world’s leading importer, just ahead of the European Union (EU). Together, they accounted for over 60% of global imports.
Date: August 7, 2003
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Private Testing of Mad Cow Disease: Legal Issues

Description: This report provides information on how most of the countries banned United States beef after a single report of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born cow after the December 2003 U.S. report. Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, proposed to conduct BSE rapid tests to be able to do exports, but USDA rejected this proposal since it implies as consumer safety rather than animal health. Updated December 3, 2004.
Date: December 3, 2004
Creator: Vina, Stephen R
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), Including "Mad Cow Disease": Public Health and Scientific Issues

Description: This report provides information on how most of the countries banned United States beef after the first report of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born cow after the December 2003 U.S. report. This explains all the steps USDA has taken to reduce the positive cases of BSE by starting special programs. The efforts to identify and stop the spread of BSE and related disorders in humans, as well as the known and alleged threats to human health. It also looks at the scientific fou… more
Date: March 1, 2004
Creator: Lister, Sarah A. & Johnson, Judith A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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