Congressional Research Service Reports - 53 Matching Results

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Military Base Closures: Socioeconomic Impacts

Description: The most recent Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission submitted its final report to the Administration on September 8, 2005. In the report, the commission rejected 13 of the initial Department of Defense recommendations, significantly modified the recommendations for 13 other installations, and approved 22 major closures. The loss of related jobs, and efforts to replace them and to implement a viable base reuse plan, can pose significant challenges for affected communities. This report… more
Date: September 19, 2008
Creator: Cowan, Tadlock & Webel, Baird
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coverage of Contagious Diseases

Description: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), provides broad nondiscrimination protection for individuals with disabilities in employment public services, public accommodations and services operated by private entities, transportation, and telecommunication. This report briefly discusses the Americans with Disabilities Act's statutory provisions relating to contagious diseases and relevant judicial interpretations.
Date: October 15, 2008
Creator: Jones, Nancy Lee
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unemployment Compensation (Insurance) and Military Service

Description: The Unemployment Compensation (UC) program contains several provisions relevant to current and former military service personnel and their families. The UC program does not provide benefits for military servicemembers on active duty. However, former active duty military personnel (and certain reservists) separated from active duty may be eligible for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX). Spouses of military service personnel who voluntarily quit a job to accompany their spouses… more
Date: August 5, 2008
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Labor-Management Relations and the Federal Aviation Administration: Background and Current Legislative Issues

Description: This report discusses labor-management relations at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the 2006 implementation of a new labor contract on air traffic controllers. The FAA's ability to implement the new contract with its controllers was arguably supported by a mediation procedure prescribed by federal law. This report provides background information on the mediation procedure, discusses litigation involving the FAA and two labor organizations, and examines legislative attempts to amen… more
Date: January 8, 2008
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Haiti: Legislative Responses to the Food Crisis and Related Development Challenges

Description: Haiti faces several interrelated challenges, the most immediate being a deepening food crisis that in April 2008 led to deadly protests and the ouster of Haiti's prime minister. Haiti also suffers from a legacy of poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment that is compounding security problems for its new and fragile democracy. This report follows the current situation in Haiti and key legislative initiatives designed to help address Haiti's many challenges.
Date: May 22, 2008
Creator: Seelke, Clare Ribando & Hornbeck, J. F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Coal Excise Tax Refunds: United States v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Co.

Description: In 1998, a U.S. district court held that the imposition of the coal excise tax, or black lung excise tax, on coal destined for export was unconstitutional. The process of refunding the tax has been controversial. This is because some coal producers and exporters have attempted to bypass the limitations in the Internal Revenue Code's refund scheme for bringing suit under the Export Clause in the Court of Federal Claims, seeking damages from the United States in the amount of coal excise taxes pa… more
Date: May 16, 2008
Creator: Lunder, Erika
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Government Spending on Health Care Benefits and Programs: A Data Brief

Description: In a country where health spending accounts for more than 16% of gross domestic product (GDP), health care costs and spending are often described as a problem for consumers and their families; for employers that provide (or seek to provide) health benefits; and for government, which finances a mix of health care services, health research and training, and health safety programs. To describe government spending on health care benefits and programs, this report presents data from the Office of Ma… more
Date: June 16, 2008
Creator: Jenson, Jennifer
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Treatment of Employer Educational Assistance for the Benefit of Employees

Description: Educational assistance offered by employers to their employees may be exempt from federal income tax under Section 127 and Section 132 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 127 is the employer educational assistance exclusion; Section 132, the fringe benefit exclusion for working condition benefits (e.g., job-related eduction) among other benefits. Congress established the two tax provisions well before it enacted to her higher education tax benefits meant to assist taxpayers, their spouses, an… more
Date: July 3, 2008
Creator: Levine, Linda
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Unemployment Compensation

Description: The Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program is a temporary unemployment insurance program that provides up to 13 additional weeks of unemployment benefits to certain workers who have exhausted their rights to regular unemployment compensation (UC) benefits. The program effectively begins July 6, 2008, and will terminate on March 28, 2009. No EUC benefit will be paid beyond the week ending July 4, 2009.
Date: July 11, 2008
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Labor Issues

Description: This report examines three labor issues and arguments related to the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (CFTA): violence against trade unionists; impunity (accountability for or punishment of the perpetrators); and worker rights protections for Colombians. This report addresses this issue at length, including the arguments for and against the agreement, as well as general U.S.-Colombia economic relations.
Date: November 24, 2008
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration: The Effects on Low-Skilled and High-Skilled Native-Born Workers

Description: The report opens with a discussion of how to analyze the impact of immigrants on the pay and job opportunities of native-born workers. It then uses this framework to examine and interpret the empirical literature on the subject. The report concludes with a discussion of policy implications.
Date: January 24, 2008
Creator: Levine, Linda
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foreign Science and Engineering Presence in U.S. Institutions and the Labor Force

Description: The increased presence of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs and in the scientific workforce has been and continues to be of concern to some in the scientific community. Enrollment of U.S. citizens in graduate science and engineering programs has not kept pace with that of foreign students in those programs. Many in the scientific community maintain that in order to compete with countries that are rapidly expanding their scientific and technological capabilities, the … more
Date: July 23, 2008
Creator: Matthews, Christine M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: The Cost-of-Living Adjustment in January 2009

Description: The 5.8% COLA payable in January 2009 was triggered by the rise in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008. This COLA triggers identical percentage increases in Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans' pensions, and railroad retirement benefits, and causes other changes in the Social Security program. Although COLAs under the federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the federal military retirement program are not triggered by the Social Security COLA… more
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Sidor, Gary
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Federal Civil Service Annuities

Description: Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are based on the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). All CSRS retirees and survivors receive COLAs. Under FERS, however, non-disabled retirees under age 62 do not receive COLAs. This report discusses cost-of-living adjustments for government retirees, as well as related legislation.
Date: October 16, 2008
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: A Fact Sheet

Description: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a federal government agency established in 1974 by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) (P.L. 93- 406). It was created to protect the pensions of participants and beneficiaries covered by private sector, defined benefit (DB) plans. These pension plans provide a specified monthly benefit at retirement, usually either a percent of salary or a flat dollar amount multiplied by years of service. Defined contribution plans, such as §40… more
Date: January 29, 2008
Creator: Topoleski, John J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Converting Retirement Savings into Income: Annuities and Periodic Withdrawals

Description: To a worker contemplating retirement, there is perhaps no more important question than "How long will my money last?" Congress has a strong interest in the income security of older Americans because much of their income is either provided directly from public programs like Social Security, or in the case of pensions and retirement accounts, is subsidized through tax deductions and deferrals. This report discusses risks involved with retirement fund disbursement and strategies for dealing with s… more
Date: December 1, 2008
Creator: Mulvey, Janemarie & Purcell, Patrick
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration-Related Worksite Enforcement: Performance Measures

Description: Over the past few years, the media have been filled with reports about worksite enforcement operations, commonly referred to as immigration raids. These operations represent the public face of efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to curtail the employment of unauthorized immigrants. According to 2006 estimates, there are some 7.8 million unauthorized workers in the U.S. civilian workforce. Enforcement activity by the Department of Labor (DOL) is also relevant to a discussion of federa… more
Date: December 2, 2008
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Converting Retirement Savings into Income: Annuities and Periodic Withdrawals

Description: To a worker contemplating retirement, there is perhaps no more important question than "How long will my money last?" Congress has a strong interest in the income security of older Americans because much of their income is either provided directly from public programs like Social Security, or in the case of pensions and retirement accounts, is subsidized through tax deductions and deferrals. This report looks at strategies to help deal with the following risks: longevity, investment, inflation,… more
Date: December 1, 2008
Creator: Mulvey, Janemarie & Purcell, Patrick
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Globalization, Worker Insecurity, and Policy Approaches

Description: This report discusses the global economy, or what many call globalization, which has a growing impact on the economic futures of American companies, workers, and families. Increasing integration with the world economy makes the U.S. and other economies more productive. For most Americans, this has translated into absolute increases in living standards and real disposable incomes.
Date: July 31, 2008
Creator: Ahearn, Raymond J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Leave Benefits in the United States

Description: This report begins by reviewing federal statutes that pertain directly or indirectly to employer provision of leave benefits for any purpose, including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. It then examines the incidence of different types of paid leave that U.S. employers voluntarily provide as part of an employee's total compensation (wages and benefits). The report closes with results from a federal government survey of the average direct cost to businesses o… more
Date: May 7, 2008
Creator: Levine, Linda
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Labor Issues

Description: This report examines three labor issues and arguments related to the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (CFTA): violence against trade unionists; impunity (accountability for or punishment of the perpetrators); and worker rights protections for Colombians. This report addresses this issue at length, including the arguments for and against the agreement, as well as general U.S.-Colombia economic relations.
Date: November 24, 2008
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Executive Schedule IV Pay Cap on General Schedule Compensation

Description: This report provides information on the effect of the Executive Schedule (EX-IV) pay cap on pay for General Schedule (GS) employees; and discusses the potential implications of the pay cap on salaries, pensions, and the ability of agencies to recruit and retain staff. The report also provides some background information on the GS and Executive Schedule pay systems and the annual pay adjustment processes in those systems.
Date: February 15, 2008
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Fair Labor Standards Act: Continuing Issues in the Debate

Description: This reports details the history of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It focuses on the administration of the act and the interpretation of provisions, which Congress has left to the discretion of the Secretary of Labor. It also considers judicial decisions, which make up a substantial part of wage/hour issues and have an impact upon enforcement of the statute.
Date: May 28, 2008
Creator: Whittaker, William G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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