Congressional Research Service Reports - 58 Matching Results
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- Alien Eligibility for Public Assistance
- This report details the changes in public assistance policy that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. It established new restrictions on the eligibility of legal immigrants for designated means-tested public assistance, and also broadened restrictions on public benefits for temporary workers and people on work or school visas.
- Runaway and Homeless Youth: Legislative Issues
- No Description Available.
- APEC and the 1997 Summit in Vancouver
- This report is categorized into seven categories: (I) The Issue, (II) Background, (III) The APEC Process and Activities, (IV) The Osaka Action Agenda, (V) The Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA), (VI) The 1997 Vancouver Meetings and (VII) Conclusion.
- Campaign Financing: Highlights and Chronology of Current Federal Law
- Current law governing financial activity of campaigns for federal office is based on two principal statutes: the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971, as amended in 1974, 1976, and 1979, and the Revenue Act of 1971. These laws were enacted to remedy widely perceived shortcomings of existing law, the Corrupt Practices Act of 1925, and in response to reports of campaign finance abuses over the years, culminating in the 1972-1974 Watergate scandal. This report provides a summary of major provisions of federal law and a chronology of key legislative and judicial actions.
- Appropriations for FY1998: Defense
- The report discusses national defense foreign affairs. It also points out defense budget trends, key budget and policy issues and legislation.
- Adoption Promotion Legislation in the 105th Congress
- This report discusses the type of adoption legislation in the 105th Congress. Specifically, the report tackles the idea that children are kept in foster care too long and that this may cause lower adoption rates. The report also discusses the enormous support for this legislation in the Senate and the House.
- Adoption Promotion Legislation in the 105th Congress
- President Clinton signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act into law on November 19, 1997, after the House and Senate approved final versions of the legislation on November 13. The new law (P.L. 105-89) is intended to promote adoption or other permanent arrangements for foster children who are unable to return home, and to make general improvements in the nation’s child welfare system. The House initially passed legislation (H.R. 867) on April 30 by a vote of 416-5, and the Senate passed an amended version on November 8. A compromise version was passed on November 13, by a vote of 406-7 in the House and by unanimous consent in the Senate. This report discusses the final version of the legislation, as enacted into law.
- Central American Asylum Seekers: Impact of 1996 Immigration Law
- This report has five sections which include an overview of the asylum and cancellation of removal procedures, three sections describing the situations of the Nicaraguans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans, and finally a section discussing legislative issues.
- Central American Asylum Seekers: Impact of 1996 Immigration Law
- This report discuses issues related to the significant portion of the Central Americans affected by the IIRIRA revisions still have asylum cases pending and may obtain legal permanent residence by that avenue if they demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution. The Attorney General also has the discretionary authority to grant blanket relief from deportation, but the discretionary forms of relief do not entail legal permanent residence. There is considerable interest in this issue in the 105th Congress, and the Senate passed by a vote of 99 to 1 an amendment to provide relief for certain Central Americans to the D.C. appropriations bill (S.1156).
- Industrial Energy Intensiveness and Energy Costs in the Context of Climate Change Policy
- This report presents and briefly analyzes data on the amount, cost, and distribution by source of energy used by a number of U.S. energy-intensive sectors and "industries." While the report does not analyze how measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would affect particular industries, it indirectly provides guidance.
- Abortion Procedures
- This report discusses the Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 1997 (H.R. 1122). The report summarizes the legislation and why President Clinton vetoed it. Moreover, the report includes President Clinton's recommendation to amend the bill for him to pass. The report also suggests that little data has been created on the issue, but that it utilizes what data has been created.
- Abortion Procedures
- The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1997, H.R. 1122 was vetoed by President Clinton on October 10, 1997. This legislation would have made it a federal crime, punishable by fine and/or incarceration, for a physician to perform a partial birth abortion unless it was necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury. The partial-birth abortion legislation has stimulated a great deal of controversy. This report provides a brief overview of the abortion methods currently in use for which data have been published and some positions on the partial birth abortion legislation.
- Appropriations for FY1998: Department of Transportation and Related Agencies
- This report is the synopsis of selected DOT Programs and the House and Senate funding recommended for those programs.
- Older Americans Act: 105th Congress Issues
- No Description Available.
- ISTEA Reauthorization: Highway Related Legislative Proposals in the 105th Congress
- Authorizing legislation for federal surface transportation programs highway, highway safety, and transit expired at the end of FY1997. The federal framework for these programs was created by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (P.L. 102-240), better known as ISTEA. ISTEA was the first major highway act of the post interstate highway construction era. As such, it is regarded as landmark legislation.
- Highway Fund Sanctions for Clean Air Act Violations
- This report provides information concerning the authority to impose sanctions, lists the 14 areas that have been subject to sanctions since 1990, describes their status as of October 1997, and discusses the role of sanctions and alternatives under the Act.
- Economic Sanctions to Achieve U.S. Foreign Policy Goals: Discussion and Guide to Current Law
- This report provides background on the range of actions that might be termed foreign policy sanctions and the events that might necessitate their use. Criteria are offered that legislators might consider to judge when sanctions might be appropriate, approaches that might be effective, aspects of the use of sanctions that are sometimes overlooked or not considered fully. The report provides an uncomplicated "map" of where sanctions policies and options currently lay in U. S. law.
- The Appropriations Process and the Congressional Budget Act
- This report is a guide on the Appropriations Process and the Congressional Budget Act.
- Fast-Track Trade Authority Proposals: Which Environmental Issues are Included in the Principal Negotiating Objectives?
- This report discusses fast-track negotiating authority, which provides that Congress will consider trade agreements within mandatory deadlines, with limited debate, and without amendment. Environmental provisions are eligible for the fast-track procedure only if they meet at least one of the principal trade negotiating objectives.
- The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: An Overview
- No Description Available.
- The Budget Enforcement Act of 1997
- President Clinton signed two reconciliation acts into law in August 1997 as part of a plan to balance the budget by FY2002. To ensure compliance with this goal, enforcement procedures were included in one of the acts in a title referred to separately as the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) of 1997. The BEA of 1997 extends procedures under the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) of 1990 through FY2002
- Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
- The Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program is a health insurance program for federal employees, annuitants, and their dependents. This report contains background information, eligibility and participation, and financing.
- Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
- The Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program is a health insurance program for federal employees, annuitants, and their dependents. This report contains background information, eligibility and participation, and financing.
- Managed Health Care: Federal and State Regulation
- No Description Available.
- Fast-Track Trade Authority: Which Environmental Issues are "Directly Related to Trade"?
- This report discusses fast-track negotiating authority, which provides that Congress will consider trade agreements within mandatory deadlines, with limited debate, and without amendment. Trade negotiating objectives have generally been included in fast-track legislation to establish priorities for trade negotiators.
- China: U.S. Economic Sanctions
- This report presents a history of U.S. economic sanctions imposed against the People's Republic of China for foreign policy reasons since 1949. It highlights sanctions that are currently active and details occasions on which those restrictions have been modified, waived or permanently lifted. The report provides citations for Presidential authority in current law and the Administration's issuance of regulations and administrative orders.
- Environment in Fast Track Trade Authority: Summary of the Clinton Administration Proposal
- President Clinton has asked Congress for "fast track" authority for implementing future trade agreements; this authority would limit congressional debate and prevent amendments to implementing legislation. Delays in completing this proposal were attributed to difficulties in reconciling conflicting pressures over environment and labor concerns. The President's proposal contains references to environmental concerns, but various interests are likely to seek clarification on these points.
- Tax Benefits for Education in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
- No Description Available.
- Attorneys' Fees in the State Tobacco Litigation Cases
- Some states have hired private attorneys to file complaints against the tobacco companies in court to recover Medicaid costs towards treating citizens for tobacco related illnesses. This report mentions the fee agreements between the states and private counsel.
- Attorneys' Fees in the State Tobacco Litigation Cases
- In the past few years, many states have filed complaints against the tobacco industry in state court to recover Medicaid costs paid by the states to treat their citizens for tobacco related illnesses. The states are also attempting to recover other damages, such as punitive damages, against the tobacco industry. For various reasons, the states have hired private attorneys to assist the state Attorneys General in prosecuting these cases. In most cases, the retention of private counsel has included a fee agreement specifying the amount of compensation that these attorneys will receive for their services. These agreements are not uniform among the states, but most tend to provide some form of contingency fee arrangement. Some of these states have developed a sliding scale contingency fee schedule which varies with the amount of time spent on the litigation and whether a trial has begun. This report briefly summarizes the different fee agreements that the states have with private counsel.
- World Heritage Convention and U.S. National Parks
- This report describes the operation of the UNESCO Convention and H.R. 901, legislation which would give Congress a role in designating any new U.S. national parks and monuments of world significance added to the World Heritage List, a UNESCO administered list established by the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Sponsors of the bill are concerned that designation of a U.S. site to the U.N. list, which is currently done under Executive Branch authority, does not protect the rights of private property owners or the States. The Administration and opponents of the bill argue that the designation has no effect on property rights and does not provide the United Nations with any legal authority over U.S. territory.
- Environmental Protection Legislation in the 105th Congress
- The 105th Congress enacted tax provisions relating to Superfund brownfields sites, transportation- and defense-related environmental provisions, a border smog bill, EPA funding as well as reinstating the tax that supports the Leaking Underground Storage Trust Fund. There were various actions on regulatory reform, the budget resolution, appropriations, highway- and defense-related environmental provisions, Superfund reform bills and underground storage tanks. It is too early to tell if these will be issues for the 106th Congress.
- Gasoline Excise Tax - Historical Revenues: Fact Sheet
- This report provides a fact sheet about the Gasoline Excise Tax - Historical Revenues. The gas tax was regarded as a user tax where the federal government has imposed a gasoline excise tax with the passage of the revenue act in 1932.
- Federal Indian Law: Background and Current Issues
- This report briefly describes some of the fundamentals of federal Indian law, including the concept of tribal sovereignty and the allocation of authority among state, federal, and tribal governments with reference to criminal and civil laws and taxation.
- Clean Water Act and TMDLs
- Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters that are impaired by pollution, even after application of pollution controls. For those waters, states must establish a total maximum daily load (TMDL) of pollutants to ensure that water quality standards can be attained. Implementation of this provision has been dormant until recently, when states and EPA were prodded by numerous lawsuits. The TMDL issue has become controversial, in part because of requirements and costs now facing states to implement a 25-year-old provision of the law. Congressional activity to reauthorize the Act, a possibility in the 2nd Session of the 105th Congress, could include TMDL issues, but the direction for any such action is unclear at this time.
- Forecasting and Futures Research in Congress: Background and Prospects
- This report explores different roles and use of foresight into Congressional process.
- Clean Water Issues in the 105th Congress
- For the 105th Congress, reauthorization of the Clean Water Act may be a priority in the second session. The Act was last amended in 1987 and authorizations expired on Sept. 30, 1990. Clean water was a priority for the last two Congresses, but no legislation was enacted. In the 104th Congress, the House passed a comprehensive reauthorization bill, but during House debate and subsequently, controversies arose over whether and how the Act should be made more flexible and less burdensome on regulated entities. Issues likely to be of interest again in the 105th Congress include funding, overall flexibility and regulatory reform of water quality programs, and measures to address polluted runoff from farms and city streets.
- Generalized System of Preferences
- This report provides information about the Generalized System of Preferences which provides duty free treatment for products that are imported from some designated countries. The main purpose is to promote economic growth.
- Generalized System of Preferences
- This report provides information about the Generalized System of Preferences which provides duty-free treatment for products that are imported from some designated countries. The main purpose is to promote economic growth.
- NATO: Congress Addresses Expansion of the Alliance
- No Description Available.
- Social Security Financing Reform: Lessons from the 1983 Amendments
- No Description Available.
- Amtrak Reauthorization: S. 738
- The report discusses the bill that was introduced on May 14,1997, by the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on surface Transportation and Merchant Marine, and the bill was referred to that committee.
- Federal Restrictions on State or Local Government Officer or Employee Political Activities
- This report examines federal restrictions on state or local government officer or employee political activities which are regulated by the Hatch Act. In 1940, the law was amended to cover certain state (including territories or possessions) or local government officers or employees. All but three of the prohibitions on political activity by these individuals were removed in 1974. Enforcement provisions were added in 1978. Legislation is pending in the House of Representatives in the 105th Congress to repeal the provision prohibiting state or local government officers or employees from seeking elective office.
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Reauthorization Legislation: An Overview
- CRS Report for Congress entailing information about The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization legislation. Topics include, legislation within the 105th Congress, local relief, educational improvements, allocation formulas, etc..
- Safe Drinking Water Act: State Revolving Fund Program
- No Description Available.
- Tobacco Advertising: Whether the FDA's Restrictions Violate Freedom of Speech
- No Description Available.
- Issues in Physician Extender Reimbursement: A Review of the Literature
- This reports contains how the Federal policy maker should look over several issues in the deployment of physician extender under Medicare.
- Environmental Protection: How Much it Costs and Who Pays
- This report discusses a recurring issue in environmental policy: the cost of pollution control imposed on individuals, businesses, and governments.
- English as the Official Language of the United States: An Overview
- This report provides background on contemporary efforts to declare English the official language, a review of selected issues raised by official English proposals in Congress, and a summary of arguments that have been advanced in favor of and in opposition to such proposals.
- The Abandoned Mine Land Fund: Grants Distribution and Issues
- The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA, P.L. 95-87), enacted in 1977, established reclamation standards for all coal surface mining operations, and for the surface effects of underground mining. It also established the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program to promote the reclamation of sites mined and abandoned prior to the enactment of SMCRA. To finance reclamation of abandoned mine sites, the legislation established fees on coal production. These collections are divided into federal and state shares; subject to annual appropriation, AML funds are distributed annually to states with approved reclamation programs. This report describes the distribution of these funds and the various issues that arise from said distribution.