Congressional Research Service Reports - 29 Matching Results
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- Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions.
- Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
- The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. The Arctic has increasingly become a subject of discussion among political leaders of the nations in the region. In varying degrees, the Arctic coastal states have indicated a willingness to establish and maintain a military presence in the high north. U.S. military forces, particularly the Navy and Coast Guard, have begun to pay more attention to the region.
- A U.S.-centric Chronology of the International Climate Change Negotiations
- The United States is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), but not to its subsidiary Kyoto Protocol. Negotiations under way since 2007 have run on two tracks: one under the Kyoto Protocol, to extend commitments of developed parties beyond 2012, and the second track under the UNFCCC, regarding commitments for all Parties. Both tracks convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009 under a deadline to agree on steps to address climate change beyond 2012. As background for congressional deliberations, this document provides a U.S.-centric chronology of international climate change policy from 1979 to 2010. This chronology identifies selected external events and major multilateral meetings that influence both the current legal and institutional arrangements, and the contentious choices about future international cooperation.
- Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report gives an overview of the situation in the Arctic region. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. The Arctic has increasingly become a subject of discussion among political leaders of the nations in the region. In varying degrees, the Arctic coastal states have indicated a willingness to establish and maintain a military presence in the high north. U.S. military forces, particularly the Navy and Coast Guard, have begun to pay more attention to the region.
- Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific relevant topics.
- Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific relevant topics.
- Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the sustainment and modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions. The report is written in response to the Coast Guard's budget request for a new polar ice breaker (none are currently in operation).
- EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options
- This report discusses elements of the greenhouse gas (GHG) controversy, providing background on stationary sources of GHG pollution and identifying options Congress has at its disposal to address GHG issues, including: (1) resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act; (2) freestanding legislation; (3) the use of appropriations bills as a vehicle to influence EPA activity; and (4) amendments to the Clean Air Act, including legislation to establish a new GHG control regime.
- Nondiscrimination in Environmental Regulation: A Legal Analysis
- This report will examine the relevant legal authorities that may be asserted to address disproportionate impacts that result from how an agency implements environmental regulations, including the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and various environmental and conservation statutes. It will discuss administrative efforts to address "environmental justice," a term used by some advocates to refer to the distribution of environmental quality across various demographic groups, including the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Plan EJ 2014. It will also analyze the use of these authorities to prevent such impacts and the likelihood of success for future challenges under each legal theory.
- Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource Authorizations, Appropriations, and Activities
- This report summarizes congressional authorization and appropriations processes for the Army Corps of Engineers. It also discusses agency activities under general authorities. Congress directs the Corps through authorizations, appropriations, and oversight of its studies, construction projects, and other activities.
- Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues
- This report provides an overview of the rationale for the Prompt Global Strike (PGS) mission and the possible deployment of conventional warheads on long-range ballistic missiles or boost-glide systems in support of this mission. It also reviews the Air Force and Navy efforts to develop these systems, summarizes Congressional reaction to these proposals, and provides a more detailed account of the issues raised by these concepts and programs.
- EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options
- This report provides background and discusses four options to address greenhouse gas (GHG) sources: (1) resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act; (2) freestanding legislation directing, delaying, or prohibiting EPA action; (3) the use of appropriations bills as a vehicle to influence EPA activity; and (4) amendments to the Clean Air Act, including legislation to establish a new GHG control regime.
- Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress
- This report reviews current actions (as of January 2015) of selected federal departments and agencies to adapt their own missions, infrastructure, operations, and personnel to projected climate change.
- The Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI): Budget Authority and Request, FY2010-FY2016
- This report serves as a brief overview of the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI) and its structure, intents, and funding history. The GCCI aims to integrate climate change considerations into U.S. foreign assistance through a range of bilateral, multilateral, and private sector mechanisms to promote sustainable and climate-resilient societies, foster low-carbon economic growth, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and land degradation.
- Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress
- This report reviews current actions (as of January 2015) of selected federal departments and agencies to adapt their own missions, infrastructure, operations, and personnel to projected climate change plans.
- Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Disaster Response, Recovery, and Mitigation Projects
- This report discusses the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as it applies to projects for which federal funding to recover from or prepare for a disaster has been requested by local, tribal, or state grant applicants.
- EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options
- This report discusses elements of this controversy, providing background on stationary sources of GHG pollution and identifying options Congress has at its disposal to address the issues.
- Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
- This report provides a brief overview of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
- Agricultural Conservation and the Next Farm Bill
- This report discusses and debates the pieces of the 2008 farm bill that will expire at the close of the 2012 funding year. The report suggests that existing programs could be amended or consolidated. Moreover, the report addresses the budgetary issues that arise from keeping existing programs.
- EPA and the Army Corps’ Proposed Rule to Define “Waters of the United States”
- This report describes the proposed rule and includes a table comparing the existing regulatory language that defines "waters of the United States" with the proposed revisions.
- Cars, Trucks, and Climate: EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases from Mobile Sources
- This report discusses the full range of EPA's authority under the Title II and provides information regarding other mobile sources that might be regulated under this authority, in addition to describing the car and truck regulations.
- EPA and the Army Corps’ Proposed Rule to Define “Waters of the United States"
- This report describes the proposed rule and includes a table comparing the existing regulatory language that defines "waters of the United States" with the proposed revisions.
- Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource Authorizations, Appropriations, and Activities
- This report provides an overview of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works program, including congressional authorization and appropriations. Its civil works responsibilities are principally to support navigation, reduce flood and storm damage, and protect and restore aquatic ecosystems. The report also covers the standard project development process for Corps projects and other Corps activities and authorities.
- The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Waiver Authority and Modification of Volumes
- This report discusses the process and criteria for the Environmental Protection Agency to waive various portions of the renewable fuel standard (RFS), and the modification of applicable volumes.
- EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?
- This report provides background information on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory activity during the Obama Administration. It examines major or controversial regulatory actions since January 2009, providing details on the regulatory action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion of rules not yet promulgated (including related court or statutory deadlines), and, in general, providing EPA's estimates of costs and benefits, where available. The report includes tables for rules under development, and an appendix that describes major or controversial rules that are now final.
- Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues
- This report provides an overview of the rationale for the prompt global strike (PGS) mission and the possible deployment of conventional warheads on long-range ballistic missiles or boost-glide systems in support of this mission. It then reviews the Air Force and Navy efforts to develop these systems. It summarizes congressional reaction to these proposals, then provides a more detailed account of the issues raised by these concepts and programs.
- Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues
- This report provides an overview of the rationale for the prompt global strike (PGS) mission and the possible deployment of conventional warheads on long-range ballistic missiles or boost-glide systems in support of this mission. It also reviews the Air Force and Navy efforts to develop these systems, summarizes congressional reaction to these proposals, and provides a more detailed account of the issues raised by these concepts and programs.
- Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues
- This report provides an overview of the rationale for the prompt global strike (PGS) mission and the possible deployment of conventional warheads on long-range ballistic missiles or boost-glide systems in support of this mission. It also reviews the Air Force and Navy efforts to develop these systems, summarizes congressional reaction to these proposals, and provides a more detailed account of the issues raised by these concepts and programs.
- Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource Authorizations, Appropriations, and Activities
- This report provides an overview of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works program, including congressional authorization and appropriations. Its civil works responsibilities are principally to support navigation, reduce flood and storm damage, and protect and restore aquatic ecosystems. The report also covers the standard project development process for Corps projects and other Corps activities and authorities.