Congressional Research Service Reports - 44 Matching Results

Search Results

Results: 1 - 24 next
open access

Sudan: The Crisis in Darfur and Status of the North-South Peace Agreement

Description: Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa, has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for four decades, resulting in catastrophic civilian casualties and displacements. This report discusses the history of Sudan's civil unrest and the subsequent crisis in Darfur, as well as United Nations and United States aid and peacekeeping efforts and current related policy under the Obama Administration.
Date: October 8, 2010
Creator: Dagne, Ted
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Why Certain Trade Agreements Are Approved as Congressional-Executive Agreements Rather Than as Treaties

Description: U.S. trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), World Trade Organization agreements, and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) have been approved by majority vote of each house rather than by two-thirds vote of the Senate - that is, they have been treated as congressional-executive agreements rather than as treaties. The congressional-executive agreement has been the vehicle for implementing Congress's long-standing policy of seeking trade benefits for the United… more
Date: September 8, 2010
Creator: Grimmett, Jeanne J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Democratic Republic of Congo: Background and Current Developments

Description: This report discusses in brief the current political state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the crisis situation in eastern Congo that has displaced more than 250,000 civilians. It also describes U.S., U.N., and other international efforts to aid in resolving the crisis.
Date: October 8, 2010
Creator: Dagne, Ted
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Hezbollah: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses Lebanon's Hezbollah, a Shiite Islamist militia, political party, social welfare organization, and U.S. State Department-designated terrorist organization. The report discusses recent Hezbollah-related conflicts, Hezbollah's relationship with other Lebanese political parties, and U.S. policy regarding Hezbollah.
Date: October 8, 2010
Creator: Addis, Casey L. & Blanchard, Christopher M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S.-Latin America Trade: Recent Trends and Policy Issues

Description: Trade is one of the more enduring issues in contemporary U.S.-Latin America relations. Latin America is far from the largest U.S. regional trade partner, but historically is the fastest growing one. The United States has implemented comprehensive reciprocal trade agreements with most of its important trade partners in Latin America. Agreements with Panama and Colombia have been signed but not implemented, pending congressional action. Countries south of the Caribbean Basin have been reluctant t… more
Date: February 8, 2011
Creator: Hornbeck, J. F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

A U.S.-centric Chronology of the International Climate Change Negotiations

Description: 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 backg… more
Date: February 8, 2011
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Countries: Comparative Trade and Economic Analysis

Description: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed regional free trade agreement (FTA) currently under negotiation between Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. The negotiating partners have expressed an interest in allowing this proposed “living agreement” to cover new trade topics and to include new members that are willing to adopt the proposed agreement's high standards. This report provides a comparative economic analysis of the TP… more
Date: February 8, 2012
Creator: Williams, Brock R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Proposed U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Background and Issues

Description: This report discusses the proposed U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) signed November 22, 2006, which has not yet been approved by Congress. It includes an overview of the proposed CFTA and U.S.-Colombia trade, background on Colombia, issues for Congress to consider, Colombia's plan to improve labor rights, and the actions that Colombia has already taken to improve violence, labor, and human rights within the country.
Date: July 8, 2011
Creator: Villarreal, M. Angeles
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Efforts to Address the Threat of Bioterrorism: Selected Issues and Options for Congress

Description: This report focuses on four areas under congressional consideration deemed critical to the success of the biodefense enterprise: strategic planning; risk assessment; surveillance; and the development, procurement, and distribution of medical countermeasures. This report also discusses the effectiveness and sufficiency of programs implementing these aspects of the federal biodefense efforts, outside analysts' suggestions for improving the government's efforts, and current issues under congressi… more
Date: February 8, 2011
Creator: Gottron, Frank & Shea, Dana A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Libya: Transition and U.S. Policy

Description: This report discusses the revolution and post-conflict transition in Libya, triggered in mid-February 2011 by a chain of events resulting in the death of the Prime Minister (Qadhafi); a new government was elected in July. The report also looks at the military and economic state of the country, including human rights, Islam and politics, and Libya's oil assets.
Date: May 8, 2014
Creator: Blanchard, Christopher M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation: The Mérida Initiative and Beyond

Description: This report provides a framework for examining the current status and future prospects for U.S.- Mexican security cooperation. It begins with a brief discussion of the threat that drug trafficking and related crime and violence pose to both nations, followed by an analysis of the evolution of the Mérida Initiative. The report then provides an overview of the Peña Nieto government's security strategy and how it is affecting the Mérida Initiative. The report then examines key aspects of the curre… more
Date: April 8, 2014
Creator: Ribando Seelke, Clare & Finklea, Kristin M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Organization of American States: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: The Organization of American States (OAS) concentrates on four broad objectives: democracy promotion, human rights protection, economic and social development, and regional security cooperation. This report covers the background of the OAS and discusses the importance of U.S. participation in this organization in order to exert authority and shape outcomes in the Western Hemisphere.
Date: April 8, 2013
Creator: Meyer, Peter J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Japan's Possible Entry Into the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Its Implications

Description: This report discusses the effects of the possible entry of Japan to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. The TPP issue presents both risks and opportunities for the United States and Japan. On the one hand, it could reinvigorate an economic relationship that has remained steady but stagnant, by forcing the two countries to address long-standing, difficult issues, and allowing them to raise their relationship to a higher level. On the other hand, failure to do so could indicate that… more
Date: April 8, 2013
Creator: Cooper, William H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations

Description: This report provides an overview of current issues in U.S.-Palestinian relations. It also contains an overview of Palestinian society and politics and descriptions of key Palestinian individuals and groups--chiefly the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Palestinian Authority (PA), Fatah, Hamas, and the Palestinian refugee population.
Date: January 8, 2010
Creator: Zanotti, Jim
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Western Sahara

Description: This report discusses how Morocco and the independence-seeking Popular Front for the Liberation of Saqiat al Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario) have been vying for control of the Western Sahara, a former Spanish territory, since the 1970s. The report discusses recent settlement attempts, as well as how the Western Sahara issue has affected Algerian-Moroccan bilaterial relations, Moroccan relations with the African Union, and regional cooperation on economic and security issues. The report also di… more
Date: October 8, 2014
Creator: Arieff, Alexis
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

Description: This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.
Date: December 8, 2010
Creator: Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Nuclear Energy Cooperation with Foreign Countries: Issues for Congress

Description: This report begins with a brief overview of the global nuclear power industry, including the possessors of enrichment and reprocessing technology. It then describes the state of the U.S. nuclear industry, particularly its dependence on both international trade and foreign suppliers. The report then reviews the multilateral nuclear nonproliferation mechanisms. It concludes with a detailed summary of U.S. nuclear cooperation agreements, the primary mechanism by which the United States both promot… more
Date: December 8, 2014
Creator: Kerr, Paul K.; Nikitin, Mary Beth D. & Holt, Mark
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S.-South Korea Relations

Description: This report covers the background and current state of the relationship of the United States with the Republic of Korea (ROK, formerly South Korea), including economic and trade issues, North Korea, naval, and military events. It is a general overview of the current state of relations with South Korea.
Date: December 8, 2010
Creator: Manyin, Mark E.; Chanlett-Avery, Emma; Nikitin, Mary Beth & Taylor, Mi Ae
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S. Initiatives to Promote Global Internet Freedom: Issues, Policy, and Technology

Description: This report provides information regarding the role of U.S. and other foreign companies in facilitating Internet censorship by repressive regimes overseas. The report is divided into several sections: Examination of repressive policies in China and Iran, Relevant U.S. laws, U.S. policies to promote Internet freedom, Private sector initiatives, and Congressional action.
Date: September 8, 2010
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia; Nakamura, Kennon H.; Addis, Casey L. & Lum, Thomas
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen