Congressional Research Service Reports - 490 Matching Results
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- The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer
- Numerous federal, state, and local agencies share responsibilities for regulating the safety of the U.S. food supply, which many experts say is among the safest in the world. Nevertheless, critics view this system as lacking the organization and resources to adequately combat foodborne illness, which sickens an estimated 76 million people and kills an estimated 5,000 each year in this country. The 110th Congress may face calls for a review of federal food safety agencies and authorities, and proposals for reorganizing them. Among the issues likely to arise are whether reform can improve oversight, and the cost to industry, consumers, and taxpayers. This report provides a brief introduction to the system and the debate on whether reorganization is needed.
- Horse Slaughter Prevention Bills and Issues
- This report examines more than 90,000 U.S. horses which were slaughtered for human food in 2005, mainly for European and Asian consumers. Congress voted to limit the use of FY2006 appropriated funds for such slaughter, but the practice continues, funded by industry user fees. Debate continues on the acceptability of horse slaughter, and how to care for and/or humanely dispose of horses if they no longer went for human food. On September 7, 2006, the full House approved a bill (H.R. 503) to ban horse slaughter.
- U.S.-Russia Meat and Poultry Trade Issues
- In December 2008, the United States and Russia signed a protocol aimed at resolving various emerging trade issues between the two countries in order to continue U.S. livestock and poultry exports to Russia through the end of 2009. This report examines the current trade relationship between the U.S. and Russia in regards to meat and poultry.
- Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods
- This report details the information related to Country-of-Origin labeling for foods.
- FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products: A Policy and Legal Analysis
- This report provides the policy and legal analysis of the FDA regulation of tobacco products.
- Importing Prescription Drugs: Objectives, Options, and Outlook
- This report provides an overview about the Objectives, Options, and Outlook on Importing Prescription Drugs.it also examines the issues,spells out how they are treated from bill to bill, and refer to alternatives to important to ease the burden of prescription drug.
- Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods
- No Description Available.
- Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods
- This report details the information related to Country-of-Origin labeling for foods.
- Agricultural Biotechnology: Overview and Selected Issues
- This report considers the issues surrounding genetically engineered (GE) crops or GMO's (genetically modified organisms). Moreover, the report debates the consequences of GE crops on the environment, food safety, and labeling. The report also debates the merits of regulation on the market the crops have entered.
- Food Stamps and Nutrition Programs in the 2002 Farm Bill
- This report gives an overview of food stamps, nutrition programs, and activities covered in the 2002 farm bill.
- Constitutional Implications of State GE Food Labeling Laws
- This report analyzes three constitutional provisions relevant to state GE food labeling laws, the First Amendment, the Supremacy Clause, and the Commerce Clause, by explaining the wider legal background of GE labeling as well the court's analysis of these constitutional issues in GMA v. Sorrell.
- FDA Advisory Committee Conflict of Interest Reform Efforts in the 110th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Actual Farm Bill Spending and Cost Estimates
- This report discusses the budget for the 2008 Farm Bill, and its reauthorization. Moreover, the report discusses the increasing level of demand for fiscal constraint and the current large budget deficits.
- Dietary Supplements: Legislative and Regulatory Status
- This report reviews the statutory changes that DSHEA contained and the status and impact of their implementation by the federal agencies responsible, particularly the Food and Drug Administration(FDA), within the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Farm and Food Support Under USDA’s Section 32 Program
- No Description Available.
- The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer
- No Description Available.
- The “Farm Bill” in Brief
- Federal farm support, food assistance, agricultural trade, marketing, and rural development policies are governed by a variety of separate laws. Many of these laws periodically have been evaluated, revised, and renewed through an omnibus, multi-year farm bill. This report discusses the "farm bill" and it's components.
- Food Safety on the Farm: Federal Programs and Selected Proposals
- This report discusses bills introduced into the 110th Congress pertaining to food safety that could affect farmers and ranchers. Several of these bills would expressly have required enforceable on-farm safety standards. Others that focused primarily on post-harvest food safety measures nonetheless might have led to changes in on-farm practices if the regulated sectors (handlers and processors of agricultural products) placed new demands on their suppliers in order to comply. Similar proposals are re-emerging in the 111th Congress, where food safety reform is expected to be on the agenda.
- Food Safety: Federal and State Response to the Spinach E. coli Outbreak
- This report details the events as they unfolded, and includes the number of cases, the detention of the first case, and the process by which relevant agencies acted as subsequent cases were reported.
- FDA’s Authority to Ensure That Drugs Prescribed to Children Are Safe and Effective
- This report provides an overview of the FDA's authority to ensure that drugs prescribed to children are safe and effective.
- Agriculture: Previewing the 2002 Farm Bill
- This report discusses what a farm bill is and the process of renewing one every year. This report specifically covers the farm bill for 2002 and the issues that come with it. Moreover, the report highlights the importance of exports within the U.S. agricultural economy and how this is a key interest in the renewal of farm bills.
- Federal Regulation of Substances Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) and the Use of Carbon Monoxide in Packaging for Meat and Fish
- No Description Available.
- Influenza Vaccine Shortages and Implications
- This report concerns the shortage of flu vaccine in the fall of 2004 renewed discussion of the fragility of the nation's system for providing this potentially life-saving product. Some have expressed concern that this situation bodes ill for national preparedness for an influenza pandemic or a large-scale bioterrorism event. This report will describe the current system of flu vaccine production and delivery, the causes of supply problems, and options for improvement.
- Emergency Contraception: Plan B
- This report discusses the FDA approval of Plan B as a prescription drug, as well as the more recent and controversial FDA approval of Plan B as an OTC drug. Legal issues regarding the recent FDA decision are also discussed as well as various state policies that affect access to emergency contraceptives. In addition, the report discusses the Department of Justice guidelines for the treatment of sexual assault victims, which have been criticized by numerous organizations because they do not mention offering emergency contraception to female rape victims. The DOJ guidelines were the focus of legislation introduced in the 109th Congress. Lastly, this report discusses the likely impact of the FDA Plan B OTC decision.
- Food Safety: Oversight and Current Issues
- No Description Available.
- FOOD STAMPS: BACKGROUND AND FUNDING
- This report gives an overview of the background and funding of the food stamps program.
- Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs
- This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2002, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.
- FDA Legislation in the 110th Congress: A Side-by-Side Comparison of S. 1082 and H.R. 2900
- No Description Available.
- What Is the “Farm Bill”?
- This report discusses the farm bill, which renewed about every five years, governs federal farm and food policy.
- WIC Food Package: History of the Sugar Cap
- This report provides a historic review of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food package and the controversy over the sugar cap on cereals allowed in the program.
- The Budget for Fiscal Year 2008
- This report discusses the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) FY2009 budget request of $2.676 billion that would provide a 17.9% increase ($406 million) over FY2008. It includes an overview and breakdowns for specific programs: Foods Program, Human Drugs Program, Biologics program, Animal Drugs and Feed Program, and the Devices and Radiological Health Program.
- Food Safety on the Farm: Federal Programs and Selected Proposals
- This report discusses comprehensive food safety bills that are progressing in the 111th Congress and could affect farmers and ranchers. Interest in on-farm practices was renewed after more than 1,300 persons in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada were found to be infected with the same unusual strain of bacteria (Salmonella Saintpaul) in April-July 2008.
- The Food and Drug Administration: Budget and Statutory History, FY1980-FY2007
- This report provides Budget and Statutory history related to the Food and Drug Administration from FY1980 through FY2007.
- Recent Acquisitions of U.S. Meat Companies
- This report examines issues regarding the recent acquisitions of U.S. meat companies. In July 2007, JBS — a Brazilian company regarded as the world’s largest meat processor — purchased the U.S. beef processor Swift & Co., then the third-largest U.S. beef processing company. In February and March 2008, JBS signed agreements to acquire the fourth- and fifth-largest U.S. beef packers, National Beef Packing Company and the Smithfield Beef Group, respectively. These planned acquisitions have undergone customary regulatory review by the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Antitrust Division.
- Food Safety: Provisions in the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007
- This report reviews the food safety provisions of the statute of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007, their history, and certain issues surrounding their passage.
- What Is the “Farm Bill”?
- This report discusses the farm bill, which renewed about every five years, governs federal farm and food policy.
- Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations
- This report discusses the Agriculture appropriations bill—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which provides funding for the following agencies: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- Food Safety Issues for the 114th Congress
- This report discusses food safety legislation passed by Congress in December 2010 (FDA Food Safety Modernization Act [FSMA], P.L. 111-353).
- Animal Identification and Meat Traceability
- This report focuses on animal ID and meat traceability. However, traceability, and the somewhat different but related concepts of “identity preservation” and “product segregation,” also pertain to other agricultural products (e.g., grains) and issues (e.g., genetically modified, or GM, crops; the labeling of GM foods; and the production and labeling of organic foods)
- Access to Unapproved Drugs: FDA Policies on Compassionate Use and Emergency Use Authorization
- This report discuses the approval or licensure procedures of drugs and biological products which Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may permit the sponsor to provide an unapproved or unlicensed product to patients outside the standard regulatory framework.
- FDA Final Rule Restricting the Sale and Distribution of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco
- No Description Available.
- FDA Fast Track and Priority Review Programs
- No Description Available.
- Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods and the WTO Trade Dispute on Meat Labeling
- This report discusses about the AB and Panel reports that were adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on July 23, 2012 starting a 30- day Deadline for the United States to Inform the DSB how it will implement the final findings.
- Agricultural Conservation Issues in the 111th Congress
- This report focuses on the discussions in the 111th Congress on the 2008 farm bill. Moreover, the report details that debate has shifted to the off-farm impact the bill has. The report also discusses the budgetary issues surrounding the farm bill that the 111th Congress was presented with.
- Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods
- This report provides information about the Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods. Federal law requires most imports, including many food items to bear labels informing the "ultimate purchaser" of their country of origin.
- Food Safety: Selected Issues and Bills in the 110th Congress
- This report addresses selected issues and bills in the 110th Congress related to Food Safety.
- Food Safety Issues for the 113th Congress
- This report discusses Food Safety Incidents, Food borne Illness, FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and Key Issues for the 113th Congress.
- Agricultural Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues
- This report discusses the ethical and political issues surrounding contemporary biotechnology. Driving the discussion are inventions such as genetically engineered (GE) crops, which have increased from 3.6 million acres to 143 million acres in the United States. The report also raises concerns about regulations and the adequacy of environmental assessments.
- Food Safety Issues for the 112th Congress
- This report discusses about Food Safety Incidents, Existing Food Safety Legal and Regulatory Landscape, FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and Key Issues for the 112th Congress
- Chicken Imports from China
- This report covers a couple of key factors regarding poultry trade from China to the United States. It reviews guidelines set in motion by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (U.S.D.A.) Food and Safety Inspection Service (F.S.I.S.).