Congressional Research Service Reports - 908 Matching Results
Search Results
- Proposals for Funding Mass Transportation
- This report provides outlines the key points of basic concepts for funding mass transportation. The author outlines four funding concepts: contract authority, a general transportation trust fund, an urban transportation trust fund, and the optional use of highway trust fund money.
- Supersonic Transports, U.S and foreign -- A legislative history
- This report discusses the aircraft which would carry the passengers faster than the speed of sound.
- Gun Control: Comparison of Major Provisions of H.R. 11193 S. 1880, S. 2186 (H.R. 9022) and H.R. 9763
- This report address gun control
- The Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV): Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information on the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), which is the Army's proposed replacement to the Vietnam-era M-113 personnel carriers.
- Environmental Aspects of Transportation: Activities in the 91st Congress
- This report discusses legislation in the 91st Congress related to environmental aspects of transportation.
- Dakota Access Pipeline: Siting Controversy
- This report discusses the Dakota Access Pipeline including background on the project and information about siting approval, as well as opposition and litigation against the pipeline.
- The Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV): Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information on the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), which is the Army's proposed replacement to the Vietnam-era M-113 personnel carriers.
- Funding and Financing Highways and Public Transportation
- This report begins with a discussion of the problems associated with the trust fund financing system (which supports both federal highway and public transportation programs) and then explores possible options for financing surface transportation infrastructure.
- Fatal Balloon Accident Highlights Disagreement Between Safety Agencies
- This report briefly discusses the the safety of hot-air balloons and examines the current regulatory climate. On July 30, 2016, a hot-air balloon tour flight crashed about 30 miles south of Austin, Texas, killing the pilot and all 15 passengers on board.
- Transportation Security: Issues for the 114th Congress
- This report examines aviation, transit and passenger rail security, as well as port and maritime security. The difficulty and cost of protecting the transportation sector from attack raises a core question for policymakers, i.e., how much effort and resources to put toward protecting potential targets versus pursuing and fighting terrorists.
- Mileage-Based Road User Charges
- This report examines mileage-based user charges as an possible source of highway funding. Federal highway and public transportation programs are funded mainly by taxes on motor fuel that flow into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The tax rates, set on a per-gallon basis, have not been raised since 1993, and motor fuel tax receipts have been insufficient to support the transportation programs authorized by Congress since FY2008.
- Navy Ohio Replacement (SSBN[X]) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Ohio replacement program (ORP), a program to design and build a new class of 12 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace the Navy's current force of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs.
- DOT's Federal Pipeline Safety Program: Background and Key Issues for Congress
- This report reviews the history of federal programs for pipeline safety, significant safety issues, and recent developments focusing on key issues for Congress.
- Earthquake Risk and U.S. Highway Infrastructure: Frequently Asked Questions
- This report addresses a number of frequently asked questions about earthquake risk and highway system components, especially bridges. Earthquakes and related events, such as soil liquefaction, landslides, tsunamis, flooding, and fires, pose risks to highway infrastructure. Concerns about the U.S. highway system's seismic vulnerability stem from interest in protecting public safety, facilitating response and recovery efforts, and minimizing economic loss and social disruption.
- Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Coast Guard's programs for procuring 8 National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). These 91 planned cutters are intended as replacements for 90 aging Coast Guard cutters and patrol craft. The Coast Guard's proposed FY2017 budget requests a total of $467 million in acquisition funding for the three programs.
- 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. The Coast Guard's proposed FY2017 budget requests $150 million in acquisition funding for a new polar icebreaker that the Coast Guard wants to begin building in FY2020. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Administration's FY2017 acquisition funding request for a new polar icebreaker, and, more generally, whether to approve, reject, or modify the Coast Guard's overall plan for sustaining and modernizing the polar icebreaking fleet.
- Emergency Relief for Disaster-Damaged Roads and Transit Systems: In Brief
- This report describes Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) assistance for the repair and reconstruction of highways and bridges damaged by disasters (such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012) or catastrophic failures (such as the collapse of the Skagit River Bridge in Washington State in 2013). It begins with a brief discussion of the legislative origins of federal assistance, and then addresses eligibility issues and program operation.
- Navy Ship Propulsion Technologies: Options for Reducing Oil Use -- Background for Congress
- This report provides background information on options for technologies that could reduce the Navy's dependence on oil for its ships, as well as four general strategies for reducing the Navy's dependence on oil for its ships: reducing energy use on Navy ships; alternative hydrocarbon fuels; nuclear propulsion; and sail and solar power.
- Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Coast Guard's programs for procuring 8 National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). Congress's decisions on these three programs could substantially affect Coast Guard capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
- Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas and Crude Oil: Federal and State Regulatory Authority
- This report discusses the relationship between federal and state authority over siting and safety of crude oil and natural gas transmission and gathering pipelines and related facilities.
- 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.
- Navy Ohio Replacement (SSBN[X]) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Ohio replacement program (ORP), a program to design and build a new class of 12 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace the Navy's current force of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs.
- Alaska Natural Gas Pipelines: Interaction of the Natural Gas and Steel Markets
- In 1976, Congress approved legislation to establish the regulatory framework for building a pipeline to bring natural gas from the Alaska North Slope to the lower 48 states. This report focuses on two major issues or uncertainties that may serve as economic constraints on a capital investment undertaking of this major scale.
- Amtrak Issues in the 108th Congress
- This report discusses a number of issues connected with Amtrak that Congress may consider. Amtrak does not earn enough revenue, or receive enough assistance, to cover its operating costs and capital needs. As a result, Amtrak is regularly on the verge of insolvency.
- Transportation Spending Under an Earmark Ban
- This report explains what earmarks are and discusses their use in surface transportation finance. It then discusses how federal transportation funding is distributed with a ban in place and how Members of Congress might influence the distribution.
- 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. Congress's decisions on this issue could affect Coast Guard funding requirements, the Coast Guard's ability to perform its polar missions, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
- Navy Ohio Replacement (SSBN[X]) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Ohio replacement program (ORP), a program to design and build a new class of 12 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace the Navy's current force of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs.
- Cars, Trucks, and Climate: EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases from Mobile Sources
- This report focuses on EPA's completed and potential actions to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from mobile sources, relying on the authorities in Title II of the Clean Air Act (CAA). We begin with a brief discussion of the petitions and court action that led to EPA's regulatory decisions.
- Alternative Fuels and Advanced Technology Vehicles: Issues in Congress
- This report discusses the increasing attention being paid to alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles, the proponents of which point to their potential to improve urban air quality, decrease dependence on foreign oil, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report also discusses the major barriers currently preventing widespread use of such technologies, and discusses these technologies in the particular contexts of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
- Federal Freight Policy: In Brief
- This report discusses the federal role in freight system planning. The U.S. freight system is a complex network including four principal modes of transportation: The National Truck Network, railroads, barge and ship lines, and air carriers.
- Surface Transportation: Reauthorization of TEA-21
- This report briefly examines the debate regarding spending levels to reauthorize federal highway, highway safety, and transit programs.
- Federal Public Transportation Program: In Brief
- This report provides an introduction to the public transportation program administered by the Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA). This program was authorized in FY2016 through FY2020 by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (P.L. 114-94). The focus of the federal program is still on the capital side, but the program has evolved to support operational expenses in some circumstances, as well as safety oversight, planning, and research.
- 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. Coast Guard polar icebreakers perform a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Administration's plans for sustaining and modernizing the polar icebreaking fleet.
- Transit Reauthorization in the 109th Congress
- This report reviews the current structure and financing of federal transit programs, and briefly examines the financing issues and program changes proposed in the reauthorization bills for surface transportation programs.
- Amtrak: Budget and Reauthorizaton
- This issue brief discusses reform proposals from both the Administration and Amtrak in the 109th Congress. It addresses the appropriations requested by Amtrak, the reluctance of the Administration to provide aid, and its willingness to let Amtrak enter bankruptcy, resulting in restructuring and reform of inefficient operations.
- Iran-U.S. Air Service Not Imminent
- This report discusses the prospect of air travel between Iran and the U.S., which last operated during 1979, when the U.S. government imposed an embargo on flights following the Iran hostage crisis. Since then, travel and air cargo shipments between the two countries have been routed through third countries, and their extent has been limited by U.S. sanctions.
- Surface Transportation: Reauthorization of TEA-21
- This report briefly examines the debate regarding spending levels to reauthorize federal highway, highway safety, and transit programs.
- Detection of Explosives on Airline Passengers: Recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and Related Issues
- This report discusses options for airline passenger explosives trace detection, ongoing federal R&D efforts and pilot equipment deployments, and policy issues related to the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458). The legislation directs the Department of Homeland Security to place high priority on developing and deploying equipment for passenger explosives screening; requires TSA to submit a strategic plan for deploying such equipment; and authorizes additional research funding.
- Volkswagen, Defeat Devices, and the Clean Air Act: Frequently Asked Questions
- This report provides answers to a series of frequently asked questions focusing on a description of modern diesel technologies, their market and emissions profiles, and some potential reasons that could underlie the use of defeat devices. It summarizes the specific allegations filed against VW under the Clean Air Act, the current status of federal and state investigations, and the potential civil and criminal penalties. Further, the report introduces several outstanding issues currently under debate regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) resources and activities, and issues surrounding VW's defeat device.
- Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Coast Guard's programs for procuring 8 National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Coast Guard's funding requests and acquisition strategies for the NSC, OPC, and FRC programs.
- The Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV): Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information on the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), which is the Army's proposed replacement to the Vietnam-era M-113 personnel carriers.
- Unmanned Aircraft Operations in Domestic Airspace: U.S. Policy Perspectives and the Regulatory Landscape
- This report discusses the uses and potential risks of Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which are often referred to as "drones." In the future, it is anticipated that some UAS will share airspace, and potentially share facilities like airports and helipads, with manned aircraft. Technological innovations, as well as standardized procedures operators must follow, will be needed for full integration.
- Federal Public Transportation Program: In Brief
- This report is categorized into five categories: (I) Introduction, (II) What is Public Transportation, (III) Funding the Federal Transportation Program, (IV) How are Federal Dollars Spent?, and (V) Program Structure.
- Highway Bridges: Conditions and the Federal/State Role
- This report examines the federal and state roles in the maintenance, inspection, reconstruction, and replacement of the nation's highway bridge infrastructure, as well as the emergency response and reconstruction role of the Department of Transportation.
- Air Force F-22 Fighter Program
- This is a report that discusses the procurement of Air Force F-22 Raptor fighters, which began in Fiscal Year 1999, and a total of 195 (177 production aircraft, 16 test aircraft, and 2 development aircraft) were procured through FY2009.
- Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD): FY2008 Appropriations
- This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the Subcommittees on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. It summarizes the current legislative status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related legislative activity.
- Appropriations for FY2004: Transportation, Treasury, Postal Service, Executive Office of the President, General Government, and Related Agencies
- This report provides appropriations of Transportation, Treasury, Postal Service, Executive Office of the President, General Government, and Related Agencies for FY2004
- Alternative Fuel and Advanced Vehicle Technology Incentives: A Summary of Federal Programs
- This report is a Summary of Federal Programs of Alternative Fuel and Advanced Vehicle Technology Incentives.
- CRS Issue Statement on Surface Transportation
- This report discusses about Highway and transit program finance, transportation demand, system congestion, the physical condition of the nation's surface transportation infrastructure and highway safety.
- Foreign Intercity Passenger Rail: Lessons for Amtrak?
- This report reviews the causes and goals of railway restructuring in other countries and describes the advantages and disadvantages of alternative models of rail regulatory regimes.