Congressional Research Service Reports - 635 Matching Results
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- Public Aid to Faith-Based Organizations (Charitable Choice): Background and Selected Legal Issues
- This report provides background on ten selected questions related to public aid for faith-based organization. Despite the ongoing controversy about charitable choice, not until the 107th Congress were there full hearings and extended debates on its constitutionality, efficacy, and public policy implications.
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Full Funding of State Formula
- This report discusses Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which assists participating states to serve school-age children with disabilities. The state funding formula, which provides a foundation amount based on states’ FY1999 grants and allocates remaining amounts based on states’ shares of school-age children and of school-age poor children, authorizes a maximum allotment per disabled child served of 40% of the national average per pupil expenditure (APPE). Annual appropriations have never been sufficient to provide each state its maximum allotment; in FY2002, states will receive approximately 16.5% of the national APPE per disabled child served. Some advocates for the program have called upon the Congress to fully fund the formula. An estimated $18.2 billion would be required to provide states the maximum allotment allowed per disabled child served in FY2002, about 2.4 times more than the appropriation of $7.5 billion for FY2002.
- The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Overview of Major Provisions
- The Individuals with DisabilitiesEducation Act (IDEA) providesfundsto statesfor the education of children with disabilities. It contains detailed requirements for the receipt of these funds, including the core requirement of the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). IDEA was comprehensively revised in 1997 by P.L. 105-17, but Congress has continued to grapple with issuesrelating to the Act. This report provides a brief overview of the Act with particular attention paid to issues of recent congressional concern, such as funding and the provision of FAPE for children with disabilities found to have brought a weapon to school.
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Analysis of Changes Made by P.L. 108-446
- This report discusses the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA — 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq.), which is both a grants statute and a civil rights statute. It provides federal funding for the education of children with disabilities and requires, as a condition for the receipt of such funds, the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The statute also contains detailed due process provisions to ensure the provision of FAPE. Originally enacted in 1975, the act responded to increased awareness of the need to educate children with disabilities, and to judicial decisions requiring that states provide an education for children with disabilities if they provided an education for children without disabilities.
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Possible Voucher Issues
- Congress is considering reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program (the main federal program providing special education and related services to children with disabilities). Among the options being discussed is increasing parental choice under IDEA. This report provides background on current federal choice programs and on the Florida McKay Scholarship program, which provides scholarships for children with disabilities enrolled in the state’s public schools to attend other public schools or to attend participating private schools. The report concludes with a discussion of possible issues that a federal special education voucher program might raise.
- Mandatory Spending Since 1962
- This report reviews trends in mandatory spending since 1962. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline projections of mandatory spending, which extend to 2018, are discussed, as well as extended baseline projections through 2082 used to explore long-term consequences of current budgetary policy. The report examines mandatory spending’s growth relative to total federal spending and to the size of the U.S. economy, and looks at how the composition of mandatory spending has changed over time.
- Running Deficits: Positives and Pitfalls
- This report discusses how deficit finance can help governments manage their economies and how large and persistent deficits can lead to severe economic problems.
- The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases
- This report discusses how the total debt of the federal government can increase, a historical overview of debt limits, and how the current economic slowdown has led to higher deficits and thereby a series of debt limit increases, as well as legislation related to these increases.
- Mandatory Spending Since 1962
- This report reviews trends in mandatory spending since 1962. CBO baseline projections of mandatory spending, which extend to 2018, as well as extended baseline projections through 2082 are used to consider the long-term consequences of current mandatory spending policies.1 The report looks at mandatory spending and how it has grown over time relative to total federal spending and to the size of the U.S. economy.
- The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases
- This report discusses how the total debt of the federal government can increase, a historical overview of debt limits, and how the current economic slowdown has led to higher deficits and thereby a series of debt limit increases, as well as legislation related to these increases.
- Health Care and Markets
- Health care spending is one of the most rapidly growing portions of the federal budget. Projections suggest if the rapid growth in health care costs is not curtailed, governments at all levels will face an uncomfortable choice between significant cuts in other spending priorities or major tax increases. This report examines the economic justification for government intervention and involvement in health care markets.
- The Federal Budget: Current and Upcoming Issues
- This report examines changes to the Federal Budget for Fiscal Years 2008-2010. The report considers the factors that have an effect on various budgetary functions and decisions. The report specifically focuses on the effect of the 2007-2008 financial recession on the budget, but also considers more long-term fiscal issues such as health care for retiring Baby-Boomers.
- The Federal Budget: Current and Upcoming Issues
- This report examines changes to the Federal Budget for Fiscal Years 2008-2010. The report considers the factors that have an effect on various budgetary functions and decisions. The report specifically focuses on the effect of the 2007-2008 financial recession on the budget, but also considers more long-term fiscal issues such as health care for retiring Baby-Boomers.
- Defense Contracting in Iraq: Issues and Options for Congress
- This report examines logistical support contracts for troop support services in Iraq primarily administered through the U.S. Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP).
- Office of Management and Budget Circular A- 76 and the Proposed Moratorium on Future DOD Competitions: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report will discuss the current moratorium on the conduct of A-76 competitions. In the event that A-76 competitions are no longer conducted within DOD, Congress may opt to examine other mechanisms to help federal agencies achieve greater efficiencies and garner costs savings.
- Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76: Implications for the Future
- This report examines the issues surrounding the Walter Reed public-private competition conducted under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A- 76 and its potential impact on future Department of Defense (DOD) competitions.
- Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76: Implications for the Future
- This report examines the issues surrounding the Walter Reed public-private competition conducted under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A- 76 and its potential impact on future Department of Defense (DOD) competitions.
- Federal Stafford Act Disaster Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and Funding
- This report discusses the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) that authorizes the President to issue major disaster, emergency, and fire management declarations, which in turn enable federal agencies to provide assistance to state and local governments overwhelmed by catastrophes.
- Federal Stafford Act Disaster Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and Funding
- This report discusses the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act), which authorizes the President to issue major disaster or emergency declarations in response to catastrophes that overwhelm state and local governments.
- Environmental Protection Agency: FY2006 Appropriations Highlights
- This report discusses issues regarding the funding of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As enacted in August 2005, Title II of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-54, H.R. 2361) provided $7.73 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.476%.
- National Estuary Program: A Collaborative Approach to Protecting Coastal Water Quality
- This report discusses National Estuary Program and is based on 11 of the 28 estuaries that are currently in the National Estuary Program which represent common environmental problems along the nation’s coastline: on the Pacific Coast, the Columbia River, Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, and Santa Monica Bay; on the Atlantic Coast, Albemarle-Pamlico Sound, Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, and Maryland’s coastal bays (excluding Chesapeake Bay); and on the Gulf of Mexico, Charlotte Harbor, Corpus Christi Bay, and Sarasota Bay.
- Environmental Protection Agency: FY2007 Appropriations Highlights
- This report presents a table detailing EPA appropriations for FY2006 and FY2007. Among individual activities, both the full House and the Senate Appropriations Committee approved decreases and increases throughout EPA's eight appropriations accounts in their respective versions of H.R. 5386, when compared with the President's FY2007 request and the FY2006 appropriation.
- Farm Commodity Programs: A Short Primer
- This report briefly discusses programs designed to provide income support, price support, and/or supply management for approximately 20 specified agricultural commodities. USDA farm support programs represent the heart of U.S. farm policy, by virtue of their longevity – they have existed since the early 1930s – and their cost.
- Farm Commodity Programs: A Short Primer
- This report briefly discusses programs designed to provide income support, price support, and/or supply management for approximately 20 specified agricultural commodities. It specifically addresses the proposed farm bill legislation, meant to expand existing services and add new programs, in part to avert ad hoc measures to fill gaps.
- Farm Program Spending: What's Permitted Under the Uruguay Round Agreements
- This report discusses farm income and commodity price support proposals that might succeed the programs due to expire in 2002. A key question being asked of virtually every new proposal is how it will affect U.S. commitments under the 1994 Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (URAA), which commitsthe United States to spend no more than $19.1 billion annually on domestic farm supports most likely to distort trade. The URAA spells out the rules for countries to determine whether their policies are potentially trade distorting, and to calculate the costs.
- Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2007 Appropriations
- This report considers the Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The report compares and contrasts the Senate and House versions of the bill in terms of budgeting. Moreover, both bills reject the termination of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.
- Appropriations for FY2004: Energy and Water Development
- This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year, related to energy and water development. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Energy and Water Development. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.
- The International Space Station and the Space Shuttle
- This report discusses the International Space Station (ISS) program, which began in 1993, with Russia joining the United States, Europe, Japan, and Canada. Crews have occupied ISS on a 4-6 month rotating basis since November 2000.
- The International Space Station and the Space Shuttle
- This report discusses recent developments and funding for the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle program.
- Landsat and the Data Continuity Mission
- This report discusses the U.S. Landsat Mission, which has collected remotely sensed imagery of the Earth's surface for more than 35 years. The two satellites currently in orbit are operating beyond their designed life and may fail at any time. Most Landsat data is used by federal agencies. Efforts to commercialize Landsat operations have not been successful. This report discusses issues facing Congress regarding funding for new Landsat satellites.
- The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
- This report details the total cost of counterterrorism operations in the Global War on Terror (GWOT) since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. This report also includes descriptions of relevant budgetary legislation.
- The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
- This report analyzes the war funding for the Defense Department and tracks funding for USAID and VA Medical funding.
- The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
- This report analyzes war funding for the Defense Department and tracks funding for USAID and VA Medical funding.
- The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
- This report analyzes war funding for the Defense Department and tracks funding for USAID and VA Medical funding.
- The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
- This report analyzes war funding for the Defense Department and tracks funding for USAID and VA Medical funding.
- The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
- This report analyzes war funding for the Defense Department and tracks funding for USAID and VA Medical funding.
- Authorization and Appropriations for FY2004: Defense
- This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Energy and Water. It summarizes the current legislative status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related legislative activity.
- FY2005 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan, Tsunami Relief, and Other Activities
- This report provides an overview and context of the FY2005 supplemental appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan, tsunami relief, and other activities.
- How Long Can the Defense Department Finance FY2008 Operations in Advance of Supplemental Appropriations?
- This report analyzes war funding for the Defense Department and tracks funding for USAID and VA Medical funding.
- Intelligence Authorization Legislation: Status and Challenges
- This report assesses the effects of the absence of intelligence authorization legislation since FY2005. Since FY2005, no annual intelligence authorization bill has been enacted. Although the National Security Act requires intelligence activities to be specifically authorized, this requirement has been satisfied in recent years by one-sentence catch-all provisions in defense appropriations acts authorizing intelligence activities.
- Intelligence Authorization Legislation: Status and Challenges
- This report assesses the effects of the absence of intelligence authorization legislation since FY2005. Since FY2005, no annual intelligence authorization bill has been enacted. Although the National Security Act requires intelligence activities to be specifically authorized, this requirement has been satisfied in recent years by one-sentence catch-all provisions in defense appropriations acts authorizing intelligence activities.
- Federal Credit Reform: Implementation Of the Changed Budgetary Treatment of Direct Loans and Loan Guarantees
- This report explains the provisions of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA), examine the implementation of credit reform including credit reform provisions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA97), and discusses proposed modifications of credit reform. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to initially discuss justifications for credit programs, federal credit concepts, and the budgetary treatment of federal credit before the FCRA.
- Tax Gap: Administration Proposal to Require Information Reporting on Merchant Payment Card Reimbursements
- The high current and forecast budget deficits as well as pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) procedures have resulted in congressional and executive branch interest in raising additional revenue through proposals for improved tax compliance. The Bush Administration’s FY2009 budget includes a proposal (the proposal) to require each payment card processor to inform the IRS on the net dollar amount paid to reimburse each merchant (i.e., seller) for his payment card receipts in a calendar year. Payment cards consist of both credit cards and debit cards. This report examines the proposal by describing current law, presenting the proposal contained in the FY2009 budget, describing the structure of the payment card industry, analyzing the justifications for the proposal, explaining the criticisms of the proposal, and offering concluding observations.
- Value-Added Tax as a New Revenue Source
- This report discusses the valueadded tax (VAT), which has been frequently discussed as a full or partial replacement for the U.S. income tax system.
- Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress
- This report examines the Department of Defense's (DOD's) three largest tactical aircraft modernization programs. The "Background" section provides a brief description of each program and a discussion of how tactical aircraft fit into military air operations: the missions they typically perform and how they contrast to longer range combat aircraft. The "Analysis" section examines a number of policy issues, including affordability, capability required, force structure, and defense industrial base. The paper concludes with a synopsis of congressional action on these programs.
- Air Force Air Refueling: The KC-X Aircraft Acquisition Program
- This report discusses the U.S. Air Force in-flight aerial refueling aircraft program. The KC-135, which makes up the preponderance of the Air Force's tanker force, is among the Air Force's oldest aircraft.
- Air Force Air Refueling: The KC-X Aircraft Acquisition Program
- This report discusses the U.S. Air Force in-flight aerial refueling aircraft program. The KC-135, which makes up the preponderance of the Air Force's tanker force, is among the Air Force's oldest aircraft.
- V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft
- This report discusses background information on the V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft, as well as procurement and related oversight issues for Congress.
- F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program: Background, Status, and Issues
- This report discusses the background, status, and current issues of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The Defense Department's F-35 Lightning II JSF is one of three aircraft modernization programs in tactical aviation, the others being the Air Force F-22A fighter and the Navy F/A-18E/F fighter/attack plane.
- Historic Preservation: Background and Funding
- This report summarizes the federal role in historic preservation. It provides descriptions of and funding information for some of the major preservation programs, including the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Register for Historic Places. Some Members of Congress have given historic preservation programs close scrutiny and have recommended that historic preservation activities be supported increasingly by the private sector.