Congressional Research Service Reports - 9 Matching Results

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Congo (formerly Zaire)

Description: This report discusses the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, which is a vast-resource-rich country of 48 million people. Events there affect much of sub-Saharan Africa. In August 1998, Congo was plunged into its second civil war in 2 years. A peace accord was concluded in Lusaka, Zambia, in July and August 1999, and the U.N. Security Council later agreed to send a 5,500-member observer force, MONUC, to assist in the peace process. Fewer than 250 observers have gone to Congo, due … more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Copson, Raymond W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Drug Control: International Policy and Options

Description: Over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and marijuana production has roughly doubled and coca production tripled. Street prices of cocaine and heroin have fallen significantly in the past 20 years, reflecting increased availability. Despite apparent national political resolve to deal with the drug problem, inherent contradictions regularly appear between U.S. anti-drug policy and other national policy goals and concerns. The mix of competing dom… more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Perl, Raphael F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Electronic Signatures: Technology Developments and Legislative Issues

Description: Electronic signatures, a means of verifying the identity of the user of a computer system to control access or authorize a transaction, are increasingly being used in electronic commerce. Several technologies can be used to produce electronic signatures, the most prominent being digital signatures, which use cryptographic techniques to provide data integrity and nonrepudiation. Legislation enacted in the 106th Congress enables the legal recognition of electronic signatures in interstate commerc… more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Nunno, Richard M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Biotechnology in the United States: Science, Regulation, and Issues

Description: This report discusses the science of food biotechnology, and the federal structure by which it is regulated. Because U.S. farmers are adopting this technology at a rapid rate, some observers advocate a more active role for the federal government to ensure that farmers have equal access to this technology. Others believe that federal officials should play a more active role in protecting the environment, funding more research, and participating in international trade negotiations to ensure that … more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Vogt, Donna U. & Parish, Mickey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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NAFTA Labor Side Agreement: Lessons for the Workers Rights and Fast-Track Debate

Description: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), between the United States, Mexico, and Canada was the first trade agreement ever linked to worker rights provisions in a major way. Its companion "side agreement," the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC, which rhymes with "talc") went into effect with NAFTA on January 1, 1994. The NAALC agreement is "broad" in that NAFTA signatories agree to enforce their own labor laws and standards while promoting 11 worker rights principles o… more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The New Economic Paradigm: Is It New and Is It a Paradigm?

Description: How fast the economy can grow is of interest to Congress for at least three reasons. First, it directly affects the fiscal position of the government. Second, it influences the posture that should be taken by monetary policy, an oversight responsibility of Congress. Third, it influences the growth in the material well-being of Americans, a direct concern of Congress.
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Labonte, Marc & Makinen, Gail
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Peanuts: Policy Issues

Description: The 1996 omnibus farm bill (P.L. 104-127) authorizes a peanut program for the 1996-2002 crops. The program supports the incomes of producers and aims to ensure that ample supplies of peanuts are produced for the U.S. market. To accomplish this, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supports the farm price of peanuts primarily by limiting the amount of peanuts each eligible farm can sell for domestic food use ("quota" peanuts) at a specified "high" price level. Farmers are free to sell peanu… more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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