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- Renewable Energy: Tax Credit, Budget, and Electricity Production Issues
- This report details information such as history and analyses of renewable energy tax credit, budget, and electricity production issues.
- Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards
- This report is about Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy.
- Accounting Reform After Enron: Issues in the 108th Congress
- This report discusses the anxieties within Congress in the wake of the Enron scandal. Moreover, the report notes that the 108th Congress is not likely to pass legislative reform as extreme as the 107th Congress, but will still confront issues of accounting reform. The report also highlights what the 108th Congress plans to reform.
- Gasoline Supply: The Role of Imports
- This report contains the role of imports on gasoline supply.
- Highway and Transit Program Reauthorization Legislation in the 2nd Session, 108th Congress
- This is a report on the significant legislative provisions in the two principal bills that are the subject of congressional discussion to reauthorize federal highway.
- Risk Management and Critical Infrastructure Protection: Assessing, Integrating, and Managing Threats, Vulnerabilities and Consequences
- No Description Available.
- Renewable Energy: Tax Credit, Budget, and Electricity Production Issues
- This report details information such as history and analyses of renewable energy tax credit, budget, and electricity production issues.
- Gasoline Prices: Policies and Proposals
- This report details the information related to gasoline prices and discusses policies and proposals.
- The Enron Collapse: An Overview of Financial Issues
- The sudden and unexpected collapse of Enron Corp. was the first in a series of major corporate accounting scandals that has shaken confidence in corporate governance and the stock market. This report briefly examines the accounting system that failed to provide a clear picture of the firm's true condition, the independent auditors and board members who were unwilling to challenge Enron's management, the Wall Street stock analysts who failed to warn investors of trouble ahead, the rules governing employer stock in company pension plans, and the unregulated energy derivatives trading that was the core of Enron's business.
- Electricity: The Road Toward Restructuring
- This report talks about Electricity regulation and transmission issues. It also includes the history of the California Electricity Crisis.
- Campaign Financing
- This is one report in the series of reports that discuss the campaign finance practices and related issues. Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. The report talks about the today’s paramount issues such as perceived loopholes in current law and the longstanding issues: overall costs, funding sources, and competition.
- The Administration’s FY2005 Request for $25 Billion for Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan: Precedents, Options, and Congressional Action
- This report discusses the military's request for 25 billion dollars as a "contingent reserve emergency fund" for FY2005. The report covers previous decisions made by Congress to lend insight on whether the total amount will be distributed or not. Moreover, the report discusses a variety of options that may be undertaken to acquire the funding such as using the Department of Defense's ability to transfer funds (DOD).
- Monetary Policy: Current Policy and Conditions
- This report discusses monetary policy, which can also be defined in terms of the directives, policies, statements, and actions of the Federal Reserve, particularly those from its Board of Governors that have an effect on aggregate demand or national spending.
- Campaign Financing
- This is one report in the series of reports that discuss the campaign finance practices and related issues. Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. The report talks about the today’s paramount issues such as perceived loopholes in current law and the longstanding issues: overall costs, funding sources, and competition.
- Energy Efficiency: Budget, Oil Conservation, and Electricity Conservation Issues
- This report includes information related to energy efficiency, including history, various bills and budgets, and conservation. Climate change and energy security related to energy efficiency are also discussed in this report.
- The Role of Risk Analysis and Risk Management in Environmental Protection
- No Description Available.
- Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation
- This report includes information background and analysis regarding exemption for and agriculture products from United States economic sanctions. This report also details debates, enacted provisions, sales, and developments regarding this subject.
- Immigration: Foreign Physicians and the J-1 Visa Waiver Program
- Report on the Educational and Cultural Exchange Visitor program and how it has been used for foreign medical graduates to enter the United States.
- Campaign Financing
- This report discusses concerns over financing federal elections, such as political action committees (PACs) and proposed reforms to campaign finance.
- Legal Analysis and Background on the EPA's Proposed Rules for Regulating Mercury Emissions from Electric Utilities
- Report detailing the attempts to regulate mercury emissions from electric utilities, including an investigation, potential challenges, and more.
- Insurance Regulation: International Developments
- This report provides an overview of the international developments of the insurance regulation.
- International Monetary Fund: Organization, Functions, and Role in the International Economy
- This report supports congressional oversight of the IMF by providing an understanding of its organization, functions, and role in the world economy.
- Highway and Transit Program Reauthorization Legislation in the 2nd Session, 108th Congress
- This report discusses significant legislative provisions in the two provisional bills that are likely to be the subject of congressional discussion to reauthorize federal highway, highway safety, and transit programs.
- Deindustrialization of the U.S. Economy: The Roles of Trade, Productivity, and Recession
- This report discusses the roles of trade, productivity, and recession regarding deindustrialization of the U.S. Economy.
- Campaign Finance: Constitutional and Legal Issues of Soft Money
- The term "soft money" generally refers to unregulated funds for election related activities that are not subject to the Federal Election Campaign Act's (FECA) source restrictions, contribution limits, and disclosure requirements. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which amended FECA and became effective on November 6, 2002, restricts the raising and spending of soft money. This report contains information on a summary of campaign financing, recent developments, background and analysis, definitions of Hard and Soft money in federal elections, political party soft money, soft money spent on issue advocacy, corporate and labor union soft money, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, and additional related materials.
- The Financial Outlook for Social Security and Medicare
- This report provides an overview of the financial outlook for social security and Medicare
- The Financial Outlook for Social Security and Medicare
- This report provides an overview of the financial outlook for Social Security and Medicare programs.
- Campaign Financing
- This is one report in the series of reports that discuss the campaign finance practices and related issues. Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. The report talks about the today’s paramount issues such as perceived loopholes in current law and the longstanding issues: overall costs, funding sources, and competition.
- Highway and Transit Program Reauthorization Legislation in the 2nd Session, 108th Congress
- This report discusses significant legislative provisions in the two principal bills that are likely to be the subject of congressional discussion in the coming weeks and months to reauthorize federal highway, highway safety, and transit programs.
- Campaign Finance Law: A Legal Analysis of the Supreme Court Ruling in McConnell v. FEC
- This report consists of campaign finance law with a legal analysis of the supreme court ruling in McConnell v. FEC.
- Energy Efficiency: Budget, Oil Conservation, and Electricity Conservation Issues
- This report includes information related to energy efficiency, including history, various bills and budgets, and conservation. Climate change and energy security related to energy efficiency are also discussed in this report.
- Immigration: The Labor Market Effects of a Guest Worker Program for U.S. Farmers
- This report provides an overview of the labor market effects of a guest worker program for U.S. farmers.
- NAFTA at Ten: Lessons from Recent Studies
- This report provides an analytical summary of the economic lessons reached in support of Congress's role in the trade policy process, especially the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
- Social Security Reform
- No Description Available.
- Bankruptcy Reform in the 108th Congress
- On March 19, 2003, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 975, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2003. H.R. 975, as introduced, was substantially similar to the legislation (H.R. 333) approved by both the House and the Senate during the 107th Congress, but omitted the Schumer Amendment which would have prevented the discharge of liability for willful violation of protective orders and violent protests against providers of “lawful services,” including reproductive health services. As passed by the House, H.R. 975 was amended to add sections to, among other things, increase the cap on wage and employee benefit claims. The Senate did not consider H.R. 975 during the first session of the 108th Congress. This report provides an overview of selected major provisions of the legislation.
- Fixed Exchange Rates, Floating Exchange Rates, and Currency Boards: What Have We Learned?
- This report evaluates the benefits and drawbacks of different types of exchange rate regimes from the perspective of their effects on macroeconomic stability.
- Appropriations for FY2004: Department of Homeland Security
- This report is a guide to appropriations of Department of Homeland Security for FY2004.
- Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002: Summary and Comparison with Previous Law
- The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 was enacted on March 27, 2002 as P.L. 107-155. It passed the House on February 14, 2002, as H.R. 2356 (Shays- Meehan), by a 240-189 vote. Its companion measure, on which it was largely based, had initially been passed by the Senate in 2001 as S. 27 (McCain-Feingold). On March 20, 2002, however, the Senate approved the House-passed H.R. 2356 by a 60- 40 vote, thus avoiding a conference to reconcile differences between S. 27 and H.R. 2356. The two primary features of P.L. 107-155 are restrictions on party soft money and issue advocacy.
- “Boutique Fuels” and Reformulated Gasoline: Harmonization of Fuel Standards
- This report discusses how gasoline composition is regulated,explains various federal and state gasoline standards,presents some of the key issues with federal RFG program and some of the problems associated with the boutique fuels issue and the potential effects of harmonization.Finally discusses the bills in the 108th Congress related to boutique fuels,RFG and harmonization.
- Social Security: The Windfall Benefit Provision
- This report discusses the windfall elimination provision, which reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage these workers would otherwise receive because of Social Security's benefit formula that favors workers with smaller amounts of Social Security-covered career earnings. Opponents contend that the provision is basically inaccurate and often unfair. In both the 107th and 108th Congresses, five bills have been introduced that would modify or repeal the provision.
- Australia, the Southwest Pacific, and United States Interests
- This report discusses the details related to U.S interests in the South-west Pacific, U.S - Australian strategic relationships, Australia's role in the region, and China's growing regional influence
- Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment
- The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. . . .” This language restricts government both more and less than it would if it were applied literally. It restricts government more in that it applies not only to Congress, but to all branches of the federal government, and to all branches of state and local government. It restricts government less in that it provides no protection to some types of speech and only limited protection to others. This report provides an overview of the major exceptions to the First Amendment — of the ways that the Supreme Court has interpreted the guarantee of freedom of speech and press to provide no protection or only limited protection for some types of speech.
- Campaign Finance Law: The Supreme Court Upholds Key Provisions of BCRA in McConnell v. FEC
- This report discusses the Supreme Court's decision in McConnell v. FEC. The court upheld against facial constitutional challenges key portions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), (P.L. 107-155, commonly known as the McCain-Feingold or Shays-Meehan campaign finance reform law).
- Strategic Petroleum Reserve
- This report includes information regarding strategic petroleum reserve. Background and analysis, purchases of crude oil, and drawdown of the reserve are among topics discussed in this report.
- Campaign Financing
- This is one report in the series of reports that discuss the campaign finance practices and related issues. Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. The report talks about the today’s paramount issues such as perceived loopholes in current law and the longstanding issues: overall costs, funding sources, and competition.
- Social Security Reform
- This report provides background and analysis on social security reform. The report discusses the most recent development, the basis for the debate, specific areas of contention and reform initiatives.
- Comparison of Tax Incentives of Domestic Manufacturing in Current Legislative Proposals
- This report presents two approaches that have quite different implications for tax administration and Compliance. First, additional domestic investment would have both a direct tax benefit effect, and an indirect effect through increasing the ratio of domestic to world production. Secondly, if one considers the other provisions of H.R. 2896 and S. 1637, these provisions provide benefits (in some cases quite large benefits) to investment overseas that could more than offset any domestic incentive.
- Electronic Banking: The Check Truncation Issue
- This report discusses legislative issues regarding check truncation, which occurs when the check is stopped before it reaches the paying bank and the check clearing process is completed electronically. The United States banking system processes approximately 42.5 billion checks annually, but only a fraction of these checks is processed electronically by check truncation.
- The New York Stock Exchange: Governance and Market Reform
- As the world’s largest stock exchange and a key part of the U.S. economy, the NYSE is a central focus of Congress’s oversight of financial markets. This report sets out the basic issues in NYSE governance and market structure.
- Appropriations for FY2004: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
- This report discusses the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations for FY2004.