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- Agriculture and FY2006 Budget Reconciliation
- The FY2006 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept. 109-62) contains reconciliation instructions that require authorizing committees to report legislation to reduce spending on mandatory programs within each committee’s jurisdiction. The resolution instructed the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to report legislation reducing spending on USDA mandatory programs by $173 million in FY2006 and $3.0 billion over five years (FY2006-FY2010). The House and Senate Agriculture Committees have completed action on their recommendations ($3.7 billion in the House and $3.0 billion in the Senate). The two measures would reduce spending on farm commodity and conservation programs in varying ways. The House measure also eliminates funding for various rural development programs and reduces food stamp spending. The Senate extends authority for a dairy income support program, which would require an offset of its projected cost. Reconciliation floor action is expected in November.
- Budget Reconciliation: Legislation in 2005
- The budget reconciliation process is one of the chief tools used by Congress during the past quarter-century to implement major changes in budget policy. Following a brief overview of the budget reconciliation process and the current budget policy context, this report provides information on the consideration of budget reconciliation legislation in 2005, during the first session of the 109th Congress.
- Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Hurricane Katrina Relief
- This CRS report summarizes federal disaster assistance funding legislation in the 109th Congress and presents some information on federal expenditures and obligations for disaster recovery activities.
- Budget Reconciliation FY2006: Medicaid, Medicare, and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Provisions
- This is one report in the series of reports that discus the Budget Reconciliation- Medicaid, Medicare, and SCHIP Provisions. These are some of the issues discussed in this report: Medicaid Outpatient Prescription Drugs, Long-Term Care under Medicaid, Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, State Financing and Medicaid, Improving the Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs, Medicare Advantage, and other Medicare Provisions.
- Spectrum Auctions and Deficit Reduction: FY2006 Budget Reconciliation
- Congressional policymakers are seeking a way to accelerate the nation’s transition to digital television and to expedite the transfer of certain radio frequency channels from the broadcast industry to public safety and commercial users no later than 2009.
- Budget Reconciliation: Projections of Funding in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
- In FY2005, six states faced the prospect of running out of federal funds in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This was the first time since the program’s creation in 1997 that multiple states faced such a shortfall. The shortfalls were avoided by the redistribution of funds from other states’ original SCHIP allotments that had not been spent by the end of the three-year period of availability. To address this, the reconciliation proposal approved by the Senate Finance Committee would reduce the period of availability for original allotments from three years to two.
- Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act
- This report is intended to provide an overview of the Adequate Yearly Process (AYP) concept and several related issues, a description of the AYP provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, and an analysis of the implementation of these provisions by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the states. It will be updated when major administrative actions are taken by ED, or substantial new data on state implementation become available.
- Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act
- This report is intended to provide an overview of the Adequate Yearly Process (AYP) concept and several related issues, a description of the AYP provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, and an analysis of the implementation of these provisions by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the states. It will be updated when major administrative actions are taken by ED, or substantial new data on state implementation become available.
- AIDS: The Ryan White CARE Act
- This report discusses the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, which makes federal funds available to metropolitan areas and states to assist in health care costs and support services for individuals and families affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This report discusses related legislation and appropriations.
- Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2006
- This report discusses federal research and development (R&D) funding. The Bush Administration has requested $132.2 billion in federal research and development (R&D) funding for FY2006. This sum represents a $505 million increase over the FY2005 estimated funding level of $131.7 billion. In real dollars, total federal R&D would decline for the first time since FY1996.
- Speaker Hastert's Plan to Offset Spending: A Procedural Perspective
- No Description Available.
- Everglades Restoration: The Federal Role in Funding
- In 2000, Congress approved a 30-year, $7.8 billion restoration plan, termed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), for the Everglades ecosystem in southern Florida, and authorized an initial set of projects at a cost of $1.4 billion. This report provides information on federal appropriations for Everglades restoration, and discusses some issues related to the authorization and appropriations for restoration projects.
- School Facilities Infrastructure: Background and Legislative Proposals
- The federal government's role in financing school construction and renovation continues to be an issue in the 109th Congress, although school construction has generally been considered a state and local responsibility. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the unmet need for school construction and renovation is estimated to be $127 billion. NCES indicates that three-quarters of the nation's schools report needing funds to bring their buildings into a "good overall condition." Indirect federal support for school construction is currently provided by exempting the interest on state and local governmental bonds from federal income taxes, as well as other tax code provisions. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, an estimated 400 schools need to be rebuilt in Louisiana and Mississippi.
- Student Loans and FY2006 Budget Reconciliation
- The FY2006 budget resolution (H.Con.Res 95, H.Rept. 109-62) contains reconciliation instructions that require authorizing committees to report legislation to reduce mandatory spending by $34.7 billion over a five-year period. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is responsible for a reduction of $12.7 billion for FY2006 through FY2010. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is responsible for a reduction of $13.7 billion over that period.
- Deficit Reduction and Spectrum Auctions: FY2006 Budget Reconciliation
- The Congressional Budget Office has informally estimated a value of $10 billion from auction proceeds for these commercial channels; many believe the amount could be higher. Broadcasters are holding this valuable spectrum (channels 52-69) but would be required to relinquish it after the transition to digital television (DTV) is achieved. Without a hard deadline, the transition to digital television has been delayed and the spectrum has not been made available for other uses. Congress anticipates applying some of the proceeds received from auctions of the spectrum to be cleared to help meet deficit-reduction goals passed in H.Con.Res. 95.
- Foreign Operations (House)/State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (Senate): FY2006 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 House Subcommittee on Foreign Operations and the Senate Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.
- FY2006 Appropriations for State and Local Homeland Security
- This report is an overview of appropriations for selected programs of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for assistance to state and local first responders: firefighters, emergency medical personnel, emergency managers, and law enforcement officers. It covers only programs that are intended to help state and local recipients enhance their preparedness for terrorist attacks and that are administered by the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), within the Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP).
- ANWR and FY2006 Budget Reconciliation Legislation
- This report briefly discusses the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and FY2006 budget reconciliation legislation, which is considered under expedited procedures that, in particular, limit debate and amendments in the Senate.
- Congressional Budget Resolutions: Revisions and Adjustments
- Following a brief discussion of budget resolutions and the congressional budget process, this report examines the several ways in which budget levels and other matters included in budget resolutions may be revised or adjusted, the authorities that underpin the making of such revisions and adjustments, and actual practices of the House and Senate in this regard.
- District of Columbia: FY2006 Appropriations
- This report is a guide to the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the District of Columbia and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, the Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, the Executive Office of the President, and Independent Agencies. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant.
- Housing Issues in the 109th Congress
- This report discusses the budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which would be a decrease of $2.8 billion, or almost 9%, from FY2005.
- The Budget for Fiscal Year 2006
- The budget report of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2006-2015 (January 25, 2005), included baseline estimates (assuming current policies) for FY2005 through FY2015. Under the baseline assumptions, CBO estimated a FY2006 deficit of $295 billion (2.3% of gross domestic product [GDP]). This is smaller than CBO’s FY2005 baseline deficit estimate ($368 billion, 3.0% of GDP). CBO’s baseline estimates do not include assumptions about possible future legislation that may increase or decrease spending or receipts and therefore change the deficit. The baseline assumptions assume the continuation of current law, including that laws changing the level of future revenues or outlays will go into effect as scheduled. Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the central Gulf Coast and additional damage done by Hurricane Rita has changed the budget outlook for fiscal year (FY) 2006.
- Homeland Security Department: FY2006 Appropriations
- The annual consideration of appropriations bills (regular, continuing, and supplemental) by Congress is part of a complex set of budget processes that also encompasses the consideration of budget resolutions, revenue and debt-limit legislation, other spending measures, and reconciliation bills. In addition, the operation of programs and the spending of appropriated funds are subject to constraints established in authorizing statutes. Congressional action on the budget for a fiscal year usually begins following the submission of the President’s budget at the beginning of each annual session of Congress. Congressional practices governing the consideration of appropriations and other budgetary measures are rooted in the Constitution, the standing rules of the House and Senate, and statutes, such as the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
- Hurricanes Katrina
- The Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has three primary mechanisms of providing federal funding to meet the mental health and substance abuse prevention needs of victims of recent hurricanes: the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP), SAMHSA Emergency Response Grants (SERG), and supplemental appropriations. CCPs may be of interest to Congress, as questions have arisen regarding their appropriate scope and duration following two previous large-scale emergency situations (the Oklahoma City bombing, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks). SERG may also be of interest, as Congress may consider amending or suspending existing law to enhance the availability of grant money. Congress has already passed two supplemental appropriations . This may lead Congress to consider a range of oversight options. This report will be updated as needed.
- Military Base Closures: Highlights of the 2005 BRAC Commission Report and Proposed Legislation
- This report presents an overview of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) report presented to the President, which recommended 190 bases for closure and realignment. This report also highlights legislation recommendations made by the commission.
- Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies (House)/Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Senate): FY2006 Appropriations
- This report monitors actions taken by the 109th Congress for the House’s Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies (SSJC) and the Senate’s Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) FY2006 appropriations legislation. Appropriations bills reflect the jurisdiction of the subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in which they are considered. Jurisdictions for the subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees changed at the beginning of the 109th Congress. I
- Defense: FY2006 Authorization and Appropriations
- This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.
- Impact on States of Revised Redistribution of Unspent FY2002 SCHIP Allotments
- No Description Available.
- Department of Justice Reauthorization: Provisions to Improve Program Management, Compliance, and Evaluation of Justice Assistance Grants
- This report opens with a description of the current makeup of OJP. It then discusses some of the issues facing OJP that have been identified by GAO and the OIG that have led to the current congressional proposal to restructure the Office. A description of the legislation that has been reported by the House Judiciary Committee is discussed and analyzed within the context of restructuring OJP. The report concludes with a discussion of possible issues and questions that could be raised with respect to the legislative proposal to restructure OJP.
- Defense: FY2006 Authorization and Appropriations
- This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.
- The Emergency Food and Shelter Program
- The Emergency Food and Shelter (EFS) Program allocates funds to local communities to fund homeless programs including soup kitchens, food banks, shelters, and homeless prevention services. The EFS program is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and after Hurricane Katrina struck, some questions have arisen about the use of EFS program funds for Presidentially-declared disasters. This report describes how the EFS program operates through a National Board, local boards, and local recipient organizations. It further discusses the use of EFS program funds during disasters, and recent attempts to move the program from FEMA to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
- Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2006 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 House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture. It summarizes the status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity, and is updated as events warrant. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.
- Federal Stafford Act Disaster Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and Funding
- This report provides information about the Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and Funding on Federal Stafford Act Disaster Assistance. Congress appropriates money to DRF for disaster assistance authorized by the Stafford Act, which is administered by FEMA.
- Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals
- In recent years conflicting budget priorities and divided political control have accentuated the institutional tensions between the executive and legislative branches inherent in the federal budget process. President Bush, like his recent predecessors, has called for an item veto, or possibly expanded impoundment authority, to provide him with greater control over federal spending. This report provides a brief history of impoundment and discusses the debate surrounding the line item veto.
- TANF Reauthorization: Side-by-Side Comparison of Current Law, S. 667 and H.R. 240 (TANF Provisions)
- No Description Available.
- Farm Commodity Policy: Programs and Issues for Congress
- This report discusses issues for Congress regarding farm commodities. Farm commodity programs represent the heart of U.S. farm policy. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) establishes farm income support and commodity price support programs for the 2002-2007 crop years.
- Older Americans Act: Disaster Assistance for Older Persons After Hurricane Katrina
- The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina is having significant negative effects on older persons with physical and mental disabilities. Persons who are socially isolated and dependent upon informal caregivers and social service programs to assist them live independently have immediate and long-term needs. The Administration on Aging (AoA) has allocated $750,000 in disaster relief funds available through the Older Americans Act to Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi (divided equally among the three states). Congress may consider whether additional actions are necessary to assist state and area agencies on aging in their efforts to assist the frail elderly in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
- Savings in Mandatory Outlays in Selected Reconciliation Acts
- No Description Available.
- Repairing and Reconstructing Disaster-Damaged Roads and Bridges: The Role of Federal-Aid Highway Assistance
- This report describes Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) assistance for the repair and reconstruction of disaster damaged highways and bridges. It begins with a brief discussion of the legislative origins of federal assistance and describes the ER program in its current form. The report then discusses eligibility issues and program operation. Finally, the report discusses a number of issues, including funding, that may be of interest to Congress.
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Its Role In Response to the Effects of Hurricane Katrina
- The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides grants to states to help them fund a wide variety of benefits and services to low-income families with children. TANF is best known as helping fund ongoing cash welfare benefits for families with children, but the block grant may also fund other benefits and services such as emergency payments, child care.
- Mandatory Spending: Evolution and Growth Since 1962
- No Description Available.
- TANF Cash Benefits as of January 1, 2004
- No Description Available.
- Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Hurricane Katrina Relief
- This CRS report summarizes federal disaster assistance funding legislation in the 109th Congress and presents some information on federal expenditures and obligations for disaster recovery activities.
- Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Hurricane Katrina Relief
- This CRS report summarizes federal disaster assistance funding legislation in the 109th Congress and presents some information on federal expenditures and obligations for disaster recovery activities.
- Mandatory Funding for Agriculture Conservation Programs
- The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 authorized large increases in mandatory funding for several agricultural conservation programs. Since FY2002, Congress has acted, through the appropriations process, to limit funding for some of these programs below authorized levels. It limited funding for all these programs, combined, to 97.6% of the authorized total in FY2003, 93.1% in FY2004, and 89.5% in FY2005. Program supporters decry these growing reductions as changes that increasingly compromise the intent of the farm bill. Others counter that, even with these reductions, funding for these programs continues to grow, from almost $3.1 billion in FY2003 to more than $3.8 billion in FY2005. This report reviews the funding history of these programs since the 2002 farm bill was enacted. It will be updated periodically
- Federal Stafford Act Disaster Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and Funding
- This report provides information about the Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and Funding on Federal Stafford Act Disaster Assistance. Congress appropriates money to DRF for disaster assistance authorized by the Stafford Act, which is administered by FEMA.
- Supplemental Appropriations for the 2004 Hurricanes and Other Disasters
- After a series of devastating hurricanes struck Florida and other states in the summer of 2004, the 108th Congress passed two emergency supplemental appropriations statutes that provided an estimated $16.475 billion to areas stricken by the hurricanes and other natural disasters. The House and Senate quickly approved legislation (H.R. 5005) the day after President Bush submitted a request on September 6, 2004, for $2 billion in FY2004 funding, largely in response to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Charley and Frances in Florida. The President signed the bill into law (P.L. 108-303) on September 7. All of the $2 billion was for assistance provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Deficit Impact of Reconciliation Legislation Enacted in 1990, 1993, and 1997
- The budget reconciliation process is an optional procedure that operates as an adjunct to the annual budget resolution process. The FY2006 budget resolution, H.Con.Res. 95, includes reconciliation instructions affecting mandatory spending and revenues. For the first time since 1997, reconciliation is proposed to reduce mandatory spending as part of a deficit-reduction plan. As background on past efforts in this regard, the deficit impact of three major reconciliation acts enacted in the 1990s is briefly summarized.
- Legislative Branch: FY2006 Appropriations
- This report is a guide to the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Subcommittee on Legislative Branch of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. It summarizes the current legislative status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related legislative activity.
- The United States as a Net Debtor Nation: Overview of the International Investment Position
- This report discusses the international investment position of the United States is an annual measure of the assets Americans own abroad and the assets foreigners own in the United States. The net position, or the difference between the two, sometimes is referred to as a measure of U.S. international indebtedness. Although this designation is not strictly correct, the net international investment position does reveal the difference between the total assets Americans own abroad and total amount of assets foreigners own in the United States.