Congressional Research Service Reports - 35 Matching Results
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- Pay-As-You-Go Procedures for Budget Enforcement
- “Pay-as-you-go” (PAYGO) procedures play an important role in enforcing budget policies with respect to the consideration of revenue and direct spending legislation. Generally, the purpose of PAYGO procedures is to discourage or prevent the enactment of legislation that would cause, or increase, a deficit or reduce a surplus.
- Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008: Brief Overview
- The Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008 was the measure used by Congress and the President to wrap up action on the regular appropriations acts in late 2007, at the end of the first session of the 110th Congress. This report provides a brief overview of the measure, including a discussion of the context for legislative action, the legislative history of the bill, a summary of its structure and content, and information on the use of across-the-board spending cuts to offset part of its cost.
- Across-the-Board Spending Cuts in End-of Session Appropriations Acts
- This report examines the use of across-the-board spending cuts in the end-of-session appropriations acts for FY2000-FY2006 identified above, assessing the budgetary context leading to the spending cut, recounting the legislative action on the spending cut provision, and reviewing the provision’s design and implementation.
- 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.
- Acquisition Services Reorganization at the General Services Administration
- This report discusses the reorganization of the General Services Administration (GSA) after the GSA's Inspector General discovered that funds were acquired in a manner not consistent with congressionally authorized procedures. Congressional approval was required for this reorganization due to the replacement of the congressionally authorized fund with a new one.
- 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.
- Funding Levels for Conservation Programs in the 2007 Farm Bill
- This report consists of two tables, preceded by a brief narrative. The first table summarizes the annual funding provisions, by program, in (1) current law, (2) H.R. 2419 as passed, and (3) the Bush Administration's farm bill proposals. The second table compares FY2007 authorized and actual funding levels for programs authorized in the 2002 farm bill with FY2008 and FY2012 funding levels that would be authorized in the 2007 House-passed farm bill.
- Funding Levels for Conservation Programs in the 2007 Farm Bill
- This report consists of two tables, preceded by a brief narrative. The first table summarizes the annual funding provisions, by program, in (1) current law, (2) H.R. 2419 as passed, and (3) the Bush Administration's farm bill proposals. The second table compares FY2007 authorized and actual funding levels for programs authorized in the 2002 farm bill with FY2008 and FY2012 funding levels that would be authorized in the 2007 House-passed farm bill.
- Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2008 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. Both bills provide 7.5 billion dollars less than FY2007.
- United Nations Peacekeeping: Issues for Congress
- A major issue facing the United Nations, the United States, and the 110th Congress is the extent to which the United Nations has the capacity to restore or keep the peace in the changing world environment. This report serves as a tracking report for action by Congress on United Nations peacekeeping.
- 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.
- Emergency Spending: Statutory and Congressional Rules
- This report discusses the designation of spending as emergency, which has had significance in both procedural and budgetary terms.
- Social Security Administration: Administrative Budget Issues
- The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Social Security program (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, or OASDI) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, and provides administrative support to Medicare and several other federal programs. Total SSA spending in FY2006 was about $597 billion, 98% of which was mandatory spending on benefit payments. This report focuses on SSA’s spending for administrative expenses, which is discretionary and amounts to 2% of SSA’s total spending. This funding is provided in the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
- Social Security Administration: Administrative Budget Issues
- The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Social Security program (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, or OASDI) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, and provides administrative support to Medicare and several other federal programs. Total SSA spending in FY2006 was about $597 billion, 98% of which was mandatory spending on benefit payments. This report focuses on SSA’s spending for administrative expenses, which is discretionary and amounts to 2% of SSA’s total spending. This funding is provided in the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
- The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria: Progress Report and Issues for Congress
- The report discusses the progress and issues regarding the global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
- The Global Peace Operations Initiative: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report the background and issues for Congress on the global peace operations initiative. The Bush Administration has requested $95.2 million in FY2008 funds for the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI), a multilateral, five-year program with planned U.S. contributions of some $660 million from FY2005 through FY2009. Its primary purpose is to train and equip 75,000 military troops, a majority of them African, for peacekeeping operations by 2010.
- Campus-Based Student Financial Aid Programs Under the Higher Education Act
- This report begins by providing a brief description of each of the campus-based programs, including the terms under which financial aid is awarded to students and the procedures under which federal funds are allocated to institutions for that purpose. It then provides historical information on federal funds appropriated for each of the programs, an analysis of the number and types of students served, and selected program statistics.
- Spending and Receipts in FY2006, by Time Period
- The federal government collected $2.407 trillion and spent $2.655 trillion in FY2006. These dollar amounts are so large compared to the amounts that most policy makers and citizens encounter in their daily lives that the magnitudes may lose their significance. Over the years, congressional staff and Members have looked for more understandable measures or comprehensible comparisons. This report attempts to provide some of those measures.
- Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act: A Legal Analysis
- This report summarizes and describes the history of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Moreover, this report divides the act into four categories: a revised sex offender registration system, child and sex related amendments to federal criminal procedure, child protective grant programs, and punitive initiatives against sex offenders. The report examines each of these provisions of the bill to effectively summarize it, and gives the reader the information to find an available abridged version.
- The Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act and Circular A-76
- This report begins with a brief history of Circular A-76, a review of the its key components, and an assessment of the implementation of the circular. The section on FAIR (Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act) describes how it emerged from a series of compromises, explains the statute's key provisions, and reviews the implementation process, including guidance issued by OMB. The final section addresses recent initiatives, notably the President's competitive sourcing initiative and the Commercial Activities Panel.
- Broadband Internet Access and the Digital Divide: Federal Assistance Programs
- This report examines issues regarding broadband access in the U.S., more specifically the "digital divide,” which is a term that has been used to characterize a gap between “information haves and have-nots,” or in other words, between those Americans who use or have access to telecommunications technologies (e.g., telephones, computers, the Internet) and those who do not.
- Technology Transfer: Use of Federally Funded Research and Development
- This report discusses the federal use of technology transfer, a process by which technology developed in one organization, in one area, or for one purpose is applied in another organization, in another area, or for another purpose.
- The Advanced Technology Program
- This report summarizes the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and its creation. According to the report, the ATP was created to insure competitive technologies with broad applications throughout multiple industries. The report also covers information surrounding the budget of the program and its funding.
- Intelligence Spending: Public Disclosure Issues
- This report describes the constituent parts of the intelligence budget, past practice in handling intelligence authorizations and appropriations, the arguments that have been advanced for and against making intelligence spending totals public, a legal analysis of these issues, and a review of the implications of post-Cold War developments on the question. It also describes past congressional interest in keeping intelligence spending totals secret.
- Advance Appropriations, Forward Funding, and Advance Funding
- Appropriations acts generally make budget authority (or BA) available for use (or obligation) at the start of the fiscal year covered by the act. Sometimes appropriations bills provide a different date for specified budget authority within the act to become first available so that the funding cycle does not coincide with the fiscal year generally covered by the act. There are three types of this kind of budget authority: advance appropriations, forward funding, and advance funding.
- Federal Spending for Older Americans
- This report discusses the share of the federal budget devoted to older Americans, which is growing. The federal government currently spends more than one-third of its budget on benefits and programs for older Americans. For people age 65 and over, estimated FY2007 spending for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid alone is $833 billion. Spending for retired federal employees and military personnel and for veterans is also significant, and smaller programs add to the total as well. Tax expenditures might also be taken into account to obtain a more complete budget picture.
- The Economics of the Federal Budget Deficit
- this report provides information about The Economics of the Federal Budget Deficit where measuring fiscal policy is done using structural or standardized-employment, budget.
- Adult Education and Literacy: Overview and Reauthorization Proposals of the 109th Congress
- This report discusses the reauthorization of federal adult education and literacy programs being considered by the 109th Congress. The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) authorized these programs through FY2003. The General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) provided a one-year extension of authorization through FY2004, and annual appropriations have continued AEFLA programs since.
- Federal Budget Process Reform in the 110th Congress: A Brief Overview
- This report briefly discusses the context in which federal budget process changes are made and identifies selected reform proposals by major category.
- 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.
- The Budget for Fiscal Year 2007
- Congress used three continuing resolutions on appropriations to fund all but two appropriation acts in the first half of the fiscal year 2007. The third one runs through February 15, 2007. The new chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees indicated that they will present a full-year, modified resolution to Congress funding the remaining appropriations before the third continuing resolution expires. This report contains information on the background and analysis for the federal budget in the fiscal year 2007, the financial situation at that time, budgeting tools, budgetary actions, outlays, receipts, deficits, and related materials.
- Mandatory Funding for Agriculture Conservation Programs
- No Description Available.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.