Congressional Research Service Reports - 490 Matching Results
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- The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer
- This report is categorized into five categories: (I) Background, (II) The Agencies and Their Roles, (III) Congressional Committees, (IV) Funding for Federal Food Safety Programs and (V) Federal Food Safety Inspection.
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A Primer on Eligibility and Benefits
- This report focuses on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility and the form and function of benefits. SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program, is designed primarily to increase the food purchasing power of eligible low-income households to help them buy a nutritionally adequate low-cost diet.
- Food Recalls and Other FDA Administrative Enforcement Actions
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ensures the safety of all food except for meat, poultry, and certain egg products over which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has regulatory oversight. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the FDA has the authority to regulate the manufacturing, processing, and labeling of food, with the primary goal of promoting food safety. This report focuses on the FDA's statutory authority to initiate the following administrative enforcement actions: inspections, warning letters, recalls, suspension of registration, administrative detention, and related legal issues.
- Farm and Food Support Under USDA's Section 32 Program
- "Section 32" is a permanent appropriation that since 1935 has set aside the equivalent of 30% of annual customs receipts to support the farm sector through the purchase of surplus commodities and a variety of other activities. This report first describes how the Section 32 account operates by tracing funds flowing into and out of the account. Second, a more detailed discussion is provided for each type of use, including historical policies.
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A Primer on Eligibility and Benefits
- This report focuses on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility and the form and function of benefits. SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program, is designed primarily to increase the food purchasing power of eligible low-income households to help them buy a nutritionally adequate low-cost diet.
- Implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA, P.L. 111-353)
- This report documents the scheduled timeline for action on selected FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) provisions, as specified in the enacted law, and FDA-reported actions taken to date, based on available FDA press releases and publicly available progress reports.
- Legal Issues with Federal Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food: In Brief
- This report discusses the debate of labeling genetically engineered (GE) or genetically modified (GMO) food products and the inconsistency of jurisdiction surrounding the issue, considering the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) lack of formal regulations and policies on the labeling of GE food. Report was later updated on September 22, 2015.
- Juice Labeling and Pom Wonderful v. Coca-Cola: A Legal Overview
- This report discusses two different federal statutes that regulate beverage labels.
- What Is the Farm Bill?
- This report describes the Farm Bill (P.L. 110-246, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which was enacted into law on June 18, 2008.
- Genetically Engineered Salmon
- This report discusses the genetically modified salmon. The term “genetic modification” refers to changes in an organism’s genetic makeup that do not occur in nature. Also, if approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Atlantic salmon would be the first genetically engineered (GE) animal to be marketed in the United States for human consumption.
- The 2014 Farm Bill (Agricultural Act of 2014, P.L. 113-79)
- This report briefly informs the reader about what the Farm Bill of 2014 is, what is at stake, and the cost of it. The report also includes information about the involvement of interest groups and the effect the Farm Bill has on food issues.
- What Is the Farm Bill?
- This report describes the Farm Bill (P.L. 110-246, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008), which was enacted into law on June 18, 2008.
- Food Safety Issues for the 113th Congress
- Congress passed comprehensive food safety legislation in December 2010 (FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), P.L. 111-353), representing the largest expansion and overhaul of U.S. food safety authorities since the 1930s. This report discusses Congress' oversight in regards to FSMA and its interest in several other issues including food safety initiatives covering meat, poultry, and seafood products; legislation intended to curtail the non-medical use of antibiotics in animal feeds and to ban the use of certain plastic components commonly used in food containers; food labeling; stricter food safety enforcement mechanisms; and the use of plant and animal biotechnology.
- The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer
- This report discusses concerns about food safety, the resources required to ensure food safety, and whether federal food safety laws themselves, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors since then.
- Food Fraud and "Economically Motivated Adulteration" of Food and Food Ingredients
- This report discusses food fraud, or the act of defrauding buyers of food and food ingredients for economic gain. It includes background information, an overview of available data and information repositories related to food fraud, federal activities involving food fraud, and Congressional actions involving food fraud.
- International Food Aid: U.S. and Other Donor Contributions
- This report provides data on the U.S. contribution to global food aid as reported by signatories of the International Food Aid Convention (FAc) and compiled by the International Grains Council (IGC).
- Farm-to-Food Price Dynamics
- This report discusses heightened commodity price volatility. It also discusses an array of cost that is layered on top of the price of a raw agricultural commodity at each stage of the marketing chain as it moves to the customer.
- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Categorical Eligibility
- This report discusses categorical eligibility and some of the issues raised by it. It first describes the three different types of categorical eligibility: traditional categorical eligibility conveyed through receipt of need-based cash assistance, and the newer "narrow" and "broad-based" categorical eligibilities conveyed via TANF "noncash" benefits. It also provides recent information on current state practices with regard to categorical eligibility. Finally, the report discusses proposals to restrict categorical eligibility.
- Consumers and Food Price Inflation
- This report is divided into five sections that cover the following: major economic concepts underlying consumer food behavior; descriptions how U.S. food price inflation rates have evolved since 1915, when federal price data collection for inflation-measuring purposes began; information on recent history and projections for U.S. food expenditure shares relative to total household budget; an examination of retail food price inflation; and a discussion on the impact that rapid food price inflation can have on government food programs and the more vulnerable consumer groups.
- What Is the Farm Bill?
- Report that describes the Farm Bill (P.L. 110-246, "2008 farm bill"), the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, which was enacted into law on June 18, 2008. It discusses the most recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) "baseline" budget (May 2013
- Compounded Drugs
- This report provides background information on Compounded drugs and non-traditional compounding pharmacies relevant to policy discussions.
- FDA Final Rule Restricting the Sale and Distribution of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco
- No Description Available.
- Conservation Compliance and U.S. Farm Policy
- This report provides information about the Conservation Compliance and U.S. Farm Policy. Federal policies and programs have offered voluntary incentives to producers to plan and apply resource-conserving practices on private lands.
- The Role of Local Food Systems in U.S. Farm Policy
- This report looks at the growing popularity of locally produced foods, and how that popularity and regional/local food systems are affected by the reauthorization of the 2008 farm bill.
- Agricultural Conservation and the Next Farm Bill
- This report discusses and debates the pieces of the 2008 farm bill that will expire at the close of the 2012 funding year. The report suggests that existing programs could be amended or consolidated. Moreover, the report addresses the budgetary issues that arise from keeping existing programs.
- Department of Defense Food Procurement: Background and Status
- This report describes the origin, authority, and policy in the procurement of food for the military. Military food items, also known as subsistence items, are generally procured under the auspices of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), an agency of the Department of Defense (DOD) which provides worldwide logistics support for the U.S. military services. Under DLA, DLA Troop Services (formerly the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia) is the inventory control point for food, clothing, textiles, medicines, medical equipment, general and industrial supplies, and services for the military, their eligible dependents, and other non-DOD customers worldwide. DLA Troop Services buys and manages about $13.4 billion worth of food, clothing, textiles, and other products.
- Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations
- This report discusses the Agriculture appropriations bill—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which provides funding for the following agencies: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- Food Safety Issues for the 113th Congress
- This report discusses Food Safety Incidents, Food borne Illness, FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and Key Issues for the 113th Congress.
- International Food Aid Programs: Background and Issues
- This report discusses past United States food aid programs in relation to the 2008 farm bill authorized through FY2012. This includes past international applications of food aid, its issues, and congressional response. Report updated May 20, 2013.
- Domestic Food Assistance: Summary of Programs
- This report offers a brief overview of hunger and food insecurity along with the related network of programs.
- The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer
- No Description Available.
- Generalized System of Preferences: Agricultural Imports
- This is a report on the generalized system of preferences in agricultural imports.
- Nutrition Labeling of Restaurant Menus
- Report that provides a brief overview of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) authority to regulate nutrition labeling, modifications to these authorities under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and a discussion of selected aspects of the proposed rule. Concerns regarding the proposed rule raised by industry, Congress, and the public are also discussed.
- Country-of-Origin Labeling for Foods and the WTO Trade Dispute on Meat Labeling
- This report discusses about the AB and Panel reports that were adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on July 23, 2012 starting a 30- day Deadline for the United States to Inform the DSB how it will implement the final findings.
- Conservation Compliance and U.S. Farm Policy
- This report provides information about the Conservation Compliance and U.S. Farm Policy. Federal policies and programs have offered voluntary incentives to producers to plan and apply resource-conserving practices on private lands.
- Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations
- This report discusses the Agriculture appropriations bill—formally known as the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which provides funding for the following agencies: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- FDA User Fees and the Regulation of Drugs, Biologics, and Devices: Comparative Analysis of S. 3187 and H.R. 5651
- No Description Available.
- The FDA Medical Device User Fee Program
- No Description Available.
- FDA’s Authority to Ensure That Drugs Prescribed to Children Are Safe and Effective
- The report describes why research on a drug's pharmacokinetics, safety, and effectiveness in children might be necessary. This report then presents why the marketplace has not provided sufficient incentives to manufacturers of drugs approved for adult use to study their effects in children. It also analyzes the impact of BPCA and PREA have had on pediatric drug research.
- How FDA Approves Drugs and Regulates Their Safety and Effectiveness
- This report describes how drugs are approved and come to market, including FDA's role in that process.
- The FDA Medical Device User Fee Program
- This report describes current law regarding medical device user fees, the impact of MDUFA on FDA review time of various medical device program budget, the MUDFA III proposal (legislative language and performance goals agreement), and issues that Congress is likely to take up as it works on the reauthorization of the medical device user fee program.
- Lean Finely Textured Beef: The "Pink Slime" Controversy
- This report looks at how the recent March 2012 controversies surrounding the USDA-approved Lean Finely Textured Beef, or "pink slime," have very quickly affected recent ground beef consumption and prices. The LFTB controversy demonstrates that consumers' perceptions and understanding of modern food production can quickly affect markets and/or a company's business. It raises policy issues about how consumers should be informed either by the industry or the government.
- The Role of Local Food Systems in U.S. Farm Policy
- This report looks at the growing popularity of locally produced foods, and how that popularity and regional/local food systems are affected by the reauthorization of the 2008 farm bill.
- Previewing the Next Farm Bill
- Congress periodically establishes agricultural and food policy in an omnibus farm bill. The 112th Congress faces reauthorization of the current five-year farm bill because many of its provisions expire in 2012. The 2008 farm bill contained 15 titles covering farm commodity support, horticulture, livestock, conservation, nutrition assistance, international food aid, trade, agricultural research, farm credit, rural development, bioenergy, and forestry, among others. Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees anticipate having a new farm bill completed before the end of this session. If the current farm bill expires without a new authorization or a temporary extension, it automatically would be replaced with permanent statutes for farm commodity support, which are not fully compatible with current national economic objectives, global trading rules, and federal budgetary or regulatory policies.
- The Role of Local Food Systems in U.S. Farm Policy
- This report looks at the growing popularity of locally produced foods, and how that popularity and regional/local food systems are affected by the reauthorization of the 2008 farm bill.
- Effects of Radiation from Fukushima Dai-ichi on the U.S. Marine Environment
- The massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, caused extensive damage in northeastern Japan, including damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power installation, which resulted in the release of radiation. Concerns have arisen about the potential effects of this released radiation on the U.S. marine environment and resources. This report discusses these concerns.
- The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer
- No Description Available.
- Agricultural Conservation and the Next Farm Bill
- This report discusses and debates the pieces of the 2008 farm bill that will expire at the close of the 2012 funding year. The report suggests that existing programs could be amended or consolidated. Moreover, the report addresses the budgetary issues that arise from keeping existing programs.
- Food Safety Issues for the 112th Congress
- This report discusses about Food Safety Incidents, Existing Food Safety Legal and Regulatory Landscape, FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and Key Issues for the 112th Congress
- Agricultural Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues
- This report discusses the ethical and political issues surrounding contemporary biotechnology. Driving the discussion are inventions such as genetically engineered (GE) crops, which have increased from 3.6 million acres to 143 million acres in the United States. The report also raises concerns about regulations and the adequacy of environmental assessments.