Congressional Research Service Reports - 908 Matching Results
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- Overview of the Air Carrier Access Act
- TThis report briefly discusses the Air Carrier Access Act's (ACAA) statutory provisions, accompanying regulations, relevant judicial opinions, legislation in the 110th Congress, and possible considerations for the 111th Congress.
- Overview of the Air Carrier Access Act
- This report briefly discusses the Air Carrier Access Act's (ACAA) statutory provisions, accompanying regulations, relevant judicial opinions, and legislation in the 110th Congress.
- Passenger Rail Security: Overview of Issues
- The 9/11 Commission called for a systematic analysis of transportation assets, the risks to those assets, and the costs and benefits of different approaches to defending those assets. A key challenge facing Congress is balancing the desire for and cost of increased rail passenger security with the impacts of security measures on the operating efficiency of passenger rail systems, with the potential costs that could be incurred in the event of one or more attacks, and with the costs and benefits of other options for promoting homeland security. Some argue for greatly increased federal funding to help secure passenger rail systems against terrorist attack. Others argue that rail systems are difficult to defend and are only one among many groups potential terrorist targets, making the development of enhanced rail systems security an inefficient use of resources.
- Passenger Rail Security: Overview of Issues
- No Description Available.
- Passenger Rail Security: Overview of Issues
- No Description Available.
- Passenger Rail Security: Overview of Issues
- No Description Available.
- Passenger Rail Security: Overview of Issues
- No Description Available.
- Passenger Rail Security: Overview of Issues
- No Description Available.
- Passenger Rail Security: Overview of Issues
- The July 2005 bombings of transit trains in London again demonstrated the vulnerability of passenger rail systems to a terrorist attacks. The number of riders and access points makes it impractical to subject all rail passengers to the type of screening airline passengers undergo. Nevertheless, steps can be taken to reduce the risks of an attack.
- Passenger Rail Security: Overview of Issues
- No Description Available.
- The Passenger Service Act, Domestic Ocean Passenger Services, and the 106th Congress
- The Passenger Service Act (PSA) requires that domestic ocean passenger transportation be provided only by ships that are U.S.-owned, U.S.-built and operated by U.S. crews. Proposed legislation to relax some PSA restrictions was introduced during the 105th Congress. Both the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, have made recent public statements indicating their strong interets enacting changes to the passenger Service Act during the 106th Congress. This report will be updated as developments warrant.
- Pipeline Safety: Overdue Statutory Mandates
- This report discusses the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) failure to fulfill key mandates of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-90) and the PIPES Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-183).
- Pipeline Security: An Overview of Federal Activities and Current Policy Issues
- No Description Available.
- Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas and Crude Oil: Federal and State Regulatory Authority
- This report discusses the relationship between federal and state authority over siting and safety of crude oil and natural gas transmission and gathering pipelines and related facilities.
- Piracy: A Legal Definition
- Pirate attacks in the waters off the Horn of Africa, including those on U.S.-flagged vessels, have brought continued U.S. and international attention to the long-standing problem of piracy in the region. A recent development in one of the piracy trials in Norfolk, VA, has highlighted a potential limitation in the definition of piracy under the United States Code. This report first examines the historical development of the offense of piracy, as defined by Congress and codified in the United States Code. The focus then turns to how contemporary international agreements define piracy. Finally, the report highlights a recent federal district court ruling that the offense of piracy under 18 U.S.C. § 1651 requires a robbery at sea.
- Piracy: A Legal Definition
- This report first examines the historical development of the offense of piracy, as defined by Congress and codified in the United States Code. The focus then turns to how contemporary international agreements define piracy. Finally, the report highlights developments in two trials involving charges of piracy in the federal district court in Norfolk, VA, United States v. Said and United States v. Hasan, specifically focusing on how the courts interpreted the definition of piracy under 18 U.S.C. § 1651.
- Piracy off the Horn of Africa
- This report discusses recent (2008-2009) pirate attacks on vessels, including United States vessels, in the waters off the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa is sometimes called the Somali Peninsula and includes the nations of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia. This report explores reasons behind the increased number of pirate attacks in recent years, as well as what efforts are being taken to combat said attacks, including those by the 111th Congress and President Obama and his Administration.
- Piracy off the Horn of Africa
- This report discusses recent (2010) pirate attacks on vessels, including United States vessels, in the waters off the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa is sometimes called the Somali Peninsula and includes the nations of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia. This report explores reasons behind the increased number of pirate attacks in recent years, as well as what efforts are being taken to combat said attacks, including those by the 111th Congress and President Obama and his Administration.
- Piracy off the Horn of Africa
- This report discusses recent pirate attacks on vessels, including United States vessels, in the waters off the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa is sometimes called the Somali Peninsula and includes the nations of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia. This report explores reasons behind the increased number of pirate attacks in recent years, as well as what efforts are being taken to combat said attacks, including those by the 111th Congress and President Obama and his Administration.
- Piracy off the Horn of Africa
- This report discusses recent (2008-2009) pirate attacks on vessels, including United States vessels, in the waters off the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa is sometimes called the Somali Peninsula and includes the nations of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia. This report explores reasons behind the increased number of pirate attacks in recent years, as well as what efforts are being taken to combat said attacks, including those by the 111th Congress and President Obama and his Administration.
- Policy Issues in the General Motors Vehicle Recall
- This report discusses the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) process by which vehicle safety defects are identified and vehicles are recalled, as well as the impact that the 2009 GM bankruptcy may have on liability for this defect.
- Port and Maritime Security: Background and Issues for Congress
- The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, heightened awareness about the vulnerability to the terrorist attack of all modes of transportation. Port security has emerged as a significant part of the overall debate on U.S. homeland security. The overarching issues for Congress are providing oversight on current port security programs and making or responding to proposals to improve port security.
- Port and Maritime Security: Background and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Port and Maritime Security: Background and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Port and Maritime Security: Background and Issues for Congress
- The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, heightened awareness about the vulnerability to the terrorist attack of all modes of transportation. Port security has emerged as a significant part of the overall debate on U.S. homeland security. The overarching issues for Congress are providing oversight on current port security programs and making or responding to proposals to improve port security.
- Port and Maritime Security: Potential for Terrorist Nuclear Attack Using Oil Tankers
- No Description Available.
- Ports in Louisiana: New Orleans, South Louisiana, and Baton Rouge
- No Description Available.
- Positive Train Control (PTC): Overview and Policy Issues
- This report discusses positive train control (PTC) systems which is a safety system that monitors train speed in relation to speed limits and automatically slow and speed up if they detect a speed violating track rules.
- Positive Train Control (PTC): Overview and Policy Issues
- This report gives and overview of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and discusses policy issues related to it. Congress passed the Act following several high-profile train accidents; it mandates positive train control (PTC) on many passenger and freight railroads by December 31, 2015.
- Potential Military Use of Airships and Aerostats
- No Description Available.
- Potential Military Use of Airships and Aerostats
- No Description Available.
- Potential Military Use of Airships and Aerostats
- No Description Available.
- Potential Military Use of Airships and Aerostats
- The Department of Defense (DOD) has a history of using lighter-than-air (LTA) platforms. Aerostats have recently been fielded to protect deployed U.S. troops. Contemporary interest is growing in using airships for numerous missions. This report examines the various concepts being considered and describes the issues for Congress.
- Potential Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
- In February 2005, the Navy testified that the Navy in future years may require a total of 260 to 325 ships, or possibly 243 to 302 ships, depending on how much the Navy uses new technologies and a new ship crewing and deployment method called Sea Swap. In March 2005, the Navy provided a report to Congress showing the notional compositions of 260- and 325-ship fleets in FY2035.
- Potential Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Potential Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Potential Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Presidential Permit Review for Cross-Border Pipelines and Electric Transmission
- This report discusses the Presidential Permit review processes for cross-border energy infrastructure as implemented by these agencies: The Department of State for pipelines and similar facilities that transport liquids such as petroleum, petroleum products, and other hazardous liquids; The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for natural gas pipelines and associated facilities; and The Department of Energy (DOE) for electricity transmission lines and associated facilities. This report compares practices among these three agencies with respect to how they define a proposed project's scope (which dictates the array of associated impacts they will review), conduct environmental reviews, and make final decisions on permit applications. It also includes a discussion of recent efforts by Congress to change those permitting processes.
- Proposals for Funding Mass Transportation
- This report provides outlines the key points of basic concepts for funding mass transportation. The author outlines four funding concepts: contract authority, a general transportation trust fund, an urban transportation trust fund, and the optional use of highway trust fund money.
- Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline: Legal Issues
- This report reviews those legal issues. First, it suggests that legislation related to cross-border facility permitting is unlikely to raise significant constitutional questions, despite the fact that such permits have traditionally been handled by the executive branch alone pursuant to its constitutional "foreign affairs" authority. Next, it observes generally that state oversight of pipeline siting decisions does not appear to violate existing federal law or the Constitution. Finally, the report suggests that State Department's implementation of the existing authority to issue presidential permits appears to allow for judicial review of its National Environmental Policy Act determinations.
- Proposed Termination of Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F136 Alternate Engine
- No Description Available.
- Public-Private Partnerships in Highway and Transit Infrastructure Provision
- This report begins with a brief discussion of the surface transportation system and its financing needs as background to the debate on public-private partnerships (PPPs). That is followed by sections describing the different types of PPPs, with details of a few prominent examples, and the development of federal legislation with respect to PPPs. The report then discusses the main issues of contention with the construction and longterm leasing of highways by the private sector, particularly as they relate to the funding, planning, and operation of the surface transportation system, before providing some policy options Congress may wish to consider.
- Public Private Partnerships (P3s) in Transportation
- This report discusses the benefits and limitations of public-private partnerships (P3s) that involve long-term private financing, the experience with these types of P3s in the United States, and current federal policy. The report outlines a number of issues and policy options that Congress might consider: project evaluation and transparency, asset recycling, incentive grants, infrastructure banks, tax credits for equity and debt, Interstate highway tolling, and changes to an existing federal loan program.
- Public Safety Communications Policy
- No Description Available.
- Public Transit Program Funding Issues in Surface Transportation Reauthorization
- No Description Available.
- Public Transit Program Funding Issues in Surface Transportation Reauthorization
- No Description Available.
- Public Transit Program Issues in Surface Transportation Reauthorization
- No Description Available.
- Public Transit Program Issues in Surface Transportation Reauthorization
- No Description Available.
- Public Transportation Program and Funding Issues
- No Description Available.
- Public Transportation Providers’ Obligations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- No Description Available.