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Mandatory Spending Since 1962

Description: Federal spending is divided into three broad categories: discretionary spending, mandatory spending, and net interest. Federal spending has outrun federal revenues for the last 10 fiscal years. In the long term, projections suggest that if current policies remain unchanged, the United States faces a major fiscal imbalance, largely due to rising health care costs and impending Baby Boomer retirements. Because discretionary spending is a smaller proportion of total federal outlays compared to man… more
Date: March 23, 2012
Creator: Austin, D. Andrew & Levit, Mindy R.
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President Obama’s January 4, 2012, Recess Appointments: Legal Issues

Description: This report analyzes the legal issues associated with the President's asserted exercise of his Recess Appointments Clause power on January 4, 2012. The report begins with a general legal overview of the Recess Appointment Clause. This is followed by an analysis of two legal principles, standing and the political question doctrine, which may impede a reviewing court from reaching the merits of a potential legal challenge to the appointments.
Date: January 23, 2012
Creator: Carpenter, David H.; Chu, Vivian S.; Dolan, Alissa M. & Garvey, Todd
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Employment for Veterans: Trends and Programs

Description: This report discusses veterans' employment trends and programs. The first section presents data on veterans' employment outcomes, identifying recent trends, and discussing issues to consider when interpreting veterans' employment data. The following sections present brief discussions of existing programs that provide employment-related services to veterans. These services are divided into (1) general programs that are broadly available to veterans, (2) programs that target veterans with service… more
Date: October 23, 2012
Creator: Collins, Benjamin; Bradley, David H.; Dortch, Cassandria; Kapp, Lawrence & Scott, Christine
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The Depreciating Dollar: Economic Effects and Policy Response

Description: This report discusses the trend of depreciation of the dollar since 2002. This raises concern among some in Congress and the public that the dollar's decline is a symptom of broader economic problems, such as a weak economic recovery, rising public debt, and a diminished standing in the global economy. However, a falling currency is not always a problem, but possibly an element of economic adjustments that are, on balance, beneficial to the economy.
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Elwell, Craig K.
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State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2013 Budget and Appropriations

Description: This report analyzes the FY2013 request and congressional action related to FY2013 State-Foreign Operations legislation. The 112th Congress is considering FY2013 international affairs funding within the context of the Budget Control Act that established discretionary spending limits for FY2012-FY2021 and contains automatic budget reductions (sequestration) on discretionary spending to begin on January 2, 2013.
Date: July 23, 2012
Creator: Epstein, Susan B.; Lawson, Marian Leonardo & Tiersky, Alex L.
open access

Cybercrime: Conceptual Issues for Congress and U.S. Law Enforcement

Description: This report gives an overview of cybercrime, which can include crimes such as identity theft, payment card fraud, and intellectual property theft. The report discusses where the criminal acts exist (in both the real and digital worlds), motivations for cybercrimes, and who is committing them, as well as government definitions, strategies, and methods of tracking cybercrime.
Date: May 23, 2012
Creator: Finklea, Kristin M. & Theohary, Catherine A.
open access

Cybersecurity: CRS Experts

Description: This report contains the table that provides names and contact information for CRS experts on policy issues related to cyber security bills currently being debated in the 112th Congress.
Date: July 23, 2012
Creator: Fischer, Eric A.
open access

Wildfire Protection in the Wildland-Urban Interface

Description: Congress continues to face questions about forestry practices, funding levels, and the federal role in wildfire protection. Recent fire seasons have been, by most standards, among the worst in the past half century. This report looks at factors contributing to wildfires as well as active and preventative treatments for wildfires.
Date: January 23, 2012
Creator: Gorte, Ross W. & Bracmort, Kelsi
open access

U.S. Trade Remedy Laws and Nonmarket Economies: A Legal Overview

Description: Two major U.S. trade remedies are antidumping (AD) law, which combats the sale of imported products at less than their fair market value, and countervailing duty (CVD) law, which aims to offset foreign government subsidization of imported goods. This report discusses these two law's impact on U.S. foreign relations.
Date: April 23, 2012
Creator: Grimmett, Jeanne J.
open access

WTO Dispute Settlement: Status of U.S. Compliance in Pending Cases

Description: Although the United States has complied with adverse rulings in many past World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes, there are currently 14 cases in which rulings have not yet been implemented or the United States has acted and the dispute has not been fully resolved. Nine unresolved cases involve trade remedies. The report discusses all fourteen cases in detail, which include antidumping, aircraft subsidies, cotton subsidies, online gambling restrictions, music copyright law, and trademark infri… more
Date: April 23, 2012
Creator: Grimmett, Jeanne J.
open access

Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Description: This report discusses the effects of economic sanctions against Iran; support to the Iranian democracy movement; and opposition against Iranian human rights violations and Iranian support for Syrian human rights violations. The Obama Administration identifies Iran as a major threat to U.S. national security interests. The sense of imminent crisis with Iran which greeted the beginning of 2012 follows three years in which the Obama Administration first offered Iran's leaders consistent and sustai… more
Date: March 23, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
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Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Description: The issue of Iran and its nuclear program has emerged as a top priority for the Obama Administration. The United States also sees a threat to U.S. interests posed by Iran's support for militant groups in the Middle East and in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tensions have been particularly elevated since Iran's late-December 2011 threat to try to choke off much of the world's oil supplies -a reaction to the imposition of significant sanctions against Iran's vital exports of oil. The heightened tensions f… more
Date: March 23, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
open access

Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights

Description: This report discusses the situation immediately following the completion of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq on December 18, 2011, when relations among major political factions worsened substantially, threatening Iraq's stability and the legacy of the U.S. intervention in Iraq. It includes an overview of historical and current political, military, and governance issues as well as an analysis of Iraq in relation to the other nations in the region.
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
open access

The Global Challenge of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria

Description: This report examines formal interagency collaborative arrangements and activities, which are intended to enhance joint efforts and cooperation among independent federal agencies with shared responsibilities and overlapping jurisdictions. This report highlights some of the current challenges posed by HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, as well as several crosscutting policy issues that the 112th Congress may consider as it determines U.S. global health funding for these three diseases, including: Health … more
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Kendall, Alexandra E.
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The Budget Control Act of 2011: The Effects on Spending and the Budget Deficit When the Automatic Spending Cuts Are Implemented

Description: This report discusses the two main groups of spending reductions in the Budget Control Act of 2011: (1) discretionary spending caps and (2) an automatic $1.2 trillion spending reduction process that comes into effect on January 02, 2012. It also looks at projected effects of the Act.
Date: April 23, 2012
Creator: Levit, Mindy R. & Labonte, Marc
open access

The Budget Control Act of 2011: The Effects on Spending and the Budget Deficit When the Automatic Spending Cuts Are Implemented

Description: Following a lengthy debate over raising the debt limit, the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25) was signed into law by President Obama on August 2, 2011. To provide context for this debate, this report discusses the effects of the BCA on spending and the deficit, assuming that the January 2013 automatic spending reductions proceed as scheduled.
Date: April 23, 2012
Creator: Levit, Mindy R. & Labonte, Marc
open access

Climate Change and Existing Law: A Survey of Legal Issues Past, Present, and Future

Description: This report surveys existing law for legal issues that have arisen, or may arise in the future, on account of climate change and government responses thereto. These include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, liability for harms caused by climate change, water shortages, sea level rise, natural disasters, and how immigration/refugee law does not cover relocation due to climate change impacts.
Date: July 23, 2012
Creator: Meltz, Robert
open access

Promoting Global Internet Freedom: Policy and Technology

Description: Report that provides information about federal and private sector efforts to promote and support global Internet freedom, a description of Internet freedom legislation from the 112th Congress, and suggestions for further reading on this topic. Two appendixes describe censorship and circumvention technologies.
Date: October 23, 2012
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
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