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Side-by-Side Comparison of Flood Insurance Reform Legislation in the 110th Congress

Description: This report discusses the key policy objectives of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that were threefold: (1) reduce the nation's flood risk through floodplain management; (2) improve flood hazard data and risk assessment by mapping the nation's floodplains; and (3) make affordable flood insurance widely available in communities that adopt and enforce measures to make future construction safer from flooding.
Date: February 26, 2008
Creator: King, Rawle O.
open access

Developing Countries: Definitions, Concepts and Comparisons

Description: This report examines four criteria which are often used today to rank and assess countries’ levels of development. They are: (1) per capita income; (2) economic and social structure; (3) social conditions; and (4) the prevailing level of economic and political freedom. Specific indices or quantitative studies are explained and applied to each criteria and the differences among the various measures are explained.
Date: December 6, 2002
Creator: Sanford, Jonathan E. & Sandhu, Anjula
open access

Broadband Internet Regulation and Access: Background and Issues

Description: This is one part in the series of reports that provide a background and analysis, and most recent developments regarding broadband or high-speed Internet access. The report starts out by answering questions; what is broadband and why is it important? This report also discusses broadband technologies, the status of broadband deployment and the related policy issues, as well as the legislation in congress.
Date: July 31, 2007
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A. & Kruger, Lennard G.
open access

H.R. 4: The Pension Protection Act

Description: This report discusses the Pension Protection Act (PPA) reforms and the funding rules for defined benefit pensions; requires employers to disclose more information about pension funding; restricts benefit payments and accruals in underfunded plans; and clarifies, prospectively, that cash balance pension plans do not violate legal prohibitions on age discrimination in employee benefits.
Date: September 27, 2006
Creator: Purcell, Patrick
open access

China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on the potential implications of China's naval modernization for future required U.S. Navy capabilities. The report particularly discusses how potential United States responses to China's military modernization effort -- including its naval modernization effort -- have emerged as a key issue in U.S. defense planning.
Date: October 17, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
open access

Labor Union Recognition Procedures: Use of Secret Ballots and Card Checks

Description: This report begins with a summary of legislation that would, if enacted, change existing union recognition procedures. The report then reviews the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the different ways that workers may form or join a union. The report then examines the potential impact of changes in union recognition procedures. Finally, the report considers whether there is an economic rationale for protecting the rights of wor… more
Date: April 2, 2007
Creator: Mayer, Gerald
open access

The U.N. Law of the Sea Convention and the United States: Developments Since October 2003

Description: On October 31, 2007, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to recommend Senate advice and consent to U.S. adherence to the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement Relating to Implementation of Part XI of that Convention. This followed the statement by President Bush on May 15, 2007, urging “the Senate to act favorably on U.S. accession” to the Convention. CRS Issue Brief IB95010, The Law of the Sea Convention and U.S. Policy, serves as a basic CRS source for dis… more
Date: October 31, 2007
Creator: Browne, Marjorie Ann
open access

Electronic Banking: The Check Truncation Issue

Description: This report discusses legislative issues regarding check truncation, which occurs when the check is stopped before it reaches the paying bank and the check clearing process is completed electronically. The United States banking system processes approximately 42.5 billion checks annually, but only a fraction of these checks is processed electronically by check truncation.
Date: November 8, 2003
Creator: Eubanks, Walter W.
open access

The Americans with Disabilities Act: Toyota Motor Manufacturing v. Williams

Description: The Supreme Court, in Toyota Motor Manufacturing v. Williams, held that to be an individual with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) an individual must have substantial limitations on abilities that are central to daily life,rather than only to those abilities used in the workplace. In an unanimous opinion written by Justice O’Connor, the Court interpreted the definition of individual with disability narrowly to exclude individuals who are limited only in the performanc… more
Date: January 15, 2002
Creator: Jones, Nancy L.
open access

Indian Trust Fund Litigation: Legislation to Resolve Accounting Claims in Cobell v. Norton

Description: The Cobell v. Norton litigation has been before the courts since 1996. Cobell is a class action lawsuit alleging federal government mismanagement of accounts held in trust for individual Indians. To date the litigation has not been able to secure from the Department of the Interior sufficient data in the form of an historical accounting to determine the accuracy of the payments to individual account holders. Although a full historical accounting is unlikely to be judicially required, the prospe… more
Date: December 8, 2005
Creator: Murphy, M. M.
open access

Federal Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Statutes: An Overview of Legislation in the 106th Congress

Description: This report discusses federal mandatory minimum sentencing statutes, which demand that execution or incarceration follow criminal conviction. They cover drug dealing, murdering federal officials, and using a gun to commit a federal crime. They circumscribe judicial sentencing discretion. They have been criticized as unthinkingly harsh and incompatible with a rational sentencing guideline system; yet they have also been embraced as hallmarks of truth in sentence and a certain means of incapacita… more
Date: January 11, 2001
Creator: Doyle, Charles
open access

Kosovo: Review and Analysis of Policy Objectives, 1998-June 1999

Description: This report provides an overview of U.S. and international policy objectives in Kosovo from 1998 to mid-1999, when NATO ended an 11-week air strike operation against Yugoslavia (Serbia) and began to deploy a U.N.-authorized peacekeeping force in Kosovo. It reviews stated objectives at various points during this period. It provides an analysis of how certain policy objectives evolved and discusses the extent to which they were or were not achieved.
Date: July 21, 1999
Creator: Kim, Julie
open access

U.S.- Thailand Free Trade Agreement Negotiations

Description: This report examines Thailand’s economy and trade orientation, the scope and significance of the U.S.-Thai commercial relationship, and the likely top issues in the negotiations. The report concludes with a short summary of the Congressional role and interest in the FTA.
Date: September 1, 2004
Creator: Ahearn, Raymond J. & Morrison, Wayne M.
open access

Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and presents potential issues for Congress concerning the Navy’s ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans. The planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy’s shipbuilding plans have been matters of concern for the congressional defense committees for the past several years. Decisions that Congress makes on Navy shipbuilding programs can substantially affect Navy capabilities and fu… more
Date: April 1, 2013
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
open access

Congressional Salaries and Allowances

Description: This report provides basic information on congressional salaries and allowances and recent developments. First, the report briefly summarizes the current salary of Members of Congress; limits or prohibitions on their outside earned income, honoraria, and tax deductions; options for life and health insurance; and retirement benefits. Second, the report provides information on allowances available to Representatives and Senators to support them in their official and representational duties.
Date: January 15, 2013
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
open access

Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests

Description: This report discusses the current political and economic conditions in Russia, focusing on the impact of Vladimir Putin's leadership and the leadership of his successor/protégé, Dmitriy Medvedev, both of which have steered Russia away from progress toward democratization. The report also discusses the state of the economy since the Soviet collapse in 1999, how the recent global economic downturn has affected Russia, the state of Russia's military, and the current relationship between Russia and… more
Date: March 5, 2014
Creator: Nichol, Jim
open access

Gangs in Central America

Description: This report describes the gang problem in Central America, discusses country and regional approaches to deal with the gangs, and analyzes U.S. policy with respect to gangs in Central America.
Date: March 27, 2008
Creator: Seelke, Clare Ribando
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