Congressional Research Service Reports - 110 Matching Results
Search Results
- Reform of U.S. International Taxation: Alternatives
- This report describes and assesses the principal prescriptions that have been offered for broad reform of the international system. It begins with an overview of current law and possible revisions. It then sets the framework for considering economic efficiency as well as tax shelter activities. Finally, it reviews alternative approaches to revision in light of those issues.
- Federal Land Management Agencies: Background on Land and Resources Management
- This report provides an overview of how federal lands and resources are managed, the agencies that manage the lands, the authorities under which these lands are managed, and some of the issues associated with federal land management. The report is divided into nine sections.
- Public Land Policy: Activities in the 92nd Congress
- This report discusses proposed and passed legislation in the 92nd Congress regarding public lands.
- Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands, R.S. 2477, and “Disclaimers of Interest”
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Ownership: Current Acquisition and Disposal Authorities
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Ownership: Current Acquisition and Disposal Authorities
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Ownership: Constitutional Authority and the History of Acquisition, Disposal, and Retention
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands, “Disclaimers of Interest,” and R.S. 2477
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands and Natural Resources: Overview and Selected Issues for the 114th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Questions and Answers on Homesteads, Public Land Sales, and Sources of Additional Information
- This report answers frequently asked questions regarding the sale of public lands and homestead laws and provides further sources on the topic.
- Wilderness: Overview and Statistics
- The U.S. Forest Service established the first protected "wilderness area" under its own discretion in 1924. In 1964, the Wilderness Act established the National Wilderness Preservation System, reserved to Congress the authority to designate wilderness areas, and directed the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to review certain lands for their wilderness potential. The Act also designated 54 wilderness areas with 9 million acres of Forest Service land. Congress began expanding the Wilderness System in 1968, and today, there are 631 wilderness areas, totalling nearly 104 million acres, in 44 States.
- Issues Regarding a National Land Parcel Database
- This report provides a summary of some of the issues regarding the creation of a national land parcel database, or cadastre. The report identifies some of the perceived needs for a national cadastre, legislative and administrative options that could lead to a national land parcel database, and some of the challenges and concerns.
- Wilderness: Overview and Statistics
- The U.S. Forest Service established the first protected "wilderness area" under its own discretion in 1924. In 1964, the Wilderness Act established the National Wilderness Preservation System, reserved to Congress the authority to designate wilderness areas, and directed the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to review certain lands for their wilderness potential. The Act also designated 54 wilderness areas with 9 million acres of Forest Service land. Congress began expanding the Wilderness System in 1968, and today, there are 631 wilderness areas, totalling nearly 104 million acres, in 44 States.
- Reform of U.S. International Taxation: Alternatives
- This report describes and assesses the principal prescriptions that have been offered for broad reform of the international system. It begins with an overview of current law and possible revisions. It then sets the framework for considering economic efficiency as well as tax shelter activities. Finally, it reviews alternative approaches to revision in light of those issues.
- Federal Lands and Related Resources: Overview and Selected Issues for the 115th Congress
- This report provides a brief overview of federal land management and its challenges along with legislation in the 115th Congress which related to federal land management.
- Deferred Maintenance of Federal Land Management Agencies: Fiscal Year 2007-Fiscal Year 2016 Estimates and Issues
- This report discusses the maintenance backlogs/deferred maintenance at the four federal land management agencies (the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service). It first provides agency deferred maintenance estimates for FY2016, the most recent fiscal year for which this information is available. It also discusses changes in deferred maintenance over the past decade (FY2007-FY2016) and then identifies some of the factors that likely contributed to these changes.
- Federal Land Management Agencies’ Permanently Appropriated Accounts
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Management Agencies: Appropriations and Revenues
- No Description Available.
- Federal Grazing Regulations: Public Lands Council v. Babbitt
- No Description Available.
- Federal Management and Protection of Paleontological (Fossil) Resources Located on Federal Lands: Current Status and Legal Issues
- No Description Available.
- Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
- This report discusses controversial issues regarding the creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. Issues include the President's use of the Antiquities Act of 1906 to create the Monument; the Monument's general effect on land uses; the implications for development of minerals and school trust lands; and the bearing on the designation of wilderness.
- The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
- The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is an area rich in fauna, flora, and oil potential, where development has been debated for over 36 years. Current law forbids oil and gas leasing. This report discusses debate over whether or not to open the ANWR up for development and includes discussion of various legislative options under consideration.
- Federal Real Property: Inventory and Disposal Initiatives
- This report provides background and discusses the inventory and disposal of public lands and other Federal property. For many years the Federal Government has operated under a statutory policy of retaining public domain lands and has disposed of the proceeds from the sale of surplus property other than by the reduction of the national debt. Under the present system, the Government disposes of some types of land when it is determined to be surplus to Government needs, or, in the case of public lands, when it is determined that the national interest would best be served by the sale or exchange of particular tracts of land.
- Oil and Gas Activities Within the National Wildlife Refuge System
- This report contains sections on recent developments related to oil and gas wells in the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and related issues for Congress. The report presents information on the number and location of oil and gas wells, compatibility of oil and gas activities with NWRS purposes, and regulatory mechanisms for the administration of oil and gas activities.
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- The 109th Congress is considering issues related to the public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the national forests managed by the Forest Service (FS). The Administration is addressing issues through budgetary, regulatory, and other actions. This report discusses several key issues of congressional and administrative interest.
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- This brief focuses on several issues affecting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) lands that are of interest to the 109th Congress, and does not comprehensively cover issues primarily affecting other federal lands.
- Confederate Symbols: Relation to Federal Lands and Programs
- This report focuses primarily on Confederate symbols administered by three federal entities-- NPS, the VA, and DOD. Each of these entities manages multiple sites or programs that involve Confederate symbols. The report begins with a discussion of recent legislative proposals, and then discusses the agencies' current policies with respect to Confederate symbols, along with issues for Congress.
- Executive Order for Review of National Monuments: Background and Data
- This report discusses the review process of national monuments established or expanded since 1996 that exceed 100,000 acres that was mandated by President Trump's executive order on April 26, 2017, and its results. The final report from the Interior Department was submitted to the President on August 24, 2017, and made individual recommendations for 10 of the 27 monuments that were reviewed.
- PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes): Somewhat Simplified
- This report discusses the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program that compensates local jurisdictions (generally counties) for lost tax property tax revenue due to the presence of federal lands in their county. It covers all NPS, NFS, and BLM lands, some National Wildlife Refuge lands, and a few military lands. The payment calculations are based on a complicated five part system and the program has been criticized for paying vastly different amounts to some counties with similar land amounts and complicated inclusion rules Wildlife Refuge land. Past legislation and options for reform are also discussed.
- Conflict and History at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
- This report briefly discusses the conflict at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) in January of 2016.
- Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data
- This report provides data and an overview of the land owned by federal government, which is roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States.
- Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data
- Numerous issues affecting federal land management are before Congress. They include the extent of federal ownership, and whether to decrease, maintain, or increase the amount of federal holdings; the condition of currently owned federal infrastructure and lands, and the priority of their maintenance versus new acquisitions; the optimal balance between land use and protection, and whether federal lands should be managed primarily to produce national or local benefits; and border control on federal lands along the southwest border.
- World Heritage Convention and U.S. National Parks
- This report describes the operation of the UNESCO Convention and will be updated periodically. The World Heritage Fund provides technical assistance to countries requesting help in protecting World Heritage sites.
- Grazing Fees: An Overview
- This report briefly discusses charging fees for grazing private livestock on federal lands, which is a long-standing but contentious practice. Generally, livestock producers who use federal lands want to keep fees low, while conservation groups and others believe fees should be raised to approximate "fair market value."
- Federal Lands Provisions of Economic Stimulus Legislation (P.L. 111-5)
- This report discusses the major federal lands provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5, H.R. 1). It focuses on provisions in the law related to four federal agencies: the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service. These provisions relate to construction, resource management, and wildland fire management.
- Mining on Federal Lands
- This report discusses the General Mining Law of 1872, which is the law that grants free access to individuals and corporations to prospect for minerals in public domain lands, and allows them, upon making a discovery, to stake (or “locate”) a claim on that deposit.
- Grazing Fees: An Overview and Current Issues
- This report briefly discusses charging fees for grazing private livestock on federal lands, which is a long-standing but contentious practice. Generally, livestock producers who use federal lands want to keep fees low, while conservation groups and others believe fees should be raised to approximate "fair market value."
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues for the 110th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Hunting and Fishing on Federal Lands and Waters: Overview and Issues for Congress
- This report provides an overview of issues related to hunting and fishing on federal lands.
- Wilderness: Issues and Legislation
- This report discusses information on wilderness protection and a discussion of issues in the wilderness debate--some pros and cons of wilderness designation generally; proposed legislation; and a discussion of wilderness study area designations and protections and related issues.
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): A Primer for the 114th Congress
- This report discusses the history of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the basic issues in the debate over wilderness versus development, the Native interests, and the energy and biological resources at stake.
- Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3356
- This report discusses Department of Interior Secretarial Order 3356 which was issued on September 15, 2017 and directs bureaus and offices that manage public lands to enhance opportunities for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting while also promoting conservation activities on all public lands including National Monuments. Past orders and related legislation and reactions to the order are also discussed.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues for the 111th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues in the 111th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues for the 110th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service: Issues for the 110th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Energy and Mineral Development on Federal Land
- No Description Available.
- Federal Land Ownership: Acquisition and Disposal Authorities
- This report describes the primary authorities of the following agencies for acquiring and disposing of federal land. These four federal agencies--the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM), all in the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture--administer about 95% of those lands.