Congressional Research Service Reports - 42 Matching Results

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Agriculture in the WTO: Rules and Limits on U.S. Domestic Support

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments that are most relevant for U.S. domestic farm policy. It includes a discussion regarding how WTO commitments may influence policies and questions for evaluating WTO compliance of domestic farm spending..
Date: September 6, 2018
Creator: Schnepf, Randy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Sugar Program Fundamentals

Description: This report discusses the U.S. sugar program, which is singular among major agricultural commodity programs in that it combines a floor price guarantee with a supply management structure that encompasses both domestic production for human use and sugar imports.
Date: April 6, 2016
Creator: McMinimy, Mark A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Safety Net Programs: Background and Issues

Description: This report discusses several programs operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that supplement the income of farmers and ranchers in times of low farm prices and natural disasters. Federal crop insurance, farm programs, and disaster assistance are collectively called the farm safety net.
Date: February 6, 2015
Creator: Shields, Dennis A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture in Pending U.S. Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama

Description: This report discusses pending U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. The bills to implement these agreements will now be debated under trade promotion authority, or fast-track rules, designed to expedite congressional consideration. The report includes an overview of agricultural issues regarding FTAs and pending FTA partners, as well as a closer breakdown of the specific issues for each of the countries.
Date: October 6, 2011
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Safety Net Proposals for the 2012 Farm Bill

Description: This report discusses three proposals-one by the National Cotton Council, one by Representative Neugebauer, and another by a private crop insurance company-focus on modifications to crop insurance programs. The National Farmers Union proposes to replace existing farm programs with a combination of farmer-owned-reserves, increased loan rates, and set asides. A proposed new dairy program-the Dairy Security Act-would provide a voluntary margin insurance program and market stabilization activities … more
Date: October 6, 2011
Creator: Shields, Dennis A. & Schnepf, Randy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biomass: Comparison of Definitions in Legislation Through the 111th Congress

Description: This report discusses the use of biomass as an energy feedstock, which is emerging as a potentially viable alternative to address U.S. energy security concerns, foreign oil dependence, rural economic development, and diminishing sources of conventional energy. Biomass (organic matter that can be converted into energy) may include food crops, crops for energy (e.g., switchgrass or prairie perennials), crop residues, wood waste and byproducts, and animal manure. This report discusses legislation … more
Date: January 6, 2011
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi & Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Budget and Operations for FY2011

Description: This report provides an overview of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) budget and operations. This report chronicles congressional action on the FY2011 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS), and Related Agencies Appropriations bills, as well as any FY2010 supplemental appropriations bills, that provide funding for ATF.
Date: January 6, 2011
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Broadband Loan and Grant Programs in the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service

Description: Given the large potential impact broadband access may have on the economic development of rural America, concern has been raised over a "digital divide" between rural and urban or suburban areas with respect to broadband deployment. While there are many examples of rural communities with state of the art telecommunications facilities, recent surveys and studies have indicated that, in general, rural areas tend to lag behind urban and suburban areas in broadband deployment. This report provides … more
Date: October 6, 2009
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Budget and Operations

Description: This report provides an overview of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) budget and operations. The ATF is the lead federal law enforcement agency charged with administering and enforcing federal laws related to the manufacture, importation, and distribution of firearms and explosives.
Date: August 6, 2009
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Temporary Farm Labor: The H-2A Program and the U.S. Department of Labor's Proposed Changes in the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR)

Description: This report begins with a description of the H-2A program. Next, the report explains how the AEWR is currently determined and how it would be calculated under the proposed regulations. Finally, the report examines some potential effects of the proposed change in the AEWR on the wages and employment of foreign and U.S. workers on U.S. farms.
Date: November 6, 2008
Creator: Mayer, Gerald
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Measuring and Monitoring Carbon in the Agricultural and Forestry Sectors

Description: Proposals to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases often include the use of forestry and agricultural practices and lands for carbon sequestration. However, uncertainty about the accuracy of measuring carbon from these activities has led some to question this potential. Basic approaches for measuring forest and agricultural carbon include on-site measurement; indirect measurement from off-site tools; and estimation using models or inferences. Because of challenges associ… more
Date: October 6, 2008
Creator: Gorte, Ross W. & Johnson, Renée
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector

Description: This report is organized in three parts. First, it discusses the extent of GHG emissions associated with the U.S. agriculture sector, and cites current and potential estimates for U.S. agricultural soils to sequester carbon and partly offset national GHG emissions. Second, the report describes the types of land management and farm conservation practices that can reduce GHG emissions and/or sequester carbon in agricultural soils, highlighting those practices that are currently promoted under exi… more
Date: March 6, 2007
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Disaster Assistance

Description: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers several permanently authorized programs to help farmers recover financially from a natural disaster, including federal crop insurance, the non-insured assistance program and emergency disaster loans. In recent years, Congress frequently has made supplemental financial assistance available to farmers and ranchers on an ad-hoc basis, most notably in the form of direct crop disaster payments and emergency livestock assistance. Congress provided an e… more
Date: October 6, 2006
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: A number of issues affecting U.S. agriculture have been or are being addressed by the 109th Congress. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171), enacted in February 2006, included a net reduction in spending on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandatory programs of $2.7 billion over five years, and the reauthorization of a dairy income support program. Other issues of importance to agriculture during the second session of the 109th Congress include the consideration of emergency far… more
Date: October 6, 2006
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2007 Appropriations

Description: This report considers the Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The report compares and contrasts the Senate and House versions of the bill in terms of budgeting. Moreover, both bills reject the termination of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.
Date: July 6, 2006
Creator: Monke, Jim; Becker, Geoffrey S.; Chite, Ralph M.; Cowan, Tadlock; Hanrahan, Charles E.; Rawson, Jean M. et al.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Pigford Case: USDA Settlement of a Discrimination Suit by Black Farmers

Description: On April 14, 1999, Federal District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman approved a settlement agreement and consent decree resolving a class action discrimination suit (commonly known as the Pigford case) between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and black farmers. This report highlights some of the events that led up to the Pigford class action suit and outlines the structure of the settlement agreement. It also discusses the number of claims reviewed, denied, and awarded, and some of the issues rai… more
Date: December 6, 2005
Creator: Viña, Stephen R. & Cowan, Tadlock
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Pigford Case: USDA Settlement of a Discrimination Suit by Black Farmers

Description: This report highlights some of the events that led up to the Pigford class action suit and outlines the structure of the settlement agreement. It also discusses the number of claims reviewed, denied, and awarded, and some of the issues raised by various parties.
Date: December 6, 2005
Creator: Viña, Stephen R. & Cowan, Tadlock
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: A number of issues affecting U.S. agriculture are receiving attention during the 109th Congress. Some are related to new initiatives or to unfinished legislation from the 108th Congress; others have been the focus of ongoing congressional oversight. The agriculture committees are required by the FY2006 budget resolution to report legislation this year that reduces spending on mandatory food and agriculture support programs by $3 billion over the next five years. Other issues of importance to ag… more
Date: July 6, 2005
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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