Congressional Research Service Reports - 52 Matching Results
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- Greece's Debt Crisis: Overview, Policy Responses, and Implications
- Greece is currently facing such a sovereign debt crisis. On May 2, 2010, the Eurozone members and International Monetary Fund (IMF) endorsed a historic €110 billion (about $145 billion) financial package for Greece in an effort to avoid a Greek default and to stem contagion of Greece's crisis to other European countries, particularly Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Italy. This report provides an overview of the crisis; outlines the major causes of the crisis, focusing on both domestic and international factors; examines how Greece, the Eurozone members, and the IMF have responded to the crisis; and highlights the broader implications of Greece's debt crisis, including for the United States.
- The Global Financial Crisis: Increasing IMF Resources and the Role of Congress
- This report provides information on the role the IMF has played in the financial crisis, international agreement to increase the financial resources of the IMF, and the role of Congress in increasing the Fund's resources. As will be discussed in detail at the end of the report, congressional authorization, and perhaps appropriation, would be required to increase U.S. contributions to the IMF.
- Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
- The U.S. merchandise trade deficit is a part of the overall U.S. balance of payments, a summary statement of all economic transactions between the residents of the United States and the rest of the world, during a given period of time. Some Members of Congress and other observers have grown concerned over the magnitude of the growing U.S. merchandise trade deficit and the associated increase in U.S. dollar-denominated assets owned by foreigners. This report provides an overview of the U.S. balance of payments, an explanation of the broader role of capital flows in the U.S. economy, an explanation of how the country finances its trade deficit or a trade surplus, and the implications for Congress and the country of the large inflows of capital from abroad.
- Multilateral Development Banks: How the United States Makes and Implements Policy
- This report analyzes how the United States makes policy towards the multilateral development banks (MDBs) and identifies ways by which Congress can shape U.S. policy and influence the activities of the banks themselves.
- Alternative Minimum Taxpayers By State: 2003, 2004, and Projections for 2007
- This report
- Export-Import Bank: Background and Legislative Issues
- This report discusses the Export-Import Bank (Ex-In Bank), the chief U.S. government agency that helps finance American exports of manufactured goods and services with the objective of contributing to the employment of U.S. workers.
- Export-Import Bank: Background and Legislative Issues
- This report discusses the Export-Import Bank (Ex-In Bank), the chief U.S. government agency that helps finance American exports of manufactured goods and services with the objective of contributing to the employment of U.S. workers. This report discusses the Bank's budget and related legislation, including the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, signed by President Barack Obama and authorizing spending limitations for the Bank.
- One Million Personal Bankruptcies a Year: Economic Implications and Policy Options
- This report examines various explanations for the rapid rise in personal bankruptcy filings in the United States since 1980, the economic significance of the phenomenon, and policy options. This discussion and analysis provide a background for consideration of legislation before the 105th Congress ( H.R. 3150 and S. 1301), which proposes to reform the consumer bankruptcy process.
- Auction Basics: Background for Assessing Proposed Treasury Purchases of Mortgage- Backed Securities
- This report discusses the administrations' proposal to use reverse Dutch auctions to purchase troubled assets -- primarily mortgage-related securities from financial institutions.
- Structure and Functions of The Federal Reserve System
- This report examines the structure and operations of the major components of the Federal Reserve System, and provides an overview of congressional oversight activities.
- Election in Greece
- This report discusses issues leading up to Greece's snap legislative election on September 20, only eight months after the country's last election. Greece continues to struggle with the negative repercussions of a sovereign debt and financial crisis that began in 2009.
- How Have Small Banks Been Affected by Financial Reform?
- This report briefly summarizes a CRS analysis of major rules issued since 2010 by banking regulators pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act.
- Multilateral Development Banks: U.S. Contributions FY1990-2002
- No Description Available.
- Consumer Bankruptcy and Household Debt
- Financial distress is most common among lower-income families, but its incidence has grown in all income brackets. This trend suggests that explanations for the rise in consumer bankruptcy filings are more likely to be found in micro-analysis of individuals and groups of debtors than in macroeconomic indicators. This report presents statistics on bankruptcy filings, household debt, and households in financial distress.
- Social Security Reform: Economic Issues
- The President has indicated that Social Security reform will be a major issue in the 109th Congress. While Social Security originated as a Depression-era program aimed at alleviating the economic circumstances of the elderly, social insurance also corrects market failures in the annuity market (adverse selection), prevents free-riders (requires workers to provide for their retirement), spreads risk, and may correct for failure to optimize by shortsighted individuals.
- Bankruptcy Relief and Natural Disaster Victims
- In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many have questioned whether implementing the new procedures of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), P.L. 109-8, scheduled to go into effect on October 17, 2005, should be delayed. This report considers whether bankruptcy law in general, and the BAPCPA in particular, may present unique challenges to financial recovery for those whose life, livelihood, and/or home have been damaged or destroyed.
- Campaign Finance: Legislative Developments and Policy Issues in the 110th Congress
- This report provides an overview of major legislative and policy developments related to campaign finance during the 110th Congress. The report discusses legislative and oversight hearings and floor action during the period. It also explores major policy issues that are relevant for Congress, but have largely occurred away from Capitol Hill. As of this writing, approximately 50 bills devoted primarily to campaign finance have been introduced in the 110th Congress, but none have become law. A new lobbying and ethics law, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) contains campaign finance provisions related to "bundled" campaign contributions and campaign travel. That measure is the only campaign finance related bill to become law during the 110th Congress.
- Insurance Exclusion Clauses: Excluding War Risks and Terror Risks from Insurance Contracts
- No Description Available.
- Campaign Financing
- This is one report in the series of reports that discuss the campaign finance practices and related issues. Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. The report talks about the today’s paramount issues such as perceived loopholes in current law and the longstanding issues: overall costs, funding sources, and competition.
- Global Financial Turmoil, the IMF, and the New Financial Architecture
- No Description Available.
- September 11 Insurance Litigation
- No Description Available.
- Finance and the Economy: Occupy Wall Street in Historical Perspective
- This report presents examples of political statements about the fundamental costs and benefits of finance and recent economic research that points to aspects of financial activity that may not be advantageous to the real economy. The report does not attempt a comprehensive survey of either literature, but provides a reminder of the breadth of the historical debates that have shaped congressional oversight of financial institutions and markets.
- "Regulatory Relief" for Banking: Selected Legislation in the 114th Congress
- This report discusses regulatory relief legislation for banks in the 114th Congress that, at the time this report was published, has seen floor action or has been ordered to be reported by a committee.
- Saving Rates in the United States: Calculation and Comparison
- The amount of money saved has important economic consequences. Nationally, the amount of saving affects how much can be invested and ultimately the size of the capital stock. This report explains how national saving is measured, presents recent estimates of saving rates in the United States, and, for comparison, provides those of other major industrial countries.
- Automatic Enrollment in Section 401(k) Plans
- This is a report on Automatic Enrollment in section 401(k) plans.
- World Heritage Convention and U.S. National Parks
- From Summary: This paper describes the operation of the UNESCO Convention and will be updated periodically.
- Review of Selected Bills Relating to Public School Finance Pending Before the 92nd Congress
- This report provides an overview of proposed bills in the 92nd Congress related to public school finance.
- Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of U.S. Financial Supervision
- Federal financial regulation in the United States has evolved through a series of piecemeal responses to developments and crises in financial markets. This report provides an overview of current U.S. financial regulation: which agencies are responsible for which institutions and markets, and what kinds of authority they have.
- Uncertainty in Financial Projections of Social Security
- The financial outlook for Social Security has been the subject of much analysis and debate. This report briefly discusses a report from the Social Security Board of Trustees which contains the federal government's official financial projections for the Social Security program.
- Foreign Investment in U.S. Securities
- This report analyzes the extent of foreign portfolio investment in the U.S. economy and assesses the economic conditions that are attracting such investment and the impact such investments are having on the economy.
- Insurance Regulation: Background and Issues
- No Description Available.
- Appropriations for FY2000: Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
- This report is a guide to appropriations of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for FY2000.
- Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation
- This report includes information background and analysis regarding exemption for and agriculture products from United States economic sanctions. This report also details debates, enacted provisions, sales, and developments regarding this subject.
- Foreign Direct Investment: Current Issues
- This report presents an overview of current issues related to foreign direct investment in the economy and the development of U.S. policy toward inward and outward direct investment. This report also assesses the role of foreign direct investment in the economy and the costs and benefits of direct investment.
- The Stock Market's Response to Dramatic Historical Events
- The events of September 11, 2001, have caused speculation that the U.S. stock market may crash when trading resumes. History, however, suggests that there is no uniform pattern in which bad news is followed by a stock market plunge. This report presents data on the stock market response to four episodes: Pearl Harbor, the Kennedy assassination, the October 1987 stock market crash, and the Asian financial crisis of 1997. There is, of course, no guarantee that the market will behave now or in the future as it did then.
- Medicare: Selected Prescription Drug Proposals
- Report on selected prescription drug proposals in the Medicare program, including a cost benefits analysis, summary of proposals, background of the issues, and more.
- One Million Personal Bankruptcies a Year: Economic Implications and Policy Options
- No Description Available.
- Bank Failures: Recent Trends and Policy Options
- During the 1980s the U.S. banking industry has experienced a rapidly growing number of failures. Many factors have contributed to this trend including deregulation, technology, individual bank management, and economic conditions. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) handles insured bank failures. Congress has been monitoring the recent trend and is concerned with the FDIC’s ability to continue to perform its supervisory and insurance operations. The present situation, information on key factors affecting the banking industry, and the FDIC’s role when a bank fails is discussed in this report. The reference section of this issue brief contains a list of CRS products providing background on the FDIC and legislative issues relevant to the agency.
- Campus-Based Student Financial Aid Programs Under the Higher Education Act
- This report begins by providing a brief description of each of the campus-based programs, including the terms under which financial aid is awarded to students and the procedures under which federal funds are allocated to institutions for that purpose. It then provides historical information on federal funds appropriated for each of the programs, an analysis of the number and types of students served, and selected program statistics.
- Gasoline Prices: Legislation in the 110th Congress
- This report gives information related to the high prices of Gasoline and legislation in the 110th Congress.
- Aviation Congestion and Delay: System-Wide and New York-Area Issues
- This report addresses System-Wide and New York-Area Issues of Aviation Congestion and Delay.
- Gasoline Supply: The Role of Imports
- This report contains the role of imports on gasoline supply.
- Electric Utility Rate Reform
- This report deals with the major issues in electric utility rate reform together with a discussion of current procedures.
- Hardrock Mining: State Regulation
- This report provides a survey of state laws governing these above-mentioned aspects of hardrock mining. It provides an overview of the regulation of several specific activities associated with hardrock mineral development.
- Railroad Retirement Board Annuities for Widows and Widowers
- This report explains the provisions of the Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001 law that affect widow(er) annuities and provides an illustration of the annuities under both prior law and current law.
- The Future Role of U.S. Trade Policy: An Overview
- The United States has become increasingly integrated with the rest of the world economy. This integration has offered benefits and presented challenges to U.S. business, agriculture, labor, and consumers. Those who can compete in the more integrated economy have enjoyed opportunities to broaden their success, while those who are challenged by increased foreign competition have been forced to adjust and some have exited the market or relocated overseas. Some observers contend that, in order to remain globally competitive, the United States must continue to support trade liberalization policies, while assisting those hurt by trade. Others have raised doubts over whether free trade policies benefit the U.S. economy. This report provides an overview and background on the debate over the future course of U.S. trade policy.
- Foreign Investment in U.S. Securities
- This report relies on a comprehensive set of data on capital flows, represented by purchase and sales of U.S government securities and U.S and foeign corporate stocks, bonds, into and out of the United States, that is reported by the Treasury Department on a monthly basis.
- Oil Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline: Background and Selected Environmental Issues
- This report focuses on selected environmental concerns raised in conjunction with the proposed pipeline and the oil sands crude it will transport. As such, the environmental issues discussed in this report do not represent an exhaustive list of concerns and issues. Moreover, many of the environmental concerns are not unique to oil sands. One could compose analogous lists for all forms of energy: coal, natural gas, nuclear, biofuels, conventional crude oil. Therefore, the oil sands/pipeline issues discussed in this report, when practicable, will be compared to other energy sources, particularly conventional crude oil development.
- Offshore Drilling Safety: A Status Report
- This report describes selected Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) safety reforms, provides a concise summary of relevant offshore safety milestones, and offers insights about policy discussions related to safety. As part of overseeing DOI safety reforms initiated in 2010, the 113th Congress is placing an emphasis on agency performance associated with implementing reforms to improve safety initiated in 2010.
- Securities Litigation Reform: Unfinished Business?
- No Description Available.