Congressional Research Service Reports - Browse

ABOUT BROWSE FEED
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
11 - 34 of 413

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 109th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices

Description: This report discusses various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; P.L. 93-205, 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1543). Major issues include changing the role of science in decision-making, modifying critical habitat (CH) procedures, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection and incentives for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others.
Date: April 12, 2006
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne; Sheikh, Pervaze A.; Baldwin, Pamela & Meltz, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Conservation and the 2007 Farm Bill

Description: Conservation is playing a prominent role in the development of a farm bill by the 110th Congress. This report introduces some of the issues that are influencing the development of a conservation title. It then reviews the contents of the House-passed bill, H.R. 2419.
Date: August 27, 2007
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Soil and Water Conservation: An Overview

Description: This report discusses soil and water conservation topics, which are prominent in discussions of policy options for the next farm bill. Two omnibus conservation proposals have been introduced (H.R. 1551 and H.R. 1600), and many interest groups continue to offer policy recommendations ranging from general concepts to specific legislative language.
Date: April 10, 2007
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Restoration After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Description: This report introduces a $1.1 billion programthat would help restore specified sites in the coastal wetland ecosystem in Louisiana and more extensive restoration options that are being discussed in the wake of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. It also discusses whether this program, if completed, might have muted the impacts of the hurricanes.
Date: January 24, 2007
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Conservation Reserve Program: Status and Current Issues

Description: This report discusses the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enacted in 1985, which provides payments to farmers to take highly erodible or environmentally-sensitive cropland out of production for ten years or more to conserve soil and water resources.
Date: September 11, 2008
Creator: Cowan, Tadlock
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress such as: Arctic sovereignty claims; commercial shipping through the Arctic; Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered Arctic species; and increased military operations in the Arctic that could cause the region in coming years to become an arena of international cooperation or competition.
Date: January 19, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Endangered Species: Difficult Choices

Description: This report discusses various measures being considered by Congress that propose to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have focused on whether to incorporate further protection for property owners and reduce regulatory impacts, whether to increase the protection afforded listed species, or whether to modify various aspects of the ESA, such as the role of science in decision-making.
Date: December 9, 2003
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. L. & Baldwin, Pamela
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Endangered Species: Difficult Choices

Description: This report discusses various measures being considered by Congress that propose to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have focused on whether to incorporate further protection for property owners and reduce regulatory impacts, whether to increase the protection afforded listed species, or whether to modify various aspects of the ESA, such as the role of science in decision-making.
Date: June 14, 2004
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. L. & Baldwin, Pamela
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Diamonds and Conflict: Background, Policy, and Legislation

Description: This report discusses issues surrounding "conflict diamonds" -- i.e., diamonds that have been mined and sold to support armed conflict -- as well as resulting U.S. policy responses. Policy makers' attention has also increasingly focused on the possible role that diamonds may play in the financing of terrorist operations.
Date: July 16, 2003
Creator: Cook, Nicolas
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Renewable Energy Programs in the 2008 Farm Bill

Description: This report discuses the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, the 2008 farm bill) that extends and expands many of the renewable energy programs originally authorized in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.
Date: August 13, 2010
Creator: Stubbs, Megan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Softwood Lumber Imports From Canada: Current Issues

Description: This report examines the status and current issues surrounding Canadian softwood lumber imports since 2006. After providing background information on what constitutes softwood lumber, the stakeholders in the dispute, and the history of the dispute, the report introduces the 2006 SLA and analyzes its impacts on the U.S. lumber industry as well as on the trade relationship between the United States and Canada. Finally, the report discusses the potential issues Congress may consider when the agreement expires in 2015.
Date: August 27, 2015
Creator: Hoover, Katie & Fergusson, Ian F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): Status and Issues

Description: This report discusses the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which provides payments to agricultural producers to take highly erodible and environmentally sensitive land out of production and install resource conserving practices for 10 or more years. CRP was first authorized in the Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198, 1985 farm bill) and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Farm Service Agency (FSA) with technical support from other USDA agencies.
Date: August 29, 2014
Creator: Stubbs, Megan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): Status and Issues

Description: This report discusses the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which provides payments to agricultural producers to take highly erodible and environmentally sensitive land out of production and install resource conserving practices for 10 or more years. CRP was first authorized in the Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198, 1985 farm bill) and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) with technical support from other USDA agencies.
Date: March 18, 2013
Creator: Stubbs, Megan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Conservation and the 2007 Farm Bill

Description: This report introduces some of the issues that are influencing the development of a conservation title. It then reviews the contents of the House-passed bill, H.R. 2419. Some alternative proposals that the House considered are summarized in an appendix. The House-passed bill includes some elements of the alternative proposals (usually in modified form). This report is limited to the conservation title. However, conservation topics in recent farm bills have been increasingly addressed in other titles, and that trend continues with the House-passed version, which contains conservation provisions in the energy, forestry, and research titles, and others as well.
Date: August 27, 2007
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues for the 110th Congress

Description: This report discusses actions the 110th Congress is considering that affect the various uses and management of federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. These actions include legislation, administrative or regulatory proposals, and litigation and judicial decisions. Issues areas include access to energy resources on federal lands, especially implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005; development of hardrock minerals; roadless area management and protection; management, protection, and disposal of wild horses and burros; wilderness designation and management; and wildfire management and protection. Many of these issues have been of interest to Congress and the nation for decades.
Date: October 26, 2007
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.; Vincent, Carol H.; Humphries, Marc & Alexander, Kristina
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands and National Forests

Description: 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.
Date: October 26, 2005
Creator: Gorte, Ross W. & Vincent, Carol H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Heritage Areas: Background, Proposals, and Current Issues

Description: Over the past 20 years, Congress has established 24 National Heritage Areas (NHAs) to commemorate, conserve, and promote important areas that include natural, scenic, historic, cultural, and recreational resources. This report focuses on heritage areas designated by Congress, and related issues and legislation.
Date: October 1, 2004
Creator: Vincent, Carol Hardy & Whiteman, David
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues for the 110th Congress

Description: The missions of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS) are similar, and many issues, programs, and policies affect both agencies. This report focuses on several issues affecting both agencies’ lands that are likely to be of interest to the 110th Congress, including energy resources, hardrock mining, FS roadless areas, wild horses and burros, wilderness, wildfire protection, and others.
Date: May 9, 2008
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.; Vincent, Carol H.; Humphries, Marc & Alexander, Kristina
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Forest Service Accountability in Administering Its Trust Funds

Description: The USDA Forest Service has numerous permanently appropriated trust funds and special funds that provide substantial funding independent of the annual appropriations process. Critics have alleged abuse of the funds and have sought greater congressional oversight, and the General Accounting Office has testified on the agency’s management of some of these accounts. While the Administration has offered few responses to the criticisms of these funds, it has, in its FY2001 budget request, proposed creating two new trust funds and combining several existing funds into a new fund with expanded purposes. This report provides an overview of the permanently appropriated Forest Service accounts and concerns over their use and proposed alternative structures that could provide greater public and congressional oversight and control over permanently appropriated funds.
Date: March 8, 2000
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Conservation Compliance and U.S. Farm Policy

Description: This report discusses various provisions designed to reduce production and conserve soil and water resources. Many of the provisions remain in effect today, including the two compliance provisions--highly erodible land conservation (sodbuster) and wetland conservation (swampbuster).
Date: June 9, 2014
Creator: Stubbs, Megan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department