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U.S. Farm Income: Recent National and Regional Changes and the Federal Response

Description: Major segments of U.S. agriculture are experiencing declining farm income and financial difficulty. The degree of decline, however, differs among regions and commodities. In 1996, the overall farm sector experienced record high income that declined 6.7% in 1997, and is forecast to decline by another 3.6% in 1998. Several factors are responsible for the recent drop in farm income. Reduced export demand and large global supplies have reduced crop prices
Date: December 15, 1998
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry & Jones, Jean Yavis
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hog Prices: Questions and Answers

Description: This report discusses price changes in the pork industry. In late 1998, the lowest hog prices in decades created a crisis in the pork industry and prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Congress to take a series of actions to assist producers, including direct cash payments, and the purchase of extra pork products to reduce market supplies. The industry sought additional aid as low prices persisted into 1999.
Date: December 15, 1999
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and the 106th Congress: A Summary of Major Issues

Description: Most congressional interest in agriculture in the 106th Congress was focused on persistent low prices for major commodities and proposals to redress declining farm income. Six emergency farm aid bills were approved, increasing agricultural spending by nearly $27 billion for fiscal years 1999-2001. These bills provided disaster relief along with short term “market loss payments”to farmers to shore up farm income. Some longer term changes also were enacted as part of emergency farm legislation, w… more
Date: December 15, 2000
Creator: Jones, Jean Yavis
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Listing of a Species: Legal Definition and Biological Realities

Description: The 103d Congress will debate the reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) 2 which expired on October 1, 1992. The Act has recently generated controversy, even though it passed in 1973 with virtually no opposition. Much of the debate concerns specific actions that would jeopardize particular species or populations. However, the controversy has been fueled by the discrepancies between two sets of legal definitions and the subtle biological realities that they approximate
Date: December 15, 1992
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Campaign Financing

Description: 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 competi… more
Date: December 15, 2003
Creator: Cantor, Joseph E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Economic Sanctions: Legislation in the 106th Congress

Description: This report tracks legislation relating to the use of economic sanctions in pursuit of foreign policy or national security objectives. Separate sections are given to the areas of greatest activity: sanctions imposed against India and Pakistan; exemptions of food and medicine exports; and sanctions reform. A separate table is included listing sanctions measures that were introduced but received no consideration, including measures pertaining to export controls, nonproliferation, drug certificati… more
Date: December 15, 2000
Creator: Rennack, Dianne E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Affirmative Action Revisited: A Legal History and Prospectus

Description: Affirmative action remains a focal point of public debate as the result of legal and political developments at the federal, state, and local levels. This report discusses legislation related to affirmative action, as well as legal rulings on the topic and the federal government's role in first establishing and, later, attempting to curb affirmative action policies.
Date: December 15, 2004
Creator: Dale, Charles V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A CRS Review of 10 States: Home and Community-Based Services — States Seek to Change the Face of Long-Term Care: Indiana

Description: Many states have devoted significant efforts to respond to the desire for home and community-based care for persons with disabilities and their families. Nevertheless, financing of nursing home care, chiefly by Medicaid, still dominates most states’ spending for long-term care today. To assist Congress in understanding issues that states face in providing long-term care services, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) undertook a study of 10 states in 2002. This report, one in a series of 10 … more
Date: December 15, 2003
Creator: Tilly, Jane; O'Shaughnessy, Carol & Weissert, Rob
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress

Description: This Issue Brief examines DOD’s four largest tactical aircraft modernization programs. The background section provides a brief description of each program, and a discussion of how tactical aircraft fit into the military air operations: the missions they typically perform and how they contrast to longer-range combat aircraft.
Date: December 15, 2004
Creator: Bolkcom, Christopher
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Taiwan: Recent Developments and U.S. Policy Choices

Description: Under the current Bush Administration, U.S.-China-Taiwan relations have undergone a number of changes. Initially, the new Administration seemed to abandon the longstanding U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan in favor of “strategic clarity” that placed more emphasis on Taiwan’s interests and less on PRC concerns. Among other things, President Bush publicly stated that the The United States would do “whatever it takes” to help Taiwan’s defense — an unprecedented a statement which no pr… more
Date: December 15, 2004
Creator: Dumbaugh, Kerry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Port and Maritime Security: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, heightened awareness about the vulnerability to the terrorist attack of all modes of transportation. Port security has emerged as a significant part of the overall debate on U.S. homeland security. The overarching issues for Congress are providing oversight on current port security programs and making or responding to proposals to improve port security.
Date: December 15, 2004
Creator: Frittelli, John F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Metropolitan School Desegregation

Description: Interest in desegregating schools throughout multi-district metropolitan areas has increased as a result of litigation in the Federal courts concerning cross-district integration of students in Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, and W Wilmington metropolitan areas. Experience with school desegregation efforts involving a central city school district and its suburban independent school districts is very limited. Throughout the Southeast, school districts generally cover larger geographical areas… more
Date: December 15, 1980
Creator: Jordan, K. Forbis & Dale, Charles V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Reallocation of Hurricanes Katrina Emergency Appropriations: Defense and Other Issues

Description: As the first session of the 109th Congress draws to a close, some Members continue to address urgent needs from Hurricane Katrina funding. On October 28, 2005, the President proposed to reallocate $17.1 billion of the $60 billion in funds previously appropriated for disaster relief in two Katrina supplementals (P.L.109-61 and P.L.109-62). On the same day, the President submitted a request to rescind $2.3 billion to offset some of the costs of the federal response.
Date: December 15, 2005
Creator: Belasco, Amy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Securing General Aviation

Description: Report on the attempt to secure general aviation, including risks, agreements, vulnerabilities, watch programs, and more.
Date: December 15, 2005
Creator: Elias, Bart
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Basic Reference Sources For Use by Congressional Offices: An Annotated Selection of Publications and Services

Description: This is an annotated guide to publications and other sources of information useful to Members of Congress and their staffs, covering congressional office management, the organization and operation of Congress, legislative responsibilities, services to constituents, and other duties of Congress.
Date: December 15, 1982
Creator: Barry, Rozanne M. & Ovenshire, Ruthann
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer

Description: The combined efforts of the food industry and the regulatory agencies often are credited with making the U.S. food supply among the safest in the world. Nonetheless, many food-related health issues persist. At issue is whether the current U.S. regulatory system has the resources and structural organization to protect consumers from these dangers. Also at issue is whether the federal food safety laws themselves, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that h… more
Date: December 15, 2010
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Aid Conditions, Restrictions, and Reporting Requirements

Description: This report provides a comprehensive list of existing laws and pending legislation containing conditions, limitations, and reporting requirements for U.S. foreign assistance to Pakistan. It will track the debate on this topic and resulting changes.
Date: December 15, 2011
Creator: Epstein, Susan B. & Kronstadt, K. Alan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Description: This report discusses the reasons that Iran is considered a threat to U.S. security, including Iran's nuclear program, involvement with terrorist organizations, and involvement with neighboring countries' local governments. The report also discusses ways which the U.S. hopes to modify Iran's behavior with sanctions, and the effectiveness of these sanctions.
Date: December 15, 2011
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Nuclear Cooperation with India: Issues for Congress

Description: India, which has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and does not have International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on all of its nuclear material, exploded a “peaceful” nuclear device in 1974, convincing the world of the need for greater restrictions on nuclear trade. The United States created the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as a direct response to India's test, halted nuclear exports to India a few years later, and worked to convince other states to do the same. India tested nuc… more
Date: December 15, 2011
Creator: Kerr, Paul K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA): Provisions and Implications

Description: This report is designed to assist Members of Congress as they consider the costs and benefits of the U.S.-South Korean Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA.) It examines the provisions of the KORUS FTA in the context of the overall U.S.-South Korean economic relationship, U.S. objectives, and South Korean objectives.
Date: December 15, 2010
Creator: Cooper, William H.; Manyin, Mark E.; Jurenas, Remy & Platzer, Michaela D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Safety on the Farm: Federal Programs and Legislative Action

Description: In recent years, major outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, product recalls, and reports about unsafe food imports have caused some to question the adequacy of the U.S. food safety system. Stakeholders appear to agree that an optimal system should encompass a comprehensive, preventive approach to food safety, focusing on those foods and points in the food system that pose the greatest public health risks, starting at the point of production - that is, on farms and ranches. This report discusses di… more
Date: December 15, 2010
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector

Description: This report examines recent congressional interest in the security of wastewater utilities, and whether or not to include water utilities in chemical plant security regulations implemented by Department of Homeland Security. Damage to or destruction of the nation's water supply and water quality infrastructure by terrorist attack or natural disaster could disrupt the delivery of vital human services in this country, threatening public health and the environment, or possibly causing loss of life… more
Date: December 15, 2010
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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