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- Abortion: Legislative Response
- The primary purpose of this issue brief is to focus on the current legislative action in the 107th Congress with respect to abortion; however, understanding that legislation requires a review of the U. S. Supreme Court’s leading decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a detailed discussion of the case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
- Abortion: Legislative Response
- The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action in the 108th Congress with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
- Medicare: Side-by-Side Comparison of Selected Prescription Drug Bills
- Report comparing prescription drug bills in the Medicare program, including an examination of the covered population, benefits, deductibles, premiums, and more.
- The Economics of Agricultural Policy
- An English Act of 1663 imposed a duty on grain imported from abroad whenever the domestic price was below a legislatively set price floor. The English farmer enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the domestic market. By the same token, he was allowed to export grain whenever the domestic price exceeded the price floor, and, after 1673, was granted a bounty (subsidy) on grain exports.
- An Introduction to Farm Commodity Programs
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is required to provide assistance to 20 specified agricultural commodities, to achieve three primary objectives: to support prices, supplement incomes, and manage supplies. Supporters contend that financial help to the farm sector also ensures consumers an abundant supply of reasonably priced food. But critics believe that basic U.S. farm policies, conceived in the 1930s, no longer meet the needs of modern agriculture or society as a whole. This report discusses the various programs available for different commodities.
- Wheat, Feed Grains, Cotton, Rice, and Oilseeds Provisions of the Enacted 1996 Farm Bill
- No Description Available.
- Sugar Policy Issues
- No Description Available.
- Soil and Water Conservation Issues
- No Description Available.
- Dairy Policy Issues
- Several dairy issues that were debated during the 108th Congress are expected to continue as issues of interest in the 109th Congress. Separate bills were introduced in the 108th Congress to extend authority for both the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program and the dairy forward pricing pilot program, and to address dairy producer concerns about the importation of milk protein concentrates.
- Dairy Policy Issues
- Several major dairy policy issues are addressed in the context of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107- 171, the 2002 farm bill), which was signed into law on May 13, 2002. Included in the enacted 2002 farm bill are a reauthorization of the dairy price support program for an additional 5 ½ years, and new authorization for direct payments to dairy farmers through September 2005, triggered whenever the market price of farm milk falls below a target price level.
- Farm Support Programs and World Trade Commitments
- Congress is now debating reauthorization of omnibus farm legislation, as most commodityprice support provisions expire in 2002. This report discusses this debate, specifically aspects relating to commitments that the U.S. has as a World Trade Organization (WTO) member. Because of the interrelationships between trade and domestic support policies, lawmakers are interested in what the Agreement on Agriculture stipulates with regard to domestic supports, and how not only the United States but also other countries are meeting their Agreement commitments.
- Pesticide Residue Regulation: Analysis of Food Quality Protection Act Implementation
- This report discusses the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) which amened the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), governing U.S. registration, sale, and use of pesticide products, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) under which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets allowable pesticide residue levels for food (tolerances).
- Farm Commodity Programs: A Short Primer
- This report briefly discusses programs designed to provide income support, price support, and/or supply management for approximately 20 specified agricultural commodities. It specifically addresses the proposed farm bill legislation, meant to expand existing services and add new programs, in part to avert ad hoc measures to fill gaps.
- Global Climate Change: Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases
- This report discusses global climate change and the market-based strategies to reduce greenhouse gases.
- Global Climate Change: Carbon Emissions and End-Use Energy Demand
- This report presents an analysis of the potential impacts of the Kyoto Protocol on U.S. energy demand. The analysis focuses on 27 common end-uses — light duty vehicles, residential space heating, industrial direct process heat, etc. — that describe the way energy is used in the United States
- Endangered Species: Difficult Choices
- This report discusses issues debated in the 107th Congress while is considering various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have included changing the role of science in decision-making, changing the role of critical habitat, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated including significant changes to ESA regulations made during the Clinton Administration in the law itself.
- A Brief Introduction to the Federal Budget Process
- This report provides a brief introduction to the federal budget process. Key budget concepts and terminology are defined and explained. The separate procedures that make up the federal budget process are identified and their salient features described. While a complete understanding of federal budgeting probably can be obtained only after much observation and study of the process in operation, broad exposure to its rudiments is a useful first step. Various resources “for additional reading” are identified at the end of this report, which the reader may find helpful in exploring the subject in greater depth.
- Crime Control Assistance Through the Byrne Programs
- The statute provides that states receive and distribute block grant funds and that the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) of the U.S. Department of Justice awards discretionary grants for specified activities. Allocated largely on the basis of population, block grant funds are used for personnel, equipment, training, technical assistance, and information systems to improve criminal justice systems.
- A Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment: Background and Congressional Options
- One of the most persistent political issues facing Congress in recent years is whether to require that the budget of the United States be in balance. Although a balanced federal budget has long been held as a political ideal, the accumulation of large deficits in recent years has heightened concern that some action to require a balance between revenues and expenditures may be necessary. The debate over a balanced budget measure actually consists of several interrelated debates, which this report addresses.
- Rural Water Supply and Sewer Systems: Background Information
- The Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act impose requirements regarding drinking water quality and wastewater treatment in rural areas. Approximately 27% of the U.S. population lives in areas defined by the Census Bureau as rural. Many rural communities need to complete water and waste disposal projects to improve the public health and environmental conditions of their citizens
- The Higher Education Act: Reauthorization Status and Issues
- This report provides an overview of postsecondary education (institutions and students), an overview of the Higher Education Act (HEA) with a focus on its most significant programs and provisions, and a discussion of major issues that have been, or may be, of interest to the Congress during the HEA reauthorization process.
- The Budget for Fiscal Year 2003
- This report discusses the budget for fiscal year 2003. It debates issues such as budget action, receipts surpluses or deficits, and the economy.
- Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals
- In recent years conflicting budget priorities and divided political control have accentuated the institutional tensions between the executive and legislative branches inherent in the federal budget process. President Clinton, like his two predecessors, called for an item veto, or possibly expanded impoundment authority, to provide him with greater control over federal spending. This report provides a brief history of impoundment and discusses the debate surrounding the line item veto.
- Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals
- In recent years conflicting budget priorities and divided political control have accentuated the institutional tensions between the executive and legislative branches inherent in the federal budget process. President Clinton, like his two predecessors, called for an item veto, or possibly expanded impoundment authority, to provide him with greater control over federal spending. This report provides a brief history of impoundment and discusses the debate surrounding the line item veto.
- Public Aid and Faith-Based Organizations (Charitable Choice): Background and Selected Legal Issues
- No Description Available.
- Chemical Plant Security
- Facilities handling large amounts of potentially hazardous chemicals (i.e., chemical facilities) might be of interest to terrorists, either as targets for direct attacks meant to release chemicals into the community or as a source of chemicals for use elsewhere. Because few terrorist attacks have been attempted against chemical facilities in the United States, the risk of death and injury in the near future is estimated to be low, relative to the likelihood of accidents at such facilities or attacks on other targets using conventional weapons. For any individual facility, the risk is very small, but risks may be increasing with potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment. Available evidence indicates that many chemical facilities may lack adequate safeguards.
- Monopoly and Monopolization - Fundamental But Separate Concepts in U.S. Antitrust Law
- This report illustrates the difference between the concepts of “monopoly” and “monopolization” by touching on the monopoly/monopolization thinking in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as illustrated in (1) statements on merger enforcement made by recent antitrust enforcement officials (generally indicative of the agencies’ concerns about competitive conditions and the effect of various market transactions), (2) the 1992 Horizontal Merger Guidelines 2 and (3) some observations on the Government actions against the Microsoft and Intel Corporations.
- The State Children's Health Insurance Program: Guidance on Frequently Asked Questions
- No Description Available.
- The Property Rights Issue
- The property rights issue arises because societal goals are sometimes pursued through government restrictions on the use of private property. At bottom, it is the age-old conflict between public goals and private rights.
- Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment
- The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. . . .” This language restricts government both more and less than it would if it were applied literally. It restricts government more in that it applies not only to Congress, but to all branches of the federal government, and to all branches of state and local government. It restricts government less in that it provides no protection to some types of speech and only limited protection to others. This report provides an overview of the major exceptions to the First Amendment — of the ways that the Supreme Court has interpreted the guarantee of freedom of speech and press to provide no protection or only limited protection for some types of speech.
- The Law of Church and State: The Proposed Religious Freedom Amendment, H.J. Res. 78
- This report summarizes legislative developments on the proposal and briefly analyzes its likely legal effect if added to the Constitution.
- Public Speaking and Speechwriting: Selected References
- No Description Available.
- Unanimous Consent Agreements in the Senate
- This report discusses the idea of "unanimous consent" in the Senate. Without its tradition of unanimous consent, the Senate would find it harder to process its complex workload.
- Voting in the Senate: Forms and Requirements
- No Description Available.
- House Voting Procedures: Forms and Requirements
- This report discusses the procedural considerations suffuse voting and the methods of voting in both the House and in the Committee of the Whole.
- Senate Amendment Process: General Conditions and Principles
- No Description Available.
- Senate Executive Business and the Executive Calendar
- No Description Available.
- Senate Rules for Committee Markups
- No Description Available.
- Super-Majority Votes in the Senate
- No Description Available.
- Congressional Budget Act Points of Order
- Title III of the Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974 (P.L. 93-344), as amended, establishes the points of order that are used to enforce congressional budget procedures and substantive provisions of a budget resolution. These points of order prohibit certain congressional actions and consideration of certain legislation.
- Medal of Honor Recipients: 1979-2003
- This report discusses changes in the list of recipients of the Medal of Honor (MoH). This report lists those changes by military action and provides the full text of their official citations.
- Appropriations for FY2001: Legislative Branch
- Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Legislative Branch Appropriations.
- 9/11 Commission Recommendations: Joint Committee on Atomic Energy - A Model for Congressional Oversight?
- This report focuses on that portion of the 9/11 Commission recommendation that urges Congress to consider the model of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (JCAE). It provides an outline of the history, structure, and powers of the JCAE and analyzes a number of issues that might be considered by policymakers as they weigh the suitability of the JCAE as a possible model when crafting congressional oversight mechanisms for intelligence.
- Membership of the 109th Congress: A Profile
- No Description Available.
- Consumer Bankruptcy Reform: Proposals Before the 105th Congress
- This report examines current consumer bankruptcy practice and the proposals set forth in the reform bills. Also considered are the legislative history of the current consumer bankruptcy scheme, and topics likely to be debated as Congress proceeds to consider consumer bankruptcy reform.
- President Bush's Proposed Medicare-Endorsed Drug Discount Card Initiative: Status and Issues
- No Description Available.
- Independent Counsel Provisions: An Overview of the Operation of the Law
- No Description Available.
- Defense Burdensharing: Is Japan's Host Nation Support a Model for Other Allies?
- Under an agreement announced in January 1991, the Government of Japan committed itself to increase substantially the amount of support that it provides for U.S. military forces based there. Among other things, Japan agreed by 1995 to absorb 100 percent of the cost of Japanese nationals employed at U.S. military facilities and to pay for all utilities supplied to U.S. bases, to increase the amount of military and family housing construction that it is providing to support U.S. forces, to continue to provide facilities at no charge to the United States and to waive taxes and fees that might otherwise apply to U.S. activities.
- Defense Acquisition Reform: Status and Current Issues
- The end of the Cold War and its impact on defense spending has created a strong need to reform Department of Defense’s (DOD) acquisition system. With procurement spending down, DOD expects to depend on savings from acquisition reform to help finance future force modernization. Policymakers believe that DOD should use more commercial products because, in many instances, they cost less and their quality is comparable to products built according to DOD military specifications. Many such reform proposals are based on recognition that DOD regulatory barriers and a Cold War acquisition “culture” have inhibited the introduction of commercial products.
- The United States and the Use of Force in the Post-Cold War World: Toward Self-Deterrence?
- Early in the post-Cold War era, the willingness of the United States to use military force was tested by Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. U.S. actions and those of allied nations suggested that the international community had the will and ability to respond to serious aggressions and some other threats to international order. The United States appeared to be showing the way toward a post-Cold War international system whose demonstrated ability to respond to such threats was expected to deter at least some of them.