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The 1996 Farm Bill: Comparisons of Selected Provisions with Previous Law

Description: Final congressional approval was given to H.R. 2854, the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act, otherwise known as the "1996 farm bill," on March 28, 1996. President Clinton signed the bill into law on April 4, 1996 (P.L. 104-127). In tabular format, this CRS report lays out in descriptive, rather than legislative language, the major provisions of the new farm bill in contrast to preceding law.
Date: April 4, 1996
Creator: Library of Congress. Environment and Natural Resources Policy Division. Food and Agriculture Section.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Marketing and Regulatory Provisions of the 1996 Farm Bill

Description: The Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-127), signed into law on April 4, for the first time grants the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) broad-based authority to establish national generic promotion ("check-off") programs for virtually any agricultural commodity. Formerly, individual programs first had to be authorized expressly by Congress. The new law also explicitly authorizes the establishment of new check-off programs for rapeseed and canola, kiwifruit, a… more
Date: April 30, 1996
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pesticide Legislation: Food Quality Protection Act of 1996

Description: The 104th congress enacted significant changes to the Federal Insecticide, fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), governing U.S. sale and use of pesticide products, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which limits pesticide residues on food. The vehicle of these changes was H.R. 1627, the "Food Quality Protection Act of 1996" (FQPA), enacted August 3, 1996, as Public Law 104-170. Under FIFRA, the new law will facilitate registrations and reregistrations of pesticides for spec… more
Date: September 11, 1996
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pesticide Policy Issues

Description: On August 3, 1996, President Clinton signed P.L. 104-170, which contains significant amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). Although it does not repeal the Delaney Clause, the new law removes pesticide residues from its purview. It requires EPA to set "safe" tolerances for residues of pesticides on both raw and processed food to provide "a reasonable certainty of no harm" from exposure to the pesticide resi… more
Date: December 4, 1996
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 1995 Farm Bill: Research, Education, and Extension Issues

Description: The House Agriculture Committee has proposed extending Title XVI of the 1990 farm act (P.L. 101-624) for two years. Currently, the title will expire at the end of 1995. The title includes funding authority for the U.s. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) in-house research programs, as well as federal support for cooperative research, higher education, extension programs in the States, and several research grant programs. This report discusses efforts underway to extend this title and reform futu… more
Date: November 30, 1996
Creator: Rawson, Jean M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Line Item Veto Act

Description: The Line Item Veto Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-130, 110 Stat. 1200), gives the President expanded rescission authority by changing the burden of action and coverage. Under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 332), the President must obtain the support of both Houses within a specified time period for a rescission to become permanent, while the new law puts the burden on Congress to disapprove presidential rescission proposals within a 30-day period. Along with rescission of discretion… more
Date: November 26, 1996
Creator: Fisher, Louis & McMurtry, Virginia A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Line Item Veto Act: Procedural Issues

Description: At various times, Congress has given the President statutory authority not to spend appropriated funds. That authority was elaborated and made more systematic with the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which permitted the President to delay the expenditure of funds (deferral authority) and to cancel funds (rescission authority). To rescind funds, the President needed the support of both houses within 45 days.
Date: December 2, 1996
Creator: Fisher, Louis & McMurtry, Virginia A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Line Item Veto Act of 1996: Lessons from the States

Description: The Line Item Veto Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-130) authorizes the President to cancel discretionary budget authority, new entitlements, and limited tax benefits. When this authority becomes available on January 1, 1997, it will change the dynamics among all three branches of government. In response to presidential decisions to cancel certain provisions, Congress may change the way it drafts bills and committee reports. Lawsuits will bring these presidential and congressional actions before federal c… more
Date: December 26, 1996
Creator: Fisher, Louis
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996: A Summary

Description: The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is the product of legislative efforts stretching back well over a decade and stimulated to passage in part by the tragedies in Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center. This report summarizes the six titles of the Act, its sources, and related legislation.
Date: June 3, 1996
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Alternative Transportation Fuels: Oil Import, Highway Tax, and Implementation Issues

Description: This report discusses three major pieces of legislation designed to, among other objectives, foster the development, introduction, and diffusion of alternative nonpetroleum fuels into the U.S. transportation sector. These three pieces of legislation are the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
Date: August 30, 1996
Creator: Behrens, Carl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Alternative Transportation Fuels and Vehicles: Energy, Environment, and Development Issues

Description: This report reviews several issues relating to alternative fuels and vehicles, mainly to combat dependence on petroleum imports and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report discusses the advantages and drawbacks of various alternative fuels and vehicles, as well as related legislation.
Date: January 17, 1996
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues

Description: The 104th Congress enacted four bills modifying provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and held numerous oversight hearings, as EPA and the states continued to implement requirements of the Act's 1990 Amendments. The Amendments set deadlines for issuance of new regulations and attainment of air quality standards.
Date: December 2, 1996
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China, Congress, and Sanctions - Findings of a Workshop-Seminar

Description: The People's Republic of China (PRC)'s provocative use of military force in the Taiwan Strait has appeared to subside, but not before convincing many in the Congress that the PRC regime continues to flout international norms sensitive to the United States. In addition to challenging stability in the Taiwan Strait, the PRC is seen recently to undermine important U.S. interests regarding nuclear proliferation, intellectual property rights, and missile proliferation. As a result, many in the Congr… more
Date: April 17, 1996
Creator: Sutter, Robert G. & Rennack, Dianne E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Law of the Sea: the International Seabed Authority - Its Status and U.S. Participation Therein

Description: The 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, as amended by the 1994 Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the U.N. Convention, entered into force, on November 16, 1994. That action initiated establishment of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), composed of all States parties to the Convention, to administer the seabed mining regime set forth in the Convention/Agreement
Date: September 16, 1996
Creator: Browne, Marjorie Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agreements to Promote Fishery Conservation and Management in International Waters

Description: Declining fish populations threaten an important food source. Natural catastrophes, pollution, habitat destruction, and overfishing contribute to the depletion of fish stocks. Overexploitation of fishery resources often occurs when management allows expanding and increasingly efficient fishing fleets to continue harvesting dwindling supplies. Although prevalent, overexploitation is not universal and its extent varies among areas, species, and fisheries. This report discusses the issue of overfi… more
Date: January 5, 1996
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Helium Program: The Reaction Over an Inert Gas

Description: The CRS report describes the battle with natural gas companies on helium gas, being wasted, and released into the environment. Incentives were put in place for natural gas companies sell this helium to the government and for it to be stored in a government facility. Consequently, this also brought up controversy for why funding is being used to store a surplus of helium. Congress would debate on whether government involvement was the best option and a consensus was reached to fund the National … more
Date: October 9, 1996
Creator: Mielke, James E
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The "Timber Rider": Section 2001 of the Rescissions Act

Description: the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act, became law. Section 2001, "The Emergency Salvage Timber Sale Program," is known as the "Salvage Rider" or the "Timber Rider." The measure directs the sale of timber from national forests managed by the Secretary of Agriculture through the Forest Service and from forests managed by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The law provides for three types of timber sales
Date: February 22, 1996
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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DOE Laboratory Restructuring Legislation

Description: Interest in restructuring (including eliminating) the Department of Energy (DOE) and its laboratories has increased since the end of the Cold War, and especially since the beginning of the 104th Congress. A number of non-legislative proposals and activities to this end are reviewed, including DOE's own proposals for "alignment and downsizing" of the Department and its laboratories.
Date: December 4, 1996
Creator: Boesman, William C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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