Congressional Research Service Reports - 63 Matching Results
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- The EC's Government Procurement Directive : Has "Fortress Europe" Arrived?
- No Description Available.
- Criminal Aliens: Expanded Detention, Restricted Relief from Removal
- No Description Available.
- Comparison of Selected Consumer Provisions in H.R. 833 and S. 625, the Bankruptcy Reform Acts of 1999
- No Description Available.
- An Endangered Species Act Issue for Southeastern Florida: Johnson’s Seagrass
- No Description Available.
- Appropriations for FY1999: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies
- This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Subcommittees on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations. It summarizes the current legislative status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related Congressional Research Service products.
- China’s Economy: Findings of a Research Trip
- This report is on China’s Economy: Findings of a Research Trip.
- Taxpayer Bill of Rights 3: 1998 Tax Law Part 3: Attorneys' Fees and Damages for IRS Abuses
- This report discusses the provisions expanding a court's authority to award attorney's fees and costs in certain cases and permitting a taxpayer to collect damages for negligent collection actions by IRS agents.
- "Legal Expense Funds" and Contributions for Legal Expenses in the House of Representatives
- No Description Available.
- Appropriations for FY1998: U.S. Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies
- No Description Available.
- Immigration: The “H-2A” Temporary Agricultural Worker Program
- In recent years, there have been various legislative efforts to modify or supplement the existing H-2A temporary agricultural program authorized by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Concern has centered on making the program easier for growers to use while still maintaining protections for domestic labor. Growers have made limited use of the program in the past and a few years ago program usage was in decline. Current trends, however, show an increase due in part to increased demand from tobacco growers. This report provides information on the H-2A program, illustrates current trends, discusses issues raised by the proposed changes, and tracks pending legislation.
- Military Funeral Honors for U.S. Veterans: Increasing Demands on the Department of Defense
- No Description Available.
- The Executive Office of the President: An Historical Overview
- This report provides an An Historical Overview about The Executive Office of the President. It consists of a group of federal agencies immediately serving the President.
- Child Support: Changes Enacted or Proposed in the 103rd Congress
- No Description Available.
- The National Guard, State Defense Forces, and the Militias: Official and Unofficial Status
- No Description Available.
- Federal Advertising Law: An Overview
- This report provides a brief overview of federal law with respect to five selected advertising issues: alcohol advertising, tobacco advertising, the Federal Trade Commission Act, advertising by mail, and advertising by telephone. There are numerous federal statues regulating advertising that do not fit within any of these categories; as random examples, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires disclosures in advertisements for prescription drugs; the Truth in Lending Act governs the advertising of consumer credit; and a federal criminal statute makes it illegal falsely yo convey in an advertisement that a business is connected with a federal agency.
- Internet Tax Freedom Act: H.R. 4105 as Passed by the House
- No Description Available.
- Executive Orders and Proclamations
- No Description Available.
- Commemorative Legislation: Evolution and Procedures
- This report provides a brief overview of the evolution of commemorative legislation. It also summarizes the various laws, rules, and procedures Congress has adopted in establishing criteria for the consideration and enactment of commemorative legislation.
- Consumer Provisions in the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1999: H.R. 833 and S. 625
- No Description Available.
- Aggressive Driving: Is There a Solution?
- This report considers the problem of aggressive drivers on U.S. roads and highways. Moreover, the report notes that there is pending federal legislation to address this problem.
- Food and Drug Administration: Selected Funding and Policy Issues
- No Description Available.
- Outpatient Prescription Drugs: Acquisition and Reimbursement Policies Under Selected Federal Programs
- No Description Available.
- The Natural Resources and Environment Function in the FY1999 Budget: A Description of Programs and Funding
- No Description Available.
- Nuclear Sanctions: Section 102(b) of the Arms Export Control Act and Its Application to India and Pakistan
- No Description Available.
- Daylight Saving Time
- This report provides a brief history of the issues surroundings DST, an outline of the legislative that created and modified it, and a list of references to more discussions.
- Immigration: Visa Entry/Exit Control System
- This report provides background and analysis on Section 110 and issues related to increasing arrival/departure management at air, land border, and sea ports of entry.
- International Drug Trade and Its Impact on the United States
- No Description Available.
- Mexican Drug Certification Issues: U.S. Congressional Action, 1986-1998
- No Description Available.
- Taxpayer Bill of Rights 3: 1998 Tax Law Part 2: Burden of Proof
- No Description Available.
- The National Guard, State Defense Forces, And the Militias: Official and Unofficial Status
- This short report discusses the differences between state militias (e.g. state Army National Guard and Air National Guard units), state military forces with no federal connections, and private organizations that claim to be state militias but which are not sanctioned by the state.
- Partnership for Peace
- NATO's Partnership for Peace program seeks to encourage eligible states, above all the states of the former Warsaw Pact and the former Soviet Union, to build democracy and undertake greater responsibilities in international security. The program could open the door to, but does not promise, NATO membership. U.S. and NATO relations with Russia are likely to be the determining factor in deciding whether states move from Partnership to NATO membership.
- Immigration: Visa Entry/Exit Control System
- Section 110 of the IllegalImmigrationReformand ImmigrantResponsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA; Division C of P.L. 104-208) mandates the development of an automated entry/exit control system to create a record for every alien departing from the United States and match it with the record for the alien arriving at the United States. Section 110 also requires that this system identify nonimmigrants who overstay the terms of their admission through online computer searching. The FY1999 Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-277) amends Section 110 to extend the original implementation deadline of September 30, 1998, to March 31, 2001, for land border and seaports of entry, but leaves the end of FY1998 deadline in place for airports of entry. Further, P.L. 105- 277 includes a clause directing that the entry/exit control system must “not significantly disrupt trade, tourism, or other legitimate cross-border traffic at land border ports of entry.”
- Regional Haze: EPA's Proposal to Improve Visibility in National Parks and Wilderness Areas
- On July 31, 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new regulatory program to reduce "regional haze." The proposed program would require the states to develop and implement long-term strategies to attain a congressionally the mandated goal of remedying the impairment of visibility in national parks and wilderness areas resulting from man-made air pollution.
- The 1995 Japan-U.S. Auto and Parts Trade Dispute: Terms of the Settlement and Implications
- On June 28, 1995, the United States and Japan reached a settlement in a long-running dispute over access to Japan's market for automobiles and parts. 100-percent tariffs by the United States on imports of luxury cars from Japan had been threatened under a Section 301 unfair trade practices case dealing with the aftermarket for autoparts in Japan. This report describes the dispute, the settlement, and questions and issues that still remain.
- Japan-U.S. Automobile and Parts Trade Dispute
- On May 9, 1995, the United States initiated action designed to resolve a dispute with Japan dealing with automobiles and auto parts. In an effort to move negotiations along and resolve a U.S. unfair trade practices case (Section 301) dealing with barriers in the aftermarket for auto parts in Japan, the United States has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on imports of thirteen Japanese luxury passenger cars (Honda Acura, Nissan Infiniti, Toyota Lexus, Mazda 929 and Millenia, and Mitsubishi Diamante). The decision will be made by June 28, 1995. The United States also is pursuing a broad unfair trading case dealing with access to Japan's automotive market at the World Trade Organization. Japan, meanwhile, has also initiated a case at the WTO challenging the legality of the threatened increase in U.S. tariffs. Consultations under the WTO on these issues began in Geneva on June 12, 1995.
- Section 301: Its Operation and Prospects for Future Use by the United States
- Sections 301 through 309 of the Trade Act of 1974 (as amended), commonly referred to as Section 301, is one of principal means by which the United States addresses "unfair" foreign barriers to U.S. exports and enforces U.S. rights under trade agreements.
- Science, Technology, and Medicine: Issues Facing the 105th Congress, Second Session
- Science, technology, and medicine are an integral part of many of the policy issues that might come before the Congress this second session. This report provides an overview of several of these issues and identifies CRS reports that treat them in more depth
- Daylight Saving Time
- Currently, in most parts of the United States, timepieces are moved forward one hour in the spring and back one hour in the fall to provide an extended daylight period during the summer months. This is known as Daylight Saving Time (DST). Much debate and many changes led to this present practice. This report provides a brief history of the issues surrounding DST, an outline of the legislation that created and modified it, and a list of references to more discussions.
- The Federal Helium Program: The Reaction Over an Inert Gas
- 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 Academy of Science to find the best way to dispose of the helium. Their results of their studies and the H.R. 4168 bill that was passed are also described.
- The Yen/Dollar Exchange Rate
- The dollar declined abruptly in value against the yen in the second quarter of 1994, spurring the central banks of seventeen nations to coordinate a series of intervention efforts in the world's currency trading markets. In addition, the dollar's decline sparked discussions of the possible policy moves the United States and other nations might take to stem the fluctuations in the value of the dollar. Economic theory and empirical evidence indicate that the underlying movement of the exchange rate is tied to the long-term, macroeconomic movements of the economy, or to the combined movements of the economies of different countries, such as the United States and Japan. These macroeconomic factors account for at least half of the overall movement of exchange rates.
- Terrorism: Middle Eastern Groups and State Sponsors, 1999
- This CRS report analyzes developments' in Middle Eastern terrorism in 1998 and the first half of 1999. It discusses Middle Eastern groups attempting to derail the Arab-Israeli peace process, those fighting to overthrow moderate, those fighting to overthrow moderate, pro-U.S. governments, and those attempting to cause the United States to withdraw its troops from Middle Eastern countries. It contains an extensive section on Saudi exile terrorist financier Usama bin Ladin and his organization. The report also analyzes the terrorist support activities of the five Middle Eastern countries on the U.S. terrorism list - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Sudan. The report concludes with a discussion of U.S. counterterrorism policy. This report is updated annually. See also: CRS Issue Brief IB95112. Terrorism, the Future, and U.S. Foreign Policy. Updated regularly, by Raphael Perl.
- Nuclear Sanctions: Section 102(b) of the Arms Export Control Act and Its Application to India and Pakistan
- No Description Available.
- Encryption Technology: Congressional Issues
- This report discusses primarily, the controversy over encryption concerns what access the government should have to encrypted stored computer data or electronic communications (voice and data, wired and wireless) for law enforcement purposes.
- Immigration: The "H-2A" Temporary Agricultural Worker Program
- In recent years, there have been various legislative efforts to modify or supplement the existing H-2A temporary agricultural program authorized by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Concern has centered on making the program easier for growers to use while still maintaining protections for domestic labor. Growers have made limited use of the program in the past and a few years ago program usage was in decline. Current trends, however, show an increase due in part to increased demand from tobacco growers. This report provides information on the H-2A program, illustrates current trends, discusses issues raised by the proposed changes, and tracks pending legislation.
- The Delaney Clause: The Dilemma of Regulating Health Risk for Pesticide Residues
- Under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for establishing tolerances for pesticide residues in or on foods and feeds. Tolerances are legal limits to the amount of pesticide residues that can be found on a raw agricultural commodity at the farm gate or in a processed food. The FFDCA has two sections, 408 and 409, which set up different and inconsistent criteria for setting tolerances for pesticide residues in foods.
- Appropriations for FY1999: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies
- 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 Subcommittees on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations.
- Food and Drug Administration: Selected Funding and Policy Issues
- This report discusses selected funding and policy issues related to Food and Drug Administration.
- Environmental Protection Legislation in the 105th Congress
- The 105th Congress enacted tax provisions relating to Superfund brownfields sites, transportation- and defense-related environmental provisions, a border smog bill, EPA funding as well as reinstating the tax that supports the Leaking Underground Storage Trust Fund. There were various actions on regulatory reform, the budget resolution, appropriations, highway- and defense-related environmental provisions, Superfund reform bills and underground storage tanks. It is too early to tell if these will be issues for the 106th Congress.
- Tax Incentives for Alcohol Fuels
- The blender's tax credits were specifically enacted to complement the excise tax exemptions, so as to help support farm incomes by finding another market for corn, sugar, and other agricultural products that are the basic raw materials for alcohol production. More recently, proponents of expanding the alcohol fuels tax incentives argue that they reduce smog and improve air quality.
- NAFTA: A Broad Economic Perspective
- Most economists believe that the main economic benefit of NAFTA will be that, over time, it will increase productivity and incomes in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In this view, living standards of all three countries will be higher than without a NAFTA. In the near term, some reallocation of resources will occur within each country, generating gains for some producers and costs for others. New industries emerge, some industries expand, some contract, and some die. Since the Mexican and Canadian economies are small relative to the U.S. economy, it is expected that both the aggregate benefits and costs of the NAFTA to the United States will be relatively small.