Congressional Research Service Reports - 175 Matching Results
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- Women in the Armed Forces. 1990
- This report is about the womens role in armed forces.
- Conventional Arms Transfers to the Third World, 1983-1990
- No Description Available.
- Japan-U.S. Economic Relations: Selected References
- This report contains a list of readings focuses on the current state of the U.S. economic relationship with Japan. A general, introductory section is followed by citations discussing specific Japanese business practices and trade policies which have an impact on the relationship. The bibliography also describes trade trends in specific sectors (including commentaries on the semiconductor agreement) and concludes with a section on policy options.
- Japan-U.S. Economic Relations: Selected References
- This list of readings focuses on the current state of the U.S. economic relationship with Japan. A general, introductory section is followed by citations discussing specific Japanese business practices and trade policies which have an impact on the relationship. The bibliography also describes trade trends in specific sectors (including commentaries on the semiconductor agreement) and concludes with a section on policy options.
- Environmental Equity
- More than 20 years of Federal pollution control programs notwithstanding, growing perception that minority and low-income communities remain at disproportionately high risk of exposure to toxic pollutants is focusing attention on "environmental equity" issues. Federal legislation has been introduced to ensure equal protection of environmental quality and public health. Equity legislation is opposed by people who are skeptical of its long-term prospects and believe that there is insufficient evidence of discrimination and that some inequities are inevitable in a free-market economy. Both sides agree there is a need to collect and analyze data on public health and exposure to environmental hazards and to compare health risks among racial and socio-economic groups.
- Japanese Participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations
- Japan is positioned to deploy its troops overseas for the first time since World War II. Under a controversial peacekeeping operations (PKO) bill passed by the Japanese Diet (parliament) on June 15, 1992, Japan is allowed to dispatch Self-Defense Forces (SDF) soldiers abroad for noncombat service with United Nations peacekeeping forces (PKF). [1] The politically sensitive PKO legislation comes two years after Japan was stung by international criticism for its failure to send troops to the Persian Gulf, even just for noncombat support. The day after the passage of the bill, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa pledged an early dispatch of SDF personnel to Cambodia.
- Ukraine
- This report is about newly independent Ukraine which may become an important European power
- Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S.: Japan as Number One
- Japan emerged as the largest foreign direct investor in the U.S. economy in 1992, despite a sharp drop in the total value and number of U.S. businesses acquired and established by foreign investors. This change in Japan's status was spurred by a slight increase in investment spending by Japanese investors combined with a decrease in the British investment position. The foreign direct investment position in U.S. businesses and real estate - or the accumulated book value of all foreign investments - increased by $5 billion in 1992, the smallest change in two decades. Economists generally believe that foreign direct investment yields positive net benefits to both the host and the investing countries. For some American firms, the foreign investment inflows have been especially beneficial because they supplied the firms with funds during times when many U.S. commercial banks were unwilling to finance them.
- Access to Medical Records Under Federal Law
- This report highlights the contentions surrounding the release of health care information when it is meant to be confidential. In addition, the report summarizes the federal laws that govern how this information is distributed and when it is to be distributed. Finally, the report discusses the tension between the federal government and state governments in implementing a uniform standard for this type of law.
- The Trade and Development Agency
- Congressional interest linking foreign aid more directly with commercial interests has grown in recent years as the U.S. budget becomes increasingly strained, constituent support for foreign aid dwindles, and U.S. industries seek Federal assistance. The Trade and Development Agency is one of several Government agencies involved in "aid for trade"--programs that combine development assistance and export promotion.
- The Japan-United States Framework for Trade Negotiations
- President Clinton proposed to Prime Minister Miyazawa the idea of a framework for U.S.-Japanese negotiations during their April 13, 1993 meeting in Washington. The two leaders agreed to instruct subordinates to prepare details of such a framework in time for presentation in July in Tokyo when the President would meet with the Prime Minister and the other G-7 leaders at the annual economic summit.
- Restricting Softwood Log Exports: Policy and Legal Implications
- The Pacific Northwest is a major exporter of unprocessed softwood logs to foreign countries, such as Japan, that are often sold at premium prices. Consequently, some local mills have had difficulty obtaining unprocessed logs, which has contributed to the loss of timber industry jobs in the Pacific Northwest. Thus, many believe that exporting logs is the economic and moral equivalent of exporting U.S. jobs.
- Air Quality: Impacts of Trip Reduction Programs on States and Affected Employers
- This report discusses employer trip reduction (ETR) programs, which would require large employers to implement certain transportation control measures as part of a national effort to combat air pollution, largely as a direct result of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
- Japan's Import Protection: Quantitative Measures and Effects on U.S. Exports
- Some indirect measures of Japan's import barriers indicate that Japan's import behavior is unusual, but some do not. Japan's trade surplus is large, but the United States exports as much to that market as it does to other major industrialized nations. Japan's imports of manufactures, however, are low relative to levels in other industrialized nations.
- Mixing Banking and Commerce Using Federal Deposit Insurance: Industrial Banks and Nonbank Banks
- Despite explicit Federal legislation forbidding combining commercial banking with commerce, it remains possible through corporate ownership to combine two kinds of banks with nonbanking activities. Federal legislation does permit combinations that have the effect of allowing some commingling, as is shown below. Continuing efforts to encourage these mixtures may be patterned on industrial banks or nonbank banks, whose operations are favorable for owners such as insurance, securities, or industrial firms.
- Workload and Activity Report : United States Senate, 1946-1992
- No Description Available.
- Japan-U.S. Trade Negotiations Under the Framework: Status and Alternative Approaches
- It has been more than a year since the United States and Japan established their bilateral framework for trade negotiations and other economic relations. The framework set down rules and deadlines to address various economic issues, particularly market access in Japan for U.S. exports and the Japanese global trade surplus. The two sides have failed to reach agreements on any of the major issues. The United States is left with several policy options to resolve the breakdown in trade negotiations.
- World Trade Organization: Institutional Issues and Dispute Settlement
- Among the results of the Uruguay Round (UR) of Multilateral Trade Negotiations conducted under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) are institutions to administer the trade obligations contained in the UR agreements and to provide venues for further negotiation and discussion of these and possibly future trade agreements. The two primary institutional instruments are the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the dispute settlement procedures set forth in the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU).
- Radio and Television Broadcasting to Cuba: Background and Current Issues
- This report provides a legislative history and funding levels for Cuba Broadcasting. It discusses specific concerns some lawmakers have had with Radio and TV Marti over the years, and presents the Panel's recommendations and the USIA Director's response and determinations, as required by the FYI994 appropriations act.
- 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.
- 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.
- China's MFN Status: Implications of the 1994 Decision
- On May 26, 1994, President Clinton announced he was recommending that MFN status be extended to China for another year despite Beijing's failure to meet the human rights conditions set forward in his Executive Order of the previous year (Executive Order 12850). In addition, the President announced he was taking additional steps with respect to China, including: maintaining U.S. sanctions imposed as a result of the events in Tiananmen
- Current U.S. Sanctions Against China
- In the months following China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, both the President and the Congress took a number of initiatives protesting Beijing's actions. These initiatives centered around U.S. concerns related to trade, human rights, and non-proliferation. In intervening years, the United States has periodically imposed, lifted, or waived other sanctions and concluded several trade-related agreements with China relating to these concerns. Those measures that remain in place in 1994 are detailed in the accompanying tables.
- Japan's Looming Bank Crisis: A Half Trillion Dollars in Non-Performing Loans?
- Japan's top 21 banks have reported Y13.6 trillion (US$136 billion) in non-performing loans, but experts consider the true figure to be in the range of Y40 to Y60 trillion (US$400 to US$600 billion). If 90, Japan's banks may take five to seven more years to write off their bad loans and restore health to their balance sheets. Current write-offs are being financed primarily by sales of stocks held by banks whose values have appreciated. This problem of bad loans is depressing Japan's economic growth rate and making resolution of trade disputes and further opening of Japan's financial markets more difficult.
- Paying for Health Care Reform : The Role of Cost Savings
- No Description Available.
- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species: Its Past and Future
- This report discusses the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It is divided into six sections: Introduction, Background, CITES and the Endangered Species Act, Implementation, Upcoming Events, and Appendices.
- Alternative Sources of Wood for Japan
- Japan is one of the world's largest wood importers, with two-thirds of its imports as logs (unprocessed timber). Southeast Asia has been the largest log supplier, but supplies (and exports to Japan) have been declining. The United States has become a more important supplier, but concerns about declining domestic timber supplies have led to proposals to prohibit or to tax log exports. Opponents suggest that Japan would simply turn to other sources to replace U.S. logs. One question in this debate is where the alternative sources of logs or wood products might be.
- The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Amendments Act of 1994, S. 2230 (103rd Cong., 2nd Sess.): A Brief Analysis
- This report provides an analysis of S. 2230, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Amendments of 1994 introduced June 23, 1994, to amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. It includes sections on stated purposes, enhanced powers of the National Indian Gaming Commission, proposed tribal-state compacting process, modifications of current law with respect to class II gaming, modification of current law with respect to class III gaming, and miscellaneous amendments.
- Population and Development: the 1994 Cairo Conference
- No Description Available.
- Legal Issues Related to Livestock Watering in Federal Grazing Districts
- This report discusses proposed regulations related to livestock watering in federal grazing districts.
- Radio and Television Broadcasting to Cuba: Background and Issues Through 1994
- No Description Available.
- Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress in the 1990s
- Japan-U.S. relations are more uncertain and subject to greater strain today than at any time since World War II. Longstanding military allies and increasingly interdependent economic partners, Japan and the United States have worked closely together to build a strong, multifaceted relationship based on democratic values and interests in world stability and development. But Japan today is our foremost economic and technological competitor. It consistently runs the largest annual international trade surplus with the U.S. ($59 billion in 1993). The end of the Cold War, lackluster international economic conditions, and the focus on economic issues in U.S. politics have raised new questions about the appropriate U.S. policy toward this Asian ally.
- Implementation of the Reformulated Gasoline Program
- The Clean Air Act (CAA) was amended in 1990 requiring the sale of cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline (RFG) in the nine worst nonattainment areas. Since the program began on January 1, 1995, legislation has been introduced to delay or repeal the requirement. RFG must contain oxygenates and should result in a 15 percent reduction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and air toxins. While the CAA was being debated, affected parties (e.g., automobile manufacturers, oil industry, and agricultural interests) did not agree on whether and how gasoline should be reformulated.
- Japanese Trade Balance and Exchange Rate: Seeing Through the Numbers
- Measured in dollars, Japan's global trade surplus stands at a record level. Also in recent months the Japanese yen has appreciated markedly against the dollar. The two events seem to foster a sizable degree of concern among many Americans, perhaps, taken to be evidence of Japan's economic success and the United States' economic failure. Things need not be as they seem, however.
- U.S.-Japan Trade: Framework Talks and Other Issues
- The United States and Japan are closely tied economically. Japan ranks second only to Canada as the largest U.S. export market. Japan is the leading market for American agricultural exports, such as corn and meat; for U.S. crude materials such as wood; and for U.S.-produced aircraft. Japan is also the second largest supplier of U.S. imports. These include cars, consumer electronics, telecommunications equipment, and computers. The United States ranks as Japan's number one export market and import supplier.
- Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1987-1994
- No Description Available.
- 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.
- World Oil Production After Year 2000: Business As Usual or Crises?
- Deficient productive capacity has not yet caused an oil crisis, but that does not mean it never will. Significant increases in world oil demand will have to be met primarily from Persian Gulf supplies. This is a region with a history of wars, illegal occupations, soups, revolutions, sabotage, terrorism, and oil embargoes. To these possibilities may be added growing Islamist movements with various antipathies to the West. If oil production were constrained, oil prices could rise abruptly along with adverse world economic repercussions. If the IEA and EIA are correct on the demand side, deficient world oil productive capacity could cause an oil crisis within 15 years and political disruptions in Saudi Arabia could cause one sooner. However, if the increases in world oil demand were more moderate, and there is long-term relative peace in the Middle East, with increasing foreign participation in upstream oil activities, a business as usual world oil demand and supply situation would be a likely scenario for much of the next century.
- Southeast Asian Security: Issues for the U.S.
- Policymakers on both sides of the Pacific turned their attention to Southeast Asian security issues in late July 1995. The occasion was the Annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)[1] ministers' meeting; followed by the annual post-ministerial "dialogue" among the ASEAN and other Asian- Pacific ministers (including the U.S. Secretary of State); followed in turn by the second annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), a nascent security framework for the area including participation by the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia.
- Hong Kong's Political Transition: Implications for U.S. Interests
- On Oct. 7, 1992, Hong Kong's new Governor Christopher Patten unveiled proposals to expand the voting franchise in Hong Kong and broaden the scope of democratic institutions. Patten's proposals reflected a growing desire on the part of the colonial government and the people of Hong Kong that, in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, Hong Kong should erect safeguards against capricious Chinese government action after 1997. The proposals were seen by the British authorities as consistent with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration -- the agreement governing Hong Kong's transfer to Chinese rule, but Beijing disagreed.
- The U.S. Bureau of Mines Funding - FY1996
- H.R. 1977, passed by the House July 18, 1995, appropriated $87 million for FY1996 for the "orderly closure" of the Bureau of Mines within the Department of Interior. However, when the Senate passed H.R. 1977 on August 9, it approved continuation of the Bureau and appropriated $128 million for FY1996.
- World Solar Summit: Launching the World Renewable Energy Program
- The World Solar Summit and proposed World Solar Program 1996-2005 address energy problems through increased use of renewable energy technologies. The World Solar Commission will host the World Solar Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, on September 16 and 17, 1996, and it will direct the World Solar Program 1996-2005. At the Summit, the Commission is expected to adopt a World Plan ofAction and a number of Strategic Projects. The proposed World Plan of Action includes a selection of high-priority renewable energy projects at the national or regional level to be implemented between 1996 and 2005.
- International Drug Trade and Its Impact on the United States
- No Description Available.
- Glass-Steagall Act Modernization?
- This report covers the debate over the reexamination of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 in the 104th Congress. There is speculation the banks are finding loopholes that allow them to redefine some of their services as "securities" without directly violating the Glass-Steagall Act.
- Presidential Emergency Powers: The So-Called "War Powers Act of 1933"
- No Description Available.
- Export Administration Legislation
- This report discusses briefly the major export control provisions that existed under EAA-1979 and the current authorities for regulating exports. It then summarizes the major export control provisions of the proposed EAA-1996 and discusses some aspects of the bill that may be debated in Congress and the press. Highlighted are implications for nonproliferation policy, for national security and foreign policy, and for business; other topics covered are foreign boycott provisions, criminal and civil penalties, and judicial review.
- New World Gold Mine and Yellowstone National Park
- Crown Butte Mines, Inc. wants to develop its New World gold mine deposit located near Yellowstone National Park. The proposed mine is located almost entirely on private property about 3 miles east of the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park and next to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness area. The New World Mine Project would mine an estimated 1,800 tons of gold/silver/copper ore per day (500,000 tons annually), valued at an estimated $800 million over a 10-15 year period. The project would include an underground mine, an ore processing mill, a tailings pond, a waste rock storage site, access roads, a work camp and transmission lines. A draft environmental impact statement (EIS), required under both NEPA and the Montana Environmental Policy Act, is in the final months of a three-year preparation.
- Alternative Transportation Fuels: Oil Import, Highway Tax, and Implementation Issues
- 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.
- African Elephant Issues: CITES and CAMPFIRE
- The conservation of African elephants has been controversial recently on two fronts: the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES, to which the United States is a party), and a Zimbabwean program for sustainable development called CAMPFIRE, which is partially funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Two controversies have sprung up recently about the African elephant. One is the changing status of this species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), of which the United States is a signatory. The other is over a program in Zimbabwe called "CAMPFIRE." The partial funding of this program by the U.S. Agency for International Development has been criticized by animal welfare groups and some conservation groups, though it has been supported by other conservation groups as well as many hunting organizations.
- Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
- No Description Available.