Congressional Research Service Reports - 25 Matching Results

Search Results

Results: 1 - 24 next
open access

First Responder Initiative: Policy Issues and Options

Description: This report provides background information and policy analysis pertinent to proposals to restructure first responder assistance programs. Specifically, this report provides information on existing programs, appropriations, legislation in the 108th Congress, and selected policy issues. This report does not discuss all relevant policy issues, but, rather, those issues that may be germane to any significant restructuring of existing programs.
Date: July 8, 2003
Creator: Canada, Ben
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Global Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol

Description: This report discusses the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was completed December 11, 1997, committing the industrialized nations to specified, legally binding reductions in emissions of six “greenhouse gases.”
Date: September 8, 2003
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

H.R. 5825 (109th Congress): "Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act"

Description: This report discusses the National Security Agency’s “Terrorist Surveillance Program,” a program in which international communications of persons within the United States have been the subject of electronic surveillance without a warrant or a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order.
Date: September 8, 2006
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO): An Overview

Description: This report describes the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), which is the World Trade Organization's (WTO) means of resolving disputes arising under WTO agreements. The report includes criticisms of certain flaws in the DSU, as well as WTO Members' suggestions for improvement. The report also describes the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which represents the United States in WTO disputes.
Date: September 8, 2009
Creator: Grimmett, Jeanne J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

European Union Enlargement: A Status Report on Turkey's Accession Negotiations

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the European Union's (EU) accession process; Turkey's path to EU membership; the impact of the Cyprus problem; and a review of the United States' interest in Turkey's future in the European Union.
Date: October 8, 2009
Creator: Morelli, Vincent & Migdalovitz, Carol
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

International Drug Control Policy

Description: This report provides an overview of U.S. international drug control policy. It describes major international counternarcotics initiatives and evaluates the broad array of U.S. drug control policy tools currently in use. The report also considers alternative counterdrug policy approaches to current initiatives and raises several counterdrug policy issues and considerations for policy makers.
Date: March 8, 2010
Creator: Wyler, Liana Sun
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

United Nations System Funding: Congressional Issues

Description: This report tracks the process by which Congress provides the funding for U.S. assessed contributions to the regular budgets of the United Nations, its agencies, and U.N. peacekeeping operation accounts, as well as for U.S. voluntary contributions to U.N. system programs and funds. It includes information on the President's request and the congressional response, as well as congressional initiatives during this legislative process. Basic information is provided to help the reader understand thi… more
Date: March 8, 2010
Creator: Browne, Marjorie Ann & Nakamura, Kennon H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO): An Overview

Description: This report describes the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), which is the World Trade Organization's (WTO) means of resolving disputes arising under WTO agreements. The report includes criticisms of certain flaws in the DSU, as well as WTO Members' suggestions for improvement. The report also describes the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which represents the United States in WTO disputes. Also discussed are pieces of legisl… more
Date: April 8, 2010
Creator: Grimmett, Jeanne J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S. Initiatives to Promote Global Internet Freedom: Issues, Policy, and Technology

Description: This report provides information regarding the role of U.S. and other foreign companies in facilitating Internet censorship by repressive regimes overseas. The report is divided into several sections: Examination of repressive policies in China and Iran, Relevant U.S. laws, U.S. policies to promote Internet freedom, Private sector initiatives, and Congressional action.
Date: September 8, 2010
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia; Nakamura, Kennon H.; Addis, Casey L. & Lum, Thomas
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Why Certain Trade Agreements Are Approved as Congressional-Executive Agreements Rather Than as Treaties

Description: U.S. trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), World Trade Organization agreements, and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) have been approved by majority vote of each house rather than by two-thirds vote of the Senate - that is, they have been treated as congressional-executive agreements rather than as treaties. The congressional-executive agreement has been the vehicle for implementing Congress's long-standing policy of seeking trade benefits for the United… more
Date: September 8, 2010
Creator: Grimmett, Jeanne J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer

Description: This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.
Date: December 8, 2010
Creator: Kerr, Paul K. & Nikitin, Mary Beth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Efforts to Address the Threat of Bioterrorism: Selected Issues and Options for Congress

Description: This report focuses on four areas under congressional consideration deemed critical to the success of the biodefense enterprise: strategic planning; risk assessment; surveillance; and the development, procurement, and distribution of medical countermeasures. This report also discusses the effectiveness and sufficiency of programs implementing these aspects of the federal biodefense efforts, outside analysts' suggestions for improving the government's efforts, and current issues under congressi… more
Date: February 8, 2011
Creator: Gottron, Frank & Shea, Dana A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

A U.S.-centric Chronology of the International Climate Change Negotiations

Description: The United States is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), but not to its subsidiary Kyoto Protocol. Negotiations under way since 2007 have run on two tracks: one under the Kyoto Protocol, to extend commitments of developed parties beyond 2012, and the second track under the UNFCCC, regarding commitments for all Parties. Both tracks convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009 under a deadline to agree on steps to address climate change beyond 2012. As backg… more
Date: February 8, 2011
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Countries: Comparative Trade and Economic Analysis

Description: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed regional free trade agreement (FTA) currently under negotiation between Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. The negotiating partners have expressed an interest in allowing this proposed “living agreement” to cover new trade topics and to include new members that are willing to adopt the proposed agreement's high standards. This report provides a comparative economic analysis of the TP… more
Date: February 8, 2012
Creator: Williams, Brock R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation: The Mérida Initiative and Beyond

Description: This report provides a framework for examining the current status and future prospects for U.S.- Mexican security cooperation. It begins with a brief discussion of the threat that drug trafficking and related crime and violence pose to both nations, followed by an analysis of the evolution of the Mérida Initiative. The report then provides an overview of the Peña Nieto government's security strategy and how it is affecting the Mérida Initiative. The report then examines key aspects of the curre… more
Date: April 8, 2014
Creator: Ribando Seelke, Clare & Finklea, Kristin M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Nuclear Energy Cooperation with Foreign Countries: Issues for Congress

Description: This report begins with a brief overview of the global nuclear power industry, including the possessors of enrichment and reprocessing technology. It then describes the state of the U.S. nuclear industry, particularly its dependence on both international trade and foreign suppliers. The report then reviews the multilateral nuclear nonproliferation mechanisms. It concludes with a detailed summary of U.S. nuclear cooperation agreements, the primary mechanism by which the United States both promot… more
Date: December 8, 2014
Creator: Kerr, Paul K.; Nikitin, Mary Beth D. & Holt, Mark
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements

Description: This report discusses key statutory authorities and requirements governing the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) construction of barriers along the U.S. borders. It also includes appendixes listing federal laws that have been waived by DHS in furtherance of border construction projects.
Date: April 8, 2015
Creator: Garcia, Michael J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

American Agriculture and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement

Description: This report identifies four considerations about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that are particularly relevant for U.S. food and agriculture. It includes a partial snapshot of some of the higher-profile improvements in market access for agricultural products in the agreement, a summary of selected provisions beyond market access that are of interest to food and agriculture, a brief overview of industry reactions to the agreement, and a review of what would need to occur for the a… more
Date: January 8, 2016
Creator: McMinimy, Mark A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Perspectives on Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

Description: This report briefly summarizes what constituted Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs), provides background on their adoption and use, and discusses differing views on three questions that underpin discussion and debate of this topic.
Date: January 8, 2016
Creator: Miles, Anne D.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): In Brief

Description: This report briefly summarizes some of the key provisions listed in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that are seen as controversial. The TPP is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) among 12 Asia-Pacific countries, which the Obama Administration casts as comprehensive, with economic and strategic significance for the United States. These controversial issues include select market access (such as on dairy and other agricultural products, autos, and textiles and apparel) as well as the level o… more
Date: January 8, 2016
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F.; McMinimy, Mark A. & Williams, Brock R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

A Shift in the International Security Environment: Potential Implications for Defense--Issues for Congress

Description: This report briefly describes the shift in the international security environment that some observers believe has occurred, and identifies some defense-related issues for Congress that could arise from it. Congress's decisions on these issues could have significant implications for U.S. defense capabilities and funding requirements.
Date: June 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The 2016 G-20 Summit

Description: This report discusses the 2016 G-20 summit where the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G-20) countries met in Hangzhou, China.
Date: September 8, 2016
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen