Congressional Research Service Reports - 28 Matching Results
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- Article Packet: Background Information on Seatbelts in School Buses
- This notice from the Department of Transportation, denies a petition for rule-making filed by Physicians for Automotive Safety (PAS), asking this agency to mandate the installation of seat belts on all school buses. NHTSA believes that the currently mandated occupant protections in school buses provide an adequate level of safety protection, and that seat belts would not raise the level of protection for the occupants unless States and local jurisdictions were willing to take steps to ensure that the seat belts were actually used.
- Deregulation of Transportation
- Transportation has been substantially deregulated over the last 5 years and there is talk of enacting legislation during the 98th Congress to further deregulate transportation or to restore some of the regulation that recent legislation has removed. This mini brief gives an overview of the deregulation already enacted into law, and some of the ideas being considered for further legislation. The brief also refers to some sources for further reading.
- Airport Improvement Program Reauthorization Legislation in the 106th Congress
- This report discusses the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which provides federal grants to airports for capital development. This report also discusses the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, also referred to as AIR21, which includes provisions for increases in AIP spending, among other things. Primarily, this report discusses the legislative processes surrounding the enaction of these laws and the various appropriations the laws authorize.
- Airline Passenger Rights Legislation in the 107th Congress
- This report examines legislation pertaining to airline consumer protection in the 107th Congress. For background it first summarizes legislation proposed in the 106th Congress and the airlines’ response. The report then briefly examines the findings of the Department of Transportation Inspector General’s February 13, 2001 report on airline customer service. It then discusses the legislative remedies proposed in the 107th Congress. Finally, a side-by-side presentation of provisions from six airline passenger rights bills is set forth.
- Appropriations for FY2003: Transportation and Related 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 considers each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the Subcommittees on Transportation of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
- Sport Utility Vehicles, Mini-Vans, and Light Trucks: An Overview of Fuel Economy and Emissions Standards
- No Description Available.
- Alternative Fuels and Advanced Technology Vehicles: Issues in Congress
- This issue brief discusses the increasing attention being paid to alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles, the proponents of which point to their potential to improve urban air quality, decrease dependence on foreign oil, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The brief also discusses the major barriers currently preventing widespread use of such technologies, and discusses these technologies in the particular contexts of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
- Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards
- This report is about Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy.
- Advanced Vehicle Technologies: Energy, Environment, and Development Issues
- This report discusses four major vehicle technologies — electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and fuel cell vehicles — as well as advanced component technologies. Each technology is discussed in terms of cost, fueling and maintenance infrastructure, and performance.
- Border and Transportation Security: Overview of Congressional Issues
- This report provides a summary of selected border and transportation security (BTS) concepts and issues that may be of interest to the 109th Congress. It is the product of contributions from CRS staff in the table contained later in this report labeled Key Policy Staff: Border and Transportation Security.
- Sport Utility Vehicles, Mini-Vans, and Light Trucks: An Overview of Fuel Economy and Emissions Standards
- Most sport utility vehicles, mini-vans, and pickups are classified as “light trucks” and thus are regulated less stringently than passenger cars under two major laws — the Energy Policy and Conservation Act for fuel economy standards, and the Clean Air Act for emissions standards. This report discusses the discrepancy between emissions and fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks, how that discrepancy is changing, and legislative activity related to these issues.
- Tax Treatment of the Use of Employer-Provided Aircraft for Entertainment: Current Law and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
- The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an interagency committee that serves the President in overseeing the national security implications of foreign investment in the economy. Since it was established by an Executive Order of President Ford in 1975, the committee has operated in relative obscurity.1 According to a Treasury Department memorandum, the Committee originally was established in order to placate Congress, which had grown concerned over the rapid increase in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) investments in American portfolio assets (Treasury securities, corporate stocks and bonds), and to respond to concerns of some that much of the OPEC investments were being driven by political, rather than by economic, motives.
- Transportation and Transportation Security Related Provisions of House and Senate Stimulus Legislation (H.R. 1)
- This report discusses the major transportation and transportation security-related provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1) as passed by the House on January 28, 2009, and the Senate on February 10, 2009. The report also discusses the major transportation provisions of the conference report on H.R. 1 (H.Rept. 111-16), which was passed by both the House and Senate on February 13, 2009, and signed by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009.
- Navy Nuclear-Powered Surface Ships: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress
- This report discusses the possibility of increasing the number of Navy surface ships powered by nuclear energy, including the Navy's planned CG(X) cruiser. The report explores a 2006 Navy study that discusses budget considerations, the cost of a nuclear-powered ship compared to a ship powered by crude oil, and other suggestions relating to this proposed expansion. The overall report has a specific emphasis on the planned CG(X) cruiser, and how the implementation of this cruiser may be delayed by current budget proposals.
- DOD Leases of Foreign-Built Ships: Background for Congress
- This report briefly discusses the Department of Defense leasing foreign-built ships, the opponents of this practice, and related legislation.
- Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and presents potential issues for Congress concerning the Navy's ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans. Decisions that Congress makes on Navy shipbuilding programs can substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
- Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress
- The Navy has been procuring Virginia (SSN-774) class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) at a rate of one per year for the past several years, and a total of 11 boats have been procured through FY2009. This report discusses the Navy's proposed FY2010 budget, which requests $1,964.3 million in procurement funding to complete the procurement cost of a 12th Virginia-class boats.
- Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and presents potential issues, as well as costs, for Congress concerning the U.S. Navy's ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans. The planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy's shipbuilding plans have been matters of concern for the congressional defense committees for the past several years.
- F-35 Alternate Engine Program: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report discusses the past four years of administration proposals to terminate the program to develop the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 engine as an alternative to the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine that currently powers the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). These proposals have been continually rejected by Congress. The Obama Administration's FY2011 budget submission against proposes to terminate the program. This report explores both sides of the termination argument.
- Keeping America’s Pipelines Safe and Secure: Key Issues for Congress
- This report covers ways in which the 112th Congress can introduce relevant legislation to safeguard pipelines that transport natural gas, oil, and other hazardous liquids across the United States. While an efficient and fundamentally safe means of transport, many pipelines carry materials with the potential to cause public injury and environmental damage; the networks are also widespread and vulnerable to accidents and terrorist attack.
- Why Some Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Are Not Sold Domestically
- Report that discusses reasons why some fuel-efficient vehicles are not sold in the U.S.
- Federal Civil Aviation Programs: An Overview
- This report focuses on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) civil aviation programs addressed in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-95), enacted on February 14, 2012, which authorizes AATF taxes and revenue collections and civil aviation program expenditures through FY2015. Programs for these agencies are funded primarily through a special trust fund, the airport and airways trust fund (AATF), and, in part, through general fund contributions.
- The Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV): Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information on the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) and it discusses the Army's proposed replacement to the Vietnam-era M-113 personnel carriers, which are still in service in a variety of support capacities in Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs).
- The Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV): Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information on the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) and it discusses the Army's proposed replacement to the Vietnam-era M-113 personnel carriers, which are still in service in a variety of support capacities in Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs).
- Transportation Spending Under an Earmark Ban
- This report explains what earmarks are and discusses their use in surface transportation finance. It then discusses how federal transportation funding is distributed with a ban in place and how Members of Congress might influence the distribution.
- Airline Passenger Rights: The Federal Role in Aviation Consumer Protection
- This report examines aviation consumer protections following the 1978 elimination of most governmental control regarding airline business practices. It explains the roles of Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in protecting airline consumers, and discusses some major passenger rights issues and related laws and regulations.
- Highway Bridge Conditions: Issues for Congress
- This report discusses the state of highway bridges in the U.S. and federal funding programs to assist in their repair and maintenance. Statistics on the numbers of structurally deficient bridges and their locations are included.