Congressional Research Service Reports - 18 Matching Results

Search Results

Results: 1 - 18
open access

Highway Fund Sanctions and Conformity Under the Clean Air Act

Description: This report discusses two Clean Air Act provisions that can result in denial of federal highway funding to local areas: sanctions and the lapse of what is called "conformity." Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is required to impose highway fund or other sanctions on areas that have not submitted or not implemented adequate plans to attain air quality standards. In addition, federal agencies may not provide financial support to transportation impro… more
Date: October 15, 1999
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Air Quality: EPA's Ozone Transport Rule, OTAG, and Section 216 Petitions - A Hazy Situation?

Description: The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments provided the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states with new tool to address the problem of interstate transport of air pollutants. This report discusses the actions undertaken as a direct result of this act, additional pollution reduction enforcement measures pursued by the EPA, and actions undertaken by states to reduce offending emissions not in compliance with these measures.
Date: June 15, 1999
Creator: Parker, Larry & Blodgett, John E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Passenger Service Act, Domestic Ocean Passenger Services, and the 106th Congress

Description: The Passenger Service Act (PSA) requires that domestic ocean passenger transportation be provided only by ships that are U.S.-owned, U.S.-built and operated by U.S. crews. Proposed legislation to relax some PSA restrictions was introduced during the 105th Congress. Both the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, have made recent public statements indicating … more
Date: January 15, 1999
Creator: Thompson, Stephen J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Taxpayer Protections in the IRS Restructuring Bill: Attorneys' Fees and Damages for IRS Abuses

Description: This report discusses the proposals to expand a court's authority to award attorneys' fees and costs in certain cases and the proposal to permit a taxpayer to collect damages for negligent collection actions by IRS agents. These provisions are covered in sections 311 and 312 of the House version and in sections 3101 and 3102 of the Senate version.
Date: June 15, 1998
Creator: Morris, Marie B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Campaign Finance Reform: A Legal Analysis of Issue and Express Advocacy

Description: Issue advocacy communications have become increasingly popular over the federal election cycles. Often these advertisements could be interpreted to favor or disfavor certain candidates, while also serving to inform the public about a policy issue. However, unlike communications that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, the Supreme Court has ruled that issue ads are constitutionally protected First Amendment speech and cannot be regulated.
Date: May 15, 1998
Creator: Whitaker, L. Paige
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension Issues in the 105th Congress

Description: The public agricultural research, education, and extension system is comprised of a nationwide network of federal and state agricultural research laboratories and departments, land grant Colleges of Agriculture, colleges of forestry and veterinary medicine, and the nationwide Cooperative Extension System. Although the basic authority to conduct agricultural research and extension programs is permanent, Congress since 1977 has provided funding authority and policy guidance for USDA's in-house re… more
Date: January 15, 1998
Creator: Rawson, Jean M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Indian Law: Background and Current Issues

Description: This report briefly describes some of the fundamentals of federal Indian law, including the concept of tribal sovereignty and the allocation of authority among state, federal, and tribal governments with reference to criminal and civil laws and taxation.
Date: September 15, 1997
Creator: Murphy, M. Maureen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Implementing Acid Rain Legislation

Description: This report discusses the broad-ranging provisions in Title IV of The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (P.L. 101-549), which raise myriad implementation issues, particularly with respect to the system of tradable "allowances."
Date: November 15, 1994
Creator: Parker, Larry
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Current U.S. Sanctions Against China

Description: 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 de… more
Date: August 15, 1994
Creator: Dumbaugh, Kerry
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Listing of a Species: Legal Definition and Biological Realities

Description: The 103d Congress will debate the reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) 2 which expired on October 1, 1992. The Act has recently generated controversy, even though it passed in 1973 with virtually no opposition. Much of the debate concerns specific actions that would jeopardize particular species or populations. However, the controversy has been fueled by the discrepancies between two sets of legal definitions and the subtle biological realities that they approximate
Date: December 15, 1992
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Congress and Trade Policy Toward Japan

Description: Congressional policymaking with respect to trade with Japan is driven by strong domestic interests, appeals to broad political principles, and numerous horror stories. The $43 billion U.S. trade deficit with Japan continues to be a focus of attention, but the deficit is an issue because it reflects aggressive competition between Japanese companies and U.S. industries.
Date: April 15, 1992
Creator: Nanto, Dick K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen