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Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E): Background, Status, and Selected Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) within the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69), which was authorized by Congress in August 2007. Modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), ARPA-E would support transformational energy technology research projects with the goal of enhancing the nation's economic and energy security.
Date: May 20, 2008
Creator: Stine, Deborah D.
open access

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Disparate Impact Claims: An Analysis of the Supreme Court’s Ruling in Smith v. City of Jackson

Description: This report discusses Smith v. City of Jackson, a recent case in which the Supreme Court held that workers may sue employers under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) for workplace policies that have an adverse impact on older employees, even if the discriminatory effects are not intentional.
Date: June 20, 2005
Creator: Dale, Charles V. & Feder, Jody
open access

Agricultural Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses a number of issues affecting U.S. agriculture have been or are being addressed by the 109th Congress. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171), enacted in February 2006, included a net reduction in spending on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandatory programs of $2.7 billion over five years, and the reauthorization of a dairy income support program. Other issues of importance to agriculture during the second session of the 109th Congress include the consider… more
Date: July 20, 2006
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
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Air Pollution: Legal Perspectives on the “Routine Maintenance” Exception to New Source Review

Description: The report surveys the original legal landscape surrounding this exemption – in the contexts of determining applicability of New Source Performance Standards, and New Source Review in Prevention of Significant Deterioration and nonattainment areas. It then summarizes the many significant developments during the current Bush Administration, both in the Federal Register and in the courts.
Date: February 20, 2004
Creator: Meltz, Robert
open access

Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement

Description: This report discusses a plan announced by EPA in January 2005, called the Air Compliance Agreement, that would produce air quality monitoring data on animal agriculture emissions from a small number of farms, while at the same time protecting all participants (including farms where no monitoring takes place) through a “safe harbor” from liability under certain provisions of federal environmental laws.
Date: July 20, 2006
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
open access

Alternative Fuels and Advanced Technology Vehicles: Issues in Congress

Description: Key components of federal policies to reduce fuel consumption include the promotion of alternatives to petroleum fuels and the promotion of more efficient vehicles. This report provides an overview of current issues surrounding alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles — issues discussed in further detail in other CRS reports referred to in each section.
Date: July 20, 2006
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
open access

Amtrak Issues in the 108th Congress

Description: This report discusses a number of issues connected with Amtrak that Congress may consider. Amtrak does not earn enough revenue, or receive enough assistance, to cover its operating costs and capital needs. As a result, Amtrak is regularly on the verge of insolvency.
Date: February 20, 2003
Creator: Peterman, D. R.
open access

Animal Waste and Water Quality: EPA's Response to the Waterkeeper Alliance Court Decision on Regulation of CAFOs

Description: This report discusses the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the discharge of pollutants from any "point source" to waters of the United States unless authorized under a permit that is issued by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a qualified state. The act also expressly defines confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) as point sources.
Date: August 20, 2008
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
open access

Border Security: The Role of the U.S. Border Patrol

Description: This report includes some issues for Congress to consider which include the slow rate of integration between the United States Border Patrol's (USBP) biometric database of illegal aliens and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) biometric database of criminals and terrorists; the number of unauthorized aliens who die attempting to enter the country each year; the organized human smuggling rings that have proliferated as entering the country has become more difficult; and the threat posed … more
Date: November 20, 2008
Creator: Nuñez-Neto, Blas
open access

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or “Mad Cow Disease”): Current and Proposed Safeguards

Description: This report presents an overview of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or “mad cow disease”) in the United States. Shortly after the first case of BSE was announced, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other officials announced measures to improve existing safeguards against the introduction and spread of BSE. This report discusses trade restrictions, the live-stock “feed ban”, as well as the BSE surveillance and testing in cattle.
Date: September 20, 2006
Creator: Lister, Sarah A. & Becker, Geoffrey S.
open access

The Budget Reconciliation Process: Motions to Instruct Conferees

Description: The report discusses the budget reconciliation process that operates as an adjunct to the budget resolution process. The chief purpose of the reconciliation process is to enhance congress's ability to change current law in order to bring revenue, spending, and debt-limit levels in conformity with the policies expresses in the budget resolution.
Date: July 20, 2009
Creator: Keith, Robert
open access

Campaign Finance

Description: This report discusses campaign finance practices and related issues. Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. The report talks about the today's paramount issues such as perceived loopholes in current law and the longstanding issues: overall costs, funding sources, and competition.
Date: April 20, 2005
Creator: Cantor, Joseph E.
open access

Campaign Finance: Issues Before the U.S. Supreme Court in McConnell v. FEC

Description: This report provides a summary of the issues presented by 12 groups of appellants in their jurisdictional statements in 2003. Shortly after the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), P.L. 107-155 (H.R. 2356, 107th Cong.) was enacted in March 2002 (also known as the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation), Senator Mitch McConnell and others filed suit in U.S. District Court for D.C. against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)… more
Date: June 20, 2003
Creator: Whitaker, L. Paige
open access

Cars and Climate: What Can EPA Do to Control Greenhouse Gases from Mobile Sources?

Description: This report discusses legislation being considered by congress to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change. It discusses the EPA's authority under Title II and provides information regarding the mobile sources that might be regulated under this authority. Among these sources, motor vehicles (passenger cars and light trucks, including SUVs) are assumed to be the most likely initial targets for regulation, both because a petition addressing these sources began E… more
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
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