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open access

Export Promotion: Commerce Needs Better Information to Evaluate Its Fee-Based Programs and Customers

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal and state trade promotion activities are intended to help U.S. firms compete successfully in foreign markets. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)--firms with fewer than 500 employees--represent a key segment of exporting firms. GAO was asked to determine (1) the relationship between the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) U.S. Commercial Service (CS) and states' trade offices' export promot… more
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
open access

Environmental Protection Agency: Major Management Challenges

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) overarching mission is to protect human health and the environment by implementing and enforcing environmental laws intended to improve the quality of the nation's air and water and to protect its land. EPA's policies and programs affect virtually all segments of the economy, society, and government. As such, it operates in a highly complex and controversial r… more
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
open access

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments

Description: This report provides a brief history and recent developments regarding the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty (CTBT). The U.N. General Assembly adopted the CTBT in 1996. The report discusses the national positions on testing and the CTBT, The North Korean nuclear test, stockpile stewardship, and CTBT pros and cons.
Date: March 4, 2008
Creator: Medalia, Jonathan
open access

California's Waiver Request to Control Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act

Description: This report reviews the nature of Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) authority, as well as that of California and other states, to regulate emissions from mobile sources. It includes a discussion fo the applicability of that authority to greenhouse gases (GHGs) and issues related to the California waiver request.
Date: March 4, 2008
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Meltz, Robert
open access

Distribution of Child Support Collections

Description: This report discusses child support distribution policy. The general rules in effect as of October 1, 2000 are that child support collected during the time a family receives cash welfare belongs to the state; current child support and arrearages (past-due payments) that are owed to a family that is no longer receiving welfare belongs to the family; and child support owed to a family that never received welfare belongs to the family.
Date: March 4, 2003
Creator: Solomon-Fears, Carmen
open access

Air Force Air Refueling: The KC-X Aircraft Acquisition Program

Description: This report discusses the U.S. Air Force in-flight aerial refueling aircraft program. The KC-135, which makes up the preponderance of the Air Force's tanker force, is among the Air Force's oldest aircraft.
Date: March 4, 2008
Creator: Bolkcom, Christopher & Knight, William
open access

Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests

Description: This report discusses the current political and economic conditions in Russia, focusing on the impact of Vladimir Putin's leadership and the leadership of his successor/protégé, Dmitriy Medvedev. The report also discusses the state of the economy since the Soviet collapse in 1999, how the recent global economic downturn has affected Russia, the state of Russia's military, and the current relationship between Russia and the United States.
Date: March 4, 2008
Creator: Goldman, Stuart D.
open access

Title IX and Sex Discrimination in Education: An Overview

Description: This report provides an overview of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the various aspects of education affected by this law. Although Title IX has been only partially successful in eliminating sex discrimination in education, the effects of this legislation have been far-reaching.
Date: March 4, 2004
Creator: Galemore, Gary L.
open access

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Appropriations Process: A Brief Explanation

Description: This report examines The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which is funded by fees collected from customers. However, appropriation measures limit USPTO use of all fees accumulated within a fiscal year. Critics of this approach argue that because agency operations are supported by payments for services, all fees are necessary to fund these services in the year they are provided.
Date: March 4, 2002
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
open access

Social Security: The Government Pension Offset (GPO)

Description: This report discusses the social security benefits and the spousal benefits of individuals who are not financially dependent on their spouses because they receive benefits based on their own work records.
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: Shelton, Alison M.
open access

CRS Issue Statement on Climate Change

Description: This report discusses the congressional activities that have included ratification of the UNFCCC (1992), enactment of implementing legislation and funding of research and development of climate change.
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
open access

The Federal Government Debt: Its Size and Economic Significance

Description: This report explains the different measures of the U.S. government debt, discusses the historical growth in the debt, identifies the current owners of the debt, presents comparisons with government debt in other countries, and examines the potential economic risks associated with a growing federal debt.
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: Cashell, Brian W.
open access

The Economic Effects of Capital Gains Taxation

Description: This report discusses tax policy in relation to capital gains. Proposals dealing with the taxation of capital gains have ranged from the outright elimination of capital gains taxation to the reduction of capital gains tax rates for certain classes of taxpayers to the elimination of the preferential tax treatment.
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: Hungerford, Thomas L.
open access

China-U.S. Trade Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of U.S.-China economic relations, surveys major trade disputes, and lists bills introduced in the 111th Congress that would impact bilateral commercial ties.
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: Morrison, Wayne M.
open access

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA): A Summary

Description: This report summarizes the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the major regulatory programs that mandate reporting by industrial facilities of releases of hazardous chemicals to the environment, as well as local planning to respond in the event of significant, accidental releases.
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
open access

Homeland Security Department: FY2009 Appropriations

Description: This report describes the FY2009 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a net appropriation of $38, 849 million in budget authority for FY2009.
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: Lake, Jennifer E. & Nuñez-Neto, Blas
open access

Homeland Security: Air Passenger Prescreening and Counterterrorism

Description: This report discusses about Boarder and Transportation Security Screening Coordination, System Integrity, Access and Data Retention, Key Operational Consideration and many more.
Date: March 4, 2005
Creator: Elias, Bart; Krouse, William J. & Rappaport, Edward B.
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