CRS Reports

Taxes and International Competitiveness

May 19, 2006

Analysis of Federal-State Financing of the Child Support Enforcement Program

May 17, 2006

Superfund: Overview and Selected Issues

May 17, 2006

Supervised Release: A Brief Sketch of Federal Law

May 9, 2006

Veterans' Medical Care: FY2007 Appropriations

May 8, 2006

Russia

May 8, 2006

The Changing Demographic Profile of the United States

As noted by the Population Reference Bureau, “The U.S. is getting bigger, older, and more diverse.” The objective of this report is to highlight some of the demographic changes that have already occurred since 1950 and to illustrate how these and future trends will reshape the nation in the decades to come (through 2050). This report discusses the current and projected demographic changes if policymakers accelerate efforts to address and adapt to the changing population profile as it relates to a number of essential domains, such as work, retirement, and pensions, private wealth and income security, and the health and well-being of the aging population.

May 5, 2006

Unemployment Compensation (Insurance) and Military Service

May 4, 2006

Offshore Oil and Gas Development: Legal Framework

May 3, 2006

Periods of War

May 1, 2006

Federal Civil Rights Statutes: A Primer

Apr 24, 2006

The State Role in the Federal Licensing of Hydropower Dams: S.D. Warren Co. v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection

Apr 24, 2006

Foreign Investment in U.S. Securities

Foreign capital inflows are playing an important role in the U.S. economy by bridging the gap between domestic supplies of and demand for capital. Foreign investors now hold more than 55% of the publicly-held and -traded U.S. Treasury securities. This report relies on a comprehensive set of data on capital flows, represented by purchases and sales of U.S. government securities and U.S. and foreign corporate stocks, bonds, into and out of the United States, that is reported by the Treasury Department on a monthly basis.

Apr 24, 2006

North Korea: A Chronology of Events in 2005

This report provides a chronology of events relevant to U.S. relations with North Korea in 2005 and is a continuation of CRS Report RL32743, North Korea: A Chronology of Events, October 2002-December 2004, by Mark E. Manyin, Emma Chanlett-Avery, and Helene Machart. The chronology includes significant meetings, events, and statements that shed light on the issues surrounding North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. An introductory analysis highlights the key developments and notes other significant regional dynamics. Particular attention is paid to the Six-Party Talks, inter-Korean relations, key U.S. officials in charge of North Korean policy, China’s leadership in the negotiations, Japan’s relationship with its neighbors, and contact with North Korea outside of the executive branch, including a Congressional delegation. Information for this report came from a variety of news articles, scholarly publications, government materials, and other sources, the accuracy of which CRS has not verified. This report will not be updated.

Apr 24, 2006

Algeria: Current Issues

This report examines the current state of Algeria, including the country's associations with terrorism, despite steady decreases of domestic terrorism; the lessening in power of the Algerian military; and growing oil revenues.

Apr 24, 2006

Tax-Exempt Organizations: Political Activity Restrictions and Disclosure Requirements

Apr 20, 2006

Terminal Operators and Their Role in U.S. Port and Maritime Security

Apr 20, 2006

Debt Relief for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries: Issues for Congress

In recent decades, the rapid growth in poor country debt has emerged as a key foreign policy concern. Many analysts believe that this debt burden is an impediment to economic growth and poverty reduction. Others contend that for the poorest countries, other factors such as weak political and economic institutions, are a greater impediment to growth than the debt burden. There have been many efforts to help reduce poor country debt. In 1988 a group of major creditor nations, known as the Paris Club, agreed for the first time to cancel debts owed to them instead of refinancing them on easier terms as they had done previously. In 1996, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the regional development banks agreed to allow a portion of debts owed to them by a select group of countries to be cancelled. This effort is known as the Debt Relief Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). In June 2005, the Group of Eight (G8) nations agreed to further deepen debt relief and proposed 100% cancellation of all multilateral debt for countries that have finished the HIPC program. Several pieces of legislation ( H.R. 1130 and S. 1320 ) also have been introduced that could extend debt relief to an even larger group of countries. As introduced, the G8 proposal raises four possible concerns: Scope of Debt Cancellation -- The proposed agreement is limited to the IMF, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank. Several other development banks are major creditors and are not included in the proposal. No Net New Assistance -- The proposed agreement specifies that HIPC countries that receive debt reduction will have their total assistance flows reduced by the amount of debt forgiven. This money will then be reallocated among all low-income countries. Funding is Not Assured -- The agreement promises that G8 countries will compensate the development banks for any debt relief they provide. However, future contributions to the development banks are not guaranteed. Future Commitments are Unspecified -- The agreement commits G8 members to cover the cost of debt relief for countries that may later enter the HIPC process. Depending on which, if any, countries are added, the potential cost of debt relief may rise significantly. No congressional appropriations are required at this time to implement the G8 proposal. However, additional U.S. funds may need to be appropriated in the future to fund higher levels of HIPC debt relief. This report will no longer be updated. For information on the current status of the G8 debt relief proposal, see CRS Report RS22534 , The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative , by Martin A. Weiss.

Apr 18, 2006

Unemployment Insurance: Available Unemployment Benefits and Legislative Activity

Apr 14, 2006

The Role of the House Majority Leader: An Overview

Apr 4, 2006

Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture: Status and Current Issues

This report discusses the status and current issues regarding animal agriculture that is being transformed by rapid advances in biotechnology. This report will be updated as significant developments in agricultural biotechnology occur and as Congress develops legislation addressing emerging agricultural biotechnology issues.

Mar 27, 2006

Community Development Block Grant Funds in Disaster Relief and Recovery

Mar 23, 2006

Federal Government Corporations: An Overview

This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category currently consisting of some 18 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to them in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is an agency of government, established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and intended to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.

Mar 23, 2006

Livestock Marketing and Competition Issues

Mar 20, 2006

Money Laundering: An Overview of 18 U.S.C. 1956 and Related Federal Criminal Law

Mar 14, 2006

Congress and Program Evaluation: An Overview of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and Related Issues

Program evaluations can play an important role in public policy debates and in oversight of government programs, potentially affecting decisions about program design, operation, and funding. One technique that has received significant recent attention is the randomized controlled trial (RCT). There are also many other types of evaluation, including observational and qualitative designs. An RCT attempts to estimate a program’s impact upon an outcome of interest (e.g., crime rate). An RCT randomly assigns subjects to treatment and control groups, administers an intervention to the treatment group, and afterward measures the average difference between the groups. The quality of an RCT is typically assessed by its internal, external, and construct validity. At the federal level, RCTs have been a subject of interest and some controversy in education policy and the George W. Bush Administration’s effort to integrate budgeting and performance using the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). In addition, in the 109th Congress, pending legislation provides for RCTs (e.g., Sections 3 and 15 of S. 1934; Section 114 of S. 667 (Senate committee-reported bill); and Section 5 of S. 1129). Views about the practical capabilities and limitations of RCTs, compared to other evaluation designs, have sometimes been contentious. There is wide consensus that, under certain conditions, well-designed and implemented RCTs provide the most valid estimate of an intervention’s impact, and can therefore provide useful information on whether, and the extent to which, an intervention causes favorable impacts for a large group of subjects, on average. However, RCTs are also seen as difficult to design and implement well. There also appears to be less consensus about what proportion of evaluations that are intended to estimate impacts should be RCTs and about the conditions under which RCTs are appropriate. Many observers argue that other types of evaluations are necessary complements to RCTs, or sometimes necessary substitutes for them, and can be used to establish causation, help bolster or undermine an RCT’s findings, or in some situations validly estimate impacts. There is increasing consensus that a single study of any type is rarely sufficient to reliably support decision making. Many researchers have therefore embraced systematic reviews, which synthesize many similar or disparate studies. A number of issues regarding RCTs might arise when Congress considers making program evaluation policy or when actors in the policy process present program evaluations to influence Congress. Should Congress focus on RCTs in these situations, a number of issues might be considered, including an RCT’s parameters, capabilities, and limitations. In addition, Congress might examine the types of program evaluations that are necessary, question an evaluation’s definitions or assumptions, consider how to appropriately use evaluation information in its learning and decision making, evaluate how much confidence to have in a study, and investigate whether agencies have capacity to properly conduct, interpret, and objectively present evaluations. This report will be updated in the 110th Congress.

Mar 7, 2006

Fuel Ethanol: Background and Public Policy Issues

This report provides background and discussion of policy issues relating to U.S. ethanol production, especially ethanol made from corn. It discusses U.S. fuel ethanol consumption both as a gasoline blending component and as an alternative to gasoline. The report discusses various costs and benefits of ethanol, including fuel costs, pollutant emissions, and energy consumption. It also outlines key areas of congressional debate on policies beneficial to the ethanol industry.

Mar 3, 2006

U.S.-Vietnam Relations: Background and Issues for Congress

Mar 2, 2006

WTO Dispute Settlement: Status of U.S. Compliance in Pending Cases

Mar 1, 2006

Minority Contracting and Affirmative Action for Disadvantaged Small Businesses: Legal Issues

This report discusses the minority participation “goals” that have been an integral part of federal policies to promote racial and gender equality in contracting on federally financed construction projects and in connection with other large federal contracts.

Feb 24, 2006

The Chained Consumer Price Index: How Is It Different?

Feb 24, 2006

An Introduction to the Design of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit

This report discusses the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), which is a federal provision that reduces the income tax liability of taxpayers claiming the credit. These taxpayers are typically investors in real estate development projects that have traded cash for the tax credits to support the production of affordable housing. The credit is intended to lower the financing costs of housing developments so that the rental prices of units can be lower than market rates, and thus, presumably, affordable.

Feb 24, 2006

AIDS: The Ryan White CARE Act

This report discusses the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, which makes federal funds available to metropolitan areas and states to assist in health care costs and support services for individuals and families affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This report discusses related legislation and appropriations.

Feb 22, 2006

Child Support Enforcement: Program Basics

In FY2004, the CSE program collected $21.9 billion in child support payments and served 15.9 million child support cases. However, the program still collects only 18% of child support obligations for which it has responsibility and collects payments for only 51% of its caseload.

Feb 15, 2006

Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit

The U.S. merchandise trade deficit is a part of the overall U.S. balance of payments, a summary statement of all economic transactions between the residents of the United States and the rest of the world, during a given period of time. Some Members of Congress and other observers have grown concerned over the magnitude of the growing U.S. merchandise trade deficit and the associated increase in U.S. dollar-denominated assets owned by foreigners. This report provides an overview of the U.S. balance of payments, an explanation of the broader role of capital flows in the U.S. economy, an explanation of how the country finances its trade deficit or a trade surplus, and the implications for Congress and the country of the large inflows of capital from abroad.

Feb 14, 2006

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Allocation Rates: Legislative History and Current Law

Feb 10, 2006

Navy Role in Global War on Terrorism (GWOT): Background and Issues for Congress

Feb 6, 2006

The Wetlands Coverage of the Clean Water Act is Revisited by the Supreme Court: Rapanos and Carabell

Feb 2, 2006

International Population Assistance and Family Planning Programs: Issues for Congress

Since 1965, United States policy has supported international population planning based on principles of volunteerism and informed choice that gives participants access to information on all methods of birth control. This policy, however, has generated contentious debate for over two decades, resulting in frequent clarification and modification of U.S. international family planning programs. This report provides the context of this debate.

Jan 26, 2006

Air Quality: EPA’s Proposed Changes to the Particulate Matter (PM) Standard

Jan 26, 2006

Supreme Court Nominations: Senate Floor Procedure and Practice, 1789-2005

Jan 24, 2006

Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs

Jan 20, 2006

NATO Common Funds Burdensharing: Background and Current Issues

Jan 20, 2006

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002: A Summary of Provisions

After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, many businesses were not able to purchase insurance for risk of property loss due to future terrorist attacks. Congress recognized the importance of terrorism risk insurance for the health of the U.S. economy, and enacted the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA, P.L. 107-297 ) to create a temporary program to share future insured terrorism losses with the property-casualty industry. TRIA requires insurers to offer terrorism insurance to their commercial policyholders, preserves state regulation of insurance, and directs the Secretary of the Treasury to administer the program of sharing losses. This report, originally authored by Carolyn Cobb, provides a summary of the legislation as enacted in 2002. This legislation was extended and revised in 2005 by P.L. 109-144 . For current information, see CRS Report RS21979 , Terrorism Risk Insurance: An Overview , by Baird Webel. This report will not be updated.

Jan 12, 2006

Venue: A Brief Look at Federal Law Governing Where a Federal Crime May Be Tried

Jan 6, 2006

Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Gather Foreign Intelligence Information

The Revelations in December 2005 that President Bush had authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to collect signals intelligence from communications involving U.S. persons within the United States, without obtaining a warrant or court order, raised numerous questions regarding the President’s authority to order warrantless electronic surveillance. President Bush stated that he believes his order to be fully supported by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and Attorney General Gonzales clarified that the Administration based its authority both on inherent presidential powers and the joint resolution authorizing the use of “all necessary and appropriate force” to engage militarily those responsible for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (“AUMF”). Although the resolution does not expressly specify what it authorizes as “necessary and appropriate force,” the Administration discerned the intent of Congress to provide the statutory authority necessary to take virtually any action reasonably calculated to prevent a terrorist attack, including by overriding at least some statutory prohibitions that contain exceptions for conduct that is “otherwise authorized by statute.” Specifically, the Administration asserts that a part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that punishes those who conduct “electronic surveillance under color of law except as authorized by statute” does not bar the NSA surveillance at issue because the AUMF is just such a statute. On December 22, 2005, the Department of Justice Office of Legislative Affairs released a letter to certain members of the House and Senate intelligence committees setting forth in somewhat greater detail the Administration’s position with regard to the legal authority supporting the NSA activities described by the President. This report lays out a general framework for analyzing the constitutional and statutory issues raised by the NSA electronic surveillance activity. It then outlines the legal framework regulating electronic surveillance by the government, explores ambiguities in those statutes that could provide exceptions for the NSA intelligence-gathering operation at issue, and addresses the arguments that the President possesses inherent authority to order the operations or that Congress has provided such authority. This report supersedes CRS memorandum product WD00002, Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Gather Foreign Intelligence Information, by Elizabeth B. Bazan and Jennifer K. Elsea.

Jan 5, 2006

Status of a Member of the House Who Has Been Indicted for or Convicted of a Felony

Jan 5, 2006

U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel

Jan 5, 2006

Support Offices in the House of Representatives: Roles and Authorities

Jan 4, 2006

Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management

This report describes statutory requirements for allocating congressional nominations to service academies. It also identifies the qualifications that must be met by potential nominees, as established by statute and each academy. Finally, sample documents that could be used by congressional offices at various stages of the nomination selection process are included. These documents provide basic information and can be customized to fit the specific needs of individual office policies.

Dec 29, 2005