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| Date Jan. 13, 2009 |
Report No. RL34730 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The current financial instability became widely apparent in the credit markets in August 2007. Although initially thought to be limited to subprime mortgages, increasing defaults on prime mortgages caused losses that rippled through the financial system; the effects have been particularly severe because U.S. mortgage-backed securities (MBS) had ...
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| Date Jan. 13, 2009 |
Report No. RL33520 |
Title
Specialty Crops: 2008 Farm Bill Issues Ren e Johnson Specialist in Agricultural Policy January 13, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL33520 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Specialty Crops: 2008 Farm Bill Issues Summary Congress has completed action on omnibus legislation to replace expiring law governing the programs and policies of the ...
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| Date Jan. 13, 2009 |
Report No. RL34740 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA, Division A of H.R. 1424, P.L. 110343) established numerous reporting requirements regarding a variety of issues, and many of those reports have already been published. The entities charged with preparation of these reports include both new entities established by the act (e.g., the Financial ...
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| Date Jan. 13, 2009 |
Report No. RL34557 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The 2008 enacted farm bill (Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-246) reauthorizes almost all existing conservation programs, modifies several programs, and creates various new conservation programs. A new Conservation Stewardship program replaces the existing Conservation Security Program and a new Agricultural Water Enhancement ...
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| Date Jan. 13, 2009 |
Report No. RS22709 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Congress enacted two restitution provisions in the 110th Congress, one as part of the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2008 (Title II of P.L. 110-326)(H.R. 5938), and the other as part of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-403)(S. 3325). It also devoted considerable time and ...
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| Date Jan. 13, 2009 |
Report No. RL34139 |
Title
Criminal Restitution in the 110th Congress: A Sketch Charles Doyle Senior Specialist in American Public Law January 13, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RS22709 Criminal Restitution in the 110th Congress: A Sketch Summary Congress enacted two restitution provisions in the 1 0 th Congress, one as part of the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2008 (Title II of ...
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| Date Jan. 13, 2009 |
Report No. RS22878 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to develop a regulatory response to a 2006 federal court ruling that vacated a long-standing EPA rule. That rule had exempted discharges associated with the normal operation of vessels from permit requirements of the Clean Water Act. Concern that this ruling could require millions of recreational ...
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| Date Jan. 13, 2009 |
Report No. RS22969 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Many observers trace the root cause of recent instability in financial markets to uncertainty surrounding the value of widely held securities that are based on mortgages and mortgage-related assets. Losses on these securities have led to the unexpected and relatively sudden failure of several large financial institutions. Credit markets have nearly ...
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| Date Jan. 12, 2009 |
Report No. R40127 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that world food prices spiked dramatically in the first half of 2008 and declined somewhat in the latter part of the year. From June 2007 to June 2008, FAO s food price index increased by 44%, with wheat and rice prices increasing by 90% and maize prices by 35%. The food spikes had ...
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| Date Jan. 12, 2009 |
Report No. RL33779 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The 110th Congress took limited action to oversee implementation and funding of the Endangered Species Act (ESA; P.L. 93-205, 16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) and to consider proposals to amend the act. Major issues in recent years have included the role of science in decision-making, consultation requirements for federal agencies, critical habitat (CH) ...
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| Date Jan. 12, 2009 |
Report No. RL33813 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Fish and marine mammals are important resources in open ocean and nearshore coastal areas; many federal laws and regulations guide their management. Commercial and sport fishing are jointly managed by the federal government and individual states. States generally have jurisdiction within 3 miles of the coast. Beyond state jurisdiction and out to 200 ...
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| Date Jan. 12, 2009 |
Report No. RS22537 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress This report presents various governmental and non-governmental estimates of Iraqi civilian deaths. The Department of Defense (DOD) regularly updates total U.S. military deaths statistics from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), as reflected in CRS Report RS21578, Iraq: U.S. Casualties, by Susan G. Chesser. However, no Iraqi or U.S. government office ...
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| Date Jan. 10, 2009 |
Report No. RL33819 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Since the early 1960s, U.S. policy toward Cuba has consisted largely of isolating the communist nation through economic sanctions, which the Bush Administration has tightened significantly. A second policy component has consisted of support measures for the Cuban people, including private humanitarian donations and U.S.-sponsored radio and ...
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| Date Jan. 9, 2009 |
Report No. RL33958 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress With a few exceptions (such as milk), the products of animal agriculture are not eligible for the price and income supports that Congress historically has written into farm bills for major row crops such as grains, cotton, and oilseeds. However, the meat and poultry industries do look to the federal government for leadership and support in promoting ...
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| Date Jan. 9, 2009 |
Report No. RL31936 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress This report provides background and analysis of the general revenue sharing program (GRS) as authorized in the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-512, the 1972 Act). The GRS program was extended three times before finally expiring on September 30, 1986. Over the almost 15-year life of the GRS program (1972 through 1986), more ...
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| Date Jan. 9, 2009 |
Report No. RS22337 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress One principle of tax fairness or equity accepted by many is that households at the low end of the income spectrum, especially those near the poverty threshold, should not be subject to the federal income tax. This report estimates income tax thresholds the point at which taxpayers have an actual out-of-pocket income tax payment. In addition, the ...
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| Date Jan. 8, 2009 |
Report No. RL31870 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The United States Trade Representative (USTR) and trade ministers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic signed the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) on August 5, 2004. Nearly one year later, it faced a contentious debate and close vote in both houses of ...
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| Date Jan. 8, 2009 |
Report No. RS22956 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Between March and September 2008, the federal government intervened financially with private corporations on three occasions, resulting in the government receiving significant debt and equity considerations. The firms affected were Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and AIG. Dissatisfaction with the case-by-case approach to addressing the ...
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| Date Jan. 8, 2009 |
Report No. R40184 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress According to guidelines published by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, all youth should see a dentist for routine dental screening and preventive care twice a year. Dental care is a mandatory benefit for most Medicaid eligibles under the age of 21, however, nationwide, the majority of low-income children enrolled in Medicaid do not ...
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| Date Jan. 7, 2009 |
Report No. RL34683 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress U.S.-Taiwan relations have undergone important changes, sparked in part by the increasing complexity of Taiwan s democratic political environment and the continued insistence of Beijing that the separately ruled Taiwan is a part of the People s Republic of China (PRC). Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, elected on March 22, 2008, in a surprisingly broad ...
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| Date Jan. 7, 2009 |
Report No. RL30496 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Forty-seven percent of all workers aged 21 and older participated in employer-sponsored retirement plans in 2006, but not all of these workers will receive a pension or other income from these plans when they retire. Some will instead receive a lump-sum distribution from their retirement plan when they change jobs. A typical 25-year-old today will ...
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| Date Jan. 7, 2009 |
Report No. RS22195 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are eligible for Medicare benefits after a 24-month waiting period. This report explains this waiting period and its legislative history. This report also provides information on other programs that may provide access to health insurance during the required waiting period.This report ...
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| Date Jan. 7, 2009 |
Report No. RS22532 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress This report presents various governmental and non-governmental estimates of Iraqi police and security forces fatalities. The Department of Defense (DOD) regularly updates total U.S. military deaths and wounded statistics from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), as reflected in CRS Report RS21578, Iraq: U.S. Casualties, by Susan G. Chesser, and has ...
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| Date Jan. 7, 2009 |
Report No. RL33827 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The Wilderness Act generally prohibits commercial activities, motorized uses, and infrastructure developments in congressionally designated wilderness areas. However, the Wilderness Act and many subsequent laws designating wilderness areas also contain provisions authorizing activities that do not conform with these general prohibitions. The general ...
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| Date Jan. 7, 2009 |
Report No. R40124 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress With the announcements by President-elect Barack Obama that he intends to nominate several Members of Congress to various positions in the Executive Branch, questions regarding their constitutional eligibility in light of the plain language of the Emoluments Clause have been raised. This report provides an historical review of the Emoluments Clause, ...
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| Date Jan. 7, 2009 |
Report No. R40128 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The Constitution of the United States of America imbues the President with broad authority to grant pardons and reprieves for offenses against the United States. This report provides an overview of the scope of the President s pardoning power, the legal effects of a pardon, and the procedures that have traditionally been adhered to in the ...
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| Date Jan. 6, 2009 |
Report No. R40117 |
Title
Refugee and Asylum-Seeker Inflows in the United States and Other OECD Member States Chad C. Haddal Analyst in Immigration Policy January 6, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R40133 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Refugee and Asylum-Seeker Inflows in the United States and Other OECD Member States Summary A refugee is a person fleeing his ...
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| Date Jan. 6, 2009 |
Report No. R40107 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Interest in using federal government spending to stimulate U.S. economic recovery has intensified recently in response to indicators showing significant deterioration of the economy. Policymakers at all levels of government are debating a range of options to address these problems. Some favor using traditional monetary and fiscal policies. Others, ...
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| Date Jan. 6, 2009 |
Report No. IS40281 |
Title
CRS Issue Statement on Child Well-Being Adrienne L. Fernandes, Coordinator Analyst in Social Policy January 6, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov IS40281 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress CRS Issue Statement on Child Well-Being Introduction The nation s future depends in large part on its children s ability to develop into contributing ...
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| Date Jan. 6, 2009 |
Report No. RL34155 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress While the extent of income inequality is debated periodically, one rarely discussed aspect of inequality is its impact on the tax system. Given the nature of the U.S. federal tax system, changes in the distribution of income can have significant implications for who pays the taxes, how much they pay, and federal tax revenues. One common measure to ...
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| Date Jan. 5, 2009 |
Report No. RS21724 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are privately owned, congressionally chartered financial institutions created for specific public policy purposes. The three largest GSEs, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks), were created by Congress to increase liquidity and improve the distribution of capital available for ...
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| Date Jan. 2, 2009 |
Report No. RL34349 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Recent policies have sought to contain damages spilling over from housing and financial markets to the broader economy, including monetary policy, the responsibility of the Federal Reserve, and fiscal policy. Legislators and the President adopted an economic stimulus package (P.L. 110-185) on February 13. Another stimulus package, H.R. 7110, passed ...
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| Date Jan. 2, 2009 |
Report No. RL33316 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress After communist North Vietnam s victory over U.S.-backed South Vietnam in 1975, U.S.Vietnam relations remained essentially frozen until the mid-1990s. Since then, bilateral ties have expanded remarkably, to the point where the relationship has been virtually normalized. Indeed, since 2002, overlapping strategic and economic interests have compelled ...
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| Date Jan. 2, 2009 |
Report No. RL33134 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Hurricane Katrina, which struck Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in 2005, caused widespread flooding, significant property damage, and lost lives. Within two weeks, Congress passed two supplemental appropriations measures providing a combined $62.3 billion for relief and recovery needs. Including the supplementals for the war on terror and ...
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| Date Jan. 2, 2009 |
Report No. RS22691 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress On September 27, 2007, a comprehensive law reauthorizing existing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) programs and expanding the agency s authority to ensure the safety of prescription drugs, medical devices, and biologics was signed into law: the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA; P.L. 110-85; H.R. 3580). FDAAA Title VII ...
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| Date Jan. 2, 2009 |
Report No. R40109 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Industry observers have raised concerns about perceived gaps in food import safety over the past few years. One particular area of concern focuses on imported goods that are released into the United States market after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detains them under an import alert. Generally, these goods may be released into the market ...
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| Date Dec. 31, 2008 |
Report No. RL30607 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress This report contains data on votes for Speaker of the House for the 94th through 110th Congresses and elections in party conferences or caucuses for major leaders within each party for the 94th through 111th Congresses. It reflects actual balloting on the House floor for Speaker and in the Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference for other ...
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| Date Dec. 30, 2008 |
Report No. RS22894 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The 111th Congress is expected to consider economic recovery legislation when it convenes in January of 2009. This legislation may include new funding for school infrastructure. It is not yet known how much funding will be provided for schools, or what kinds of school projects will be authorized by this new legislation. In the 110th Congress, ...
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| Date Dec. 23, 2008 |
Report No. RL33953 |
Title
Order Code RL33953 Nominations to Article III Lower Courts by President George W. Bush During the 110th Congress Updated October 20 , 2008 Denis Steven Rutkus Specialist on the Federal Judiciary Government and Finance Division Maureen Bearden Information Research Specialist Knowledge Services Group Nominations to Article III Lower Courts by President George W. Bush During the 110th Congress ...
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| Date Dec. 23, 2008 |
Report No. RL34713 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA, Division A of H.R. 1424, P.L. 110343) permits the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase and insure troubled assets to provide stability and prevent disruption in the economy and financial system. The act established two organizations to provide broad oversight for the program a Financial ...
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| Date Dec. 23, 2008 |
Report No. R40103 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Congress has been debating a range of potential initiatives for reducing atmospheric CO2 from U.S. sources. Legislative proposals would seek to limit U.S. CO2 emissions to historical levels through emissions caps, carbon taxes, or other mechanisms. In the 110th Congress, the most prominent CO2 proposals sought reductions of nationwide CO2 emissions ...
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| Date Dec. 23, 2008 |
Report No. RL33992 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Seamen of the U.S. merchant marine contributed to the World War II effort through the transportation of goods, materials, and personnel to the various theaters of war. However, they were civilians and not members of the U.S. Armed Forces. As a result, at the end of the war they did not receive the benefits granted to members of the U.S. Armed ...
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| Date Dec. 23, 2008 |
Report No. RS20724 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Several Congresses have seen legislation that would change the finances of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the pricing of deposit insurance, and its coverage for customers accounts. In the 109th Congress, the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 and the Federal Deposit Insurance Conforming Amendments Act of 2005, P.L. 109- ...
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| Date Dec. 23, 2008 |
Report No. R40078 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress On January 18, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order directing the California Environmental Protection Agency to establish a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The California LCFS would require a 10% reduction in the carbon intensity of fuels in the State of California by 2020. It would require fuel suppliers to ...
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| Date Dec. 23, 2008 |
Report No. R40083 |
Title
T he legislative branch appropriations bill is one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It provides budget authority to spend specified amounts of money for expenditures of the legislative branch for the fiscal year, including staff salaries. This bill funds the operations not only of Congress itself but also of its support agencies and other entities within the ...
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| Date Dec. 22, 2008 |
Report No. RL33817 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Federal funding to address global climate change was enacted at $6.37 billion for FY2008, extended by a Continuing Resolution for FY2009 at or below FY2008 levels to March 6, 2009. Members of Congress have expressed interest in how federal funding may reflect and enable an overall strategy, and priorities within it, to address climate change. This ...
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| Date Dec. 22, 2008 |
Report No. RL33887 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in 1998, in part, to help copyright owners protect their exclusive rights against infringement facilitated by digital technologies, including the Internet. Section 1201 of the DMCA outlaws circumvention of any access control devices, such as password codes, encryption, and scrambling, that ...
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| Date Dec. 22, 2008 |
Report No. RL31770 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress In the interest of encouraging workers to save for retirement, Congress has authorized several kinds of retirement savings plans that qualify for reduced or deferred income taxes. These plans provide a financial incentive for people to save, either by allowing workers and employers to deduct from income the amount they contribute to the plan or to ...
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| Date Dec. 19, 2008 |
Report No. R40100 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress As the debate on reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) has progressed, increasing concern has been raised about how a U.S. reduction program would interact with those of other countries. In a global context where currently some countries have legally binding policies to reduce greenhouse gas emission and other countries do not i.e., differentiated global ...
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| Date Dec. 19, 2008 |
Report No. R40075 |
Title
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA97, P.L. 105-33) created the State Children s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and appropriated nearly $40 billion over the 10-year period FY1998 to FY2007. The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA, P.L. 110-173) appropriated more than $10 billion to ensure no state s SCHIP program runs out ...
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