Congressional Research Service Reports - 104 Matching Results

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The Administration of Federal Student Loan Programs: Background and Provisions

Description: This report discusses the history and current status of federal student loan programs. Specifically, the report focuses on the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and the William D. Ford Direct Loan (DL). Moreover, the report highlights differences in the two programs such as that the FFEL is financed by private lenders, while the DL is financed by the federal government.
Date: June 29, 2005
Creator: Stoll, Adam
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Afro-Latinos in Latin America and Considerations for U.S. Policy

Description: This report reviews and analyzes the situation, concerns, and activities of Afro-descendants in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking nations of Latin America. It then discusses current U.S. foreign aid programs, as well as multilateral initiatives, that have directly or indirectly assisted Afro-Latinos. The report concludes with a discussion of potential policy options that have been proposed should the United States elect to provide further support for Afro-Latinos.
Date: September 29, 2005
Creator: Ribando, Clare
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Aging Infrastructure: Dam Safety

Description: To help inform discussions on the federal role in dam safety, this report provides background information on the nation’s dam safety activities and funding mechanisms.
Date: September 29, 2005
Creator: Powers, Kyna
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Disaster Assistance

Description: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers several permanently authorized programs to help farmers recover financially from a natural disaster, including federal crop insurance, the non-insured assistance program and emergency disaster loans. In recent years, Congress frequently has made supplemental financial assistance available to farmers and ranchers on an ad-hoc basis, most notably in the form of direct crop disaster payments and emergency livestock assistance. Congress provided an e… more
Date: August 29, 2005
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture: Previewing a Farm Bill

Description: Most provisions of the current “farm bill,” the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-171), do not expire until 2007. Nonetheless, various policy developments have brought farm bill programs into play during the 109th Congress. For example, the FY2006 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 95) directs the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to find five-year savings of $3 billion from programs under their jurisdiction. Hearings on a 2007 farm bill itself could begin later … more
Date: August 29, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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AIDS in Africa

Description: Sub-Saharan Africa has been far more severely affected by AIDS than any other part of the world. The United Nations reports that 24.5 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus in the region, which has about 10% of the world's population but more than 64% of the worldwide total of infected people. This report discusses this issue in detail, including the cause of the African AIDS epidemic, the social and economic consequences, response and treatment, and U.S. policy.
Date: June 29, 2005
Creator: Copson, Raymond W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality: Multi-Pollutant Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses air pollutants (petroleum, natural gas, and coal), which account for about two-thirds of U.S. electricity generation. These gases include several pollutants that directly pose risks to human health and welfare. The report also discusses the utilities that are subject to an array of environmental regulations.
Date: June 29, 2005
Creator: Parker, Larry & Blodgett, John E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Andean-U.S. Free-Trade Agreement Negotiations

Description: In November 2003, the Bush Administration announced that it intended to begin negotiations on a free-trade agreement (FTA) with these nations, which would reduce and eliminate foreign barriers to trade and investment, support democracy, and fight drug activity. This report briefly discusses this announcement, as well as the major issues and concerns relating to negotiation, and the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), the FTA's predecessor.
Date: June 29, 2005
Creator: Sek, Lenore
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Animal Identification and Meat Traceability

Description: Animal identification refers to marking individual or groups of farm animals so that they can be tracked from birth to slaughter. Animal identification is one segment of meat traceability, generally the tracking of identifiable products through the entire marketing chain to the ultimate consumer. This report details an overview of animal identification in the U.S., current programs to enforce animal identification, development of a National Identification Plan, the Foreign Trade Commission, and… more
Date: March 29, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards

Description: An issue over the years has been the inaccurate rulemaking to carry out fuel economy ratings and the in-use fuel economy has failed to meet the rated fuel economy. Various amendments and acts are being passed to ensure the accuracy to the fuel economy readings and take other factors into account when measuring them.
Date: April 29, 2005
Creator: Bamberger, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biomedical Advances in Alzheimer’s Disease

Description: This report provides an overview of the public health and financial impact of AD, summarizes federal funding for AD research and clinical trials, and discusses our current understanding of AD and promising avenues of AD research. Issues relating to social services for AD patients and support for caregivers are covered in a companion report.
Date: June 29, 2005
Creator: Schoonmaker, Michele M. & Shrestha, Laura B.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border and Transportation Security: Possible New Directions and Policy Options

Description: There is consensus that Border and Transportation Security (BTS) is a pivotal function in protecting the American people from terrorists and their instruments of destruction. The issue for Congress is how to achieve desired levels of security, while not compromising other important values in the process. This report addresses possible new approaches and policy options that might be explored by Congress to attain these goals. It is one of three CRS reports in a series that make use of analytical… more
Date: March 29, 2005
Creator: Robinson, William H.; Lake, Jennifer E. & Seghetti, Lisa M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border and Transportation Security: Selected Programs and Policies

Description: Border and Transportation Security (BTS) is a pivotal function in protecting the American people from terrorists and their instruments of destruction. This report addresses selected programs and policies now in place that seek to attain higher levels of BTS. It is the second in a three-part series of CRS reports that make use of analytical frameworks to better understand complex phenomena and cast them in terms that facilitate consideration of alternative policies and practices.
Date: March 29, 2005
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa M.; Lake, Jennifer E. & Robinson, William H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Border and Transportation Security: The Complexity of the Challenge

Description: This report uses a series of graphical presentations to form one possible framework that might assist policy makers in understanding the complex nature of border and transportation security. It is the first in a three-part series of CRS reports that make use of analytical frameworks to better understand complex problems in border and transportation security and cast them in terms that facilitate the consideration of alternative policies and practices.
Date: March 29, 2005
Creator: Lake, Jennifer E.; Robinson, William H. & Seghetti, Lisa M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cash Balance Pension Plans: Selected Legal Issues

Description: Over the past few years, cash balance pension plans have received significant attention. In particular, three issues have been controversial: the negative effect of a plan conversion on older employees due to wear-away, the whipsaw effect that may occur when computing a lump-sum payment of benefits prior to normal retirement age, and the claim that these plans violate federal laws prohibiting age discrimination. This report discusses the wear-away and whipsaw issues, a proposal by the Treasury … more
Date: July 29, 2005
Creator: Lunder, Erika & Staman, Jennifer
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Chemical Facility Security

Description: Facilities handling large amounts of potentially hazardous chemical (i.e., chemical facilities) might be of interest to terrorists, either as targets for direct attacks meant to release chemicals into the community or as a source of chemicals for use elsewhere. For any individual facility, the risk is very small, but the risks may be increasing -- with potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment. Congress might choose to rely on existing efforts in the public and privat… more
Date: July 29, 2005
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Welfare: Program Reauthorizations and Recent and FY2006 Proposed Funding Levels

Description: This report discusses current funding levels for child welfare programs, intended to protect children from abuse and neglect and to ensure their well-being. In FY2005 the federal government appropriated $7.8 billion for these purposes. Most of this funding is made available to states through open-ended entitlement programs or as formula grants and is authorized under Title IV-E and Title IV-B of the Social Security Act or under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).
Date: November 29, 2005
Creator: Stoltzfus, Emilie
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Welfare: State Performance on Child and Family Services Reviews

Description: This report begins with a short history of the legislation and other factors that led to the creation of the current CFSR and then briefly describes how a CFSR is conducted and what “substantial conformity” with federal child welfare policy means in the context of this review. Much has been made of the fact that no state was found to be in substantial conformity with all aspects of federal policy reviewed during the initial (FY2001-FY2004) round of the CFSRs. This report seeks to better underst… more
Date: June 29, 2005
Creator: Stoltzfus, Emilie
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China and Sub-Saharan Africa

Description: This report provides information about the China and Sub-Saharan Africa where china has been involved in sub-Saharan Africa .china-Africa trade is growing and chinese firms are engaged in large projects.
Date: August 29, 2005
Creator: Copson, Raymond W. & Dumbaugh, Kerry
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China's Currency: Brief Overview of U.S. Opinions

Description: Many are concerned that China’s currency is undervalued and that this injures the U.S. economy. The Chinese authorities say they are not manipulating their currency and they want to move as soon as possible to a market-based yuan. A new exchange rate procedure was announced in July 2005 but has not resulted in meaningful changes in the yuan’s international value. This report reviews the issues and discusses alternative approaches the United States might take to encourage more rapid reform.
Date: November 29, 2005
Creator: Sanford, Jonathan E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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