Abortion: Legislative Response (open access)

Abortion: Legislative Response

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action in the 108th Congress with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
Date: October 1, 2003
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Abortion: Legislative Response (open access)

Abortion: Legislative Response

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action in the 108th Congress with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
Date: October 3, 2003
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Partial-Birth Abortion: Recent Developments in the Law (open access)

Partial-Birth Abortion: Recent Developments in the Law

None
Date: October 3, 2003
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Partial-Birth Abortion: Recent Developments in the Law (open access)

Partial-Birth Abortion: Recent Developments in the Law

None
Date: October 26, 2004
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Older Americans Act: 105th Congress Issues (open access)

Older Americans Act: 105th Congress Issues

None
Date: October 28, 1997
Creator: O'Shaughnessy, Carol
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare: Private Contracts (open access)

Medicare: Private Contracts

This report discusses private contracting for medicare,which is the term used to describe situations where a physician and a patient agree not to submit a claim for a service which would otherwise be covered and paid for by Medicare.
Date: October 21, 1997
Creator: O'Sullivan, Jennifer & Echeverria, Cecilia O
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Older Workers: Employment and Retirement Trends (open access)

Older Workers: Employment and Retirement Trends

None
Date: October 26, 2001
Creator: Purcell, Patrick J.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sustainable Agriculture (open access)

Sustainable Agriculture

The term "sustainable agriculture" is used to designate both a reduced-chemical approach to farming and an alternative political viewpoint on the distribution of economic and social benefits in the farm sector. In practice, sustainable agriculture is characterized by the substitution of more intensive farm resource management--generally involving more labor--for purchased inputs of fertilizers and pesticides. It comprises a range of practices that include integrated pest management (which may include pesticide applications), nonintensive livestock production, crop rotations for pest, disease, and erosion control, and alternative tillage and planting practices to reduce soil erosion.
Date: October 25, 1995
Creator: Rawson, Jean M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws (open access)

Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws

This report includes a glossary of approximately 1,700 agriculture and related terms (e.g., food programs, conservation, forestry, environmental protection, etc.). Besides defining terms and phrases with specialized meanings for agriculture, the glossary also identifies acronyms, agencies, programs, and laws related to agriculture.
Date: October 1, 1997
Creator: Womach, Jasper
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Exports: Technical Barriers to Trade (open access)

Agricultural Exports: Technical Barriers to Trade

Technical barriers to trade (TBTs) are widely divergent measures that countries use to regulate rnarkets, protect their consumers, and preserve natural resources, but which can also discriminate against imports in favor of domestic products. Most TBTs in agriculture are sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures designed to protect humans, animals, and plants from contaminants, diseases, and pests. In the wake of new trade agreements aimed at reducing tariffs, import quotas, and other trade barriers, TBTs have become more prominent concerns for agricultural exporters and policymakers.
Date: October 21, 1997
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion: Methyl Bromide Control Measures (open access)

Stratospheric Ozone Depletion: Methyl Bromide Control Measures

This report is intended to help the reader follow changes over time in regulations domestic and international - governing methyl bromide for its potential ozone-depleting effects. Methyl bromide, like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), has been implicated by scientists in contributing to stratospheric ozone depletion, which may pose health threats to living organisms due to increased exposure to harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Methyl bromide is currently used widely as a pesticide in international agricultural commerce.
Date: October 16, 1997
Creator: Morrissey, Wayne A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Agricultural Trade: Trends, Composition, Direction, and Policy (open access)

U.S. Agricultural Trade: Trends, Composition, Direction, and Policy

None
Date: October 24, 2000
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E. & Dunkley, Mary L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S.-European Agricultural Trade: Food Safety and Biotechnology Issues (open access)

U.S.-European Agricultural Trade: Food Safety and Biotechnology Issues

The European Union (EU) is the second largest market for U.S. agricultural exports. The EU's ban on meat produced using growth-promoting hormones is a food safety issue that has been particularly contentious in U.S.-EU agricultural trade relations. EU policy on bio-engineered products has also been an issue. A World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel has ruled that the ban contravenes the EU's international obligations under the WTO, but left open the option to the EU to conduct a risk assessment of hormone-treated meat. Rules governing trade in bio-engineered products may become an issue in WTO agricultural trade negotiations scheduled to begin in 1999. This report will be updated as events warrant.
Date: October 21, 1998
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Animal Agriculture: Issues in the 107th Congress (open access)

Animal Agriculture: Issues in the 107th Congress

A variety of animal agriculture issues, including prices, the impact of consolidation in the meat production/packing industry, trade, and the environmental impacts of large feedlots, continue to generate interest in Congress. This issue brief discusses these issues, as well as the 2002 farm bill, which contains several provisions affecting animal agriculture, including protections for contract growers, disaster assistance, country-of-origin labeling, and increased funding for conservation purposes.
Date: October 17, 2002
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sugar Policy Issues (open access)

Sugar Policy Issues

None
Date: October 18, 2002
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Soil and Water Conservation Issues (open access)

Soil and Water Conservation Issues

None
Date: October 8, 2002
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs (open access)

Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs

This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2003, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.
Date: October 30, 2002
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 'Terminator Gene' and Other Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (GURTs) in Crops (open access)

The 'Terminator Gene' and Other Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (GURTs) in Crops

Plant Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (GURTs) are a group of complex genetic transformations that insert a genetic "on-off switch" in plants to prevent the unauthorized use of genetic traits contained within. GURTs are one of the latest bioengineering products developed for agriculture, with over 30 patents issued in the United States and Europe since 1997. The current state of biotechnology may allow GURTs to be introduced into the commercial seed market in the next 5 to 7 years
Date: October 21, 1999
Creator: Segarra, Alejandro E. & Rawson, Jean M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Conservation Spending in Agriculture: Trends and Implications (open access)

Conservation Spending in Agriculture: Trends and Implications

Conservation spending under various federal agricultural statutes has increased since the early 1980s, and the mix of activities that are funded has changed during this time period. These funds have become an increasingly important source of income to farmers. This report examines conservation program funding since FY1983 in the context of both changing conservation policies and programs, and other farm program sources of income to farmers. This report will be updated if events warrant. Conservation Spending in Agriculture: Trends and Implications
Date: October 6, 1999
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Trade in a U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) (open access)

Agricultural Trade in a U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)

As part of its overall trade strategy, the Bush Administration over the last year began negotiating bilateral free trade area (FTA) agreements with four regional blocs or countries. Negotiations on a U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) involving Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua began in late January 2003 and are currently scheduled to conclude this December. While negotiators have reportedly made progress in a number of areas, efforts to formulate a framework for handling agricultural trade have been slow.
Date: October 31, 2003
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) (open access)

The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA)

The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) of 1930 was enacted in 1930 to promote fair trading practices in the fruit and vegetable industry. Sellers must ship the quantity and quality of produce specified in their contracts, and buyers must accept shipments that meet contract specifications. PACA protections benefit not only growers who are generally sellers , but also a range of parties who are both buyers and sellers, including truckers, packers, processors,
Date: October 26, 1999
Creator: Branaman, Brenda
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change: Adequacy of Commitments Under the U.N. Framework Convention and the Berlin Mandate (open access)

Global Climate Change: Adequacy of Commitments Under the U.N. Framework Convention and the Berlin Mandate

This report discusses the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) convened July 8-19, 1996, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Date: October 25, 1996
Creator: Morrissey, Wayne A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol (open access)

Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol

This report addresses legal issues after the United States signed the Kyoto Protocol to the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The protocol is not yet in effect internationally and cannot be legally binding on the U.S. unless and until the Senate gives its advice and consent.
Date: October 1, 2002
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change (open access)

Global Climate Change

This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations, and congressional activity focused specifically on climate change.
Date: October 10, 2002
Creator: Justus, John R. & Fletcher, Susan R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library