Energy Policy: The Continuing Debate and Omnibus Energy Legislation (open access)

Energy Policy: The Continuing Debate and Omnibus Energy Legislation

This report discusses a variety of issues pertaining to energy policy. It includes information about most recent developments, background and analysis broken down into major categories, and relevant legislation.
Date: November 24, 2004
Creator: Bamberger, Robert L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Trade Negotiations During the 109th Congress (open access)

Trade Negotiations During the 109th Congress

This report discusses trade issues in the 109th Congress. For over 50 years, U.S. trade officials have negotiated multilateral trade agreements to achieve lower trade barriers and rules to cover international trade. During the 108th Congress, U.S. officials negotiated and Congress approved four bilateral free-trade agreements with Australia, Chile, Morocco, and Singapore.
Date: December 16, 2004
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F. & Sek, Lenore M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Security Reform (open access)

Social Security Reform

This report examines the debate over the future of the Social Security system. It includes discussion of recent developments; background and analysis with information about the basic debate, specific area of contention, reform initiatives; and relevant legislation.
Date: December 9, 2004
Creator: Nuschler, Dawn
System: The UNT Digital Library
Safe Drinking Water Act: Implementation and Issues (open access)

Safe Drinking Water Act: Implementation and Issues

This report discusses key drinking water issues in the 108th Congress involving water infrastructure funding and problems caused by specific contaminants, such as the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), perchlorate, and lead in drinking water. Congress last reauthorized the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1996, and although funding authority for most SDWA programs expired in FY2003, broad reauthorization efforts were not pursued as EPA, states, and water utilities continued implementing the 1996 amendments.
Date: December 8, 2004
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Water Act Issues in the 108th Congress (open access)

Clean Water Act Issues in the 108th Congress

This report discusses issues regarding the Clean Water Act. Prospects for legislative initiatives to comprehensively amend the Clean Water Act (CWA) have stalled for some time over whether and exactly how to change the law, and Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected CWA programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. For example, the 108th Congress enacted one bill amending the CWA, legislation to reauthorize the National Estuary Program (H.R. 4731, P.L. 108-399).
Date: December 6, 2004
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
System: The UNT Digital Library
Brownfields and Superfund Issues in the 108th Congress (open access)

Brownfields and Superfund Issues in the 108th Congress

This report discusses the Superfund program for cleaning up the nation's worst hazardous waste sites, created by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, or CERCLA (P.L. 96-510, as amended). It includes recent development and background issues, superfund issues, revenue issues, comprehensive reauthorization, and legislation regarding superfund program.
Date: October 27, 2004
Creator: Reisch, Mark
System: The UNT Digital Library
Telecommunications Discounts for Schools and Libraries: The "E-Rate" Program and Controversies (open access)

Telecommunications Discounts for Schools and Libraries: The "E-Rate" Program and Controversies

This report addresses the controversial issues surrounding the E-rate program's implementation and subsequent legislative measures introduced to address these issues. An additional issue, concern that minors may gain access to "inappropriate" material through the Internet has also had an impact on the E-rate program.
Date: November 10, 2004
Creator: Gilroy, Angele A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Research and Development: Budgeting and Priority-Setting Issues, 108th Congress (open access)

Federal Research and Development: Budgeting and Priority-Setting Issues, 108th Congress

This report discusses federal funding for research and development. National R&D funding continues to grow, but the federal R&D share has declined to less than 30% of the total. Debates focus on which fields of federal R&D should be increased and how to set priorities and to "balance" health and nonhealth fields.
Date: December 1, 2004
Creator: Knezo, Genevieve J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
School Choice: Current Legislation (open access)

School Choice: Current Legislation

This report provides an overview of current local, state, and federal policies and programs that support school choice and identifies and summarizes recent federal school choice legislation.
Date: November 24, 2004
Creator: Smole, David P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards (open access)

Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards

This report discusses energy legislation pertaining to fuel standards. The current corporate average fuel economy standard (CAFE) is 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) for passenger automobiles and 20.7 mpg for light trucks (scheduled to increase to 22.2 mpg in model year [MY] 2007), a classification that also includes sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Congress had included language in the FY1996-FY2001 Transportation Appropriations prohibiting the use of appropriated funds for any rulemaking on CAFE, effectively freezing the standards.
Date: November 4, 2004
Creator: Bamberger, Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
Major Tax Issues in the 108th Congress (open access)

Major Tax Issues in the 108th Congress

This report provides an overview of major tax issues. It begins by describing three aspects of the economic context in which the tax policy debate during 2004 is likely to occur: the general state of the U.S. economy; the position of the federal budget; and the level of taxes in the United States.
Date: December 2, 2004
Creator: Brumbaugh, David L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Campaign Financing (open access)

Campaign Financing

This report discusses various issues regarding campaign finance law and potential options for policy responses.
Date: December 17, 2004
Creator: Cantor, Joseph E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Controversies for the 108th Congress (open access)

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Controversies for the 108th Congress

This report discusses one major element of the energy debate in the 108th Congress, which has been whether to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeastern Alaska, and if so, under what conditions, or whether to continue to prohibit development to protect the area's biological resources. The Refuge is an area rich in fauna, flora, and commercial oil potential. Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge.
Date: November 1, 2004
Creator: Corn, M. L.; Gelb, Bernard A. & Baldwin, Pamela
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 108th Congress (open access)

Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 108th Congress

This report discusses policy and legislation regarding fish and marine mammals. These animals are important resources in open ocean and nearshore coastal areas. Commercial and sport fishing are jointly managed by the federal government and individual states. Many laws and regulations guide the management of these resources by federal agencies.
Date: December 16, 2004
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Soil and Water Conservation Issues (open access)

Soil and Water Conservation Issues

This report discusses soil and water conservation, which were prominent farm policy topics in the 108th Congress as the Administration implemented provisions in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171). This farm bill increased spending and expanded the scope of the conservation effort by reauthorizing and amending most existing conservation programs and enacting new ones through FY2007.
Date: November 24, 2004
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals (open access)

Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals

This report provides a brief history of impoundment and discusses the debate surrounding the line item veto, particularly in relation to federal spending and the budget process.
Date: November 22, 2004
Creator: McMurtry, Virginia A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Renewable Energy: Tax Credit, Budget, and Electricity Production Issues (open access)

Renewable Energy: Tax Credit, Budget, and Electricity Production Issues

This report discusses budget issues regarding renewable energy programs. In the 108th Congress, debate over renewable energy programs has focused on tax credits, incentives, budget, and provisions of the omnibus energy policy bill H.R. 6.
Date: December 1, 2004
Creator: Sissine, Fred
System: The UNT Digital Library
Endangered Species: Difficult Choices (open access)

Endangered Species: Difficult Choices

This report discusses various measures being considered by Congress that propose to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have focused on whether to incorporate further protection for property owners and reduce regulatory impacts, whether to increase the protection afforded listed species, or whether to modify various aspects of the ESA, such as the role of science in decision-making.
Date: June 14, 2004
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. L. & Baldwin, Pamela
System: The UNT Digital Library
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests (open access)

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests

None
Date: November 10, 2004
Creator: Nichol, Jim
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Middle East Peace Talks (open access)

The Middle East Peace Talks

This report includes information regarding Middle East peace talks. The role of the United States, the Israel-Jordan peace treaty, and congressional aid are among topics discussed in this report.
Date: December 23, 2004
Creator: Migdalovitz, Carol
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues (open access)

Military Retirement: Major Legislative Issues

This report includes information regarding the major legislative issues concerning military retirement. TERA, survivor benefit COLAs, and retirement budgeting are among topics discussed in this report.
Date: November 16, 2004
Creator: Goldich, Robert L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation (open access)

Exempting Food and Agriculture Products from U.S. Economic Sanctions: Status and Implementation

This report includes information background and analysis regarding exemption for and agriculture products from United States economic sanctions. This report also details debates, enacted provisions, sales, and developments regarding this subject.
Date: December 14, 2004
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Saudi Arabia: Current Issues and U.S. Relations (open access)

Saudi Arabia: Current Issues and U.S. Relations

This report includes information regarding current issues in Saudi Arabia, background to Saudi-U.S. relations, and congressional interest in Saudi Arabia
Date: November 8, 2004
Creator: Prados, Alfred B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Energy Tax Policy (open access)

Energy Tax Policy

None
Date: July 20, 2004
Creator: Lazzari, Salvatore
System: The UNT Digital Library