This report surveys the econemetric literature on oil shocks to provide quantitative estimates of how large an effect oil price changes have on economic activity.

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This report consists of two tables, preceded by a brief narrative. The first table summarizes the annual funding provisions, by program, in (1) current law, (2) H.R. 2419 as passed, and (3) the Bush Administration's farm bill proposals. The second table compares FY2007 authorized and actual funding levels for programs authorized in the 2002 farm bill with FY2008 and FY2012 funding levels that would be authorized in the 2007 House-passed farm bill.

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The proportion of U.S. corporate-defined benefit pension funds investing in hedge funds has increased to 24% in 2006, up from 19% in 2004 and 12% in 2000. Although statistics vary, total corporate pension fund assets allocated to hedge funds in 2006 was 2.1%. Because of hedge funds’ risky nature, rapid growth, lack of oversight, and recent losses, some wonder if they are appropriate investments for workers’ retirement funds. This report discusses concerns regarding hedge funds and examines possible policy options.

This report is categorized into four categories: (I) Introduction, (II) Federal Pipeline Safety Regulation, (III) Regulatory Policy Issues and (IV) Conclusion.

This report provides a short overview of Canada's political scene, its economic conditions, and its recent security and foreign policy, focusing particularly on issues that may be relevant to U.S. policymakers.

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This report discusses the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, also known as the FIRE Act grant program, which provides federal grants directly to local fire departments and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations.

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The report discusses the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-Related Congressional Actions in the 112th Congress. The policymakers, including some in Congress, have long called for varying degrees and types of reform to the FCC. Most proposals fall into two categories: (1) procedural changes made within the FCC or through congressional action that would affect the agency's operations or (2) substantive policy changes requiring congressional action that would affect how the agency regulates different services and industry sectors.

This report discusses about Federal Laws, Texas and Illinois Development, Amendment to FY2006 USDA Appropriations and Horse protection Act.

This report describes how HUD distributes the four homeless assistance grants.

This report reviews the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) program, related issues, and legislative changes made by the 109th Congress.

This report discusses four general areas: (1) operational and business-related challenges; (2) potential environmental impacts; (3) potential economic impacts; and (4) the legal and regulatory environment. It then summarizes recent executive and legislative actions.

This report discusses issues surrounding the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 and programs set up to meet the water quality standards that it outlined. The report focuses specifically on the legislative issues for the 110th Congress in relation to the CWA. It also includes a brief comparison of the expected appropriations for FY2007 and FY2008.

Although the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (enacted February 8, 2006) included significant changes to the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program, it did not include many of the child support provisions that had been considered during the preceding four-year debate within the context of welfare reauthorization. This report discusses 12 such provisions that were passed by either the House or the Senate Finance Committee (or both). The Administration has included several of these provisions in its FY2008 budget.

This report summarizes the Clean Air Act and its major regulatory requirements.

This report discusses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and other related amendments that were included in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002.

This report provides statistics on fatalities during Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began on March 19, 2003.

Leaders and Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Vice President, individuals in positions on the Executive Schedule (EX), and federal justices and judges receive an annual pay adjustment under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, P.L. 101-194. This report includes five tables which provide the January 2004, January 2005, January 2006, and January 2007 salaries for federal officials, members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), and employees in senior-level (SL), scientific and professional (ST), and GS-15 positions in the Washington, DC, and the “Rest of the United States” locality pay areas.