This CRS Report provides a brief legislative history of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment and a description of its current status. The report also contains pro and con analyses of the possible effects of ERA, were it to be ratified, and a discussion of questions raised by the action of Congress in extending the deadline for ratification and by the action of States that have voted to rescind their approval of the measure. This report is based in part on an earlier CRS report by Morrigene Holcomb and Karen Keesling.

The basic United States law governing immigration and naturalization is contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1101 -- et seq.). This report provides questions and answers to explain the way in which the Immigration and Nationality Act as amended through 1981 regulates the entry of aliens for permanent and temporary residence in the United States, and other major provisions of the law. Emphasis is placed on subjects which have been of particular interest to the Congress in recent years. This supersedes CRS Report No. 81-65 EPW.

This report presents an overview of Japan's performance in its trading relations. The report begins with a discussion of the development, size, and importance of Japan's international trading sector. It then examines the composition, institutions, and policies for trade. This is followed by a review of Japan's balance of payments, capital flows, value of the yen, and direction of trade.

This Info Pack contains material on nuclear weapons and on the anticipated physical, economic, and social consequences of nuclear attacks on the United States, basic information on the civil defense program, and material discussing some of the arguments, pro and con, surrounding the civil defense issues.

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