The 106th Congress completed action on a number of major trade initiatives. The impact on American firms and workers was a paramount concern in the passage of this legislation. Most notably, bills were passed to establish "normal trade relations" with China, deepen economic ties with the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, enhance trade benefits for 24 Caribbean Basin countries, and to ease trade sanctions on Cuba and other countries. Congress also voted to maintain U.S. participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as worked with the Clinton Administration to pass replacement legislation for the Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) tax benefit for U.S. exports. The latter action averted, at least until mid-2001, the imposition of punitive tariffs by the European Union on an estimated $4 billion in U.S. exports.

Fish and marine mammals are important resources in the open ocean and nearshore coastal areas. A diverse body of laws and regulations guides the management of these resources by a multitude of federal agencies.

This report presents an overview of the predatory lending issue, a summary of present law, a summary of joint HUD and Treasury recommendations to address the issue, and a side-by-side summary of five bills introduced in the 106th Congress that addressed the issue. Though no action occurred on these bills, the issue is expected to continue in the 107th Congress.

This report surveys the legislation’s legislative history. It provides a brief narrative and side-by-side comparison of selected provisions in the House and Senate bills, with an emphasis on consumer bankruptcy.

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This report provides statistical information on and selected analyses of the House committee party ratios for 14 Congresses, covering the period from the 98th through the 111th Congresses.

This report is on the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act: Overview of S. 1931 and H.R. 1658, 106th Congress.

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