This report provides an assessment of Supreme Court cases from the 1983-85 Term that involve issues involving the free exercise of religion. It provides a detailed review of the case Lynch v. Donnelly, and brief descriptions of twelve other cases that have not been reviewed.

This report discusses the term comparable worth issue, a "theory that jobs dominated by women may be valued less not because of skills required or job content, but because they are "women's jobs (page 1)." The report analyzes historical events and lawsuits that relate to the issue of comparable worth in the workforce.

This report shows that in recent years, attention has increasingly focused upon the minority composition of the Federal judiciary, in apparent response to concerns that judges appointed to the Federal bench should more compositely reflect the U.S. population they serve. Two of the larger U.S. subpopulations served by the Federal judiciary are blacks and Hispanics. Accordingly, this mini brief lists chronologically and cumulatively the appointments of blacks and Hispanics to the Federal bench, which includes the U.S.Supreme Court, Circuit Courts of Appeals, and District courts.

None

This report is about perceptions of national energy problem

This report reviews the economics of joint ventures by focusing on their implication for market competition. It also reviews the legislative history of mergers and joint ventures with special emphasis on aspects of the law that are directed at reducing market concentration.

The United States has charged that the Soviet Union is implicated in the use of chemical weapons in Afghanistan and of chemical and toxin weapons, including the toxin known as "Yellow Rain," in Laos and Kampuchea (Cambodia). These charges raise two significant sets of issues: First, issues surrounding the evidence that has been presented to show: (a) that such weapons have been used and (b) that the Soviet Union is implicated in this use. Second, issues connected with the implications of Soviet involvement, if proven, in chemical and toxin warfare.

None

None

None

None

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA! (P.L. 94-163), as amended by the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NEPCA) (P.L. 95-619) , requires that energy efficiency standards be established for each of 13 classes of appliances that are major consumers of energy. NEPCA stipulates that such standards "be designed to achieve the maximum improvement in energy efficiency which the Secretary [of Energ'y] determines is technologically feasible and economically justified." The Department of Energy ' announced proposed standards for 8 of the 13 classes of appliances in June 1980 and initiated public hearings on them prior to final promulgation. In January 1981, the DOE suspended this process; after re-studying the proposed standards, it announced in April 1982 a finding that no standards are economically justified.

This report is on Are High-Interest Rates a Threat to Sustained Economic Recovery?

Federal involvement in the education of the handicapped increased significantly with the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (P.L. 94-142) in the 94th Congress. This legislation amended the provisions for State assistance under Part B of the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA, P.L. 91-230, title VI, as amended) to require that a "free appropriate public education" be available for all handicapped children age 3 through 21 by September 1980. P.L. 94-142 authorized increased Federal financial assistance along with new requirements for participating State agencies and local school districts. Current issues relating to Federal policy for the education of the handicapped include concerns about costs and responsibilities in educating the handicapped, about the level of Federal financial support, about the characteristics of handicapped children actually identified and served, about the implementation of P.L. 94-142 requirements by State and local school districts, and about Administration proposals to revise Part B regulations.

This report analyzes the impact which the divestiture of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) will have on the 3.2 million holders of AT&T stock. The method of distribution and the listing and trading mechanics of the shares as well as dividend and tax information are discussed. A brief analysis of initial stock performance based on the first two weeks of trading concludes the analysis.

None

This report contains selected references to the history and possible future of federal lands, primarily those in the Western United States.

On Jan. 1, 1981 the Soviet Union's Eleventh Five Year Plan (1981-85) began. An analysis of the new plan provides some insights into Soviet priorities and economic prospects for the next half-decade. The following are the plan's main goals: to allocate sufficient investment funds to ensure adequate growth of output in the industry, agriculture, transportation, energy, and other sectors; to raise consumer income sufficiently to provide needed incentives and increase consumer satisfaction; to meet security needs at home and abroad; and to import technology, grain and other goods needed to meet priority domestic goals.

This report discusses how best to coordinate the Federal government's multi-agency efforts to curb illicit traffic in dangerous drugs has once again become an issue of major interest to the Congress. Critics of the Reagan Administration's anti-drug program contend that it lacks an overall strategy and that it suffers from the absence of a central mechanism for the formulation of general policy as well as for the broad direction of operations

This report is on Grant Consolidation for Education Programs.

This report is about recommendations for improving American public elementary and secondary education.

Considerable national interest has centered on merit pay for elementary and secondary school teachers since the recent release of the educational reform reports. This merit pay paper contains a background discussion, description of alternatives, summary of current and proposed programs, and analysis of evaluation and implementation implications.

The Reagan Administration announced its major crime Control proposals in 1981, shortly after the final report from the Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crimes, and reiterated support for significant changes in Crime control legislation in 1983. Congressional initiatives and modifications of those proposals continue interest and controversy in crime control matters in the 98th Congress.

This report compares the actual tax revenues and distribution of the tax burden under the Federal individual income tax from 1971 to 1981 with estimates of what they would have been under the 1971 tax structure if indexed for inflation and under the 1971 tax structure if left unchanged. Policy implications of the comparison are discussed.