On September 28, 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug mifepristone, also known as RU-486, for the termination of early pregnancy. Because RU-486 is an abortion agent, the process of moving it out of the lab and into mainstream medicine has been fraught with controversy. Since its discovery, the pro-life movement has been adamantly against the use of this drug for abortion. This report discusses the procedure of obtaining and using the drug, as well as the ongoing debate regarding its usage and related legislation.

This list provides a sampling of the rapidly proliferating number of agricultural resources available on the Internet. It is not intended to be exhaustive. It is divided into 24 main categories and 15 subcategories.

This report discusses electronic warfare (EW) as an effective technique for increasing aircraft and aircrew survivability in hostile environments, which in turn improves the overall effectiveness of the air campaign.

This issue brief discusses the Airport Improvement Program and its complement, the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC). After a brief history of federal support for airport construction and improvement, the report describes AIP funding, its source of revenues, the impact of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (FAIR21, P.L. 106-181), funding distribution, the types of projects the program funds, and AIP and PFC policy issues.

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a broad overview of all appropriations activity and a guide to the CRS Appropriation Product Series that provides analytical perspectives on the 13 annual FY2001 appropriations bills.

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the Subcommittees on Transportation of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Legislative Branch Appropriations.

This report is on Balkan Conflicts: U.S. Humanitarian Assistance and Issues for Congress.

This report presents Origins, Deadlines, Requirements, and Uses of BiIIs, Resolutions, Nominations, and Treaties related to Congress.

As in the last two Congresses, campaign finance reform will be a major issue in the 107th Congress, with attention again centered on the Senate McCain-Feingold and House Shays-Meehan bills. S. 27 (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2001), introduced on January 22, 2001, will be considered by the Senate in March 2001; H.R. 380 (Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2001) was introduced January 31. Both bills ban the raising of soft money by national parties and the spending of it by state and local parties on federal election-related activities (as defined). But on the other key provision–issue advocacy–they differ notably. H.R. 380 offers a broad new definition of express advocacy, subjecting activity meeting that standard to all aspects of federal election law regulation. S. 27 classifies some messages as electioneering communications, requiring their disclosure and banning their funding by unions or for-profit corporations. This report summarizes and compares these two measures, according to various categories.

The entry into force, on January 1, 1994, of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has eliminated the advantage that the beneficiaries of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and related provisions of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) had enjoyed in trade with the United States relative to Mexico, and gave Mexico an increasingly significant competitive edge over the CBERA countries. The scheduled further implementation of the NAFTA would have resulted in a substantial advantage to Mexico over the CBERA countries and vitiate in part the purpose of the CBERA.

This report discusses Class Actions and proposed reform in the 106th Congress of Class Action Fairness Act of 2000.

In the 106th Congress, no comprehensive activity on reauthorizing the Clean Water Act occurred, although a number of individual clean water bills were enacted. Other issues have been debated recently, such as reforming the law to provide regulatory relief for industry, states and cities, and individual landowners. The debate over many of these issues highlights differing views of the Act and its implementation by some who seek to strengthen existing requirements and others who believe that costs and benefits should be more carefully weighed before additional control programs are mandated.

With the civil conflict in Colombia worsening, in many analysts’ perception, some policymakers are again questioning the wisdom and scope of U.S. policy and assistance toward that country. This is the context for debate over future U.S. policy toward Colombia, in particular whether the current levels of U.S. assistance are sufficient, and whether U.S. assistance to the Colombia military is desirable. This report first discusses U.S. interests in Colombia. It then provides information on Colombia’s current conflict, with sections on the guerrillas, the paramilitaries, and President Pastrana’s efforts to deal with the conflict through the peace process, and the reform and rehabilitation of the Colombian military. The last section discusses possible policy options.

This report provides information about the Stages of Action on Measures on Committee of the Whole.

This report provides information about the Production, Distribution, and Accessibility of Congressional Record. The Congressional Record is the most widely published account of the debates and activities in congress.

This report discusses copyright cases in the courts, including Napster, MP3 digital music, and DVD motion picture.

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This report provides an overview of the Cuban economy.

Congress last raised the debt limit, to $5.95 trillion, in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-33; on August 5, 1997). At that time, the increase was deemed sufficient for the government's borrowing needs into December 1999.

This report examines three fundamental points implicit in the "engine of growth" argument. First, it questions whether the current account deficit is caused by strong U.S. growth and weak foreign growth. Second, it examines whether foreign growth is dependent on U.S. imports and the maintenance of a large U.S. current account deficit. Finally, it reviews the proposition that a U.S. recession would cause a world recession by lowering U.S. import demand. The report concludes that to make the final argument persuasive, other factors need to come into play, such as deteriorating expectations, financial crisis, or slow economic adjustment. These other factors seem unlikely to occur in the context of slowing U.S. growth, but they are possible in a recession.

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This report provides an overview of how federal lands and resources are managed, the agencies that manage the lands, the authorities under which these lands are managed, and some of the issues associated with federal land management.

This report presents Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal online news and information sources.