This report presents background on the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, rovides a funding history of the Act, and tracks and analyzes legislation during the 105th Congress to revise and reauthorize the Perkins Act.

This report presents background on the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, provides a funding history of the Act, and tracks and analyzes legislation during the 105 Congress to revise and reauthorize the Perkins Act. Specifically the report th examines H.R. 1853 as passed by the House and H.R. 1385 as passed by the Senate. Key issues include whether and how to change state and substate formulas; what percentage of funds to reserve for statewide activities and administration; and how best to ensure services for “special populations,” such as students with disabilities. The report will be updated as legislative action warrants.

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Since May of 1998, Russia has been caught in the latest, and likely the most serious, in a series of economic crises. The crisis came to a head on August 17, 1998, when the government of then-Premier Sergei Kiriyenko abandoned its defense of a strong ruble exchange rate against the dollar, defaulted on government domestic debt forcing its restructuring, and placed a 90-day moratorium on commercial external debt payments. Those actions led to Yeltsin's dismissal of Kiriyenko on August 23, replaced, after a political standoff with the Duma, by a more leftward-leaning government led by Premier Yevgennij Primakov. The August crisis also lowered Russians' standard of living and has seriously set back Russia's efforts toward establishing a market economy, perhaps for years to come.

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On October 21, 1994, the United States and North Korea signed an accord that, if fully implemented on a step-by-step basis, could resolve a prolonged confrontation over Pyongyang's suspected nuclear weapons program. The accord came after 17 months of volatile talks, marked periodically by American threats to seek United Nations economic sanctions and various dire warnings and implied military threats from Pyongyang. Although the Clinton Administration maintains that the agreement fulfills its long-standing basic negotiating objectives, the accord differs significantly from earlier U.S. negotiating positions in regard to the timing and sequencing of actions by both parties, and includes some new elements.

This report is a guide to appropriations of Defense for FY1999.

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 CRS reports that provide analytical perspectives on the 13 annual appropriations bills, and other related appropriation measures. It does not include a detailed explanation or description of the budget or appropriations processes. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittees.

Tensions in the Taiwan Straits are prompting American policymakers to consider a range of measures that would demonstrate U.S. interests in Taiwan's security. President Clinton has ordered two U.S. carrier battle groups into the South China Sea, and Congress is considering legislation that would more forcefully express U.S. defense commitments to Taiwan.

This report reviews the history of judicial rulings on the war power, starting with what the framers intended for "defensive actions" by the President and moving forward to summarize the principal Supreme Court and lower court decisions.

This report discusses employer trip reduction (ETR) programs, which would require large employers to implement certain transportation control measures as part of a national effort to combat air pollution, largely as a direct result of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

This report covers the Civilian Marksmanship Program and its relationship with Congress. It also covers issues and controversial nature of the government initiated program.

The Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974 (P.L. 93-344), as amended, establishes the congressional budget process, which coordinates the legislative activities on the budget resolution, appropriations bills, reconciliation legislation, revenue measures, and other budgetary legislation. Section 300 of this act provides a timetable (see Table 1) so that Congress may complete its work on the budget by the start of the fiscal year on October 1.

Most of the laws establishing the federal government's revenue sources are permanent and continue year after year without any additional legislative action. Congress, however, typically enacts revenue legislation, changing some portion of the existing tax system, every year. Revenue legislation may include changes to individual and corporate income taxes, social insurance taxes, excise taxes, or tariffs and duties. Congressional consideration of revenue legislation is governed by various constitutional provisions and procedural rules.

Ministers of the 29 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have struggled since 1995 to negotiate a Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). Negotiations on many aspects of a final agreement have progressed rapidly, but OECD members have been unable to resolve numerous thorny issues before the latest deadline set for the OECD Ministerial meeting in April 1998. U.S. negotiators have indicated that they will not sign the present agreement without significant changes and oppose establishing another deadline.

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This report examines the legislative history of P.L. 94-142 to determine the rationale for its enactment. It contains an overview of the congressional intent of the individuals with disabilities.

This report addresses proposals, rationales, and possible objections related to congressional office of constituent assistance.

This report briefly discusses federal funding gaps. The routine activities of most federal agencies are funded annually by one or more of the 13 regular appropriations bills. When action on the regular appropriations bills is delayed, a continuing resolution (CR) is used to provide interim funding. During the past 48 years, CRs have been enacted for all but four fiscal years (FY1953, 1989, 1995, and 1997). For some fiscal years, a series of as many as six CRs have been enacted.

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For FY2000, the House-passed Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary appropriations act would provide $4.264 billion in total funding for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), including $100 million to hire an additional 1,000 Border Patrol agents, and $200 million for additional detention space (H.R. 2670; H. Rept. 106-283). The Senate-passed bill would provide INS with $3.999 billion in total funding, including $101 million to hire an additional 1,000 Border Patrol agents, nearly $23 million for Border Patrol equipment, $10 million to continue deploying remote border surveillance technologies, $3 million for law enforcement support centers, and $1.5 million to establish new dedicated commuter lanes at ports of entry (S. 1217; S.Rept. 106-76). By comparison, the Administration had requested $4.270 billion.

The 105th Congress enacted tax provisions relating to Superfund brownfields sites, transportation- and defense-related environmental provisions, a border smog bill, EPA funding as well as reinstating the tax that supports the Leaking Underground Storage Trust Fund. There were various actions on regulatory reform, the budget resolution, appropriations, highway- and defense-related environmental provisions, Superfund reform bills and underground storage tanks. It is too early to tell if these will be issues for the 106th Congress.

The purpose of the program is to determine the most technologically efficient and cost- effective means by which useable water can be produced from saline water or water otherwise impaired or contaminated. Currently, the cost of desalting seawater is 3 to 5 times the comparable cost of desalting brackish water, which is up to twice as expensive as the treatment and delivery of other municipal water supplies (not counting sewage-related costs). Funding for the new Desalination R&D Program is provided through Bureau of Reclamation's Office of Research in the Department of the Interior