On June 29, 2004, the United States and Mexico signed a Social Security totalization agreement, the effects of which depend on the yet to be disclosed language of the agreement. A totalization agreement coordinates the payment of Social Security taxes and benefits for workers who divide their careers between two countries. The agreement has not been transmitted to Congress for review, which is required under law before the agreement can go into effect. This report does not attempt to estimate the potential cost of a totalization agreement with Mexico or reach a conclusion on the effects of such an agreement on U.S. workers and employers. Instead, this report explores one of the issues concerning such an agreement.

On May 12, 2005, regulatory modernization legislation for credit unions was introduced as H.R. 2317. The three titles of the Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act (CURIA) would provide regulatory changes requested by credit union industry advocates. These changes would provide supervisory flexibility to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the federal regulator for the credit union industry, enhance the ability of credit unions to provide loans to their members, and ease credit union regulatory burdens.

Although the vast majority of Muslims in Europe are not involved in radical activities, Islamist extremists and vocal fringe communities that advocate terrorism exist and reportedly have provided cover for terrorist cells. This report provides an overview of Islamist extremism in Europe, possible terrorist links, European responses, and implications for the United States.

Over the past few years, cash balance pension plans have received significant attention. In particular, three issues have been controversial: the negative effect of a plan conversion on older employees due to wear-away, the whipsaw effect that may occur when computing a lump-sum payment of benefits prior to normal retirement age, and the claim that these plans violate federal laws prohibiting age discrimination. This report discusses the wear-away and whipsaw issues, a proposal by the Treasury Department that addresses them, and relevant legislation introduced in the 109th Congress (H.R. 2830 and S. 1304).

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The July 2005 bombings of transit trains in London again demonstrated the vulnerability of passenger rail systems to a terrorist attacks. The number of riders and access points makes it impractical to subject all rail passengers to the type of screening airline passengers undergo. Nevertheless, steps can be taken to reduce the risks of an attack.

In recent years, the United States and China have disagreed whether China’s national currency, the yuan or renminbi, is properly valued compared to the U.S. dollar and whether China is manipulating its currency.1 The United States has pushed China to raise the value of its currency. Chinese officials say they want to make their exchange rate system more flexible, but China also needs long-term stability in its currency value in order to avoid dislocations. Chinese officials also say they will not bow to foreign pressure. China announced a new exchange rate procedure on July 21, 2005. This report summarizes this controversy, it describes actions and positions taken by the United States, China and other countries, and it discusses various approaches the United States might use to address this concern.

This report discusses arguments surrounding the proposed position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), a replacement for the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), who would oversee the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. Intelligence Community.