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This report discusses the fees associated with automated teller machines (ATMs) that was increased as a result of a 1996 Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International decision.

Executive orders and proclamations are used extensively by Presidents to achieve policy goals, set uniform standards for managing the Executive Branch, or outline a policy view intended to influence the behavior of private citizens. The Constitution does not define these presidential instruments, and does not explicitly vest the President with the authority to issue them. Nonetheless, such orders are accepted as an inherent aspect of presidential power, and, if based on appropriate authority, they have the force and effect of law. This report discusses the nature of executive orders and proclamations, with a focus on the scope of presidential authority to execute such instruments and judicial and congressional responses thereto.

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This report explores the historical evolution of policy rules and the arguments employed for and against a rule-based policy regime.

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This report describes and analyzes three provisions included in P.L. 107-16. Two of the three provisions will likely induce more tax-exempt bond financing for public school capital investment through loosening arbitrage bond rules for some issuers and expanding the list of otherwise private facilities that are still eligible for tax-exempt financing. The third provision, lower marginal tax rates, will decrease the demand for tax-exempt bonds.

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The 1996 omnibus farm bill (P.L. 104-127) authorizes a peanut program for the 1996-2002 crops. The program supports the incomes of producers and aims to ensure that ample supplies of peanuts are produced for the U.S. market. To accomplish this, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supports the farm price of peanuts primarily by limiting the amount of peanuts each eligible farm can sell for domestic food use ("quota" peanuts) at a specified "high" price level. Farmers are free to sell peanuts produced in excess of their quota ("additionals"), primarily for export and crushing into peanut oil and meal. Two levels of price support are available: a high level for "quota" peanuts, and a much lower rate for "additionals."

Vladimir Putin, who was catapulted into the Kremlin following Boris Yeltsin's resignation, was elected President on March 26, 2000 by a solid majority that embraced his military campaign in Chechnya. Parties backing Putin did well in the December 1999 Duma election, giving Putin a stable parliamentary majority as well. Putin has moved to strengthen the central government vis-a-vis regional leaders, to bring TV and radio under tighter state control, and to modernize the armed forces. Federal forces have suppressed large-scale military resistance in Chechnya, but face the prospect of prolonged guerilla warfare.

This report discusses the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, which is a vast-resource-rich country of 48 million people. Events there affect much of sub-Saharan Africa. In August 1998, Congo was plunged into its second civil war in 2 years. A peace accord was concluded in Lusaka, Zambia, in July and August 1999, and the U.N. Security Council later agreed to send a 5,500-member observer force, MONUC, to assist in the peace process. Fewer than 250 observers have gone to Congo, due to the failure of the parties to the Lusaka accord to fully implement its terms. The assassination of President Laurent Kabila on January 16, 2001, has raised new doubts about the prospects for peace in Congo.

A number of new or expanded tax benefits for health insurance are being discussed in the first months of the 107th Congress. Several were included in the President's FY2002 budget, including a new refundable tax credit. Proponents generally argue that changes are needed to extend coverage to the uninsured and to address efficiency and equity problems; opponents generally doubt that the changes under consideration would make much difference. One issue is whether new or expanded benefits would limit the reductions in general tax rates.

How fast the economy can grow is of interest to Congress for at least three reasons. First, it directly affects the fiscal position of the government. Second, it influences the posture that should be taken by monetary policy, an oversight responsibility of Congress. Third, it influences the growth in the material well-being of Americans, a direct concern of Congress.

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The 2001 annual reports of the board of trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds were released on March 19, 2001. Both programs have benefitted from an improved economic outlook in the near term, but both continue to have projected long-range problems. Insolvency for the Disability Insurance (DI) part of Social Security is projected to occur in 2026, and for the retirement and survivors part, in 2040.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), between the United States, Mexico, and Canada was the first trade agreement ever linked to worker rights provisions in a major way. Its companion "side agreement," the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC, which rhymes with "talc") went into effect with NAFTA on January 1, 1994. The NAALC agreement is "broad" in that NAFTA signatories agree to enforce their own labor laws and standards while promoting 11 worker rights principles over the long run. However, under NAALC, sanctions as an enforcement tool are applicable to only three of the 11 labor principles (pertaining to minimum wages, child labor, and occupational safety and health), and are not applicable to three basic rights: the right to organize, bargain collectively, and strike.

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.

On December 15, 2000, Congress reached an agreement with the President and passed the remaining appropriations (H.R. 4577; H.Rept. 106-1033) for fiscal year (FY) 2001. The legislation, including tax cuts ($31.5 billion over 10 years), completes budget action in the 106th Congress for FY2001. The action followed extended disagreements over appropriations, which resulted in a series of continuing resolutions on appropriations that funded those parts of the government not covered by regular appropriations or permanent funding during the fall. The fiscal year had begun with only 2 of the 13 regular appropriations enacted into law.

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This report provides Genetic Information and Legal Issues Relating to Discrimination and Privacy. It also discusses current federal law,sate statutes and current legislation.