On September 14, 1999, the House passed the Shays-Meehan bill--H.R. 417, the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1999, as amended, by a vote of 252-177. Senate sponsors of the companion measure, S. 26 (McCain-Feingold), revised their proposal and, on September 16, introduced S. 1593, containing just four sections of H.R. 417 and S. 26. The Senate debated S. 1593 from October 13-20, culminating in unsuccessful cloture votes October 19 on two amendments: Daschle amendment 2298, substituting text nearly identical to the House-passed H.R. 417; and Reid amendment 2229 (a perfecting amendment to no. 2298), substituting text of S. 1593 as offered, plus McCain amendment 2294 (adopted October 14), which added certain disclosure requirements. This report compares provisions of the House-passed bill with the one considered by the Senate in October 1999. No further updates are planned.

On September 14, the House passed H.R. 417 on a vote of 252-177, as amended by three perfecting amendments: Bereuter/Wicker #6; Faleomavaega #1; and Sweeney #21. This report features two tables. Table 1 summarizes and compares the ten perfecting amendments, current law, and the Shays-Meehan proposal. Table 2 summarizes and compares current law, the Shays-Meehan bill, and the three substitute amendments.

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This report surveys the legislation’s legislative history. It provides a brief narrative and side-by-side comparison of selected provisions in the House and Senate bills, with an emphasis on consumer bankruptcy.

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This report is on the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act: Overview of S. 1931 and H.R. 1658, 106th Congress.

The Social Security system is projected to have long-range funding problems. Although the system’s income currently exceeds its expenditures, its trust funds are projected to be depleted in 2037. Concern about the problem and a belief that the remedy lies partly in economic growth that could be bolstered by changes to the system have led to introduction of a number of bills incorporating varying degrees of reform. This report describes the funding problem in some detail, summarizes many of the reform bills introduced in the 106th Congress, and provides a list of other related CRS reports.

This report discusses the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which provides federal grants to airports for capital development. This report also discusses the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, also referred to as AIR21, which includes provisions for increases in AIP spending, among other things. Primarily, this report discusses the legislative processes surrounding the enaction of these laws and the various appropriations the laws authorize.

SUMMARY The United States and Mexico have a special relationship under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which removes trade and investment barriers between the countries. The relationship has been strengthened by presidential visits, including President Clinton's February 1999 trip to Mexico and President Zedillo's upcoming May 23 trip to Washington, and by regular contacts between cabinet-level officials. Major issues of concern to Congress are trade, immigration, drug trafficking, and political rights.

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Proposals for a two-year budget cycle have previously been reported in the Senate in 1988, 1990, 1994, and 1997. Another such proposal, S. 92, was reported by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on March 10, 1999 (S.Rept. 106-12). S. 92 calls for the House and Senate to use the first year of each Congress to consider a two-year budget resolution and two-year appropriation bills, and the second year to consider multiyear authorizations and conduct oversight. More recently, biennial budgeting has also been a topic of interest in the House where the Rules Committee conducted a series of hearings on February 16, March 10, and March 16, 2000.

The Administration initiative to shift federal emergency management policy away from a "response and recovery" emphasis has generated little congressional controversy, although some have raised concerns about the cost effectiveness of implementing a mitigation strategy. Greater attention, it is generally argued, should be given to mitigation (loss reduction) efforts before disasters occur in order to reduce future losses. Legislation (H.R. 707, S. 1691) pending before the 106th Congress would amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) which authorizes federal assistance when the President declares that a catastrophe has overwhelmed state and local resources.

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A number of legislative proposals to restructure or eliminate the Department of Energy (DOE) and the DOE laboratories have been introduced since the end of the Cold War, especially since the beginning of the 104th Congress. This legislation has been introduced because of perceived major problems with DOE, including its overall mission. Sponsors state, for example, that about 85% of DOE's budget is for non-energy programs, even though the nation's dependency on foreign energy sources has increased since the establishment of the department. Also of concern is the department's failure to go far enough, in their view, in solving its long-term management problems, downsizing, and reducing budgets.

This report considers the fall in agricultural exports between 1996 and 1999 in the United States. To solve this issue, much of the debate surrounds changing U.S. trade policies. The problem with this solution is that countries have not always honored existing trade agreements.

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This report provides information about the Clean Air Act Issues in the 106th Congress. Congress last enacted major amendments to the clear air act in 1990 and EPA is in the midst of implementing numerous provisions of those amendments.

This report discusses Environmental Protection Issues in the 106th Congress.

This report brief provides an overview of legislation to reauthorize the ESEA, Goals 2000, ERDDIA, and NESA.

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