The 107th Congress will consider and seek to influence trade issues with implications for the U.S. agricultural sector. Trade in agricultural commodities and food products affects farm income and rural employment, and it also generates economic activity beyond the farm gate. With agricultural export sales accounting for one-quarter of farm income, policymakers view U.S. efforts to develop market opportunities overseas as vital to the sector's financial health. Decisions taken by the Bush Administration, and actions taken by Congress, thus will affect the outlook for agricultural trade.

This report describes types of CRS products and a selection of the most frequently used printed and online reference sources available in the reading room and research centers for use by congressional staff. These deal with legislation and public policy; bills, congressional documents, laws, and regulations; Congress, elections, and politics; the federal government; directories of organizations, associations, corporations, state agencies, educational institutions, and the media; biographical information; data on foreign countries and international affairs; quick facts and statistics; and special collections such as quotations.

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Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing information about Qualified Zone Academy Bonds vs. traditional tax-exempt bonds in regards to funding school renovations. The report goes over the side effects of the $1.6 billion Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB), like revenue loss. Tables begin on page 4, and the report ends with a summary concluding that the QZAB program is more beneficial to tax payers and borrowers than traditional tax-exempt municipal bonds.

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The U.S. tax code’s Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) provisions provided a tax benefit for U.S. exporters. However, the European Union (EU) in 1997 charged that the provision was an export subsidy and thus contravened the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. A WTO ruling upheld the EU complaint, and to avoid WTO sanctioned retaliatory tariffs, U.S. legislation in November 2000 replaced FSC with the “extraterritorial income” (ETI) provisions, consisting of a redesigned export tax benefit of the same magnitude as FSC. The EU maintained that the new provisions are also not WTO-compliant and asked the WTO to rule on the matter.

This report discusses Amtrak, an intercity railway transit system that being operatios in 1971. Amtrak receives considerable criticism for its inability to make a profit. The central policy issue, which this report addresses, is the following: Given that a national system of passenger rail service appears to be inherently unprofitable, as is the case for other public services, do we as a Nation wish to preserve our system or to liquidate it?

The President of the United States has available certain powers that may be exercised in the event that the nation is threatened by crisis, exigency, or emergency circumstances (other than natural disasters, war, or near-war situations). Such powers may be stated explicitly or implied by the Constitution, assumed by the Chief Executive to be permissible constitutionally, or inferred from or specified by statute. Through legislation, Congress has made a great many delegations of authority in this regard over the past 200 years.

This report provides background information and a brief history of nutrition labeling information on the labeling issue of fresh meats proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on January 18, 2001.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have made important progress, particularly during the past year, in their efforts to jointly procure drugs to help control spiraling prescription drug costs. Although their collaborative efforts have been impressive, the two agencies have largely targeted generic drugs, which comprise less than 10 percent of their combined expenditures. More dramatic cost reductions could be achieved through procurements of high-cost brand-name drugs, although doing so can be more complex and time consuming to garner the necessary clinical support and provider acceptance on therapeutic interchangeability. Nonetheless, DOD's greatly expanded retiree drug benefit and the formularies being developed by both agencies should provide added joint procurement opportunities for such drugs. Also, VA and DOD have shown that flexible approaches to developing joint solicitations can take into account differences in their health systems while still maximizing drug discounts. In GAO's view, their joint activities could be further enhanced by periodically conferring with private managed care pharmacy experts and reporting to Congress on their joint procurement activities. Top management at DOD and VA need to stay focused on their …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does various compliance checks to ensure the accuracy of information reported on taxpayers' returns. In recent years, the audit rate--the proportion of tax returns that IRS audits each year--has drawn attention because of a long-term decline in audit rates and the differences in audit rates for lower and higher income individuals. This report (1) describes the changes in audit rates for individual income tax returns overall and for categories, such as major sources (i.e., nonbusiness versus business) and levels of income for fiscal years 1996 through 2000; (2) discusses IRS' reasons and related data explaining the changes in audit rates; and (3) describes what is known about the effects of changes in the audit rates on tax compliance. In comparing fiscal years 1996 and 2000, GAO found that the overall tax audit rate of individuals declined about 70 percent. These rates declined regardless of the individual taxpayer's income level. IRS cited the following three reasons for the decline in audit rates for fiscal years 1996 to 2000: (1) the number of IRS auditors for individual returns declined by more than half …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) advertising contract for Phase III of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. The contractor for the advertising portion of the Phase III anti-drug media campaign did not properly charge the government for some of the labor costs incurred under the contract. Ogilvy & Mather's submission of time sheets claiming hours that some employees said they did not work on the anti-drug media campaign was clearly improper. Moreover, Ogilvy should not have been awarded a cost accounting standards (CAS)-covered cost-reimbursement government contract until the company had an adequate cost accounting system to support this type of contract. The government poorly managed aspects of the award and administration of the contract. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should not have awarded this cost-reimbursement contract without determining whether the contractor had an adequate cost accounting system that met CAS standards. In addition, HHS should have reviewed the appropriateness of the large amount of money that the contracting officer's technical representative (COTR) recommended be disallowed from the contractor's invoices or arranged for an audit of the contract. …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. government is one of the world's largest property owners, with a real estate portfolio of more than 400,000 defense and civilian buildings and more than one-half billion acres of land. Each year, the federal government spends billions of dollars to maintain its buildings. Even so, the General Services Administration (GSA) contends that it needs $4 billion, over and above these expenditures, to maintain its existing inventory. This report identifies the potential benefits to the federal government of entering into public-private partnerships on real property--an arrangement in which the federal government contributes real property and a private entity contributes financial capital and borrowing ability to redevelop or renovate the real property. GAO found that public-private partnership authority could be an important management tool to address problems in deteriorating federal buildings, but further study of how the tool would actually work and its benefits compared to other options is needed. Potential net benefits to the federal government of entering into these public-private partnerships include better space, lower operating costs, and increased revenue without up-front federal capital expenditures if further analysis shows that they would not be …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Intellectual property--which includes federally granted patents, trademarks, and copyrights--is often owned or used by state governmental entities, such as public institutions of higher education. Until recently, state entities that made unauthorized use of, or "infringed," the intellectual property of others were subject to lawsuits in federal court. In 1999, however, the U.S. Supreme Court held that states were not subject to such suits, striking down a federal law that would have taken away a state's right to claim immunity under the Eleventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when sued in federal court for patent infringement. Some intellectual property owners are concerned that they no longer have adequate remedies if a state commits infringement. Although the precise number is difficult to determine, few accusations of intellectual property infringement appear to have been made against the states through either lawsuits or matters handled out of court. GAO identified 58 lawsuits that had been active since January 1985 in either a state or federal court in which a state was a defendant in an action involving the unauthorized use of intellectual property. Intellectual property owners appear to have few …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Unless the Department of Energy (DOE) revisits its disposal needs and its current option for disposing of wastes off-site, it could miss opportunities to reduce cleanup costs at the Fernald, Oak Ridge, and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) sites and at other sites, such as Paducah, that might propose the development of new on-site facilities. Building in a decision checkpoint before major investment decisions are finalized could identify instances in which the use of off-site disposal would be less expensive, or when the cost difference no longer outweighs the long-term risks associated with on-site disposal. Such validation of the cost comparison is especially important in instances in which DOE is aware that the scope or timeframe of the cleanup effort has changed dramatically. Remaining open to new proposals for off-site disposal would also inject an element of competition into this process. Thus, even if the validation did nothing more than confirm the original decision to dispose of the wastes on-site, it has the potential to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 created the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) to help protect customers against losses from the failure of a securities firm. However, the large number of claims denied in several recent SIPC liquidation proceedings has raised concerns that some SIPC policies and practices may unduly limit the actual protection afforded customers. This report discusses (1) the basis for SIPC policies involving unauthorized trading and the extent that these policies are disclosed to investors; (2) the basis for SIPC policies involving the affiliates of SIPC member firms and the extent that these policies are disclosed to investors; (3) SEC oversight of SIPC; and (4) the disclosure rules for SIPC, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and state insurance guarantee associations, as well as the related implications for consumers as the financial services industry consolidates."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Despite efforts by the international community to reduce the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus, AIDS is now the fourth leading cause of death in the world and the primary cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), funded in part by the United States, is one important international effort against the disease. UNAIDS was established by the United Nations (U.N.) in 1996 to provide coordinated U.N. action and to lead and promote an expanded global response to the worldwide epidemic. This report (1) assesses UNAIDS' progress, especially at the country level, toward increasing the coordination and commitment of the U.N. and global community; (2) assesses UNAIDS' progress in providing technical assistance and information and in developing a monitoring and evaluation plan to measure results; and (3) identifies factors that may have affected UNAIDS' progress. GAO found that UNAIDS has made progress in increasing U.N. coordination and enhancing the global response to the worldwide HIV/AIDS epidemic, but its country-level efforts need to be strengthened. UNAIDS has provided financial and technical support to about 50 HIV/AIDS technical networks worldwide, but has …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Capacity problems and other disruptions at the securities and options exchanges have caused processing delays within the U.S. securities markets in recent years. These exchanges and clearing organizations have also been concerned about unwarranted access by hackers and other unauthorized users. To address these issues, the securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) created its automation review policy program in 1989. The program calls for the exchanges and clearing organizations that act as self-regulatory organizations to voluntarily follow SEC guidance and submit to oversight of their information systems. The program includes two key policy statements that provide voluntary guidelines to these organizations, periodic on-site inspections by SEC staff, and independent reviews of systems by internal auditors or external organizations. In addition, self-regulatory organizations are expected to provide SEC with reports of system outages and notices of system modifications. This report reviews SEC's effectiveness in its oversight roles. GAO found that the program reasonably ensures that self-regulatory organizations address capacity, security, and other information systems issues. However, SEC could improve its program oversight by consolidating criteria used by program staff into a comprehensive guide. Overall, SEC's inspections addressed the …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Department of Defense's (DOD) fiscal year 2000 performance report required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and assesses the Department's progress in achieving selected outcomes that were identified as important mission areas for DOD. GAO found that shortfalls in DOD's current strategies and measures for several outcomes have led to difficulties in assessing performance in areas such as combat readiness, support infrastructure reduction, force structure needs, and the matching of resources to program spending plans. DOD's fiscal year 2002 performance plan, which has yet to be issued, provides DOD with the opportunity to address these shortfalls. On the basis of last year's analysis of DOD's fiscal year 1999 performance report and fiscal year 2001 performance plan, GAO recommended that the Department include more qualitative and quantitative goals and measures in its annual performance plan and report to gauge progress toward achieving mission outcomes. DOD has not as yet fully implemented this recommendation. GAO continues to believe that the Secretary of Defense should adopt this recommendation as it updates its strategic plan and prepares its next annual performance plan. By …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Current plans for identifying spectrum to support third generation mobile wireless systems by July 30, 2001, and to auction licenses by September 30, 2002, are premature. GAO agrees with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Commerce that delaying the identification of spectrum and the auction of licenses for third generation wireless systems could serve the public interest. Adequate information is not currently available to fully identify and address the uncertainties and risks of reallocation. The Department of Defense (DOD) and the federal government could make decisions affecting national security without knowing the full extent of risks they face or steps available to reduce those risks. Extending the current schedule for the identification and auction of licenses for this portion of the spectrum would allow DOD to complete technical and operational assessments and to consider the nation's future spectrum requirements. In addition, a delay would allow time to further consider the adequacy of existing national spectrum strategies affecting international agreements and for DOD overseas military operations to modify these strategies as necessary and to incorporate them into the nation's long-range spectrum plan."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO issued a report on the results of its management and operational review of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Public Integrity Section (PI). Specifically, GAO reviewed: (1) PI's organization, staffing, workload, and results; (2) the policies and procedures in place to govern PI's case management practices and its compliance with those policies and procedures, and; (3) DOJ's management oversight of those practices. PI was staffed with 30 attorneys, including a chief and three deputies. Between 1995 and 2000, PI opened 1,013 matters for investigation and filed 163 cases for the court. The conviction rate was 94 percent for cases prosecuted during this time. DOJ's written policies and procedures outlined how PI should manage its caseloads. For the closed cases and matters GAO reviewed, PI generally complied with DOJ's procedures. However, GAO found that, in some cases, PI did not resolve issues in a timely manner. As a result, some matters remained opened for extended periods. DOJ also had policies and procedures in place to ensure that PI's case management practices were subject to management oversight. These oversight practices included documented reviews, daily interactions with attorneys, and …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As of September 1999, the Department of Defense (DOD) reported that it owned secondary inventory worth about $64 billion and that $9.4 billion of that inventory is more economical to retain than to dispose of and possibly repurchase later. This report focuses on whether DOD's economic retention decisions are sound. GAO found that military components (other than the Air Force) have developed models to help make economic retention decisions on secondary inventory. However, none of the components now use their economic retention models. Instead, they and the Air Force use ceilings to limit the amount of economic retention inventory they hold. Components have not properly documented their approaches to economic retention decisions. For example, common model factors vary and assumptions are inconsistent and out of date. In addition, DOD lacked sound analytical support for the maximum levels it now uses. As a result, the components cannot depend on their models or ceilings to determine retention inventory levels without review and improvement. They also have not reviewed their approaches annually. As a result, the Department does not have a sound basis for its approach to manage items …