The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in 1985, enables producers to retire highly erodible or environmentally sensitive cropland, usually for 10 years. Congress reauthorized and amended the CRP in the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (P.L. 104-127; 16 U.S.C. 3811, et seq.). The law caps enrollment at 36.4 million acres and makes funding mandatory through the commodity Credit Corporation.

This list provides a sampling of the rapidly proliferating number of agricultural resources available on the Internet. It is not intended to be exhaustive. It is divided into 24 main categories and 15 subcategories.

This report discusses issues regarding Agriculture funding, specifically the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act (P.L. 104-127), which prescribed farm commodity support policy through 2002.

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Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) authorizes federal aid to state and local educational agencies (SEAs, LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children. Title I grants are used to provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving children attending schools with relatively high concentrations of pupils from low-income families. Services may be provided at pre-kindergarten through high school levels. Title I has been the anchor of the ESEA since it was first enacted in 1965, and is the largest federal elementary and secondary education assistance program.

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Committee hearings afford Representatives an opportunity to gather information on, and draw attention to, legislation and issues within a committee's purview; conduct oversight of programs or agencies; and investigate allegations of wrongdoing. This report identifies many of the tasks that need to be performed by full committees and, in most cases, subcommittees in advance of a hearing. Some of these tasks are required by House or committee rules; others are common committee practice.

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The end of the Cold War and its impact on defense spending has created a strong need to reform Department of Defense’s (DOD) acquisition system. With procurement spending down, DOD expects to depend on savings from acquisition reform to help finance future force modernization. Policymakers believe that DOD should use more commercial products because, in many instances, they cost less and their quality is comparable to products built according to DOD military specifications. Many such reform proposals are based on recognition that DOD regulatory barriers and a Cold War acquisition “culture” have inhibited the introduction of commercial products.

On June 27, the Bush Administration released an amended FY2002 budget for the Department of Defense (DOD). The amended budget requests a total of $328.9 billion for DOD, an additional $18.4 billion above the Administration’s “Blueprint” budget released in April. The amended budget included an additional $5.6 billion for DOD’s Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) program. This raises the FY2002 RDT&E request to $47.4 billion, $6.3 billion above the total obligational authority available for RDT&E in FY2001.

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CRS Report for Congress entailing information about the current status and federal report of information technology and elementary and secondary education. Topics include, recent action, major issues, federal policy questions etc..

This report discusses the Federal Emergency Immigrant Education Program.

Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen used to enhance the explosive yield of every thermonuclear weapon. Tritium has a radioactive decay rate of 5.5% per year and has not been produced in this country for weapons purposes since 1988. To compensate for decay losses, tritium levels in the existing stockpile are being maintained by recycling and reprocessing it from dismantled nuclear weapons. To maintain the nuclear weapons stockpile at the level called for in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) II (not yet in force), however, a new tritium source would be needed by the year 2011. If the START I stockpile levels remain the target, as is now the case, tritium production would be needed by 2005.

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The Clinton Administration took several actions to increase protection at designated marine sites, referred to as marine reserves or marine protected areas (MPAs). The idea of protecting marine areas has been discussed for many years, but has not been applied extensively in the marine environment. Congress is likely to examine both the recent Clinton Administration actions and the concepts behind MPAs, and consider any Bush administration views, especially as it considers appropriations and reauthorization legislation. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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This report addresses in summary fashion the differences among several kinds of tax-exempt organizations described in Internal Revenue Code [IRC] subsections 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), 501(c)(6), and section 527. Each of these types of organization has a unique statutory definition, is subject to certain statutory limitations on its activities, enjoys certain benefits from obtaining tax-exempt status, and must share certain information with the general public. Following the report is a table which summarizes this information.

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Recent proposals have been made to enact either a temporary or a permanent capital gains tax cut. The former would probably gain revenue in the first 2 years but lose that revenue and more, most likely within the following 3 years. H.R. 3090, passed by the House, would lower the top tax rate from 20% to 18% for assets held at least a year. The Senate Finance Committee version of H.R. 3090, does not reduce capital gains taxes. A capital gains tax cut appears the least likely of any permanent tax cut to stimulate the economy in the short run; a temporary capital gains tax cut is unlikely to provide any stimulus. Permanently lower capital gains taxes can contribute to economic efficiency in some ways and detract from it in others. Capital gains tax cuts would favor high income individuals, with about 80% of the benefit going to the top 2% of taxpayers.

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The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) extends duty-free treatment to certain products that are imported from designated developing countries. The primary purpose of the program, which the United States and other industrial countries initiated in the 1970s, is to promote economic growth and development in these countries by stimulating their exports. The program was reauthorized by the 106th Congress, retroactively from July 1, 1999, through September 30, 2001. The 107th Congress will face the issue of whether to reauthorize GSP.