Abortion: Legislative Response (open access)

Abortion: Legislative Response

The primary focus of this issue brief is legislative action in the 108th Congress with respect to abortion. However, discussion of those legislative proposals necessarily involves a brief discussion of the leading U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a more detailed discussion of the relevant case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
Date: May 9, 2003
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare+Choice Payments (open access)

Medicare+Choice Payments

This report discusses the M+C program that established new rules for beneficiary and plan participation. This report focuses on M+C payments.
Date: May 8, 2002
Creator: Chaikind, Hinda Ripps & Morgan, Paulette C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare Provisions in the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA, P.L. 106-554) (open access)

Medicare Provisions in the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA, P.L. 106-554)

None
Date: May 24, 2001
Creator: Chaikind, Hinda Ripps; Tilson, Sibyl L.; O'Sullivan, Jennifer; Merck, Carolyn L. & Smith, Madeleine T.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Conservation Reserve Program: Status and Current Issues (open access)

Conservation Reserve Program: Status and Current Issues

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.
Date: May 23, 2000
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Conservation Reserve Program: Status and Current Issues (open access)

Conservation Reserve Program: Status and Current Issues

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.
Date: May 8, 2001
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Animal Agriculture: Issues in the 107th Congress (open access)

Animal Agriculture: Issues in the 107th Congress

A variety of animal agriculture issues, including prices, the impact of consolidation in the meat production/packing industry, trade, and the environmental impacts of large feedlots, continue to generate interest in Congress. This issue brief discusses these issues, as well as the 2002 farm bill, which contains several provisions affecting animal agriculture, including protections for contract growers, disaster assistance, country-of-origin labeling, and increased funding for conservation purposes.
Date: May 24, 2002
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Trade Issues in the 107th Congress (open access)

Agricultural Trade Issues in the 107th Congress

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.
Date: May 25, 2001
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.; Jurenas, Remy & Becker, Geoffrey S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Trade Issues in the 107th Congress (open access)

Agricultural Trade Issues in the 107th Congress

The 107th Congress is considering 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 the equivalent of one-quarter of farm income, some 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.
Date: May 3, 2002
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.; Becker, Geoffrey S. & Jurenas, Remy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sugar Policy Issues (open access)

Sugar Policy Issues

None
Date: May 29, 2003
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Soil and Water Conservation Issues (open access)

Soil and Water Conservation Issues

None
Date: May 17, 2002
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Soil and Water Conservation Issues (open access)

Soil and Water Conservation Issues

None
Date: May 27, 2003
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs (open access)

Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs

This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2001, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.
Date: May 30, 2001
Creator: Hanrahan, Charles E.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
What Is a Farm Bill? (open access)

What Is a Farm Bill?

A farmbill is a collection of new laws and amendmentsto longstanding lawsthat sets the overall direction of federal food and farm policy for a specified number of years. Farm bills typically contain not only commodity price and income support provisions, but also provisions on agricultural trade, rural development, domestic food assistance, foreign food aid, conservation, crop insurance, farm credit, forestry, and agricultural research. The many issues covered by farm bills make it possible to form a broad coalition ofsupport among common, and sometimes conflicting interestsfor policies and programs that individually might not be enacted.
Date: May 5, 2001
Creator: Jones, Jean Yavis; Hanrahan, Charles E. & Womach, Jasper
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 2002 Farm Bill: Overview and Status (open access)

The 2002 Farm Bill: Overview and Status

The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform, or FAIR, Act of 1996 (commonly known as the "farm bill"), which was due to expire in 2002, is expected to be extended for another six years when President Bush signs the bill into law. This report discusses the provisions of the new "farm bill," including the federal spending involved.
Date: May 3, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Womach, Jasper
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Conservation Reserve Payments and Self-Employment Taxes (open access)

Conservation Reserve Payments and Self-Employment Taxes

Farmers enrolling their land in the Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) receive payments for refraining from farming their property and for engaging in certain conservation practices mandated by the Department of Agriculture. These payments are described in the contract with the Department of Agriculture as "rental payments." Farmers would like to treat the income as "rental income" because it would not be subject to self-employment taxes, but the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) insists that under certain conditions, the payments are income from the trade or business of farming and thus subject to self-employment taxes.
Date: May 1, 2000
Creator: Morris, Marie B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Farm "Counter-Cyclical Assistance" (open access)

Farm "Counter-Cyclical Assistance"

This report discusses recently approved legislation reauthorizing major farm income and commodity price support programs through crop year 2007. This legislation includes new “counter-cyclical assistance” programs for grains, cotton, oilseeds, peanuts, and milk. The intent of counter-cyclical assistance is to provide more government support when farm prices and/or incomes decline, and less support when they improve. In fact, farmers have, for many years, been eligible for various forms of counter-cyclical assistance. At issue has been the need for, and potential impacts of, another counter-cyclical program.
Date: May 31, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Womach, Jasper
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Farm Bill Trade and Food Aid Provisions (open access)

Farm Bill Trade and Food Aid Provisions

This report discusses the trade provisions of omnibus farm legislation, passed in May 2002. The measure includes a trade title reauthorizing, through 2007, the major foreign food aid and agricultural export programs. It also contains other provisions affecting agricultural trade, including new country-of-origin labeling requirements for meat, seafood, and produce; and increased domestic farm subsidies with possible implications for U.S. trade relations.
Date: May 8, 2002
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change (open access)

Global Climate Change

This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations, and congressional activity focused specifically on climate change.
Date: May 15, 2002
Creator: Justus, John R. & Fletcher, Susan R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change: Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases (open access)

Global Climate Change: Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

This report discusses global climate change and the possibility that human activities are releasing gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), at rates that could affect global climate change.
Date: May 2, 2002
Creator: Parker, Larry
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global Climate Change: Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases (open access)

Global Climate Change: Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

This report discusses global climate change and the market-based strategies to reduce greenhouse gases.
Date: May 12, 2003
Creator: Parker, Larry
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Endangered Species: Difficult Choices (open access)

Endangered Species: Difficult Choices

This report discusses issues debated in the 107th Congress while is considering various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have included changing the role of science in decision-making, changing the role of critical habitat, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated including significant changes to ESA regulations made during the Clinton Administration in the law itself.
Date: May 7, 2003
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Endangered Species: Difficult Choices (open access)

Endangered Species: Difficult Choices

This report discusses issues debated in the 107th Congress while is considering various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have included changing the role of science in decision-making, changing the role of critical habitat, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated including significant changes to ESA regulations made during the Clinton Administration in the law itself.
Date: May 20, 2003
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Endangered Species: Difficult Choices (open access)

Endangered Species: Difficult Choices

This report discusses issues debated in the 107th Congress while is considering various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Major issues in recent years have included changing the role of science in decision-making, changing the role of critical habitat, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated including significant changes to ESA regulations made during the Clinton Administration in the law itself.
Date: May 29, 2003
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Legislative Issues (open access)

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Legislative Issues

This report discusses the ongoing debate about whether or not to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for energy development. The report discusses arguments for and against such development and focuses especially on related pieces of legislation that directly affects the future of the ANWR.
Date: May 14, 2002
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne; Gelb, Bernard A. & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library