Tobacco Price Support: An Overview of the Program (open access)

Tobacco Price Support: An Overview of the Program

None
Date: November 3, 2003
Creator: Womach, Jasper
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Trade Issues in the 106th Congress (open access)

Agricultural Trade Issues in the 106th Congress

Agricultural interests have been following trade policy developments against a backdrop of weak foreign demand and large world supplies of agricultural products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the value of U.S. agricultural exports fell between FY1996 (a record year) and FY1999 by almost $11 billion. USDA forecasts agricultural exports at $50.5 billion in FY2000 and $51.5 billion in FY2001. However, the projected agricultural trade surpluses for those years, of $11.5 billion and $12 billion, would be less than half the FY1996 surplus of $27.2 billion. Many agricultural groups and their supporters in Congress believe that the sector's future prosperity depends upon such U.S. trade policies as: 1) encouraging China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), with its binding rules and responsibilities; 2) exempting agriculture from U.S. unilateral economic sanctions; 3) fully using export and food aid programs; and 4) aggressively battling foreign-imposed barriers to the movement of U.S. farm products. A few U.S. farm groups are wary of such approaches.
Date: November 27, 2000
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.; Hanrahan, Charles E. & Jurenas, Remy
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: November 7, 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: November 22, 2002
Creator: Jurenas, Remy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dairy Policy Issues (open access)

Dairy Policy Issues

Several dairy issues that were debated during the 108th Congress are expected to continue as issues of interest in the 109th Congress. Separate bills were introduced in the 108th Congress to extend authority for both the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program and the dairy forward pricing pilot program, and to address dairy producer concerns about the importation of milk protein concentrates.
Date: November 1, 2002
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dairy Policy Issues (open access)

Dairy Policy Issues

Several dairy issues that were debated during the 108th Congress are expected to continue as issues of interest in the 109th Congress. Separate bills were introduced in the 108th Congress to extend authority for both the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program and the dairy forward pricing pilot program, and to address dairy producer concerns about the importation of milk protein concentrates.
Date: November 22, 2002
Creator: Chite, Ralph M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pesticide Residue Regulation: Analysis of Food Quality Protection Act Implementation (open access)

Pesticide Residue Regulation: Analysis of Food Quality Protection Act Implementation

This report discusses the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) which amened the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), governing U.S. registration, sale, and use of pesticide products, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) under which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets allowable pesticide residue levels for food (tolerances).
Date: November 4, 2002
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Endangered Species: Continuing Controversy (open access)

Endangered Species: Continuing Controversy

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) has been one of the most controversial of all environmental laws. Undoubtedly, the controversy stems from the strict substantive provisions of this law compared to many other environmental laws which tend to be more procedurally oriented or to permit greater administrative discretion. As a result of the ESA’s standards, the Act often plays a role in disputes in which all sides agree that a given species is not the center of the debate.
Date: November 21, 2000
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne
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: November 6, 2002
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne & Baldwin, Pamela
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Airport Improvement Program (open access)

Airport Improvement Program

This issue brief discusses the Airport Improvement Program and its complement, the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC). After a brief history of federal support for airport construction and improvement, the report describes AIP funding, its source of revenues, funding distribution, the types of projects the program funds, AIP and PFC policy issues, and the allowable use of AIP funds for airport security purposes.
Date: November 29, 2002
Creator: Kirk, Robert S.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Higher Education Act: Reauthorization Status and Issues (open access)

The Higher Education Act: Reauthorization Status and Issues

This report provides the following: an overview of postsecondary education (institutions and students), an overview of the Higher Education Act (HEA) with a focus on its most significant programs and provisions, and a discussion of major issues likely to be of interest to the Congress during the HEA reauthorization process.
Date: November 15, 2002
Creator: Stedman, James B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Budget for Fiscal Year 2003 (open access)

The Budget for Fiscal Year 2003

This report discusses the budget for fiscal year 2003. It debates issues such as budget action, receipts surpluses or deficits, and the economy.
Date: November 22, 2003
Creator: Winters, Philip D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals (open access)

Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals

In recent years conflicting budget priorities and divided political control have accentuated the institutional tensions between the executive and legislative branches inherent in the federal budget process. President Clinton, like his two predecessors, called for an item veto, or possibly expanded impoundment authority, to provide him with greater control over federal spending. This report provides a brief history of impoundment and discusses the debate surrounding the line item veto.
Date: November 20, 2000
Creator: McMurtry, Virginia A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals (open access)

Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals

In recent years conflicting budget priorities and divided political control have accentuated the institutional tensions between the executive and legislative branches inherent in the federal budget process. President Clinton, like his two predecessors, called for an item veto, or possibly expanded impoundment authority, to provide him with greater control over federal spending. This report provides a brief history of impoundment and discusses the debate surrounding the line item veto.
Date: November 27, 2002
Creator: McMurtry, Virginia A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Continuing Appropriations Acts: Brief Overview of Recent Practices (open access)

Continuing Appropriations Acts: Brief Overview of Recent Practices

This report is divided into two segments. The first segment provides the most recent developments and content of the FY2005 continuing resolutions. The second segment provides information on the history of CRs; the nature, scope, and duration of CRs during the last 35 years; the types of CRs that have been enacted; and an overview of those instances when funding (or budget authority2) has lapsed and a funding gap has resulted.
Date: November 5, 2003
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Budget FY2001: A Chronology with Internet Access (open access)

Budget FY2001: A Chronology with Internet Access

This is a select chronology of, and a finding guide for information on, congressional and presidential actions and documents related to major budget events in calendar year 2000, covering the FY2001 budget. Brief information is provided for the President’s budget, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations measures (regular, continuing, supplementals, and rescissions), budget reconciliation, House and Senate votes, line-item vetoes, publications, testimony, charts, and tables.
Date: November 14, 2000
Creator: Thomas, Pearl
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Appropriations for FY2001: District of Columbia (open access)

Appropriations for FY2001: District of Columbia

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 the District of Columbia Appropriations.
Date: November 27, 2000
Creator: Boyd, Eugene
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Budget FY2003: A Chronology with Internet Access (open access)

Budget FY2003: A Chronology with Internet Access

This is a select chronology of, and a finding guide for information on, congressional and presidential actions and documents related to major budget events in calendar year 2002, covering the FY2003 budget. Brief information is provided for the President’s budget, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations measures (regular, continuing, supplementals, and rescissions), budget reconciliation, House and Senate votes, line-item vetoes, publications, testimony, charts, and tables.
Date: November 26, 2002
Creator: Murray, Justin
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: Overview and Characteristics (open access)

Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: Overview and Characteristics

Each fiscal year, Congress appropriates funds for grants to state and local governments to further national goals and assist state and local government operations. Examples of goals include attaining minimum national standards and improving program effectiveness. The federal government provides grants for numerous substantive purposes, such as crime prevention, community development, and transportation. In FY2001, grants to state and local governments totaled $317 billion. Grants can be classified by the substantive purposes they address. This report, however, reviews the fundamental characteristics by which they can also be classified. Examples of grant characteristics include range of eligible activities, objectives, award process, and administrative requirements.
Date: November 27, 2002
Creator: Canada, Ben
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Lumber Imports from Canada: Issues and Events (open access)

Lumber Imports from Canada: Issues and Events

This report provides a concise historical account of the dispute, summarizes the subsidy and injury evidence, and discusses the current issues and events regarding lumber imports from Canada.
Date: November 8, 2002
Creator: Gorte, Ross W. & Grimmett, Jeanne
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement: Debate Over Government Policy, November 19, 2002 (open access)

Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement: Debate Over Government Policy, November 19, 2002

This report discusses congressional interest in the pace of U.S. technological advancement due to its influence on U.S. economic growth, productivity, and international competitiveness. The proper role of the federal government in technology development and the competitiveness of U.S. industry continues to be a topic of congressional debate.
Date: November 19, 2002
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Small Business Disaster Assistance: Responding to the Terrorist Attacks (open access)

Small Business Disaster Assistance: Responding to the Terrorist Attacks

None
Date: November 29, 2001
Creator: Mulock, Bruce K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Child Pornography: Constitutional Principles and Federal Statutes (open access)

Child Pornography: Constitutional Principles and Federal Statutes

The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009- 26, added a definition of “child pornography” that include visual depictions of what appears to be a minor engaging in explicit sexual conduct, even if no actual minor was used in producing the depiction. On April 16, 2002, in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, the Supreme Court held this provision unconstitutional to the extent that it prohibited pictures that were not produced with actual minors. (This case is discussed under “Section 2256,” below.) In response to Ashcroft, bills were introduced in the House and Senate that would continue to ban some child pornography that was produced without an actual minor; on June 25, 2002, the House passed one such bill: H.R. 4623, 107th Congress.
Date: November 13, 2002
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Juvenile Justice Legislation: Overview and the Legislative Debate (open access)

Juvenile Justice Legislation: Overview and the Legislative Debate

None
Date: November 28, 2001
Creator: Teasley, David & Cooper, Edith Fairman
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library