This report provides data on the distribution of assets in taxable estates that filed returns in 1998. The report also offers a brief overview of the estate and gift tax and "The Death Tax Elimination Act of 2000," which was passed in the 106th Congress and vetoed. This report finds that farm and business assets represent a small share of the total value of taxable estate tax returns filed in 1998. For an overview of estate tax, see CRS Report RL30600, Estate and Gift Taxes: Economic Issues, by Jane G. Gravelle and Steven Maguire. This report will be updated as new data becomes available.

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A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) reported on its Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 studies in July 2000. GAO found that DOD generally complied with the reporting requirements that Congress had imposed on it. DOD took steps to ensure that the information it provided on 286 A-76 studies was complete and accurate. GAO determined that the information was generally consistent with data it had collected on other A-76 studies. However, because of historical weaknesses in DOD's database from which the data were obtained, GAO could not be sure of the data's accuracy. Overall, DOD reported that the A-76 studies over the five year period saved about $290 million in fiscal year 1999. GAO's work showed that savings were being achieved, but limitations in DOD's baseline cost data made it difficult to determine precisely how much was being saved. In addition, DOD reported that 40 percent of the A-76 studies resulted in contracts with the private sector. At the same time, the report indicated that only 23 percent of the studies resulted in outside contracts in 1999. This was considerably lower than in earlier years when …

In 1998, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, a public transit agency in Dallas, Texas, began operating a large fleet of heavy-duty buses powered by liquefied natural gas. As part of a $16 million commitment to alternative fuels, DART operates 139 LNG buses serviced by two new LNG fueling stations.

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This report provides a table outlining the bills vetoed by President William Jefferson Clinton's two terms in office. It includes an overview and the bill number, date, title, and override attempts for each veto.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on U.S. and European defense contractors' business alliances, focusing on: (1) the types alliances companies are establishing and their reasons for forming alliances; (2) why companies prefer certain types of alliances over others; and (3) whether U.S. laws, regulations, policies, and practices influence a company's decision to form an alliance or its choice of a type of alliance."

Each fiscal year, Congress appropriates funds for grants to state and local governments to further national goals and assist sub-national governments. 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 1999, grants-in-aid to state and local governments totaled $270 billion. Grants can be classified by the substantive purposes they address. This report, however, reviews the fundamental characteristics according to which they can also be classified. Examples of grant characteristics include range of eligible activities, objectives, award process, and administrative requirements.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the H-1B program's implementation and implications for the American workforce, focusing on: (1) the jobs that H-1B workers are filling in the United States and the characteristics of those workers; (2) the adequacy of the H-1B visa program's implementation and enforcement; and (3) efforts underway to improve information technology (IT) skills in the American workforce."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed health care plans' withdrawal from the Medicare Choice program, focusing on the: (1) geographic distribution and the distribution among plans of enrollees affected by the recent plan withdrawals; (2) factors associated with plans that terminated or reduced their participation in the program; and (3) likely role of payment rates in affecting plans' decisions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on efforts to recover Medicare's overpayments, focusing on: (1) how the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) and its contractors identify potential overpayments, and whether techniques used by recovery auditors would improve overpayment identification; (2) how well HCFA and its contractors collect overpayments once they are identified, and whether the services of recovery auditors would improve HCFA collection efforts; and (3) what challenges HCFA would face if it were required to hire recovery auditors to augment its overpayment identification and collection activities."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new rule on selective disclosure and insider trading. GAO noted that: the new rule would address three issues: (a) the selective disclosure by various issuers of material nonpublic information; (b) when insider trading liability arises in connection with a trader's "use" or "knowing possession" of material nonpublic information; (c) when the breach of a family or other nonbusiness relationship may give rise to liability under the misappropriation theory of insider trading; and (d) SEC complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a municipality must competitively bid a contract with a temporary day labor agency (RQ-0217-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a travel trailer may only be considered an "improvement" under section 1.04(3) of the Tax Code if the same person owns the land on which it is located, and related questions(RQ-0223-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether information made confidential by subsection 143.089(g) of the Local Government Code may be released to the city manager and the city attorney (RQ-0226-JC)

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the timeliness with which the Customs Service Office of Regulations and Rulings (OR&R) issues rulings on such things as the proper classification and valuation of imported goods focusing on: (1) OR&R's response time for issuing headquarters rulings on imported goods, and, if delays occurred, reasons why they occurred; and (2) whether the Legal Case Inventory System (LCIS) is an effective tool for measuring the timeliness of OR&R's headquarters rulings."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the U.S. Postal Services' (USPS) electronic commerce (e-commerce) initiatives, focusing on USPS': (1) e-commerce initiatives that have been implemented or are being developed; (2) goals and strategies for the e-commerce area; (3) processes for approving these initiatives; and (4) expected performance and results to date related to e-commerce initiatives."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) electronic commerce (e-commerce) initiatives, focusing on USPS': (1) e-commerce initiatives that have been implemented or are being developed; (2) goals and strategies for the e-commerce area; (3) processes for approving these initiatives; and (4) expected performance and results to date related to e-commerce."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Financial Management Service's (FMS) controls over safeguarding of assets and documenting disbursements and reconciliation of reports as well as the results of previously suggested improvements."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) new rule on health insurance premium conversion. GAO noted that: (1) the interim rule enables federal employees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits premiums with pre-tax dollars, as provided by statutory law; and (2) OPM complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the expansion of Medicare beneficiaries' access to prescription drugs, focusing on the: (1) federal drug price discounts available to federal and nonfederal purchasers and the size of those discounts; and (2) potential effects that extending such discounts to nonfederal purchasers may have on outpatient drug prices paid by federal and nonfederal purchasers."

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Authority of a Sheriff to organize and participate in S.T.A.R [Sheriff of Texas Agreed Response] a law enforcement tactical response team (RQ-0199-JC) .

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the Parker County Commissioners Court is authorized to hire an employee to perform purchasing duties in the absence of a purchasing agent appointed pursuant to section 262.011 of the Local Government Code, and related questions.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Validity of a regulation of the Texas Air National Guard that relates to "officers lacking in professional qualifications".