Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs articles from August 2002

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs archives from August 2002

Immigration legislation and issues in the 107th Congress.
August 1, 2002... SUMMARY Top immigration issues before the 107th Congress include the reorganization of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), a part of the Department of Justice (DOJ); admissions policy; and the eligibility of noncitizens for...

AIDS in Africa.
August 1, 2002... SUMMARY Sub-Saharan Africa has been far more severely affected by AIDS than any other part of the world. The United Nations reports that 28.5 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus in the region, which has about 10% of...

Africa: U.S. foreign assistance issues.
August 2, 2002... SUMMARY The Bush Administration is requesting just over $1 billion in Development Assistance (DA) for sub-Saharan Africa in FY2003, as compared with an estimated $887 million going to the region in FY2002. The request for aid through the...

Agriculture and fast track or trade promotion authority.
August 2, 2002... Summary New "fast track," or trade promotion, authority (TPA) cleared the 107th Congress for the President's expected signature in August 2002. Such authority enables the Administration to submit negotiated foreign trade agreements to...

Conventional arms transfers to developing nations, 1994-2001.
August 6, 2002... Summary This report is prepared annually to provide unclassified quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years. Some general data...

Palestinians and Middle East peace: issues for the United States.
August 6, 2002... Summary The United States began contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in December 1988, after the PLO accepted Israel's right to exist, accepted U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338 that call for an exchange of land for peace,...

Syria: U.S. relations and bilateral issues.
August 6, 2002... SUMMARY U.S.-Syrian relations have warmed somewhat in recent years as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Syria's participation in the allied coalition against Iraq in 1991, and Syrian agreement to participate in Arab-Israeli...

Terrorism, the future, and U.S. foreign policy.
August 6, 2002... SUMMARY International terrorism has long been recognized as a foreign and domestic security threat. The tragic events of September 11 in New York, the Washington, D.C., area, and Pennsylvania have dramatically re-energized the nation's...

The Middle East peace talks.
August 7, 2002... SUMMARY The end of the Cold War, the decline of the Soviet Union, and the U.S.-led victory in the Gulf war facilitated the beginning of a new peace process in 1991. Israel and the Palestinians discussed a 5-year period of interim self-rule...

Iran: current developments and U.S. policy.
August 7, 2002... SUMMARY Even before Iran's tacit cooperation with post-September 11 U.S. efforts to defeat Afghanistan's Taliban regime, signs of moderation in Iran had stimulated the United States to try to engage Iran in official talks. Iran, still...

Homeland security: department organization and management.
August 7, 2002... Summary After substantial congressional entreatment, President George W. Bush gave impetus to the creation of a Department of Homeland Security when, on June 6, 2002, he proposed the establishment of such an entity by Congress. At the...

Agricultural trade issues in the 107th Congress.
August 9, 2002... SUMMARY The 107th Congress has been considering a variety of 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...

The Persian Gulf: issues for U.S. policy, 2002.
August 12, 2002... Summary The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States have expanded the security challenges facing the United States in the Persian Gulf region, although no major confrontations or crises have occurred in the Gulf since...

China--U.S. relations.
August 13, 2002... SUMMARY In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, U.S. and PRC foreign policy calculations appear to be changing. The Administration of George W. Bush assumed office in January 2001 viewing China as...

The Department of Homeland Security: state and local preparedness issues.
August 14, 2002... Summary The House and Senate proposals for a new Department of Homeland Security would make the new department responsible for coordinating activities with, and providing assistance to, state and local governments to ensure adequate...

Saudi Arabia: current issues and U.S. relations.
August 21, 2002... SUMMARY Saudi Arabia, a monarchy ruled by the Saudi dynasty, enjoys special importance in the international community because of its unique association with the Islamic religion and its oil wealth. Since the establishment of the modern...

Afghanistan: current issues and U.S. policy.
August 23, 2002... Summary The United States and its allies are helping Afghanistan emerging from more than 22 years of warfare, although substantial risk to Afghan stability remains. Before the U.S. military campaign against the orthodox Islamist Taliban...

Terrorist nuclear attacks on seaports: threat and response.
August 23, 2002... Summary This report focuses on a possible terrorist nuclear attack on a U.S. seaport, a low-probability but high-consequence threat. Ports are vulnerable, and an attack could affect the global economy as well as cause local devastation....

Pakistan-U.S. relations.
August 26, 2002... SUMMARY The major areas of U.S. concern in Pakistan include: nuclear nonproliferation; counter-terrorism; regional stability; democratization and human rights; and economic reform and development. A potential Pakistan-India nuclear arms...

Immigration legislation and issues in the 107th Congress.
August 28, 2002... SUMMARY Top immigration issues before the 107th Congress include the reorganization of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), a part of the Department of Justice (DOJ); admissions policy; and the eligibility of noncitizens for...

WorldCom: the accounting scandal.
August 29, 2002... Summary On June 25, 2002, WorldCom, the Nation's second largest long distance telecommunications company, announced that it had overstated earnings in 2001 and the first quarter of 2002 by more than $3.8 billion. The announcement stunned...

Egypt-United States relations.
August 29, 2002... SUMMARY U.S.-Egyptian relations are tied to maintaining regional stability, improving bilateral relations focused on Egyptian economic development and military cooperation, developing Egypt's democracy, sustaining the March 1979...

Israeli-United States relations.
August 29, 2002... SUMMARY Israeli-U.S. relations are an important factor in U.S. policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. The main vehicle for expressing support...

Palestinians and Middle East peace: issues for the United States.
August 29, 2002... SUMMARY The United States began contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in December 1988, after the PLO accepted Israel's right to exist, accepted U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338 that call for an exchange of land for peace,...

Africa: U.S. foreign assistance issues.
August 30, 2002... SUMMARY The Bush Administration is requesting just over $1 billion in Development Assistance (DA) for sub-Saharan Africa in FY2003, as compared with an estimated $887 million going to the region in FY2002. The request for aid through the...

Central Asia's new states: political developments and implications for U.S. interests.
August 30, 2002... SUMMARY After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States recognized the independence of all the former Central Asian republics and established diplomatic relations with each by mid-March 1992. The United States also...

Cuba: issues for the 107th Congress.
August 30, 2002... Summary Cuba remains a hard-line Communist state, with a poor record on human rights. Fidel Castro has ruled since he led the Cuban Revolution, ousting the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista from power in 1959. With the cutoff of...

Critical infrastructures: what makes an infrastructure critical?
August 30, 2002... Summary The Bush Administration's proposal for establishing a Department of Homeland Security includes a function whose responsibilities include the coordination of policies and actions to protect the nation's critical infrastructure....