Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs articles from December 2007

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs archives from December 2007

Russia's December 2007 legislative election: outcome and implications.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Summary This report discusses the campaign and results of Russia's December 2, 2007, election to the State Duma (the lower legislative chamber), and implications for Russia and U.S. interests. Many observers viewed the election as a...

Israeli-Palestinian peace process: the Annapolis conference.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Summary At the end of November 2007, the Bush Administration convened an international conference in Annapolis, MD to officially revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority...

FY2008 emergency supplemental request for international affairs.(CRS Report for Congress)(fiscal year)(Report)(Table)
December 1, 2007... December 7, 2007 Summary The White House has submitted emergency supplemental requests to Congress for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and international affairs programs totaling $196.5 billion. The request was made in...

North Korea: terrorism list removal?(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 11, 2007 Summary The issue of North Korea's inclusion on the U.S. list of terrorism-supporting countries has arisen twice in recent U.S.-North Korean diplomacy. In 2000, North Korea demanded that the Clinton...

Nuclear warheads: the Reliable Replacement Warhead program and the Life Extension Program.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 3, 2007 Summary Current U.S. nuclear warheads were deployed during the Cold War. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) maintains them with a Life Extension Program (LEP). NNSA questions if LEP can...

The Reliable Replacement Warhead program: background and current developments.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 18, 2007 Summary Most current U.S. nuclear warheads were built in the 1970s and 1980s and are being retained longer than was planned. Yet they deteriorate and must be maintained. To correct problems, a Life Extension...

How long can the Defense Department finance FY2008 operations in advance of supplemental appropriations?(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 19, 2007 Summary The Department of Defense is currently financing both day-to-day peacetime activities and overseas military operations in Iraq and elsewhere with funds appropriated in the regular FY2008 Defense...

Defense: FY2008 authorization and appropriations.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 13, 2007 The annual consideration of appropriations bills (regular, continuing, and supplemental) by Congress is part of a complex set of budget processes that also encompasses the consideration of budget resolutions,...

China's space program: options for U.S.-China cooperation.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Summary China has a determined, yet still modest, program of civilian space activities planned for the next decade. The potential for U.S.-China cooperation in space-- an issue of interest to Congress--has become more controversial since...

The U.S.-Australia Treaty on Defense Trade Cooperation.(CRS Report for Congress)
December 1, 2007... Summary The United States and Australia signed a Treaty on Defense Trade Cooperation in September 2007 that would facilitate defense trade and cooperation between the two nations. On the strategic level, the treaty would further develop...

FY2008 supplemental appropriations for global war on terror military operations, international affairs, and other purposes.(CRS Report for Congress)(fiscal year)(Table)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 19, 2007 Summary The Administration has requested a total of $196.5 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations for FY2008, of which $189.3 billion is for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere,...

Open source intelligence (OSINT): issues for Congress: December 5, 2007.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... December 5, 2007 Summary Open source information (OSINT) is derived from newspapers, journals, radio and television, and the Internet. Intelligence analysts have long used such information to supplement classified data, but...

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: a brief overview of selected issues.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 14, 2007 Summary The current legislative and oversight activity with respect to electronic surveillance under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has drawn national attention to several overarching issues....

China's 17th Communist Party Congress, 2007: leadership and policy implications.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Summary The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) 17th Congress, held from October 15-21, 2007, demonstrated the Party's efforts to try to adapt and redefine itself in the face of emerging economic and social challenges while still trying to...

State greenhouse gas emissions: comparison and analysis.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... December 5, 2007 Summary Instituting policies to manage or reduce GHGs would likely impact different states differently. Understanding these differences may provide for a more informed debate regarding potential policy approaches....

Selected issues related to an expansion of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... December 3, 2007 Summary High petroleum and gasoline prices, concerns over global climate change, and the desire to promote domestic rural economies have greatly increased interest in biofuels as an alternative to petroleum in the...

Iraq: post-Saddam governance and security.(CRS Report for Congress)(Saddam Hussein)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 18, 2007 Summary Operation Iraqi Freedom overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime, but much of Iraq became violent because of Sunni Arab resentment and a related insurgency, compounded by Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence,...

Iraq: government formation and benchmarks.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Summary Elections in 2005 produced a permanent constitution and a broad-based but Shiite-led government that has been unwilling or unable to reduce Sunni popular resentment and is showing significant internal strain. The lack of progress...

U.S. immigration policy on temporary admissions.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 12, 2007 Summary U.S. law provides for the temporary admission of various categories of foreign nationals, who are known as nonimmigrants. Nonimmigrants are admitted for a designated period of time and a specific...

Democracy promotion: cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy?(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... December 26, 2007 Summary One of President George W. Bush's stated reasons for starting the war in Iraq was to bring democracy to that country. He stated in December 2006 that "[We] are committed to a strategic goal of a free Iraq...

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007: a summary of major provisions.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... December 21, 2007 Summary The Energy Independence and Security Act (P.L. 110-140, H.R. 6) is an omnibus energy policy law that consists mainly of provisions designed to increase energy efficiency and the availability of renewable...

Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008: brief overview.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... December 28, 2007 Summary The Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2008 was the measure used by Congress and the President to wrap up action on the regular appropriations acts in late 2007. The measure, H.R. 2674, originated as the...

U.S. foreign assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean: FY2006-FY2008.(CRS Report for Congress)(fiscal year)(Report)(Table)
December 1, 2007... December 28, 2007 Summary Trends in U.S. assistance to the Latin America and Caribbean region generally reflect the trends and rationales for U.S. foreign aid programs globally. Aid to the region increased during the 1960s with the...

China and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missiles: policy issues.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 13, 2007 Summary Congress has long been concerned about whether U.S. policy advances the national interest in reducing the role of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass...

Foreign students in the United States: policies and legislation.(CRS Report for Congress)(Table)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 10, 2007 Summary More than six years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by foreign nationals--including several terrorists on student visas--the security concerns over foreign student visas are being...

Egypt: background and U.S. relations.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 12, 2007 Summary This report provides an overview of Egyptian politics and current issues in U.S.-Egyptian relations. It briefly provides a political history of modern Egypt, an overview of its political institutions,...

Afghanistan: narcotics and U.S. policy.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 6, 2007 Summary Opium poppy cultivation and drug trafficking have become significant negative factors in Afghanistan's fragile political and economic order over the last 25 years. Afghan, U.S., and coalition efforts...

Intellectual property rights and international trade.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... December 20, 2007 Summary This report provides background on intellectual property rights (IPR) and discusses the role of U.S. international trade policy in enhancing IPR protection and enforcement abroad. IPR are legal rights granted...

Iraq: foreign contributions to stabilization and reconstruction.(CRS Report for Congress)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 26, 2007 Summary U.S. policymakers have made securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq a major priority since the preparation period for the launch of Operation...

Iran's activities and influence in Iraq.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Summary Iran is actively assisting major Shiite Muslim political factions in Iraq, most of which have longstanding ideological, political, and religious ties to Tehran. A more pressing U.S. concern is that Iran is arming these faction's...

North American oil sands: history of development, prospects for the future.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 11, 2007 Summary When it comes to future reliable oil supplies, Canada's oil sands will likely account for a greater share of U.S. oil imports. Oil sands account for about 46% of Canada's total oil production and oil...

India-U.S. relations.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 19, 2007 Summary Long considered a "strategic backwater" from Washington's perspective, South Asia has emerged in the 21st century as increasingly vital to core U.S. foreign policy interests. India, the region's...

Israeli-Arab negotiations: background, conflicts, and U.S. policy.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 21, 2007 Summary After the first Gulf war, in 1991, a new peace process consisting of bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon achieved mixed results. Milestones included...

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: political developments and implications for U.S. interests.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 19, 2007 Summary The United States recognized the independence of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia when the former Soviet Union broke up at the end of 1991. The United States has fostered these states' ties with the...

Kosovo's future status and U.S. policy.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Summary This report discusses the issue of Kosovo's future status; that is, whether it should become an independent country or continue to be part of Serbia, but with a large degree of autonomy. The future status of Kosovo is the most...

Suits against terrorist States by victims of terrorism.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 17, 2007 Summary In 1996 Congress amended the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to allow U.S. victims of terrorism to sue certain States responsible for terrorist acts. The terrorist State defendants have...

Iran: U.S. concerns and policy responses.(CRS Report for Congress)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 5, 2007 Summary According to the Administration's "National Security Strategy" document released on March 16, 2006, the United States "may face no greater challenge from a single country than Iran." That...

Iraq and Al Qaeda.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 7, 2007 Summary In building a case for invading Iraq and ousting Saddam Hussein from power, the Administration asserted that the regime of Saddam Hussein had a working relationship with the Al Qaeda organization. The...

U.S.-China military contacts: issues for Congress.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 12, 2007 Summary This CRS Report discusses policy issues regarding military-to-military (mil- to--mil) contacts with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and provides a record of major contacts since 1993. The United...

Intelligence issues for Congress.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 18, 2007 Summary To address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and...

Africa command: U.S. strategic interests and the role of the U.S. military in Africa.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Updated December 7, 2007 Summary On February 6, 2007, the Bush Administration announced its intention to create a new unified combatant command, U.S. Africa Command or AFRICOM, to promote U.S. national security objectives in Africa and...

U.S. arms sales: agreements with and deliveries to major clients, 1999-2006.(CRS Report for Congress)(Table)(Report)
December 1, 2007... December 20, 2007 Summary This report provides background data on United States arms sales agreements with and deliveries to its major purchasers during calendar years 1999-2006. In a series of data tables, it lists the total dollar...

Obstruction of justice: an overview of some of the federal statutes that prohibit interference with judicial, executive, or legislative activities.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... December 27, 2007 Obstruction of Justice: An Overview of Some of the Federal Statutes that Prohibit Interference with Judicial, Executive, or Legislative Activities Summary Obstruction of justice is the impediment of governmental...

Obstruction of Congress: a brief overview of federal law relating to interference with Congressional activities.(CRS Report for Congress)(Report)
December 1, 2007... Summary Obstruction of justice is the impediment of governmental activities. There are a host of federal criminal laws that prohibit obstructions of justice. The six most general outlaw obstruction of judicial proceedings (18 U.S.C. 1503),...