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

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

Iraq: government formation and performance.
June 1, 2007... Summary Elections in 2005 produced a permanent constitution and a broad-based but Shiite-led government that has been unable to reduce Sunni popular resentment and might be fragmenting. U.S. officials are urging Iraqi leaders to complete...

Iran: U.S. concerns and policy responses.(Report)
June 1, 2007... Updated June 4, 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 perception...

Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB): quarantine and isolation.
June 1, 2007... Summary The recent international saga of a traveler with XDR-TB, a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, has placed a spotlight on existing mechanisms to contain contagious disease threats and raised numerous legal and public-health...

Post-war Iraq: foreign contributions to training, peacekeeping, and reconstruction.(Report)
June 1, 2007... Updated June 18, 2007 Summary Securing and maintaining foreign contributions to the reconstruction and stabilization of Iraq has been a major priority for U.S. policymakers since the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003....

Iraq: Post-Saddam governance and security.(Report)
June 1, 2007... Updated June 20, 2007 Summary Operation Iraqi Freedom overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime, but much of Iraq remains violent because of Sunni Arab resentment and a related insurgency, compounded by Sunni-Shiite violence that a January...

Regular vetoes and pocket vetoes: an overview.
June 1, 2007... Summary The veto power vested in the President by Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution has proven to be an effective tool for the chief executive in his dealings with Congress. Since the founding of the federal government in 1789, 36...

Turkey's 2007 elections: crisis of identity and power.
June 1, 2007... June 12, 2007 Summary The effort of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to elect one of its own to be president of the Republic provoked a crisis. The nominee, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, has roots in Turkey's...

Latin America and the Caribbean: fact sheet on leaders and elections.(Report)
June 1, 2007... This fact sheet tracks the current heads of government in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and provides the dates of the last and next election for head of government. It also provides the national independence date for...

FCC media ownership rules: current status and issues for Congress.(Federal Communications Commission)(Report)
June 1, 2007... Updated June 6, 2007 Summary On June 2, 2003, the Federal Communications Commission modified five of its media ownership rules, easing restrictions on the ownership of multiple television stations (nationally and in local markets)...

Point systems for immigrant selection: options and issues.
June 1, 2007... June 5, 2007 Summary Replacing or supplementing the current preference system for admitting legal permanent residents (LPRs) with a point system is garnering considerable interest for the first time in over a decade. Briefly, point...

Former presidents: federal expenditures for pensions, office allowances, and protection.(Former Presidents Act)
June 1, 2007... June 5, 2007 Summary Chief executives leaving office prior to 1958 entered retirement pursuing various occupations and received no federal assistance. Congressional enactment of the Former Presidents Act (FPA) in 1958 provided the...

"No confidence" votes and other forms of congressional censure of public officials.(Report)
June 1, 2007... June 11, 2007 Summary S.J.Res. 14 of the 110th Congress, submitted on May 24, 2007, has been described as proposing a vote of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. This report discusses the possible significance of...

National continuity policy: a brief overview.
June 1, 2007... Summary On May 9, 2007, President George W. Bush issued National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD) 51, which is also identified as Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 20, on National Continuity Policy. The directive...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' immigration fees and adjudication costs: the FY2008 adjustments and historical context.(Report)
June 1, 2007... June 12, 2007 Summary The charging of fees for government services or benefits has long been practice in the United States by the federal government. Such fees have usually been charged as a service cost recovery only to those...

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2008 appropriations.(Report)
June 1, 2007... Updated June 13, 2007 Summary The annual State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. international affairs budget and influences...

The use of profit by the five major oil companies.(ExxonMobil, BP America Inc., Shell, Chevron Corp., and ConcoPhillips)(Report)
June 1, 2007... June 19, 2007 Summary The price of crude oil began to increase in the last quarter of 2003, and has led to the high prices observed from 2004 through 2007. The Iraq War, unexpectedly high demand growth in China, India, and the...

Ozone air quality standards: EPA's proposed changes.(Environmental Protection Agency)
June 1, 2007... Summary EPA is expected to propose changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone on June 20, 2007. The proposal follows a multi-year review of the science regarding ozone's effects on public health and welfare. If the...

Foreign science and engineering presence in U.S. institutions and the labor force.
June 1, 2007... Updated June 21, 2007 Summary The increased presence of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs and in the scientific workforce has been and continues to be of concern to some in the scientific community....

Venezuela: political conditions and U.S. policy.
June 1, 2007... Updated June 8, 2007 Summary Under the populist rule of President Hugo Chavez, first elected in 1998 and most recently re-elected to a six-year term in December 2006, Venezuela has undergone enormous political changes, with a new...

Defense acquisition: overview, issues, and options for Congress.(Report)
June 1, 2007... Updated June 20, 2007 Summary Department of Defense (DOD) activities to provide military capabilities for the defense of the nation are usually controversial and always complex. Those activities are generally referred to as defense...

Long-range Ballistic missile defense in Europe.
June 1, 2007... June 22, 2007 Summary Successive U.S. administrations have urged the creation of an anti-missile system to protect against threats from rogue states. The Bush Administration believes that North Korea and Iran are strategic threats...