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

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

Terrorism: the new occupational hazard.
March 29, 2002... Summary Most of the direct victims of terrorism in the United States in recent years have been people at work. Employers, who have a legal responsibility to provide workplaces that are as free of "generally recognized hazards" as...

Africa: U.S. foreign assistance issues.
March 29, 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...

Defense budget for FY2003: data summary.
March 29, 2002... Summary This report is designed to be a readily accessible source of facts and figures on the FY2003 defense budget. Part I presents basic data on the national defense budget request, including figures on budget authority and outlays for...

Middle East: U.S. foreign assistance, FY2001, FY2002, and FY2003 request.
March 28, 2002... Summary The report describes some aspects of U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East and includes tables showing U.S. funding of the Wye agreement, and U.S. assistance to the Middle East and North Africa for FY2001, an estimated level...

The Enron collapse: an overview of financial issues.
March 28, 2002... Summary Only months before Enron Corp.'s bankruptcy filing in December 2001, the firm was widely regarded as one of the most innovative, fastest growing, and best managed businesses in the United States. With the swift collapse,...

Iraq-U.S. confrontation.
March 28, 2002... SUMMARY Efforts by Iraq to impede U.N. weapons inspections since late 1997 and to challenge the allied-imposed no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq have resulted in further confrontations with the United States and its allies. In...

Trade policymaking in the European Union: institutional framework.
March 27, 2002... Summary Trade policy in the EU is made in the context of legal provisions provided by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. As part of this treaty, an institutional framework for the making of trade policy--common commercial policy--was established....

A free trade area of the Americas: status of negotiations and major policy issues.
March 27, 2002... Summary At the second Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile (April 1998), 34 Western Hemisphere nations agreed to initiate formal negotiations to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by 2005. The negotiating groups...

U.S.-European Union trade relations: issues and policy challenges.
March 27, 2002... SUMMARY The United States and European Union (EU) share a huge and mutually beneficial economic partnership. Not only is the U.S.-EU trade and investment relationship the largest in the world, it is arguably the most important. Agreement...

Global climate change.
March 27, 2002... SUMMARY There is concern that human activities are affecting the heat/energy-exchange balance between Earth, the atmosphere, and space, and inducing global climate change, often termed "global warming." Human activities, particularly the...

Military tribunals: the Quirin precedent.
March 26, 2002... Summary On November 13, 2001, President George W. Bush issued a military order to provide for the detention, treatment, and trial of those who assisted the terrorist attacks on the two World Trade Center buildings in New York City and...

Terrorism, the future, and U.S. foreign policy.
March 26, 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...

Mexico-U.S. relations: issues for the 107th Congress.
March 26, 2002... SUMMARY The United States and Mexico have a special relationship under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which removes trade and investment barriers between the countries. The friendly relationship has been strengthened by...

HIV/AIDS international programs: FY2003 request and FY2002 spending.
March 25, 2002... Summary The Administration's FY2003 request for international HIV/AIDS spending would increase funding for the bilateral programs of the U.S. Agency for International Development but would hold constant spending by the Centers for...

Cuba: issues for the 107th Congress.
March 22, 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...

The Middle East peace talks.
March 21, 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...

Campaign financing.
March 21, 2002... SUMMARY Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. ...

South Korea-U.S. economic relations: cooperation, friction, and future prospects.
March 21, 2002... Summary Over the past decade, South Korea has emerged as a major economic partner for the United States. Korea is the U.S.'s seventh-largest trading partner--ahead of Western European countries such as France and Italy--and its...

Nuclear weapons: comprehensive test ban treaty.
March 20, 2002... SUMMARY A comprehensive test ban treaty, or CTBT, is the oldest item on the nuclear arms control agenda. Three treaties currently limit testing to underground only, with a maximum force equal to 150,000 tons of TNT. According to the...

Mexico-U.S. relations: issues for the 107th Congress.
March 20, 2002... SUMMARY The United States and Mexico have a special relationship under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which removes trade and investment barriers between the countries. The friendly relationship has been strengthened by...

Israeli-United States relations.
March 19, 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...

Egypt-United States relations.
March 19, 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...

Palestinians and Middle East peace: issues for the United States.
March 19, 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...

Sudan: humanitarian crisis, peace talks, terrorism, and U.S. policy.
March 19, 2002... SUMMARY Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa, has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for 4 decades. An estimated 2 million people have died over the past decade due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have...

The Enron collapse: an overview of financial issues.
March 19, 2002... Summary Only months before Enron Corp.'s bankruptcy filing in December 2001, the firm was widely regarded as one of the most innovative, fastest growing, and best managed businesses in the United States. With the swift collapse,...

Japan-U.S. cooperation on ballistic missile defense: issues and prospects.
March 19, 2002... Summary The issue of missile defense cooperation with Japan intersects with several issues of direct concern to Congress, ranging from support for developing a capability to protect U.S. regional forces, Asia-Pacific allies, and Taiwan,...

Cyprus: status of U.N. negotiations.
March 19, 2002... SUMMARY Cyprus has been divided since 1974. Greek Cypriots, nearly 80% of the population, live in the southern two thirds of the island. Turkish Cypriots live in the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (recognized only by Turkey), with...

Status of trade legislation in the 107th Congress.
March 18, 2002... Summary Congressional leaders and the Bush Administration have placed broad and often controversial international trade issues high on the legislative agenda during the 107th Congress. A free trade agreement with Jordan and a bilateral...

Trafficking in women and children: the U.S. and international response.
March 18, 2002... Summary The trafficking in people for prostitution and forced labor is one of the fastest growing areas of international criminal activity and one that is of increasing concern to the United States and the international community. The...

Drug control: international policy and options.
March 18, 2002... SUMMARY Efforts to reduce the flow of illicit drugs from abroad into the United States greatly have so far not succeeded. Moreover, over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and marijuana...

Libya.
March 15, 2002... SUMMARY The United Nations Security Council passed three resolutions that placed sanctions on Libya until Libya surrendered for trial two men suspected of bombing Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 and French flight UTA 772 in 1989. Libya...

Energy policy: setting the stage for the current debate.
March 15, 2002... SUMMARY The Bush Administration issued its plan for a national energy policy on May 16, 2001. The plan was controversial, characterized by some as leaner on conservation and renewables than Democratic proposals, and predisposed to trade...

Israel: U.S. foreign assistance.
March 15, 2002... SUMMARY Israel is not economically self-sufficient, and relies on foreign assistance and borrowing to maintain its economy. Since 1985, the United States has provided $3 billion in grants annually to Israel. Since 1976, Israel has been...

Soft and hard money in contemporary elections: what federal law does and does not regulate.
March 15, 2002... Summary Financial activity in federal elections is governed by federal statutes, which have evolved under the influence of various court rulings. The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971, as amended, imposes limitations and...

China-U.S. relations.
March 14, 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...

China-U.S. trade issues.
March 14, 2002... SUMMARY U.S.-China economic ties have expanded substantially over the past several years; total U.S.-China trade rose from $5 billion in 1980 to $122 billion in 2001; China is now the fourth-largest U.S. trading partner. Yet, U.S.-China...

Campaign finance: constitutional and legal issues of soft money.
March 14, 2002... SUMMARY Soft money is a major issue in the campaign finance reform debate because such funds are generally unregulated and perceived as resulting from a loophole in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). More specifically, soft money...

Agricultural trade issues in the 107th Congress.
March 13, 2002... SUMMARY 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...

Nuclear weapons in Russia: safety, security, and control issues.
March 13, 2002... SUMMARY When the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, it reportedly possessed more than 27,000 nuclear weapons, and these weapons were deployed on the territories of several of the former Soviet republics. All of the nuclear warheads...

Iran: current developments and U.S. policy.
March 12, 2002... SUMMARY More than two decades after the November 4, 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and even before Iran's tacit cooperation with post-September 11 U.S. efforts to defeat Afghanistan's Taliban regime, signs of moderation in...

NATO enlargement.
March 11, 2002... Summary This report provides a brief summary of the last round of NATO enlargement, then sketches recent events culminating in the alliance's June 2001 endorsement of the admission of at least one new member at the NATO summit in Prague...

The Enron bankruptcy and employer stock in retirement plans.
March 11, 2002... Summary On December 2, 2001 the Enron Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court in New York. Enron sponsors a retirement plan--a "401(k)"--for its employees to which they can contribute a portion of their...

Immigration legalization and status adjustment legislation.
March 11, 2002... Summary Although President George W. Bush has said he opposes broad legalization for unauthorized migrants, there were reports in the summer of 2001 that the President would recommend legislation to legalize an estimated 3 million...

President Bush's 2002 state visits in Asia: implications.
March 11, 2002... Summary In late February 2002, President George W. Bush made his second visit to Asia in four months, stopping in Japan, South Korea, and the People's Republic of China. Although the fight against global terrorism was clearly at the top...

Pakistan-U.S. relations.
March 10, 2002... SUMMARY The major areas of U.S. concern in Pakistan include: nuclear nonproliferation; counterterrorism; regional stability; democratization and human rights; and economic reform and development. An ongoing Pakistan-India nuclear arms...

India-U.S. relations.
March 8, 2002... SUMMARY Although the end of the Cold War freed U.S.-India relations from the constraints of a bipolar world, bilateral relations continued for a decade to be affected by the burden of history, most notably the longstanding India-Pakistan...

AIDS in Africa.
March 8, 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 28.1 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus in the region, which has about 10%...

Japan-U.S. relations: issues for the 107th Congress.
March 7, 2002... SUMMARY The United States has long worked closely with Japan to build a strong, multifaceted relationship based on shared democratic values and mutual interest in Asian and global stability and development. The desire of the George W....

Weapons of mass destruction: the terrorist threat.
March 7, 2002... Summary The continuing possibility of terrorist attacks using nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons is an ongoing concern in the national security policy arena in the face of a clear trend among terrorists to inflict greater numbers...

Syria: U.S. relations and bilateral issues.
March 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...

Saudi Arabia: current issues and U.S. relations.
March 6, 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...

Latin America and the Caribbean: legislative issues in 2001-2002.
March 6, 2002... Summary This report provides an overview of the major legislative issues facing Congress in 2001 and 2002 relating to the Latin American and Caribbean region, and provides reference and linkages to other reports covering the issues in...

Russia.
March 6, 2002... SUMMARY Vladimir Putin, who was catapulted into the Kremlin following Boris Yeltsin's resignation, was elected President on March 26, 2000 by a solid majority that embraced his military campaign in Chechnya. Parties backing Putin did...

Trade retaliation: the "carousel" approach.
March 5, 2002... Summary Section 407 of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-200) requires the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to periodically revise the list of products subject to retaliation when another country fails to implement a World...

Trade and the Americas.
March 5, 2002... SUMMARY The Summit of the Americas, held in December 1994, led to ongoing congressional interest in three inter-related trade policy issues. The first involves an invitation extended to Chile to join NAFTA. The second focuses on...

North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
March 5, 2002... SUMMARY North Korea's nuclear weapons program became an immediate foreign policy issue facing the United States because of North Korea's refusal to carry out its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and other...

Korea: U.S.-South Korean relations--issues for Congress.
March 5, 2002... SUMMARY The United States maintains a strong, multifaceted alliance relationship with South Korea that has for decades served vital interests of both sides. Against the background of continuing difficulties in dealing with North Korea...

U.S.-European Union trade relations: issues and policy challenges.
March 4, 2002... SUMMARY The United States and European Union (EU) share a huge and mutually beneficial economic partnership. Not only is the U.S.-EU trade and investment relationship the largest in the world, it is arguably the most important. Agreement...