Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs articles from October 2006

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs archives from October 2006

Iran: U.S. concerns and policy responses.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 4, 2006 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...

Iraq: elections, government, and constitution.
October 1, 2006... Summary Elections in 2005 for a transition government (January 30, 2005), a permanent constitution (October 15), and a permanent (four year) government (December 15) were concluded despite insurgent violence, progressively attracting...

Nuclear power plants: vulnerability to terrorist attack.
October 1, 2006... Summary Protection of nuclear power plants from land-based assaults, deliberate aircraft crashes, and other terrorist acts has been a heightened national priority since the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission...

Energy: selected facts and numbers.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 6, 2006 Summary Energy supplies and prices are a major economic factor in the United States, and energy markets are volatile and unpredictable. For both these reasons, energy policy is of frequent interest to...

Iraq: post-Saddam governance and security.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 18, 2006 Summary Operation Iraqi Freedom overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime, but Iraq remains unstable because of Sunni Arab resentment and a related insurgency, compounded by Sunni-Shiite violence that some believe is...

Agricultural issues in the 109th Congress.
October 1, 2006... Summary A number of issues affecting U.S. agriculture have been or are being addressed by the 109th Congress. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171), enacted in February 2006, included a net reduction in spending on U.S....

The economics of the federal budget deficit.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 6, 2006 Summary The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the federal budget deficit for FY2006 was $250 billion, a decline from the $318 billion deficit recorded in FY2005. The CBO baseline deficit...

Nuclear weapons: comprehensive test ban treaty.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 11, 2006 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...

China and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missiles: policy issues.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 2, 2006 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...

Purpose and scope.(China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Congress has long been concerned about whether U.S. policy advances the U.S. interest in reducing the role of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles and obtaining China's...

PRC proliferation challenges.(China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues)(People's Republic of China)
October 1, 2006... Nonproliferation Commitments but Continued Concerns Since 1991, Beijing has taken steps to address U.S. and other countries' concerns by increasing its partial participation in international nonproliferation regimes and issuing export...

Policy issues and options.(China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues)
October 1, 2006... Issues for Policy Weapons proliferation by the PRC and/or its organizations raises policy issues concerning: (1) assessments of the nature and seriousness of the PRC government's role in the proliferation threat; (2) the priority of this...

China's currency: economic issues and options for U.S. trade policy.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 2, 2006 Summary The continued rise in the U.S.-China trade imbalance and complaints from U.S. manufacturing firms and workers over the competitive challenges posed by Chinese imports have led several Members to call...

Globalizing cooperative threat reduction: a survey of options.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 5, 2006 Summary Increasingly, Congress and the Bush Administration are looking to utilize nonproliferation assistance programs, including cooperative threat reduction, to help reduce the risk of terrorist access to...

The Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA).
October 1, 2006... Summary No firms have been sanctioned under the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), and it has terminated with respect to Libya. Renewed in August 2001 for another five years (P.L. 107-24), ILSA was scheduled to expire in August 2006. In...

Taiwan-U.S. political relations: new strains and changes.
October 1, 2006... October 10, 2006 Summary The status of Taiwan is a key issue for U.S. foreign policy and a critical point of contention in U.S. relations with China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan. The U.S. policy framework for Taiwan was laid...

North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 5, 2006 Summary North Korea's decisions at the end of 2002 to restart nuclear installations at Yongbyon that were shut down under the U.S.-North Korean Agreed Framework of 1994 and to withdraw from the Nuclear...

Immigration consequences of criminal activity.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 23, 2006 Summary Congress has broad plenary authority to determine classes of aliens who may be admitted into the United States and the grounds for which they may be removed. Pursuant to the Immigration and...

U.S.-Oman free trade agreement.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 10, 2006 Summary In aiming to fight terrorism with trade, the United States negotiated and the President signed on January 19, 2006, the U.S.'s fifth bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in the proposed 20-entity...

Argentina: political and economic conditions and U.S. relations.
October 1, 2006... Summary Argentina's restructuring of over $100 billion in defaulted bond debt in June 2005 demonstrated the country's emergence from its 2001-2002 economic crisis that had caused severe stress on the political system. Current President...

Federal research and development funding: FY2007.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 10, 2006 Summary The Bush Administration requested $137.2 billion in federal research and development (R&D) funding for FY2007. This sum represents a 2.6% increase over the estimated $133.7 billion that was approved...

The War Crimes Act: current issues.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 2, 2006 Summary The War Crimes Act of 1996, as amended, makes it a criminal offense to commit certain violations of the laws of war when such offenses are committed by or against U.S. nationals or Armed Service...

Taiwan: recent developments and U.S. policy choices.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 9, 2006 Summary Early in its tenure, the George W. Bush Administration seemed to abandon the long-standing U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan in favor of "strategic clarity" that placed more emphasis on...

Trade promotion authority and fast-track negotiating authority for trade agreements: major votes.
October 1, 2006... Summary This report profiles significant legislation from 1974 to the present that authorizes the use of presidential Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), previously known as fast-track trade negotiating authority. It identifies significant...

Pakistan-U.S. relations.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 26, 2006 Summary A stable, democratic, economically thriving Pakistan is considered vital to U.S. interests. U.S. concerns regarding Pakistan include regional terrorism; Pakistan-Afghanistan relations; weapons...

Pakistan: chronology of recent events.(Table)
October 1, 2006... Summary This report provides a chronology of recent events involving Pakistan and Pakistan- U.S. relations. Sources include, but are not limited to, major newswires, the U.S. Department of State, and Pakistani news outlets. For a...

India: chronology of recent events.(Table)
October 1, 2006... Summary This report provides a reverse chronology of recent events involving India and India-U.S. relations. Sources include, but are not limited to, major newswires, the U.S. Department of State, and Indian news outlets. For a...

Fuel ethanol: background and public policy issues.(Table)
October 1, 2006... Updated October 19, 2006 Summary Ethanol plays a key role in policy discussions about energy, agriculture, taxes, and the environment. In the United States it is mostly made from corn; in other countries it is often made from cane...

Homeland security: coast guard operations--background and issues for Congress.(Agency overview)
October 1, 2006... Summary The Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for maritime homeland security. For FY2007, the Coast Guard is requesting a total of about $4.5 billion for missions defined in The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) as the...

European union enlargement.(National organization overview)
October 1, 2006... Summary The EU views the enlargement process as a historic opportunity to promote stability and prosperity in Europe. On May 1, 2004, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia...

International food aid: U.S. and other donor contributions.
October 1, 2006... Summary The United States is the world's major provider of international food aid to low-income developing countries. This report provides three indicators of the U.S. contribution to global food aid: (1) shipments of major donors...

U.S. assistance to North Korea: fact sheet.
October 1, 2006... Summary This report summarizes U.S. aid to the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea). It will be updated periodically to track changes in U.S. provision of aid to North Korea. A more extended...

Debt-for-nature initiatives and the Tropical Forest Conservation Act: status and implementation.
October 1, 2006... Summary In the late 1980s, extensive foreign debt and degraded natural resources in developing nations led to the creation of debt-for-nature initiatives that reduced debt obligations, allowed for debt repayments in local currency as...

Peru trade promotion agreement: labor issues.
October 1, 2006... Summary On April 12, 2006, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and Peruvian Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Alfredo Ferrero Diez Canseco signed the proposed U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA). The labor provisions are...

Potential challenges to U.S. farm subsidies in the WTO: a brief overview.
October 1, 2006... Summary Expiration of the WTO's so-called Peace Clause on January 1, 2004, appears to have made U.S. export and domestic support programs more vulnerable to legal challenge under WTO rules. This report examines U.S. commodity subsidy...

The proposed U.S.-Malaysia free trade agreement.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 16, 2006 Summary This report addresses the proposed U.S.-Malaysia free trade agreement (FTA). It provides a brief overview of the Malaysian economy, a review of U.S. interests in the proposed agreement, an examination...

Foreign students in the United States: policies and legislation.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 11, 2006 Summary Five years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by foreign nationals--including several terrorists on students visas--the security concerns over foreign student visas are being supplanted...

Border security: barriers along the U.S. international border.
October 1, 2006... Summary Congress has been considering expanding the barriers currently deployed along the U.S. international land border. Currently, the United States Border Patrol (USBP) deploys fencing, which aims to impede the illegal entry of...

Current economic conditions and selected forecasts.
October 1, 2006... Summary U.S. real GDP growth has been positive for 18 consecutive quarters, and the economy is considered to be in an "expansion" phase. As of the second quarter 2006, real or inflation-adjusted growth was nearly 16% above its previous...

Interrogation of detainees: overview of the McCain amendment.(John McCain)
October 1, 2006... Summary Controversy has arisen regarding U.S. treatment of enemy combatants and terrorist suspects detained in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, and whether such treatment complies with U.S. statutes and treaties such as the U.N....

Jordan: U.S. relations and bilateral issues.
October 1, 2006... Summary This report provides an overview of Jordanian politics and current issues in U.S.-Jordanian relations. It provides a brief overview of Jordan's government and economy and of its cooperation in promoting Arab-Israeli peace and...

Monetary policy: current policy and conditions.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 25, 2006 Summary Monetary policy can be defined broadly as any policy relating to the supply of money. Since the main agency concerned with the supply of money is the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve,...

U.S.-EU cooperation against terrorism.
October 1, 2006... Summary The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks gave new momentum to European Union (EU) initiatives to improve law enforcement cooperation against terrorism both among its 25 member states and with the United States. Washington has...

U.S. embassy in Iraq.
October 1, 2006... Summary The Bush Administration is in the process of building new embassy facilities in Baghdad. An emergency supplemental appropriation (H.R. 1268/P.L. 109-13), which included $592 million for embassy construction, was signed into law...

North Korean ballistic missile threat to the United States.
October 1, 2006... Summary This report updates recent information concerning, specifically, North Korea's long-range ballistic missile program. On July 4-5, 2006, North Korea test-launched seven ballistic missiles, including a new Taepo Dong 2 that failed...

North Korea's nuclear weapons: latest developments.
October 1, 2006... Summary On October 9, 2006, North Korea conducted a nuclear test, with a yield of under 1 kiloton (vice the anticipated 4-kiloton yield). The United States and other countries condemned the test and the U.N. Security Council passed...

Japan-U.S. relations: issues for Congress.
October 1, 2006... Summary The post-World War II U.S.-Japan alliance has long been an anchor of the U.S. security role in East Asia. The alliance, with its access to bases in Japan, where about 53,000 U.S. troops are stationed, facilitates the forward...

United States-Canada trade and economic relationship: prospects and challenges.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 13, 2006 Summary The United States and Canada conduct the world's largest bilateral trade relationship, with total merchandise trade (exports and imports) exceeding $499.3 billion in 2005. The U.S.-Canadian...

Vietnam PNTR status and WTO accession: issues and implications for the United States.(normal trade relations)
October 1, 2006... Updated October 24, 2006 Summary On May 31, 2006, U.S. and Vietnamese negotiators signed a bilateral agreement on the conditions for Vietnam's accession (entry) into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The agreement is just one in a...

Caribbean region: issues in U.S. relations.
October 1, 2006... Updated October 27, 2006 Summary With some 34 million people and 16 independent nations sharing an African ethnic heritage, the Caribbean is a diverse region that includes some of the hemisphere's richest and poorest nations. The...

Russian political, economic, and security issues and U.S. interests.
October 1, 2006... Summary Vladimir Putin won reelection as President in March 2004, in an exercise in "managed democracy" in which he took 71% of the vote and faced no serious competition. The pro-Putin Unified Russia party similarly swept the...

Conventional arms transfers to developing nations, 1998-2005.
October 1, 2006... Summary This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar...

Introduction and overview.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005)
October 1, 2006... This report provides the Congress with official, unclassified background data from U.S. government sources on transfers of conventional arms to developing nations by major suppliers for the period 1998 through 2005. It also includes some data...

Major findings.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005)
October 1, 2006... General Trends in Arms Transfers Worldwide The value of all arms transfer agreements worldwide (to both developed and developing nations) in 2005 was nearly $44.2 billion. This is a notable increase in arms agreements values over 2004,...

Summary of data trends, 1998-2005.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005)
October 1, 2006... Tables 1 through 1J (pages 47-57) present data on arms transfer agreements with developing nations by major suppliers from 1998-2005. These data show the most recent trends in arms contract activity by major suppliers. Delivery data, which...

Total developing nations arms transfer agreement values.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005)
October 1, 2006... Table 1 shows the annual current dollar values of arms transfer agreements with developing nations. Since these figures do not allow for the effects of inflation, they are, by themselves, of somewhat limited use. They provide, however, the...

Regional arms transfer agreements, 1998-2005.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005)
October 1, 2006... Table 1C gives the values of arms transfer agreements between suppliers and individual regions of the developing world for the periods 1998-2001 and 2002-2005. These values are expressed in current U.S. dollars. (12) Table 1D, derived from...

Selected weapons deliveries to developing nations, 1998-2005.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005)
October 1, 2006... Other useful data for assessing arms transfers are those that indicate who has actually delivered specific numbers of specific classes of military items to a region. These data are relatively "hard" in that they reflect actual transfers of...

Worldwide arms transfer agreements and deliveries values, 1998-2005.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005)
October 1, 2006... Ten tables follow. Tables 8, 8A, and 8B and tables 9, 9A and 9B, provide the total dollar values for arms transfer agreements and arms deliveries worldwide for the years 1998-2005 in the same format and detail as do tables 1, 1A and 1B and...

Description of items counted in weapons categories, 1998-2005.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Tanks and Self-propelled Guns: This category includes light, medium, and heavy tanks; self-propelled artillery; self-propelled assault guns. Artillery: This category includes field and air defense artillery, mortars, rocket launchers and...

Regions identified in arms transfer tables and charts.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005)(Table)
October 1, 2006... ASIA Afghanistan Australia Bangladesh Brunei Burma (Myanmar) China Fiji India Indonesia Japan Cambodia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Malaysia Nepal New Zealand North Korea Pakistan Papua New Guinea Philippines Pitcairn Singapore South Korea...

North Korea's nuclear test: motivations, implications, and U.S. options.
October 1, 2006... Summary On October 9, 2006, North Korea announced it conducted a nuclear test. After several days of evaluation, U.S. authorities confirmed that the underground explosion was nuclear, but that the test produced a low yield of less than...

International small arms and light weapons transfers: U.S. policy.
October 1, 2006... Summary This report provides general background on U.S. policy regarding the international trade in small arms and light weapons (SA/LW). It outlines major questions associated with the international trade in these items, and reviews...

Journalists' privilege: overview of the law and 109th Congress legislation.
October 1, 2006... Summary Journalists, the Supreme Court has written, claim "that to gather news it is often necessary to agree either not to identify the source of information published or to publish only part of the facts revealed, or both; that if the...