Temporary Extension of Unemployment Benefits: Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08)

THE REPORT: Temporary Extension of Unemployment Benefits: Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08)

LOCATION: RS22915

What do you learn? On December 26, 2009 The Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (EUC08) is set to expire. Eight times in our country's history ranging from the late 1950's to 2002 has the United States extended such benefits to unemployed individuals. The Current benefit is augmented by the stimulus bill giving each recipient an additional $25. The Congressional Research Service gives the reader a breakdown of the various levels of unemployment benefits and availbilty of the program is disseminated through various unemployment offices. The program is currently financed with general funds from the US Treasury

Tier 1: The benefits have basically a ceiling of only 20 weeks. Tier 2 provides an additional 14 weeks of benefits. Tier 3 though is a bit different only if you have worked in a state with an unemployment rate of 6% of higher are you eligible for an additional 13 weeks of benefits. Tier 4 continues the state unemployment rate meme that you have to have worked in a state with an unemployment rate of 8% or higher with a maximium of 53 weeks of benefits. CRS notes that there are very few recipients of Tier 4 benefits.

Currently, 111th Congress late in the session several bits of legislation are relevant. H.R. 291 introduced by Rep. McDermott would extend an additional $50 in the EUC08 program through the end of 2009. However, the real substance of the program will be determined basically by the consideration of H.R. 3458 which is moving through both the house and the Senate. The House verision taxes an employee $14 and requires an employers to report that to the National Directory of New Hires. The House creates a Tier 3 plan while the Senate version creates a Tier 4 plan. The President did ultimately sign HR 3458 in to law on November 6, 2009

The National Intelligence Council: Issues and Options for Congress

The Report: The National Intelligence Council: Issues and Options for Congress

Location: R40505

What do you learn:
Ever wonder how the National Intelligence Estimate is made? It is made at request of Congress, civilian and military policy makers from the National Intelligence Council (NIC) are 15 National Intelligence Officers (NIO's) that fall under geographic and policy areas and they serve at the pleasure of the Director of National Intelligence and by law they can be inside of another agency connected with the Intelligence community. The NIO are individuals who generally come from academia, foreign service, and retired military. They are not to provide public relations for the intelligence community but they can deliver policy addresses at Associations involved in foreign affairs .

The goal of forming the fore-runner of today's NIC (the Board of National Estimates within the CIA) was to avoid another Pearl Harbor. They published about 1500 NIE's but they missed the factors leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Later in the Clinton years the NIE was politicized to note the affects of Environmental Change on Security Policy and 9-11 was also missed by the board.

So what can Congress do? The report believes that Congress benefits from hearing from the council whether in closed or open session. The question has been raised should the NIO's be Senate confirmed? Critics worry that by doing that Congress would be making what should be non-partisan analysts very political in their judgment but it would provide valuable congressional oversight in the process. However, the report concludes by saying "all intelligence is an intellectual activity that inevitably carries with it some degree of uncertainty."

The Global Economic Downturn

The Report : The Global Economic Downturn and Protectionism

Location: R40461

What do you learn:
With the world economies projected to contract by 1.3% this year the first such decline noted in the last half century concerns are being raised that trade policy may turn to a protectionistic tone. Economists note we could be heading in to a cycle in which trade disputes cause policymakers to adopt such things as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (which is still on the book) which raised tariffs to 60% rather than the 10% today. The Report analyzes are we in a similar situation today simpatico with the Great Depression and World War I. There are three three senerios that the report lays out. 1) low impact in which trade rules are followed 2) medium impact whereas subsidies from industries like the financial sector and the auto sector debilitate the global trading system. 3) high impact because of large trade imbalances between nations such as China and the US would our stimulus spending or other nation's stimulus spending cause "free-rider" resentment.

The low impact school which is the first school reviewed in the report believes that it is completely overstated that the world is going protectionistic. They note that the WTO with its 153 members sets policies unlike those in the 1930's for a world that has many more multinational corporations. The report pans the Gold standard and notes that the WTO records that there has been no increase in the number of Anti-dumping investigations. The "Low-Impacters" also note the "Buy American" provisions of the stimulus bill has had only a limited impact on the global trade system

The Medium impact school believes that the subsides and stimuluses of sectors like the financial and auto sectors will cause nations to forget their multi-national agreements weaken the global trade. The report notes, thus far during this downturn, $48 Billion world wide and $17.4 billion in the United States has been given to the auto sector. Also they give the example that, 68% of the Royal bank of Scotland is owned by the government of the United kingdom. More broadly trillions of dollars have been given by 26 countries to stimulate their economies from potential collapse. However, the report believes that cases are unlikely to be brought before the WTO because of the multi-national ownership of car firms. The financial sector rescue does not violate multi-national agreements and it could weaken the rules but yet it has been the genesis of much global cooperation to deal with the crisis.

The High Impact school ascribes that since there are countries that are saving more than those that aren't there is an imbalance of current account surpluses which the report notes at about $2 Trillion dollars, the problem can be remedied by declines in consumption or investment to reset trade. For the 5% that the US economy is going to decline, China will have to consume 17% more in GDP to make the system much more harmonious.

So what can Congress do? The Report recommends that A) Congress coordinate Stimulus programs with other governments and Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner has done so by recommending each G20 country to spend 2% of GDP on stimulus with the IMF playing a watch dog role if each country has followed that goal. B) That Trade Barriers need to have far more public scrutiny and that under previous crisises the tariffs lasted for decades because no one knew about them C) How we manage Trade through the WTO could provide a backstop from constituent pressure for tariffs and that dropping trade barriers may be the answer to the current crisis.

Ballast Water Management to combat invasive species

The Report: Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species

Location: RL32344

What do you learn:
With the world's cargo ships traveling faster and much more efficiently species foreign species of plants and animals are being introduced into the ecosystem of the United States around such ports as the Great Lakes and San Francisco Bay. With introduction of Zebra Muscles in the 1980's and 230 non-native species Congress decided to act to stop the contamination from the Ballast Water.

There are several ways that you can achieve Ballast Water Management (BWM) in cargo ships. The most popular way to do it a ship operator can release the water in lower-salinity coastal water in open ocean water with a higher salinity level that will kill the organisms. That method does work but however, some organisms survive the higher level salinity levels in un-pumpable residual water and sediment remaining in the tanks as this process occurs. The second approach to BWM is treatment, which is being researched, such as filtration, separation, sterilization by things like ultraviolet light and ultrasound. The third method to accomplish this is by the "no-ballast-on-board" (NOBOB) situation. The ship in this method carries no ballast water but still large numbers of organisms can remain in the tanks.

Policy makers have wrestled with the fact the procedures will cost $400,000 per vessel vs. the $5 billion dollars in damage these species have done to the Great Lakes. Congress Passed in 1990 the Non indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990. It sets fourth a task force of several different agencies to find out where Ballast exchange could occur without environmental consequences and determine what regulations are needed other than the great lakes. In 1996, Congress then passed the National Invasive Species Act (NISA) which directs ships to account for their ballast water outside of the US economic zone which was not enforced mandatorily on a ship by ship basis. Currently according to the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse only 30.4% vessels are filling reports as they enter the US Exclusive Economic Zone. Critics point out the Act has failed to stop Invasive Organisms going into the Great lakes where the regulations are enforced the most over the longest time.

United States Fire Adminstration: An Overview

The Report: United States Fire Administration: An Overview

Location: RS20071

What you learn:
The United States Fire Administration under last years budget will received $44.979 million dollars under the United States Fire Administration Authorization Act of 2008 H.R. 4847 and S.2606 This year's request is an increase of 1.3% to $45.588 million under H.R. 2892 Its primary mission help reduce life and property losses from fires. Even though there have been many successes our nation still has one of the highest fatality rates from residential fires. 3,320 civilian deaths and 16,705 injuries were attributable to fire in 2008 along with 114 firefighter deaths.

The Fire Administration has several major agency responsibilities: Data Collection, Training, Public Education and Awareness, Research and Technology. The big issues in the 111Th congress is the Fire Administration receiving adequate appropriations to do carry out its responsibilities. The Fire Service personnel are very worried about being obscured by the larger issues DHS such as terrorism they also have advocated the abolishment of the Presidential-Appointed Fire administrator. The Fire Service also opposes the detachment of FEMA from DHS to an independent agency. The Adminstrator of the Fire Service currently remains as an Assistant Secretary position

Financial Regulatory Reform: Analysis of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) as proposed by the Obama Adminstration and H.R. 3126

The Report: Financial Regulatory Reform: Analysis of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) as proposed by the Obama Adminstration and H.R. 3126


Location: R40696


What do you learn:
The Obama Administration and their allies in Congress are developing a plan comparable to the United Kingdom's Financial Services Authority to consolidate many financial regulatory agencies and responsibilities. The President has drafted his white paper for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) and Rep. Barney Frank has his in H.R. 3126 Their five goals of their plan are the following 1. "Promote robust supervision and regulation of financial firms" 2. "Establish comprehensive supervision and regulation of financial markets" 3. "Protect consumers and investors from financial abuse" 4 "Improve tools for managing crises" and 5. "Raise international regulatory standards and improve international cooperation"

The CFPA would be run by a board of four people with staggered terms that would have regulatory authority over all sorts of financial products such as mortgages, credit cards but not securities and commodities. The CFPA would be charged with the enforcer of many current financial regulations such as the American Mortgage Transaction Parity Act, The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), Consumer Leasing Act, the Electronic funds transfer Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, The Fair Credit Billing Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Gramm-Leach-Billey Act, The Truth in Lending Act and several other regulations. The Act however, would not supersede existing state consumer protection laws. It does not outright impose new rules but does through a regulatory proceedure with a public comment period for each rule change.

Rep. Frank however in his H.R. 3126 does not relinquish the CRA authority in his bill to the CFPA. The Bill there is no plan in the foreeable future for the thrift chart. You learn that the President manipulates those sorts of things in to state and national banks.

The Report then raises the point is CFPA a major improvement for the American consumer? Is it redundant? What does it do for the ability of American Capitalists to be financially innovative? And the fact the SEC and CFTC are left out the regulations.

Social Networking and Constituent Communication: Member Use of Twitter during a two-week period in the 111th Congress

The Report: Social Networking and Constituent Communication: Member Use of Twitter During a Two-Week Period in the 111th Congress



Location: R40823





What do you learn:
Obviously the most interesting CRS report this week. You had to know that when Twitter ,which is one of the world biggest social networking sites, was used by United States Senator Chuck Grassley to get a point across to President Barrack Obama that Twitter is now part of our political media food chain. Since 1995 the way members communicate with politicians has changed from "snail mail" to last year where 200 million emails were sent to Capitol Hill Offices. In the same time period, the amount of regular letters has dropped 50%

The study looked at a two week period and 1,187 congressional tweets averaging about 85 member tweets per day. One period of time that congress was in session (July 26- August 1) and one that it was not. (August 9- August 16) Of the 158 members of the Senate and House Registered on twitter there were about equal registration rates between each chamber 29% of all House members and 31% of all senators. Of that Republicans dominated both survey populations in the number of "Tweeters" (64% GOP to 36% DEM) and "Tweets" (74% of all tweets in session were sent by House Republicans) This was all despite being in the minority of each chamber.

The members are apparently being followed on their Twitter accounts members have total 1,733,065 followers and the average represenatative had 1,617 followers, but of those 1,187 tweets that were followed in the study only 17 (1.4%) were direct responses to other tweets.

The bizzare fact:
Restauant Associates the house dining vendor tweeted the following

It's Panini Week in the Cannon Cafe! Today's featured panini
is Chicken Parmesan. Buy a Panini and get a free 16oz drink all
week.

One had no idea the Cannon Cafe ever had specials.

The Data Dump week #1

OK the list of reports are out for this week and here they are according to OpenCRS

R40823: Social Networking and Constituent Communication: Member Use of Twitter During a Two-Week Period in the 111th Congress (09/21/2009)
RL30629: Older Workers: Employment and Retirement Trends (09/16/2009)
R40809: Climate Change: Costs and Benefits of the Cap-and-Trade Provisions of H.R. 2454 (09/14/2009)
R40696: Financial Regulatory Reform: Analysis of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) as Proposed by the Obama Administration and H.R. 3126 (09/09/2009)
R40801: Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2010 Appropriations (09/04/2009)
97-522: Azerbaijan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests (09/04/2009)
RL31673: Air Force F-22 Fighter Program: Background and Issues for Congress (09/04/2009)
R40796: Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2001-2008 (09/04/2009)
R40782: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell:" The Law and Military Policy on Same-Sex Behavior (09/04/2009)
98-840: U.S.-Latin America Trade: Recent Trends and Policy Issues (09/03/2009)
R40695: Chemical Facility Security: Reauthorization, Policy Issues, and Options for Congress (09/03/2009)
RS21049: Latin America: Terrorism Issues (09/02/2009)
RL33003: Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations (09/02/2009)
RL32344: Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species (09/02/2009)
R40795: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Legal Analysis (09/02/2009)
R40505: The National Intelligence Council: Issues and Options for Congress (09/02/2009)
RS22079: The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq (09/01/2009)
RS20071: United States Fire Administration: An Overview (09/01/2009)
R40560: The 2009 Influenza Pandemic: Selected Legal Issues (09/01/2009)
RL31339: Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security (08/31/2009)
R40517: Health Care Reform: An Introduction (08/31/2009)
RS21922: Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance (08/28/2009)
RL33375: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response: The SAFER Grant Program (08/28/2009)
RL32341: Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding (08/28/2009)
RL33705: Oil Spills in U.S. Coastal Waters: Background, Governance, and Issues for Congress (08/27/2009)
R40479: Bosnia: Current Issues and U.S. Policy (08/27/2009)
RL33655: Interrogation of Detainees: Requirements of the Detainee Treatment Act (08/26/2009)
R40240: Intelligence Authorization Legislation: Status and Challenges (08/26/2009)
R40461: The Global Economic Downturn and Protectionism (08/26/2009)
R40599: Identity Theft: Trends and Issues (08/26/2009)
R40773: Treatment of Noncitizens in H.R. 3200 (08/26/2009)
RS22601: Serbia: Current Issues and U.S. Policy (08/25/2009)
RS21855: Greece Update (08/25/2009)
RL33627: NATO in Afghanistan: A Test of the Transatlantic
RS22757: U.S. Arms Sales to Pakistan (08/24/2009)

Which ones of these reports should we go through this week? Of course, just at first glance the report on members of Congress and their use of Twitter has to be the most important issue facing our republic right now. Seriously though, my guess though that most congressional staffers (if they aren't working on health care) will be pouring through cost benefits of Cap and Trade HR. 2454 and FSGG general appropriations H.R. 3170 Let me know what you think should be covered in the comments section. This is going to be a fun project with absolutely no shortage of material.

Now as I said last week, CRS reports are written so as to impartial and not politicized. Well yesterday Barney Frank and John Conyers went public just such a request about ACORN

Two key House committee chairmen are
now requesting the Congressional Research Service investigate ACORN, the
community organization that has commanded headlines in recent weeks.
In a
letter on Tuesday to CRS Director Daniel P. Mullhollan, House Financial Services
Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman John
Conyers (D-Mich.) also ask the nonpartisan research group to probe whether
recent House and Senate action to cut funding to the group qualifies as an
unconstitutional "bill of attainder."
"Because of the recent charges and
countercharges that have been leveled at ACORN and various proposals for action,
we believe it is important that CRS conduct a careful and objective analysis of
a number of issues concerning ACORN," the two lawmakers wrote.

We'll have to see how that comes out, but the thing is CRS has no power to suboena as far as I know, but rather just to research. In the meantime, my thanks to Brock Meeks and Josh Ruihley at the Center for Democracy and Technology for letting me know about reports. I welcome your comments.

What this blog will be about

Library of Congress Jefferson Building Headquarters for the Congressional Research Service

Hi! I am Randy Foreman, a native of Waterloo Iowa and now a decade-long naturalized Washingtonian. I spent seven years on Capitol Hill working for various offices. So I have a feel for the Hill. One of the things I found in my time there was the Congressional Research Service's Reports. Almost daily, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) Comes up with new reports on legislative issues pending before members and their staffs. The reports that CRS are supposed are written mainly for members and only released when a member's office releases them. There are good reasons for this since the researchers that write these reports do want to keep them confidential and impartial. So as not having to worry about what the general public thinks about them. The Center for Democracy and Technology has embarked on a project to make those reports public through their OpenCRS website.

My plan with this blog is to do something that no one else in Washington is doing and that look at what the newest reports (as listed on the OpenCRS Twitter site coming out from CRS are and blog about them. CRS comes up with some amazing subject material. Everything from how a Post Office is named to the breakdown of the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill for the coming year. So we are going to have no shortage of material. I do not claim to be the strongest writer and what I post here hopefully will wet your appetite to read the report further. I look forward to reading your comments and hopefully together we all Republicans, Democrats and Independents will understand our Government much better.