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Ghana: Background and U.S. Relations [July 8, 2009]
"This report provides information on current developments in Ghana and Ghana's relations with the United States, which are close. It describes the purpose of President Barack Obama's forthcoming trip to Ghana, which will focus on issues of good governance and socio-economic and political development, and characterizes the current state of play in bilateral relations. It also summarizes the policy agenda of Ghana's president, John Atta Mills, who won office by a narrow margin in elections in late 2008. The dynamics of that election are described in the report, as are recent policy-centered developments, economic challenges and performance, and socio-economic prospects. Ghana's international relations and bilateral development cooperation with the United States are also covered in the report."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Cook, Nicolas
2009-07-08
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Ghana: Background and U.S. Relations [February 14, 2008]
"This short report, which will be updated as events warrant, provides background information on current developments in Ghana and U.S. bilateral relations with Ghana."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Cook, Nicolas
2008-02-14
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Generalized System of Preferences [March 30, 2006]
"The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) extends duty-free treatment to certain products that are imported from designated developing countries. The primary purpose of the program, which the United States and other industrial countries initiated in the 1970s, is to promote economic growth and development in these countries by stimulating their exports. The program was last reauthorized until December 31, 2006, by section 410 of the Trade Act of 2002 (P.L. [Public Law] 107-210). The second session of the 109th Congress may consider legislation to reauthorize the program before it expires. U.S. companies and consumers who use products that benefit from duty-free treatment are strong supporters of legislation to reauthorize GSP. They argue that GSP reduces costs of production for companies that import components and parts under the program and lowers the prices that consumers pay. The program is also supported by observers who think that GSP is an effective, low-cost means of providing economic help to developing countries. They maintain that encouraging trade by private companies stimulates economic development more effectively than intergovernmental aid and other means of assistance."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Cooper, William H., 1949-
2006-03-30
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Georgia's January 2008 Presidential Election: Outcome and Implications [January 25, 2008]
"This report discusses the campaign and results of Georgia's January 5, 2008, presidential election and implications for Russia and U.S. interests. The election took place after the sitting president, Mikheil Saakashvili, suddenly resigned in the face of domestic and international criticism over his crackdown on political dissidents. Many observers viewed Saakashvili's re-election as marking some democratization progress, but some raised concerns that political instability might endure and that Georgia's ties with NATO might suffer. This report may be updated."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Nichol, James P.
2008-01-25
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Global Financial Crisis: Analysis and Policy Implications [November 25, 2009]
"The world appears to be beginning to recover from the global recession that is causing widespread business contraction, increases in unemployment, and shrinking government revenues. Although the industrialized economies have stopped contracting, for many, unemployment is still rising. The United States likely hit bottom in June 2009, but numerous small banks and households still face huge problems in restoring their balance sheets, and unemployment has combined with sub-prime loans to keep home foreclosures at a high rate. Nearly all industrialized countries and many emerging and developing nations have announced economic stimulus and/or financial sector rescue packages, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. [Public Law] 111-5). Several countries have resorted to borrowing from the International Monetary Fund as a last resort. The crisis has exposed fundamental weaknesses in financial systems worldwide, demonstrated how interconnected and interdependent economies are today, and has posed vexing policy dilemmas."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Nanto, Dick Kazuyuki
2009-11-25
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Global Financial Crisis: Analysis and Policy Implications [October 2, 2009]
"The world is near the bottom of a global recession that is causing widespread business contraction, increases in unemployment, and shrinking government revenues. Although recent data indicate the large industrialized economies may have reached bottom and are beginning to recover, for the most part, unemployment is still rising. Numerous small banks and households still face huge problems in restoring their balance sheets, and unemployment has combined with sub-prime loans to keep home foreclosures at a high rate. Nearly all industrialized countries and many emerging and developing nations have announced economic stimulus and/or financial sector rescue packages, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. [Public Law] 111- 5). Several countries have resorted to borrowing from the International Monetary Fund as a last resort. The crisis has exposed fundamental weaknesses in financial systems worldwide, demonstrated how interconnected and interdependent economies are today, and has posed vexing policy dilemmas."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Nanto, Dick Kazuyuki
2009-10-02
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Global Financial Crisis: Analysis and Policy Implications [July 10, 2009]
"The world has entered a global recession that is causing widespread business contraction, increases in unemployment, and shrinking government revenues. Some of the largest and most venerable banks, investment houses, and insurance companies have either declared bankruptcy or have had to be rescued financially. Nearly all industrialized countries and many emerging and developing nations have announced economic stimulus and/or financial sector rescue packages, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. [Public Law] 111-5). Several countries have resorted to borrowing from the International Monetary Fund as a last resort. The crisis has exposed fundamental weaknesses in financial systems worldwide, demonstrated how interconnected and interdependent economies are today, and has posed vexing policy dilemmas."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Nanto, Dick Kazuyuki
2009-07-10
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Global Financial and Economic Crisis: Analysis and Policy Implications [February 20, 2009]
"What began as a bursting of the U.S. housing market bubble and a rise in foreclosures has ballooned into a global financial and economic crisis. The world now appears to have entered a global recession that is causing widespread business contraction, increases in unemployment, and shrinking government revenues. Some of the largest and most venerable banks, investment houses, and insurance companies have either declared bankruptcy or have had to be rescued financially. The world is facing the worst economic conditions since the great depression. Nearly all industrialized countries and many emerging and developing nations have announced economic stimulus and/or financial sector rescue packages, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1, P.L.[Public Law] 111-5). Several countries have resorted to borrowing from the International Monetary Fund as a last resort. The crisis has exposed fundamental weaknesses in financial systems worldwide, demonstrated how interconnected and interdependent economies are today, and has posed vexing policy dilemmas for governments."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Nanto, Dick Kazuyuki
2009-02-20
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Global Financial Crisis: Foreign and Trade Policy Effects [April 7, 2009]
"The global financial and economic crisis affects all three of the essential national interests of the United States: national security, economic well being, and value projection. Only occasionally does an event of this magnitude occur that generates such daunting challenges yet also opportunities for U.S. policy. The effects of the crisis on foreign policy, trade, and security are so diverse and widespread that, out of necessity, policy responses must range from the highly specific to the broad and ethereal. This report provides an overview of the major non-financial effects of the global crisis. In some countries, incumbent governments have lost support or authoritarian governments are consolidating power. In certain countries, conditions for citizen discontent or even radicalism are being augmented and market capitalism is being questioned. On the world stage, U.S. leadership is being challenged; money to lend is becoming a critical component of soft power; budgets are tightening and threatening funds for economic assistance and national security; international financial institutions are assuming a higher profile relative to national governments; and shifts in trade flows are raising forces for protectionism. As seen in the G-20 London Summit, the financial crisis also has become a rallying point for anti-globalization groups and anti-government activists. The U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, has told Congress that instability in countries around the world caused by the global economic crisis and its geopolitical implications, rather than terrorism, is the primary near-term security threat to the United States."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Nanto, Dick Kazuyuki
2009-04-07
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Global Economic Downturn and Protectionism [March 23, 2009]
"In today's severe global economic downturn, concerns are being raised that countries may try to improve their own trade positions in order to help domestic industries at the expense of others by imposing measures that artificially increase their exports or restrict imports. Such efforts are considered by some to be a form of 'protectionism' and are often referred to as beggar-thy-neighbor policies. This report develops three scenarios to approximate different dimensions of the relationship between the global economic downturn and protectionism. The scenarios are not predictions, but descriptions of how and why pressures for protection could be manifested and transmitted under different circumstances and assumptions."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Ahearn, Raymond J.
2009-03-23
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Global Financial Crisis: Lessons from Japan's Lost Decade of the 1990s [May 4, 2009]
"During the 1990s and into the early years of the 21st century, Japan experienced prolonged recessionary economic conditions triggered by the bursting of a bubble in its equity and real estate markets and an ensuing banking crisis. Although the current global financial crisis is much more than Japan's 'Great Recession' writ large, many have turned to Japan's experience to either support or oppose various policies and to improve general understanding of the underlying forces of financial crises. In fiscal policy, the Japanese experience has been used both as an example of stimulus packages that did not work and as a rationale for making stimulus packages large enough to help ensure that they would work. Fiscal stimulus did have the desired economic effect in Japan, but it mainly substituted for depressed bank lending and consumer spending. Recovery had to wait until the balance sheets of banks and households had been rehabilitated. Japan also shifted its policy focus toward reducing its fiscal deficit 'too early' after authorities thought the recession had ended in 1996. The ensuing increase in taxes along with reduced fiscal stimulus (along with the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis) pushed the economy back into recession. In monetary policy, the Bank of Japan's zero-interest rate policy demonstrated the futility of attempting to induce investment and consumer credit purchases through low borrowing rates. The Japanese experience also may be instructive in resolving problems of companies that technically are bankrupt but are being kept alive through outside financial support and in dealing with nationalization and subsequent privatization of insolvent banks. Japan's case also illustrates that national debt may continue to rise for years after the financial crisis has ended."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Nanto, Dick Kazuyuki
2009-05-04
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Global Fund and PEPFAR in U.S. International AIDS Policy [November 3, 2005]
"The United States is responding to the international AIDS pandemic through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which includes bilateral programs and contributions to the multilateral Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. PEPFAR overall appears on target to meet the Administration's five-year, $15 billion spending plan, although competing budget priorities could affect its prospects. By contrast, the Global Fund, which relies on multiple donors, is reporting a funding gap that may prevent it from awarding new grants to fight the pandemic. The Fund estimates that it needs $3.3 billion in 2006 and 2007 to cover the renewal of its existing grants, in addition to $3.7 billion in order to fund two new Rounds of grant-making. At a September 2005 Global Fund pledging conference in London, donors offered a total of $3.7 billion for the two years, and unless additional pledges are made, the Fund will be able to do little more than fund existing grants."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Copson, Raymond W.
2005-11-03
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Global Financial Crisis: The Role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) [October 30, 2008]
"This report discusses two potential roles the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have in helping to resolve the current global financial crisis: (1) immediate crisis control through balance of payments lending to emerging market and less-developed countries and (2) increased surveillance of the global economy through better coordination with the international financial regulatory agencies. This report will be updated as events warrant."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Weiss, Martin A.
2008-10-30
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International Financing of Responses to Climate Change [November 23, 2010]
"This report describes many of the questions that are under debate in international climate change fora. It aims to inform Congressional decision-making on the magnitude and mechanisms of financial assistance that the United States may provide to low-income countries to address climate change. It identifies rationales presented for enhanced international financing, including commitments made by the wealthy economies to provide financing under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and subsequent agreements. The report then reviews estimated levels of financing needs (Table 1), specific monetary pledges (Table 2), and the variety of proposed mechanisms to generate (Appendix A) and disburse funding. The final section summarizes international financing proposed by the Obama Administration and in bills in the 111th Congress."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.
2010-11-23
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Impact of Major Legislation on Budget Deficits: 2001 to 2009 [March 23, 2010]
"After recording a fiscal year (FY) 2000 federal budget surplus of $236.2 billion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in January 2001 projected continued surpluses throughout the decade. However, enactment of major legislation during the 107th to 111th Congresses, in combination with changing economic conditions, altered the federal budget outlook for the decade dramatically. In FY2002, the budget recorded a deficit for the first time since 1997, and the federal government has run a deficit in each subsequent year. This report examines to what extent major legislative changes from 2001 to 2009 caused the budget to move from surplus to deficit. Legislative actions taken in 2009 increased the FY2009 deficit by $509 billion, whereas legislative actions taken between 2001 and 2008 increased the FY2009 deficit by $903 billion. Furthermore, legislative changes have cumulatively increased federal budget deficits over FY2001 to FY2009 by $5.4 trillion."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Labonte, Marc; Hanna, Andrew
2010-03-23
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International Agreements on Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions [April 12, 2010]
"The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opened for signature in 1992 and soon thereafter was ratified by the United States. The UNFCCC does not set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, and during ratification hearings, the George H.W. Bush Administration represented that any protocol or amendment to the UNFCCC creating binding GHG emissions targets would be submitted to the Senate for its advice and consent. The Kyoto Protocol (the Protocol) to the UNFCCC was intended as a first step towards implementing the UNFCCC. To that end, it sets quantitative emission reduction targets for the high income countries listed in its Annex B. The Protocol's goal is to reduce each parties' overall emissions by at least 5% below 1990 levels by 2012. […] In 2007, the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali adopted a framework for negotiations over the post-2012 climate regime. It established two tracks for negotiation: (1) a track by which Kyoto Protocol parties would pursue an amendment to the Protocol for a 'second round' of emission targets for its Annex B parties, and (2) a track by which UNFCCC parties would set GHG mitigation targets or actions for all parties. […] The labels 'convention,' 'protocol,' and 'accord' are not clear indicators of whether these three climate change agreements are binding internationally and/or domestically. Under international law, an agreement is considered binding only if it conveys the intention of its parties to create legally binding relationships and has entered into force. However, some have suggested that enforceability, rather than intentions, should govern whether an agreement is 'legally binding.'"
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Barbour, Emily C.
2010-04-12
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Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement: Debate Over Government Policy [August 25, 2008]
"There is ongoing interest in the pace of U.S. technological advancement due to its influence on U.S. economic growth, productivity, and international competitiveness. Because technology can contribute to economic growth and productivity increases, congressional attention has focused on how to augment private-sector technological development. Legislative activity over the past 25 years has created a policy for technology development, albeit an ad hoc one. Because of the lack of consensus on the scope and direction of a national policy, Congress has taken an incremental approach aimed at creating new mechanisms to facilitate technological advancement in particular areas and making changes and improvements as necessary. Congressional action has mandated specific technology development programs and obligations in federal agencies that did not initially support such efforts. Many programs were created based upon what individual committees judged appropriate within the agencies over which they had authorization or appropriation responsibilities. The use of line item funding for these activities, including the Advanced Technology Program and the Manufacturing Extension Program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as well as for the Undersecretary for Technology at the Department of Commerce, was viewed by proponents as a way to ensure that the government encourages technological advance in the private sector."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Schacht, Wendy H.
2008-08-25
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International Climate Change: A Negotiations Side-by-Side [November 18, 2010]
"From November 29 to December 10, 2010, the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to its subsidiary Kyoto Protocol plan to meet in Cancun, Mexico. While the political agreement enshrined in the Copenhagen Accord of 2009 hangs in the background, ad hoc processes under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol proceed separately. There is no common view on how to make further progress on these two tracks, or on how to produce one or two comprehensive and consistent agreements to govern commitments after 2012, except on a handful of limited topics (described further below and in Table 1). The United States, along with a few other countries, insists that all elements under negotiation be agreed simultaneously, as a package that carefully balances the interests of different Parties. Other Parties, including China and many developing countries, seek decisions on those elements where Parties concur (such as on provision of financial assistance, preventing deforestation, and promoting technological advance), without requiring agreement on the more controversial elements (such as binding GHG reductions by Non-Annex I Parties). Many Parties, particularly those least developed and perceived as most vulnerable to climate change, are calling for the Cancun meeting to set a mandate to negotiate a 'comprehensive and ambitious' agreement by the subsequent meetings of the Parties in late 2011, to be held in South Africa."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.
2010-11-18
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International Food Aid and the 2007 Farm Bill [August 28, 2007]
"Legislative authority for international food aid programs in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. [Public Law] 107-171) expires in 2007. The 110th Congress has been considering the extension and reauthorization of food aid programs as part of the 2007 farm bill. On July 27, 2007, the House passed its version of the 2007 farm bill (H.R. 2419), which included reauthorization of food aid programs.. The Senate Agriculture Committee has yet to report its version of the farm bill, but is expected to begin committee deliberations in September 2007. International food aid is the United States' major response to reducing global hunger. In 2006, the United States provided $2.1 billion of such assistance, which paid for the delivery and distribution of more than 3 million metric tons of U.S. agricultural commodities. The United States provided food aid to 65 countries in 2006, more than half of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the food aid -- $1.2 billion or 57% -- was provided as emergency food aid. About one-third is used in non-emergency or development projects carried out by U.S. private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and cooperatives."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Hanrahan, Charles
2007-08-28
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Economic Effects of a Budget Deficit Exceeding $1 Trillion [March 12, 2010]
"The federal budget deficit for FY2009 totaled $1.4 trillion, the first time it has ever topped $1 trillion. The government's ability to finance a budget deficit depends on the size of the economy. For this reason, and to compare the deficit to historical or foreign deficits, it is more meaningful to measure the deficit relative to gross domestic product (GDP). By this measure, the 2009 deficit is unusual but not unprecedented. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recorded an actual 2009 deficit equaling 9.9% of GDP. Seven times in U.S. history the federal budget deficit has exceeded 10% of GDP, which were during or following the Civil War (1865), World War I (1918, 1919), and World War II (1942-1945). Federal budget deficits cause the publicly held federal debt to increase. The FY2009 deficit of 9.9% of GDP, in a year when GDP fell, caused the debt-to-GDP ratio to rise by 12.8 percentage points. Some Members of Congress have questioned whether a deficit of this magnitude is manageable and what effects it will have on the economy. This report will evaluate those questions."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Labonte, Marc
2010-03-12
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Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 110th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices [Updated January 16, 2007]
"Increasing numbers of animal and plant species face possible extinction. Endangered and threatened species -- and the law that protects them, the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA, 16 U.S.C. §§1531, et seq.) -- are controversial, in part, because dwindling species are often harbingers of resource scarcity. The most common cause of species' decline is habitat loss or alteration. Habitat loss occurs due to development, changes in land management practices, competition from invasive species, and other factors, nearly all related to economic, political, or social interests. ESA has been among the most contentious environmental laws, because of its strict substantive provisions, which can affect the use of both federal and nonfederal lands and resources. Congress faces the issue of how to balance these interests (which may fall on various sides of any given species controversy) with the protection of endangered and threatened species and, as stated in ESA, 'the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend.' Because of strong support and strong opposition to the ESA, comprehensive endangered species legislation has not been reauthorized since the last ESA authorization expired in 1992. Instead, congressional efforts have focused on addressing some controversial features of ESA. There were several attempts to enact comprehensive legislation that would have reauthorized the ESA in the 109th Congress. These attempts are less likely in the 110th Congress. Congress may shift to considering issues for oversight such as the science used for making decisions and designation of critical habitat. Further, Congress may also address issues related to the implementation and funding of the ESA."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Buck, Eugene H.; Corn, M. Lynne (Mary Lynne), 1946-; Sheikh, Pervaze A. . . .
2007-01-16
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Israel's Blockade of Gaza, the 'Mavi Marmara' Incident, and Its Aftermath [June 23, 2010]
"Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but retained control of its borders. Hamas, a U.S. State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections and forcibly seized control of the territory in 2007. Israel imposed a tighter blockade of Gaza in response to Hamas's takeover and tightened the flow of goods and materials into Gaza after its military offensive against Hamas from December 2008 to January 2009. That offensive destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure, but Israel has obstructed the delivery of rebuilding materials that it said could also be used to manufacture weapons and for other military purposes. Israel, the U.N., and international non-governmental organizations differ about the severity of the blockade's effects on the humanitarian situation of Palestinian residents of Gaza. Nonetheless, it is clear that the territory's economy and people are suffering. In recent years, humanitarian aid groups have sent supply ships and activists to Gaza. However, Israel directs them to its port of Ashdod for inspection before delivery to Gaza. In May 2010, the pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement and the pro-Hamas Turkish Humanitarian Relief Fund organized a six-ship flotilla to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and to break Israel's blockade of the territory. The ships refused an Israeli offer to deliver the goods to Ashdod. On May 31, Israeli naval special forces intercepted the convoy in international waters. They took control of five of the ships without resistance. However, some activists on a large Turkish passenger vessel challenged the commandos. The confrontation resulted in eight Turks and one Turkish-American killed, more than 20 passengers injured, and 10 commandos injured."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Migdalovitz, Carol
2010-06-23
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Israel's Blockade of Gaza, the 'Mavi Marmara' Incident, and Its Aftermath [June 16, 2010]
"Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but retained control of its borders. Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections and later forcibly seized control of the territory in 2007. Israel imposed a tighter blockade on the flow of goods and materials into Gaza after its military offensive against Hamas from December 2008 to January 2009. That offensive destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure, but Israel has obstructed the delivery of rebuilding materials that it said could also be used to manufacture weapons and for other military purposes. Israel, the U.N., and international non-governmental organizations differ about the severity of the blockade's effects on the humanitarian situation of Palestinian residents of Gaza. Nonetheless, it is clear that the territory's economy and people are suffering. In recent years, humanitarian aid groups have sent supply ships and activists to Gaza. However, Israel directs them to land at its port of Ashdod for inspection before delivery to Gaza. In May 2010, the pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement and the pro-Hamas Turkish Humanitarian Relief Fund organized a six-ship flotilla to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and to break Israel's blockade of the territory. The ships refused an Israeli offer to deliver the goods to Ashdod. On May 31, Israeli naval special forces intercepted the convoy in international waters. They took control of five of the ships without resistance. However, some activists on a large Turkish passenger vessel challenged the commandos. The confrontation resulted in eight Turks and one Turkish-American killed, more than 30 passengers injured, and 10 commandos injured."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Migdalovitz, Carol
2010-06-16
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Israeli-United States Relations [Updated May 14, 2003]
"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 for Israel has been foreign aid; Israel currently receives about $3 billion per year in economic and military grants, refugee settlement assistance, and other aid. Congress has monitored the aid issue closely along with other issues in bilateral relations, and its concerns have affected Administration's policies. U.S.-Israeli relations have evolved from an initial American policy of sympathy and support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948 to an unusual partnership that links a small but militarily powerful Israel, dependent on the United States for its economic and military strength, with the U.S. superpower trying to balance competing interests in the region. Some in the United States question the levels of aid and general commitment to Israel, and argue that a U.S. bias toward Israel operates at the expense of improved U.S. relations with various Arab states. Others maintain that democratic Israel is a strategic ally, and that U.S. relations with Israel strengthens the U.S. presence in the Middle East."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Mark, Clyde R.
2003-05-14
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Israeli-United States Relations [February 10, 2003]
"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 for Israel has been foreign aid; Israel currently receives about $3 billion per year in economic and military grants, refugee settlement assistance, and other aid. Congress has monitored the aid issue closely along with other issues in bilateral relations, and its concerns have affected Administration's policies. U.S.-Israeli relations have evolved from an initial American policy of sympathy and support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948 to an unusual partnership that links a small but militarily powerful Israel, dependent on the United States for its economic and military strength, with the U.S. superpower trying to balance competing interests in the region. Some in the United States question the levels of aid and general commitment to Israel, and argue that a U.S. bias toward Israel operates at the expense of improved U.S. relations with various Arab states. Others maintain that democratic Israel is a strategic ally, and that U.S. relations with Israel strengthens the U.S. presence in the Middle East."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Mark, Clyde R.
2003-02-10
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Israeli-United States Relations [January 30, 2003]
"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 for Israel has been foreign aid; Israel currently receives about $3 billion per year in economic and military grants, refugee settlement assistance, and other aid. Congress has monitored the aid issue closely along with other issues in bilateral relations, and its concerns have affected Administration's policies. U.S.-Israeli relations have evolved from an initial American policy of sympathy and support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948 to an unusual partnership that links a small but militarily powerful Israel, dependent on the United States for its economic and military strength, with the U.S. superpower trying to balance competing interests in the region. Some in the United States question the levels of aid and general commitment to Israel, and argue that a U.S. bias toward Israel operates at the expense of improved U.S. relations with various Arab states. Others maintain that democratic Israel is a strategic ally, and that U.S. relations with Israel strengthens the U.S. presence in the Middle East."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Mark, Clyde R.
2003-01-30
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Israeli-United States Relations [March 6, 2003]
"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 for Israel has been foreign aid; Israel currently receives about $3 billion per year in economic and military grants, refugee settlement assistance, and other aid. Congress has monitored the aid issue closely along with other issues in bilateral relations, and its concerns have affected Administration's policies. U.S.-Israeli relations have evolved from an initial American policy of sympathy and support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948 to an unusual partnership that links a small but militarily powerful Israel, dependent on the United States for its economic and military strength, with the U.S. superpower trying to balance competing interests in the region. Some in the United States question the levels of aid and general commitment to Israel, and argue that a U.S. bias toward Israel operates at the expense of improved U.S. relations with various Arab states. Others maintain that democratic Israel is a strategic ally, and that U.S. relations with Israel strengthens the U.S. presence in the Middle East."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Mark, Clyde R.
2003-03-06
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Israeli-United States Relations [March 20, 2003]
"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 for Israel has been foreign aid; Israel currently receives about $3 billion per year in economic and military grants, refugee settlement assistance, and other aid. Congress has monitored the aid issue closely along with other issues in bilateral relations, and its concerns have affected Administration's policies. U.S.-Israeli relations have evolved from an initial American policy of sympathy and support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948 to an unusual partnership that links a small but militarily powerful Israel, dependent on the United States for its economic and military strength, with the U.S. superpower trying to balance competing interests in the region. Some in the United States question the levels of aid and general commitment to Israel, and argue that a U.S. bias toward Israel operates at the expense of improved U.S. relations with various Arab states. Others maintain that democratic Israel is a strategic ally, and that U.S. relations with Israel strengthens the U.S. presence in the Middle East."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Mark, Clyde R.
2003-03-20
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Ecuador: Political and Economic Situation and U.S. Relations [March 16, 2005]
"In January 2003, Lucio Gutierrez of the Patriotic Society Party (PSP), a former army Colonel who was part of the junta that toppled the government of Jamil Mahuad in January 2000, became the country's sixth president in seven years. Early in his presidency, President Gutierrez abandoned his populist rhetoric and adopted some market-friendly economic reforms in order to secure support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). His power was severely limited, however, by opposition parties that dominated the Congress, indigenous protests, and allegations of corruption. Despite his party's poor performance in the October 17, 2004 municipal elections, President Gutierrez has found new congressional allies who have helped him stave off impeachment proceedings. In December 2004, Gutierrez replaced the country's high court judges with his political allies, a move which has been sharply criticized by the international community. Ecuador continues to cooperate with the U.S. counter-narcotics program and has mobilized its military and police forces to help control spillover effects from the conflict in Colombia. Ecuador and the United States possess a significant trade relationship that has been enhanced since 1992 by the Andean Trade Preference Act. The two countries are currently negotiating, along with Colombia and Peru, for an Andean Free Trade Agreement. This report will be updated periodically."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Seelke, Clare Ribando
2005-03-16
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China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities - Background and Issues for Congress [Updated April 4, 2008]
"Concern has grown in Congress and elsewhere since the 1990s about China's military modernization and its potential implications for required U.S. military capabilities. China's military modernization is an increasing element in discussions of future U.S. Navy requirements. Several of the U.S. Navy's most expensive acquisition programs, as well as Navy initiatives for homeporting ships and for training sailors, are for developing or maintaining capabilities that could be useful or critical in countering improved Chinese maritime military capabilities in coming years. The issue for Congress addressed in this report is: How should China's military modernization be factored into decisions about U.S. Navy programs? Congress's decisions on this issue could significantly affect future U.S. Navy capabilities, U.S. Navy funding requirements, and the U.S. defense industrial base, including the shipbuilding industry."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
O'Rourke, Ronald
2008-04-04
