The general sales or gross receipts tax is the largest single producer of State tax revenues for the 50 States combined, accounting for about 31 percent of total State tax collections in fiscal year 1983. In recent years, the trend has been to exempt food and drug purchases from the tax base while increasing the tax rate on the lower base. This report incorporates the changes in this area during the State legislative sessions of 1984.,CRS 84-758 E,"September 25, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

This report discusses the protections under federal statutory law for federal employees who engage in "whistleblowing" activities, that is, the disclosure by the employee of illegal or improper government activities. The protections cover most employees of the executive branch of government, and would apply where a covered employee makes a "protected disclosure" for which the agency takes a "personnel action" as a "reprisal" for such disclosure.,CRS 86-1018 A,"November 26, 1986.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

The 98th Congress enacted amendments designed to strengthen the 9-year-old child support enforcement programs, a program that is administered by State child support enforcement agencies under the general direction of the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement. In many States the program has been primarily serving families who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children. The new amendments reflect an effort to refocus the program to serve a broader clientele, and speak specifically in terms of serving all children in the United States who are in need of assistance in securing financial support from their parents, regardless of their circumstances. In addition, the amendments require the States to use stringent enforcement tools, including mandatory wage withholding, in cases involving arrearages. Although there is an atmosphere of widespread support for the amendments, there is also recognition that implementation may raise issues for future Congresses. (This paper originally appeared as an article in the October 1984 issue of the CRS in Review.),Introduction -- Early Hostility to Federal Legislation -- A Turnabout in Congressional Attitudes -- Description of the 1984 Amendments -- Concerns for the Future -- Chart: Children Under Age 18 Living in Two-parent and One-parent Families, 1960-1983,CRS 84-796 EPW,"October 25, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

Much legislation to deal with various aspects of antitrust laws' impact on the United States business community has been introduced or enacted during the past several years. This report places them in the context of the background controversies surrounding antitrust damage reform, merger law standards and the role of antitrust law in the worldwide competitiveness of United States industry.,CRS 86-1014 A,"May 5, 1986.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

CRS 87-343 RCO,"April 17, 1987.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

This report uses statistical information designed for other purposes to develop interstate comparisons of Federal taxes paid by State residents and Federal funds expended within the State. Emphasis is given to figures showing percentage distributions, per capita data, and State rankings. The analysis does not draw Federal policy inferences concerning the allocation of Federal funds or their impact on State or regional development.,Abstract -- Introduction -- Federal Flow of Funds to Individual States, Fiscal Year 1983 -- Federal Expenditures for Defense and Domestic Purposes -- Other Forms of Federal Assistance.,CRS 84-777 E,"October 19, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

The Education Amendments of 1984 extends and amends a variety of Federal education programs and would establish other new Federal education activities. This paper provides a summary and analysis of these amendments including provisions regarding the adult education, bilingual education, impact aid, women's educational equity, Indian education, emergency immigrant education, and higher education student financial assistance programs.,Abstract -- Introduction -- Adult Education (Title I) -- Bilingual Education (Title II) -- Impact Aid (Title III) -- Women's Educational Equity (Title IV) -- Indian Education (Title V) -- Emergency Immigrant Education (Title VI) -- General Administration and Organization (Title VIII) - Including Student Financial Assistance, Office of Migrant Education, and Conflict-of-Interest Provisions.,CRS 84-769 EPW,"October 25, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

Proposals to authorize Federal aid for the education of disadvantaged children in the form of vouchers have been made in the past by the Reagan Administration and others, and Secretary of Education William Bennett has recently been attracting new attention to the concept. This paper provides background on the voucher concept, an analysis of existing proposals, and pro/con arguments regarding vouchers for the education of the disadvantaged.,Introduction -- Background. The General Concept ; Past "Voucher-Like" Programs -- The Specific Concept of Chapter 1 Vouchers -- Earlier Administration Proposal -- Pro and Con Arguments -- Possible Alternatives to Both Chapter 1 Vouchers and the Current Program.,CRS 85-985 EPW,"October 4, 1985.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

The microthesaurus identifies terms on public welfare in the Legislative Indexing Vocabulary. Some terms for various social services also appear. These terms may be used in searching the CRS Bibliographic Data Base, the Bill Digest files, and the Major Issues System on SCORPIO.,CRS 87-390 L,"May 1, 1987.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

CRS 85-894 A,"July 22, 1985.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

This paper provides a guide to the 12 titles of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended through P.L. 98-558. A brief summary of the programmatic and related content of each of these 12 titles follows a short introduction and synopsis of the legislative history of the HEA.,CRS 84-826 EPW,"November 30, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

This report identifies federal statutes that impose or may be used to impose sanctions on countries found to be supporting international terrorism. Two types of statutes are included: (1) those in which Congress has chosen to make certain prohibitions come into play once a nation has been identified as a country supporting international terrorism and (2) those broader delegated authorities that might be used by the President to impose sanctions against such countries but that are not limited to such use. While there may be additional statutes that may be relevant to the situation in question, the report lists what appear to be major sources of authority in this area.,CRS 86-1001 A,"October 23, 1986.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

The various budget proposals and estimates for fiscal year 1987 from the Administration and Congress are included and discussed in this report.,CRS 86-1010 E,"November 20, 1986.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

The Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 changed the way IRS is to determine the correct interest and principal components in debt instruments that do not provide for a market rate of interest. This paper describes these new rules for "unstated" and "imputed" interest on mortgages and briefly discusses the controversy they have generated.,CRS 84-735 E,"August 30, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

This paper examines the recent claims that the published 1982 tax return data show that the tax cut in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 induced upper-income taxpayers to relay less heavily on tax shelters and to pay more, not less, income tax. The report indicates that the tax return data neither prove nor disprove these claims because they do not enable separating other effects, for example, normal income growth and short-term tax planning activities, from the long-term incentive effects of the tax cut. The implications for tax equity are also discussed.,Abstract -- Introduction and Summary -- The Controversy and Recent Claims -- An Examination of the Upper-Income Tax Return Data -- A Brief Examination of the Equity Issue.,CRS 84-702 E,"July 31, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

The 99th Congress considered various proposals concerning U.S. aid to family planning programs abroad. Congress appropriated $239.3 million for FY 1986 (after Gramm-Rudman-Hollings sequestration) and $234.6 million for FY 1987 for AID population assistance activities. In addition Congress addressed a number of policy issues including whether the United States should cut off assistance to organizations which support voluntary abortions or abortion related activities with non-U.S. funds; whether the United States should fund international organizations operating in countries like China where there are widespread reports of coercive family planning measures; and whether AID should change its policy of informed choice in favor of a policy allowing a larger share of funds for groups that promote only natural family planning methods.,CRS 86-1009 F,"November 25, 1986.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

Economic impacts of relocating a commercial airport from one area to another within a metropolitan region may be felt by the locality being left, by the locality receiving the activity, and by the larger metropolitan region containing the two locations. This paper provides a brief analysis of factors associated with economic impacts for the affected areas. The analysis is based on generalized assumptions for economic conditions in the respective areas prior to the hypothetical relocation.,CRS 84-700 E,"July 20, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

This paper lists annually, by program, the Federal funds that have been available specifically for school construction during the past 5 years. For FY 1985, $129 million has been appropriated for such purposes out of the Department of Education's budget of $18.1 billion.,CRS 84-834 EPW,"December 4, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

Recent projections suggest that by the end of the decade social security taxes may be higher than necessary to meet the benefit commitments of the program. The excess income would be invested in Federal securities and would be used to finance other government activities in the 1990-2020 period. In later years, however, governmental resources could be strained as the securities are cashed in to help pay for the benefits of the post World War II "baby boom" retirees.,CRS 84-783 EPW,"October 22, 1984.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3

Jay R. Shampansky, Legislative Attorney, American Law Division.,CRS 85-893 A,"September 25, 1984.","Updated July 22, 1985.",SuDoc# LC 14. 18/3