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Title: Housing requirements in rural areas
Date: 1986
Summary: Federal housing policy for rural areas is now at a crossroads. Since 1949 more than two million rural families have received benefits through housing programs of the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) and about 700,000 through the deep-subsidy programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Early in 1985 the Reagan Administration proposed that additional aid under these programs be suspended for two years, after which all subsidized housing in rural areas would be provided by HUD. While Congress has not yet concurred in these proposed changes, deep cutbacks in proggram levels are expected in the process of reducing the Federal budget deficit. In this transition period, legislators and community groups are going back to the drawing board and asking basic questions about rural housing needs and programs. The questions include the following: (1) What kinds of housing difficulties face low and moderate income families in rural areas? (2) Is there a chronic credit gap for housing in rural areas? (3) What is the connection between the problems of the farm economy and housing problems in rural areas? (4) Are the Federal and State programs now in place able to deal effectively with these problems? (5) Are additional or alternative measures--private as well as public--called for?

Title: Avoiding urban/rural wage inequities in determination of prevailing wage rates under the Davis-Bacon Act
Date: 1985
Summary: Through a rulemaking proceeding that has spanned nearly five years, the Secretary of Labor has fashioned regulations restricting the use of urban wage data in the determination of "prevailing" wage rates under the Davis-Bacon Act (P.L. 71-798, as amended). This paper traces the evolution of the urban/rural data controversy and reviews questions concerning legislative action on the issue.

Title: Ethylene dibromide: Regulatory background
Date: 1984
Summary: Since the Fall of 1983, there has been heightened public concern about the possible health effects of ethylene dibromide (EDB), a chemical which has caused cancer in laboratory animals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the pesticidal use of EDB for oil fumigation in September 1983 after discovering that EDB could migrate into groundwater supplies. In December 1983 that State of Florida stopped the sale of food products which contained any detectable levels of EDB, since no Federally approved safe levels had ever been established. In February and March of 1984 EPA banned most other pesticidal uses of EDB, and recommended certain residue levels as a guide to state actions. Since that time, some of the controversy has quieted. This paper addresses the background of EDB, its uses, and EPA's regulatory proposals and actions.

Title: Impact of legislative changes on major programs administered by the Department of Education: Fiscal years 1980-1988
Date: 1987
Summary: This analysis describes the impact of legislative changes on 17 major programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education since its creation in 1980. Explanatory material is given for each program. Tables show annual appropriations from FY 1980, as well as the FY 1988 budget request, with adjustments for inflation. These programs account for approximately 90 percent of the Department's current budget.

Title: Implementation of medicare's hospice benefit
Date: 1984
Summary: This document provides (1) background information on hospice care and a summary of current law provisions authorizing coverage for hospice care under Medicare; (2) information on the National Hospice Study; (3) information on the implementation of the hospice benefit; and (4) a discussion of hospice issues.

Title: Labor standards: Statistics concerning staffing and compliance activity by the United States Department of Labor, 1976-1986
Date: 1986
Summary: This report presents a statistical review of the pattern of staffing and enforcement/compliance activity within the United States Department of Labor through fiscal years 1976 to 1986. It notes the work hours required to administer the following statutes: the Fair Labor Standards Act; the several Federal procurement labor standards statutues -- the Davis-Bacon Act, the Walsh-Healy Act, and the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act; and the Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act and its successor, after 1983, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act. It also notes the number of violations of the several acts and the dollar amounts of back wages involved, where applicable. All tables have been developed from data provided by the Wage and Hour Division, United States Department of Labor.

Title: Leadership in Educational Administration Development Program: A summary of provisions
Date: 1987
Summary: This paper summarizes the provisions of the Leadership in Educational Administration Development program. This program funds technical assistance centers in each State to enhance the leadership skills of elementary and secondary school administrators, such as principals.

Title: The general liability category of commercial insurance: Some explanations of a "crisis"
Date: 1986
Summary: This report analyses some of the available data to identify some of the reasons for the "crisis" of affordability and availability of the General Liability category of commercial insurance. Four possible reasons are identified: while there have apparently been dramatic increases in premium rates, premium income in the General Liability category is rising slowly relative to losses; insurers are writing less of these lines in comparison with other lines; the high and rising cost of litigation; and the relatively sharp swings in underwriting experience. These explanations do not necessarily cover the broad spectrum of and interaction between the legal, social, and other factors influencing the General Liability insurance market.

Title: The educational attainment of select groups of "at risk" children and youth
Date: 1987
Summary: This paper focuses on three select groups of children and youth who appear to be "at risk" for depressed educational attainment - those from single-parent families, those from persistently poor families, and those who give birth during their teenage years. It addresses three basic questions: (1) Are these groups of children and youth at risk of depressed educational attainment? (2) How might these characteristics lead to depressed educational attainment? (3) What implications does the current research have for examining Federal responses to the educational needs of these children and youth?