Copyright (c) 2009 Cornell University ILR School All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs Recent documents in Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:07:03 PST 3600 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/44 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/44 Thu, 24 May 2007 08:04:12 PDT [Excerpt] This CRS report focuses on the Chilean individual retirement accounts system. It begins with a description of the U.S. Social Security policy debate, along with a brief comparison of Chile and the United States. Next, the report explains what Chile's individual retirement accounts system is and how it works. The pension reform bill sent to the Chilean Congress for debate in 2007 is also discussed. The report does not address other components of Chile's social security system, such as maternity, work injury, and unemployment. Christopher Tamborini http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/43 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/43 Thu, 17 May 2007 05:03:50 PDT [Excerpt] Health care spending has been growing as a share of national income, as a share of federal spending, and as a share of many consumers' income. Because people tend to use more health care as they age, many observers are concerned that an aging population will accelerate growth in health care spending, and that such growth will lead to economic and fiscal crisis. Over the next several decades, both national and federal spending on health care are expected to grow rapidly for two basic reasons. The first is changing demographics. As the share of older people in the population grows, health spending also will grow to reflect generally higher per capita health care costs for this population, compared with younger people. Jennifer Jenson http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/42 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/42 Wed, 16 May 2007 12:54:28 PDT [Excerpt] On April 25, the House passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007, H.R. 493, on a vote of 420-3. Earlier, the measure was reported by the Education and Labor Committee (H.Rept. 110-28, Part I), the Ways and Means Committee (H.Rept. 110-28, Part II), and the Energy and Commerce Committee (H.Rept. 110-28, Parts III & IV). The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved similar legislation (S. 358) on March 29, and filed its report (S.Rept. 110-48) on April 10. S. 358 is awaiting Senate floor action. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act would restrict health insurers' and employers' acquisition and use of genetic information in several ways. These restrictions build upon those already imposed in federal law. C. Stephen Redhead http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/41 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/41 Wed, 16 May 2007 12:35:47 PDT [Excerpt] H.R. 493, 110th Congress, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), passed the House on April 25, 2007. The Senate bill, S. 358, 110th Congress, was reported out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on March 29, 2007, and is currently awaiting Senate action. This report compares the provisions of H.R. 493 and S. 358 relating to GINA's prohibition of genetic discrimination in employment. Nancy Lee Jones http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/40 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/40 Wed, 16 May 2007 12:27:19 PDT [Excerpt] Many business people have expressed concern that a scarcity of labor in certain sectors may curtail the pace of economic growth. A leading legislative response to skills mismatches and labor shortages has been to increase the supply of foreign workers. While the demand for more skilled and highly-trained foreign workers has garnered much of the attention in recent years, there has also been pressure to increase unskilled temporary foreign workers, commonly referred to as guest workers. Ruth Ellen Wasem http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/39 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/39 Wed, 16 May 2007 12:09:37 PDT [Excerpt] The primary source of federal aid to K-12 education is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), particularly its Title I, Part A program of Education for the Disadvantaged. The ESEA was initially enacted in 1965 (P.L. 89- 10), and was most recently amended and reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA, P.L. 107-110). Virtually all ESEA programs are authorized through FY2008. During the current 110th Congress, congressional hearings are being conducted in anticipation of subsequent consideration of legislation to amend and extend the ESEA. Wayne C. Riddle http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/38 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/38 Wed, 16 May 2007 11:57:04 PDT [Excerpt] The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a federal government agency created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to protect the pensions of participants covered by most private sector, defined benefit pension plans. The PBGC receives no appropriated funds. The agency's costs are offset by the assets of the plans that the PBGC takes over and premiums paid by the sponsors of covered pension plans. The premiums are established by Congress. The PBGC's single-employer program posted an all-time high deficit of $23 billion in 2004; as of September 30, 2006, the deficit was $18 billion. The PBGC discloses an additional, off-balance sheet liability for reasonably possible terminations; as of September 30, 2006, it was $73 billion. William J. Klunk http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/37 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/37 Wed, 16 May 2007 11:48:26 PDT [Excerpt] An important aspect of U.S. efforts to maintain and improve economic competitiveness is the existence of a capable scientific and technological workforce. A major concern of the 110th Congress may be regarding the future ability of the U.S. science and engineering base to generate the technological advances needed to maintain economic growth. Discussions have centered on the quality of science and mathematics education and training and on the scientific knowledge of those students entering other disciplines. Even students pursuing nonscientific and nonmathematical specialities are likely to require basic knowledge of scientific and technological applications for effective participation in the workforce. Charges are being made that many students complete high school scientifically and technologically illiterate. Christine M. Matthews http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/36 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/36 Tue, 03 Apr 2007 08:46:57 PDT [Excerpt] In the past ten years, the pay of chief executive officers (CEOs) has more than doubled, and the ratio of median CEO to worker pay has risen to 179 to 1. High and rising executive pay could be an issue of public concern on two different grounds. First, it is contributing to widening income inequality that may be of concern from an equity perspective. Second, it could be the result of economically inefficient labor markets. It is difficult to determine whether executive pay is excessive across the board since executives' marginal product cannot be directly observed. An upward trend in pay over time is not sufficient proof that the market is not efficient since factors determining supply and demand, such as the skills required of the position, can change over time. To show that pay is excessive from an economic perspective, one must first demonstrate that there is a market failure that is preventing the market from functioning efficiently. The market failure could originate in the division in large modern firms between management and ownership, which is typically dispersed among millions of shareholders. Shareholders' interests are represented by a board of directors. Critics of executive pay have argued that boards have all too often been "captured" by the executive and are no longer negotiating pay packages that are in the shareholders' best interests. They point to a number of common practices that they call "stealth compensation" which are inconsistent with arm's length contracting. These include "golden parachutes," generous severance packages, company-provided perks, and bonuses that are unrelated to firm performance. Gary Shorter http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/35 http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/crs/35 Tue, 03 Apr 2007 08:46:55 PDT [Excerpt] On January 19, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Beck v. PACE International Union. The case concerns the decision by an employer in bankruptcy proceedings to terminate its pension plans. The employer, which was both plan sponsor and administrator, had the option of terminating the plans by buying annuities for plan participants and beneficiaries or by merging the plans with a multiemployer plan. It chose the annuity option. At issue in Beck is whether the employer breached the fiduciary duty owed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to plan participants and beneficiaries by failing to adequately consider the merger proposal. This report discusses the Beck case and will be updated as events warrant. Jennifer Staman