{
  "id": "RL31688",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31688",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101474,
      "date": "2003-01-03",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:01:10.446941",
      "title": "Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade: Key Issues for the 108th Congress",
      "summary": "The 108th Congress will be faced early on with a number of pressing foreign affairs, defense,\nand\ntrade issues. This report provides background information on the issues most likely to be taken up\nin the first session, analyzes the congressional role in shaping U.S. policy on these key issues, and\nlists CRS products that provide more detailed discussion and analysis.\n  The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon dramatically altered the U.S.\npolitical environment, pushing issues of war and homeland security to the top of the policy agenda. \nOf particular concern to 108th Congress as it begins its first session will be the progress of the\nongoing war on terrorism, a possible war with Iraq, the unfolding crisis with North Korea, and\ndealing with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles. Each of these\ntopics receives particular attention in this report.\n  This report also describes foreign policy tools that the 108th Congress will consider in dealing\nwith a wide range of challenges affecting U.S. interests around the globe. It discusses major foreign\neconomic and security assistance programs which Congress may consider funding, including the\nMillennium Challenge Account, global HIV/AIDS programs, humanitarian aid to Afghanistan,\ncounter-terrorism activities in Southeast Asia and Africa, and possible reconstruction and\nhumanitarian assistance in Iraq. It examines how U.S. relations with NATO and policies toward\ncountries such as Iraq, Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, and Pakistan may affect U.S.\ncounter-terrorism and non-proliferation efforts. Other issues covered include potential global flash\npoints -- such as the Israel-Palestinian conflict, China-Taiwan relations, and the Balkans -- and U.S.\nconcerns in Latin America, such as drug trafficking. \n  A number of defense issues are likely to receive considerable attention in the 108th Congress,\nincluding managing defense related costs within budgetary constraints, guiding Department of\nDefense (DOD) \"transformation\" initiatives, setting priorities on major weapons systems, and\nassessing whether the military is the proper size to meet the demands of current or anticipated\nmissions. Other defense issues covered include whether to allow \"concurrent receipt\" of military\nretired pay and Veterans' Administration disability benefits, the appropriate role of DOD in\nhomeland security, and oversight of reforms in defense management and business operations.\n  Congressional consideration of U.S. bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with Chile and\nSingapore, and other trade issues are discussed in this report as well. The 108th Congress will likely\nmonitor U.S. negotiations on FTAs with Morocco, Central America, the South Africa Customs\nUnion, Australia, and countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Its agenda\nmay include WTO compliance issues, the re-authorization of the Export Administration Act, the Free\nTrade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), and the Doha Development Agenda. This report will\nnot be updated.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "African Affairs",
    "American Law",
    "Asian Affairs",
    "European Affairs",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Industry and Trade",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "Latin American Affairs",
    "Middle Eastern Affairs",
    "National Defense",
    "Russian, Central Asian, and Eurasian Affairs"
  ]
}