Congressional Research Service Reports - 35 Matching Results
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- Small Business Management and Technical Assistance Training Programs
- This report examines small business startups' experiences with the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) management and technical assistance training programs -- focusing on Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women Business Centers (WBCs), and SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) -- the 7(a), 504/CDC, and Microloan lending programs; and the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) venture capital program.
- SBA Assistance to Small Business Startups: Client Experiences and Program Impact
- This report examines small business startups' experiences with the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) management and technical assistance training programs, focusing on Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women Business Centers (WBCs), and SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives); the 7(a), 504/CDC, and Microloan lending programs; and the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) venture capital program.
- Small Business Size Standards: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Issues
- This report provides a historical examination of the Small Business Administration's SBA size standards, and assesses competing views concerning how to define a small business. It also discusses H.R. 585, the Small Business Size Standard Flexibility Act of 2011, which would have authorized the SBA's Office of Chief Counsel for Advocacy to approve or disapprove a size standard proposed by a federal agency if it deviates from the SBA's size standards.
- Small Business Management and Technical Assistance Training Programs
- This report examines the historical development of federal small business management and technical assistance training programs; describes their current structures, operations, and budgets; and assesses their administration and oversight and the measures used to determine their effectiveness. It also discusses several bills introduced during the 111th and 112th Congresses that would have authorized changes to the SBA's management and technical assistance training programs in an effort to improve their performance and oversight.
- Small Business Administration Trade and Export Promotion Programs
- This report begins with the history, role, and scope of SBA's export promotion activities, and the creation of OIT. Next, quantitative data from SBA and qualitative data from other sources are used to provide performance analysis of SBA's international programs. This report concludes with a presentation of three issues for consideration during an era where concerns of fiscal responsibility and economic recovery are high priorities for many policy makers.
- The Role of Trade Secrets in Innovation Policy
- This report provides an overview of the law and policy of trade secrets. It discusses the role of trade secrets in six sections: Trade Secrets and Innovation Policy, An Overview of Trade Secret Law (Basic Principles, and Sources of Law), The Economic Espionage Act, Trade Secrets and Patents (Introduction to the Patent System, Trade Secrets and Patents Compared, and The Prior Commercial User Defense), Congressional Issues and Options, and Concluding Observations.
- The Corporate Income Tax System: Overview and Options for Reform
- This report presents information and research on the corporate tax to help policy makers understand and evaluate arguments presented in the tax reform debate. This report first reviews the structure of the corporate income tax. Data on which companies pay the corporate tax, corporate tax revenue, and how the U.S. system compares to the rest of the world are then presented and analyzed. Next, the economic effects of the corporate tax are reviewed--including a discussion of the purpose of the corporate tax, who bears the burden of the tax, and how to evaluate alternative corporate tax systems. The report then reviews broad reform options and concludes with a comparison of specific proposals that have been offered.
- Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs and Funding
- This report provides an overview of the Small Business Administration (SBA) business loan guaranty programs.
- The “8(a) Program” for Small Businesses Owned and Controlled by the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: Legal Requirements and Issues
- This report discusses the "8(a) Program", the Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program, which is a federal contracting for small businesses providing small businesses with training, technical assistance, and contracting opportunities.
- Legal Protections for Subcontractors on Federal Prime Contracts
- This report provides an overview of the payment and other protections for subcontractors on certain federal prime contracts under the Miller Act, the 1988 amendments to the Prompt Payment Act, and the Small Business Act.
- Selected Recently Expired Business Tax Provisions ("Tax Extenders")
- This report briefly summarizes and discusses the economic impact of selected business-related tax provisions that expired at the end of 2013 and that are being considered for extension.
- Bankruptcy for Marijuana Businesses?
- This legal sidebar discusses recent bankruptcy court cases that suggest that one such risk may be the ultimate unavailability to both debtors and creditors of the protections, benefits, and predictability of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code when state-regulated marijuana businesses fail.
- State Small Business Credit Initiative: Implementation and Funding Issues
- This report examines the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) and its implementation, including Treasury's response to initial program audits conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Treasury's Office of Inspector General (OIG). The SSBCI provides funding, allocated by formula and distributed in one-third increments, to states, territories, and eligible municipalities (hereinafter referred to as states) to expand existing or create new state small business investment programs, including state capital access programs, collateral support programs, loan participation programs, loan guarantee programs, and venture capital programs.
- Independence of Federal Financial Regulators
- This report discusses institutional features that make federal financial regulators (as well as other independent agencies) relatively independent from the President and Congress.
- Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers
- This report discusses the trade adjustment assistance (TAA) program for firms (TAAF). The TAAF program provides technical assistance to trade-affected firms to help them develop strategies and make other adjustments to remain competitive in the changing international economy.
- The Power to Regulate Commerce: Limits on Congressional Power
- This report discusses the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, which provides that the Congress shall have the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce.
- The Buy American Act in Brief: Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies and Construction Materials in Federal Procurements
- This report discusses the Buy American Act of 1933, which is the earliest and arguably the best known of various statutes regarding federal procurement of domestic products.
- Protection of Trade Secrets: Overview of Current Law and Legislation
- This report starts out with background information regarding trade secrets and an overview of current legal landscape for trade secret protection.
- International Corporate Tax Rate Comparisons and Policy Implications
- This report focuses on the global issues relating to tax rate differentials between the United States and other countries. It provides tax rate comparisons; discusses policy implications, including the effect of a corporate rate cut on revenue, output, and national welfare; and discusses the outlook for and consequences of a revenue neutral corporate tax reform.
- Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms: Economic, Program, and Policy Issues
- This report discusses the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms (TAAF) program and policy issues, as well as legislation to reauthorize the TAAF program. It provides technical assistance to help trade-impacted firms make strategic adjustments to improve their global competitiveness.
- Grants Work in a Congressional Office
- This report provides information about the Grants Work in a Congressional Office. An internal grant manual is a valuable tool for grants staff to develop. It can also outline office proceedings and policies.
- The U.S. Wine Industry and Selected Trade Issues with the European Union
- This report provides an overview of issues pertaining to the U.S. wine industry within ongoing U.S. trade negotiations in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
- SBA Veterans Assistance Programs: An Analysis of Contemporary Issues
- This report opens with an examination of the current economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census 2007 Survey of Business Owners, which was administered in 2008 and 2009, and released on May 17, 2011. It also provides a brief overview of veteran employment experiences, describes the employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force, and examines related Small Business Administration (SBA) initiatives such as business development programs, efforts to assist veterans' access to capital, and veteran contracting programs.
- SBA Veterans Assistance Programs: An Analysis of Contemporary Issues
- This report opens with an examination of the current economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census 2007 Survey of Business Owners, which was administered in 2008 and 2009, and released on May 17, 2011. It also provides a brief overview of veteran employment experiences, describes the employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force, and examines related Small Business Administration (SBA) initiatives such as business development programs, efforts to assist veterans' access to capital, and veteran contracting programs.
- "Amazon Laws" and Taxation of Internet Sales: Constitutional Analysis
- As more purchases are made over the Internet, states are looking for new ways to collect taxes on online sales. There is a common misperception that the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from taxing Internet sales. This report discusses "Amazon laws", which try to capture uncollected taxes on Internet sales and yet still comply with the Constitution's requirements.
- Legislation to Facilitate Cybersecurity Information Sharing: Economic Analysis
- This report analyzes the incentives for companies to share information about cybersecurity breaches with other companies and the federal government. Data breaches, such as those at Target, Home Depot, Neiman Marcus, and JPMorgan Chase, affecting financial records of tens of millions of households seem to occur regularly. Companies typically respond by trying to increase their cybersecurity by hiring consultants and purchasing new hardware and software. Policy analysts have suggested that sharing information about these breaches could be an effective and inexpensive part of improving cybersecurity. Firms share information directly on an ad hoc basis and through private-sector, nonprofit organizations such as Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) that can analyze and disseminate information.
- Contract Types: Legal Overview
- This report provides an overview of the various contract types (e.g., fixed-price, cost-reimbursement) used in federal procurement and the legal requirements and issues pertaining to each. The types of contracts used by federal agencies have long been of interest to Congress and the executive branch, as they have sought to ensure that the most appropriate type of contract is used to acquire particular supplies or services.
- The Obama Administration's Proposal to Establish a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation
- This report discusses the proposed creation of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), which would help accelerate innovation and support manufacturing technology commercialization. The report includes an overview of the topic as well as discussion on the Administration's proposal, preliminary activities, legislative status, and issues for consideration.
- Government Assistance for GMAC/Ally Financial: Unwinding the Government Stake
- This report explains the governments relationship with Ally Financial (formerly known as General Motors Acceptance Corporation, or GMAC). Under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) the government purchased preferred shares in Ally Financial, acquiring a 73.8% ownership state. This report discusses the reasoning behind this assistance to Ally and the ultimate costs.
- Medicaid Prescription Drug Pricing and Policy
- This report provides an overview of the Medicaid prescription drug pricing and policy.
- Terrorism Risk Insurance Legislation: Issue Summary and Side-by-Side Analysis
- After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress responded to the disruption in the insurance market by passing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA; P.L. 107-297). TRIA created a temporary program, to calm the insurance markets through a government reinsurance backstop sharing in terrorism losses. The current TRIA program expires at the end of 2014. This report briefly outlines the issues involved with terrorism insurance, summarizes the extension legislation, and includes a side-by-side of the current TRIA law and the bills that have been passed by the Senate (S. 2244), reported by the House Committee on Financial Services (H.R. 4871), and passed by the House (S. 2244 with a substitute amendment).
- Economic Crisis in Russia
- This report briefly examines the economic climate in Russia, providing background information and examining key trends. The report also briefly discusses possible next steps for the Kremlin and potential spillover effects for the United States.
- Oil Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline: Background and Selected Environmental Issues
- This report focuses on selected environmental concerns raised in conjunction with the proposed pipeline and the oil sands crude it will transport. As such, the environmental issues discussed in this report do not represent an exhaustive list of concerns and issues. Moreover, many of the environmental concerns are not unique to oil sands. One could compose analogous lists for all forms of energy: coal, natural gas, nuclear, biofuels, conventional crude oil. Therefore, the oil sands/pipeline issues discussed in this report, when practicable, will be compared to other energy sources, particularly conventional crude oil development.
- Algeria: Current Issues
- Report discussing the Algeria's current political and social issues and the effects they have on United States and Algerian relations.
- Offshore Drilling Safety: A Status Report
- This report describes selected Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) safety reforms, provides a concise summary of relevant offshore safety milestones, and offers insights about policy discussions related to safety. As part of overseeing DOI safety reforms initiated in 2010, the 113th Congress is placing an emphasis on agency performance associated with implementing reforms to improve safety initiated in 2010.