Congressional Research Service Reports - 14,864 Matching Results
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- Customer Choice and the Power Industry of the Future
- This report will begin to explore the issues, discussing what forms a transition from today's electric power grid to a grid of the future could take, and suggest questions that Congress may want to address. The United States seems to be at a turning point in the history of the electric power sector, some have advocated for the electric utility industry model to be reinvented under a "Utility 2.0" paradigm, wherein the modern needs of society for electric power and services become the driving force behind utility investments.
- Chemical Facility Security: Issues and Options for the 113th Congress
- This report provides a brief overview of the existing statutory authority and implementing regulation. It describes several policy issues raised in previous debates regarding chemical facility security and identifies policy options for congressional consideration.
- The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- This report provides background information regarding the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), its structure, funding, budget, effectiveness, and reform.
- El Salvador: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations
- This report discusses the state of the El Salvadoran government and recently elected President Mauricio Funes. This report also discusses the relationship between El Salvador and the United States, notably U.S. efforts to restore democracy and initiate economic reform in El Salvador. This report also briefly addresses the effects of the current financial crisis on El Salvador's economy, poverty levels, and crime rates.
- Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the sustainment and modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions.
- Congressional Power to Create Federal Courts: A Legal Overview
- This report provides an overview of this often difficult and misunderstood area of law, beginning with a discussion of the various types of federal tribunals. The report continues by noting the rationales for why Congress established the breadth of different courts that exist today and concludes with a discussion of the various factors and relevant issues that limit Congress's discretion in establishing federal courts.
- Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources
- This report provides links to selected authoritative resources related to cybersecurity issues. This report includes information on Legislation, Executive Orders and Presidential Directives, Data and Statistics, Cybersecurity Glossaries", Reports by Topic, Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports, White House/Office of Management and Budget reports, Military/DOD, Cloud Computing, Critical Infrastructure, National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC), Cybercrime/Cyberwar, International, Education/Training/Workforce, and Research and Development (R&D)
- Political Transition in Tunisia
- This report discusses Tunisia's pro-democracy movement; concerns over potential instability in a previously secure, pro-Western area; and U.S.-Tunisian relations.
- Health Care for Rural Veterans: The Example of Federally Qualified Health Centers
- This report discusses considerations that may arise during possible attempts to increase the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) collaboration with federally qualified health centers (FQHC), and describes policy levers Congress might use to encourage VA-FQHC collaboration.
- U.S. Policy Towards Burma: Issues for the 113th Congress
- This report provides an overview of United States policy towards Burma. The report discusses the evolution of Obama's Burma policy, and issues for U.S. policy.
- Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report presents background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Navy's Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class destroyer programs. The Navy's proposed FY2013 budget requests funding for the procurement of two DDG-51s. The Navy for FY2013 is also requesting congressional approval to use a multiyear procurement (MYP) arrangement for the nine DDG-51s scheduled for procurement in FY2013-FY2017. Decisions that Congress makes concerning these programs could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
- Foreign Aid: International Donor Coordination of Development Assistance
- This report provides a summary of official development assistance (ODA), discusses coordination goals established by donors at international development policy forums, and provides an overview of U.S. policy and efforts to meet these goals. The report concludes by identifying key issues in donor coordination, including the growing role of non-traditional donors, such as China, in development cooperation.
- Gulf Coast Restoration: RESTORE Act and Related Efforts
- This report provides information on environmental damage and restoration activities related to the Deepwater Horizon spill. An overview of how the RESTORE Act is being implemented and a discussion of multiple funding sources and plans to recover and restore the Gulf Coast environment are discussed. Further, potential issues for Congress related to this restoration initiative are presented.
- Federal Agency Actions Following the Supreme Court's Climate Change Decision in Massachusetts v. EPA: A Chronology
- This report presents a chronology of major federal agency actions related to environmental concerns following the decision of Massachusetts v. EPA; it particularly looks at actions of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In Massachusetts v. EPA, the Supreme Court held that greenhouse gases (GHGs), widely viewed as contributing to climate change, constitute "air pollutants" as that phrase is used in the Clean Air Act (CAA).
- Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS): Current Legislative Issues
- This report provides an overview and analysis of issues Congress might consider if it chooses to take up legislation to reauthorize the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.
- Kuwait: Security, Reform, and U.S. Policy
- This report looks at Kuwait's relationships with its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, and its own political system which has been in turmoil since 2006.
- Argentina's Defaulted Sovereign Debt: Dealing with the "Holdouts"
- This report reviews Argentina's financial crisis, the bond exchanges of 2005 and 2010, ongoing litigation, prospects for a final solution, related U.S. legislation, and broader policy issues. These include lessons on the effectiveness and cost of Argentina's default strategy, the ability to force sovereigns to meet their debt obligations, and ways to avoid future defaults like Argentina's.
- Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests
- This report discusses the history and political background of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia since their breakaway from the former Soviet Union at the end of 1991. It looks at key issues for the 112th Congress including economies, energy, regional politics, local crime, and terrorism.
- Financial Stability Oversight Council: A Framework to Mitigate Systemic Risk
- This report describes the mission, membership, and scope of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). It provides an analysis of several major policy issues related to the FSOC that may come before the 113th Congress.
- Filling U.S. Senate Vacancies: Perspectives and Contemporary Developments
- This report provides information on current vacancies in the Senate, the constitutional origins of the Senate vacancy clause, the appointment process by which most vacancies are filled, and related contemporary issues.
- Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and presents potential issues for Congress concerning the Navy's ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans, including the planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and prospective affordability. Congressional decisions on Navy shipbuilding programs can substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
- Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance
- This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai to address corruption within the Afghan government.
- Public Mass Shootings in the United States: Selected Implications for Federal Public Health and Safety Policy
- This report focuses on mass shootings and selected implications they have for federal policy in the areas of public health and safety. While such crimes most directly impact particular citizens in very specific communities, addressing these violent episodes involves officials at all levels of government and professionals from numerous disciplines.
- Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC): Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information regarding Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle(ACV) and Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC). The report discusses the marines' justification for the ACV and MPC and desired operational capabilities.
- Latin America and the Caribbean: Key Issues for the 113th Congress
- This report provides an overview of U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including the Obama Administration's priorities; examines changes in the region's economic and political environment that affect U.S. relations with the region; and analyzes U.S. policy toward the region and various recommendations made by policy analysts and think tanks.
- Chemical Facility Security: Issues and Options for the 113th Congress
- This report provides a brief overview of the existing statutory authority and implementing regulation. It describes several policy issues raised in previous debates regarding chemical facility security and identifies policy options for congressional consideration.
- 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.
- U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues, and Implications
- This report provides an overview of U.S.-Mexico economic relations, trade trends, the Mexican economy, NAFTA, and trade issues between the United States and Mexico.
- Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress
- This report discusses the process of naming Navy ships, which have traditionally been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy. Congress in recent years has proposed, and sometimes passed, legislation regarding the naming of specific ships.
- Regular Appropriations Bills: Terms of Initial Consideration and Amendment in the House, FY1996-FY2012
- This report examines the terms under which the regular appropriations bills are typically brought up and initially considered on the House floor, as well as the practices of the House with regards to amendment opportunities and the waiver of points of order, for FY1996 to FY2012 (104th-112th Congresses).
- Argentina's Post-Crisis Economic Reform: Challenges for U.S. Policy
- This report provides a framework for understanding Argentina's economic policies, issues raised for U.S. stakeholders, and implications for the future of U.S.-Argentine economic relations.
- Kosovo: Current Issues and U.S. Policy
- This report discusses the current political state of Kosovo, which, on February 7, 2008, declared its independence from Serbia. Since then, Serbia has contested Kosovo's declaration of independence, leading to parallel governing institutions and ongoing talks between the two nations. This report discusses challenges Kosovo faces regarding international recognition and the status of its ethnic minorities. This report also discusses Kosovo's relationship with the United States, and U.S. foreign aid efforts to Kosovo.
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations
- This report provides background information on key elements of the FBI terrorism investigative process, based on publicly available information. This report sets forth possible considerations for Congress as it executes its oversight role, including the extent to which intelligence has been integrated into FBI operations to support its counterterrorism mission and the progress the Bureau has made on its intelligence reform initiatives.
- Southwest Border Violence: Issues in Identifying and Measuring Spillover Violence
- This report focuses on how policy makers would identify any spillover of drug trafficking-related violence into the United States. It provides an overview of Mexican drug trafficking organization structures, how they conduct business, and the relationship between the drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and their partnerships operating here in the United States; a discussion of the illicit drug trade between Mexico and the United States, as well as a discussion of factors implicated in drug trafficking-related violence; an analysis of the possible nature of any spillover violence that may arise, as well as issues involved in accurately identifying and measuring such violence; and an evaluation of available crime rate data and a discussion of how this data may or may not reflect changes in drug trafficking-related crime.
- SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program
- This report examines the program's origin and development, including the decision to (1) supplement the original Prior Approval Program with the Preferred Surety Bond Guarantee Program that provides a lower guarantee rate (70%) than the Prior Approval Program (80% or 90%) in exchange for allowing preferred sureties to issue SBA-guaranteed surety bonds without the SBA's prior approval; and (2) increase the program's bond limit.
- The Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV): Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information on the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) and it discusses the Army's proposed replacement to the Vietnam-era M-113 personnel carriers, which are still in service in a variety of support capacities in Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs).
- The Army's Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) Program: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report looks at the history and current need for a Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program. Potential issues for Congress include the role and need for the GCV in a downsized Army that will likely have fewer heavy brigade combat teams (HBCTs).
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments
- This report discusses the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans all nuclear explosion and was in 1996 adopted by the U.N. General Assembly but rejected by the U.S. Senate in 1997. This report discusses the Obama Administration's stated goal of pursuing U.S. ratification of the CTBT, although the Administration has mainly focused on securing Senate consent to ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). This report also discusses other nuclear weapons-related issues as well as the long history of nuclear testing.
- Security Assistance Reform: "Section 1206" Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background on the pre-Section 1206 status of security assistance authorities and the factors contributing to the enactment of Section 1206, which provides the Secretary of Defense with authority to train and equip foreign military forces and foreign maritime security forces. It then sets out the purposes of the legislation and scope of its activities, restrictions on its use, the DOD-State Department planning process, and funding. It concludes with a discussion of issues for Congress.
- Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues.
- Suicide Prevention Efforts of the Veterans Health Administration
- This report discusses seven areas of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) suicide prevention interventions: easy access to care, education, screening and treatment, limited access to lethal means, suicide hotline, media restrictions, and suicide prevention coordinators.
- Congressional Action on FY2014 Appropriations Measures
- This report provides background and analysis with regard to the FY2014 appropriations process. The first section discusses the status of discretionary budget enforcement for FY2014, including the statutory spending limits and allocations under the congressional budget resolution. The second section provides information on the consideration and enactment of regular appropriations and an overview of aggregate discretionary spending.
- Kosovo: Current Issues and U.S. Policy
- This report discusses the current political state of Kosovo, which, on February 7, 2008, declared its independence from Serbia. Since then, Serbia has contested Kosovo's declaration of independence, leading to parallel governing institutions and ongoing talks between the two nations. This report discusses challenges Kosovo faces regarding international recognition and the status of its ethnic minorities. This report also discusses Kosovo's relationship with the United States, and U.S. foreign aid efforts to Kosovo.
- International Trade and Finance: Key Policy Issues for the 113th Congress
- This report discusses a variety of issues faced by the 113th Congress. Topics include trade negotiations with China, export controls and sanctions, import policies, intellectual property rights, international investments and international financial institutions.
- Medical Loss Ratio Requirements Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): Issues for Congress
- This report provides a detailed description of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148) requirements for Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) reporting and rebates as specified in regulations, including components of the MLR formula, state flexibility and waivers, and the nature of rebates to policyholders. The report also addresses issues that have been raised about the MLR provisions since the ACA was enacted, namely the treatment of insurance commissions paid to brokers and agents.
- State Government Fiscal Stress and Federal Assistance
- This report examines the current status of state fiscal conditions and the role of federal assistance in state budgets. It begins with an overview of state budgeting procedures and then provides budgetary data comparing state fiscal conditions in FY2008 to FY2013.
- Algeria: Current Issues
- This report focuses on current political issues, as well as Algeria's economy, its foreign policy, and U.S.-Algeria relations. Key issues include reform efforts initiated after anti-government demonstrations in early 2011 and amid the regional tumult of the "Arab Spring"; terrorism and related security issues; human rights; national reconciliation following the "dark decade" of the 1990s Islamist insurgency; and activism in ethnic Berber areas.
- Abortion and Family Planning-Related Provisions in U.S. Foreign Assistance Law and Policy
- This report details legislation and policies that restrict or place requirements on U.S. funding of abortion or family planning activities abroad. The level and extent of federal funding for these activities is an ongoing and controversial issue in U.S. foreign assistance and will likely continue to be a point of contention during the 113th Congress.
- 501(c)(4)s and Campaign Activity: Analysis Under Tax and Campaign Finance Laws
- This report discusses 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, including the requirements necessary to maintain 501(c)(4) status and the requirements for annual reporting to the Internal Revenue Service and Federal Election Commission.
- Gun Control Legislation in the 113th Congress
- This report looks at past gun control legislation and also how recent events (such as the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, Aurora, Colorado, and Tucson, Arizona) have influenced current congressional discourse and legislation. The report also specifically examines certain contentious, gun related topics including universal background checks, gun trafficking, and military style firearms.