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Small Business Legislation: Sources of Information
This report seeks to respond to inquiries from congressional staff who request information about major legislation affecting small business.
Small Business Tax Relief: Proposals in the 108th Congress and Their Economic Justification
This report examines the economic arguments for and against small business tax subsidies in the context of current congressional proposals to expand them. It begins with a brief description of current federal tax subsidies for small firms, moves on to consider the principal economic arguments for and against these subsidies, and concludes with a discussion of proposals in the 108th Congress to expand small business tax subsidies and their likely economic effects.
Net Operating Losses: Proposed Extension of Carryback Period
This report explains the current law regarding the tax treatment of net operating losses (NOLs). In addition, this report highlights a number of policy considerations relating to the extension of the NOL carryback period.
Selected Small Business Statistics
This report gathers selected statistics on the role of small businesses in the national economy that Congress has frequently asked the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to provide. Most of the statistics are calculated by CRS from Census data. The report uses the widely accepted research definition that a small business has fewer than 500 employees.
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, H.R. 1036 and S. 659, 108th Congress: Legal Analysis
This report examines H.R. 1036, 108th Congress, as ordered to be reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on April 3, 2003, and passed by the House without amendment on April 9, 2003. H.R. 1036, titled the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,” would prohibit lawsuits, except in specified circumstances, against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm or ammunition, or a trade association, for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm or ammunition.
Small Business Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
This report provides an overview of key provisions related to the Small Business Administration (SBA), based on appropriations in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L. 111-5).
Small Business Disaster Assistance: Responding to the Terrorist Attacks
This report discusses the impact of the terrorist attacks on small businesses, provides an overview of the types of relief assistance currently available from the SBA, notes the agency's response to date, summarizes proposed legislation, and analyzes policy options for Congress.
Rothe Development Corporation v. Department of Defense: The Constitutionality of Federal Contracting Programs for Minority-Owned and Other Small Businesses
This report discusses Rothe Development Corporation v. Department of Defense, a case involving a constitutional challenge to a minority contracting program authorized under Section 1207 of the Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization Act of 1987. This program allowed DOD to take 10% off the price of bids or offers submitted by "small disadvantaged businesses" in determining which bid or offer had the lowest price or represented the best value for the government.
Using Business Tax Cuts to Stimulate the Economy
This report discusses issues associated with the use of business tax subsidies. First, is fiscal policy appropriate? Second, how successful are subsidies likely to be and what form might they take to be most effective? Finally, what other consequences might flow from the use of business tax subsidies, especially if they are to be permanent?
Minority Contracting and Affirmative Action for Disadvantaged Small Businesses: Legal Issues
This report discusses the minority participation “goals” that have been an integral part of federal policies to promote racial and gender equality in contracting on federally financed construction projects and in connection with other large federal contracts.
The Senate's Calendar of Business
This report provides a summary of the contents of the Senate's Calendar of Business, which lists bills, resolutions, and other items of legislative business that are eligible for floor consideration.
The Advanced Technology Program
President Bush's FY2008 budget request did not include financing for ATP. The FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 110-161, replaces ATP with the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) and provides $65.2 million (with an additional $5 million in ATP FY2007 unobligated balances), 17.6% less than the previous fiscal year. P.L. 110- 69, the America COMPETES Act, authorized the creation of TIP.
Defining Small Business: An Historical Analysis of Contemporary Issues
This report examines the competing views that have been presented concerning how to define a small business and how various proposals for changing the SBA's size standards would effect program eligibility.
Alternative Minimum Taxpayers by State: 2005, 2006, and Projections for 2008
This report
Alternative Minimum Taxpayers By State: 2003, 2004, and Projections for 2007
This report
Tax Provisions of the Economic Stimulus Package
This report describes the economic stimulus package, P.L. 110-185, which contained two major components: individual tax rebates costing an estimated $117 billion in FY2008 and FY2009, and depreciation provisions (bonus depreciation and small business expensing costing an estimated $46.3 billion. This report describes the stimulus package's major components and their likely impacts as an economic stimulus.
Softwood Lumber Imports from Canada: Issues and Events
This report provides a concise historical account of the dispute over softwood lumber imports from Canada, summarizes the subsidy and injury evidence, and discusses current issues and events.
Dairy Policy Issues
This report discusses several dairy issues that have been or are being considered by the 109th Congress, some of which affect the three major federal dairy policy tools -- the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program, federal milk marketing orders, and the dairy price support program.
Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program: An Overview
This report provides a brief overview of The Hollings Manufacturing Partnership (MEP), which is a program of regional centers set up to assist small and medium-sized manufacturing companies use knowledge and technologies developed under the auspices of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Globalized Supply Chains and U.S. Policy
This report discusses the challenges and opportunities raised by the globalized world of business, in which production becomes fragmented into discrete activities that can be spread geographically within and across national borders while remaining integrated organizationally within a multinational company or network of companies. Such globalized production networks are called supply chains or value-added networks.
Inequality in the Distribution of Income: Trends and International Comparisons
This report examines the distribution of income in the United States, including factors that may help explain it, how it has changed over time, and how it compares with those of other countries.
Job Loss and Infrastructure Job Creation During the Recession
The report examines trends in employment and job loss since the start of the latest recession then focuses on job creation estimates associated with increased spending on infrastructure, placing a heavy emphasis on explaining the limitations with the methodology that is often utilized to develop the estimates.
Softwood Lumber Imports from Canada: Issues and Events
This report provides a concise historical account of the dispute over softwood lumber imports from Canada, summarizes the subsidy and injury evidence, and discusses current issues and events.
Estate Taxes and Family Businesses: Economic Issues
The report discusses an uncapped exemption and an uncapped exemption targeted at liquidity issues.
Industry Trade Effects Related to NAFTA
This report will look at the broad effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy and the trade-related effects at the industry level.
Is the U.S. Current Account Deficit Sustainable?
No Description Available.
Inequality in the Distribution of Income: Trends and International Comparisons
This report examines the distribution of income in the United States, including factors that may help explain it, how it has changed over time, and how it compares with those of other countries.
Monopoly and Monopolization - Fundamental But Separate Concepts in U.S. Antitrust Law
This report illustrates the difference between the concepts of “monopoly” and “monopolization” by touching on the monopoly/monopolization thinking in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as illustrated in (1) statements on merger enforcement made by recent antitrust enforcement officials (generally indicative of the agencies’ concerns about competitive conditions and the effect of various market transactions), (2) the 1992 Horizontal Merger Guidelines 2 and (3) some observations on the Government actions against the Microsoft and Intel Corporations.
Federal Government Corporations: An Overview
This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category currently consisting of some 18 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to them in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is an agency of government, established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and intended to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.
Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations: An Overview
This report discusses The U.S. economy is growing increasingly interconnected with other economies around the world, a phenomenon often referred to as globalization. As U.S. businesses expand globally, however, various groups across the social and economic spectrum are growing concerned over the economic, social, and political impact of this activity. Over the past 15 years, multinational corporations and nations have adopted voluntary, legally enforceable, and industry-specific codes of conduct to address many of these concerns. This report provides background on the issue and briefly examines options for Congress to address it.
U.S. Motor Vehicle Industry: Federal Financial Assistance and Restructuring
This report focuses on the current situation faced by the Detroit 3, key aspects of their current crisis, including possible consequences of a failure of one or more companies, and some aspects of legislative actions that have been considered to bridge their financial conditions to a more stable situation.
Why Has the Economy Become Less Volatile?
The 2001 recession was unusually mild and brief by historical standards. At 120 months, the expansion that preceded it had been the longest in U.S. history. Is this a coincidence? A body of research concludes that it is not. This report discusses several theories for what caused this phenomenon.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: A Legal Overview
This report examines the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 was enacted principally to prevent corporate bribery of foreign officials. This act had three major parts: 1. It required the keeping by corporations of accurate books, records, and accounts; 2. It required issuers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to maintain a responsible internal accounting control system; and 3. It prohibited bribery by American corporations of foreign officials.
Economic Downturns and Crime
This report examines the relationships between selected variables of economic strength and crime. It begins with an overview of crime rates during times of economic recession in the United States. It then reviews the existing literature in the field analyzing various data sets that examine whether the unemployment rate and foreclosures can be related to increases in the national crime rate.
Job Loss and Infrastructure Job Creation During the Recession
This report takes an in-depth look at job creation estimates, including the limitations of the methodology often used to derive them and the difficulties associated with developing job estimates for green infrastructure in particular. The report views these topics in the context of the 2007-2008 recession and its aftermath.
Federal Government Corporations: An Overview
This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category currently consisting of some 17 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to them in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is a government agency that is established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and required to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.
Job Loss and Infrastructure Job Creation Spending During the Recession
This report takes an in-depth look at job creation estimates, including the limitations of the methodology often used to derive them and the difficulties associated with developing job estimates for green infrastructure in particular. The report views these topics in the context of the 2007-2008 recession and its aftermath.
Estate Taxes and Family Businesses: Economic Issues
The report discusses an uncapped exemption and an uncapped exemption targeted at liquidity issues.
Fair Conduct in Franchise Sales: H.R. 3308, 106th Congress
No Description Available.
Estate Taxes and Family Businesses: Economic Issues
The report discusses an uncapped exemption and an uncapped exemption targeted at liquidity issues.
Estate Taxes and Family Businesses: Economic Issues
The report discusses an uncapped exemption and an uncapped exemption targeted at liquidity issues.
Federal Government Corporations: An Overview
This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category currently consisting of some 17 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to them in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is a government agency that is established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and required to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.
U.S. Motor Vehicle Industry: Federal Financial Assistance and Restructuring
This report looks at TARP and federal government assistance to General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford Motors. In particular, the history of these transactions and how they were affecte by Congress, Senate, President Bush, and President Obama.
The Foreign Tax Credit's Interest Allocation Rules
This report discusses the "worldwide" allocation of interest rule, which was a provision of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-357; the Jobs Act). The provision relates to the taxation of multi-national corporations and allows more generous rules for multinationals to use in allocating interest expense for purposes of the U.S. foreign tax credit.
Corporate Tax Reform: Issues for Congress
This report provides an overview of corporate tax issues and discusses potential reforms in the context of these issues, with particular attention to some of the recent research concerning large behavioral responses and their implications for revenue and distribution.
GAO Bid Protests: Trends, Analysis, and Options for Congress
This report is one of two providing Congress with background on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid-protest process. It analyzes (1) trends in bid protests filed with GAO, (2) the impact bid protests have in delaying contracts, (3) the most common grounds for GAO to sustain a protest, and (4) trends in bid protests filed against the Department of Defense (DOD).
GAO Bid Protests: Trends, Analysis, and Options for Congress
This report provides an overview of the time frames and procedures in a Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest, including (1) what issues can be protested with GAO; (2) who can file or be a party to a GAO protest; (3) the procedures for bringing and resolving GAO protests; (4) the time frames involved in GAO protests; (5) the automatic stay of contract award or performance triggered by a GAO protest, as well as the basis for agency overrides of automatic stays and judicial review of agency override determinations; (6) the basis and effects of GAO decisions; and (7) reconsideration and "appeal" of GAO decisions.
The Global Economic Downturn and Protectionism
This report develops three scenarios to approximate different dimensions of the relationship between the global economic downturn and protectionism. The scenarios are not predictions, but descriptions of how and why pressures for protection could be manifested and transmitted under different circumstances and assumptions.
The Global Economic Downturn and Protectionism
This report develops three scenarios to approximate different dimensions of the relationship between the global economic downturn and protectionism. The scenarios are not predictions, but descriptions of how and why pressures for protection could be manifested and transmitted under different circumstances and assumptions.
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms: Economic, Program, and Policy Issues
This report discusses the trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for Firms program, which provides technical assistance to trade-affected firms to help them develop strategies to remain competitive in the changing international economy.
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