Congressional Research Service Reports - 569 Matching Results

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The U.S. Trade Deficit: An Overview: This report provides an overview of the U.S. trade deficit, which is the numerical difference between a country's exports and imports of goods and services. Topics include the source of the trade deficit, trade agreements, unemployment, and issues for Congress.
Multilateral Development Banks: Overview and Issues for Congress: This report provides an overview of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and highlights major issues for Congress. The first section discusses how the MDBs operate, and the second section discusses the role of Congress in the MDBs.
Capital Markets, Securities Offerings, and Related Policy Issues: This report analyzes legislative proposals that would generally affect the terms and amounts of capital provided to companies by investors. It analyzes a number of current legislative proposals and agency actions to expand both public and private securities offerings through amendments to program design, investor access, and disclosure requirements, among other provisions.
Debates over Exchange Rates: Overview and Issues for Congress: This report provides information on current debates over exchange rates in the global economy. It offers an overview of how exchange rates work; analyzes specific disagreements and debates; and examines existing frameworks for potentially addressing currency disputes. It also lays out some policy options available to Congress.
The Orderly Liquidation Authority: Reform Proposals: This report discusses the Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA) which was created by Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111-203) to allow the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to resolve certain failing financial institutions whose collapse could threaten the stability of the financial system. Although OLA has never been used, it has become the subject of a number of reform proposals. This report briefly describes the OLA and two prominent examples of such proposals.
Regulating the U.S. Campaign Environment: Politics and Policy: This report discusses current regulations governing election campaigns and potential new threats to campaigns that may require new regulations or policies.
Bankruptcy Basics: A Primer: This report serves as a primer for Members and their staffs on the basics of U.S. bankruptcy law. The report provides a brief overview of the most essential concepts necessary for an informed understanding of the U.S. bankruptcy system
Defense Primer: Defense Working Capital Funds: This report describes how Defense Working Capital Funds (DWCF) work and lists the major DWCF's that are currently in operation.
Issues in International Corporate Taxation: The 2017 Revision (P.L. 115-97): This report discusses international tax laws and the 2017 tax reform bill. The report begins by explaining prior international tax rules and the revisions made in the new law. The second part of the report discusses the four major issues of concern under prior law-- allocation of investment, profit shifting, repatriation, and inversions--and how the new law addresses these concerns, or raises new ones. That section also discusses issues associated with international agreements. The final section summarizes commentary about problems and issues, including legal challenges and uncertainty, within the new international tax regime and options that have been suggested. That section discusses some of the more detailed rules.
Funding and Financing Highways and Public Transportation: This report discusses the current federal funding structure for surface transportation and the budget shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund (made up of funds from gas taxes). Various options for resolving the funding shortfall are discussed, including raising the gas tax, public-private partnerships, and tolls.
Regulatory Reform 10 Years After the Financial Crisis: Dodd-Frank and Securities Law: This report discusses the success and challenges of securities regulation reform passed 10 years ago as a a part of the Dodd-Frank Act and new legislation in Congress that would repeal or change aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act.
International Trade and Finance: Overview and Issues for the 115th Congress: This report discusses major topics of interest and debate in the 115th Congress related to trade and finance.
National Flood Insurance Program Borrowing Authority: This report evaluates the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) borrowing authority to receive loans from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, particularly in the context of major floods, and discusses the current financial situation of the NFIP.
Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC): Structure and Activities: This report discusses the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and its Office of Financial Research (OFR) which were established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111203) to address several potential sources of systemic risk. It provides an overview of the FSOC's structure and analyzes FSOC policy-related issues and legislation.
FHA-Insured Home Loans: An Overview: This report provides an overview of the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) loan programs.
Small Business Administration Microloan Program: This report discusses the Small Business Administration's (SBA) microloan program. It describes the Microloan program's eligibility standards and operating requirements for lenders and borrowers and examines the arguments presented by the program's critics and advocates. It also examines changes to the program authorized by P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 and several bills introduced during the 114th and 115th Congresses.
FDIC's Deposit Insurance Assessments and Reserve Ratio: This report discusses the FDIC's deposit insurance assessments and reserve ratio used to guarantee the repayment of deposits at a bank up to the insured level.
The Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Program: This report discusses the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program.
The Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS): This report discusses the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) which is an interagency body comprised of nine Cabinet members, two ex officio members, and other members as appointed by the President, that assists the President in overseeing the national security aspects of foreign direct investment in the U.S. economy. Various legislative and executive actions that would effect the operations of CFIUS are also discussed.
Blockchain: Background and Policy Issues: This report explains the technologies which underpin blockchain digital financial ledgers, how blockchain works, potential applications for blockchain, concerns with it, and potential considerations for Congress.
Multiemployer Defined Benefit (DB) Pension Plans: A Primer and Analysis of Policy Options: This report discusses multi-employer defined benefit (DB) pension plans which are pensions sponsored by more than one employer and maintained as part of a collective bargaining agreement and recent legislation related to them.
Regulatory Reform 10 Years After the Financial Crisis: Systemic Risk Regulation of Non-Bank Financial Institutions: This report discusses the progress of regulatory reform for non-bank financial institutions since the 2008 financial crisis.
Tax-Preferred College Savings Plans: An Introduction to 529 Plans: This report provides an introduction to 529 college savings plans and examines the specific tax advantages of these plans.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Reinsurance, and Catastrophe Bonds: This report discusses the use of reinsurance to transfer some of the risk of an insurance policy from the primary insurer to a secondary insurer and the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) decision to use reinsurance through the issuance of catastrophe bonds (which pay out when a particular type of disaster set out in the bond agreement occurs) by the secondary private insurers.
Fannie and Freddie Investors Turn to Congress After the Supreme Court Declines to Resurrect Their Legal Claims: This report discusses the Supreme Court's decision to decline to review the case of "Perry Capital LLC. v. Murchin" which denied the claims of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders against the federal government. It also discusses some of the plaintiffs desire to seek legislative reform from Congress to change the law governing profit transfers from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Tailoring Bank Regulations: Differences in Bank Size, Activities, and Capital Levels: This report discusses various types of banks and legislative proposals regarding how to tailor regulations to banks of different sizes.
"Extraordinary Measures" and the Debt Limit: This report briefly examines the statutory debt limit and the use of extraordinary measures by the Treasury Department when Congress does not modify the debt limit by the deadline.
Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC): Structure and Activities: This report provides an overview of the The Financial Stability Oversight Council's (FSOC's) structure and analyzes FSOC policy-related issues and legislation.
Two-Sided Credit Card Markets: The Supreme Court Takes Up Novel Antitrust Issue: This report discusses the case of "Ohio v. American Express" which the Supreme Court has accepted for hearing which poses the question of how federal antitrust law should treat two-sided markets which are platforms in which two distinct user groups operate in an interdependent way. The case challenges anti-steering clauses in American Express contract agreements with merchants that prevent the merchants from promoting the use of other credit cards. The case has the potential to change the way vendors accept card payments across the country--but the case also provides the Supreme Court with the opportunity to guide the lower courts that are increasingly confronting antitrust issues concerning two-sided markets. As a result, the American Express case raises several issues for Congress that could implicate its legislative and oversight roles with respect to the financial services industry and, more generally, the regulation of two-sided markets.
Payments for Affordable Care Act (ACA) Cost-Sharing Reductions: This report discusses President Trump's announcement that the federal government would stop issuing cost-sharing reductions(CSRs) to insurers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and potential implications for the insurance market and consumers.
Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects: This report is intended to address questions that arise frequently related to the topic of government shutdowns. It discusses the causes of funding gaps and shutdowns of the federal government, processes that are associated with shutdowns, and how agency operations may be affected by shutdowns. The report concludes with a discussion of potential issues for Congress.
Deficits and Debt: Economic Effects and Other Issues: This report explores distinctions in the concept and composition of deficits and debt and explains how those two measures interact with each other and the general economy.
Treasury Proposes Rule that Could Deliver a 'Death Sentence" to Chinese Bank: This report discusses the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposal to invoke the "Fifth Special Measure" on the Chinese Bank of Dandong for its alleged role in funding and and processing transactions for North Korea's weapons programs.
Banking Policy Issues in the 115th Congress: This report provides a broad overview of selected banking-related issues, including prudential regulation, consumer protection, "too big to fail" (TBTF) banks, community banking, regulatory agency structures and independence, and recent market and economic trends. It is not an exhaustive look at all bank policy issues, nor is it a detailed examination of any one issue. Rather, it provides concise background and analyses of certain prominent issues that have been the subject of recent discussion and debate. In addition, this report provides a list of Congressional Research Service reports that examine specific bills, including the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10) and bills proposing to provide regulatory relief for banks.
Systemically Important or "Too Big to Fail" Financial Institution.: This report discusses the "To Big To Fail" (TBTF) system of the government intervening and bailing out certain companies whose collapse is deemed too disruptive to the American financial market to let occur. This report discusses the economic issues raised by TBTF, broad policy options, and policy changes made by the relevant Dodd-Frank provisions.
Social Security: Cost-of-Living Adjustments: This report discusses the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for Social Security and the upcoming COLA set to begin in January 2018. Calculations used to determine COLA amounts and a brief history of their use is also included.
VA Housing: Guaranteed Loans, Direct Loans, and Specially Adapted Housing Grants: This report discusses the three types of housing assistance offered by the Veterans Administration (VA): the loan guaranty program, direct loan programs, and Specially Adapted Housing program. Each ones origins, operations, and funding methods are included. The report also has a section that discusses the default and foreclosure of VA-guaranteed loans.
When an Agency's Budget Request Does Not Match the President's Request: The Fiscal Year 2018 CFTC Request and "Budget Bypass": This report discuses two competing 2018 fiscal year budget requests for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from President Trump and from the CFTC themselves. The Presidential request is $250 million, which is the same amount the CFTC had the past year, while CFTC is requesting an additional $31.5 million in funding for a total request of $ 281.5 million. The process of submitting budgets to the President and Congress is discussed as well as ways to reconcile the two conflicting budget requests.
The Small Business Lending Fund: This report discusses on the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF). It begins with a discussion of the supply and demand for small business loans. The SBLF's advocates argued that the fund was an important part of a larger effort to enhance the supply of small business loans. After describing the program's structure, the report then examines other arguments that were presented both for and against the program's enactment. Advocates claimed the SBLF would increase lending to small businesses and, in turn, create jobs. Opponents contended that the SBLF could lose money, lacked sufficient oversight provisions, did not require lenders to increase their lending to small businesses, could serve as a vehicle for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) recipients to effectively refinance their TARP loans on more favorable terms with little or no resulting benefit for small businesses, and could encourage a failing lender to make even riskier loans to avoid higher dividend payments. The report concludes with an examination of the SBLF's implementation by the Department of the Treasury and a discussion of bills introduced during recent Congresses to amend the SBLF.
For First Time, FinCEN Imposes Penalty on Foreign-Based Virtual Currency Exchange for Violations of Anti-Money Laundering Laws: This report discusses the first case of enforcement by the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) against a foreign-based virtual currency exchange. The action was taken agains BTC-e for violations of anti-money laundering regulations in the U.S. and potential money laundering activities.
DOJ Brings Forfeiture Action to Seize and Return $1 Billion Embezzled Malaysian Government Assets: This report discuses the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) civil forfeiture action against $1 billion worth of assets bought with money embezzled from the government of Malaysia by high-level officials in Malaysia from 2009 to 2015.
Social Security: The Trust Funds: This report covers how the Social Security program is financed and how the Social Security trust funds work. It will be updated annually to reflect current projections of the financial status of the Social Security trust funds.
Normalization of the Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet: This report answers questions about the Federal Reserve's (Fed's) September 20 announcement that it would begin to normalize its balance sheet in October by gradually reducing its asset holdings.
Social Security: What Would Happen if the Trust Funds Ran Out?: This report explains what the Social Security trust funds are and how they work. It describes the historical operations of the trust funds and the Social Security trustees' projections of future operations. It explains what could happen if Congress allowed the trust funds to run out. It also analyzes two scenarios that assume Congress waits until the moment of insolvency to act, showing the magnitude of benefit cuts or tax increases needed and how such changes would affect beneficiaries.
Medicare Financial Status: In Brief: This report discusses the funding sources of Medicare and its financial stability.
The Financial CHOICE Act in the 115th Congress: Selected Policy Issues: This report highlights major proposals included in the Financial CHOICE Act (FCA) but is not a comprehensive summary. In general, the bill proposes changes that can be divided into two categories: (1) changes to financial policies and regulations and (2) changes to the regulatory structure and rulemaking process. Major policy-related changes proposed by the FCA include the following: Leverage Ratio, Regulatory Relief, To Big To Fail, Funding, Rulemaking, Judicial Review, Enforcement, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Federal Reserve.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues: This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act's (UMRA) implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that CBO issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in rules. It also assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions that currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities. An examination of the rise of unfunded federal mandates as a national issue and a summary of UMRA's legislative history are provided in Appendix A. Citations to UMRA points of order raised in the House and Senate are provided in Appendix B.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Proposed Reauthorization in the 115th Congress: This report examines selected major H.R. 238 provisions that would authorize appropriations for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of $250 million for each of FY2017 through FY2021, expand the current 5 cost-benefit analysis provisions in the CEA to 12 considerations and add a requirement that the CFTC conduct quantitative as well as qualitative assessments, potentially broaden the bona fide hedging definition to allow anticipated, as well as current, risks to be hedged, which might increase the number of swaps that qualify as hedges, and mandate that, starting 18 months from enactment, the regulatory requirements of the eight largest foreign swaps markets be considered comparable to those of the United States--unless the CFTC issued a rule finding that any of those foreign jurisdictions' requirements were not comparable to U.S. requirements.
FATCA Reporting on U.S. Accounts: Recent Legal Developments: This report discusses the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA) intended to curb tax evasion through the use of offshore accounts and its requirement to for foreign banks to report information on their U.S. citizen account holders to the IRS. It starts with an overview of the foreign financial instituition (FFI) reporting requirements and examines the role of the intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) in implementing them. The report then discusses the confidentiality protections provided to the information reported by FFIs and litigation in which plaintiffs have raised concerns about privacy and the use of IGAs. It ends with a summary of FATCA legislation introduced in the 114th Congress.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Background and Summary: This report reviews issues related to financial regulation and provides brief descriptions of major provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, along with links to CRS products going in to greater depth on specific issues. It does not attempt to track the legislative debate in the 115th Congress.

Congressional Research Service Reports - 569 Matching Results

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