Congressional Research Service Reports - 6,056 Matching Results
Search Results
- DNA Testing in Criminal Justice: Background, Current Law, Grants, and Issues
- This report provides an overview of how DNA is used to investigate crimes and help protect the innocent. It also reviews current statutory law on collecting DNA samples, sharing DNA profiles generated from those samples, and providing access to post-conviction DNA testing. The report also includes a summary of grant programs authorized by Congress to assist state and local governments with reducing DNA backlogs, provide post-conviction DNA testing, and promote new technology in the field. It also reviews select issues Congress might consider should it legislate or conduct oversight in this area.
- Transportation Security: Issues for the 113th Congress
- This report discusses aviation security, transit and passenger security, port and maritime security.
- Safe Drinking Water Act: A Summary of the Act and Its Major Requirements
- This report summarizes the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and its major programs and regulatory requirements. It excerpts, with several additions, the SDWA chapter of CRS Report RL30798, Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statues Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which provides summaries of the principal environmental statutes administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This report includes the drinking water security provisions added to the SDWA by the Public Heath Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.
- Unaccompanied Alien Children: Demographics in Brief
- This report discusses children coming to the United States who are not accompanied by parents or legal guardians and who lack proper immigration documents has raised complex and competing sets of humanitarian concerns and immigration control issues. This report focuses on the demographics of unaccompanied alien children while they are in removal proceedings.
- EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?
- This report provides background information on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory activity during the Obama Administration to help address these issues. It examines major or controversial regulatory actions taken by or under development at EPA since January 2009, providing details on the regulatory action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion of the rule (including identification of related court or statutory deadlines), and, in general, providing EPA's estimates of costs and benefits, where available. The report includes tables that show which rules remain under development, and an appendix that describes major or controversial rules that are now final.
- Climate Change: Comparison of S. 2191 as Reported (now S. 3036) with Proposed Boxer Amendment
- This report discusses S. 2191 (the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008), which was reintroduced as S. 3036 with a deficit reduction amendment. In particular, it provides a comparison of five key differences between the bill and the proposed Boxer Amendment.
- The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: History, Perspectives, and Issues
- This report offers a brief history of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. It discusses the establishment of a regional home heating oil reserve and addresses the question when the SPR should be used.
- U.S. Naturalization Policy
- This report reviews the rights and obligations that come with naturalization. It examines the naturalization process, discusses recent trends regarding who, among the roughly 1 million immigrants entering the United States each year, ultimately becomes a U.S. citizen, and discusses recent naturalization-related policy issues.
- Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Review of Fluoridation and Regulation Issues
- This report discusses the potential benefits and adverse effects associated with the fluoridation of drinking water supplies. It also discusses the regulation of fluoride in drinking water to protect against adverse health effects from exposure to higher levels of fluoride, and it reviews the status of federal efforts to update the health risk assessment for fluoride and the primary drinking water standard for fluoride.
- Unaccompanied Alien Children--Legal Issues: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
- This report addresses the questions regarding the number of children arriving at the United States southern border, their reasons for coming to the United States, and current and potential responses of the federal government and other entities to their arrival
- Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview
- This report opens with an analysis of the data of the recent surge in UAC crossing the border. It then discusses current policy on the treatment, care, and custody of the population. The processing and treatment of UAC is detailed, with a discussion of each agency that is involved with the population. The report then discusses both Administrative and Congressional action to deal with the current crisis. As this issue is still emerging, the report concludes with a series of questions related to UAC that remain unanswered.
- Ocean Piracy and Its Impact on Insurance
- This report examines the issue of piracy off the coast of East Africa in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The report looks into the impact of such piracy on the insurance industry and explains the available options for Congress to mitigate piracy's negative effects on the industry.
- Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues
- "This report surveys the various authorities governing immigration detainers, including the standard detainer form (Form I-247) sent by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to other law enforcement agencies. The report also discusses key legal issues raised by immigration detainers, including whether Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) detainer regulations and practices are beyond its statutory authority; whether states and localities are required to comply with immigration detainers; who has custody of aliens subject to detainers; and whether detainer practices violate aliens' constitutional rights. In considering these topics, it is important to note that Form I-247 and DHS's detainer practices have changed several times since 2010, and that decisions on the merits have not yet been issued in many cases challenging the use of detainers in conjunction with the Secure Communities program" (p. 6).
- The Workforce Investment Act and the One-Stop Delivery System
- This report focuses on Titles I and II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), both of which authorize programs to provide job search, education, and training activities for individuals seeking to gain or improve their employment prospects.
- DNA Testing in Criminal Justice: Background, Current Law, Grants, and Issues
- This report provides an overview of how DNA is used to investigate crimes and help protect the innocent. It also reviews current statutory law on collecting DNA samples, sharing DNA profiles generated from those samples, and providing access to post-conviction DNA testing. The report also includes a summary of grant programs authorized by Congress to assist state and local governments with reducing DNA backlogs, provide post-conviction DNA testing, and promote new technology in the field.
- Nondiscrimination in Environmental Regulation: A Legal Analysis
- This report will examine the relevant legal authorities that may be asserted to address disproportionate impacts that result from how an agency implements environmental regulations, including the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and various environmental and conservation statutes. It will discuss administrative efforts to address "environmental justice," a term used by some advocates to refer to the distribution of environmental quality across various demographic groups, including the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Plan EJ 2014. It will also analyze the use of these authorities to prevent such impacts and the likelihood of success for future challenges under each legal theory.
- Ocean Piracy and Its Impact on Insurance
- This report examines the issue of piracy off the coast of East Africa in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The report looks into the impact of such piracy on the insurance industry and explains the available options for Congress to mitigate piracy's negative effects on the industry.
- Federal Deposit Insurance for Banks and Credit Unions
- This report provides an overview of the FDIC and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the status of the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) and National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), and the resolution procedures that are implemented when depository institutions fail.
- Immigration Detainers: Legal Issues
- This report provides background information regarding the Immigration and Naturalization Service rules and regulations and discusses the "immigration detainer," a document by which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) advises other law enforcement agencies that it seeks custody of individual aliens whom these agencies are detaining.
- Permissible Securities Activities of Commercial Banks Under the Glass-Steagall Act (GSA) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
- This report explains the extent to which commercial banks, their subsidiaries, and affiliates were able to engage in securities activities, including securities underwriting, dealing, and brokerage, under the authorities of the Glass-Steagall Act (GSA) and other pre-GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) banking laws, most notably the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (BHCA; 70 Stat. 133). It also discusses how the volume and scope of these securities activities expanded over time, and how the GLBA changed the GSA construct by facilitating affiliations among commercial banks and securities firms..
- Pipeline Safety and Security: Federal Programs
- This report discusses congressional interest in securing the nation's pipelines. Nearly half a million miles of oil and natural gas transmission pipeline crisscross the United States. While an efficient and fundamentally safe means of transport, many pipelines carry hazardous materials with the potential to cause public injury and environmental damage.
- The president pro tempore of the U.S senate; the Historical Development of the Office, and a Synopsis of its Duties and Responsibilities. 1969
- This report is about the development of office and a synopsis of its duties and responsibilities.
- The Federal Government's Plenary Immigration Power Collides with the Constitutional Right to an Abortion (Part 1)
- This report is the first in a two-part series discussing "Garza v. Hargan", a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit involving a detained unaccompanied alien minor and the right to terminate a pregnancy. The facts of the case and a discussion of the court's decision and whether the Health and Human Services Department policy regarding abortions unduly burdens a woman's right to an abortion is discussed.
- Unmanned and Unregulated? Court of Appeals Rejects FAA Regulation of Many Drones
- This report discusses a ruling by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals which said that model aircraft including many drones were exempt from the FAA's registration rule. Carious implications of the ruling are also discussed.
- Dressed to the Nines: What's Next for the Nine-Justice Supreme Court?
- This report discusses the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch as a Supreme Court Justice and the effects he may have on current and upcoming cases as the ninth member of the Supreme Court.
- When Does Sovereign Immunity Protect Property Owned by State Sponsors of Terrorism?
- This report discusses sovereign states' immunity from suits and attachments by U.S. nationals except under very specific circumstances, as well as legal interpretations and cases involving immunity rules. It particularly describes state-sponsored terrorism and the effect of The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which was proposed to allow U.S. nationals to file civil suits in U.S. courts against foreign nations for aiding and abetting acts of terrorism under a new exception to the general rule of immunity.
- Special Counsels, Independent Counsels, and Special Prosecutors: Investigations of the Executive Branch by the Executive Branch
- This report discusses the authorities who may appoint a special counsel or independent counsel to conduct criminal investigations of the executive branch when the Department of Justice may have a conflict of interest.
- Charlottesville Car Crash Attack: Possibility of Federal Criminal Prosecution
- This report discusses the announcement that the Charlottesville, Virginia car crash attack is being investigated as a federal civil rights case. It also outlines the sections of the federal law under which the attack could be classified.
- Workers' Compensation: Overview and Issues
- This report discusses workers' compensation in the United States beginning with a brief history of its origins and its elements. Costs, federal oversight of state programs, and Texas and Oklahoma's noncompulsory workers' compensation programs are also discussed.
- When is Running Guns from the Philippines to Mexico a Federal Crime?
- This report discusses the case "United States v. Ubaldo" which concerns whether a gun smuggler who smuggled guns from a foreign country through the United States and then into another foreign country can be charged with a federal crime. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction for conspiracy and causing the importation of weapons in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and ban on importing military firearms.
- Regulation of Debit Interchange Fees
- This report discusses section 735 of the Financial Choice Act (H.R. 10) which would repeal the Durbin Amendment. The Durbin Amendment capped the amount of interchange fees paid by merchants to banks when a customer uses a debit card to pay. The report begins with a description of the debit payments process and network pricing for the four-party system and the three-party system. It summarizes the requirements of Regulation II, which implements the Durbin Amendment. The report concludes with a discussion of some implications of Regulation II for merchants, consumers, and banks as well as with some recent observations.
- FDA Human Medical Product User Fee Programs: In Brief
- This report discusses FDA human medical product user fees for prescription drugs, medical devices, generic drugs, and biosimilars which are charged to companies producing the products and make up a large portion of the FDA's revenues. User fees are authorized in legislation on a five-year cycle, with authority for their actual collection and expenditure provided each year through the annual appropriations process. Appendix A outlines various features of the user fee programs.
- Department of Health and Human Services Halts Cost-Sharing Reduction (CSR) Payments
- This report discusses the the case "House of Representatives v. Hargan" which was a case by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appealing the House's decision to end cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments. Questions regarding the status of the case and possible legal and legislative methods of restoring CSR payments are addressed.
- The Federal Government's Plenary Immigration Power Collides with the Constitutional Right to an Abortion (Part 2)
- This report is the secondt in a two-part series discussing "Garza v. Hargan", a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit involving a detained unaccompanied alien minor and the right to terminate a pregnancy. Debate among judges regarding the right of an unaccompanied alien minor to have an abortion when the minor was detained at the border and technically never formally entered the United States are discussed.
- Doing Business with Iran: EU-Iran Trade and Investment Relations
- This report discusses the European Union's (EU's) resumption of business with Iran after the signing of the 2015 nuclear disarmament agreement which led to the lifting of nuclear related sanctions. It outlines rates of business and major investments in Iran by European companies and the effect possible U.S. re-imposition of sanctions against Iran may have on the market and U.S.-EU relations.
- Selected International Insurance Issues in the 115th Congress
- This report discusses trade in insurance services and summarizes the various international entities and agreements affecting the regulation of and trade in insurance. It then addresses particular issues and controversies in greater depth, including a focus on the pending U.S.-EU covered agreement, and concludes with a section on issues relating to international insurance standards.
- Overview of "Travel Ban" Litigation and Recent Developments
- This report provides an overview of the series of three executive actions -- (the first two taking the form of executive orders, and the third issued as a presidential proclamation) commonly referred to as the "Travel Ban," which restrict the entry of specified categories of non-U.S. nationals (aliens) into the United States -- as well as the litigation related to those executive actions.
- Iran Sanctions
- This report analyzes U.S. and international sanctions against Iran and provides some examples, based on open sources, of companies and countries that conduct business with Iran. CRS has no way to independently corroborate any of the reporting on which these examples are based and no mandate to assess whether any firm or other entity is complying with U.S. or international sanctions against Iran. The sections are grouped by function, in the chronological order in which the themes have emerged
- Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement: Debate Over Government Policy
- This report provides an overview of the debate over government policy of industrial competitiveness and technology advancement.
- Understanding Mortgage Foreclosure: Recent Events, the Process, and Costs
- This report collects information from other studies to obtain an estimate of the average foreclosure costs. A brief discussion of the effect uniform foreclosure legislation may have on costs follows.
- Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Role of Congress in Trade Policy
- This report presents background and analysis on the development of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), a summary of the major provisions under the expired authority, and a discussion of the issues that have arisen in the debate over Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) renewal. It also explores some of the policy options available to Congress.
- International Crises and Disasters: U.S. Humanitarian Assistance Response Mechanisms
- This report examines U.S. humanitarian assistance in intentional crises and disaster situations. It considers the sources and type of U.S. government aid, the response mechanisms of key U.S, agencies and departments, and possible issues for Congress--including competing aid and budget priorities, burdensharing and donor-fatigue, the transparency and efficacy of U.S. humanitarian assistance, consequences of such assistance, and potential links to broader U.S. foreign policy goals.
- Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Review of Fluoridation and Regulation Issues
- This report discusses the potential benefits and adverse effects associated with the fluoridation of drinking water supplies. It also discusses the regulation of fluoride in drinking water to protect against adverse health effects from exposure to higher levels of fluoride, and it reviews the status of federal efforts to update the health risk assessment for fluoride and the drinking water standard for fluoride.
- The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: History, Perspectives, and Issues
- This report discusses the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA, P.L. 94-163), which is intended to help prevent a repetition of the economic dislocation caused by the 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo.
- Wildfire Funding
- This report briefly describes the three categories of federal programs for wildfire protection: [1] protection of the federal lands managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (FS), and by the U.S. Department of the Interior, whose wildfire programs are coordinated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); [2] assistance for state and local governments and communities in protecting nonfederal lands; [3] support for fire research, fire facilities, and improvements in forest health. The last section of this report discusses the impact of high and rising wildfire costs.
- Climate Change: Comparison of S. 2191 as Reported (now S. 3036) with Proposed Boxer Amendment
- This report discusses S. 2191 (the Lieberman-Warner CLimate Security Act of 2008), which was reintroduced as S. 3036 with a deficit reduction amendment. In particular, it provides a comparison of five key differences between the bill and the proposed Boxer Amendment.
- Horse Slaughter Prevention Bills and Issues
- This report discusses the bills and issues regarding horses that are slaughtered for human food. Debate revolves around the acceptability of horse slaughter, and how to care for and/or humanely dispose of horses if they no longer become human food.
- The National Environmental Policy Act: Background and Implementation
- This report discusses the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) including its history, its provisions, and the evolution of its implementation; it also provides an overview of how agencies implement NEPA's requirements.
- Soviet Troop withdrawals from Eastern Europe and Development along the Sino-Soveit Border. 1967
- This report is about soviet troop withdrawal from eastern Europe.
- Selected Commentaries on the Report of the Public Land Law Review Commission, One Third of The Nation's Land
- This report was created to collect and condense selected commentaries published between the time of the PLLRC Presentation and the end of 1970.