Congressional Research Service Reports - 30 Matching Results

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SBA's Office of Inspector General: Overview, Impact, and Relationship with Congress

Description: This report examines the Small Business Administration(SBA), Office of the Inspector General (OIG's) statutory authorities; reporting requirements; funding ($26.9 million in FY2018, including $7 million in supplemental appropriations for overseeing SBA disaster assistance); staffing and organizational structure; and recent activities (audits, investigations, etc.). It also examines the SBA OIG's impact on monetary savings, SBA programs and operations, and legislation affecting the agency. The r… more
Date: April 5, 2018
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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SBA Veterans Assistance Programs :An Analysis of Contemporary Issues

Description: This report opens with an examination of the economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census's 2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO). It then provides a brief overview of veterans' employment experiences. The report also describes the employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force. It also discusses the SBA's Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster L… more
Date: April 27, 2018
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Business Investment Spending Slowdown

Description: This report discusses the slowdown in business investment spending over the last decade and various reasons why the slowdown may have occurred.
Date: April 9, 2018
Creator: Labonte, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Small Business Size Standards: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Issues

Description: 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 recent legislation related to small business size standards and regulation.
Date: April 17, 2018
Creator: Dilger, Robert Jay
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Internet Tax Freedom Act: In Brief

Description: This report discusses the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA; P.L. 105-277) enacted in 1998, which implemented a three-year moratorium preventing state and local governments from taxing Internet access, or imposing multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
Date: April 13, 2016
Creator: Stupak, Jeffrey M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Buy American Act--Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies: In Brief

Description: 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. The act attempts to protect U.S. businesses and labor by restricting the acquisition and use of end products or construction materials that are not "domestic."
Date: April 26, 2016
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Protection of Trade Secrets: Overview of Current Law and Legislation

Description: This report provides an overview of existing federal, state, and international laws governing trade secret protection, describes the limitations of these legal regimes, and reviews pending legislation, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (S. 1890), that is intended to address such deficiencies.
Date: April 22, 2016
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Brazil in Crisis

Description: Brazil is in the midst of deepening economic and political crises that are closely intertwined and unlikely to be resolved quickly. This report briefly examines the political situation and discusses public opinion regarding the Rousseff Administration.
Date: April 6, 2016
Creator: Meyer, Peter J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Economic Recovery: Sustaining U.S. Economic Growth in a Post-Crisis Economy

Description: The 2007-2009 recession was long and deep, and according to several indicators was the most severe economic contraction since the 1930s (but still much less severe than the Great Depression). This report examines the state of the economy in light of the recession.
Date: April 18, 2013
Creator: Elwell, Craig K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Recent Activities and Ongoing Developments

Description: In the wake of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, federal agencies, state and local government agencies, and responsible parties faced an unprecedented challenge. An oil discharge continued for 87 days, resulting in the largest ever oil spill in U.S. waters.
Date: April 17, 2015
Creator: Ramseur, Johnathan L
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Oil Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline: Background and Selected Environmental Issues

Description: 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 issu… more
Date: April 14, 2014
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.; Lattanzio, Richard K.; Luther, Linda; Parfomak, Paul W. & Carter, Nicole T.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health Care Reform and Small Business

Description: This report provides a brief discussion of the need for mandates in comprehensive health care reform and why employer mandates might be useful. It also discusses the potential impact of employer mandates and credits on small businesses.
Date: April 8, 2010
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Days Reserved for Special Business in the House

Description: This report provides information about the Days Reserved for Special Business in the House.several provisions in the rules of the house provide for certain types of business to be privileged for consideration on special days.
Date: April 7, 2010
Creator: Schneider, Judy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cybersecurity Issues for the Bulk Power System

Description: This report provides information about the Cybersecurity Issues for the Bulk Power System . The cybersecurity of the electricity grid has been a focus of recent efforts to protect the integrity of the electric power system.
Date: April 16, 2015
Creator: Campbell, Richard J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Long-Term Unemployment and Recessions

Description: This report analyzes the trend in long-term unemployment over the postwar period and offers explanations for its unusually high incidence during the most recent recession. It compares the individual, job, and household characteristics of the long-term unemployed during the latest recession (2007-2009) with the long-term unemployed at the end of the two previous recessions (1990-1991 and 2001).
Date: April 14, 2010
Creator: Mayer, Gerald & Levine, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Global Economic Crisis: Impact on Sub-Saharan Africa and Global Policy Responses

Description: This report analyzes Africa's vulnerability to the global crisis and potential implications for economic growth, poverty alleviation, fiscal balances, and political stability. The report describes channels through which the crisis is affecting Africa, and provides information on international efforts to address the impact, including U.S. policies and those of multilateral institutions in which the United States plays a major role.
Date: April 6, 2010
Creator: Arieff, Alexis; Weiss, Martin A. & Jones, Vivian C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Outsourcing and Insourcing Jobs in the U.S. Economy: Evidence Based on Foreign Investment Data

Description: This report addresses the issue of jobs outsourcing by analyzing the extent of direct investment into and out of the economy, the role such investment plays in U.S. trade, jobs, and production, and the relationship between direct investment and the broader economic changes that are occurring in the U.S. economy.
Date: April 15, 2010
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2011 Appropriations

Description: This report provides an overview of actions taken by Congress to provide FY2011 appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS). It also provides an overview of FY2010 appropriations for agencies and bureaus funded under the CJS bill.
Date: April 6, 2010
Creator: James, Nathan; Gonzales, Oscar R. & Williams, Jennifer D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Causes of the Financial Crisis

Description: The financial crisis that began in 2007 spread and gathered intensity in 2008, despite the efforts of central banks and regulators to restore calm. By early 2009, the financial system and the global economy appeared to be locked in a descending spiral, and the primary focus of policy became the prevention of a prolonged downturn on the order of the Great Depression. This report sets out in tabular form a number of the factors that have been identified as causes of the crisis. The left column of… more
Date: April 9, 2010
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Outsourcing and Insourcing Jobs in the U.S. Economy: Evidence Based on Foreign Investment Data

Description: This report addresses the issue of jobs outsourcing by analyzing the extent of direct investment into and out of the economy, the role such investment plays in U.S. trade, jobs, and production, and the relationship between direct investment and the broader economic changes that are occurring in the U.S. economy.
Date: April 27, 2010
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Amazon Laws" and Taxation of Internet Sales: Constitutional Analysis

Description: This report focuses on the ways in which the states' efforts to impose requirements on out-of-state retailers are limited by the Constitution. The report discusses recent state legislation as well as legislation introduced in the two most recent Congresses.
Date: April 3, 2013
Creator: Lunder, Erika K. & Pettit, Carol A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations: An Overview

Description: This report examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the part of multinational corporations in the globalized economy. The report discusses the U.S. government's role through regulation, as well as industry-specific codes of conduct.
Date: April 16, 2013
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Hollowing Out" in U.S. Manufacturing: Analysis and Issues for Congress

Description: Statistics showing that domestic value added represents a diminishing share of the value of U.S. factory output have been interpreted by many analysts as indicating that manufacturing is "hollowing out" as U.S. manufacturers undertake more highvalue work abroad. Economic data have been slow to take note of this development, which raises the question of whether the United States will continue to generate highly skilled, high-wage jobs related to advanced manufacturing. This report discusses econ… more
Date: April 15, 2013
Creator: Levinson, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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