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- Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions
- This report provides an overview of monetary policy and recent developments. It discusses issues for Congress, including transparency and proposals to change the Federal Reserve's (Fed's) mandate, and ends with a brief overview of the Fed's regulatory responsibilities.
- The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
- This report discusses the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) comprising nine members, two ex officio members, and other members as appointed by the President representing major departments and agencies within the federal executive branch. While the group generally has operated in relative obscurity, the proposed acquisition of commercial operations at six U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World in 2006 placed the group's operations under intense scrutiny by Members of Congress and the public.
- The Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10) and the Dodd- Frank Act
- This report discusses the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 (H.R. 10), a bill that was passed by the House on June 8, 2017.
- Electric Utility Rate Reform
- This report deals with the major issues in electric utility rate reform together with a discussion of current procedures.
- The Electric Utility Sector: Concepts, Practices and Problems
- This report is on The Electric Utility Sector: Concepts, Practices, and Problems.
- Electronic Funds Transfer: Some Legal Issues
- This report discusses the Electronic Funds Transfer System, known as EFTS, and the privacy issues posed by EFT.
- Government printing Reform
- This report is about Government Printing Reform, pursued through the recodification of the public printing chapters of title 44, U.S. code.
- Health: Catastrophic Health insurance
- This report is about catastrophic health insurances.
- Gasoline: Public opinion on the shortage
- This report gives details about the opinion polls on the shortages and on the possible actions to meet the shortage can illuminate Public views on the debate.
- Interest Rates Causes and Effects
- This report describes about market and policy forces that describe the general level of interest rates and some rules that generally applicable to any economic environment.
- Social Security Financing: A Guide to Sources of Information
- This research guide identifies the information sources for the issue of social security financing as well as for a number of specific topics related to this subject.
- Land Disposal Policies of the Principal Federal Land Management Agencies
- This report reviews the history of public land disposal and the location and uses of present Federal Public Lands. Land disposal policies and practices of agencies of the Department of Agriculture, Defense and the Interior, and of the General Services Administration are discussed.
- Export-Import Bank: Frequently Asked Questions
- This report addresses frequently-asked questions about the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank, grouped in the following categories: congressional interest and the Ex-Im Bank reauthorization debate; market context; international context; organizational structure and management; programs; statutory requirements and policies; risk management; budget and appropriations; implications of a sunset in authority; and historical and current approaches to reauthorization.
- Puerto Rico's Current Fiscal Challenges
- This report discusses multiple challenges the government of Puerto Rico faces in the fall of 2015. Concerns regarding the sustainability of Puerto Rico's public finances have intensified over the past year, despite several measures taken by the island's government to reduce spending, increase revenues, and restructure its obligations. The Puerto Rican government outlined a medium-term strategy to address those challenges in a fiscal plan put forth in mid-September 2015.
- Proposals to Eliminate Public Financing of Presidential Campaigns
- This report discusses Presidential campaign funding and provides a brief policy overview and raises potential issues for congressional consideration.
- Independence of Federal Financial Regulators: Structure, Funding, and Other Issues
- This report discusses institutional features that make federal financial regulators (and other independent agencies) relatively independent from the President and Congress.
- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
- This report provides background information regarding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The Bank's stated purpose is to provide financing for infrastructure needs throughout Asia, as well as in neighboring regions. As of January 2017, the AIIB has approved nine projects, investing a total of $1.7 billion.
- Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions
- This report provides an overview of monetary policy and recent developments. It discusses issues for Congress, including transparency and proposals to change the Fed's mandate, and ends with a brief overview of the Fed's regulatory responsibilities.
- How Treasury Issues Debt
- This report examines Treasury's debt management practices, focusing on the auction process, how prices and interest rates of securities are determined, and the role of market participants in the process. It also addresses the role of debt plays in influencing present and future budget outcomes.
- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
- This report discusses China's proposal of creating a new multilateral development bank (MDB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with the purpose to provide financing for infrastructure needs throughout Asia, as well as in neighboring regions.
- The 2016 G-20 Summit
- This report discusses the 2016 G-20 summit where the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G-20) countries met in Hangzhou, China.
- Regulation of Debit Interchange Fees
- This report provides a description of the debit payments process and network pricing, as well as an overview of the effects of the Durbin Amendement implemented by the Federal Reserve which includes a cap on the interchange fee for large issuers. In particular, the Durbin Amendment is discussed in light of comments by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke.
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Proposed Reauthorization in the 114th Congress
- This report provides information about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates futures, most options, and swaps markets. It includes background information, a description of the CFTC reauthorization process, and more extensive explanations of selected provisions in H.R. 2289 and S. 2917 that were recently reauthorized or changed.
- The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA; H.R. 5278, S. 2328)
- The report presents a brief description of Puerto Rico, its relationship with the federal government, and its fiscal challenges. The body of the report provides a section-by-section description of H.R. 5278, including a short overview of the bill, along with a comparison with previous legislation involving control boards.
- Funding and Financing Highways and Public Transportation
- This report begins with a discussion of the problems associated with the trust fund financing system (which supports both federal highway and public transportation programs) and then explores possible options for financing surface transportation infrastructure.
- Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2017 Appropriations: Overview
- This report discusses the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill, which includes funding for the Department of the Treasury (Title I), the Executive Office of the President (EOP, Title II), the judiciary (Title III), the District of Columbia (Title IV), and more than two dozen independent agencies (Title V). The bill typically funds mandatory retirement accounts in Title VI, which also contains additional general provisions applying to the funding provided agencies through the FSGG bill. Title VII contains general provisions applying government-wide. The FSGG bills have often also contained provisions relating to U.S. policy toward Cuba.
- Social Security: Calculation and History of Taxing Benefits
- This report discusses the calculations that go into taxing Social Security benefits, which prior to 1984 were exempt from taxation but have since been taxed at gradually increasing levels.
- Tolling U.S. Highways
- This report provides a brief history of tolling on federal roads and relevant current law. It also discusses financial realities on toll roads and tolling policy issues.
- Federal Advisory Committees: An Introduction and Overview
- This report offers a history of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), examines its current requirements, and provides data on federal advisory committees' operations and costs.
- Ex-Im Bank: No Quorum, No Problem?
- This report discusses the operation on a limited basis of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) despite a renewal of its general statutory charter through FY2019 (P.L. 114-94,
- Social Security Reform
- This report examines the debate over the future of the Social Security system. It includes discussion of recent developments; background and analysis with information about the basic debate, specific area of contention, reform initiatives; and relevant legislation.
- Federal Reserve: Oversight and Disclosure Issues
- This report provides an overview of existing Federal Reserve (Fed) oversight and disclosure practices, highlighting recent legislative changes and proposals. It also considers the potential impact of greater oversight and disclosure on the Fed's independence and its ability to achieve its macroeconomic and financial stability goals.
- U.S.-EU Data Privacy: From Safe Harbor to Privacy Shield
- This report describes the financial harm caused by data breaches, explains how those breaches are carried out, discusses resolved and remaining impediments to completing the EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) transition in the United States, and identifies areas of potential Congressional interest.
- Military Lending Act: Timeline, New Rules, and Issues
- This report briefly discusses new rules under the Military Lending Act (MLA) that change the definition of consumer credit for covered servicemembers and dependents; it will apply to transactions or accounts that are established on or after October 3, 2016. These rules may have an impact on the regulatory burdens for businesses that provide credit products to the military and may also affect military readiness.
- Federal Reserve: Legislation in the 114th Congress
- This report analyzes provisions and the policy debate surrounding a number of bills that would affect the Federal Reserve's (Fed's) monetary policy, lender of last resort, and regulatory responsibilities. The Fed's responsibilities as the nation's central bank fall into four main categories: monetary policy, provision of emergency liquidity through the lender of last resort function, supervision of certain types of banks and other financial firms for safety and soundness, and provision of payment system services to financial firms and the government.
- Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2017 Appropriations: Overview
- This report discusses the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill, which includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and more than two dozen independent agencies.
- Treasury Issues White Paper on Fintech and Marketplace Lending
- This report briefly discusses the context and contents of a white paper issued on May 10, 2016 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The paper analyzes regulatory issues for the marketplace lending industry and offers several recommendations for industry and government responses.
- FHFA's Administrative Reform of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Housing Finance System
- This report discusses housing finance reform and structural changes enacted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), particularly in relation to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). It includes sections on GSEs and conservatorship; FHFA reforms broken down into information about risk-sharing transactions, a common securitization platform, and single security; and Congressional action on GSE reform.
- Corporate Expatriation, Inversions, and Mergers: Tax Issues
- This report begins with a brief discussion of relevant portions of the U.S. corporate income tax system before examining how inversions were commonly structured. It then looks at how Congress and the Department of the Treasury have reduced the benefits of inversions, and concludes with an examination of methods that remain to invert and policy options available to prevent or limit these inversions.
- Campaign Financing
- This report discusses various issues regarding campaign finance law and potential options for policy responses.
- Overview of Commercial (Depository) Banking and Industry Conditions
- This report begins with a general overview of the banking industry. It describes how banks facilitate the financial intermediation process as well as the associated financial risks. It also explains the market structure of the banking industry, referring primarily to the asset distribution. Next, this report summarizes profitability and lending activity levels in the banking industry. Particular attention is paid to metrics related to capitalization levels, asset performance, and earnings of depository banks.
- The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress
- This report provides an overview of the campaign finance landscape and policy issues that may confront Congress. It includes information about the development of campaign finance law with selected litigation as well as potential policy considerations and emerging issues.
- FinCEN Seeks Shell-Company Transparency
- This legal sidebar discusses the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) rules outlining anti-money laundering due diligence requirements. These rules require certain financial institutions to identify and verify beneficial owners of legal entity customers.
- National Flood Insurance Program: Treasury Borrowing in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
- This report discusses the the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which has been financially overwhelmed by claims and expenses related to the massive flooding caused by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.
- Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt
- This report presents current data on estimated ownership of U.S. Treasury securities and major holders of federal debt by country. Federal debt represents the accumulated balance of borrowing by the federal government.
- Derivatives, Risk Management, and Policy in the Energy Markets
- This report provides a systematic guide to understanding the use of financial derivative contracts in the energy industry, focusing specifically on the petroleum and natural gas sectors.
- Negative Interest Rates
- In a few foreign economies, including the euro area, Switzerland, and Japan, central banks have purposely set some short-term interest rates used to carry out monetary policy at negative levels. This report briefly discusses the reasons behind this phenomenon.
- China's Currency: A Summary of the Economic Issues
- This report summarizes the main findings of CRS Report RL32165, China's Currency: Economic Issues and Options for U.S. Trade Policy.
- Social Security, Saving, and the Economy
- This report examines the determinants of household saving, how household saving may be affected by Social Security, and the potential effects of possible changes in Social Security.
- Campaign Finance: Issues Before the U.S. Supreme Court in McConnell v. FEC
- This report provides a summary of the issues presented by 12 groups of appellants in their jurisdictional statements in 2003. Shortly after the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), P.L. 107-155 (H.R. 2356, 107th Cong.) was enacted in March 2002 (also known as the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation), Senator Mitch McConnell and others filed suit in U.S. District Court for D.C. against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) arguing that provisions of the law are unconstitutional. Ultimately, eleven suits challenging BCRA were brought by more than 80 plaintiffs and consolidated into one lead case, McConnell v. FEC. On May 2, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued its decision in McConnell v. FEC, No. 02-CV-0582 striking down some key provisions of the law as unconstitutional, but on May 19, it issued a stay of its ruling, which leaves BCRA, as enacted, in effect until the Supreme Court issues a decision. (For information about the decision, see CRS Report RS21511, Campaign Finance: Brief Overview of McConnell v. FEC.) Under the BCRA expedited review provision, the court's decision will be reviewed directly by the U.S. Supreme Court, which scheduled oral argument for September 8, 2003.