Congressional Research Service Reports - 35 Matching Results
Search Results
- The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases
- This report discusses congressional restrictions on federal debt. The statutory debt limit applies to almost all federal debt. The limit applies to federal debt held by the public (that is, debt held outside the federal government itself) and to federal debt held by the government's own accounts.
- State Children’s Health Insurance Program: An Overview
- This report describes the basic elements of CHIP, focusing on how the program is designed, who is eligible, what services are covered, how enrollees share in the cost of care, and how the program is financed. The report ends with a brief discussion of the future of CHIP.
- Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms: Economic, Program, and Policy Issues
- This report discusses the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs, which were authorized by Congress in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to help workers and firms adjust to import competition and dislocation caused by trade liberalization. It provides information about TAAF program and policy issues, as well as legislation to reauthorize the TAAF program.
- Cybersecurity Issues for the Bulk Power System
- 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.
- Cybersecurity Issues for the Bulk Power System
- 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.
- Small Business: Access to Capital and Job Creation
- This report discusses the role of small business in job creation and retention, then provides an assessment of the supply and demand for small business loans and recently enacted laws designed to enhance small business access to capital. It also examines recent actions concerning the SBA's budget and concludes with a brief overview of legislative options available to address small business access to capital issues during the 114th Congress.
- Small Business Administration and Job Creation
- The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty programs, disaster loan programs, management and technical assistance training programs, and federal contracting programs. Congressional interest in these programs has increased in recent years, primarily because they are viewed as a means to stimulate economic activity, create jobs, and assist in the national economic recovery. This report examines the economic research on net job creation to identify the types of businesses that appear to create the most jobs.
- Small Business Administration Microloan Program
- This report 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.
- The European Union’s Small Business Act: A Different Approach
- This report opens with a discussion of the European Commission's decision to use a size standard that is very different that the size standard used in the United States. It also discusses about European Economy.
- Small Business Administration Microloan Program
- The Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Microloan program provides direct loans to qualified nonprofit intermediary lenders who, in turn, provide “microloans” of up to $50,000 to small businesses and nonprofit child care centers. It also provides marketing, management, and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and potential borrowers. This report opens with a discussion of the rationale provided for having a Microloan program, describes the program’s eligibility standards and operating requirements for lenders and borrowers, and examines the arguments presented by the program’s critics and advocates. It then discusses P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which increased the Microloan program’s loan limit for borrowers from $35,000 to $50,000, and the aggregate loan limit for intermediaries after their first year of participation in the program from $3.5 million to $5 million.
- Health Insurance: A Primer
- This report provides information related to health insurance. The content includes what it is, why is it needed, health insurance regulation, and how are private health benefits delivered and financed.
- Cybersecurity
- This report details the information related to cybersecurity, its factors, legislative issues, and long-term challenges.
- Reform of U.S. International Taxation: Alternatives
- This report describes and assesses the principal prescriptions that have been offered for broad reform of the international system. It begins with an overview of current law and possible revisions. It then sets the framework for considering economic efficiency as well as tax shelter activities. Finally, it reviews alternative approaches to revision in light of those issues.
- Research Tax Credit: Current Law and Policy Issues for the 114th Congress
- Technological innovation is a primary engine of long-term economic growth, and research and development (R&D) serves as the lifeblood of innovation. The federal government encourages businesses to invest more in R&D than they otherwise would in several ways, including a tax credit for increases in spending on qualified research above a base amount. This report describes the current status of the credit, summarizes its legislative history, discusses policy issues it raises, and describes legislation to modify and extend it.
- Research Tax Credit: Current Law and Policy Issues for the 114th Congress
- This report describes the current status of the research tax credit, summarizes its legislative history, discusses policy issues it raises, and describes legislation to modify and extend it.
- Budget Enforcement Procedures: The Senate Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Rule
- This report explains the current features of the Senate Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rule,describes its legislative history, inlcuding key changes to the rule since it was established in 1993, and reviews Senate procedural actions under the rule.
- An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems
- This report provides information on the natural gas industry and the types and sources of air pollutants in the sector. It examines the role of the federal government in regulating these emissions, including the provisions in the Clean Air Act and the regulatory activities of EPA. It concludes with a brief discussion of the aforementioned outstanding issues.
- Small Business Administration Trade and Export Promotion Programs
- This report begins with the history, role, and scope of the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) export promotion activities, and the creation of the Office of International Trade (OIT). Next, quantitative data from SBA and qualitative data from other sources are used to provide performance analysis of SBA's international programs. This report concludes with a presentation of three issues for consideration during an era where concerns of fiscal responsibility and economic recovery are high priorities for many policy makers.
- “Amazon Laws” and Taxation of Internet Sales: Constitutional Analysis
- The report is a Constitutional Analysis of “Amazon Laws” and Taxation of Internet Sales: Constitutional Analysis.
- Bundling and Consolidation of Contract Requirements Under the Small Business Act: Legal Overview
- This report consists of the bundling and consolidation of contract requirements under the small business act and legal overview.
- “Disadvantaged” Small Businesses: Definitions and Designations for Purposes of Federal and Federally Funded Contracting Programs
- No Description Available.
- Legal Authorities Governing Federal Contracting and Subcontracting with Small Businesses
- This report provides an overview of the various legal authorities governing small business contracting and subcontracting, as well as the relationship between them. It also explains the roles of the Small Business Administration (SBA), procuring activities, Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), and other tribunals in implementing and construing the law governing federal contracting and subcontracting with small businesses.
- Selected Legal Mechanisms Whereby the Government Can Hold Contractors Accountable for Failure to Perform or Other Misconduct
- This report provides an overview of selected legal mechanisms that the federal government could rely upon in holding contractors accountable for deficiencies in their performance under the contract, or for other misconduct.
- Alternative Inflation Measures for the Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)
- This report addresses Alternative Inflation Measures for the Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA).
- 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.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Legal Challenges and Solutions
- While considerable debate exists with regard to the best strategies for protecting America’s various cyber-systems and promoting cybersecurity, one point of general agreement amongst cyber-analysts is the perceived need for enhanced and timely exchange of cyber-threat intelligence both within the private sector and between the private sector and the government. This report examines the various legal issues that arise with respect to the sharing of cybersecurity intelligence, with a special focus on two distinct concepts: (1) sharing of cyberinformation within the government’s possession and (2) sharing of cyber-information within the possession of the private sector.
- Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Recent Activities and Ongoing Developments
- 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.
- The Network for Manufacturing Innovation
- This report discusses the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2014 (RAMIA). RAMIA includes provisions authorizing the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Energy, and other agencies to support the establishment of centers for manufacturing innovation, as well as establishing and providing for the operation of a Network for Manufacturing Innovation.
- GAO Bid Protests: Trends and Analysis
- This report is one of two providing Congress with background on the GAO bid-protest process. It analyzes trends in bid protests filed with GAO, why companies protest, the impact bid protests have on acquisitions, the most common grounds for GAO to sustain a protest, and trends in bid protests filed against DOD.
- Federal Crop Insurance: Background
- This report provides a primer on the federal crop insurance program and highlights changes to the program by the 2014 farm bill.
- The Internet Tax Freedom Act: In Brief
- This report discusses the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA; P.L. 105-277), which enacted in 1998, implemented a three-year moratorium preventing state and local governments from taxing Internet access, or imposing multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
- The Internet Tax Freedom Act: In Brief
- This report discusses the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA; P.L. 105-277), which enacted in 1998, implemented a three-year moratorium preventing state and local governments from taxing Internet access, or imposing multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
- Federal Land Ownership: Acquisition and Disposal Authorities
- This report describes the primary authorities of the following agencies for acquiring and disposing of federal land. These four federal agencies--the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM), all in the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture--administer about 95% of those lands.
- Legislation to Facilitate Cybersecurity Information Sharing: Economic Analysis
- This report analyzes the incentives for companies to share information about cybersecurity breaches with other companies and the federal government.
- Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Countries: Comparative Trade and Economic Analysis
- This report provides a comparative economic analysis of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries and their economic relations with the United States. TPP negotiating partners encompass great diversity in population, economic development, and trade and investment patterns with the United States.