Congressional Research Service Reports - 34 Matching Results

Search Results

Results: 1 - 34
Pass-Throughs, Corporations, and Small Businesses, A Look at Firm Size
This report discusses the definition of small businesses and what types of companies they are (corporatiom, pass-through, sole proprietorship etc.) along with information on the relation between firm size and company type.
SBA Office of the National Ombudsman: Overview, History, and Current Issues
This report examines the Office of the National Ombudsman's origin and history; describes its organizational structure, funding, functions, and current activities; and discusses a recent legislative effort to enhance its authority. S. 1146, the Small Business Regulatory Relief Act of 2017. This report also discusses some challenges facing the Office of the National Ombudsman.
The Small Business Lending Fund
This report discusses the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF). The report concludes with an examination of the program's implementation and a discussion of bills introduced during recent Congresses to amend the SBLF.
What Causes a Recession?
This report discusses causes of recessions and provides data on the length of time economic expansions of the past have lasted.
Can a Foreign Employee of a Foreign Company be Federally Prosecuted for Foreign Bribery?
This report discusses whether foreign nationals and companies may be federally prosecuted for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations under conspiracy and accomplice liability theories.
SBA Small Business Investment Company Program
This report describes the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program's structure and operations, focusing on SBIC eligibility requirements, investment activity, and program statistics. It also includes information concerning the SBIC program's debenture SBIC program, participating securities SBIC program, impact investment SBIC debenture program (targeting underserved markets and communities facing barriers to access to credit and capital), and the now-sunset early stage debenture SBIC initiative.
Business Tax Provisions that Expired in 2017 (Tax Extenders")
This report discusses twelve temporary business tax extenders which expired at the end of 2017.
Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs and Funding
This report describes the Small Business Administration's programs and funding sources.
Business Investment Spending Slowdown
This report discusses the slowdown in business investment spending over the last decade and various reasons why the slowdown may have occurred.
Small Business Size Standards: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary Issues
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.
Small Business Administration Microloan Program
This report provides an overview of the Small Business Administration's microloan program and its funding sources.
Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management: An Introduction
This report reviews cyber supply chain risks, discusses ways in which they are currently managed, and provides issues that Congress may consider.
Paid Family Leave in the United States
This report discusses paid family leave's availability in the United States and recent legislation and proposals related to it.
Small Business Administration and Job Creation
This report discusses the Small Business Administration's programs and their impact on job creation. It examines the economic research on net job creation to identify the types of businesses that appear to create the most jobs, examines the possible implications this research might have for Congress and the SBA, and examines the arguments for providing federal assistance to small businesses.
SBA's Office of Inspector General: Overview, Impact, and Relationship with Congress
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 report concludes with observations concerning the SBA OIG's relationship with Congress.
Small Business Mentor-Protégé Programs
This report provides an overview of the various small business mentor-protégé programs of the federal government. As is discussed below, while all these programs are intended to assist small businesses in performing as contractors, subcontractors, or suppliers on federal or federally funded contracts, the programs differ significantly in their scope and operations. Table A-1 in the Appendix provides an overview of key differences among the programs.
Domestic Solar Manufacturing and New U.S. Tariffs
This report discusses solar energy panel manufacturing and the effects new U.S. tariffs on imports of solar energy materials may have on the industry.
Should Federal Law Restrict Where a Company May File Bankruptcy?
This report discusses laws and regulations regarding where a company may file for bankruptcy and a recently proposed bill which would restrict the locations where companies could file for bankruptcy.
Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program
This report discusses the rationale provided for the Small Business Administration's 7(a) loan guaranty program. It also examines issues raised concerning the SBA's administration of the 7(a) program, including the oversight of 7(a) lenders and the program's lack of outcome-based performance measures. The report also surveys congressional and presidential actions taken in recent years to enhance small businesses' access to capital.
Selected Legal Tools for Maintaining Government Contractor Accountability
This report analyzes a selection of the legal tools a procuring agency may use to hold contractors accountable. It assesses contractual remedies that procuring agencies could utilize, discusses performance-related contract source selection criteria, and describes other legal tools--outside of contract law and the contract selection processes--that the government may employ to hold a contractor accountable.
NAFTA Renegotiation and Modernization
This report discusses the NAFTA renegotiation process and major topics of interest in the agreement as well as Congress's role in the negotiation and approval process.
The Latest on the SEC's Consideration of the Proposed Acquisition of Chicago Stock Exchange
This report is an update of an earlier report regarding the SEC's consideration of a rule change regarding the proposed acquisition of the Chicago Stock Exchange by a group of Chinese investors with ties to the Chinese government. The SEC disapproved the rule change due to a lack of documentation on the funding sources of some investors and the deal was called off on March 5, 2018.
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.
Small Business Administration (SBA) Funding: Overview and Recent Trends
This report examines the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) appropriations (new budget authority, minus rescissions and sequestration) over time, focusing on developments and trends since FY2000.
NAFTA Renegotiation and Modernization
This report provides a brief overview of NAFTA and the role of Congress in the renegotiation process; it discusses key issues related to the negotiations. It also provides a discussion of policy implications for Congress going forward.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
This report discusses the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) which is a presidential advisory body consisting of nine cabinet members, two ex officio members, and other members appointed by the President to oversee direct investments by foreign countries in the United States. It discusses the basics of the committee's operations and laws governing their conduct and power, presidential blocks of investment, previous reforms to the original law governing the committee and its actions and current propositions in Congress to further amend the laws regarding the committe.
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.
SBA Veterans Assistance Programs: An Analysis of Contemporary Issues
This report provides an overview of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) programs to provide training and other assistants to veterans seeking civilian employment. It includes sections discussing SBA programs, an economic profile of veteran-owned businesses, veterans' employment and business development programs, veterans' access to capital, federal contracting goals for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and the military reservist economic injury disaster loan program.
U.S. Manufacturing in International Perspective
This report is designed to inform the debate over the health of U.S. manufacturing through a series of charts and tables that depict the position of the United States relative to other countries according to various metrics. This report does not describe or discuss specific policy options.
SBA Veterans Assistance Programs :An Analysis of Contemporary Issues
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 Loan program and P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015.
SBA's 8(a) Program: Overview, History, and Current Issues
This report examines the Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program's (8(a) Program) historical development, key requirements, administrative structures and operations, and the SBA's oversight of 8(a) firms. It also discusses two SBA programs designed to support 8(a) firms, the 7(j) Management and Technical Assistance Program and the 8(a) Mentor-Protégé Program, and provides various program statistics. It concludes with an analysis of current Program 8(a) issues.
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund: Programs and Policy Issues
This report discusses the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund which assists CDFI's which are business that provide financial products and services.
Venezuela's Economic Crisis: Issues for Congress
This report discusses the economic crisis in Venezuela including its origins of the crisis and current attempts at debt restructuring by the Venezuelan government. The report also outlines U.S. interests in the Venezuelan economy and trade, the outlook for U.S. holders of Venezuelan oil company bonds, ownership of CITGO (the biggest shareholder is the Venezuelan state-oil company), and the prospects of U.S. support of economic recovery in the future.
Updated: Will the Supreme Court Address State's Power to Require that Retailers Tax Internet Sales?
This report is an update of an earlier report regarding a state's power to require retailers to tax internet sales in the purchasers state of residence. A case was brought by the state of South Dakota against Wayfair.com (South Dakota v. Wayfair) which was accepted to be heard by the Supreme Court on January 12, 2018.
Back to Top of Screen