Congressional Research Service Reports - 467 Matching Results
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- The “8(a) Program” for Small Businesses Owned and Controlled by the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: Legal Requirements and Issues
- This report discusses the "8(a) Program", the Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program, which is a federal contracting for small businesses providing small businesses with training, technical assistance, and contracting opportunities.
- S. 1961 and H.R. 4024: Legislative Responses to a Chemical Storage Facility Spill
- This report describes and analyzes the Chemical Safety and Preparedness Act and H.R. 4024, the Ensuring Access to Clean Water Act of 2014.
- The 2014 Ebola Outbreak: International and U.S. Responses
- This report discusses the Ebola virus disease (Ebola or EVD), which is a severe, often fatal disease that was first detected near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1976.
- The 2015 National Security Strategy: Authorities, Changes, Issues for Congress
- This report discusses the National Security Strategy (NSS), a document released by the Obama Administration which states that its purpose is to "set out the principles and priorities to guide the use of American power and influence in the world."
- The 2015 National Security Strategy: Authorities, Changes, Issues for Congress
- This report discusses the National Security Strategy (NSS), a document released by the Obama Administration which states that its purpose is to "set out the principles and priorities to guide the use of American power and influence in the world." This update emphasizes a shift away from the U.S. role in the world being largely a catalyst for action by international institutions to one that reflects more involved leadership both inside those institutions and between nations.
- Abortion: Judicial History and Legislative Response
- This report discusses the history of abortion related judicial decisions and legislation and current legislation related to abortion.
- Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Programs in Japan and South Korea: Background for Congress
- This report discusses the accelerated vehicle retirement (AVR) programs initiated in 2009 by the United States, Japan, South Korea, and other industrial nations (commonly known in the U.S. as the "cash for clunkers" program). The U.S. program began in June 2009, when President Obama signed the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) Act. The report discusses how these various AVR programs affected the automobile industries in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, specifically. Neither Japan nor South Korea imports large numbers of foreign vehicles, a circumstance not much altered by AVR program implementation.
- Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate
- This report discusses the current debate over "net neutrality." While there is no single accepted definition of "net neutrality," most agree that any such definition should include the general principles that owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network, and they should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network.
- Access to Broadband Networks: The Net Neutrality Debate
- This report discusses the continued debate amongst congressional policymakers regarding telecommunications reform. A major point of the ongoing discussion is whether action is needed to ensure unfettered access to the Internet.
- Accountable Care Organizations and the Medicare Shared Savings Program
- This report describes the problem of fragmented health care in the United States. The issues the report pinpoints are that it is more costly and of lower quality. The report addresses these issues by summarizing the integrated care delivery model in Medicare. Moreover, the report outlines the two pieces of this program as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and the Medicare Shared Savings Program. Finally, the report discusses the mechanics of these programs to relieve the two issues identified.
- Administration's Syria Policy Envisions Continued U.S. Presence
- This report discusses the President's plan for U.S. involvement in Syria in the future and the five main goals the U.S. hopes to accomplish there.
- The Administrative Process by Which Groups May Be Acknowledged as Indian Tribes by the Department of the Interior
- This report describes the history of the process by which Native American tribes have been recognized. Moreover, the report emphasizes the importance of being recognized and acknowledged to maintain a political existence. The benefits of having this include things such as having the ability to exercise jurisdiction over territory.
- Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
- This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001. OEF actions took place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.
- Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy
- This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship, in both the short and long term, and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.
- African American Members of the United States Congress: 1870-2012
- This report provides statistics on the current numbers and roles of African American Members of Congress as well as historical data on African American Members of Congress.
- African American Members of the United States Congress: 1870-2018
- This report provides statistics on the current numbers and roles of African American Members of Congress as well as historical data on African American Members of Congress.
- Agricultural Credit: Institutions and Issues
- This report discusses federal credit assistance for farmers and recent issues in Congress related to the programs.
- Agricultural Disaster Assistance
- This report describes federal agricultural disaster assistance available to farmers for crop losses, livestock deaths, and tree damage due to natural disasters or adverse weather conditions such as drought.
- “Amazon” Laws and Taxation of Internet Sales: Constitutional Analysis
- This report covers ways in which states are attempting to capture taxes on Internet sales. Two basic approaches include imposing tax collection responsibilities on the retailer, and requiring remote sellers to provide tax information to the state and/or it's customers. This report covers the legality of both options.
- American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics
- This report is written in response to numerous requests for war casualty statistics and lists of war dead. It provides tables, compiled by sources at the Department of Defense (DOD), indicating the number of casualties among American military personnel serving in principal wars and combat actions.
- American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics
- This report provides U.S. war casualty statistics. It includes data tables containing the number of casualties among American military personnel who served in principal wars and combat operations from 1775 to the present. It also includes data on those wounded in action and information such as race and ethnicity, gender, branch of service, and cause of death. The tables are compiled from various Department of Defense (DOD) sources. Wars covered include the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, and the Persian Gulf War. Military operations covered include the Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission; Lebanon Peacekeeping; Urgent Fury in Grenada; Just Cause in Panama; Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Restore Hope in Somalia; Uphold Democracy in Haiti; Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF); Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); Operation New Dawn (OND); Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR); and Operation Freedom's Sentinel (OFS).
- Animal Waste and Hazardous Substances: Current Laws and Legislative Issues
- The animal sector of agriculture has undergone major changes in the last several decades: organizational changes within the industry to enhance economic efficiency have resulted in larger confined production facilities that often are geographically concentrated. These changes, in turn, have given rise to concerns over the management of animal wastes and potential impact on environmental quality.
- An Apparent First in U.S. Law Enforcement Use of Unmanned Ground Vehicles
- This report discusses the use of a robot to kill an active shooter in Dallas, Texas on July 7, 2016, which has raised questions about what this might mean for how police use force in the future.
- Argentina's 2015 Presidential Election
- This report briefly discusses the Argentinian Presidential election, held on October 25, 2015. The close results set up a second round on November 22, 2015, between Daniel Scioli and Mauricio Macri.
- Argentina's Post-Crisis Economic Reform: Challenges for U.S. Policy
- This report provides a framework for understanding Argentina's economic policies, issues raised for U.S. stakeholders, and implications for the future of U.S.-Argentine economic relations.
- Army Corps of Engineers Water Resource Projects: Authorization and Appropriations
- This report summarizes congressional authorization and appropriations processes for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It also discusses agency activities under general authorities.
- Artificial Intelligence and National Security
- This report discuses research and development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications for the military, their potential uses, and the programs of competing nations such as China and Russia.
- Asian Carp and the Great Lakes Region
- This report is on Asian Carp and the Great Lakes Region.
- Australia and New Zealand React to China's Growing Influence in the South Pacific
- This report discusses rising concern over China's influence in the South Pacific and the response from Australia and New Zealand.
- Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy
- This report discusses the current state of Bahrain, which has undergone substantial political reforms since the late 1990s, but which still suffers from tension between the Shiite majority and the Sunni-led government. This report focuses particularly on Bahrain's relationship with Iran and Bahrain's relationship with the United States.
- Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy
- This report discusses the current state of reform and foreign policy in Bahrain. Public unrest has diminished, but occasional large demonstrations, opposition boycotts of elections, and continued arrests of dissidents counter government assertions that Bahrain has "returned to normal."
- Banking Policy Issues in the 115th Congress
- This report provides a broad overview of selected banking-related issues, including prudential regulation, consumer protection, "too big to fail" (TBTF) banks, community banking, regulatory agency structures and independence, and recent market and economic trends. It is not an exhaustive look at all bank policy issues, nor is it a detailed examination of any one issue. Rather, it provides concise background and analyses of certain prominent issues that have been the subject of recent discussion and debate. In addition, this report provides a list of Congressional Research Service reports that examine specific bills, including the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10) and bills proposing to provide regulatory relief for banks.
- Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget Process
- This report provides a brief explanation of baselines and scorekeeping and their uses in the federal budget process.
- Basic Federal Budgeting Terminology
- Report that provides a brief overview of the basic terminology and concepts used in the federal budget process.
- The Berry Amendment: Requiring Defense Procurement to Come from Domestic Sources
- This report examines the original intent and purpose of the Berry Amendment and legislative proposals to amend the application of domestic source restrictions, as well as potential options for Congress.
- Bills of Attainder: The Constitutional Implications of Congress Legislating Narrowly
- This report discusses congressional bills of attainder, defined by the Supreme Court as "law[s] that legislatively determine guilt and inflict punishment upon an identifiable individual without provision of the protections of a judicial trial." The report specifically examines the two main criteria courts use to determine whether legislation is a bill of attainder: specificity and punishment.
- Biomass: Comparison of Definitions in Legislation
- This report discusses the use of biomass, its legislative history, and the proposed redefinition of biomass in legislation.
- Blue-Slipping: Enforcing the Origination Clause in the House of Representatives
- No Description Available.
- Border Security: Immigration Inspections at Ports of Entry
- This report reviews the legislative history of immigration inspections requirements and the entry-exit system. The report then describes the implementation of these provisions, including pre-travel screening, primary and secondary inspections, trusted traveler programs, outbound enforcement, and the entry-exit system. The final section of the report identifies a number of issues for Congress related to immigration admissions and enforcement at ports of entry (POEs).
- Border Security: Key Agencies and Their Missions
- This report briefly describes the role of various agencies in securing the borders of the United States. These agencies are the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the United States Coast Guard, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
- Bosnia: Current Issues and U.S. Policy
- This report presents an overview of the economic and political situation in Bosnia. It starts out by describing the current situation, the negotiations on forming a new central government, the international role in Bosnia, and the last part discusses the implications of U.S. policy.
- Broadband Loan and Grant Programs in the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service
- This report provides information about the Broadband Loan and Grant Programs in the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service. Broadband access enables a number of beneficial applications to the individual user and communities.
- The Budget Control Act and Trends in Discretionary Spending
- This report discusses the budget control act of 2011 that reintroduced statutory limits on spending by imposing a series of caps on discretionary BA from FY2012 through FY 2021.
- Budget Reconciliation Legislation: Development and Consideration
- This report briefly discusses the budget reconciliation process, which is an optional two-step process Congress may use to assure compliance with the direct spending, revenue, and debt-limit levels set forth in budget resolutions.
- Business Organizational Choices: Taxation and Responses to Legislative Changes
- This report consists of business organizational choices with taxation and responses to legislative changes.
- The Buy American Act in Brief: Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies and Construction Materials in Federal Procurements
- 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 Buy American Act--Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies: In Brief
- 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."
- Cambodian Elections
- This report briefly summarizes the political history of Cambodia, recent political developments in the country, and U.S. policy responses.
- Capital Markets, Securities Offerings, and Related Policy Issues
- This report analyzes legislative proposals that would generally affect the terms and amounts of capital provided to companies by investors. It analyzes a number of current legislative proposals and agency actions to expand both public and private securities offerings through amendments to program design, investor access, and disclosure requirements, among other provisions.
- Central Valley Project Operations: Background and Legislation
- This report provides an abbreviated background on the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP). It also provides a summary of recent hydrologic conditions in California and their effect on water deliveries.