Congressional Research Service Reports - 82 Matching Results
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- Membership of the 113th Congress: A Profile
- This report presents a profile of the membership of the 113th Congress (2013-2014). Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
- Membership of the 114th Congress: A Profile
- This report presents a profile of the membership of the 114th Congress (2015-2016). Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
- Membership of the 115th Congress: A Profile
- This report presents a profile of the membership of the 115th Congress (2017-2018) as of October 1, 2018. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign births, and military service.
- Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2003
- This report contains information on the pay procedure and recent adjustments. It also contains historical information on the rate of pay for Members of Congress since 1789.
- Guide to Individuals Seated on the Senate Dais
- This report briefly discusses where various individuals are seated in the Senate chamber.
- Defense: FY2007 Authorization and Appropriations
- This report discusses relevant congressional actions that lead to the passing of Defense budgets for FY2007.
- Status of a Senator Who Has Been Indicted for or Convicted of a Felony
- This report summarizes the potential consequences, with respect to congressional status, that may result when a sitting Senator is indicted for or is convicted of a felony.
- Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2011 Appropriations
- This report discusses the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 budget request for the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide.
- Legislative Branch Staffing, 1954-2007
- This report provides data and analysis concerning legislative branch staffing levels since 1954. Legislative branch staff include congressional staff, who work in the House or Senate, and legislative agency staff, who work in a legislative branch agency. At present, there is no legislation pending before Congress to change existing staff arrangements in Congress or legislative branch agencies. As policies and issues before Congress continue to proliferate in volume and complexity, new proposals for change in staffing levels or changes in the balance between congressional staff and legislative agency staff may emerge. This report, which will be updated annually, is one of several CRS products focusing on various aspects of congressional operations and administration.
- The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the Senate Floor
- Report that describes the well-established routine that occurs on the opening day of a new Congress.
- Deeming Resolutions: Budget Enforcement in the Absence of a Budget Resolution
- This report discusses deeming resolutions, which are used by Congress as a substitute when budget resolution bills are not passed. It provides historical notes about how frequently deeming resolutions have been used and how they have varied, and also alternate options for budgetary enforcement.
- The House Apportionment Formula in Theory and Practice
- This report has four major purposes: to summarize the constitutional and statutory requirements governing apportionment; to explain how the current apportionment formula works in theory and in practice; to summarize recent challenges to it on grounds of unfairness; and to explain the reasoning underlying the choice of the equal proportions method over its chief alternative, major fractions.
- Grants Work in a Congressional Office
- Members of Congress often get requests from constituents for information and help in obtaining funds for projects. Many state and local governments, nonprofit social service and community action organizations, private research groups, small businesses, and individuals approach congressional offices to find out about funding, both from the federal government and from the private sector. The success rate in obtaining federal assistance is not high, given the competition for federal funds. A grants staff’s effectiveness often depends on both an understanding of the grants process and on the relations it establishes with agency and other contacts. The following report does not constitute a blueprint for every office involved in grants and projects activity, nor does it present in-depth information about all aspects of staff activity in this area. The discussion is aimed at describing some basics about the grants process and some of the approaches and techniques used by congressional offices in dealing with this type of constituent service.
- Social Media Adoption by Members of Congress: Trends and Congressional Considerations
- This report examines Member adoption of social media platforms outside of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, such as Instagram, Flickr, and Google+, which have each been adopted by at least 2.5% of Representatives and Senators. It discusses the possible implications of the adoption of social media, including managing multiple platforms, the type of content and posting location, the allocation of office resources to social media communications, and archiving social media content.
- Defense Primer: A Guide for New Members
- This report discusses series of short primers developed by CRS to give Members of Congress an overview of key aspects of the Department of Defense and how Congress exercises authority over it. A consolidated list of these primers is contained in this report, along with links to each document.
- House and Senate Chaplains
- This report discusses the two chaplains, one in the House, the other in the Senate, who are the official clergy of Congress. At the beginning of each Congress, the House chaplain is elected for a 2-year term. The Senate chaplain does not have to be reelected at the beginning of a new Congress. There have been 61 Senate chaplains and 59 House chaplains.
- Senate Rule XIV Procedures for Placing Measures Directly on the Senate Calendar
- This report describes the Senate Rule XIV, para. 2, which requires that bills and resolutions have three readings before passage, and that they be read twice before being referred to committee.
- Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for the 109th Congress
- This report discusses the United States and Mexico relations and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The major issues discussed by Congress are trade, migration/border security, drug trafficking, and political issues.
- Automatic Continuing Resolutions: Background and Overview of Recent Proposals
- This report begins by providing background on the historic frequency of federal funding gaps. Then, four major features of automatic continuing resolution (ACR) proposals since the 1980s -- time frame, funding level, activities, and duration -- are explained. This is followed by a summary of the major arguments for and against the enactment of an ACR. Finally, the last three sections of the report review congressional action that has taken place on ACR proposals, describe ACR proposals that have been introduced but not enacted during the 112th and 113th Congresses, and provide brief analysis of P.L. 113-39.
- Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management
- This report, which will be updated as warranted, describes statutory requirements for allocating congressional nominations to service academies. It also identifies the qualifications that must be met by potential nominees, as established by statute and each academy. Finally, sample documents that could be used by congressional offices at various stages of the nomination selection process are included.
- Appropriations Subcommittee Structure: History of Changes from 1920 to 2015
- This report details the evolution of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees' subcommittee structure from the 1920s to the present.
- Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents
- This report provides links to cybersecurity legislation in the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses.
- Congressional Action on FY2016 Appropriations Measures
- This report provides information on the congressional consideration of the FY2016 regular appropriations bills and the FY2016 continuing resolution (CR). It also discusses the statutory and procedural budget enforcement framework for FY2016 appropriations.
- Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents
- This report provides links to cybersecurity legislation in the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses and a list of executive orders and presidential directives pertaining to information and computer security.
- Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents
- This report provides links to cybersecurity legislation in the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses.
- Legislative Branch Agency Appointments: History, Processes, and Recent Actions
- This report contains information on the legislative branch agency heads' appointment processes, length of tenures (if terms are set), reappointment or removal provisions (if any), salaries and benefits, and most recent appointments.
- Enrollment of Legislation: Relevant Congressional Procedures
- This report discusses the enrollment process of bills and resolutions in Congress.
- Resolutions of Inquiry: An Analysis of Their Use in the House, 1947-2009
- This report discusses resolution of inquiry, which is a measure that formally calls on the executive branch to provide specified factual information to Congress.
- Fast Track for Trade Agreements: Procedural Controls for Congress and Proposed Alternatives
- This report discusses the fast track trade procedures in the Trade Act of 1974 operate as procedural rules of the House and Senate, and the statute itself declares them to be enacted as an exercise of the constitutional authority of each house to determine its own rules. These procedures prevent Congress from altering an implementing bill or declining to act, but permit it to enact or reject the bill. By these means Congress retains authority to legislate in the areas covered, yet affords the President conditions for effective negotiation.
- Protection of Executive Branch Officials
- This report discusses the possibility of protective details for executive branch officials, in response to recent attempted bombing attacks on current and former government officials.
- The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor
- This report focuses on the floor activities of the House during its first formal session in a new Congress, and serves as a guide for those participating in or watching these proceedings.
- Legislative Procedure in Congress: Basic Sources for Congressional Staff
- Written for congressional staff, this report identifies and provides details on how to obtain official government sources of information on the legislative process and the rules and procedure of the House and Senate. The report provides references to selected CRS products and offers information on the CRS legislative institutes. A listing of selected supplementary materials is also provided.
- The Congressional Research Service of the United States Congress
- This report details the history and purpose of the Congressional Research Service of the United States Congress.
- Private Bills: Procedure in the House
- This report briefly discusses private bills, which are bills providing benefits to specified individuals (including corporate bodies). Individuals sometimes request relief through private law when administrative or legal remedies are exhausted, but Congress seems more often to view private legislation as appropriate when no other remedy is available, and when enactment would, in a broad sense, afford equity.
- Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2003
- This report summarizes by what measures the Constitution requires Congress to determine its own pay, the annual payment adjustment procedure, changes in pay over time since 1789, and related legislation.
- Electing the Speaker of the House of Representatives: Frequently Asked Questions
- This report briefly poses and answers several "frequently asked questions" in relation to the floor proceedings used to elect a Speaker of the House. Current practice for electing a Speaker, either at the start of a Congress or in the event of a vacancy, is by roll-call vote, during which Members state aloud the name of their preferred candidate.
- Party Leaders in the United States Congress, 1789-2015
- This report briefly describes current responsibilities and selection mechanisms for 15 House and Senate party leadership posts and provides tables with historical data, including service dates, party affiliation, and other information for each.
- The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction
- This report discusses the complicated body of rules, precedents, and practices that governs the legislative process on the floor of the House of Representatives.
- Army Drawdown and Restructuring: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report discusses the new defense strategy, which was unveiled by senior DOD leadership based on a review of potential future security challenges, current defense strategy, and budgetary constraints. This strategy will rebalance the Army's global posture and presence, emphasizing where potential problems are likely to arise, such as the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East
- In Brief: CRS Resources on the FY2014 Funding Gap, Shutdown, and Status of Appropriations
- This report provides an annotated list of Congressional Research Service (CRS) resources and analyses relevant toï€ the funding gap that commenced on October 1, 2013, and terminated on October 17, 2013, with the enactment of P.L. 113-46, a continuing appropriations measure providing appropriations through January 15, 2014; historical funding gaps; and continuing appropriations measures.
- House Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments
- This report discusses rules for committee assignments in the House of Representatives. House rules address the election and membership of committees, especially limitations on membership. The Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference rules designate categories of committees and specify service limitations in addition to those in the House rules.
- Continuing Resolutions: Latest Action and Brief Overview of Recent Practices
- This report is divided into two segments. The first segment provides the most recent developments on, and selected provisions of, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2009. The second segment focuses on the (1) history and recent trends, including the nature, scope, and duration of continuing resoutions (CRs) during the past 35 years; (2) CR types by duration; (3) major substantive legislative provisions included in some CRs; and (4) funding gaps.
- Procedural Distinctions Between the House and the Committee of the Whole
- This report very briefly explains some of the chief distinctions between consideration in the House operating as the House and consideration in Committee of the Whole.
- A User's Guide to the Congressional Record
- This report discusses use of the Congressional Record, which is a substantially verbatim account of remarks made during the proceedings of the House and Senate, subject only to technical, grammatical, and typographical corrections. It consists of four main sections: the proceedings of the House and Senate, the Extensions of Remarks, and the Daily Digest.
- Congressional Record: Its Production, Distribution, and Accessibility
- This report briefly discusses how the Congressional Record is created and distributed. The Congressional Record is the most widely recognized published account of the debates and activities in Congress and it often reflects the intent of Congress in enacting legislation.
- Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables
- This report contains information on the pay procedure and recent adjustments. It also contains historical information on the rate of pay for Members of Congress since 1789; the adjustments projected by the Ethics Reform Act as compared to actual adjustments in Member pay; details on past legislation enacted with language prohibiting the annual pay adjustment; and Member pay in constant and current dollars since 1992.
- House Committee Jurisdiction and Referral: Rules and Practice
- This report briefly discusses the factors that determine House committee jurisdiction and more specifically House Rule X.
- House Standing Committee Chairs and Ranking Minority Members: Rules Governing Selection Procedures
- This report discusses house rules, Republican Conference rules, and Democratic Caucus rules each detail aspects of the procedures followed in selecting standing committee chairs and ranking minority members. This report summarizes those procedures and lists membership on each party's steering committee.
- House Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments
- This report House and party rules, both of which detail procedures for committee assignments. House rules address the election and membership of committees, especially limitations on membership. The Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference rules designate categories of committees (shown below) and specify service limitations in addition to those in the House rules.
- Disapproval of Regulations by Congress: Procedure Under the Congressional Review Act
- This report discusses the Congressional Review Act of 1996, which established expedited (or "fast track") procedures by which Congress may disapprove a broad range of regulatory rules issued by federal agencies by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval. For initial floor consideration, the Act provides an expedited procedure only in the Senate.