Policy Library

15 documents

Social Security: Cost-of-Living Adjustments
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Reports · 4,545 words · PDF available
To compensate for the effects of inflation, Social Security recipients usually receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). According to parameters outlined in the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C...
Lying in State or Honor in the U.S. Capitol by Non-Members of Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Posts · 997 words · PDF available
From January 7 to January 9, 2025, President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr. lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. On December 30, 2024, House and Senate leaders issued a joint letter to announce th...
Regulatory Sandboxes at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Resources · 1,568 words · PDF available
Policymakers in recent years have considered implementing regulatory sandboxes in financial services. Regulatory sandboxes are frameworks set up by regulators where firms are exempt from legal risk of...
Syria needs sanctions relief now
Brookings Institution · 2025-01-15 · Article · 988 words
If Syria’s still-nascent transition is to succeed, a new government will need to move urgently to repair Syria’s devastated economy.
The Los Angeles fires and America’s overwhelmed water infrastructure
Brookings Institution · 2025-01-15 · Article · 823 words
TheLos Angeles firesare already one of the most devastating disasters in California—and national—history. Fanned by high winds and fed by a prolonged drought, the blazes rapidly spread across thousand...
Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Programs
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Reports · 16,623 words · PDF available
Congress has enacted a series of legislative provisions since 2006 to enable certain Iraqi and Afghan nationals to become U.S. lawful permanent residents (LPRs). These provisions make certain Iraqis a...
The North Atlantic Right Whale: Conservation Trade-Offs with Selected Marine Sectors and Considerations for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Resources · 1,697 words · PDF available
The North Atlantic right whale (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis; Figure 1) is an endangered large whale species found in the Atlantic Ocean near the United States and Western Europe. Due to historic whaling...
Small Business Research Programs: Overview and Issues for Reauthorization in the 119th Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Resources · 1,552 words
Small businesses are often viewed as being critical to the economy—creating jobs, improving productivity, and advancing innovation. Given the perceived importance of small businesses, Congress has a l...
Western Hemisphere: Issues for the 119th Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Resources · 1,470 words · PDF available
The Trump Administration’s 2020 Western Hemisphere Strategic Framework asserted that “deep geographic, economic, and cultural ties make the region critical to United States national security, peace, a...
Inaugural Tickets: Past Practices and Considerations for 2025
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Resources · 902 words · PDF available
Since the 20th Amendment was ratified, the oath of office for President of the United States has been administered every four years on January 20. The next presidential inauguration is scheduled to ta...
Regulating PFAS Under the Clean Water Act
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Resources · 1,783 words · PDF available
In recent decades, improvements in monitoring technologies and analytical methods, combined with health research, have increased national attention to the presence of emerging contaminants in surface ...
U.S. Army’s Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (MSHORAD) System
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Resources · 1,371 words · PDF available
Background The Army is developing a new maneuver short-range air defense system, or M-SHORAD, to perform short-range air defense (SHORAD). The Army defines SHORAD as capabilities that provide air defe...
Russia’s War Against Ukraine: European Union Responses and U.S.EU Relations
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Posts · 1,081 words · PDF available
The 27-member European Union (EU) has implemented various policy responses to Russia’s war against Ukraine. EU actions and coordination with the United States may be of interest to Congress given the ...
CDC’s Updated Dog Importation Rule
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Posts · 1,037 words · PDF available
On August 1, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) final rule on the import of dogs into the United States (42 C.F.R. §§71.50-51)...
Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration: D.C. Circuit Challenges CEQ’s Authority to Issue NEPA Regulations
Congressional Research Service · 2025-01-15 · Posts · 3,182 words · PDF available
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) recently made headlines when it declared that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) lacked authority to issue judicially enforceable ...