Policy Library

23 documents

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Reports · 3,888 words
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits (42 U.S.C. §5177) may be made available pursuant to a presidential major disaster declaration within the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergenc...
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Speech Resources: Fact Sheet
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Reports · 1,168 words · PDF available
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday observed annually on the third Monday in January. It celebrates the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in honor of his birthday and achievement...
Constituent Grants Services in a Congressional Member Office: A Brief Guide
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,542 words · PDF available
This In Focus is intended to assist congressional Member offices in establishing or enhancing a grants services function. It discusses examples of the nature of grants work, notes two aspects of organ...
The Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,658 words · PDF available
The federal government divided up tribal lands in the Southwest during the 19th and 20th centuries, triggering long-standing land disputes between the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe (both federally ...
New Zealand-United States Relations
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,546 words · PDF available
Some in Congress have taken an interest in how the United States and New Zealand work together in bilateral, regional, and global contexts to address common concerns in the areas of defense, foreign a...
Introduction to U.S. Economy: Housing Market
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,269 words · PDF available
The Housing Market Real estate and the housing market play an important role in the U.S. economy. At the individual level, roughly 65% of occupied housing units are owner occupied, homes are often a s...
Introduction to Financial Services: Consumer Finance
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,517 words · PDF available
Consumer finance refers to the borrowing, saving, and investment choices that consumers and households make over time. Understanding why and how consumers make financial decisions is important when co...
Introduction to Financial Services: Credit Unions
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,708 words · PDF available
Background Credit unions are nonprofit financial cooperatives, meaning that these depository institutions are owned and operated entirely by their members. The concept of the modern credit union stems...
Introduction to Financial Services: The Housing Finance System
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,589 words · PDF available
Background Prior to the Great Depression, U.S. residential mortgage markets operated at local levels and were highly sensitive to local conditions. Lenders funded mortgages by relying on local deposit...
Introduction to U.S. Economy: Monetary Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,863 words · PDF available
The Federal Reserve (Fed), the nation’s central bank, is responsible for monetary policy. This In Focus explains how monetary policy works. Typically, when the Fed wants to stimulate the economy, it m...
The FERS Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA) and the Equal COLA Act (H.R. 491 and S. 624)
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,771 words · PDF available
The Equal COLA Act was introduced in the 119th Congress as H.R. 491 on January 16, 2025, and as S. 624 on February 18, 2025. This bill, which has also been introduced in prior Congresses, would make c...
Introduction to Cryptocurrency
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,759 words · PDF available
Cryptocurrencies (or crypto) are digital assets exchanged and recorded on public distributed ledgers (known as blockchains) that do not require central intermediaries (e.g., commercial banks, central ...
Tokenized Assets
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,683 words · PDF available
Tokenization refers to a form of digitized finance in which real-world assets (RWAs)—financial assets such as securities, bank deposits, and real estate—are recorded and traded on a programmable platf...
Introduction to Financial Services: International Regulation
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,404 words · PDF available
While financial markets have become global, financial regulation and supervision is conducted by domestic agencies. Thus, domestic regulators take into account how financial institutions and markets t...
The Macroeconomic Effects of Artificial Intelligence
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,633 words · PDF available
While various forms of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have existed and been used for decades, the recent popularization of AI products such as ChatGPT have spurred further research and deba...
Introduction to Financial Services: Insurance
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,634 words · PDF available
This In Focus provides a summary of the insurance market and regulatory system in the United States. Market Structure Insurance companies constitute a major segment of the U.S. financial services ind...
Introduction to Financial Services: Derivatives
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,739 words · PDF available
Background A derivative is a contract that derives its value from an underlying asset at a designated point in time. For example, derivatives may be tied to physical commodities (such as wheat, cattle...
Introduction to U.S. Economy: GDP and Economic Growth
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,467 words · PDF available
Economic activity and longer-term growth are of concern to policymakers due to the connection between the economy’s performance and the overall well-being of Americans. This In Focus provides an intro...
Introduction to U.S. Economy: Inflation
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,619 words · PDF available
What Is Inflation? Inflation is defined as a general increase in the price of goods and services across the economy, or, in other words, a general decrease in the value of money. Conversely, deflation...
Introduction to Financial Services: Banking
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,576 words · PDF available
Banks serve an important role in the financial system and the broader economy. They accept deposits, make loans, and facilitate payments. Economic output would be lower if, instead of banks, businesse...
Introduction to Financial Services: Capital Markets
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,596 words · PDF available
This In Focus provides an overview of U.S. capital markets, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation, and related policy issues. Market Composition Capital markets are where securities such...
Introduction to Financial Services: The Regulatory Framework
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,133 words · PDF available
This In Focus provides a brief introduction to the federal agencies that regulate U.S. financial markets. For more detail, see CRS Report R44918, Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of the U.S. Financial ...
Introduction to Financial Services: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2025-04-01 · Resources · 1,591 words · PDF available
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues remain a highly debated concept among investors and public policy officials. As ESG is not a legally defined term and it encompasses a wide array of ...