Policy Library

11 documents

Colombia: Background and U.S. Relations
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Reports · 13,285 words · PDF available
Colombia has been a key U.S. security and economic partner in South America for decades, although bilateral relations have grown tense over the past two years. Colombia has been among the top recipien...
Conditioning Federal Funding on Elections Policies: Options and Considerations for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Resources · 1,579 words · PDF available
Congress has broad authority to regulate many aspects of the administration of federal elections. Members might sometimes wish to influence state or local policy on aspects of election administration ...
Measuring the Impacts of the H-2B Visa Program on U.S. Labor Markets: Three Recent Quasi-Experimental Studies
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Resources · 1,778 words · PDF available
The H-2B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire temporary foreign workers in nonagricultural industries if no U.S. workers can be found to fill these jobs and other requirements are met. H-2B posi...
Optional Practical Training (OPT) for Foreign Students in the United States
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Resources · 1,626 words · PDF available
Optional Practical Training (OPT) is temporary employment for foreign students and recent graduates in the United States in F-1 or M-1 nonimmigrant (i.e., temporary) status. Established through regula...
Central Valley Project: Issues and Legislation
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Reports · 18,191 words · PDF available
The Central Valley Project (CVP), a federal water project owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), is one of the world’s largest water supply projects. The CVP covers approx...
Election Administration: Federal Grant Programs for States and Localities
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Reports · 15,409 words · PDF available
States, territories, and localities have primary responsibility for administering elections in the United States, but Congress has tools it can use to support or shape their efforts if it chooses to d...
Tornadoes: Forecasting, Detection, and Communication
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Resources · 1,218 words · PDF available
Tornadoes are narrow, violently rotating columns of air, connecting the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. They affect communities across the United States every year and can cause fatalities and i...
Electric Reliability and Resiliency in Puerto Rico
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Resources · 1,471 words · PDF available
Power outages have heightened congressional interest in Puerto Rico’s electric power infrastructure, which was damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, earthquakes in 2020, and hurricane Fiona in...
Establishing and Funding Elections Grant Programs: Policy Options
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Resources · 1,380 words · PDF available
Recent congressional activity on elections issues has often taken the form of action on grant programs or funding. One type of action Members have increasingly explored in recent legislative proposals...
El Salvador: Current Issues and U.S. Relations
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Resources · 1,706 words · PDF available
El Salvador is a small, densely populated country in the “Northern Triangle” region of Central America (see Figure 1) that has deep historical, migratory, and economic ties to the United States. The 1...
Adoption Tax Benefits: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-30 · Reports · 13,402 words · PDF available
The federal government supports adoption in two primary ways: federal grants to state governments and tax benefits for individual taxpayers that help offset the costs of adopting a child. This report ...