Policy Library

6,587 documents

Hydraulic Fracturing: Selected Legal Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2016-07-20 · Reports · 20,676 words
Hydraulic fracturing is a technique used to recover oil and natural gas from underground low permeability rock formations, such as shales and other unconventional formations. Its use along with horizo...
Sessions, Adjournments, and Recesses of Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2016-07-19 · Reports · 15,906 words · PDF available
The House and Senate use the terms session, adjournment, and recess in both informal and more formal ways, but the concepts apply in parallel ways to both the daily and the annual activities of Congre...
Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization: Key Legal Concepts
Congressional Research Service · 2016-07-18 · Resources · 1,835 words
The World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements set forth rules for government practices that affect international trade in goods and services. The agreements address import tariffs on products, as well...
Social Security’s Filing Rules: Changes Enacted in 2015
Congressional Research Service · 2016-07-15 · Resources · 1,788 words
Overview The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA 2015; P.L. 114-74, signed November 2, 2015) contained a number of Social Security-related provisions, including changes to certain rules that apply when...
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA): Overview and Recent Tax Revisions
Congressional Research Service · 2016-07-14 · Reports · 6,905 words · PDF available
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-113) made several changes to the tax treatment of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPT...
Campaign Contributions and the Ethics of Elected Officials: Regulation Under Federal Law
Congressional Research Service · 2016-07-12 · Reports · 10,832 words · PDF available
Allegations of political corruption often involve questions regarding a public official or candidate’s use of campaign funds or the relationship between campaign contributors and the candidate or offi...
Derivatives: Introduction and Legislation in the 114th Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2016-07-01 · Reports · 20,337 words
Derivatives are financial instruments that come in several different forms, including futures, options, and swaps. A derivative is a contract that derives its value from some underlying asset at a des...
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Child Labor Provisions
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-29 · Reports · 10,312 words
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 prohibits the employment of “oppressive child labor” in the United States, which the act defines—with some exceptions—as the employment of youth under the a...
U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing: Industry Trends, Global Competition, Federal Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-27 · Reports · 11,316 words
Invented and pioneered in the United States shortly after World War II, semiconductors are the enabling technology of the information age. Because of semiconductors new industries have emerged and exi...
Child Welfare: The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-23 · Reports · 11,481 words
The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016 (H.R. 5456 and S. 3065) would amend the child welfare programs authorized in the Social Security Act to allow states to receive open-ended federal supp...
Mileage-Based Road User Charges
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-22 · Reports · 8,956 words
A mileage-based road user charge would involve assessing owners of individual vehicles on a per-mile basis for the distance the vehicle is driven. Currently, federal highway and public transportation ...
Trade-Based Money Laundering: Overview and Policy Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-22 · Reports · 8,538 words · PDF available
Trade-based money laundering (TBML) involves the exploitation of the international trade system for the purpose of transferring value and obscuring the true origins of illicit wealth. TBML schemes var...
Statements of Administration Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-21 · Reports · 7,664 words
Presidents communicate their views on pending legislation in a variety of ways. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) formally communicates the Administration’s views by way of Statements of Admin...
Public Transportation Capital Investment Grant (New Starts) Program: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-20 · Reports · 9,634 words · PDF available
The Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program, often called New Starts, is a discretionary funding program for the construction of new fixed-guideway public transportation systems and the expansion of ex...
The Appointment Process for U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-17 · Reports · 29,913 words · PDF available
In recent decades, the process for appointing judges to the U.S. circuit courts of appeals and the U.S. district courts has been of continuing Senate interest. The responsibility for making these appo...
Trends in Child Care Spending from the CCDF and TANF
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-16 · Reports · 13,141 words
The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the main source of federal funding dedicated primarily to child care subsidies for low-income working families. The term “CCDF” was coined in regulation b...
Oil and Gas Pipeline Infrastructure and the Economic, Safety, Environmental, Permitting, Construction, and Maintenance Considerations Associated with That Infrastructure
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-14 · Testimony · 866 words
pipelines, infrastructure, safety, security, oil, natural gas, siting
Hydropower: Comparison of Selected Provisions in S. 2012, as Engrossed in the House, and S. 2012, as Engrossed in the Senate
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-13 · Reports · 6,900 words
In the 114th Congress, the House and Senate have passed energy legislation that addresses hydropower. Both the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2016 (S. 2012, as engrossed in t...
Unemployment Compensation (Insurance) and Military Service
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-07 · Reports · 3,668 words
The Unemployment Compensation (UC) program contains several provisions relevant to current and former military service personnel and their families. The UC program does not provide benefits for milita...
Puerto Rico’s Current Fiscal Challenges
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-03 · Reports · 13,650 words
The government of Puerto Rico faces severe fiscal challenges. A federal district court judge in late March 2016 held that the island’s government was insolvent and unable to pay its obligations on tim...
Medicare’s Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Three-Day Inpatient Stay Requirement: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-02 · Reports · 3,723 words
Medicare beneficiaries are generally entitled to coverage for care they receive in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). However, Medicare beneficiaries can be liable for substantial cost sharing related ...
Changes in the U.S. Commercial Space Industry
Congressional Research Service · 2016-06-02 · Resources · 1,487 words · PDF available
The Space Economy Rockets, satellites, and the services they provide, once the domain of governments, are increasingly launched and managed by privately owned companies as well. Commercial activities ...
Funding for Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) at DOE: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-26 · Reports · 2,416 words
to be suppressed Carbon capture and sequestration (or storage)—known as CCS The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5; enacted February 17, 2009, hereinaft...
Social Media in Congress: The Impact of Electronic Media on Member Communications
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-26 · Reports · 11,257 words
The mediums through which Members and constituents communicate have changed significantly over American history and continue to evolve today. Whereas most communications traditionally occurred through...
Military Funeral Honors for Veterans
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-25 · Reports · 4,008 words · PDF available
Eligible veterans are entitled to receive military honors at their funerals. Federal law, enacted in 1999 (P.L. 105-261) and amended in 2000 (P.L. 106-65) provides that each eligible veteran shall be ...
Earthquake Risk and U.S. Highway Infrastructure: Frequently Asked Questions
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-19 · Reports · 3,927 words
Earthquakes and related events, such as soil liquefaction, landslides, tsunamis, flooding, and fires, pose risks to highway infrastructure. Concerns about the U.S. highway system’s seismic vulnerabili...
Farm Credit System
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-17 · Reports · 3,486 words
The Farm Credit System (FCS) is a nationwide financial cooperative lending to agricultural and aquatic producers, rural homeowners, and certain agriculture-related businesses and cooperatives. Establi...
Fiscal Accountability Requirements That Apply to Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-16 · Resources · 1,693 words
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was comprehensively reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) on December 10, 2015. The Title I-A program is the largest gran...
Currency Exchange Rate Policies and the World Trade Organization Subsidies Agreement
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-16 · Resources · 1,679 words
Some Members of Congress have expressed concerns that foreign countries are “manipulating” their currencies through their exchange rate policies. Such concerns have focused on policies that are seen a...
The Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 3713): A Summary
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-16 · Reports · 4,953 words
H.R. 3713, the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, addresses the sentences that may be imposed in various drug and firearms cases. It proposes amendments to those areas of federal law that govern mandatory...
The Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-10 · Reports · 2,486 words · PDF available
Suppress for publication In addition to raising revenue, the individual income tax has been used as a vehicle to promote various social and economic goals. This has been accomplished by according pre...
Legislative Procedures for Adjusting the Public Debt Limit: A Brief Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-06 · Reports · 4,451 words
Nearly all of the outstanding debt of the federal government is subject to a statutory limit, which is set forth as a dollar limitation in 31 U.S.C. 3101(b). From time to time, Congress considers and ...
Efforts to Address the Safety of FDA-Regulated Food Imports
Congressional Research Service · 2016-05-05 · Resources · 1,348 words
High-profile foodborne outbreaks and incidents involving imported foods have generated growing concerns about whether current federal programs sufficiently ensure the safety of these imports. Safety c...
Challenges and Opportunities for Oil and Gas Development in Different Price Environments
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-26 · Testimony · 901 words
Oil, natural gas, prices
What’s on Television? The Intersection of Communications and Copyright Policies
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-20 · Reports · 14,565 words
In the 1940s and 1950s, watching television meant tuning into one of a few broadcast television stations, with the help of an antenna, to watch a program at a prescheduled time. Over subsequent decade...
Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-19 · Reports · 17,175 words
Border enforcement is a core element of the Department of Homeland Security’s effort to control unauthorized migration, with the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) within the U.S. Customs and Border Protection...
Foreign Military Sales Congressional Review Process
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-19 · Resources · 1,267 words
Congressional Notification Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA; P.L. 90-629) governs congressional notification requirements for proposed Foreign Military Sales (FMS). This section requ...
Pipelines: Securing the Veins of the American Economy
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-19 · Testimony · 7,504 words
pipelines, pipeline safety, pipeline security, critical infrastructure, Transportation Security Administration, TSA
Congressional Redistricting: Legal and Constitutional Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-14 · Reports · 9,239 words
Congressional redistricting is the drawing of district boundaries from which the people choose their representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives. The legal framework for congressional redistr...
General Policy Statements: Legal Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-14 · Reports · 17,888 words
Agencies frequently use guidance documents to set regulatory policy. While “legislative rules” carry the force of law and are required to undergo the notice and comment procedures of the Administrativ...
Surveillance of Foreigners Outside the United States Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-13 · Reports · 3,451 words
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct a Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) to “intercept international communications i...
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2017 President’s Budget Request
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-06 · Resources · 1,227 words · PDF available
Since FY2006, Congress has funded EPA in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations. Title II of Division G of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113), provided $8...
National Park System: Units Managed Through Partnerships
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-05 · Reports · 7,039 words
In recent decades, it has become more common for the National Park Service (NPS) to own and manage units of the National Park System in partnership with others in the federal, tribal, state, local, or...
Calling Up Business on the Senate Floor
Congressional Research Service · 2016-04-01 · Reports · 1,232 words
The Senate takes up measures and matters under procedures set in Senate rules and by long-standing customs, thereby giving it flexibility in setting its floor agenda. This report first treats those pr...
FY2015 State Grants Under Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Congressional Research Service · 2016-03-31 · Reports · 2,269 words
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was comprehensively reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) on December 10, 2015. The Title I-A program is the largest gran...
Taxation of Credit Unions: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2016-03-31 · Reports · 3,165 words
[suppress summary] Credit unions are financial cooperatives organized by people with a common bond; they are the only depository institutions exempt from the federal corporate income tax. As financial...
The Federal Budget: Overview and Issues for FY2017 and Beyond
Congressional Research Service · 2016-03-24 · Reports · 9,770 words
The federal budget is a central component of the congressional “power of the purse.” Each fiscal year, Congress and the President engage in a number of practices that influence short- and long-run rev...
Financial Services and Cybersecurity: The Federal Role
Congressional Research Service · 2016-03-23 · Reports · 13,995 words · PDF available
Multiple federal and state regulators oversee companies in the financial services industry. Regulatory authority is often directed at particular functions or financial services activities rather than ...
Racing to Regulate: EPA’s Latest Overreach on Amateur Drivers
Congressional Research Service · 2016-03-15 · Testimony · 2,124 words
Clean Air Act motor vehicle competition vehicle racing vehicle racecar tampering defeat device emissions regulation off-road nonroad motorcycle
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program: Overview and Impact of the Affordable Care Act
Congressional Research Service · 2016-03-10 · Reports · 14,391 words
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program makes federal funds available to eligible metropolitan areas, states, and local community-based organizations to assist with health care costs and support services for ...