Policy Library

6,587 documents

U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations: Senate Rejections and Committee Votes Other Than to Report Favorably, 1939-2013
Congressional Research Service · 2014-05-29 · Reports · 6,568 words
Once a nomination to a U.S. circuit court of appeals or district court judgeship is submitted to the Senate by the President, the Senate almost invariably refers it to the Senate Judiciary Committee. ...
Fish and Wildlife Service: Compensation to Local Governments
Congressional Research Service · 2014-05-21 · Reports · 7,003 words
Many counties are compensated for the presence of federal lands within their boundaries because these lands are exempt from local taxes. Counties with lands under the primary jurisdiction of the Fish ...
S. 2262, Shaheen-Portman Bill 2014: Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act
Congressional Research Service · 2014-05-14 · Reports · 8,006 words
S. 2262 has four energy efficiency titles, which address buildings, industry, federal agencies, and certain regulatory measures. Title V would provide a budgetary offset for bill authorizations. The b...
U.S. Circuit Court Judges: Profile of Professional Experiences Prior to Appointment
Congressional Research Service · 2014-05-09 · Reports · 5,149 words
This report provides an analysis of the professional qualifications and experiences of U.S. circuit court judges who are currently serving on the federal bench. Interest in the professional qualificat...
Provisions in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 as an Alternative to a Traditional Budget Resolution
Congressional Research Service · 2014-05-08 · Reports · 6,086 words
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-67) included as Title I, Subtitle B, a section titled, “Establishing a Congressional Budget” designed to serve as a substitute for a traditional congression...
SNAP and Related Nutrition Provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79)
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-24 · Reports · 24,515 words
After action to reauthorize the 2008 farm bill in both the 112th and 113th Congresses, the Agriculture Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79; “2014 farm bill”) was enacted on February 7, 2014. In addition to farm ...
Conservation Provisions in the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79)
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-24 · Reports · 17,119 words
The Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 farm bill, P.L. 113-79) was enacted on February 7, 2014. After years of debate and deliberation, the enacted 2014 farm bill included a number of changes to the Conse...
Obstruction of Justice: An Overview of Some of the Federal Statutes That Prohibit Interference with Judicial, Executive, or Legislative Activities
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-17 · Reports · 59,247 words
Obstruction of justice is the impediment of governmental activities. There are a host of federal criminal laws that prohibit obstructions of justice. The six most general outlaw obstruction of judicia...
Obstruction of Justice: An Abridged Overview of Related Federal Criminal Laws
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-17 · Reports · 3,831 words
Obstruction of justice is the frustration of governmental purposes by violence, corruption, destruction of evidence, or deceit. It is a federal crime. In fact, it is several crimes. Obstruction prosec...
Returning to Full Employment: What Do the Indicators Tell Us?
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-15 · Reports · 9,111 words
Until recently, the economy and labor market were experiencing an unusually slow recovery from the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression compared to other expansions since World War...
The DHS S&T Directorate: Selected Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-14 · Reports · 16,919 words
Policy makers generally believe that science and technology can and will play significant roles in improving homeland security. When Congress established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), thr...
Congressional Adoption of Vine
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-10 · Resources · 1,107 words · PDF available
Overview What Is Vine? Vine is a social media mobile video sharing service that allows users to create six second videos that can be short snippets of conversation, a series of still shots, or a movin...
Budget Issues That Shaped the 2014 Farm Bill
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-10 · Reports · 17,157 words
Congress returns to the “farm bill” about every five years to establish an omnibus policy for food and agriculture. Deficit reduction influenced the Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79; 2014 farm bi...
Analysis of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-08 · Reports · 6,563 words
The federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was established in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) and significantly expanded in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). The RFS requir...
Retirement and Survivor Annuities for Former Spouses of Federal Employees
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-07 · Reports · 3,113 words
A former spouse of a federal employee may be entitled to a share of the employee’s retirement annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS...
Federal Support for Streetcars: Frequently Asked Questions
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-03 · Reports · 3,627 words
Streetcars, a type of rail public transportation, are experiencing a revival in the United States. Also known as trolleys, streetcars were widespread in the early decades of the 20th century, but almo...
Survivor Benefits for Families of Civilian Federal Employees and Retirees
Congressional Research Service · 2014-04-02 · Reports · 3,671 words
Federal employees with permanent appointments may be eligible for retirement and disability benefits under either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System ...
Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Related Non-Tariff Barriers to Agricultural Trade
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-31 · Reports · 26,624 words
Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are the laws, rules, standards, and procedures that governments employ to protect humans, animals, and plants from diseases, pests, toxins, and other contamin...
Risk-Based Approaches to Airline Passenger Screening
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-31 · Reports · 10,783 words
Until recently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had applied relatively uniform methods to screen airline passengers, focusing primarily on advances in screening technology to improve ...
Credit for Military Service Under Civilian Federal Employee Retirement Systems
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-27 · Reports · 5,090 words
Federal employees with permanent appointments earn pension benefits under one of two retirement plans. Employees hired after 1983 participate in the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). Employ...
Authorization of General Services Administration Real Property Projects: Current Process and Proposed Legislation
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-27 · Reports · 5,569 words
The General Services Administration (GSA) controls more than 8,700 owned and leased buildings with 422 million square feet of floor space, which represents about 12.6% of the government’s 3.354 billio...
Disability Retirement for Federal Employees
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-25 · Reports · 3,306 words
Paid sick leave, disability retirement, or workers’ compensation may provide benefits for federal civilian employees during periods of illness, disability, or workplace injury, respectively. Federal c...
Comparison of Rights in Military Commission Trials and Trials in Federal Criminal Court
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-21 · Reports · 12,799 words
The renewal of military commission proceedings against Khalid Sheik Mohammad and four others for their alleged involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks has focused renewed attention on the difference...
The Role of TARP Assistance in the Restructuring of General Motors
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-18 · Reports · 7,073 words
In 2008 and 2009, collapsing world credit markets and a slowing global economy combined to create the worst market in decades for production and sale of motor vehicles in the United States and other i...
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2014 Overview and Summary
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-11 · Reports · 7,080 words
This report provides a brief outline of the FY2014 appropriations legislation for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested $39.0 billion in adjusted net discretionary bu...
The Taxation of Dividends: Background and Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-10 · Reports · 11,827 words
The tax treatment of dividends has changed numerous times over the past century. Most recently, the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA; P.L. 112-240) increased the tax rate on dividends, from 15% to 2...
Budgetary and Distributional Effects of Adopting the Chained CPI
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-07 · Reports · 4,571 words
This report examines the budgetary and distributional effects of using what is referred to as the Chained Consumer Price Index (C-CPI-U or chained CPI) as the official measure of inflation for adjusti...
Taxation of Hedge Fund and Private Equity Managers
Congressional Research Service · 2014-03-07 · Reports · 4,316 words
Private equity and hedge funds are investment pools generally available only to institutions and individuals able to make investments in excess of $200,000. Private equity funds acquire ownership stak...
Emergency Water Assistance During Drought: Federal Non-Agricultural Programs
Congressional Research Service · 2014-02-26 · Reports · 5,796 words
Drought conditions often fuel congressional interest in federal assistance. While drought planning and preparedness are largely individual, business, local, and state responsibilities, some federal as...
The Lacey Act: Compliance Issues Related to Importing Plants and Plant Products
Congressional Research Service · 2014-02-25 · Reports · 12,834 words
The Lacey Act regulates the trade of wildlife and plants and creates penalties for a broad spectrum of violations. In 2008, the Lacey Act was amended to include protections for foreign plants and to r...
Submission of Mental Health Records to NICS and the HIPAA Privacy Rule
Congressional Research Service · 2014-02-20 · Reports · 9,899 words · PDF available
Questions about the scope and efficacy of the background checks required during certain firearm purchases have gained prominence following recent mass shootings. These background checks are intended t...
The 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79): Summary and Side-by-Side
Congressional Research Service · 2014-02-12 · Reports · 85,226 words
Congress periodically establishes agricultural and food policy in a multi-year, omnibus farm bill. The 2008 farm bill governed policy for farm commodity support, horticulture, livestock, conservation,...
Algae’s Potential as a Transportation Biofuel
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-30 · Reports · 7,563 words
Congress continues to debate the federal role in biofuel research, biofuel tax incentives, and renewable fuel mandates. The debate touches on topics such as fuel imports and security, job creation, an...
Wildfire Protection in the WildlandUrban Interface
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-30 · Reports · 4,509 words
Congressional interest in funding to protect against wildfire threats has focused on communities in and near forests, an area known as the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The WUI is expanding in size ...
International Parental Child Abductions
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-27 · Reports · 4,532 words
International child custody disputes are likely to increase in frequency as the global society becomes more integrated and mobile. A child custody dispute between two parents can become a diplomatic i...
Detention of U.S. Persons as Enemy Belligerents
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-23 · Reports · 35,604 words
The detainee provisions passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2012, P.L. 112-81, affirm that the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), P.L. 107-40, in response to th...
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD): FY2013 Appropriations
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-22 · Reports · 12,469 words
The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) appropriations subcommittee is charged with providing annual appropriations for the Department of Transportation (DOT), D...
Food Fraud and “Economically Motivated Adulteration” of Food and Food Ingredients
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-10 · Reports · 20,404 words · PDF available
Food fraud, or the act of defrauding buyers of food or ingredients for economic gain—whether they be consumers or food manufacturers, retailers, and importers—has vexed the food industry throughout hi...
Indian Health Care: Impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-09 · Reports · 9,273 words
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law a comprehensive health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148). The law, among other things, reauthorize...
Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-03 · Reports · 7,218 words
The physical security of nuclear power plants and their vulnerability to deliberate acts of terrorism was elevated to a national security issue following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Congress su...
The Indian Health Care Improvement Act Reauthorization and Extension as Enacted by the ACA: Detailed Summary and Timeline
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-03 · Reports · 20,705 words
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law a comprehensive health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148). Among its provisions, the ACA reenacts, ...
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-02 · Reports · 8,495 words
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011, a time when the global economy was struggling to recover from the financial crisis and slow ec...
Tax Rates and Economic Growth
Congressional Research Service · 2014-01-02 · Reports · 4,457 words
This report summarizes the evidence on the relationship between tax rates and economic growth, referring in a number of cases to other CRS reports providing more substance and detail. Potentially nega...
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD): FY2014 Appropriations
Congressional Research Service · 2013-12-27 · Reports · 0 words
The House and Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) appropriations subcommittees are charged with providing annual appropriations for the Department of Tran...
The Development of High Speed Rail in the United States: Issues and Recent Events
Congressional Research Service · 2013-12-20 · Reports · 15,857 words
The provision of $8 billion for intercity passenger rail projects in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA; P.L. 111-5) reinvigorated efforts to expand intercity passenger rail transpo...
Production Tax Credit Incentives for Renewable Electricity: Financial Comparison of Selected Policy Options
Congressional Research Service · 2013-12-20 · Reports · 10,378 words
Under current law, the production tax credit (PTC) incentive for renewable electricity will expire at the end of 2013. Generally, congressional debate about the PTC falls within a spectrum of options....
Wildfire Fuels and Fuel Reduction
Congressional Research Service · 2013-12-17 · Reports · 8,360 words · PDF available
Severe wildfires have been burning more acres and more structures in recent years. Some assert that climate change is at least partly to blame; others claim that the increasing number of homes in and ...
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): FY2013 Appropriations
Congressional Research Service · 2013-12-13 · Reports · 13,646 words
The President’s FY2013 budget requested nearly $34 billion in net new budget authority for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in FY2013. This is about $4 billion less than was provi...
Majority Cloture for Nominations: Implications and the “Nuclear” Proceedings of November 21, 2013
Congressional Research Service · 2013-12-06 · Reports · 5,773 words
On November 21, 2013, by overturning a ruling of the chair on appeal, the Senate set a precedent that lowered the vote threshold required by Senate Standing Rule XXII for invoking cloture on most pres...
Length of Time from Nomination to Confirmation for U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominees: Overview and Policy Options to Shorten the Process
Congressional Research Service · 2013-11-20 · Reports · 10,501 words
The process by which lower federal court judges are nominated by the President and considered by the Senate is of continuing interest to Congress. Recent Senate debate over judicial nominations has fr...