Policy Library

7,020 documents

Russia’s Nuclear Weapons
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Resources · 1,709 words · PDF available
Russia presents an “acute threat” to the United States and its allies, according to the 2022 National Defense Strategy. The 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, a Biden Administration review of U.S. nuclear p...
Interest Rate Caps on Credit Cards
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Resources · 1,614 words · PDF available
Congress has paid attention to the costs associated with credit cards, one of the most popular payment options for consumers today. For example, the 118th Congress debated whether to reform the way cr...
Executive Agency Justification of the President’s Budget: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Reports · 2,301 words · PDF available
The Constitution vests Congress with the power of the purse, with provisions that refer to congressional authority to levy taxes, authorize the issuance of debt, and make appropriations to fund the fe...
The Role of Executive Agencies in Budget Development: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Reports · 2,575 words · PDF available
The Constitution vests Congress with the power of the purse, with provisions that refer to congressional authority to levy taxes, authorize the issuance of debt, and make appropriations to fund the fe...
The Role of the President in Budget Development: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Reports · 2,952 words · PDF available
The Constitution vests Congress with the power of the purse, with provisions that refer to congressional authority to levy taxes, authorize the issuance of debt, and make appropriations to fund the fe...
One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Title V, Provisions Related to CFPB Funding
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Posts · 1,039 words · PDF available
On May 22, 2025, the House passed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, providing for budget reconciliation pursuant to H.Con.Res. 14, the budget resolution for FY2025. Title V (House Committee on F...
One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Title V, House Committee on Financial Services
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Posts · 1,044 words · PDF available
On May 22, 2025, the House passed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, providing for budget reconciliation pursuant to H.Con.Res. 14, the budget resolution for FY2025. Title V (House Committee on F...
Secretary of the Interior’s Federal Land Withdrawal Authority Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA)
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Resources · 1,784 words · PDF available
Introduction Withdrawals preclude specified uses of federal land and are made for a variety of purposes. For example, some withdrawals prevent particular federal lands from being used for certain deve...
Libya and U.S. Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Resources · 1,661 words · PDF available
Over a decade after a 2011 uprising and U.S.-backed military intervention that toppled longtime authoritarian leader Muammar al Qadhafi, Libya has yet to make a transition to stable governing arrangem...
The Executive Budget Process Timeline: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Reports · 2,106 words · PDF available
The Constitution vests Congress with the power of the purse, with provisions that refer to congressional authority to levy taxes, authorize the issuance of debt, and make appropriations to fund the fe...
The Role of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Budget Development: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Reports · 1,957 words · PDF available
The Constitution vests Congress with the power of the purse, with provisions that refer to congressional authority to levy taxes, authorize the issuance of debt, and make appropriations to fund the fe...
The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR): Statutory Authorities and Responsibilities
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Resources · 1,670 words · PDF available
The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a public health agency primarily responsible for summarizing toxicity information on chemicals most commonly present at contaminate...
Internships in Congressional Offices: Frequently Asked Questions
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-22 · Reports · 6,997 words · PDF available
Many interns serve in various congressional offices, assisting individual Members, committees, and other offices or support services. Interns serve the House or Senate in a temporary capacity, primari...
Department of Education Abolition Bill
Heritage Foundation · 2025-05-21 · Article · 18,093 words
Note: Footnotes and red text are for reference or discussion purposes only and not part of the discussion draft’s legislative language. 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1234 To abolish the Department of ...
Organization of American States: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-21 · Reports · 7,762 words · PDF available
The Organization of American States (OAS) is a regional multilateral organization that comprises 34 of the 35 independent countries of the Western Hemisphere, including the United States; Nicaragua wi...
Regulation of Commercial Human Spaceflight Safety: Overview and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-21 · Reports · 11,026 words · PDF available
Commercial human spaceflight is a nascent but growing industry, and that is reflected in how the safety of the industry is regulated. Customers for commercial human spaceflight include national space ...
Individual Federal Income Tax and Overtime Compensation
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-21 · Resources · 1,757 words · PDF available
Introduction The individual federal income tax applies to “all income from whatever source derived” unless exempted by law. Some lawmakers have introduced bills in the 119th Congress to exempt overtim...
The United Arab Emirates (UAE): Issues for U.S. Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-21 · Reports · 8,175 words · PDF available
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven principalities or “emirates.” Its population is 10 million, of which nearly 90% are expatriates from within and outside the region who work in i...
Cryptocurrency Investment Scams
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-21 · Resources · 1,786 words · PDF available
Law enforcement, policymakers, victims, and the general public have expressed concern over technology-enabled scams affecting individuals’ finances. These scams come in many forms, ranging from phishi...
Who Is an Astronaut? Safety Implications for Commercial Human Spaceflight
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-21 · Posts · 1,023 words · PDF available
On April 14, 2025, the company Blue Origin launched its New Shepard rocket with six women on board to the edge of space. This mission (NS-31) was the company’s 11th mission with humans on board, and B...
Connecting Constituents with Federal Assistance for Businesses
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-21 · Resources · 1,250 words · PDF available
Federal agencies assist businesses through a number of credit and technical assistance programs. With few exceptions, the federal government typically does not award grants for starting or expanding a...
Poland’s elections will decide the future of its democracy
Brookings Institution · 2025-05-20 · Article · 963 words
Depending on who wins, Poland's new president is likely to either advance or stymie efforts to redress the earlier erosion of democracy.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act: A Federal Law Prohibiting the Nonconsensual Publication of Intimate Images
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-20 · Posts · 3,163 words · PDF available
On April 28, 2025, Congress passed S. 146, the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a bill that criminalizes the nonconsensual publication of intimate images, including “digital forgeries” (i.e., deepfakes), in certain ...
The Role of the States Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-20 · Resources · 1,882 words · PDF available
The Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1544) aims to conserve species determined to be endangered or threatened and the ecosystems upon which those species rely. To that end, the act author...
Federal Research Security Policies: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-20 · Reports · 18,531 words · PDF available
U.S. policies governing the conduct and results of federally funded basic and applied research generally encourage openness and information sharing with domestic and international collaborators, albei...
The Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) Program
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-20 · Resources · 1,616 words · PDF available
Background The RCV is being developed as part of the Army’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) family of vehicles. As originally planned, the Army intended to develop three RCV variants: Light, Med...
Infrastructure Investment and the Federal Government
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-20 · Resources · 1,435 words · PDF available
The condition and performance of infrastructure are generally thought to be important for the nation’s health, welfare, and economy. More contentious are the optimal level of infrastructure investment...
Trump made clear he wants a deal with Iran. Most Americans agree.
Brookings Institution · 2025-05-19 · Article · 1,307 words · PDF available
If Trump does make a deal with Iran that limits its nuclear capabilities to peaceful ends, he will likely have strong approval from the American public.
Department of Education Abolition Bill—Section by Section
Heritage Foundation · 2025-05-19 · Article · 3,592 words
Section 1 (Title of Bill) Section 2 (Table of Contents) Section 3 (Definitions) Section 4 (Congressional Findings)
District Court Rules FDA Lacks Authority to Regulate Laboratory Developed Tests
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Posts · 2,213 words · PDF available
On March 31, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled—in two consolidated cases, American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) v. FDA and Association for Molecular Patho...
Supreme Court Hears Challenges to Nationwide Injunctions
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Posts · 4,021 words · PDF available
On May 15, 2025, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Trump v. CASA, Inc., Trump v. Washington, and Trump v. New Jersey, a trio of cases involving nationwide injunctions against the federal govern...
Temporary Judgeships: Frequently Asked Questions
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Reports · 5,270 words · PDF available
This report provides data and analysis related to temporary judgeships authorized for the federal judiciary. A temporary judgeship is authorized by Congress to temporarily increase a court’s size by a...
Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2025 Appropriations
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Reports · 11,904 words · PDF available
The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (Agriculture appropriations) funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), except for the U...
Jordan: Background and U.S. Relations
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Reports · 6,185 words · PDF available
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a key U.S. partner in the Middle East, and the two countries have cooperated on a number of regional and international issues. Jordan remains at peace with Israel an...
Domestic Preference Statutes: The Berry Amendment and the Kissell Amendment
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Resources · 1,464 words · PDF available
Two laws—commonly referred to as the Berry and Kissell Amendments—require that certain products purchased by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) be produced w...
Alien Registration Requirements
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Resources · 1,756 words · PDF available
Section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires most aliens (i.e., non-U.S. citizens or nationals) who are age 14 and older and present in the United States for 30 days or more to ap...
Stablecoin Legislation: An Overview of S. 919, GENIUS Act of 2025
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Posts · 1,016 words · PDF available
On March 18, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee reported S. 919, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025, or GENIUS Act. The bill would e...
Recent Executive Actions Related to Gain-of-Function Research and Laboratory Biosafety
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Posts · 973 words · PDF available
In the United States, oversight of the life sciences, in particular laboratory biosafety and biosecurity, is exercised pursuant to a mixture of federal law, federal guidance, and self-governance, depe...
Oversight and Enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Resources · 1,605 words · PDF available
Background Federal oversight of animal welfare includes inspections, licensing, and enforcement actions to ensure compliance with the Animal Welfare Act (AWA; 7 U.S.C. §§2131-2159) provisions and asso...
Finding Medical Device and Drug Approval Information Through the Food and Drug Administration Databases
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-19 · Reports · 4,669 words · PDF available
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a variety of publicly available databases containing information vital to the agency’s regulatory oversight of the medical device and pharmaceutic...
The Development of Federal Recommendations and Regulations for Fluoride in Drinking Water
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-16 · Reports · 22,284 words · PDF available
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral present at some level in virtually all water. Fluoridation is the process of adding fluoride to a water supply. Since 1962, federal agencies have recommended ...
Universities and Indirect Costs for Federally Funded Research
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-16 · Reports · 8,567 words · PDF available
The federal government is the largest source of academic research and development (R&D) funding in the United States, providing funds through more than two dozen federal agencies. U.S. colleges and un...
U.S. Interest in Seabed Mining in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: Brief Background and Recent Developments
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-16 · Resources · 1,803 words · PDF available
In 1980, Congress passed the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA; 30 U.S.C. §1401 et seq.) as an interim measure to allow the United States to proceed with seabed mining activities in areas...
The War and Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-16 · Resources · 1,931 words · PDF available
The conflict in Sudan that began in 2023 between rival elements of its security forces has fueled the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. More than 15 million people are displaced, including over 11 ...
Case Studies of How Generative Artificial Intelligence is Changing Work
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-16 · Posts · 732 words · PDF available
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is a new technology that can generate new code, text, images, and other content based on machine learning systems and can be trained using large quantities o...
Title X Family Planning Program
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-16 · Resources · 1,669 words · PDF available
Introduction The Title X Family Planning Program (Title X) was enacted in 1970 as Title X of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA, codified at 42 U.S.C. §§300 to 300a-6). Title X provides grants to pu...
Are America’s alliances a source of strength or a burden as it competes with China?
Brookings Institution · 2025-05-15 · Article · 3,164 words
President Donald Trump’s approach to allies and partners around the world has been a subject of significant debate.
Homeownership
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-15 · Resources · 839 words · PDF available
Over the past several years, notable increases in house prices and mortgage interest rates have heightened congressional interest in homeownership affordability, especially for certain groups such as ...
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-15 · Reports · 7,267 words · PDF available
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) has served as a mandatory funding mechanism for agricultural programs since 1933. The CCC Charter Act enables the CCC to broadly support the U.S. agriculture ind...
Energy and Water Development: FY2025 Appropriations
Congressional Research Service · 2025-05-15 · Reports · 21,975 words · PDF available
The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations (E&W) bill funds civil works activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in the Department of Defense; the Department of...