Policy Library

7,020 documents

Home Energy Rebates from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, P.L. 117-169: Frequently Asked Questions
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-09 · Reports · 1,556 words · PDF available
P.L. 117-169, commonly known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), appropriated $9 billion for residential energy efficiency and electrification financial assistance programs. These include tw...
Congressional Court Watcher: Circuit Splits from August 2024
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-06 · Posts · 2,123 words · PDF available
The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the thirteen “circuits” issue thousands of precedential decisions each year. Because relatively few of these decisions are ultimately reviewed by the Supreme Court, the ...
Johnson v. National Collegiate Athletic Association: Third Circuit Allows College Athletes’ Claim for Wages to Move Forward
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-06 · Posts · 1,715 words · PDF available
In Johnson v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Third Circuit) considered whether college athletes can be barred as a matter of law from assert...
Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea: Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-06 · Posts · 1,329 words · PDF available
Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and Israel’s military response in Gaza, the Ansar Allah/Houthi movement, an Iran-backed force in Yemen, has targeted (Figure 1) Israeli territory and commercia...
Department of Labor’s 2024 Independent Contractor Rule
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-05 · Posts · 2,587 words · PDF available
On January 10, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a rule that identifies criteria for how it classifies whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor for purposes of the Fair Labor...
Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-05 · Reports · 31,105 words · PDF available
The number of unaccompanied alien children (UAC, unaccompanied children) apprehended at the Southwest border between U.S. ports of entry while attempting to enter the United States without authorizati...
Enactment of Appropriations Measures During Lame Duck Sessions
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-05 · Reports · 6,508 words · PDF available
Fourteen of the past 15 Congresses have concluded with post-election, or “lame duck,” sessions. Under contemporary conditions, any meeting of Congress that occurs between a congressional election in N...
“Too Big to Fail” Financial Institutions: Policy Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-05 · Resources · 1,797 words · PDF available
Some financial institutions are perceived to be “too big to fail” (TBTF), meaning that their failure would trigger financial instability. Although the term TBTF is a popular shorthand, “too interconne...
Defined Contribution Retirement Plans: Automatic Enrollment
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-05 · Resources · 1,412 words · PDF available
Many employers offer their employees the opportunity to save for retirement in defined contribution (DC) plans, of which the most common is the 401(k) plan. Sponsors of DC plans have two ways to enrol...
Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 118th Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-05 · Reports · 13,824 words · PDF available
This report discusses immigration-related bills that have received congressional action in the 118th Congress as of the report’s cover date. For the purposes of the report, bills receiving congression...
Military Construction: Authorities and Processes
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-05 · Reports · 19,520 words · PDF available
Congress appropriates several billion dollars annually to support construction projects for the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) worldwide military installations. The military construction (MILCON) pro...
State Regulation of Prescription Drug Prices: Prescription Drug Affordability Boards and Related Litigation
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-04 · Posts · 3,625 words · PDF available
As conversations about health care costs, including prescription drug prices, continue in the 118th Congress, the federal Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, created in the Inflation Reduction Ac...
Georgia: Background and U.S. Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-04 · Reports · 14,970 words · PDF available
Georgia has been one of the United States’ closest partners among the post-Soviet states that gained their independence after the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991. Building on a history of substanti...
Climate Change: What Are Net-Zero Emissions?
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-04 · Resources · 1,656 words · PDF available
“Net-zero emissions” refers to a situation in which human-caused greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from sources such as fossil fuel combustion and deforestation are fully balanced by carbon dioxide remov...
Federal Communications Commission: Agency Regulatory Authority and Selected Rules
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-04 · Resources · 1,705 words · PDF available
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent federal administrative agency established by the Communications Act of 1934 (1934 Act; 47 U.S.C. §151 et seq.) to regulate interstate and ...
Sources of Data on Federal Small Business Contracts: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-04 · Reports · 3,452 words · PDF available
This report describes and discusses sources of data on federal contracts made to small businesses. It aims to serve as a road map of what data is collected, where it is made available, and ways it may...
Courts Consider Recent Agency Regulations Prohibiting Gender Identity Discrimination Before and After Loper Bright
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-03 · Posts · 2,897 words · PDF available
In spring 2024, the Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) released new regulations interpreting sex discrimination to include gender identity discrimination under two feder...
Continuity of Congressional Representation: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-03 · Reports · 8,627 words · PDF available
Challenges to congressional operations have been posed in the past by a range of incidents. These motivate ongoing consideration of contingency planning options in Congress. In Congress, contingency p...
Education Department Updates Title IX Regulations: Protections for Pregnant Students and Employees
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-03 · Resources · 1,676 words · PDF available
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (hereinafter, “Title IX”) bars sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal financial assistance (20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq.). The U.S. Dep...
Animal Disease Traceability: Electronic Identification Requirements
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-03 · Reports · 7,750 words · PDF available
Animal disease traceability (ADT) is the concept of ensuring a rapid, coordinated national response in the event of an animal disease outbreak by knowing where diseased and at-risk animals are located...
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA): Pension Programs
Congressional Research Service · 2024-09-03 · Reports · 5,083 words · PDF available
Within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) administers three veteran pension programs. These programs provide monthly benefits to wartime service vetera...
Support Offices in the House of Representatives: Roles and Authorities
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-30 · Reports · 11,576 words · PDF available
Article I of the Constitution, in Sections 2 and 3, authorizes the House of Representatives and Senate to choose their own officers. The number of such congressional support personnel, as well as thei...
Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Rules for Original Owners of Retirement Accounts
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-29 · Resources · 1,574 words · PDF available
Introduction Required minimum distributions, or RMDs, are annual withdrawals that individuals with certain retirement accounts are required to make after (1) reaching a specified age (or retiring) or ...
District of Columbia Voting Representation in Congress: Overview of Proposals
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-29 · Resources · 1,651 words · PDF available
The U.S. Constitution provides for the creation of a district to serve as the permanent seat of the federal government. Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 also grants Congress plenary legislative authori...
DOD Plans for “Stabilizing and Improving the Military Health System”
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-29 · Posts · 1,058 words · PDF available
The Department of Defense (DOD) administers a Military Health System (MHS) that provides health care entitlements authorized in Title 10, Chapters 55 and 56, of the U.S. Code, and is organized, in par...
Vietnam’s Nonmarket Economy (NME) Status
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-29 · Posts · 992 words · PDF available
Shortly after extending normal trade relations (NTR) status to Vietnam in 2001, the United States designated Vietnam as a “nonmarket economy” (NME) for the purposes of antidumping (AD) and countervail...
Tax Credit Transfers and Direct Payments in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-29 · Resources · 1,491 words · PDF available
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA; P.L. 117-169) created or modified 20 energy-related income tax credits. These credits subsidize clean or efficient energy production and usage by individuals ...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Finalizes Rule for a Registry of Nonbank Covered Orders
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-29 · Resources · 1,539 words · PDF available
Nonbank consumer finance companies offer consumer finance products or services but do not have traditional bank or credit union charters and are subsequently less regulated, in general, at the federal...
The Congressional Review Act (CRA): A Brief Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-29 · Resources · 1,812 words · PDF available
Overview What is the CRA? The CRA (codified at 5 U.S.C. §§801-808) is a tool Congress can use to overturn certain federal agency actions. The CRA was enacted as part of the Small Business Regulatory E...
Staff Pay, Selected Positions in Senators’ Offices, FY2001-FY2023
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-28 · Reports · 0 words · PDF available
Levels of pay for congressional staff are a source of recurring questions among Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. There may be interest in congressional pay data from multiple ...
Power of Siberia 2: Another Russia-China Pipeline
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-28 · Resources · 1,444 words · PDF available
Overview After suspending natural gas exports to certain European Union (EU) countries in April 2022, Russia has expedited negotiations with China for a new natural gas pipeline named the Power of Sib...
State Regulation of Foreign Ownership of U.S. Land: January 2023 to July 2024
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-28 · Posts · 2,195 words · PDF available
State and federal lawmakers have expressed interest in legislative options to address the potential national security and economic implications of foreign ownership of U.S. land. Between January 2023 ...
Gender Activists Take Aim at Arizona Parents’ Rights
Heritage Foundation · 2024-08-27 · Commentary · 918 words
Tetiana Soares / Getty ImagesKey TakeawaysGender activists are increasingly using the public schools to lead students down a path their parents may know nothing about.By pushing parents aside and impo...
Possible U.S.-Saudi Agreements and Normalization with Israel: Considerations for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-27 · Reports · 20,612 words · PDF available
The Biden Administration has stated that it considers normalization of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s relationship with Israel as a U.S. national security interest. The Administration also intends for ...
Senate Committee Staff Pay, Selected Positions, FY2001-FY2023
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-27 · Reports · 0 words · PDF available
FY2023 Median Pay and Percentage Change for Selected Staff Positions in Senate Committees, 2024 Dollars and Percentage Change, FY2022-FY2023 Position FY23 Pay, 2024 $ Change, FY22-FY23 Position FY23 P...
House Committee Staff Pay, Selected Positions, 2001-2023
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-27 · Reports · 0 words · PDF available
The level of pay for congressional staff is a source of recurring interest among Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. There may be interest in congressional pay data from multiple...
Staff Pay, Selected Positions in House Member Offices, 2001-2023
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-27 · Reports · 0 words · PDF available
Levels of pay for congressional staff are a source of recurring questions among Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. There may be interest in congressional pay data for multiple r...
Facts and Figures: EDA Awards Phase 2 Grants Under Tech Hubs and Recompete Programs
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-27 · Posts · 1,046 words · PDF available
In the summer of 2024, U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded $688 million through two recently authorized programs: $504 million to 12 Regional Technology Hubs (Tech Hubs) grantees (...
Student Loans: A Timeline of Actions Taken in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-27 · Resources · 1,650 words · PDF available
In light of the COVID-19 national emergency, lawmakers and the Department of Education (ED) provided various types of relief for federal student loan borrowers. For most borrowers, the primary debt re...
Effect of Rescheduling Marijuana on Access to Financial Services
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-26 · Posts · 2,454 words · PDF available
Although federal law prohibits most marijuana-related activities, a majority of U.S. states and territories have adopted laws permitting certain types of marijuana sales and other marijuana-related ac...
The U.S. Mining Industry and the Rosemont Decision
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-26 · Reports · 9,108 words · PDF available
The General Mining Act of 1872 (Mining Act) formed the bedrock of U.S. mining policy during westward expansion in the 19th century. The law remains in effect. Among other provisions, it allows parties...
Israel, Iran, Hamas, and Lebanese Hezbollah: Various Strikes amid Regional Turmoil
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-26 · Posts · 1,052 words · PDF available
Since the October 7, 2023, attacks led by Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, or FTO), conflicts between Israel and Iran and/or its allies have spread across the Middle East. Afte...
Direct Loan Program Student Loans: Terms and Conditions
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-26 · Resources · 1,495 words · PDF available
The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program is the largest source of federal financial aid supporting students’ postsecondary educational pursuits. As of March 31, 2024, $1.4 trillio...
The Sahm Rule Trigger: Is the United States in a Recession?
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-26 · Posts · 1,016 words · PDF available
The cooling labor market has fueled speculation that the United States could be in or headed for a recession. The unemployment rate has been gradually rising from a low of 3.4% in April 2023, and the ...
FY2025 NDAA: Department of Defense Small Business Contracting
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-26 · Posts · 1,024 words · PDF available
Congress has authorized the Department of Defense (DOD) to promote small business contracting, including set-asides under certain conditions, and to award sole-source contracts to small businesses, of...
Social Security Administration (SSA): FY2024 Annual Limitation on Administrative Expenses (LAE) Appropriation: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-26 · Reports · 3,080 words · PDF available
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for administering the nation’s primary income support programs for older adults and individuals with disabilities: Social Security and Supplemen...
Thailand: Background and U.S. Relations
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-26 · Resources · 1,689 words · PDF available
Thailand is a long-time military ally and economic partner of the United States. The United States operates numerous regional offices from the Bangkok Embassy, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic missi...
Arbitration Law Update: The Supreme Court’s October 2023 Term
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-23 · Posts · 2,373 words · PDF available
Many contracts contain arbitration agreements that waive the parties’ right to litigate disputes in court and instead require them to submit legal claims to binding arbitration before a neutral third ...
Discretionary Spending in 10 Graphs
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-22 · Reports · 4,334 words · PDF available
Each year, Congress provides discretionary funding for a broad range of government activities through appropriations legislation. As Congress develops and considers such legislation, debate often focu...
FY2025 Budget Request for the Military Health System
Congressional Research Service · 2024-08-22 · Resources · 1,334 words
On March 11, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden submitted his Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget request to Congress. Discretionary funding in the Department of Defense (DOD) budget request totals $849.8 billi...