Policy Library

6,587 documents

Parliamentary Elections in Bangladesh: Overview and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-01 · Posts · 1,010 words · PDF available
Overview Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority South Asian country of 167 million, held parliamentary elections on January 7, 2024, amid concerns about democratic backsliding and political violence. Incumbent...
Supplemental Security Income During and After Incarceration
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-31 · Resources · 1,633 words · PDF available
Background Certain people who are incarcerated are not eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments but may be able to receive them once released. There is congressional interest in ensuri...
International Tax Proposals Addressing Profit Shifting: Pillars 1 and 2
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-31 · Resources · 1,864 words · PDF available
On June 5, 2021, finance ministers of the Group of 7 (G7) countries, including the United States, agreed in a communiqué to two proposals addressing global profit shifting. They agreed to Pillar 1, al...
The Role of Patents and Regulatory Exclusivities in Drug Pricing
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-30 · Reports · 36,874 words · PDF available
Intellectual property (IP) rights play an important role in the development and pricing of prescription drugs and biologics. To encourage innovation, IP law grants inventors exclusive rights in a part...
Governing the District of Columbia: Overview and Timeline
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Resources · 1,549 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...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (January 22–January 28, 2024)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Posts · 2,091 words · PDF available
The federal courts issue hundreds of decisions every week in cases involving diverse legal disputes. This Sidebar series selects decisions from the past week that may be of particular interest to fede...
El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Reports · 9,606 words · PDF available
Congress maintains interest in El Salvador, a small Central American nation, due to the history of U.S. involvement in the country and extensive cultural ties. A large percentage of El Salvador’s popu...
Small Business Administration (SBA) Business Loan Program Rule Changes in the 118th Congress: Background and Summary
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Reports · 12,152 words · PDF available
In April 2023, the Small Business Administration (SBA) finalized two major rules revising regulations related to its business loan programs. The new rules made significant changes to the 7(a) loan gua...
The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022 (Division FF, Title I of P.L. 117-328, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023): Section-by-Section Summary
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Reports · 24,350 words · PDF available
The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act was enacted on December 29, 2022, as Division FF, Title I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328). The act primarily reautho...
How Treasury Issues Debt
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Reports · 8,824 words · PDF available
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), among other roles, manages the country’s debt. The primary objective of Treasury’s debt management strategy is to finance the government’s borrowing nee...
DOE’s Regulations on Gas Stoves
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Posts · 1,011 words · PDF available
A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program regulates energy consumption of conventional cooking products, including gas stoves, using authority under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA; P.L. ...
The 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy: Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Posts · 1,306 words
The National Defense Industrial Strategy On January 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) publicly released its first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS). According to DOD’s Assi...
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Cybersecurity Provisions
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Posts · 1,016 words · PDF available
The disruption of a safe and reliable water supply remains a concern related to the protection of public health. Several events have increased attention to water system security, including “malicious ...
Artificial Intelligence Prompts Renewed Consideration of a Federal Right of Publicity
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Posts · 3,483 words · PDF available
Recent uses of artificial intelligence (AI) to create realistic images, videos, replicas, or voice simulations of real people have prompted some Members of Congress to call for federal legislation to ...
The Department of the Interior’s Tribal Probate Process: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-29 · Reports · 4,225 words · PDF available
Congress continues to express interest in reducing the fractionation of tribal allotted lands, potentially through improving the Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) probate process. This CRS report p...
The European Union: Questions and Answers
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-26 · Reports · 13,771 words · PDF available
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic partnership that represents a unique form of cooperation among sovereign countries. The EU is the latest stage in a process of integration begun aft...
Foreign Country Actions to Place the Israel-Hamas Conflict Before International Courts
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-26 · Posts · 1,041 words · PDF available
The escalation since October 7, 2023, in the Israel-Hamas conflict has reportedly resulted in significant civilian casualties; destruction of civilian residential areas and infrastructure, including h...
The Impeachment Process in the House of Representatives
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-25 · Reports · 11,614 words · PDF available
Under the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to formally charge a federal officer with wrongdoing, a process known as impeachment. The House impeaches an individual when a m...
Debt Limit Policy Questions: How Long Do Extraordinary Measures Last?
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-25 · Posts · 930 words · PDF available
“Extraordinary measures” are operations undertaken by the Department of the Treasury to prevent a binding debt limit. Federal debt subject to the statutory limit, codified at 31 U.S.C. §3101, cannot l...
The AI Executive Order and Considerations for Federal Privacy Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-25 · Posts · 1,028 words · PDF available
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14110 on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. This E.O. advances a coordinated approach to t...
Supreme Court to Consider Request to Stay EPA’s Good Neighbor Interstate Air Pollution Rule
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-24 · Posts · 3,299 words · PDF available
On February 21, 2024, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear argument on applications to postpone implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) “Good Neighbor Plan,” a rule addr...
“Tester” Lawsuits Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-24 · Posts · 2,289 words · PDF available
This term, the Supreme Court granted review in Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, a case asking whether “testers” (people who seek to identify legal violations but do not necessarily intend to patronize t...
September 12, 2023, Is Estimated to Be the Beginning of the Congressional Review Act “Lookback” Period
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-24 · Posts · 947 words · PDF available
The Congressional Review Act (CRA, 5 U.S.C. §§801-808) is an oversight tool that Congress may use to consider a joint resolution overturning a rule issued by a federal agency. Under the act, when a ru...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (January 16–January 21, 2024)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-23 · Posts · 1,363 words · PDF available
The federal courts issue hundreds of decisions every week in cases involving diverse legal disputes. This Sidebar series selects decisions from the past week that may be of particular interest to fede...
Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS): In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-23 · Reports · 3,917 words · PDF available
Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) grants are provided to institutions of higher education (IHEs) by the federal government to support or establish campus-based child care services th...
Ethiopia: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-23 · Reports · 9,346 words · PDF available
Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent state and second most populous country. It is the seat of the African Union (AU) and an influential regional actor. Once a subject of Cold War competition, Ethi...
FY2024 NDAA: Department of Defense Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-23 · Posts · 961 words · PDF available
The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) provides independent analysis of the cost and performance of major weapons systems and plays a key role ...
The Disaster Relief Fund: Overview and Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-22 · Reports · 19,371 words · PDF available
The Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is one of the most-tracked single accounts funded by Congress each year. Managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), it is the primary source of funding f...
Prescription Drug Importation
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-22 · Resources · 1,835 words · PDF available
In the context of rising drug prices, the possibility of importing prescription drugs from other countries at lower prices is again being debated. Generally, the importation or reimportation of a pres...
EDA’s Disaster Economic Recovery and Resiliency Roles
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-22 · Resources · 1,548 words · PDF available
Since 2011 Congress has provided $1.9 billion in supplemental funding for long-term disaster recovery for selected incidents under the Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration’s (ED...
Potential Impacts of Offshore Wind on the Marine Ecosystem and Associated Species: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-19 · Reports · 22,229 words · PDF available
Offshore wind energy is one alternative to energy derived from the combustion of fossil fuels. The United States’ ability to harness wind energy from the outer continental shelf (OCS) is at an initial...
Congress’s Power over Court Decisions: Jurisdiction Stripping and the Rule of Klein
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-19 · Reports · 13,697 words · PDF available
Article III of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government, creating a federal judiciary with significant independence, providing federal judges with life tenure, and pr...
Improper Payments in Pandemic Assistance Programs
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-19 · Reports · 9,999 words · PDF available
Congress provided approximately $4.6 trillion to individuals, businesses, and state and local governments to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nation’s health system and economy. The...
SEC Approves Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-19 · Resources · 1,712 words · PDF available
On January 10, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) Rule 19b-4 applications. U.S. Bitcoin ETP proposals first appeared more than a ...
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Pregnancy Centers
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-19 · Posts · 991 words · PDF available
The House has passed legislation (H.R. 6918) seeking to forestall the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from implementing a proposed regulation that might limit the use of Temporary Assist...
Federal Support of Public Transportation Operating Expenses
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-18 · Reports · 9,928 words · PDF available
The costs of providing public transportation service fall into two main categories: operating expenses and capital expenses. Operating expenses (e.g., labor and fuel) are about two-thirds of all trans...
Boeing 737-9 Max Grounded Amid Renewed Concerns About Manufacturing Quality and Product Safety
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-18 · Posts · 984 words · PDF available
On January 5, 2024, a Boeing 737-9 Max airplane operated by Alaska Airlines experienced an in-flight separation of a door plug shortly after departure from Portland International Airport, Oregon, for ...
The 574 Federally Recognized Indian Tribes in the United States
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-18 · Reports · 4,682 words · PDF available
A federally recognized Tribe is one that is generally “eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.” Federal recognition ...
Can Sports Drive Economic Development?
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-17 · Resources · 1,627 words · PDF available
Sports in the United States generate significant revenues. For example, one source estimates the combined value of all franchises in the National Football League (NFL) at $163 billion in 2023, while a...
FY2024 NDAA: Military Construction and Housing Authorizations
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-17 · Posts · 1,252 words · PDF available
The Biden Administration’s Fiscal Year 2024 (FY2024) budget requested $16.675 billion for U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Military Construction (MILCON) accounts, which included funding for Military ...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (January 8–January 15, 2024)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-16 · Posts · 2,461 words · PDF available
The federal courts issue hundreds of decisions every week in cases involving diverse legal disputes. This Sidebar series selects decisions from the past week that may be of particular interest to fede...
FY2024 NDAA: Department of Defense Acquisition Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-16 · Posts · 1,134 words · PDF available
Introduction The Defense Acquisition System (DAS) is the process through which the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) develops and buys goods and services from contractors. The process is based on statu...
The American Community Survey
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-16 · Posts · 982 words · PDF available
Overview The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) is intended to measure the changing social, economic, demographic, and housing characteristics of the U.S. population. The ACS is sent...
University Liability Under Title IX for Off-Campus Sexual Harassment
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-12 · Posts · 2,777 words · PDF available
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) requires schools that receive federal funding to respond to the sexual harassment or assault of students by fellow students in certain circumsta...
Election Policy Fundamentals: Single-Member House Districts
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-12 · Resources · 1,628 words · PDF available
A single-member district refers to an electoral district represented by one legislative representative. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have been elected exclusively from single-member di...
Law Enforcement on Tribal Lands
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-12 · Resources · 1,621 words · PDF available
Tribal law enforcement is an issue of continuing interest to many policymakers because Native Americans are statistically more likely than members of other races and ethnicities to be victims of viole...
Election Policy Fundamentals: At-Large House Districts
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-12 · Resources · 1,791 words · PDF available
An at-large district for the U.S. House of Representatives is a district that represents the entirety of a state, rather than a specifically drawn subsection of it. Under Article I, Section 2, of the ...
“Fast Track” Senate Procedures for Considering Human Rights and Security Assistance Resolutions
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-12 · Posts · 935 words · PDF available
Section 502B(c)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. §2304(c)), as amended, establishes a parliamentary mechanism whereby the House or Senate can formally request a statement from the S...
Defense Primer: Commanding U.S. Military Operations
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-12 · Resources · 1,301 words · PDF available
Military operations, both in peacetime and in war, are an inherently complex undertaking. One key to success, therefore, is a clear, unified chain of command. This enables senior leaders in the U.S. g...
National Museums: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2024-01-11 · Reports · 2,379 words · PDF available
Of the approximately 30,000 museums in the United States, some are termed “national” museums. Some national museums are authorized by Congress and operated by the federal government. However, most nat...