Policy Library

6,587 documents

USDA’s Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards Regulations
Congressional Research Service · 2023-12-05 · Resources · 1,707 words · PDF available
In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized its Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards (OLPS) rulemaking (88 Federal Register 75394). The final rule updates regulations unde...
Clear Statement Rules, Textualism, and the Administrative State
Congressional Research Service · 2023-12-04 · Posts · 2,844 words · PDF available
A “clear statement rule” is a judicial presumption that courts should not interpret a statute a certain way unless Congress made a “clear statement” requiring that outcome. In the Supreme Court’s Octo...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (November 27–December 3, 2023)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-12-04 · Posts · 1,855 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...
Electricity Transmission: What Is the Role of the Federal Government?
Congressional Research Service · 2023-12-04 · Reports · 6,038 words · PDF available
Electricity transmission is central to the operation of the electricity system, and so has been of longstanding interest to Congress. Interest in electricity transmission has increased since the enact...
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee: A Primer
Congressional Research Service · 2023-12-01 · Reports · 11,362 words · PDF available
The organization now known as the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has organized U.S. participation in the Olympic Games since the early 20th century and serves a leading role re...
Terrorist and Other Militant Groups in Pakistan
Congressional Research Service · 2023-12-01 · Resources · 1,541 words · PDF available
U.S. officials have identified Pakistan as a base of operations and/or target for numerous armed, nonstate militant groups, some of which have existed since the 1980s. Notable terrorist and other grou...
Bank Capital Requirements: Basel III Endgame
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-30 · Reports · 10,979 words · PDF available
Setting bank capital requirements is an iterative process. Requirements have repeatedly been tweaked over the decades as problems emerge or policy priorities change. For example, in 2013 U.S. regulato...
Honduras: Background and U.S. Relations
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-30 · Reports · 12,312 words · PDF available
Honduras, a Central American nation of 9.8 million people, has had close ties with the United States for many years. The country served as a base for U.S. operations designed to counter Soviet influen...
Siting Challenges for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Pipelines
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-30 · Posts · 1,071 words · PDF available
Carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines are an essential part of carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems, promoted by the Biden Administration and some in Congress to reduce emissions of CO2—a greenhouse gas—...
The Federal Tax Gap: Overview, Analysis, and Policy Options
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-30 · Reports · 10,078 words · PDF available
The federal tax gap is a measurement of the amount of federal taxes that taxpayers legally owe but do not pay on time in a given year. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that the average ann...
Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-30 · Reports · 4,567 words · PDF available
In 1978, Congress passed P.L. 95-507, which among other actions, established an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) in each federal agency having procurement powers. The leg...
U.S. Tourism: Economic Impacts and Pandemic Recovery
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-29 · Reports · 9,564 words · PDF available
Tourism and the U.S. tourism industry are issues of long-standing interest to Congress. As a source of millions of jobs and billions of dollars of spending in the United States, tourism—both internati...
Kratom Regulation: Federal Status and State Approaches
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-28 · Posts · 1,829 words · PDF available
Kratom, or Mitragyna speciosa, is a tree related to the coffee plant and is native to parts of Southeast Asia. Peoples indigenous to the tree’s range have traditionally consumed the leaves of the tree...
Federal Election Commission Administrative Fine Program
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-28 · Posts · 1,083 words · PDF available
Statutory authorization for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) Administrative Fine Program (AFP, sometimes called the Administrative Fines Program) expires on December 31, 2023. The AFP provides ex...
House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-28 · Reports · 3,730 words · PDF available
This report provides staffing levels in House Member, committee, leadership, and other offices since 1977. Between 1977 and 2023, the number of House staff grew from 8,831 to 9,247, or 4.71%. / These ...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (November 20–November 26, 2023)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-27 · Posts · 1,677 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...
OMB Releases 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act Guidance
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-27 · Posts · 961 words · PDF available
On September 22, 2023, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released Memorandum M-23-22, which contains guidance for agencies on implementation of the 21st Century Integrated Digital ...
The U.S. Census Bureau: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-22 · Reports · 11,487 words · PDF available
The U.S. Census Bureau is a federal statistical agency housed within the Department of Commerce. It is tasked with producing statistics on demographic and economic characteristics across the United St...
Artificial Intelligence in the Biological Sciences: Uses, Safety, Security, and Oversight
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-22 · Reports · 9,390 words · PDF available
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a term generally thought of as computerized systems that work and react in ways commonly thought to require intelligence. AI technologies, methodologies, and applicatio...
Financial Disclosure and the Supreme Court
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-22 · Posts · 2,388 words · PDF available
The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (EIGA) established financial disclosure reporting requirements for many high-level government officials and employees, including the Chief Justice of the United St...
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP): Overview and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-22 · Reports · 16,354 words · PDF available
The U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program provided nonreciprocal, duty-free tariff treatment to certain products imported to the United States from designated beneficiary developing cou...
Antitrust Reform and Big Tech Firms
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-21 · Reports · 45,352 words · PDF available
Antitrust has become a hot topic. After decades as a mostly technocratic discipline, competition policy now commands the attention of lawmakers, academics, and the general public. One of the driving ...
Nonimmigrant Overstays: Overview and Policy Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-21 · Reports · 21,850 words · PDF available
Nonimmigrants are foreign nationals who are lawfully admitted to the United States for a temporary period and specific purpose (e.g., tourism, study, work). They are required to depart the United Stat...
Federal Law Enforcement Efforts to Counter Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-21 · Resources · 1,476 words · PDF available
Human smuggling and human trafficking crimes continue to be of interest to local, state, and federal policymakers, law enforcement, and others. The federal government responds to both types of crimes ...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (November 13–November 19, 2023)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-20 · Posts · 1,457 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...
Pharmacy Benefit Managers: Current Legal Framework
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-20 · Posts · 2,475 words · PDF available
Several bills introduced in the 118th Congress address the rising cost of prescription drugs for American consumers. Some of these proposals concern the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which...
42 U.S.C. § 1981’s Contract Clause: Racial Equality in Contractual Relationships
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-20 · Resources · 1,748 words · PDF available
Among federal statutes that address racial discrimination, 42 U.S.C. § 1981’s contract clause uniquely focuses on guaranteeing a person’s equal right to make and enforce contracts without regard to ra...
The Economic Implications of Moore v. United States
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-20 · Resources · 1,810 words · PDF available
Moore v. United States (henceforth referred to as Moore) is a legal case that challenges the constitutionality of the “transition tax” imposed with the change in the international tax system that was ...
Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-20 · Reports · 15,227 words · PDF available
The Medicaid statute requires states to make disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments to hospitals treating large numbers of low-income patients. This provision is intended to recognize the disa...
Hydrogen Hubs and Demonstrating the Hydrogen Energy Value Chain
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-17 · Reports · 7,468 words · PDF available
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced seven finalists for $7 billion in grants for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs in October 2023—a program authorized by Congress in the Infrastructure Investmen...
The Supreme Court Adopts a Code of Conduct
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-17 · Posts · 2,093 words · PDF available
On November 13, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court announced the adoption of the Code of Conduct for Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States (Justices’ Code of Conduct). The Justices’ Code of Con...
Parliamentary Reference Sources: Senate
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-17 · Reports · 9,335 words · PDF available
The Senate’s procedures are determined not only by its standing rules but also by standing orders, published precedents, committee rules, party conference rules, and informal practices. The Constituti...
Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA): When Does a Prior Drug Offense Qualify?
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-16 · Posts · 1,230 words · PDF available
Introduction It is a federal crime for a convicted felon, among others, to possess a firearm. Under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), the offense carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment w...
USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-16 · Reports · 10,863 words · PDF available
The United States is one of the top exporters of agricultural and food products. In 2022, the United States exported $196 billion in agricultural and food products, which accounted for about 20% of to...
FY2024 Appropriations: Potential Effects of a Government Shutdown on Illustrative Agencies, Programs, and Activities
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-16 · Reports · 11,846 words · PDF available
When federal agencies and programs lack funding after the expiration of full-year or interim appropriations, the agencies and programs experience a lapse in appropriations, also known as a “funding ga...
Bank Exposure to Commercial Real Estate
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-16 · Posts · 1,007 words · PDF available
The economic turmoil resulting from the pandemic negatively affected commercial real estate (CRE), particularly by leading to a sharp, albeit temporary, increase in delinquencies among commercial mort...
Growth in Electric Vehicle Manufacturing: A Factor in the 2023 United Auto Workers (UAW) Negotiations
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-16 · Posts · 810 words · PDF available
The United Auto Workers (UAW) began a strike against the “Big Three” automakers—General Motors (GM), Ford, and Stellantis—on September 15, 2023, following unsuccessful negotiations among the parties. ...
Human Trafficking and U.S. Foreign Policy: An Introduction
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-16 · Resources · 1,619 words · PDF available
What is human trafficking? Human trafficking (also known as trafficking in persons) refers to the subjection of men, women, or children to exploitative conditions that may be tantamount to modern-day...
Marijuana Banking: Legal Issues and the SAFE(R) Banking Acts
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-15 · Posts · 1,842 words · PDF available
A number of states have adopted laws permitting marijuana sales and other marijuana-related activities, even though those same activities remain unlawful under federal drug and financial laws. Due to ...
Hong Kong Under the National Security Law
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-15 · Reports · 14,928 words · PDF available
Hong Kong is a special administrative region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC, or China). In signing a United Nations-registered treaty with the United Kingdom in 1984 and passing a law in...
U.S. Commercial Shipbuilding in a Global Context
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-15 · Resources · 1,620 words · PDF available
Introduction Congress has long-standing concern with the state of the U.S. commercial (i.e., non-Navy) shipbuilding industry. Now that China has become the world’s leading shipbuilder, that concern ha...
National Park System: What Do the Different Park Titles Signify?
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-15 · Reports · 7,641 words · PDF available
Congress names individual units of the National Park System in the enabling legislation for each unit. In so doing, Congress establishes the range of titles used in the park system. The system’s 425 u...
Medicare and Budget Sequestration
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-14 · Reports · 10,331 words
Sequestration is the automatic reduction (i.e., cancellation) of certain federal spending, generally by a uniform percentage. The sequester is a budget enforcement tool that was established by Congres...
Emergency Access to Strategic and Critical Materials: The National Defense Stockpile
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-14 · Reports · 22,679 words · PDF available
In wartime, without sufficient raw materials available in useable form, militaries and companies manufacturing defense equipment may struggle to resupply materiel fast enough to keep up with equipment...
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): How It Works and Who Receives It
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-14 · Reports · 12,521 words · PDF available
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit that boosts the income of eligible low-income workers, especially those with children. Because the credit is refundable, an EITC recipien...
Guardians of the Sea: Examining Coast Guard Efforts in Drug Enforcement, Illegal Migration, and IUU Fishing
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-14 · Testimony · 5,020 words · PDF available
Type here to begin keywords
Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-14 · Reports · 33,083 words · PDF available
The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA; P.L. 108-173) established a voluntary, outpatient prescription drug benefit under Medicare Part D, effective January 1,...
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Exemption for Executive, Administrative, and Professional (EAP) Employees: 2023 Proposed Rule
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-13 · Resources · 1,680 words · PDF available
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes a federal minimum wage for most private and public sector employees and generally requires overtime compensation at a rate of one and one-half times an ...
Statutory Inspectors General in the Federal Government: A Primer
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-13 · Reports · 18,185 words · PDF available
This report provides an overview of statutory inspectors general (IGs) in the federal government, including their structure, functions, and related issues for Congress. Statutory IGs—established by la...
5G Fund for Rural America: Current Status and Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2023-11-13 · Resources · 1,860 words · PDF available
On October 27, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created the 5G Fund for Rural America (5G Fund). The FCC directed that $9 billion over the next 10 years from the Universal Service Fun...