Policy Library

7,020 documents

Social Security: The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-28 · Reports · 7,259 words · PDF available
Social Security is a work-based, federal insurance program that provides cash benefits to workers and their eligible family members in the event of the worker’s retirement, disability, or death. A wor...
Measuring Job Openings in the U.S. Labor Market
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-28 · Resources · 1,314 words
Introduction The number of job openings is an economic indicator that can provide information about the potential strength or weakness of the labor market. It is often used in comparison to another co...
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA): Proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-27 · Resources · 1,822 words · PDF available
Concerns about lead’s adverse health effects, particularly on children, continue to drive efforts to reduce lead exposure through drinking water. Some water pipes, called service lines, that connect w...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (February 19–February 25, 2024)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-27 · Posts · 1,544 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...
Tax-Preferred College Savings Plans: An Introduction to 529 Plans
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-27 · Reports · 6,991 words · PDF available
Among the options families may choose to save for education (elementary and secondary as well as higher education), they may consider using tax-advantaged qualified tuition programs (QTPs), also known...
Energy Tax Provisions: Overview and Budgetary Cost
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-26 · Reports · 12,325 words · PDF available
***SUMMARY AND TABLE OF CONTENTS TO BE SUPPRESSED*** This report provides background information on current-law energy provisions in the federal income tax code. Specifically, the report includes a se...
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part C: Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-26 · Reports · 12,461 words · PDF available
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a statute that authorizes grant programs that support special education services. Under the IDEA, a series of conditions are attached to the r...
Expiration and Cancellation of Unobligated Funds
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-26 · Resources · 1,147 words · PDF available
Unless Congress chooses to intervene, appropriated funds that have not been obligated may expire and be cancelled according to procedures that are outlined in statute. Relevant provisions related to t...
U.S. Circuit Court Nominees Confirmed Through February 15 of President Biden’s Fourth Year in Office: Overview and Comparative Analysis
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-26 · Posts · 1,000 words · PDF available
This Insight provides statistics related to the nomination and confirmation of U.S. circuit court nominees through February 15, 2024, of the Biden presidency. This Insight also provides comparative st...
Is Russia winning in Ukraine?
Brookings Institution · 2024-02-23 · Article · 2,605 words · PDF available
Two years after Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Michael O’Hanlon argues that Russia has failed in its biggest goals, but those failures may be reversed.
Emerging Military Technologies: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-22 · Reports · 20,759 words · PDF available
Members of Congress and Pentagon officials are increasingly focused on developing emerging military technologies to enhance U.S. national security and keep pace with U.S. competitors. The U.S. militar...
Considerations for Creating a New Federal Grant Program: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-22 · Reports · 5,417 words · PDF available
This report discusses considerations for navigating the process for authorizing new grant programs, including potential policy and programmatic outcomes based on certain structural decisions. Consider...
District of Columbia Local Lawmaking and Congressional Authority: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-22 · Reports · 4,987 words · PDF available
The U.S. Constitution provides Congress with plenary legislative authority over the District of Columbia (the District) as the federal capital. In accordance with this power, Congress grants limited h...
Social Security: Estimated Impact of Hypothetical Solvency Measures
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-21 · Reports · 23,027 words · PDF available
Social Security has long been a program of high congressional interest both because of the number of people who receive benefits—now and in the future—and because of the program’s projected long-term ...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (February 12–February 19, 2024)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-21 · Posts · 1,843 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...
U.S. Trade Policy: Background and Current Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-21 · Resources · 1,886 words · PDF available
Congress has primary authority over U.S. trade policy through its constitutional power to levy tariffs and regulate foreign commerce. It has delegated some trade authorities to the Executive, but reta...
The Gender Earnings Gap
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-21 · Resources · 1,577 words · PDF available
Women earn less, on average, than men. This earnings differential—often called the gender earnings gap—raises questions about gender equity in labor markets, women’s retirement security, and the poten...
Presidential Authority to Suspend Entry of Aliens Under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-21 · Posts · 9,521 words · PDF available
The President has the authority “to suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens” whenever the President “finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States ...
State Social Media Laws at the Supreme Court
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-20 · Posts · 2,866 words · PDF available
On February 26, 2024, the Supreme Court is to hear oral argument over the constitutionality of Florida and Texas laws that restrict online platforms’ ability to moderate user content. The U.S. Courts ...
Nickels and Dimes: History and Current Status
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-20 · Resources · 802 words · PDF available
The Secretary of the Treasury, through the U.S. Mint, is statutorily authorized to issue specific circulating coin denominations (31 U.S.C. §5112). Currently, the United States has six circulating coi...
Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) and Broker-Dealer Regulation
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-20 · Resources · 1,738 words · PDF available
Policymakers have scrutinized certain rebates that brokerage firms receive for executing retail investor stock trades, with particular attention to payment for order flow (PFOF). PFOF raises issues re...
Recent Developments in the Rights of Private Individuals to Enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-20 · Posts · 2,740 words · PDF available
On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Eighth Circuit) in Arkansas State Conference NAACP v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment affirmed a federal district court ruling t...
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-20 · Resources · 1,470 words · PDF available
The U.S. Constitution empowers Congress to impose tariffs and regulate trade with foreign nations. Periodically, Congress has legislated authorities and procedures to signal to trading partners that t...
China Primer: Illicit Fentanyl and China’s Role
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-20 · Resources · 1,737 words · PDF available
In addressing the international dimension of the opioid crisis in the United States, policymakers have sought to stop foreign-sourced fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances (i.e., analogues), and chemi...
Will Congress keep Ukraine in the fight?
Brookings Institution · 2024-02-16 · Article · 1,518 words
How things play out in Congress greatly affects Ukraine’s ability to resist, and possibly increases the prospect of a Russian victory.
Army Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) Program Proposed Cancellation: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-16 · Resources · 1,540 words · PDF available
Introduction On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Army announced, as part of a major proposed restructuring of its aviation programs, that it seeks to cancel the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) ...
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Standard Mileage Rates
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-16 · Posts · 1,014 words · PDF available
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides standard mileage rates as optional methods for taxpayers to substantiate their transportation expenses. This Insight reviews how the standard mileage rates ...
Murdered and missing women is the top issue facing Native American communities heading into the 2024 elections
Brookings Institution · 2024-02-15 · Article · 1,670 words
This election season, Native American voters will play a pivotal role by influencing the outcome of several Senate and congressional races.
The Impeachment Process in the Senate
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-15 · Reports · 18,044 words · PDF available
After the House impeaches a federal officer, the Senate conducts a trial to determine if the individual should be removed from office. The Senate has a set of rules specific to the conduct of an impea...
The Highway Funding Formula: History and Current Status Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-15 · Reports · 8,763 words · PDF available
Between 1916, when Congress created the first ongoing program to fund road construction, and 2012, when federal road funding shifted to a significantly different structure, various formula factors spe...
Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (WRDA 2022)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-14 · Posts · 1,024 words · PDF available
Recent Congresses have biennially considered omnibus legislation authorizing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) civil works activities, typically called Water Resources Development Acts (WRDAs). Eli...
Strategic sector investments are poised to benefit distressed US counties
Brookings Institution · 2024-02-13 · Article · 2,459 words · PDF available
Recent federal legislation—namely, theInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,CHIPS and Science Act, andInflation Reduction Act—was enacted to incentivize investments in several sectors deemed importan...
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Justice Activities and Programs
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-13 · Reports · 8,803 words · PDF available
For decades, policymakers and stakeholders have raised concerns regarding the disproportionate effects of environmental pollution among different communities and populations in the United States. Sinc...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (February 5–February 11, 2024)
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-13 · Posts · 1,747 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...
Business Tax Provisions in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-13 · Resources · 1,657 words · PDF available
The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, released by the Senate Finance Committee on January 16, 2024, and passed by the House on January 31, 2024 (H.R. 7024), would, among other ...
Licensing AI is not the answer—but it contains the answers
Brookings Institution · 2024-02-12 · Article · 3,070 words
Licensing AI is impractical and anticompetitive, but it does suggest some answers to the question of AI regulation, such as clear standards.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as Amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): A Primer
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-12 · Reports · 18,114 words · PDF available
The primary source of federal aid for elementary and secondary education is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)—particularly its Title I-A program, which authorizes federal aid for the e...
Child Care Entitlement to States: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-12 · Resources · 1,488 words · PDF available
Overview The Child Care Entitlement to States (CCES) was created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA, P.L. 104-193). PRWORA authorized the CCES in Se...
Ninth Circuit on Whether a Federal False Statement Prosecution Can Be Brought Where the Effects of the Statement Are Felt
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-09 · Posts · 709 words · PDF available
In December 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) announced a decision in which it reversed a criminal conviction for making false statements to federal office...
Middle East Natural Gas
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-09 · Infographics · 276 words · PDF available
/ Middle East Natural Gas As natural gas becomes a more global commodity, transporting it by ship in liquefied form (LNG) is considered essential for its continued development as a global fuel. The M...
Gun Control: Straw Purchase and Gun Trafficking Provisions in P.L. 117-159
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-09 · Resources · 1,772 words · PDF available
On June 25, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA; S. 2938; P.L. 117-159). This law includes the Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act, provisions of ...
U.S. Strikes on Houthi Targets in Yemen Raise War Powers Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-09 · Posts · 1,023 words · PDF available
Following attacks from Houthi-controlled areas of northern Yemen on shipping vessels and U.S. and allied naval forces in the Red Sea since November 2023, U.S. Armed Forces in the region have struck Ho...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Adopt Alternative Credit Scores
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-08 · Resources · 1,755 words · PDF available
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored enterprises that collectively guarantee the default risks for a large share of U.S. single-family mortgages, are adopting scoring metrics that incorpor...
CHIPS and Science Act programs are writing a new story about the Rust Belt
Brookings Institution · 2024-02-07 · Article · 883 words
This piece was updated on February 12, 2024 with an additional Tech Hubs designee.
Courts, Programs, and Other Items Funded by Congressional Appropriations for the Federal Judiciary
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-07 · Resources · 1,290 words · PDF available
Overview Funds for the federal judiciary are included annually in the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill. For FY2023, Congress enacted $8.46 billion in discretionary ...
National Park Service (NPS) Appropriations: TenYear Trends
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-07 · Reports · 6,852 words · PDF available
The National Park Service (NPS) receives appropriations in the annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. Over the past decade (FY2014-FY2023), NPS received both regular (...
Emergency Relief for Disaster-Damaged Public Transportation Systems: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-07 · Reports · 5,416 words · PDF available
Both the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Department of Homeland Security have responsibilities ...
Outer Limits of the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-07 · Reports · 9,655 words · PDF available
Areas of the ocean within U.S. jurisdiction encompass diverse marine ecosystems and contain natural resources of economic value and national security interest. The 1982 United Nations Convention on th...
Global Trends in Democracy and Authoritarianism: Challenges to Press Freedom
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-07 · Resources · 1,658 words · PDF available
Experts and policymakers have expressed concern over global challenges to press freedom, including in connection with broader concerns over the state of democracy around the world. Some research, incl...
Judiciary Budget Request, FY2024
Congressional Research Service · 2024-02-07 · Resources · 1,267 words · PDF available
Overview The FY2024 judiciary budget request seeks $8.95 billion in discretionary appropriations (an increase of 5.8% over the FY2023 enacted level). The request also includes $796.1 million in mandat...