Policy Library

7,020 documents

Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (September 25, 2023–October 1, 2023)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-10-02 · Posts · 2,118 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...
Questions of Privilege in the House
Congressional Research Service · 2023-10-02 · Reports · 1,119 words · PDF available
The House of Representatives distinguishes between privileged business and questions of privilege. Privileged business relates to the order or priority of business before the House and is defined in H...
Military Housing
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Reports · 21,713 words
The Department of Defense (DOD) provides housing to active-duty servicemembers as a component of service agreements and compensation packages. DOD considers housing to be an important quality-of-life ...
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): Overview and Selected Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Reports · 17,688 words · PDF available
The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund was created by the Riegle Community Development Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-325) to promote economic development in distre...
International Agreements (Part II): Examining Tools for Congressional Influence Over International Instruments
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Posts · 2,199 words · PDF available
This Legal Sidebar examines options for Congress to influence international instruments. It is the second in a three-part series on international agreements in the U.S. legal system. Part I introduces...
Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2023 Appropriations: Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Reports · 5,963 words · PDF available
The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President, the judiciary, the District of Colu...
Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) FY2023 Appropriations: Independent Agencies and General Provisions
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Reports · 12,868 words · PDF available
The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes funding for more than two dozen independent agencies, including: Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Election ...
The Cancer Moonshot: Overview and Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Resources · 1,708 words · PDF available
Cancer was the second-leading cause of death in the United States in 2021. For decades, Congress has maintained a sustained interest in reducing cancer mortality, particularly by funding cancer resear...
Allen v. Milligan: Supreme Court Holds That Alabama Redistricting Map Likely Violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Posts · 2,960 words · PDF available
On June 8, 2023, the Supreme Court in Allen v. Milligan affirmed two federal district court rulings that preliminarily enjoined the State of Alabama from holding elections under its congressional redi...
International Agreements (Part I): Overview and Agreement-Making Process
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Posts · 1,024 words · PDF available
This Legal Sidebar is the first in a three-part series on international agreements and their relationship with the U.S. legal system. The Constitution vests the power to make treaties with the Preside...
International Agreements (Part III): Transparency Measures
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Posts · 1,828 words · PDF available
This Legal Sidebar discusses legislative measures to increase transparency into the United States’ international commitments. It is the third installment in a three-part series on international agreem...
Legal Issues in Impeachment Investigations, Part I: Authorization
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Posts · 2,462 words · PDF available
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced on September 12, 2023, that he was directing various House committees to “open a formal impeachment inquiry” into President Joe Biden. The Speaker’s state...
Federal Workforce Statistics Sources: OPM and OMB
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-29 · Reports · 3,111 words · PDF available
This report describes online tools, reports, and data compilations created by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that contain statistics about feder...
Semiconductors and the CHIPS Act: The Global Context
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-28 · Reports · 21,919 words · PDF available
In 2021, Congress enacted legislation in response to its concerns that the United States lacked critical domestic semiconductor production capabilities and, more broadly, was losing its competitive ed...
Restricting TikTok (Part I): Legal History and Background
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-28 · Posts · 1,788 words · PDF available
The video-sharing platform TikTok has experienced a dramatic rise in users in the United States in recent years, while at the same time some Members of Congress and Biden Administration officials have...
Global transmission of Fed hikes
Brookings Institution · 2023-09-27 · Article · 29,684 words · PDF available
The paper summarized here is part of the Fall 2023 edition of theBrookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA), the leading conference series and journal in economics for timely, cutting-edge research ...
Overview of the General Services Administration: Acquisition Services and Real Property Management
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-27 · Reports · 10,331 words · PDF available
The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (Property Act; P.L. 81-152) established the General Services Administration (GSA) as the mandatory, government-wide source for the procurem...
Bureau of Indian Affairs: Overview of Budget Issues and Options for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-27 · Reports · 11,999 words · PDF available
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), an agency within the Department of the Interior (DOI), plays a leading role in carrying out federal trust, treaty, and other responsibilities to federally recognize...
Estimated ESEA Title I-A FY2023 and FY2024 State Grants Under the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee-Approved Bill
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-27 · Reports · 9,850 words · PDF available
Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children. Title I-A grants provide supplementary edu...
Employment Eligibility for Migrants Released from DHS Custody at the Southwest Border
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-27 · Posts · 1,021 words · PDF available
In the past three years, the United States has experienced record-high levels of migration across the U.S.-Mexico border. Generally, migrants who lack authorization to enter the country and present th...
Legal Standards for Government Dismissal of Qui Tam Cases Under the False Claims Act
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-27 · Posts · 2,192 words · PDF available
The False Claims Act (FCA) subjects a person to civil penalties and triple damages if he or she submits “a false or fraudulent claim” seeking payment from the federal government. The Attorney General ...
The Strategic National Stockpile: Overview and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-26 · Reports · 8,264 words · PDF available
The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) consists of drugs, vaccines, medical products, and ancillary supplies that can be deployed at the request of state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) health ...
Private Funding for Election Administration
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-26 · Resources · 1,792 words · PDF available
State and local election offices sometimes receive private donations of money, goods, or services to help them carry out their work. Following the onset of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pand...
Federal Management of Sea Lampreys in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-25 · Resources · 1,378 words · PDF available
The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), sometimes known as the vampire fish (Figure 1), is a parasitic fish species native to the northern Atlantic Ocean and the waters of eastern United States and west...
Major Functions of the U.S. Department of Labor
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-25 · Resources · 1,573 words · PDF available
Creation of the Department of Labor The Department of Labor (DOL) was created in 1913 by “An Act to create a Department of Labor” (P.L. 62-426). Its purpose was “to foster, promote, and develop the we...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (September 18, 2023–September 24, 2023)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-25 · Posts · 1,141 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...
The Pillar 2 Global Minimum Tax: Implications for U.S. Tax Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-22 · Reports · 8,461 words · PDF available
In response to concerns about multinational corporations shifting profits to low-tax countries, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20, through an inclusive fram...
China Primer: Uyghurs
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-22 · Resources · 1,682 words · PDF available
Uyghurs (also spelled “Uighurs”) are a Muslim ethnic minority group living primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in the far northwest of the People’s Republic of China (PRC or Chin...
The Biden Administration’s Final Rule on Arriving Aliens Seeking Asylum (Part One)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-21 · Posts · 2,071 words · PDF available
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a final rule in May 2023 that would, for at least a two-year period, make some aliens ineligible for asylum if they arr...
Congressional Rules Pertaining to Changes in Mandatory Program Spending in Appropriations Bills (CHIMPs)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-21 · Reports · 5,638 words · PDF available
When Congress considers legislation, it takes into account the proposal’s potential budgetary effects. This helps Members to weigh the legislation’s merits and to consider whether it complies with the...
The Biden Administration’s Final Rule on Arriving Aliens Seeking Asylum (Part Two)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-21 · Posts · 2,028 words · PDF available
In May 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a final rule that would, for at least a two-year period, make some aliens ineligible for asylum if they ar...
The Legality of DACA: Recent Litigation Developments
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-20 · Posts · 1,828 words · PDF available
On September 13, 2023, a federal district court held that a 2022 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that seeks “to preserve and fortify” the agency’s long-standing Deferred Action for Childhoo...
Breaking the Logjam Part 3: Restoring Transparency and Accountability in the Accommodation Process
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-20 · Testimony · 9,258 words · PDF available
Breaking the Logjam Part 3: Restoring Transparency and Accountability in the Accommodation Process
U.S. Retirement Assets: Data in Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-20 · Reports · 1,697 words · PDF available
The Federal Reserve’s Financial Accounts of the United States provides data on the amount of retirement assets in the United States. Retirement assets are held in pension plans sponsored by employers ...
A Bar Too High: Concerns with CEQ’s Proposed Regulatory Hurdle for Federal Contracting
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-20 · Testimony · 10,000 words · PDF available
Private nondelegation doctrine, major questions doctrine, greenhouse gas emissions, CEQ, Council on Environmental Quality, climate-related financial risk, Federal Acquisition Regulation, FAR
Environmental Reviews and the 118th Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-19 · Resources · 1,437 words · PDF available
Overview of the Review Process Under the National Environmental Policy Act The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.) mandates environmental review of many agency actions. ...
Cell-Cultivated Meat: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-19 · Reports · 8,362 words · PDF available
Cell-cultivated meat is developed in a lab, grown from a sample of animal cells that does not require the slaughter of animals. Developing cell-cultivated meat involves five steps: (1) taking a biopsy...
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) in Social Security: Proposals for a New Proportional Formula
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-19 · Resources · 1,657 words · PDF available
Background Social Security is a work-based federal insurance program that provides monthly cash benefits to workers and their eligible family members in the event of a worker’s retirement, disability,...
International Financial Institutions: FY2024 Budget Request
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-19 · Resources · 1,398 words · PDF available
For FY2024, the Biden Administration is requesting $4.04 billion for the international financial institutions (IFIs). These include the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the multilateral development ...
ESEA Title I-A Formulas: A Primer
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-19 · Reports · 6,185 words · PDF available
Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) authorizes aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children. Title I-A grants provide supplementary e...
Semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-18 · Resources · 1,707 words · PDF available
The increasing popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) has drawn congressional attention, and many Members are considering proposals to regulate the quickly evolving landscape. Technical progress i...
Foreign Investment in Real Property Act (FIRPTA)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-18 · Resources · 1,538 words · PDF available
In general, a foreign person or corporation is not taxed on U.S.-source capital gains income unless it is associated with operating a trade or business. However, under the Foreign Investment in Real P...
Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (September 11, 2023–September 17, 2023)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-18 · Posts · 1,862 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...
D.C. Circuit Finds Mandatory Copyright Deposit Requirement an Unconstitutional Taking
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-18 · Posts · 2,271 words · PDF available
U.S. copyright law has long required copyright owners to send the U.S. Copyright Office one or two copies of their works, which may be used to build the collections of the Library of Congress. (Both t...
National Hispanic Heritage Month: Fact Sheet
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-18 · Reports · 1,375 words · PDF available
This fact sheet is designed to assist congressional offices with work related to National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is observed from September 15 to October 15. It contains links to census and de...
Conflict of Interest in Investment Advice Within Retirement Plans: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-15 · Resources · 1,485 words · PDF available
Introduction A pension is a voluntary benefit offered by employers to assist employees in preparing for retirement. Pension plans can be classified along several dimensions, such as whether the plan i...
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs)
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-15 · Resources · 1,323 words · PDF available
Since the 1960s, when Congress authorized the first federal grants to establish outpatient mental health clinics, the federal government has supported states’ provision of community-based behavioral h...
EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-15 · Reports · 9,684 words · PDF available
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), there are five categories of employment-based (EB) visas in the permanent immigration system. Congress created the fifth category (EB-5), the immigrant...
Uniform Date Labeling of Food May Address Food Waste
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-15 · Resources · 1,911 words · PDF available
In the United States, 30%-40% of the food that is produced is unsold and uneaten, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Confusion regarding how consumers interpret food date labels i...
Policy Issues Involving Food Loss and Waste
Congressional Research Service · 2023-09-15 · Resources · 1,564 words · PDF available
The 118th Congress has continued to introduce legislation addressing food loss and waste, building on enacted provisions in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334, 2018 farm bill). The ...