Policy Library

7,020 documents

Carbon Storage Requirements in the 45Q Tax Credit
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-28 · Resources · 1,776 words · PDF available
The Internal Revenue Code Section 45Q tax credit is intended to promote investment in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), a process designed to reduce atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases (GH...
Overview of the Universal Service Fund and Selected Federal Broadband Programs
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-25 · Reports · 16,351 words · PDF available
Efforts to deploy voice telephone service throughout the United States began almost 100 years ago. Starting in the 1990s, these efforts shifted toward the deployment of broadband internet service to h...
U.S. Funding for International Conservation and Biodiversity
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-25 · Reports · 12,422 words · PDF available
The United States supports international conservation efforts through foreign assistance programs, diplomatic engagement, and other tools. Members of Congress have supported such efforts on a bipartis...
U.S. Department of the Interior: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-23 · Reports · 13,727 words · PDF available
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is a federal executive department responsible for the administration of lands, minerals, and other resources of the United States. DOI describes its mission a...
Digital Assets and SEC Regulation
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-23 · Reports · 11,525 words · PDF available
In recent years, financial innovation in capital markets has fostered a new asset class—digital assets—and introduced new forms of fundraising and trading. Digital assets, which include cryptocurrenci...
Support for Supply-Chain Resilience of Locally Sourced Foods
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-23 · Resources · 1,680 words · PDF available
Over the past decade, food policy in the United States has responded to ongoing shifts in consumer preferences and producer trends that favor local food systems (including regional and urban food syst...
Addressing Lead in Drinking Water: The Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR)
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-22 · Reports · 12,347 words · PDF available
Lead’s adverse health effects—especially for children, even at low levels of exposure—have driven continuing efforts to reduce lead exposure through drinking water. Primarily, lead enters drinking wat...
The Debt Collection Market and Selected Policy Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-22 · Reports · 9,254 words · PDF available
When a consumer defaults on a debt, a third-party debt collector often collects the debt obligation rather than the lender to whom the debt is originally owed. The debt collection market helps lenders...
Fulton v. Philadelphia: Religious Exemptions from Generally Applicable Laws
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-22 · Posts · 2,889 words · PDF available
The Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia on June 17, 2021. In Fulton, a Catholic foster care agency raised religious objections to complying with Phil...
Production, Marketing, and Regulation of Hemp Products
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-22 · Resources · 1,317 words · PDF available
Changes enacted in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334; 2018 farm bill) removed long-standing federal restrictions on the cultivation of hemp. Hemp is a form of Cannabis sativa, the ...
Supreme Court Dismisses Challenge to the Affordable Care Act in California v. Texas
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-21 · Posts · 2,091 words
On June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court issued its decision in California v. Texas, one of the most closely watched cases of this term. At stake in California was the constitutionality of the Patient Prot...
National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston and the Debate over Student Athlete Compensation
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-21 · Posts · 2,887 words · PDF available
Against the backdrop of the national debate on student athlete compensation, the Supreme Court issued its decision in National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston on June 21, 2021. In Alston, th...
Corporate Expatriation, Inversions, and Mergers: Tax IssuesCorporate Expatriation, Inversions, and Mergers: Tax Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-17 · Reports · 14,861 words · PDF available
News reports in the late 1990s and early 2000s drew attention to a phenomenon sometimes called corporate “inversions” or “expatriations”: instances where U.S. firms reorganize their structure so that ...
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations for FY2021
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-17 · Reports · 9,175 words · PDF available
The respective House and Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittees are charged with providing annual appropriations for the Departm...
Social Security: The Effects of Wage and Price Indexing on Benefits
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-16 · Reports · 10,228 words · PDF available
Social Security is a social insurance program that protects insured workers and their family members against a loss of income due to old age, disability, or death. The program is comprised of two comp...
Supreme Court Clarifies CERCLA Provisions for Recouping Cleanup Costs
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-16 · Posts · 2,496 words · PDF available
On May 24, 2021, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Guam v. United States that could expand the ability to recover cleanup costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and L...
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Role in Criminal Justice Data Collection and Dissemination
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-15 · Resources · 1,636 words · PDF available
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), established in 1979, is an agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP). Its mission is “to collect, analyze, publish, and di...
1890 Land-Grant Universities: Background and Selected Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-15 · Resources · 1,577 words · PDF available
The 1890 Institutions are the historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that belong to the U.S. land-grant university (LGU) system. As such, they receive federal funds for agricultural rese...
Social Security: Minimum Benefits
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-15 · Reports · 15,038 words · PDF available
Social Security’s special minimum benefit provision, also known as the Special Minimum Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), is an alternative benefit formula that increases benefits paid to workers who had...
Supreme Court: Unlawful Entrants with Temporary Protected Status Cannot Adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident Status
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-11 · Posts · 2,171 words · PDF available
Certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens, as the term is used in the Immigration and Nationality Act [INA]) who are physically present in the United States may adjust to lawful permanent resident (LPR) stat...
Supreme Court Rules on Authority of Tribal Police to Stop Non-Indians
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-11 · Posts · 2,135 words · PDF available
On June 1, 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously held in United States v. Cooley (Cooley) that Indian tribal law enforcement officers may stop, search, and temporarily detain a non-Indian motorist trave...
Social Security Long-Range Projections: Why 75 Years?
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-11 · Resources · 1,735 words · PDF available
The Social Security Board of Trustees (Trustees) is required by law to report annually to Congress on the financial status of the Social Security trust funds. Since 1965, the Trustees have used a 75-y...
Shipping, Ports, and the Federal Maritime Commission
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-11 · Resources · 1,835 words · PDF available
Since summer 2020, U.S. overseas containerized trade has risen to record levels as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led households to spend less on services such as vacation trips and ...
Committee Jurisdiction and Referral in the Senate
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-10 · Reports · 3,997 words · PDF available
When legislation is introduced in the Senate or received from the House, referral to a standing committee is governed primarily by the jurisdictional statements contained in paragraph 1 of Senate Rule...
Food Insecurity Among College Students: Background and Policy Options
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-09 · Reports · 14,712 words · PDF available
Food insecurity—the condition of having inadequate food due to a lack of resources—affected roughly 1 in 10 Americans in 2019, and this number increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among college stu...
Formal Removal Proceedings: An Introduction
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-09 · Resources · 1,984 words · PDF available
The Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause confers substantive and procedural protections to all persons within the United States, including non-U.S. nationals (aliens, as described in statute) whom the...
Overview of the ACA Medicaid Expansion
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-09 · Resources · 1,381 words · PDF available
The primary goals of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148, as amended) are to increase access to affordable health insurance for the uninsured and to make health insurance...
Civil Enforcement of Congressional Authorities
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-08 · Testimony · 8,240 words · PDF available
Congressional investigations; oversight; subpoena enforcement
Crime Victims’ Rights Act: A Summary and Legal Analysis of 18 U.S.C. § 3771
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-08 · Reports · 39,231 words · PDF available
Section 3771 of Title 18 of the United States Code is a statutory bill of rights for the victims of crimes committed in violation of federal law or the laws of the District of Columbia. It defines a v...
EB-5 Immigrant Investor Regional Center Program
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-08 · Resources · 1,389 words · PDF available
The EB-5 Regional Center Program (RCP) allows foreign national investors to qualify for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in exchange for foreign capital investment and job creation in specified ...
Crime Victims’ Rights Act: A Sketch of 18 U.S.C. § 3771
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-08 · Reports · 12,262 words · PDF available
Section 3771 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code is a statutory bill of rights for the victims of crimes committed in violation of federal law or the laws of the District of Columbia. It defines a victim as ...
Department of Veterans Affairs: Burial Benefits and the National Cemetery Administration
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-07 · Reports · 14,560 words · PDF available
The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) within Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides eligible veterans and their next of kin monetary and non-monetary burial benefits upon the veterans’ deat...
The U.S. Export Control System and the Export Control Reform Act of 2018
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-07 · Reports · 21,565 words · PDF available
Balancing U.S. national security and export competitiveness in U.S. export control policy has been a complex and challenging issue for Congress and the executive branch for a number of decades. Throug...
National Guard and Reserve Eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-07 · Resources · 1,523 words · PDF available
The Post-9/11 GI Bill is a popular educational assistance program designed for servicemembers and veterans and their family members. In FY2021, almost 725,000 individuals are anticipated to receive av...
China’s Military: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-04 · Reports · 29,987 words · PDF available
China’s military modernization is a major factor driving some observers’ concerns about China’s rise, China’s intentions toward the United States and its allies and partners, and the role China aspire...
Tax Treatment of Capital Gains at Death
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-04 · Resources · 1,721 words · PDF available
When an asset is sold that has appreciated in value, such as a share of stock, the gain is taxed at rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%, with the top rate applying in 2021 when incomes exceed $501,600 for a join...
Drought Response and Preparedness: Policy and Legislation
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-04 · Resources · 1,540 words · PDF available
In recent years, large areas of the United States have been subject to drought. In addition to estimates of average annual losses from drought of $9 billion for agriculture, the effects have included ...
WaterSense® Program: Congressional Authorization
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-03 · Resources · 1,387 words · PDF available
WaterSense is a voluntary labeling program created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to encourage the development and use of water-efficient products and services. Through WaterSense, ...
Child Welfare Programs: A Timeline
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-03 · Resources · 1,124 words · PDF available
Programs by Year 1935 Title V, Part 3 of the original Social Security Act (P.L. 74-271) authorized grants to states for Child Welfare Services (CWS); Title IV authorized Aid to Dependent Children (...
Consumption of Prescription Opioids for Pain: A Comparison of Opioid Use in the United States and Other Countries
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-02 · Reports · 25,133 words · PDF available
Beginning in the late 1990s, the consumption of medical opioids used to treat pain increased in many countries worldwide. Since that time, the United States has outpaced every other country in per cap...
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Media Ownership Rules
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-01 · Reports · 16,448 words · PDF available
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) aims, with its broadcast media ownership rules, to promote localism and competition by restricting the number of media outlets that a single entity may own ...
Defining Low-Income, Low-Access Food Areas (Food Deserts)
Congressional Research Service · 2021-06-01 · Resources · 1,720 words · PDF available
In the Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, §7527), Congress directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to identify “characteristics and factors causing and influencing food...
Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans Potentially Eligible for Special Financial Assistance Under the American Rescue Plan Act
Congressional Research Service · 2021-05-28 · Reports · 12,594 words · PDF available
Multiemployer defined benefit (DB) pension plans are private-sector pensions sponsored by more than one employer and maintained as part of a collective bargaining agreement. In DB plans, participants ...
House Rules Changes Affecting Committee Procedure in the 117th Congress (2021-2022)
Congressional Research Service · 2021-05-28 · Reports · 6,378 words · PDF available
As agreed to in the House, H.Res. 8, a resolution adopting the rules of the House of Representatives, provided amendments to the rules, as well as separate orders, that affect committee procedure in t...
Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity
Congressional Research Service · 2021-05-28 · Reports · 21,833 words · PDF available
Congress’s power to create rules governing the admission of non-U.S. nationals (aliens) has long been viewed as plenary. In the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, Congress has specifie...
Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program
Congressional Research Service · 2021-05-26 · Resources · 1,436 words · PDF available
Overview The Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration Program (42 U.S.C. 1396a note) authorizes the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to award competitive grants to states ...
Intelligence Community Presidentially Appointed Senate Confirmed Officials (PAS) During the Administrations of Presidents George W. Bush, Barack H. Obama, and Donald J. Trump: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2021-05-24 · Reports · 4,330 words · PDF available
This report provides in three tables the names of those who have served in presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed (PAS) positions in the Intelligence Community (IC) during the last twenty years. I...
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): Legal Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2021-05-24 · Reports · 10,143 words · PDF available
Schools generate and maintain numerous student records, including grades, standardized test scores, disciplinary accounts, contact information, mental health records, and more. The Family Educational ...
Temporary Business-Related Tax Provisions Expiring 2021-2027 and Business “Tax Extenders”
Congressional Research Service · 2021-05-24 · Reports · 15,614 words · PDF available
Fifteen temporary business tax provisions that expired in 2020 were extended or made permanent by the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted as Division EE of the Consolidated...
Section 307 and U.S. Imports of Products of Forced Labor: Overview and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2021-05-21 · Reports · 20,112 words · PDF available
The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that as of 2016, nearly 25 million adults and children worked in forced labor, also known as labor trafficking. Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 19...