The U.S. merchandise trade deficit is a part of the overall U.S. balance of payments, a summary statement of all economic transactions between the residents of the United States and the rest of the world, during a given period of time. Some Members of Congress and other observers have grown concerned over the magnitude of the U.S. merchandise trade deficit and the associated increase in U.S. dollar-denominated assets owned by foreigners. This report provides an overview of the U.S. balance of payments, an explanation of the broader role of capital flows in the U.S. economy, an explanation of how the country finances its trade deficit or a trade surplus, and the implications for Congress and the country of the large inflows of capital from abroad.

This report discusses how the total debt of the federal government can increase, an historical overview of debt limits, and how the current economic slowdown has led to higher deficits and thereby a series of debt limit increases, as well as legislation related to these increases.

This report discusses commercial ties between the United States and the 27-member European Union. These ties are substantial, growing, and mutually beneficial, but differences in regulatory approaches limit an even more integrated marketplace from developing. This report is intended to serve as an introduction and primer on this complicated, broad, and often highly technical set of issues.

Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are international institutions that provide financial assistance, typically in the form of loans and grants, to developing countries in order to promote economic and social development. This report provides an overview of the MDBs and highlights major current issues for Congress. The first section discusses the history of the MDBs, their operations, major donor contributions, and their organization. The second section discusses issues of particular interest to Congress, including the effectiveness of the MDBs; congressional legislation authorizing and appropriating U.S. contributions to the MDBs; congressional oversight of the MDBs; and U.S. commercial interests in the MDBs.

This report provides a brief overview of the climate change issue as well as other Clean Air Act issues of interest in the 110th Congress.

This report is intended to provide Members and congressional staff with the background needed to understand the current debate over proposed strategies to redesign the global nuclear fuel cycle. It begins with a look at the motivating factors underlying the resurgent interest in nuclear power, the nuclear power industry's current state of affairs, and the interdependence with the nuclear fuel cycle.

This report discusses the current debate over proposed strategies to redesign the global nuclear fuel cycle. It begins with a look at the motivating factors underlying the resurgent interest in nuclear power, the nuclear power industry's current state of affairs, and the interdependence with the nuclear fuel cycle.

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Most voting systems used in U.S. elections rely on computers in some way. The most computerized is the direct recording electronic voting machine, or DRE. In this system, votes are recorded directly onto computer memory devices. This report discusses questions that arise frequently with respect to the controversy surrounding DREs. Possible misperceptions in the debate can be classified into three categories: those relating to DREs themselves, those that relate to paper audit trails, and those that relate to recounts and audits.

This report describes the National Science Foundation (NSF) that was created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (P.L. 81-507).

This report sets out specific instances in which the Fund can be accessed and illustrates the procedural mechanisms for obtaining payment under certain statutory causes of action. In addition, this report will briefly highlight several recently proposed changes to the Judgment Fund’s administration. In the 113th Congress, the Judgment Fund Transparency Act of 2013 (H.R. 317) would require the Secretary of the Treasury to post on a public website the claimant, agency, fact summary, and payment amount for each claim paid out of the Fund.

Aquaculture — the farming of fish, shellfish, and other aquatic animals and plants in a controlled environment — is expanding rapidly abroad, with more modest advances in the United States. This report discusses the federal laws and regulations that guide the management of resources in open ocean and near-shore coastal areas.

This report briefly discusses Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's scheduled visit to the United States on March,10 2016. It will be the first state visit by a Canadian leader since 1997, when then-President Clinton hosted then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

This report tracks and describes actions taken by the Administration and Congress to provide FY2017 appropriations for the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) accounts. It also provides an overview of FY2016 appropriations for agencies and bureaus funded as part of annual CJS appropriations.

Given its role as a close U.S. ally and partner, developments in Poland and its relations with the United States are of continuing interest to the U.S. Congress. This report provides an overview and assessment of some of the main dimensions of these topics.

This report provides an overview of banking related issues of interest to the 115th Congress.

This report provides a brief description of Congress and the executive branches' relations with the military and defense department and a brief overview of the structure, roles, and needs of the military and defense communities.

This report discusses the development and procurement of the Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and the FY2019 budget request for the ACV program.

This report describes the structure, purpose, and funding of the Millennium Challenge Fund.

This report discusses the process of bringing a class action suit and the requirements plaintiffs are required to prove before one may be brought.

This report is an update of an earlier report regarding the SEC's consideration of a rule change regarding the proposed acquisition of the Chicago Stock Exchange by a group of Chinese investors with ties to the Chinese government. The SEC disapproved the rule change due to a lack of documentation on the funding sources of some investors and the deal was called off on March 5, 2018.

This report is an update of a previous report regarding DACA's phase-out and discusses court injunctions preventing the the phase-out of DACA benefits for those already enrolled and a decision by a Maryland federal court which prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using personal information found in DACA applications for law enforcement purposes except by permission of the court in uses needed for national security, public safety, or the public interest.

This report analyzes recent changes to state Unemployment Compensation (UC) programs. Two categories of UC state law issues are considered: changes in the duration of state UC unemployment benefits and (changes in the UC weekly benefit amount. Overall, the two types of changes to state UC laws and programs have consequences for the duration and amount of unemployment benefits. This report describes these changes and analyzes their consequences for UC, EUC08 (when it was authorized), and EB benefits. It will be updated, as needed, to reflect additional state UC changes.