A provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-280) allows tax-free distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes. This report describes the IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) provision.

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This report explains the current features of the Senate Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rule,describes its legislative history, inlcuding key changes to the rule since it was established in 1993, and reviews Senate procedural actions under the rule.

A paper that serves as a management and planning tool to support the statewide groundwater programs conducted by Texas state agencies.

This report presents some of the factors usually considered in preparing a legislative or office action plan. The information is provided in three sections: (1) an overview which lays out summary consideration, (2) questions to consider in preparing an outline for a project, and (3) a sample action plan.

This report focuses on potential Navy shipboard lasers for countering surface, air, and ballistic missile threats. It does not discuss the use of lasers on Navy aircraft or submarines, or the use of lasers by other military services. This report is based on unclassified, open-domain information from the Navy, industry, and research organizations such as RAND.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, and gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations.

This report discusses how Social Security benefits are currently computed, including information about eligibility, earnings, cost-of-living adjustments, factors that can affect benefit levels, and benefits for dependents.

This report gives an overview of the federal programs that provide food assistance within the United States and the territories, including a discussion of common concepts and themes across the network of domestic food assistance programs.

This report answers some frequently asked questions about the Target and selected other data breaches, including what is known to have happened in the breach, and what costs may result. It also examines some of the broader issues common to data breaches, including how the payment system works, how cybersecurity costs are shared and allocated within the payment system, who bears the losses in such breaches more generally, what emerging cybersecurity technologies may help prevent them, and what role the government could play in encouraging their adoption. The report addresses policy issues that were discussed in the 113th Congress to deal with these issues.

This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Navy's irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) operations. The Navy's IW and CT activities pose a number of potential oversight issues for Congress, including the definition of Navy IW activities and how much emphasis to place on IW and CT activities in future Navy budgets.

This report provides wildfire management appropriations data for FY2011-FY2015 and information on the President's FY2016 budget request for wildland fire management. The report also provides general wildfire management statistics (e.g., numbers of wildfires, acres burned, and firefighter personnel).

This report provides an overview of the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), including a comparison to the original START Treaty, the belief of the Obama Administration and outside analysts that New START will enhance U.S. national security, and the criticisms of those who say that New START is a distraction from more important items on the nonproliferation agenda.

This report discusses the U.S.-Russia economic ties, U.S. sanctions and Russia's retaliatory measures, economic trends in Russia, and U.S. economic interest.

This report presents background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Navy's Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) and Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class destroyer programs. The Navy's proposed FY2015 budget requests funding for the procurement of two DDG-51s. Decisions that Congress makes concerning these programs could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on multiyear procurement (MYP) and block buy contracting (BBC), which are special contracting mechanisms that Congress permits the Department of Defense (DOD) to use for a limited number of defense acquisition programs.

This report briefly discusses the use if social media as a tool of information warfare. The ability to rapidly disseminate graphic images and ideas to shape the public narrative transforms social media into a strategic weapon in the hands of terrorists, insurgent groups, or governments engaged in conflict.

This report discuses the approval or licensure procedures of drugs and biological products which Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may permit the sponsor to provide an unapproved or unlicensed product to patients outside the standard regulatory framework.

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This report provides answers to frequently asked questions concerning the provision, funding, and coverage of reproductive health services. The report is organized by the federal program that pays for or directly provides these services. It concludes with questions about coverage requirements for reproductive health services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and discusses of various federal programs that provide grants to non-governmental entities to provide reproductive health services.

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