This report explores two grant-administration issues specifically affected by the federal shutdown. It gives an overview of federal aid to state and local governments, characteristics of federal grants and methods for disbursing the funds, grant administration issues affected by a lapse in federal funding, and potential legislative options to reduce the impact of future government shutdowns.

This report provides background information on Bolivia, an analysis of its current political and economic situation, and an assessment of some key issues in Bolivian-U.S. relations.

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This report gives a brief description of the structure of the Fed. It then discusses the economics of how Fed independence affects monetary policy. The report does not consider how Fed independence may affect the Fed's other duties, such as its oversight of the financial system. It then examines the probable economic ramifications of proposals to curb the independence of the Fed.

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This report examines legislation in the 107th Congress pertaining to federal mandatory minimum sentencing statutes (mandatory minimums), which demand that execution or incarceration follow criminal conviction. They cover drug dealing and using a gun to commit a federal crime, among other crimes.

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In the wake of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, federal agencies, state and local government agencies, and responsible parties faced an unprecedented challenge. An oil discharge continued for 87 days, resulting in the largest ever oil spill in U.S. waters.

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The Russian Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament approved ratification of the START II Treaty on April 14, 2000, after 7 years of debate and dissension. (The United States Senate approved ratification of the treaty in January 1996.) This report describes key concerns raised by Members of the Duma during their discussions of START II. These include concerns with treaty provisions, such as its ban on multiple warhead ICBMs and its warhead "downloading" provisions, and concerns with Russia's ability to maintain and finance its strategic nuclear forces in the future.

This report discusses the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is a block grant program under which the federal government provides states annual grants to operate multi-component home energy assistance programs for needy households.

On October 17, 2006,3 the EPA published its revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulates to provide protection against potential health effects associated with short- and long-term exposure to particulate matter (including chronic respiratory disease and premature mortality). In order to better understand EPA's actions, this report provides an analysis of the agency's final 2006 revisions to the particulates NAAQS, and the estimated costs and benefits of the new standards and of more stringent alternatives analyzed.

This report discusses the Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA) which was created by Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111-203) to allow the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to resolve certain failing financial institutions whose collapse could threaten the stability of the financial system. Although OLA has never been used, it has become the subject of a number of reform proposals. This report briefly describes the OLA and two prominent examples of such proposals.

This report compares the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) request and actual funding in FY2018 with last years budget.

This report discusses H-2B visas for temporary non-agricultural workers and the statutory cap on the number issued each year along with recent extensions of the cap number due to high-demand from U.S. employers.

This report discusses the resignation of Raul Castro as president of Cuba and the appointment of a new president who is not a part of the Castro family and possible implications of the change in leadership.

This report provides an overview of federal farm commodity support programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and possible issues for Congress to consider regarding them.

This report provides a listing of federal agricultural conservation assistance programs. Each listing includes a brief description of the program, information on major amendments in the Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79, 2014 farm bill), national scope and availability, states with the greatest participation, the backlog of applications or other measures of continuing interest, program funding authority, FY2018 funding, FY2019 Administration budget request, statutory authority, the authorization expiration date, and a link to the program's website.

This report discusses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit's decision in the case of "U.S. v. McCollum" which stated that conspiracy to murder was not a violent crime for federal sentencing purposes and discusses the background of the case and the prior case law which led to the decision.

This report discusses the ongoing debate and process of implementing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2015 Ozone Air Quality Standards and provides a cost-benefit analysis of the new air quality standards.

This report provides a brief overview of the FY2019 budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with links to relevant Administration budget documents and CRS reports. A list of CRS analysts with expertise on various aspects of the HUD budget is also provided.

This report discusses the use of reinsurance to transfer some of the risk of an insurance policy from the primary insurer to a secondary insurer and the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) decision to use reinsurance through the issuance of catastrophe bonds (which pay out when a particular type of disaster set out in the bond agreement occurs) by the secondary private insurers.

This report provides a historical examination of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) size standards and assesses competing views concerning how to define a small business. It also discusses recent legislation related to small business size standards and regulation.