This report discusses the draft withdrawal agreement in the the United Kingdom's (UK's) expected withdrawal from the European Union (EU), known as Brexit. It also summarizes issues for the U.S. Congress to consider in regard to Brexit.

This report discusses the electric power grid of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands which were mainly destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria with Puerto Rico being the hardest hit power grid. The report mainly concerns previous and current efforts to create long-term comprehensive energy plans for insular areas such as Puerto Rico and some of the challenges encountered in doing so.

This report discuses the November 26, 2017 Honduran presidential elections including allegations of irregularity in the voting count and uncertainty over who the election winner is with only 89% of the vote counted as a of November 30th. It provides an overview of implications of the results of the election for the United States and their relations with Honduras.

This report discusses the training of Navy and Air Force pilots through the use of "adversary" squadrons which fly planes that are either similar or actual versions of those used by enemy countries. The Air Force is considering contracting out this service due to the pilot shortage in the Air Force. Various options and precedent for such contracting services are discussed.

This report discusses the Joint Committee on Taxation's (JCT) November 14, 2017 distributional analysis report of the House and Senate's proposed tax reform legislation which outlines how the changes made by the bill would effect the economic well-being of American taxpayers.

This report discuses the Diversity Immigrant Visa program (DV) which is a lottery system that makes 50,000 visas available annually to immigrants from countries who had sent less than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. over the last five years. Eligibility, the application and admission process, statistics on places of origin, and legislative proposals are discussed.

This report discusses the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DSD) Patrick Shanahan's memorandum calling for the accelerated adoption of a Department of Defense (DOD)-wide cloud computing system. Under the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud program, DOD seeks to "acquire a...cloud services solution that can support Unclassified, Secret, and Top Secret requirements," with a focus on commercially-available services.

This report discusses energy-related tax provisions in the The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R.1). These changes are summarized in Table 1. H.R. 1 includes a broad restructuring of the federal income tax system. A full analysis of the consequences of this proposal for the energy sector, or various subsets of the energy sector, is beyond the scope of this insight.

This report answers common questions regarding the government's discretionary spending limits under the Budget Control Act which if they are exceeded trigger sequestration. The result of continuing budget resolutions and possibilities for fiscal year 2018 are addressed.

This report discusses Iran's economic relations with East Asia especially China, South Korea, and Japan. Trade and partnerships have been been rebounding after the January 2016 lifting of international sanctions on Iran.

This report discusses the Keystone XL Pipeline and the recent route modification and its effects on permits and permissions needed. A brief overview of the controversy regarding the pipeline and areas of land that require various permits to cross are included.

This report discusses Moldova's presidential election on October 30, 2016. This is the first time since 1996 that Moldova's president is being elected by a popular vote.

This report provides a short overview of issues Congress may consider in its oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) federal assistance during the 2017 hurricane season (e.g., Harvey, Irma, and Maria) and other disasters (e.g., fires in California).

This report discusses OPEC's policy and agreement with 11 non-OPEC countries to reduce oil production to stabilize the price of oil which began January 1, 2017 and is in effect until March 31, 2018. Brief descriptions of the results of the agreement on global oil stocks are provided.

This report discusses recent acts of sabotage against U.S. oil pipelines by environmental activists have raised concern about the security of the nation's energy pipelines and the federal program to protect them.

This report discusses provisions of the proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R.1) which would reduce the tax incentive for charitable giving by decreasing the deduction amounts that most taxpayers would receive from charitable gift deductions.

This report discusses the child credit and the child care credit and what changes are being made to them in the new tax reform plan currently being debated. This report provides background to help assess who would be assisted by potential changes to either credit. It shows what types of families with children receive both credits and how the credits are distributed across the income distribution.

This report provides an overview of the third U.S. Treasury publiscation in a series of reports describing regulations of the financial system and ways that it could be improved. This report specifically addresses asset management and insurance with background information and recommendations for improvements.

This report discuses the negotiations between the signatory countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after the U.S. withdrawal in January 2017 and possible effects of the implementation of an agreement without the U.S. on the U.S. economy and their image in Asia.

This report responds to the new reporting requirements on exchange rates mandated in the Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-125), passed by Congress and signed by the President in February 2016.

This report discusses a proposed volcano early warning system and a landslide hazards reduction program that would both be administered by the USGS. Provisions of the law that would create the system and volcanoes on the high priority watch-list are described.

This report discusses violence in Mexico fueled by organized crime cartels and the rising homicide rate which for 2017 based on preliminary reports will be above 18 per 100,000 persons. The rate in 2016 was 16.2 per 100,000. Various possible causes of the increase in violence discussed are the fragmentation of the Sinaloa Cartel, the increase in heroin trafficking and sales in the U.S., and the removal of major cartel bosses by the Mexican military leading to a power struggle in the organizations.

This report discusses the military intervention in Zimbabwe which occurred on November 14 and 15th, 2017, and provides a discussion of the main events leading up to the action and possible outcomes.

This report discusses the resignation of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe after a military intervention and the installation of one of his former vice-presidents, Emmanuel Mnangagwa as interim President. Various possible outcomes of the change and possible actions by Congress to advance U.S. interests in the region are discussed.