This report provides an overview of emergency and major disaster declarations and explains how they might be used in the aftermath of a terrorist incident that does not involve a fire or an explosion, such as high casualty mass shootings or chemical gas attacks. This report also provides an overview of Stafford Act assistance provided for past terrorist incidents.

This report outlines the defense related appropriations request for fiscal year 2018 and selected issues in Congress dealing with the defense budget.

This report provides clarifications on five common debt limit contentions or questions which are: The United States had debt limits before 1917, Did the Federal government default in the 1970s?, Were "clean" debt limit increases once the norm?, Could a platinum coin avoid a binding debt limit?, Would the Fourteenth Amendment allow the President to act unilaterally?, and Is the debt limit obsolete?

This report discusses the benefits and limitations of public-private partnerships (P3s) that involve long-term private financing, the experience with these types of P3s in the United States, and current federal policy. The report outlines a number of issues and policy options that Congress might consider: project evaluation and transparency, asset recycling, incentive grants, infrastructure banks, tax credits for equity and debt, Interstate highway tolling, and changes to an existing federal loan program.

This report discusses Temporary Protected Status (TPS) which is offered to nationals of designated countries who due to civil unrest, natural disasters, and armed conflicts cannot safely return home. This report begins by situating TPS in the context of humanitarian responses to migration. Another form of blanket relief from removal--Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)--is also described, as is the historical use of these relief mechanisms. The report then provides data on the countries currently designated for TPS, including the conditions that have contributed to their designation. Past legislation to provide lawful permanent resident status to certain TPS-designated foreign nationals is also described, and the report concludes with examples of activity in the 115th Congress related to TPS.

This report examines recent trends in waterborne freight movement within the United States and offers policy options that might strengthen the competitive position of coastal and Great Lakes shipping in the face of robust demand for freight transportation.

This report gives a overview of Iran's defense policies and programs and foreign policy. Regions covered are the Near East, South and Central Asia,Russia, Europe, East Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the United States. Iran's nuclear programs and security issues are also discussed.

This report discusses Afghanistan's government and political structure, ongoing security and defense issues, U.S. assistance to the Afghan military, U.S. humanitarian and economic aid, human rights issues, regional relations, and economic development.

This report discusses the economic impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in affected areas and to the U.S. economy as a whole.

This report outlines the types of committees that are present in Congress as well as their structures and roles.

This report will address frequently asked questions about government and private-sector policies that affect drug prices and availability. Among the prescription drug topics covered are federally funded research and development, regulation of direct-to-consumer advertising, legal restrictions on reimportation, and federal price negotiation. The report provides a broad overview of the issues as well as references to more in-depth CRS products. The appendixes provide references to relevant congressional hearings and documents (see Appendix A) and a directory of CRS prescription drug experts (see Appendix B).

This report discusses precedents for having an active duty three-star general and flag officers as the National Security Advisor to the President after President Trump appointed U.S. Army Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond McMaster, Jr. as the National Security Advisor. It first explains the National Security Council, the policy-making processes it oversees, and the role of the National Security Advisor within the Executive Branch. It then explores these prior precedents of active duty three-star generals and flag officers serving as the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and includes discussions of related statutory provisions.

This report discusses the role of the parliamentarian in the House and Senate. The parliamentarian's job is provide advice to members of Congress on the workings of House and Senate rules.

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 how much emphasis to place on IW and CT activities in Navy budgets, particularly in a context of constraints on Navy budgets and Navy desires to devote resources to developing "high end" combat capabilities for countering improved conventional military capabilities of countries such as China and Russia.

This report outlines the National Science Foundation's 2017 fiscal year appropriations request and compares it with past years.The Trump Administration is seeking $6.653 billion for NSF in FY2018, an $819 million decrease (-11%) from the FY2017 enacted level of $7.472 billion.

This report discusses the United Arab Emirates's (UAE) politics and governmental structure, economy, regional foreign policies including their part in the June 2017 isolation of Qatar due to their support for the Muslim Brotherhood, human rights concerns related to the UAE, and U.S. relations with the UAE.

This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. Some general issues include Arctic territorial disputes; commercial shipping through the Arctic; Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered Arctic species; and increased military operations in the Arctic, which could cause the region in coming years to become an arena of international cooperation or competition. 2018 fiscal year funding requests are included.

This report provides employment, wage, and unemployment information for the computer occupations, mathematical occupations, engineers, life scientists, physical scientists, and science and engineering (S&E) management occupations, as follows: The section on "Current Employment, Wages, and Unemployment" provides a statistical snapshot of occupational employment, wage, and unemployment data for the S&E workforce in 2016 (the latest year for which data are available). The section on "Recent Trends in Employment, Wages, and Unemployment" provides a perspective on how S&E employment, wages, and unemployment changed during the period 2012-2016. The section on "Employment Projections, 2016-2026" provides an analysis of projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for how the number employed in S&E occupations is expected to change during the 2016-2026 period, as well as how many openings will be created by growth, labor force exits, and occupational transfers. A final section, "Concluding Observations," provides stakeholder perspectives that Congress may consider as it seeks to ensure that the United States has an adequate S&E workforce to meet the demands of the 21st century.

This report discusses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) decision in "Teixeira v. County of Alameda" which reversed the original court decision which held that Second Amendment rights applied to commercial firearm sellers. The course of the case and decision and implications of the ruling are also discussed.

This report discuses the federal minimum wage and the various groups of workers who are covered and not covered by minimum wage requirements. Arguments for and against raising the federal minimum wage are also discussed.

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 the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) which authorizes grants for service programs such as Americorps and VISTA. The FY2017 appropriations amount for CNCS is $1.030 billion, which is $65 million less than the FY2016 amount of $1.095 billion. Amounts of funding for each program of CNCS is included.

This report answers frequently asked questions about the blue-slip process of gaining the approval of senators from the home states of federal district and circuit court nominees before the process moves to the Senate floor. The report provides historical information and analysis as to how blue slips have been used in the past for judicial nominations, with a focus on the various blue slip policies used during recent presidencies. This report also discusses potential changes that might occur in the Senate and in the confirmation process for judicial nominees if there is a lesser role for home state Senators in approving some, or all, of a President's judicial nominees from their respective states.

This report is intended for Members and staff assisting grant seekers in districts and states and covers writing proposals for both government and private foundation grants. In preparation for writing a proposal, the report first discusses preliminary information gathering and preparation, developing ideas for the proposal, gathering community support, identifying funding resources, and seeking preliminary review of the proposal and support of relevant administrative officials. The second section of the report covers the actual writing of the proposal, from outlining of project goals, stating the purpose and objectives of the proposal, explaining the program methods to solve the stated problem, and how the results of the project will be evaluated, to long-term project planning, and, finally, developing the proposal budget. The last section of the report provides a listing of free grants-writing websites, including guidelines from the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance and the Foundation Center's "Proposal Writing Short Course."