This report gives an overview of the issues related to federal or state laws that condition the initial or ongoing receipt of governmental benefits on passing drug tests. These regulations are vulnerable to constitutional challenge, most often due to issues of personal privacy and Fourth Amendment protections against "unreasonable searches."

This report summarizes congressional authorization and appropriations processes for the Army Corps of Engineers. It also discusses agency activities under general authorities. Congress directs the Corps through authorizations, appropriations, and oversight of its studies, construction projects, and other activities.

This report discusses the disputes over Corps jurisdiction prior to enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 as well as the current law applicable to siting offshore wind facilities.

Various media have recently reported that China has overtaken the United States to become the world’s largest economy (a position the United States had held at least since 1913), based on estimates of purchasing power parity (PPP) measurements and projections made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This report examines the data and its policy implications.

This report explains the different measures of the U.S. government debt, discusses the historical growth in the debt, identifies the current owners of the debt, presents comparisons with government debt in other countries, and examines the potential economic risks associated with a growing federal debt.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty programs, disaster loan programs, management and technical assistance training programs, and federal contracting programs. Congressional interest in these programs has increased in recent years, primarily because they are viewed as a means to stimulate economic activity, create jobs, and assist in the national economic recovery. This report examines the economic research on net job creation to identify the types of businesses that appear to create the most jobs.

This report contains an explanation of the major provisions of the Federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The discussion divides the Federal estate tax into three components: the gross estate, deductions from the gross estate, and computation of the tax, including allowable tax credits.

Stock analysts provide research on companies and make recommendations on their stocks. When analysts are employed by brokerage firms and provide information for the firms’ retail and institutional clients, they are called sell-side analysts. Analysts who work specifically for institutional investors like mutual and pension funds are known as buy-side analysts. Because of their widespread presence in the national media, sell-side analysts’ recommendations have become part of the public domain and they can have significant influence on stock prices. This report examines the performance of the stock analysts in the Enron case.

This report describes recent policy changes made by FHA and recent legislative proposals that would make additional changes to FHA's single-family program. For the most part, this report does not go into detail about the features of FHA-insured loans, FHA's market role, or its financial status, except as necessary to describe implemented or proposed policy changes.

This report provides background on the Leahy laws, including a brief history of their legislative development; an overview guide to the standards and processes used to "vet"--that is, review and clear--foreign military and other security forces for gross violations of human rights; and a brief review of salient issues regarding the provisions of the laws and their implementation.

This report discusses House and and Senate committee rules regarding subpoenas. It begins with an explanation of how to analyze committees' subpoena rules. The report then first surveys House committees' subpoena rules, followed by a survey of Senate committees' subpoena rules. Both surveys begin with a brief description of chamber rules, followed by a short summary of that chamber's committees' rules that are ancillary to committee subpoena authorization procedures or appear in only one or two committees' rules. The surveys each include a table that compares the chamber's committees' rules on authorizing and issuing subpoenas, with table notes adding further detail.

This report discusses the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) and proposed reforms to how it handles harassment claims through the bill H.R. 4822. The report highlights and considers some of the major differences between the current process provided under the CAA and the process that would exist if H.R. 4822 were enacted, as well as other changes proposed by the bill that could affect both legislative branch employees and Members of Congress.

This report discusses the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF). The report concludes with an examination of the program's implementation and a discussion of bills introduced during recent Congresses to amend the SBLF.

This report discusses the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement and the successful conclusion of negotiations between the party countries after the U.S. withdrawal from negotiations.

This report provides an overview of the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) task forces that has been designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide specialized assistance after buildings or other structures collapse.

This report provides a summary of the status of U.S. compliance efforts in pending World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes that have resulted in adverse rulings against the United States. The report contains an overview of WTO dispute settlement procedures, a discussion of U.S. laws relating to WTO dispute proceedings, and a list of pending WTO disputes compliance phase, with a discussion of major issues and the U.S. compliance history in each.

This report examines the original intent and purpose of the Berry Amendment and legislative proposals to amend the application of domestic source restrictions, as well as options for Congress.

This report covers two proposed permit drafts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding Vessel General Permits (VGPs): one for large vessels to replace the 2008 VGP (draft VGP), and one for smaller vessels that currently are covered by a congressionally-enacted temporary moratorium (draft sVGP).

This report outlines the trend in Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) obligations for both the national and state level for the period FY2000 through FY2013. It also includes individual profiles for each state and additional resources and key policy staff that can provide more information on the programs that are discussed.

This report covers the dispute between the U.S with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, who say that the recent country-of-origin labeling (COOL) system implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is unfair and does not meet its original objectives. This dispute was brought before the WTO dispute panel and found to be valid. The report ends with a discussion of options for the U.S. in regards to modifying COOL to follow WTO rulings.

This report discusses the Budget Act that provides an optional expedited procedure for considering legislation in the Senate, called reconciliation, which was first used in 1980.

This report discusses in detail the America COMPETES Act, which is intended to increase the nation's investment in research and development (R&D), and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This report discusses the funding increases authorized by the act for various relevant institutions; the act's education activities intended to enhance the skills of STEM educators; and if Congress will continue to similarly fund the Act in the FY2010 budget.

This report describes the statutory provision authorizing Gang of Eight notifications, reviews the legislative history of the provision, and examines the impact of such notifications on congressional oversight.

This report discusses the availability of radio frequency spectrum that is considered essential to developing a modern, interoperable communications network for public safety. To resolve the debate and move the planning process forward, Congress may decide to pursue oversight or change existing law. Actions proposed to Congress include authorizing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reassign spectrum and changing requirements for the use of spectrum auction proceeds.