This report aims to provide information on the history of democracy promotion as a foreign assistance objective, the role of the primary U.S. agencies administering such programs, and funding details and trends, as well as issues of potential relevance to Congress.

This report explains the traditional approach for temporary housing through the IHP program following a disaster, how it is implemented, and considers if the current policy choices are equitable for disaster victims. This report will review those expenditures and provide information on the relative costs, and applications of, several categories of assistance. As a part of this examination, the report looks at other forms of housing repair assistance such as the Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan Program for homeowners as well as assistance that is provided, in some instances, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-DR) program.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to the powers and duties of the Department of Family and Protective Services and the transfer of certain powers and duties from the Health and Human Services Commission.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to the relative or other designated caregiver placement program and to monetary assistance provided by the Department of Family and Protective Services to certain relative or designated caregivers; creating a criminal offense; creating a civil penalty.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the public retirement systems of certain municipalities.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to the retirement systems for and the provision of other benefits to police and fire fighters in certain municipalities.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate inviting the governor to address a joint session of the legislature on Tuesday, January 31, 2017.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate granting the legislature permission to adjourn for more than three days during the period beginning on Wednesday, January 18, 2017, and ending on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether municipal courts are authorized to report juvenile conv1ct10ns for drug paraphernalia offenses to the Texas Department of Public Safety (RQ-0143-KP).

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether wholly owning a motor vehicle manufacturer results in affiliation with that manufacturer for purposes of subsection 2301.476(a)(2) of the Occupations Code (RQ-0170-KP).

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate granting the legislature permission to adjourn for more than three days during the period beginning on Wednesday, January 25, 2017, and ending on Monday, January 30, 2017.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to child protective services suits, motions, and services by the Department of Family and Protective Services and to the licensing of certain facilities, homes, and agencies that provide child-care services.

This report discuses the development, procurement, and funding of the Army's new Multi-Purpose Vehicles (AMPV) intended to replace Vietnam War-era M-113 personnel carriers. The FY2018 budget request for the AMPV requests $647.4 million for the production of 107 vehicles. A potential issue for Congress is whether the Administration's proposal to increase the size of the Army will translate into a requirement for additional AMPVs.

This report provides an overview of the accounts that fund wildfire management activities and historical wildfire management appropriations data, as well as information on FY2018 appropriations. The Administration requested a combined $3.72 billion in FY2018, a 12% decrease from FY2017 enacted levels. On September 14, 2017, the Housed passed H.R. 3354, an omnibus measure covering all 12 appropriations bills, including the FY2018 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill. This bill would provide $3.85 billion combined for wildfire purposes, an 8% decrease from FY2017 enacted levels and 3% above the Administration's requested levels.

This report discusses major holidays in Christianity and their significance as well as how American Christians celebrate them. This fact sheet is designed to assist congressional offices with work related to Christian holidays. It contains sample speeches and remarks from the Congressional Record, presidential statements and remarks, and selected historical and cultural resources.

This report identifies all nominations submitted to the Senate during the 114th Congress for full-time positions in 15 executive departments. Information for each department is presented in tables. The tables include full-time positions confirmed by the Senate, pay levels for these positions, and appointment action within each executive department. Additional summary information across all 15 executive departments appears in the Appendix. During the 114th Congress, the President submitted 102 nominations to the Senate for full-time positions in executive departments. Of these 102 nominations, 64 were confirmed, 8 were withdrawn, and 30 were returned to him in accordance with Senate rules. For those nominations that were confirmed, a mean (average) of 156.1 days elapsed between nomination and confirmation. The median number of days elapsed was 125.5.

This report discusses the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) newly published new standards regulating exposure to crystalline silica in the workplace. Under the new standards, the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for crystalline silica will be reduced to 50 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air). Employers will be required to monitor crystalline silica exposure if workplace levels may exceed 25 µg/m3 for at least 30 days in a year and provide medical monitoring to employees in those workplaces. In the case of construction workers, medical monitoring is required only if the new standards require workers to wear respirators for at least 30 days in a year.

This report discuses Federal real property holdings and the disposition process for unneeded space. A new law called the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 (FASTA) now governs the process of disposal through a newly created Public Buildings Reform Board that reviews requests and provides funding for needed repairs before sale or lease of property. Various challenges addressed by the new system and those that remain are discussed.

This report discusses the Air Force's planned procurement of 350 new Advanced Pilot Training (APT T-X) aircraft and 46 Ground Based Training Systems (GBTS) at a cost valued at roughly $1.5 billion for the Research, Design, Test, and Evaluation phase of the program and estimated at $18 billion in future procurement costs. The APT T-X acquisition strategy poses potential oversight issues for Congress, including the following: Is the number of planned aircraft purchases sufficient? Given the reported pilot shortage, should the procurement be accelerated? What effects do increased F-35A & KC-46 purchases, along with development of the new Long Range Strike Bomber, B-21, have on the USAF budget and the feasibility of an additional Major Defense Acquisition Program? These questions and the Air Force's FY 2017 appropriations requests' for the program are addressed in this report.

This report responds to frequently asked questions about the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), including the board's background, current status, controversial issues including legal challenges, and recent legislative efforts to repeal the IPAB.

This report discusses major Jewish holidays and their significance as well as how American Jews celebrate them. This fact sheet is designed to assist congressional offices with work related to Jewish holidays. It contains sample speeches and remarks from the Congressional Record, presidential proclamations and remarks, and selected historical and cultural resources.

This report describes the terms most commonly used when discussing the federal individual income tax. Most of these tax terms are explained in the order that they occur in the process of determining one's income tax on the Form 1040. A copy of the 2016 IRS Form 1040 is included at the end of this report.

This report discusses the rationale provided for the 7(a) program; the program's borrower and lender eligibility standards and program requirements; and program statistics, including loan volume, loss rates, use of proceeds, borrower satisfaction, and borrower demographics. It also examines issues raised concerning the SBA's administration of the 7(a) program, including the oversight of 7(a) lenders and the program's lack of outcome-based performance measures. The report also surveys congressional and presidential actions taken in recent years to enhance small businesses' access to capital. The Appendix to this report provides a brief description of the 7(a) program's SBAExpress, Export Express, and Community Advantage programs.

This report discuses major Muslim holidays and their significance as well as how American Muslims celebrate them. This report is designed to assist congressional offices with work related to Islamic holidays. It contains sample speeches and remarks from the Congressional Record, presidential proclamations and remarks, and selected historical and cultural resources.