This report discusses legislation regulating the compounding of drugs by pharmacies to remove certain ingredients from a standard approved drug for patients with allergies, or for a medical clinic to keep on hand. It outlines various arguments for and against further regulation of the practice by the FDA and potential Congressional actions.

This report discusses the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) which requires private companies to provide workers' compensation coverage for employees engaged in longshore, harbor, or other maritime occupations. Topics include: covered workers, excluded workers, benefits under the program, and legislative discussions regarding the program.

This report discusses efforts by Congress and the Federal Communications Commision (FCC) to combat robocall scams and prevent them from reaching consumers. It includes an overview of what robocallls are, their legitimate uses, regulation, and complaint procedures for consumers.

This report discusses the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), including debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and UMRA's implementation. It includes an overview of the topic, as well as information related to Congresional Procedure (under Title I) and federal rulemaking (under Title II), with tables and an appendix on UMRA's legislative history.

This report briefly surveys the legal authorities that underlay the implementation of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), as well as the authorities that remain available to the Executive notwithstanding the recent rule change by President Obama on December 23, 2016 which removed the regulations for the system.

This report describes the final revised rule--which the agencies refer to as the Clean Water Rule--announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It includes a table comparing the existing regulatory language that defines "waters of the United States" with the revisions.

This report briefly describes current responsibilities and selection mechanisms for 15 House and Senate party leadership posts and provides tables with historical data, including service dates, party affiliation, and other information for each.

This report is designed to assist Congress as it considers how to proceed with the proposed nomination of General (Ret.) James Mattis to be Secretary of Defense. After exploring the history of the statutory restriction and its evolution over time, it touches upon some of the broader questions that have recently been raised in the public debate on whether, and how, this proposed nomination might impact civilian-military relations and the principle of civilian control of the military.

This report discusses the Veterans Choice Program (VCP),which is a new, temporary program (the VCP is set to expire in August 2017 or whenever funds in the Veterans Choice Fund are exhausted). The VCP enables eligible veterans to receive medical care in the community.

This report briefly discusses authorization legislation for the water resources activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) in 2016, which the 114th Congress is anticipated to consider. These issues span the agency's role in new and existing navigation improvements, coastal and riverine flood risk reduction, and environmental restoration and protection efforts.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)/Frigate program, a program to procure a large number of LCSs and modified LCSs (frigates). The Navy's execution of the program has been a matter of congressional oversight attention for several years.

This report briefly discusses the foreign operations appropriations legislation generally and then provides a short description of the various funding accounts as they appear in Division K, "Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2016," of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113). The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations legislation provides annual funding for almost all of the international affairs programs.

This report begins with a brief discussion of security challenges in Mexico and Mexico's security strategy. It then provides information on congressional funding and oversight of the Mérida Initiative, with details about each of the program's four pillars. The report concludes by raising policy issues that Congress may wish to consider.

This report summarizes the language related to the Affordable Care (ACA) that was added to annual appropriations legislation by congressional appropriators since the ACA was signed into law. The information is presented in a table. While a detailed examination of the ACA itself is beyond the scope of this report, a brief overview of the ACA's core provisions and its impact on federal spending is provided as context for the material in the table. Congress remains deeply divided over implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which President Obama signed into law in March 2010.

This report examines (1) the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD) effectively uses data to inform decisionmaking, (2) some of the critical elements needed for DOD to use data more effectively, (3) recent efforts to improve DOD's use of data, and (4) potential questions for Congress. This report focuses primarily (but not exclusively) on defense acquisitions as a case study.

This report discusses the legislative and oversight issues regarding water quality, as well as wastewater treatment funding issues.

This report looks at past proposals to corporatize or privatize FAA air traffic functions and examines the way air traffic management is structured in other countries, particularly focusing on those that have opted for corporatization or privatization.

This report provides information on the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), which is the modern-day program that continues to fund this network of local antipoverty agencies. The report also describes several smaller related programs that are administered by the same federal office that currently oversees the CSBG.

This report is categorized into Three categories: (I) Background, (II) Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program and (III) Appropriations for the Byrne Formula Grant, LLEBG, and JAG Programs.

This report describes emergency agricultural land assistance programs designed to repair agricultural and forest land following a natural disaster and potentially mitigate future risk. It presents background on the programs--purpose, activities, authority, eligibility requirements, and authorized program funding levels, as well as current congressional issues.

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This report will track and describe actions taken by the Administration and Congress to provide FY2015 appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) accounts.

This report describes the Keystone XL Pipeline Project and the process that the State Department must complete to decide whether it will approve or deny TransCanada's permit application. The report also discusses key energy security, economic, and environmental issues relevant to the State Department's national interest determination. Some of these issues include perspectives among various stakeholders both in favor of and opposed to the construction of the pipeline. Finally, the report discusses the constitutional basis for the State Department's authority to issue a Presidential Permit, and opponents' possible challenges to this authority.

This report focuses on the growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production driven primarily by tight oil formations and shale gas formations. It also reviews selected federal environmental regulatory and research initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas extraction, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed hydraulic fracturing rule and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions.