This report begins with an overview and analysis of the historical tax treatment of canceled debt income. Next, the changes enacted by recent legislation are reviewed. A discussion of policy options concludes.

This report examines estimated benefit receipt by families from nine major need-tested benefit programs in 2012.

This report provides answers to frequently asked questions about the presidential nominating process, including how the delegates to the national conventions are chosen, the differences between a caucus and a primary, national party rules changes for 2016, and the national conventions themselves. It is not a comprehensive report on all aspects of the presidential nominating process.

This report provides answers to frequently asked questions about the presidential nominating process, including how the delegates to the national conventions are chosen, the differences between a caucus and a primary, national party rules changes for 2016, and the national conventions themselves.

This report focuses on sex discrimination challenges based on: the equal protection guarantees of the Fourteenth and Fifth Amendments; the prohibition against employment discrimination contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and the prohibition against sex discrimination in education contained in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Although this report focuses on recent legal developments in each of these areas, it also provides historical context by discussing selected landmark sex discrimination cases.

This report focuses on sex discrimination challenges based on: the equal protection guarantees of the Fourteenth and Fifth Amendments; the prohibition against employment discrimination contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and the prohibition against sex discrimination in education contained in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

This legal sidebar discusses the decision in Authors Guild v. Google case, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court's ruling and held that Google's copying and distribution of books as part of its Google Books Project qualifies as fair use under the Copyright Act, and thus Google is not liable for infringement of the authors' copyright in these books.

This report examines the impact on the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives if such a change were to occur, using an estimate of the 2013 citizen population in place of the 2010 apportionment population to determine the potential distribution of seats in the House of Representatives for the 114th Congress.

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 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 addresses three overarching questions to provide legal context for the debate concerning the appropriate level of force police officers should wield: (1) what are the constitutional rules governing an officer's use of force; (2) what role has Congress played in providing a remedy for a violation of these rules; and (3) what are the potential reforms to these rules and remedies?

This report provides an overview and assessment of some of the main dimensions of the topic of developments in Poland and its relations with the United States, which are of continuing interest to the U.S. Congress.

This report discusses poverty in United States that varies widely across the population according to age, education, family living arrangements, and area of residence, among other factors. The report elaborates on the poverty among selected groups, the geography of poverty, and the research supplemental poverty measure.

This report provides background information on the consumer data industry and various specialty areas. One prominent specialty area--consumer scoring--is explained and includes information about various factors used to calculate credit scores. It provides a general description of the current regulatory framework of the consumer data industry. Finally, this report discusses selected policy issues pertaining to credit scoring and proposed modifications that may result in expanded consumer protection and credit access.

This report describes the defense health program (DHP) and discusses the DHP budget.

This report provides an overview of the federal tax treatment of same-sex married couples, with a focus on the federal income tax.

This report outlines the history of various efforts, including legislative efforts and count cases, and describes one bill currently before Congress, the Justice for Former American Hostages in Iran Act of 2015.

This report discusses the recently finalized Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that attempts to ensure that Iran's nuclear program can be used for purely peaceful purposes, in exchange for a broad suspension of U.S., European Union (EU), and United Nations sanctions.

This report analyzes mass shootings for a 15-year period (1999-2013). CRS analysis of the FBI SHR dataset and other research indicates that offenders committed at least 317 mass shootings, murdered 1,554 victims, and nonfatally wounded another 441 victims entirely with firearms during that 15-year period. The prevalence of mass shooting incidents and victim counts fluctuated sporadically from year to year.

This report briefly examines legislative issues regarding Violence against women, which includes random acts of violence as well as sustained abuse over time, can be physical, psychological, or sexual in nature.

This report discusses the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), under which members of the uniformed services and U.S. citizens who live abroad are eligible to register and vote absentee in federal elections. It discusses recent improvements to UOCAVA, as the result of controversy surrounding ballots received in Florida from absentee voters in the 2000 presidential election. The report also discusses related legislation, such as the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010, which provided for a major overhaul of UOCAVA.

This report discusses the recent defeat of 5 proposed constitutional amendments in Burma that arguably could have advanced democratic reforms in which Congress has shown an interest.

This report provides an overview of California's farm economy, specifically examining the current state of the water supply and the use of irrigation water.

This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP) reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively small portion of their careers in Social Security-covered employment.