This report provides background information about the Clean Air Act (CAA) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the power sector, and also highlights some of the major components of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) "Affordable Clean Energy Rule" (ACE) proposal.

This report discusses the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) which is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and assists communities in building or restoring public water supply infrastructure to comply with federal standards for clean drinking water and public health safety.

This report discusses the Trump Administration's decision to proceed with a Section 301 case against China's intellectual property rights (IPR) policies and their intent to impose 25% ad valorem tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products. It also looks at past use of Section 301 against China.

This report discusses the functions of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which was founded for the purpose of maximizing the value of natural gas; developing short-, medium-, and long-term analysis and forecasting; facilitating cooperation on issues of common interest among members; promoting natural gas as a fuel; and positioning the GECF as an internationally recognized organization. It also compares the GECF with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), describes structural constraints, and outlines concerns for Congress.

This report describes the naming process for U.S. naval ships and various regulations regarding the process. Recent legislation related to ship names is also included.

This report discusses the rapid advancements North Korea has made in its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs since 2012. Despite the absence of any missile launch activity or nuclear tests in 2018 to date, previous tests and official North Korean statements suggest that North Korea is striving to build a credible regional nuclear warfighting capability that might evade regional ballistic missile defenses. Such an approach likely reinforces their deterrent and coercive diplomacy strategy--lending more credibility as it demonstrates capability--but it also raises serious questions about crisis stability and escalation control. Congress may further examine these advances' possible effects on U.S. policy.

This report explains what environmental justice means and how it is implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

This report provides background and analysis of U.S.-China commercial ties, including history, trends, issues, and outlook.

This report provides a summary of U.S.-China commercial ties, including history, trends, issues, and outlook.

This report briefly covers statistics about wildfires, such as annual wildfires and acres burned and top five years with largest wildfires.

This report discusses U.S. policy towards Cuba, including issues of government-to-government engagement, travel and commerce, change in U.S. immigration policy, continued human rights concerns, injuries of U.S. Embassy personnel in Havana, and Congressional action.

This report examines how much money the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) obligates on contracts, what DOD is buying, and where that money is being spent. This report also examines the extent to which these data are sufficiently reliable to use as a factor when developing policy or analyzing government operations.

This report discusses the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was first presented to the states in 1972 and has been ratified by 37 states, most recently by Illinois in May 2018.

This report provides an overview of quantum information science (QIS) technologies, including examples of their existing and future applications; brief summaries of funding and selected initiatives in research and development (R&D) in the United States and elsewhere around the world; a description of U.S. congressional activity; and a discussion of related policy considerations.

This report discusses carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), a process that aims to capture man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) at its source and store it to prevent its release to the atmosphere.

This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class aircraft carrier program. The Navy's proposed FY2019 budget requests a total of $1,598.2 million in procurement funding for the program. Congress's decisions on the CVN-78 program could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the shipbuilding industrial base.

This report discusses the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Gill v. Whitford. On June 18, 2018 the Supreme Court ruled that in order to establish standing to sue upon a claim of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering on the basis of vote dilution, challengers must allege injuries to their interests as voters in individual districts. Topics discussed include Supreme Court precedent, case background, and implications for the future.

This report describes the current role of private insurers in U.S. flood insurance, and discusses barriers to expanding private sector involvement. The report considers potential effects of increased private sector involvement in the U.S. flood market -- both for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and for consumers -- and outlines the provisions relevant to private flood insurance in the House and Senate NFIP reauthorization bills.

This report discusses programs under the Farm Bill that do not have guaranteed future funding known as "baseline" funding beyond FY2018.

This report provides an overview of federal statutes in their various forms, as well as basic guidance for congressional staff interested in researching statutes.

This report discusses the CLOUD Act recently passed by Congress which gives the U.S. government's the ability to force companies to disclose information stored on overseas servers that is covered under a warrant and updates the reciprocal agreements with other countries accessing data as a part of criminal investigations that is held in the United States. Legal commentary on the law is provided.

This report addresses when, if ever, a regional federal trial judge adjudicating a case involving the federal government can award nationwide injunctive relief--a court order that commands a party to take or refrain from taking some action throughout the country. In the context of a suit against the federal government, an injunction with this type of "universal" effect acts to effectively void the law or policy in question. This report briefly explores the nationwide injunction at issue in the travel ban case (Trump v. Hawaii) and surveys a handful of the scholarly and judicial arguments surrounding the nationwide injunction in general

This report provides statistics related to the nomination and confirmation of U.S. circuit and district court nominees during the first year of the Trump presidency, as well as during the first year of each of his three immediate predecessors: Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.

This report discusses the FY2018 appropriations for the Army Corps of Engineers and funding priorities for the year.