This report focuses on the two separate trust funds that fund Medicare, the Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund and Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) trust fund. Almost from its inception, the HI trust fund has faced a projected shortfall and eventual insolvency. Because of the way it is financed, the SMI trust fund cannot become insolvent; however, the Medicare Trustees continue to express concerns about the rapid growth in SMI costs.

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 discusses the training of Navy and Air Force pilots through the use of "adversary" squadrons which fly planes that are either similar or actual versions of those used by enemy countries. The Air Force is considering contracting out this service due to the pilot shortage in the Air Force. Various options and precedent for such contracting services are discussed.

This report discusses section 735 of the Financial Choice Act (H.R. 10) which would repeal the Durbin Amendment. The Durbin Amendment capped the amount of interchange fees paid by merchants to banks when a customer uses a debit card to pay. The report begins with a description of the debit payments process and network pricing for the four-party system and the three-party system. It summarizes the requirements of Regulation II, which implements the Durbin Amendment. The report concludes with a discussion of some implications of Regulation II for merchants, consumers, and banks as well as with some recent observations.

This report discusses the funding process of House committees. The report is organized in three sections. The first provides an overview of the committee funding process in the House and analyzes funding levels since 1996. The second reviews House floor and committee action on committee funding in the 115th Congress. The final section summarizes the rules and regulations that structure the use of committee funds, and analyzes actual committee funding spending patterns during six previous years.

This report introduces the main steps through which a bill (or other item of business) may travel in the legislative process--from introduction to committee and floor consideration to possible presidential consideration.

This report describes the role of the Speaker of the House which consists of his duties as Speaker, party leader, and representative.

This report discusses cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). It includes the formulas used to calculate rates of inflation, amounts paid, and a table of retirement benefits.

This report discusses the proposed "Hearing Protection Act" (A part of the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act,H.R. 3668) which would take gun silencers out from under the jurisdiction of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and have them regulated only by the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA). The NFA requires fingerprint based background checks, taxes various parts of the production process, requires sellers to be federally licensed, and silencers must be registered with ATF.

This report discusses bills in the 115th Congress regarding the Federal Reserve (Fed). Four major areas of interest are addressed by the bills; Fed governance, increased oversight and disclosure to Congress and the public, A monetary policy rule (known as the Taylor Rule) that would be used a standard for the Fed to compare their policies with, and reduction of their emergency lending powers.

This report summarizes the substantive provisions of S. 2010, the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, as reported by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on October 25, 2017, and H.R. 3989, the USA Liberty Act of 2017, as ordered to be reported by the House Judiciary Committee on November 8, 2017. Both bills primarily amend and reauthorize Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA).

This report provides an overview of the individual mandate, its associated penalty, and the exemptions from the mandate. It discusses the ACA reporting requirements designed, in part, to assist individuals in providing evidence of having met the mandate. The report includes some national- and state-level data on the application of the mandate's penalty in tax year (TY) 2014 and TY2015.

This report discusses the reviews of EPA policies regarding new rules created in 2015 regarding emission of greenhouse gases and ozone air pollution. The new regulations were put in force through authority given to the EPA in the Clean Air Acts of 1970, 1977, and 1990. Some Congressional members would like to revoke some of the authority of the EPA to change existing emission regulations and instead require Congressional approval for changes which along with the new presidential administration has prompted a review of environmental policies and EPA powers.

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 FY2017 budget requests a total of $2,662.6 million in procurement and advance procurement (AP) funding for CVN-79 and CVN-80, the second and third ships in the program.

This report discusses the shift in the international security environment from a post Cold-War era to a new one with new priorities, strategies, and needs and implications for U.S. defense policy. Topics discussed include past security environments and indicators of a new one and various areas of defense policy affected.

This report discuses the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from electric power plants. The first section of this report provides an overview of the RGGI cap-and-trade program and the participating RGGI states. The subsequent sections discuss selected issues raised by RGGI that may be of interest to Congress. The final section provides some final observations that may be instructive to policymakers.

This report outlines the funding types received by U.S. Public Health Service agencies and provides brief overviews of each agency and their recent funding trends. The eight agencies discussed are the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Toxic Substances and and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Indian Health Service (IHS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

This report describes the rates of funding for research and development in the United States compared to the rest of the world through several charts.

This report discusses airport privatization under the Airport Privatization Pilot Program (APPP) and the airports that have been involved in the program on some level. Examples of airport privatization in the United Kingdom and Canada are also discussed.

Annual financial report of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners documenting income, expenditures, and other relevant financial information for fiscal year 2017.

Report containing non-financial data for the Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications during fiscal year 2017, including information on occupied spaces, item transfers, service contracts and fees, and other related topics and documentation.

Annual financial report of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice documenting income, expenditures, and other relevant financial information for fiscal year 2017.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to public school finance, including funding for the recruitment and retention of teachers and the support of participants in the public school employees group insurance program.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to reporting and certification requirements by certain physicians regarding certain abortions.