This report serves as a primer on the EU. Despite the UK's vote to leave the EU, the UK remains a full member of the bloc until it completes withdrawal negotiations and officially exits the EU (expected to occur in March 2019). As such, this report largely addresses the EU and its institutions as they currently exist. It also briefly describes U.S.-EU political and economic relations that may be of interest in the 115th Congress.

This report discusses the enforcement of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and various penalties available for violations.

This report discusses the U.S. government's debt limits since 2011 and the legislative history of the raising of the debt limit for each year through the present.

This report discusses the renewable fuel standard which require a certain level of bio-fuel (usually ethanol) to be included in gas and the issuance of the 2018 rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

This report begins with a brief discussion of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage coverage. It then provides a summary of state minimum wage laws, followed by an examination of rates and mechanisms of adjustments in states with minimum wage levels above the FLSA rate (Table 1 provides summary data). Next, the report discusses the interaction of federal and state minimum wages over time, and finally, the Appendix provides detailed information on the major components of minimum wage policies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

This report provides a discussion of the types of information that may be included in the activity reports, variations across reports and time, and the filing process. A table provides a comparison of the committee activity reports and other congressional publications, including the types of information found in each as well as their timeframe for coverage and publication.

This report links to authoritative information resources on National African American History Month. It is designed to assist congressional offices with work related to National African American History Month by providing links to legislation, CRS reports, sample speeches and remarks from the Congressional Record, and presidential proclamations and remarks. It also links to additional government web resources and selected advocacy, educational, cultural, and military, organizations.

This report explores several alternative electric power system structures for meeting the electricity services and needs of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).

This report discusses the Veterans Administration's (VA) vocational rehabilitation and employment program for disabled veterans.

This report provides an overview of issues related to hunting and fishing on federal lands.

This report lists about 200 congressional liaison offices and is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. The information was supplied by the appropriate agency and is current as of the date of publication. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.

This report discusses nutrition labeling for items on restaurant menus, in vending machines, prepared food at groceries, and entertainment venues which is required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 but now due to be fully implemented in May 2018.

This report discusses the 10-20-30 plan of reallocating funds in rural development programs toward counties with systemic poverty levels defined as 20% of the population being at or below poverty level for 30 years. This report explains why targeting funds to persistent poverty counties might be of interest, how "persistent poverty" is defined and measured, and how different interpretations of the definition and different data source selections could yield different lists of counties identified as persistently poor. This report does not compare the 10-20-30 plan's advantages and disadvantages against other policy options, nor does it examine the range of programs or policy goals for which the 1020-30 plan might be an appropriate policy tool.

This report discusses the structure, powers, and funding of the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans and provides an overview of the parliamentary procedures the chambers may use to consider its work product. The report includes contact information for CRS policy analysts who work on issues related to the structure and policy work of the panel.

This report analyzes the financing of Medicare and its impact on the federal budget. It includes a discussion of the Medicare "trigger," which requires certain actions to be taken should general revenue funding be expected to exceed a certain proportion of total Medicare outlays within a certain number of years.

This report discusses the Small Business Administration's programs and their impact on job creation. It examines the economic research on net job creation to identify the types of businesses that appear to create the most jobs, examines the possible implications this research might have for Congress and the SBA, and examines the arguments for providing federal assistance to small businesses.

This report examines the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) appropriations (new budget authority, minus rescissions and sequestration) over time, focusing on developments and trends since FY2000.

This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and UMRA's implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that CBO issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in rules.

This report describes the Small Business Administration's programs and funding sources.

This report discusses the indictment of three Russian companies and 13 Russian national by the Department of Justice for interference in the 2016 presidential election. The charges brought for each one are detailed along with the sentencing guidelines for the crimes.

This report discusses of whether a federal statute which requires victim reimbursement for "other expenses incurred during participation in the investigation or prosecution of the [victimizing] offense" cover "costs that were neither required nor requested by the government, including costs incurred for the victim's own purposes and unprompted by any official action? An upcoming Supreme Court case ("Lagos v. United States") is set to consider this question.

This report provides information about state and local government debt. State and local governments issue debt instruments in exchange for the use of individuals' and businesses' savings. This debt obligates state and local governments to make interest payments for the use of these savings and to repay, at some time in the future, the amount borrowed. State and local governments may finance capital facilities with debt rather than out of current tax revenue to more closely align benefits and tax payments. The federal government subsidizes the cost of most state and local debt by excluding the interest income from federal income taxation.

This report discusses the statuary debt limit and the use of "extraordinary measures" by the Treasury Department to postpone when Congress must act on raising the debt limit or risk defaulting on debts.

This report discusses how the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 effected discretionary spending levels and provides statistics related to discretionary levels over the past few years.