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

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

This report is a collection of source materials that concern national health insurance.

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 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 outlines the events and procedures the Senate has on the first day of a new Congress.

This report provides a general overview of the Medicare program including descriptions of the program's history, eligibility criteria, covered services, provider payment systems, and program administration and financing. A list of commonly used acronyms, as well as information on beneficiary cost sharing, may be found in the appendixes.

This report outlines the defense related appropriations request for fiscal year 2018 and selected issues in Congress dealing with the defense budget.

This report provides data on the numbers of soldiers who served in the principal wars of U.S. history, from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War, and the numbers of casualties in each war by branch of service and home state (from WW1 onward).

This report discusses polygraph testing and its use in criminal investigations and acceptability in court.

This report briefly discusses the debate about the security of U.S. nuclear weapons in Turkey in light of the failed coup in mid-July 2016.

This report provides links to cybersecurity hearings and legislation under consideration in the 113th Congress and those considered in the 112th Congress, as well as executive orders and presidential directives, data and statistics, glossaries, and authoritative reports.

This report discusses the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), P.L. 105-220, which is the nation’s chief job training legislation, authorizes several job training programs, including Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker Activities; and Job Corps.

Federal support for child care comes in many forms, ranging from grant programs to tax provisions. Some programs serve as specifically dedicated funding sources for child care services (e.g., the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)), while for others (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)), child care is just one of many purposes for which funds may be used. This report discusses budget proposals in areas related to child care and early childhood development in the 109th Congress.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to the technology that copyright owners use to protect digital media. This report surveys several of the DRM bills that were introduced in the 107th Congress and those that are pending in the 108th Congress. Generally, the bills are directed at two separate goals. One goal is to increase access to digitally-protected media for lawful purposes. The other attempts to thwart digital piracy and would do so by enhancing civil and criminal sanctions for digital (and traditional) copyright infringement and educating the public about the rights of copyright holders.

This report discusses the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), which is the statutory method for determining the annual updates to the Medicare physician fee schedule. The SGR system was established because of the concern that the Medicare fee schedule itself would not adequately constrain overall increases in spending for physicians’ services.

This report describes the gang problem in Central America, discusses country and regional approaches to deal with the gangs, and analyzes U.S. policy with respect to gangs in Central America.

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