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This report explains how insurance markets were affected by the financial crisis and summarizes the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that pertain to insurance.

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Social Security benefits received before a person attains full retirement age (FRA) are subject to an actuarial reduction for early retirement and also may be reduced by the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET) if the beneficiary has earnings that exceed an annual threshold. This report explains how the RET is applied under current law and provides detailed benefit examples to show how the RET affects both the worker beneficiary and any family members (auxiliary beneficiaries) who receive benefits based on the worker beneficiary’s record. The report points out features of the RET that are not widely known or understood, such as the recomputation of benefits when a beneficiary attains FRA to adjust (increase) benefits to take into account months for which no benefit or a partial benefit was paid as a result of the RET. Finally, the report discusses policy issues related to the RET, including recent research on the effect of the RET on work effort and the decision to claim Social Security benefits.

This report discusses about the current legislation, the Promoting Lending to America's Small Business Act of 2009 and the small Business Lending Enhancement Act of 2009 that would provide credit union with expanded business loan authority.

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This report discusses the Domestic food assistance programs that typically make up a large portion of federal spending for needy households during economic downturns.

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This report contains the legislative history of medical devices, and provides an overview of the medical device-related legislative issues facing Congress.

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This report focuses on the establishment of the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS) in the Office of the Secretary of State, and on the Civilian Reserve Corps (CRC). This report provides background on this initiative, its progression from the Bush Administration through the Obama Administration, and items under consideration in the 112th Congress relating to continued funding of S/CRS and the CRC. It also discusses proposals and tracks related legislative action.

This report addresses debris resulting from a "major disaster" or "emergency" declared by the President. First, it discusses the types of debris commonly generated during and after a disaster and selected factors that can make "debris removal"2 such a costly, complex operation. Second, it discusses the roles of federal, state, and local agencies after a disaster has been declared--with regard to both funding debris removal and the actual physical process of removal.

This report discusses the state of the El Salvadoran government and recently elected President Mauricio Funes. This report also discusses the relationship between El Salvador and the United States, notably U.S. efforts to restore democracy and initiate economic reform in El Salvador. This report also briefly addresses the effects of the current financial crisis on El Salvador's economy, poverty levels, and crime rates.

This report provides information regarding the role of U.S. and other foreign companies in facilitating Internet censorship by repressive regimes overseas. The report is divided into several sections: Examination of repressive policies in China and Iraq, Relevant U.S. laws, U.S. policies to promote Internet freedom, Private sector initiatives, and Congressional action.

This report discusses the European Union's response to the global financial crisis. As the crisis has ebbed, coordination among European capitals and between Europe and the United States has become more elusive and growing differences threaten the adoption of a coordinated long-term solution to regulatory reform and coordination of financial policies.

This report provides an overview of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), partly with a view toward putting matters the QDR addresses into the context of the ongoing evolution of defense policy, and partly in an effort to identify issues for future QDRs or for a broader review of national security strategy.

This report examines the federal budgets for the fiscal years 2011 and 2012. It gives an overview of the federal budget, addresses the problems of budgeting in a strained economy, and discusses considerations for Congress, both in the short term and the long term.

Deeming resolution" is a term that refers to legislation which is deemed to serve as an annual budget resolution for purposes of establishing enforceable budget levels for a budget cycle. A deeming resolution is used when the House and Senate are late in reaching final agreement on a budget resolution or fail to reach agreement altogether. Either chamber may initiate its own budget enforcement procedures by adopting a "deeming resolution" in the form of a simple resolution. This report describes substantive enforcement procedures associated with the budget resolution, explains the concept of a "deeming resolution," discusses House and Senate action on deeming resolutions, and provides information on a related topic, waiving a bar against the consideration of budgetary legislation for a fiscal year before a budget resolution for that fiscal year has been adopted.

This report addresses the European perspectives on a number of proposals that are being advanced for financial oversight and regulation in Europe. The European experience may be instructive because financial markets in Europe are well developed, European firms often are competitors of U.S. firms, and European governments have faced severe problems of integration and consistency across the various financial structures that exist in Europe.

Many governments acknowledge that environmental degradation and climate change pose international and trans-boundary risks to human populations, economies, and ecosystems. To address these challenges, countries have implemented global environmental policies through a range of domestic, bilateral, and multilateral mechanisms. Recent mechanisms have taken the form of (1) treaties and frameworks that seek to harmonize international commitments; (2) legislative and regulatory policies that support emission reductions, renewable energy portfolios, and energy efficiency strategies; (3) developmental programs that assist with sustainable growth strategies in lower-income countries; and (4) financial pledges that increase public funding for global environmental initiatives. This report investigates the last policy measure: public funding for global environmental initiatives.

This report provides an overview of the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS's) financial condition, recent legislation to alleviate the USPS's financial challenges, and possible issues for the 111th Congress.