This report provides an overview of the Social Security Administration (SSA) mandatory spending but largely focuses on discretionary appropriations for the agency’s administrative expenses. The size of the annual appropriations for administrative expenses affects the agency’s ability to effectively administer the SSA’s benefit programs as well as conduct program integrity activities designed to ensure that only eligible persons receive federal benefits.

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This report discusses the causes of funding gaps and shutdowns of the federal government, processes that are associated with shutdowns, and how agency operations may be affected by shutdowns. The report concludes with a discussion of potential issues for Congress.

This report provides an overview of some of the more commonly used federal statutes used to fight health care fraud and abuse and discusses some of the changes made to these statutes by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

This report provides an overview of the major exceptions to the First Amendment--of the ways that the Supreme Court has interpreted the guarantee of freedom of speech and press to provide no protection or only limited protection for some types of speech.

This report identifies the laws and regulations that vest certain offices of inspector general (OIGs) with law enforcement authority, which permits the use of guns and ammunition. This report also describes some of the requirements and expectations of OIGs that have law enforcement authority, and includes some reasons that OIGs have expressed a need for law enforcement authority.

This report provides a summary of EPA’s Rule which is Cooling Water Intake Structures.water withdrawals by power producers and manufacturers represent more than one half of water withdrawn daily for various use in The United States.

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