This report discusses the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10) and the FY 2018 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3354, Division D). The Senate Appropriations Committee released an FY2018 FSGG chairmen's mark on November 20, 2017, but further action has yet to occur on the bill. Much of the federal government, including agencies covered by FSGG appropriations, has been operating for the first part of FY2018 under a continuing resolution effective through December 8, 2017.

This report discusses a proposal by the U.S. in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations that would allow U.S. agricultural producers of certain fruits and vegetables to more easily file an injury claim regarding imports from Mexico. It includes details regarding the proposal, Mexican produce imports statistics, and arguments for and against the proposal.

This report discusses the refugee admissions process and refugee number caps for the 2018 fiscal year. For FY2018, the worldwide refugee ceiling is 45,000. The FY2018 regional allocations are, as follows: Africa (19,000), East Asia (5,000), Europe and Central Asia (2,000), Latin America/Caribbean (1,500), and Near East/South Asia (17,500). Refugee admissions in FY2017 totaled 53,716.

This report discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) maintenance depots which provide dedicated equipment repair for the military's vehicles, weapons systems, and electronics and provides the locations and services of each depot divided by each military service.

This report provides an update of an earlier report from April 6, 2017, providing the final decision by the Supreme Court in the case of "Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions". The case concerned the question of whether an immigrant alien who was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor where the minor was under 18 but at least 16 (in this case statutory rape in California between a 21 year old male and a 17 year female) was removable for an aggravated felony under immigration law. The Supreme Court ruled that the immigration law required the victim be under 16 before the removal of an alien for an aggravated felony would be allowable.

This report summarizes select EPA actions to implement the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) amendments over the past year since their passage on June 22, 2016 as a part of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for 21st Century Act (P.L. 114-182). Brief discussions and lists of various chemicals that are being evaluated or have been evaluated under the law are included.

This report discusses the issuing of President Trump's first Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions on July 20, 2017 and changes in terminology in this report from previous ones.

This report discusses a Supreme Court case regarding whether men detained after 9/11 by federal authorities can sue the individual officials involved in their arrest and detainment that was due to be heard by a six justice court due to the death of Justice Scalia and the recusements of two other justices.

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. However, the process by which a bill can become law is rarely predictable and can vary significantly from bill to bill. In fact, for many bills, the process will not follow the sequence of congressional stages that are often understood to make up the legislative process.This report presents a look at each of the common stages through which a bill may move, but complications and variations abound in practice.

This report chronicles the FY2017 appropriations cycle for ATF and other gun control initiatives, including legislative histories for several ATF funding limitations related to firearms. It also includes discussion of year-to-year data trends that could affect ATF workloads, such as the number and type of federal firearms licensees (FFLs), growth in the civilian gun stock, and firearms-related violent crime.

This report discusses filibusters and the use of cloture to end them in the Senate. In regards to cloture it concentrates on the operation of cloture under the general provisions of Senate Rule XXII, paragraph 2, though it also identifies key modifications to its application in recent years.

This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act's (UMRA) 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. It also assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions that currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities. An examination of the rise of unfunded federal mandates as a national issue and a summary of UMRA's legislative history are provided in Appendix A. Citations to UMRA points of order raised in the House and Senate are provided in Appendix B.

This report summarizes provisions in Division A of the CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act. Division A would extend funding for several public health programs that had received directed appropriations through FY2017. It would also make a number of changes to these programs and would provide offsets for the proposed funding extensions. The House passed the CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act on November 3, 2017, by a vote of 242 to 174. CRS Report R44989, "Comparison of the Bills to Extend State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Funding", summarizes provisions in Division B.

This report discuses two competing 2018 fiscal year budget requests for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from President Trump and from the CFTC themselves. The Presidential request is $250 million, which is the same amount the CFTC had the past year, while CFTC is requesting an additional $31.5 million in funding for a total request of $ 281.5 million. The process of submitting budgets to the President and Congress is discussed as well as ways to reconcile the two conflicting budget requests.

This report discusses the 2017 fiscal year appropriations received for child welfare programs and the fiscal year 2018 budge request for the same.

This report identifies recess appointments made by President Obama. The report discusses these recess appointments in the context of recess appointment authorities and practices generally, and it provides related statistics. Congressional actions to prevent recess appointments prior to and during the Obama presidency, the President's unconstitutional appointments, and the judiciary's response are discussed in more detail in an appendix to the report. Additional information concerning recess appointments by President George W. Bush, general recess appointment practices, and legal issues pertaining to judicial recess appointments in particular may be found in other CRS reports.

This report describes the process of enforcing a rule of order in the Senate.

This report discusses the development of a new long-range bomber aircraft, the B-21 Raider (previously known as LRS-B), and proposes to acquire at least 100 of them.

This report provides an overview of the financial requirements used for determining eligibility for Medicaid long-term services and supports (LTSS). It first provides background information on the Medicaid program, including general eligibility requirements. Then it describes federal statutes as well as selected regulations and guidance regarding these financial eligibility requirements, including rules related to spousal impoverishment, asset transfers, treatment of certain assets, post-eligibility treatment of income, and estate recovery.

This report discusses Presidential campaign funding and provides a brief policy overview and raises potential issues for congressional consideration.

This report discusses arrangement between the United States and European Union (EU), on the first insurance "covered agreement."

This report a brief overview of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and discusses the legislative process known as budget reconciliation in an effort to repeal parts of the ACA.

This report provides resources to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Patient Protect and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148, as amended). It includes a list of contacts for specific questions on insurance coverage and for questions about HealthCare.gov and tax provisions as well as sources for congressional staff to contact federal agencies. It also contains a glossary and general information about public health programs and related topics.

This report provides an overview of monetary policy and recent developments. It discusses issues for Congress, including transparency and proposals to change the Fed's mandate, and ends with a brief overview of the Fed's regulatory responsibilities.