This report contains background information and selected issues on federal regulations and administrative requirements related to federally-funded academic research, including a general overview and discussion of select issues.

This report provides background information on the types of water supply and wastewater treatment projects traditionally funded by the federal government and the existing programs to assist communities with water supply and wastewater treatment.

This report provides the names of CRS staff who specialize in each departmental area that is funded by annual appropriations and thus most affected by government shutdowns.

This report discusses the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 and a recent Supreme Court case decision in "NLRB v SW General Inc." related to acting officials filling Presidential nominated positions under the Vacancies Act.

This report analyzes political, economic, and security conditions in Honduras. It also examines issues in U.S.-Honduran relations that have been of particular interest to Congress, including foreign assistance, migration, security cooperation, human rights, and trade and investment.

This report discuses the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on Caribbean countries and foreign territories and provides brief descriptions of the extent of damage to Antigua and Barbuda, St. Martin/St. Maarten, Cuba, and Dominica. Current U.S. aid efforts and funds are discussed along with the international humanitarian response.

This report discusses institutional features that make federal financial regulators (and other independent agencies) relatively independent from the President and Congress.

This report provides background and funding information on the Maternal and Child Health (MCH)Services Block Grant. It also includes select program and health expenditure data to provide context on issues that Congress and HRSA have sought to address through this block grant program.

This report discusses the development of U.S. motor vehicle production under the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) and analyzes the North American motor vehicle market, including production, plant locations, and continental trade patterns. It summarizes the motor vehicle rules of origin in NAFTA and compares them with similar requirements in other trade agreements, and examines how the potential changes in NAFTA might affect the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts industries in the United States.

This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class aircraft carrier program. The Navy's proposed FY2018 budget requested a total of $4,461.8 million in procurement funding for the program.

This report provides background information and discusses potential issues for Congress regarding the Navy's FFG(X) program, a program to procure a new class of guided-missile frigates. The FFG(X) program was initiated as part of the Navy's FY2018 budget submission. The Navy wants to procure the first FFG(X) in FY2020. The Navy's proposed FY2018 budget requests $143.5 million in research and development funding for the program. The FFG(X) program presents several potential oversight issues for Congress. Congress's decisions on the program could affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the shipbuilding industrial base.

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) program. The Navy's proposed FY2018 budget requests $5,225.9 million in procurement and advance procurement (AP) funding for the program.

Newsletter of Ernest Bailes for his constituents in district 18 discussing news, activities, and various updates related to work in the Texas legislature. It focuses on growth and property rights, pausing in prayer, new Commercial Driver's License skills standards, reduction in budget for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and a balanced and new legislation.

Newsletter of Ernest Bailes for his constituents in district 18 discussing news, activities, and various updates related to work in the Texas legislature. It focuses on reforms in public school finance, an update on Constable Justin Johnston, the presentation of CSHB 1469, updates in teacher retirement and property taxes, and the house bill to decrease the fee for carrying a handgun.

This report discuses two investigations by the Department of Commerce related to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 which allows the President to impose tariffs or quotas on imported goods if it is in the interest of national security. These investigations are being conducted on the steel and aluminium industries to determine whether the President can and whether he should impose import restrictions. Mixed reactions to the investigations and proposals are also discussed.

This report provides a review of legislative tax reform proposals introduced since the 113th Congress. Several proposals have already been introduced in the 115th Congress to replace the current income tax system.

This report provides resources to help congressional staff respond to constituents' frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the law. The report lists selected resources regarding consumers, employers, and other stakeholders, with a focus on federal sources. It also lists Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports that summarize the ACA's provisions.

This report identifies all nominations during the 114th Congress that were submitted to the Senate for full-time positions in 40 organizations in the executive branch (27 independent agencies, 6 agencies in the Executive Office of the President [EOP], and 7 multilateral organizations) and 4 agencies in the legislative branch. The tables include full-time positions confirmed by the Senate, pay levels for these positions, and appointment action within each agency, with additional summary information across all agencies in an appendix.

This report identifies all nominations submitted to the Senate for full-time positions on 34 boards and commissions during the 114th Congress. Information for each board and commission is presented in profiles and tables, listing full-time positions confirmed by the Senate, pay levels for these positions, incumbents as of the end of the 114th Congress, incumbents' parties (where balance is required), and appointment action within each board or commission. Additional summary information across all 34 boards and commissions appears in an appendix.

This report provides a general overview of the pardon power and briefly addresses a few frequently-asked legal questions concerning its scope and application, such as: whether the President can issue a "prospective pardon, pardon himself or issue "secret" pardons, whether the acceptance of a pardon is an admission of guilt, and whether Congress can regulate the President's pardon power.

This report highlights the key provisions in the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2353) and explains the major differences between it and current law. H.R. 2353 was passed by the House under suspension of the rules on June 22, 2017.

This report highlights the key provisions in H.R. 2353 and explains the major differences between it and current law.

This report provides a historical examination of the SBA's size standards and assesses competing views concerning how to define a small business. It also discusses P.L. 112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, which requires the SBA to make available a justification when establishing or approving a size standard that the size standard is appropriate for each individual industry classification. It addresses the SBA's recent practice of combining size standards within industrial groups as a means to reduce the complexity of its size standards and to provide greater consistency for industrial classifications that have similar economic characteristics; P.L. 114-328, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, which authorizes the SBA to establish different size standards for agricultural enterprises using existing methods and appeal processes.

This report discusses countervaling duties which are charged on items entering the U.S. whose makers are supported by government subsidies in their country. Part 1 provides a general background on countervailing duties and the procedures that result in the imposition of these types of duties. Part II explores the Canadian softwood lumber dispute in more detail, providing a history of this thirty-year dispute and details about the status of the current countervailing duty investigation.