This report discusses handgun concealed carry laws and provides statistics for the type of permits issued by states and territories and a historical comparison to laws in 1987.

This report provides data and analysis of real wage rates from 1979 to 2016 with a focus on wage rates and changes at selected wage percentiles, with some attention given to the potential influence of educational attainment and the occupational distribution of worker groups on wage patterns.

This report first provides an overview of the youth population and the increasing complexity of transitioning to adulthood for all adolescents. It also provides a separate discussion of the concept of "disconnectedness," as well as the protective factors youth can develop during childhood and adolescence that can mitigate poor outcomes. Further, the report describes the evolution of federal youth policy, focusing on three time periods, and provides a brief overview of current federal programs targeted at vulnerable youth. (Table A-1 at the end of the report, enumerates the objectives and funding levels of such programs. Note that the table does not enumerate all programs that target, even in small part, vulnerable or disconnected youth.) The report then discusses the challenges of coordinating federal programs for youth, as well as federal legislation and initiatives that promote coordination among federal agencies and support programs with a positive youth development focus.

This report provides an overview of the accounts that fund wildfire management activities and historical wildfire management appropriations data, as well as information on FY2018 appropriations.

This report seeks to define terms related to errors and fraud; identify problems and describe what is known of their extent; summarize current policy and practice; and share recommendations, proposals, and pilots that have come up in recent years. The report answers several questions around four main types of inaccuracy and misconduct: trafficking SNAP benefits (by retailers and by recipients); retailer application fraud; errors and fraud in SNAP household applications; and errors and fraud committed by state agencies (including a discussion of states' recent Quality Control (QC) misconduct). The report then discusses challenges to combating errors and fraud--across the four areas--and potential strategies for addressing those challenges.

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 FY2019 budget requests a total of $1,598.2 million in procurement funding for the program. Congress's decisions on the CVN-78 program could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the shipbuilding industrial base.

This report provides background information on three individual income tax provisions (Tax Exclusion for Canceled Mortgage Debt, Mortgage Insurance Premium Deductibility, and Above-the-Line Deduction for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses) that expired in 2017.

This report provides an overview of the Small Business Administration's microloan program and its funding sources.

This report discusses venture capital funds and the rules regarding information they must release to investors along with recent legislation related to the issue.

This report summarizes congressional authorization legislation for U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) water resource development projects, the standard project delivery process, authorities for alternative water resource project delivery, and other USACE authorities.

This report discusses the task force on the U.S. Postal Service established by President Trump's Executive Order on April 12, 2018, (EO 13829) and the topics the task force is directed to address. It concludes with potential issues for congressional consideration.

This report provides a brief description of the Federal Public Transportation Program and its functions and funding.

This report provides introductory information on key components of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), ranging from floodplain mapping to the standard flood insurance forms. This report will be updated as significant revisions are made to the NFIP through legislation or administrative action. However, this report does not provide detail on current or future legislative issues for Congress, which are covered in a separate report

This report discusses suicide among military service members, including the scope of the issue, efforts previously taken to address it, and considerations for confronting the issue in the future.

This report analyzes some of the options the Administration and Congress might use to end or alter U.S. implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) AKA the Iran Nuclear deal. Potential implications of these options are analyzed as well. This report bases its analysis primarily on the text of key documents involved in the issue--the JCPOA itself;3 U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 of July 20, 2015,4 which endorsed the JCPOA; and the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA, P.L. 114-17, of May 22, 2015).

This report provides context for Congress about the U.S. teen birth rate--or the number of births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 each year--and its changes since the 1950s. Over this period, the teen birth rate has generally been in decline. This decline has been most significant in recent years, with the rate reaching a record low in 2016. Multiple factors have likely contributed to the decrease, though the influence of any single factor is not fully known. Reduced teen sexual activity, particularly among younger adolescents, could be one explanation. Increases in use of contraceptives, including highly effective and multiple methods, among sexually active teens could be another. Other factors, such as broader social and economic trends, may also be at play.

This report discusses federal programs that assist in reducing teen pregnancy rates. This report begins with a brief discussion of recent developments in funding for the four teen pregnancy prevention programs. It then provides background on the role of Congress and the executive branch in preventing teen pregnancy. The remainder of the report focuses on the four programs, examining the types of grants they provide as well as related funding, requirements, and research activities.

This report discusses a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the case of "United States v. Grant" that prohibits the use of "de facto" life sentences without possibility of parole (created by sentencing juveniles to prison terms longer than the average lifespan or that would end after they reached the typical retirement age) for juvenile offenders who have a reasonable potential for rehabilitation. The report also discusses previous decisions related to this issue and the split among appeals court over the proper application of the Eighth Amendment to juvenile sentencing restrictions.

This report discusses two income support programs and two workforce service programs that are available to those who lose their jobs due to a disaster. In each benefit category, there is a broader permanent program and a more-targeted program for disaster-affected workers. All of these programs are administered through state agencies and some programmatic details may be state-specific.

This report describes the phases of the Intelligence Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Evaluation Process (IPPBE). The Intelligence Community (IC) uses IPPBE to identify requirements and allocate resources that produce IC capabilities (e.g., human intelligence, signals intelligence, and geospatial intelligence) throughout development and execution of the National Intelligence Program (NIP) and budget. The NIP addresses priorities described in national security-related strategy documents such as the National Intelligence Strategy (NIS) and Consolidated Intelligence Guidance (CIG).

Monthly report issued by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice providing statistical information about numbers and categories of inmates held in various locations across Texas.

This report provides an overview of U.S.-China commercial ties, identifies major issues of contention, describes the Trump Administration's trade policies toward China, and reviews possible outcomes.

This report discusses the U.S. Court of Appeals case United States v. Noel, in which Noel challenged his conviction for seizing an American citizen in Haiti to hold for ransom.

This report provides an overview of religious freedom issues in India including a broad discussion of the religious demographics and freedoms, and human rights. It also discusses specific areas of religiously-motivated repression and violence and perceived assaults on freedoms of expression and operations by nongovernmental organizations that are seen as harmful to India's secular traditions and the U.S-promoted goal of interfaith tolerance.