This report describes a new gene editing technology, known as CRISPR-Cas9, with the potential to revolutionize genetic engineering and the biotechnology industry. The report then provides information on the potential economic benefits of the technology and identifies some issues for congressional consideration, including the regulation of current and future products, national security concerns, and ethical and societal issues surrounding the use of the technology.

This report provides background information for Congress on the levels of Department of Defense (DOD) troop and contractor personnel deployed in support of prior and ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

This report contains brief program descriptions for each of the government-backed housing loan programs and discusses the maximum guarantee amounts for each. The government or quasi-government entities that insure or guarantee mortgages and are discussed in this report are the following: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service (RHS).

This report provides U.S. war casualty statistics. It includes data tables containing the number of casualties among American military personnel who served in principal wars and combat operations from 1775 to the present. It also includes data on those wounded in action and information such as race and ethnicity, gender, branch of service, and cause of death. The tables are compiled from various Department of Defense (DOD) sources. Wars covered include the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, and the Persian Gulf War. Military operations covered include the Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission; Lebanon Peacekeeping; Urgent Fury in Grenada; Just Cause in Panama; Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Restore Hope in Somalia; Uphold Democracy in Haiti; Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF); Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); Operation New Dawn (OND); Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR); and Operation Freedom's Sentinel (OFS).

This report provides an abbreviated background on the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP). It also provides a summary of recent hydrologic conditions in California and their effect on water deliveries.

This report first provides a general overview of the current Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) credit. The report then summarizes the key legislative changes to the credit and provides analysis of some of the congressional intentions behind these changes. An overview of the current structure of the EITC can be found in Appendix A at the end of this report.

This report discusses the Federal Workers Compensation Act (FECA) which governs disability and death benefits for federal employees who are injured, become ill, or are killed on the job. Key policy issues facing the program, including the disproportionate share of claims and program costs attributed to postal workers, the payment of FECA benefits after retirement age, the overall level of FECA disability benefits as compared with those offered by the states, the administration of the FECA program, and the costs associated with prescriptions for compounded medications are also discussed. A legislative history of the FECA program is provided in Appendix B.

This report provides background on law enforcement's use of technology vulnerabilities in criminal investigations. It also provides information on the government's system by which agencies collectively determine whether to maintain or disclose newly discovered vulnerabilities. The report also outlines a range of policy issues that may arise regarding the use and disclosure of vulnerabilities in technology.

This report discusses China's suspension of coal trade with North Korea for the remainder of 2017 which keeps China in compliance with an UN agreement to limit coal buying from North Korea that was implemented in November 2016 in response to continued nuclear tests by North Korea. Coal's value as an export to North Korea, China's trade with North Korea, quantities of coal and its value that was imported into China in 2016 and 2017, and possible reasons and implications for China's decision are discussed.

This report discusses the maintenance backlogs/deferred maintenance at the four federal land management agencies (the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service). It first provides agency deferred maintenance estimates for FY2016, the most recent fiscal year for which this information is available. It also discusses changes in deferred maintenance over the past decade (FY2007-FY2016) and then identifies some of the factors that likely contributed to these changes.

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 tax reform, a proposed bill concerning volunteer firefighters, public education transportation funding, the Blue Alert System, and handgun issues.

This report identifies 17 constitutional points of order that have been raised and received a Senate vote since 1989. Eleven of these cases were disposed of negatively.

This report briefly poses and answers several "frequently asked questions" in relation to the floor proceedings used to elect a Speaker of the House. Current practice for electing a Speaker, either at the start of a Congress or in the event of a vacancy (e.g., death or resignation), is by roll-call vote, during which Members state aloud the name of their preferred candidate. Members may vote for any individual. If no candidate receives a majority of votes cast, balloting continues; in subsequent ballots, Members may still vote for any individual.

This report summarizes the election, duties, and responsibilities of the Speaker of the House, the majority and minority leaders, and the whips and whip system.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the computation of state funding for school districts rece1vmg additional state aid for tax reduction must include local option homestead exemptions that were determined to be authorized in Attorney General Opinion KP-0072 (2016) (RQ-0137-KP).

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: When a search warrant affidavit becomes executed and thus publicly available under Code of Criminal Procedure article 18.0l(b) (RQ-0138-KP).

This report provides comparative statistics related to the nomination and confirmation of U.S. circuit and district court judges during the eighth year of two-term presidencies since 1945 (i.e., the Truman, Eisenhower, Reagan, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama presidencies). It also provides cumulative comparative statistics for the entire terms of these same six presidencies. Previous CRS research has analyzed final Senate action on judicial nominations during the eighth year of the Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush presidencies.

This report discusses regulations regarding an airline's responsibilities when a passenger with a confirmed ticket is denied boarding on a flight due to lack of seats (known as overselling). The various updates to the original regulation from 1967 are discussed with the latest modifications occurring in 2015.

This report addresses several frequently asked questions related to the Budget Control Act (BCA) and the defense budget. The BCA limits discretionary spending on defense through the process of sequestration and was enacted in 2011. Recent proposals to remove the restrictions of the BCA on defense or raise the spending limits are also discussed.

This report provides a brief history of the Congressional Arts Caucus and the Congressional Art Competition which is an art competition for high school students. It also provides a history of sponsorship and support for the caucus and the annual competition. The report includes copies of the original correspondence establishing the competition, a sample competition announcement, sample guidelines and required forms for the competition, and a chronological list of congressional co-chairs.

This report provides resources for congressional staff researching cybersecurity issues and critical infrastructure.The annotated descriptions of these sources are listed in reverse chronological order with an emphasis on material published in the past several years.The report includes resources and studies from government agencies (federal, state, local, and international), think tanks, academic institutions, news organizations, and other sources. Table 1 contains overview reports and resources, Table 2 lists energy industry resources, Table 3 lists financial industry resources, Table 4 contains healthcare industry resources, Table 5 contains telecommunications and communication industry resources, and Table 6 contains transportation industry resources.

This report reviews issues related to financial regulation and provides brief descriptions of major provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, along with links to CRS products going in to greater depth on specific issues. It does not attempt to track the legislative debate in the 115th Congress.