This legal sidebar discusses the decision of the Department of Education (ED) to side with a transgender female student in Illinois who alleged that her public high school had discriminated against her when it denied her access to the girls' locker rooms.

This report discusses about the Fair Housing Act (FHA) that was enacted to provide within constitutional limitations, for fair housing throughout the United States.

This report provides an info-graphic discussing the economic effects of the FY2014 shutdown.

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This report briefly describes the shift in the international security environment that some observers believe has occurred, and identifies some defense-related issues for Congress that could arise from it. Congress's decisions on these issues could have significant implications for U.S. defense capabilities and funding requirements.

Transcript of a public teleconference held by the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF) on September 24, 2015. This meeting includes opening remarks from Chairman Sanders, reactions to the revised National Strategy, and a discussion of a detailed outline of the final report.

This report discusses the two retirement systems for federal employees: (1) the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) for individuals hired before 1984, and (2) the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) for individuals hired in 1984 or later.

The combination of Charter, Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), and Bright House Networks (BHN) would create a single entity providing cable television and broadband access service to 23.9 million customers in 41 states, making it the nation’s second-largest cable television operator and broadband access provider. At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must approve the transactions before they can close.This report describes recent trends in the television industry, the events leading up to the proposed transactions, and the criteria and process of regulatory review.

This report serves as a primer on the European Union (EU) and provides a brief description of U.S.-EU relations that may be of interest in the 114th Congress. The EU is a political and economic partnership that represents a unique form of cooperation among sovereign countries, comprising 28 member states, including most of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe; the group has helped to promote peace, stability, and economic prosperity throughout the European continent.

This report discusses the nature of multiemployer defined benefit (DB) pension plans, and issues regarding their financial solvency. DB pension plans are sponsored by more than one employer and maintained as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

This report provides information on the types of data that may be collected in a typical personnel security background investigation. In a July 9, 2015, news release on the cyber-intrusions of its systems, OPM "concluded with high confidence that sensitive information, including the Social Security Numbers (SSNs) of 21.5 million individuals, was stolen from the background investigation databases." This report is not an official statement of the data that was compromised in the OPM breach.

This report provides information on the use of risk and needs assessment in the criminal justice system. It starts with an overview of risk and needs assessment and a discussion of some critiques. The report concludes with a discussion of the issues policymakers might consider if they debate legislation to expand the use of risk and needs assessment in the federal prison system.

This report examines the interplay between the federal government -- i.e., Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -- and state and local jurisdictions in enforcing immigration law, with a specific focus on noncitizens who have been convicted of a crime. It briefly outlines the evolution of the cooperation among law enforcement agencies, then discusses current administrative efforts to involve state and local law enforcement, and explores major programs and federal resources available to those agencies that cooperate with ICE to enforce immigration law.

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 compares and contrasts the administration of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008--enacted as Title V of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008-- and Federal Pell Grants, as authorized by title IV-A-1 of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

This report discusses legislation over the future of Internet government that has been introduced in the 113th and 114th Congresses which would prevent, delay, or impose conditions or additional scrutiny on the transition.

This report provides a definition regarding Internet governance and how the Internet is currently governed. The report discusses the role of United States government and future model of Internet governance.

This report briefly discusses key differences between domestic terrorism and ordinary criminal activity. Unlike ordinary criminals--who are often driven by self-centered motives such as profit and tend to opportunistically seek easy prey--domestic terrorists are driven by a cause or ideology.

This report provides a brief explanation of cash and accrual accounting. It then examines the legislative history surrounding the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which set most of the current policies related to cash accounting for tax purposes.

This report looks at the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), Yucca Mountain, and the Obama Administration's de-funding of Yucca Mountain. Federal policy is based on the premise that nuclear waste can be disposed of safely, but proposed storage and disposal facilities have frequently been challenged on safety, health, and environmental grounds. Most of the current debate surrounding civilian radioactive waste focuses on highly radioactive spent fuel from nuclear power plants.

The report discusses the Health Center Program, which is administered by the Health Resource and Services Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services, awards grants to outpatient health care facilities that provide care to medically under-served populations.

This report briefly discusses the financing of military construction. Military construction is normally funded through Title I of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill and provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide.

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