This report provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Puerto Rico's health care system.

This report provides a foundation for understanding Puerto Rico’s status, why those on the island and in Washington continue to be interested in the issue, and how the 2012 plebiscite and its aftermath provides an opportunity to revisit status. This report is designed to emphasize brief, accessible answers to selected key questions and issues about Puerto Rico’s political status and the plebiscite. The discussion is organized around selected key policy questions, followed by brief answers and additional analysis.

This report discusses multiple challenges the government of Puerto Rico faces in the fall of 2015. Concerns regarding the sustainability of Puerto Rico's public finances have intensified over the past year, despite several measures taken by the island's government to reduce spending, increase revenues, and restructure its obligations. The Puerto Rican government outlined a medium-term strategy to address those challenges in a fiscal plan put forth in mid-September 2015.

This report provides policy and historical background about Puerto Rico's political status--a term of art referring to the relationship between the federal government and a territorial one. It emphasizes recent developments that are likely to be most relevant for Congress. Congress has not altered the island's status since 1952, when it approved a territorial constitution.

This report discusses the issues involved with determining whether the Arecib Ionospheric Observatory is more cost-effective than replacing it with newer, available technology. The Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory is a radio and radar telescope located in Barrio Esperanza, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. In 2005-2006, NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) conducted a Senior Review of its portfolio of facilities and reported that the scientific value of the Arecibo was modest when compared to other existing and proposed projects and recommended decreasing the telescope's annual $12.0 million budget to $9.0 million in FY2009, and securing partnerships for the remaining necessary funding.