WASHINGTON, May 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48522) on May 2, 2025, entitled "Federal Statistical Data for U.S. Territories: Issues and Resources" by American national government specialist Taylor R. Knoedl and senior research librarian Ben Leubsdorf: * * * SUMMARY The United States has plenary authority over five major territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islan more PR

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R45811) on May 5, 2025, entitled "Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress" by Kelley M. Sayler, advanced technology and global security specialist. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY The United States has actively pursued the development of hypersonic weapons - maneuvering weapons that fly at speeds of at least Mach 5 - as a part of its conventional prompt global strike program since the ear more PR

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R45811) on May 5, 2025, entitled "Hypersonic Weapons - Background and Issues for Congress:" (Continued from Part 1 of 2) * * * Infrastructure According to a study mandated by the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 112-239) and conducted by the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA),/85 the United States had 48 critical hypersonic test facilities and mobile assets in 2014 needed for the maturat more PR

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R45811) on May 5, 2025, entitled "Hypersonic Weapons - Background and Issues for Congress:" (Continued from Part 2 of 3) * * * Issues for Congress As Congress reviews the Pentagon's plans for U.S. hypersonic weapons programs during the annual authorization and appropriations process, it might consider a number of questions about the rationale for hypersonic weapons, their expected costs, budget and manag more PR

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48523) on May 2, 2025, entitled "Organizing Executive Branch Agencies: Structure and Delegations of Authority" by legislative attorneys Daniel T. Shedd and Jared P. Cole: * * * SUMMARY In early 2025, the Trump Administration issued executive orders that indicated that the White House may consider reorganizing certain executive branch agencies. In the ensuing months, the Trump Administration has embarked  more PR

WASHINGTON, May 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48521) on May 2, 2025, entitled "Capital Markets and Securities Regulation: Overview and Policy Issues" by financial economics specialist Eva Su. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY Capital markets are where securities (e.g., stocks, bonds, digital asset securities, and shares of investment funds) are issued and traded. As a main segment of the financial system, capital markets provide the largest sources  more PR

WASHINGTON, May 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48521) on May 2, 2025, entitled "Capital Markets and Securities Regulation - Overview and Policy Issues:" (Continued from Part 1 of 2) * * * Investment Funds and the Asset Management Industry Asset management companies - also referred to as investment management companies, money managers, funds, or investment funds - are collective investment vehicles that pool money from various individual or institut more PR

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12982) on May 5, 2025, by Ben Wilhelm, government organization and management analyst: * * * Congress and the Regulation of Professional Boxing in the U.S. Congress and the federal government have historically played a relatively small role in sports in the United States. With a few notable exceptions - such as Olympic participation, support for female athletes, and youth fitness - the gov more PR

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11303) on May 2, 2025, by legislative attorneys Matthew D. Trout and Sean Stiff: * * * Congressional and Executive Power Over Spending: Selected Recent Litigation On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued the first group in a series of executive orders that seek to align past and future federal spending decisions with the new Administration's policy priorities. The first Legal Side more PR

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11302) on May 2, 2025, by legislative attorneys Matthew D. Trout and Sean Stiff: * * * Congressional and Executive Roles in Spending: Legal Frameworks President Donald Trump has made federal spending decisions a centerpiece of his second Administration. On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued the first group in a series of executive orders that seek to align past and future feder more PR

WASHINGTON, May 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12943) on March 14, 2025, by Air Force fellow Robert Switzer and defense budget specialist Brendan W. McGarry. Here are excerpts: * * * Defense Primer: Department of Defense Classified Funding Introduction The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) annual budget submission includes requests for classified funding. In authorizing and appropriating funding for DOD in fiscal year (FY) 2024, Cong more PR

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R44201) on May 7, 2025, entitled "DOT's Federal Pipeline Safety Program: Background and Issues for Congress" by energy policy specialist Paul W. Parfomak. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY The U.S. energy pipeline network includes 3.3 million miles of onshore pipeline transporting natural gas, crude oil, and other hazardous liquids. Over the past decade, major safety incidents in California, Texas, Pennsy more PR

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R44201) on May 7, 2025, entitled "DOT's Federal Pipeline Safety Program - Background and Issues for Congress:" (Continued from Part 1 of 3) * * * PHMSA's Role in Pipeline Security Pipeline safety and security are distinct issues involving different threats, statutory authorities, and regulatory frameworks. Nonetheless, aspects of pipeline safety and security can be intertwined. PHMSA has historically pla more PR

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R44201) on May 7, 2025, entitled "DOT's Federal Pipeline Safety Program - Background and Issues for Congress:" (Continued from Part 2 of 3) * * * Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Rulemaking Carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines are essential components of carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems, which are proposed to reduce atmospheric emissions of anthropogenic CO2, a greenhouse gas./119 Pipelines are needed to transp more PR

WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12993) on May 8, 2025, by presidential management fellow J.T. Jamieson. Here are excerpts: * * * Employment Authorization for Asylum Applicants Aliens (i.e., persons who are not U.S. citizens or nationals) in the United States who are unable or unwilling to return to their country of nationality or last habitual residence due to persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution may apply  more PR

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48525) on May 6, 2025, entitled "Federal Preemption and State Authority to Deter the Presence of Unlawfully Present Aliens" by legislative attorney Alejandra Aramayo: * * * SUMMARY The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article VI, clause 2) states that the Constitution, treaties, and federal law "shall be the supreme Law of the land." In interpreting this clause, the Supreme Court has formulated more PR

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48525) on May 6, 2025, entitled "Federal Preemption and State Authority to Deter the Presence of Unlawfully Present Aliens:" (Continued from Part 1 of 2) * * * Kansas v. Garcia (2020) In 2017, the Kansas Supreme Court in three separate cases reversed the convictions of three unlawfully present aliens for state identity theft and false information. The state court held that a provision in IRCA expressly more PR

WASHINGTON, May 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12942) on March 14, 2025, by legislative attorney Justin C. Chung: * * * Federal Tax Enforcement: An Overview Federal tax enforcement involves a series of adverse actions that the government - primarily the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - can take against a taxpayer to collect taxes owed and to penalize non-compliance with federal tax laws. Taxpayers are provided notice of and the opportu more PR

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10613) on May 2, 2025, by Liana W. Rosen, international sanctions and financial crimes specialist, and Shelby B. Senger, foreign affairs analyst. Here are excerpts: * * * The Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) List Congress has shown recurring interest in the administration of the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)--one of several terrorism-related lists th more PR

WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following fact sheet (No. R44021) on May 7, 2025, entitled "Graduation" by senior knowledge management librarian Devon Galena. Here are excerpts: * * * Graduation: Fact Sheet Contents Introduction ... 1 History ... 1 Attire ... 1 Sample Commencement Addresses ... 2 Presidential Commencement Addresses ... 2 Statistical Sources ... 3 Contacts Author Information ... 3 * * * Introduction Graduation and commenceme more PR

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12985) on May 5, 2025, by housing policy specialist Libby Perl. Here are excerpts: * * * Homelessness On a single night in 2024, there were 771,480 total people experiencing homelessness, 497,256 of whom were sheltered and 274,224 of whom were unsheltered. Homelessness increased across most populations, and the number of people living in both sheltered and unsheltered conditions grew. The more PR

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12984) on May 6, 2025, by financial economics analyst Paul Tierno and macroeconomic policy specialist Marc Labonte: * * * Key Issues in Stablecoin Legislation in the 119th Congress A stablecoin is a digital asset that aims to maintain a stable price (e.g., a 1:1 peg) with a reference asset, such as the U.S. dollar. In the 119th Congress, legislation to regulate stablecoins has seen commit more PR

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11306) on May 6, 2025, by legislative attorney Milan N. Ball: * * * Consumers' Research v. FCC: The Legislative Vesting Clause and Taxing Power Delegation On July 24, 2024, in Consumers' Research v. Federal Communications Commission, 109 F. 4th 743 (2024), the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the universal service contribution mechanism that Congress and  more PR

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11305) on May 5, 2025, by legislative attorney Milan N. Ball: * * * Hobby Distillers Association v. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau: The Limits on Taxing Schemes to Regulate Behavior On July 10, 2024, in Hobby Distillers Association v. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted the Hobby Distillers Association more PR

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11755) on May 2, 2025, by military ground forces specialist Andrew Feickert. Here are excerpts: * * * The Marine Corps' Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) Background The Marine Corps describes the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) as 'The Corps' next-generation vehicle designed to move Marines from ship to shore (Figure 1). Designed to replace the Corps' aging Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AA more PR

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48424) on May 6, 2025, entitled "Methane Emissions: U.S. and International Mitigation Efforts" by environmental policy analyst Kathryn G. Kynett. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY Methane is a greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted in part as a result of human activities. According to climate scientists, approximately 0.5 C of the net 1.1 C increase in global surface temperatures that has occurred since 1850 may b more PR

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48424) on May 6, 2025, entitled "Methane Emissions - U.S. and International Mitigation Efforts:" (Continued from Part 1 of 2) * * * Executive Branch Activities Past administrations have issued regulations and adopted policies aimed at addressing methane emissions across various sectors. This section highlights some of these executive branch activities but does not provide a comprehensive list of all ac more PR

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11307) on May 7, 2025, by legislative attorney Jimmy Balser: * * * OPM v. AFGE and Related Litigation: Supreme Court Stays Order Reinstating Federal Probationary Employees On April 8, 2025, the Supreme Court in U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) v. American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) granted the government's application to stay a preliminary injunction and order more PR

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12980) on May 2, 2025, by Karen M. Sutter, Asian trade and finance specialist, and Michael D. Sutherland, international trade and finance analyst. Here are excerpts: * * * Permanent Normal Trade Relations and U.S.-China Tariffs The 119th Congress is considering legislation that would revoke the People's Republic of China's (PRC or China) permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status. Mo more PR

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11304) on May 2, 2025, by legislative attorney Jason O. Heflin: * * * Preemption in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the sale and use of pesticides in the United States. FIFRA generally does not preempt state or local regulation of p more PR

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11714) on May 6, 2025, by financial economics specialist Eva Su. Here are excerpts: * * * Introduction to Financial Services: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Congress passed the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (P.L. 73-291) to create the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the wake of the stock market crash in 1929 to help restore confidence in capital markets. The SE more PR

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12987) on May 6, 2025, by American national government specialist R. Eric Petersen: * * * Smithsonian Institution: Selected Legislation, 119th Congress The Smithsonian Institution is a complex of museum, education, research, and revenue-generating entities primarily located in the Washington, DC, region, with additional facilities and activities across the United States and world. For fur more PR

WASHINGTON, May 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12847) on March 14, 2025, by Kelsi Bracmort, natural resources and energy policy specialist. Here are excerpts: * * * Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): Production Pathways Many in Congress have expressed an interest in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) - a nascent industry. SAF may potentially provide market opportunities for both agricultural producers and biofuel producers; it meets inter more PR

WASHINGTON, May 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10261) on March 14, 2025, by Emily M. McCabe, foreign assistance and foreign policy specialist. Here are excerpts: * * * U.S. Agency for International Development: An Overview Background The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has served as the lead international humanitarian and development arm of the U.S. government. It was established in 1961, pursuant to Executive Orde more PR

WASHINGTON, May 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12981) on May 2, 2025, by defense policy analyst Anya L. Fink and Air Force fellow Robert Switzer: * * * Defense Primer: U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM or STRATCOM) is a Department of Defense (DOD) functional (as opposed to geographic) combatant command (CCMD) responsible for deterring "strategic attack through a safe, secure, effective, and credible, more PR