WASHINGTON, March 4 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12094) on March 3, 2026, by military ground forces specialist Andrew Feickert and Army fellow Ebrima M'Bai. Here are excerpts: * * * The Army's XM-30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle (Formerly the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle [OMFV]) Background The Army's Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) is being designed to replace the M-2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle ( more PR

WASHINGTON, March 4 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN11693) on March 2, 2026, by Congress and legislative process analysts James V. Saturno and Megan S. Lynch: * * * The Budget Resolution and the Senate's Automatic Discharge Process The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (the Budget Act) provides for the annual adoption of a concurrent resolution on the budget that establishes an agreement between the House and Senate on budgetary l more PR

WASHINGTON, March 6 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R41364) on March 3, 2026, entitled "Capital Gains Tax Options: Behavioral Responses and Revenues" by economic policy senior specialist Jane G. Gravelle. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY Compared with most other tax provisions, the potential revenue gain scored for an increase in capital gains taxes is strongly affected by behavioral responses assumed by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) a more PR

WASHINGTON, March 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN11618) on March 4, 2026, by American national government analyst Sarah J. Eckman: * * * Congressional Redistricting Criteria and Considerations Congressional redistricting involves creating geographic boundaries for U.S. House districts within a state. Following each decennial census, House districts are first allocated among states through apportionment (or reapportionment), th more PR

WASHINGTON, March 6 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10349) on March 4, 2026, by Bryce H. P. Mendez, defense health care policy specialist. Here are excerpts: * * * Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Funding for FY2026 Members of Congress are frequently lobbied to add funding to annual defense appropriation legislation for certain medical research programs on a wide variety of diseases and topics. In addressing a more PR

WASHINGTON, March 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11681) on March 4, 2026, by defense policy analyst Anya L. Fink. Here are excerpts: * * * Defense Primer: LGM-35A Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile The LGM-35A Sentinel is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system that is expected to replace the Minuteman III (MMIII) ICBM in the U.S. nuclear force structure. MMIII has served as the ground-based leg of the U more PR

WASHINGTON, March 3 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11200) on March 2, 2026, by Senior Research Librarian Carly A. Miller. Here are excerpts: * * * Gold Star Designation: An Overview Background During the years of U.S. participation in World War I (WWI, 1917-1918), an informal practice developed where some families would display service banners adorned with blue stars in the windows of their homes to signify participation in t more PR

WASHINGTON, March 4 -- The U.S. Government Publishing Office issued the following news release: * * * GPO DIRECTOR APPOINTS LEADERS TO DEPOSITORY LIBRARY COUNCIL U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) Director Hugh Nathanial Halpern, on the Agency's 165th birthday, has appointed six new members to the Depository Library Council (DLC). The DLC has advised the GPO Director on policy matters relating to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and access to U.S. Government information for  more PR

WASHINGTON, March 3 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12759) on March 2, 2026, by health policy specialist Amanda K. Sarata: * * * The HIPAA Privacy Rule: Overview and Issues The final HIPAA Privacy Rule (the Rule) was first issued in December 2000, and a final modified rule was issued in August of 2002, pursuant to authority in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA, P.L. 104-191). HIPAA was enacte more PR

WASHINGTON, March 4 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF13170) on March 2, 2026, by Jane A. Hudiburg, Congress and legislative process analyst: * * * The House Consensus Calendar: Principal Features Establishment in House Rules First established in the 116th Congress (2019-2020), the Consensus Calendar provides an alternative route to the floor for certain unreported House bills and resolutions that have accumulated at least 290 co more PR

WASHINGTON, March 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF13082) on March 4, 2026, by American national government analyst Sarah J. Eckman and legislative attorney L. Paige Whitaker: * * * Mid-Decade Congressional Redistricting: Key Issues States typically begin their congressional redistricting processes following the decennial U.S. census and apportionment, at which point states with multiple House seats draw congressional district  more PR

WASHINGTON, March 4 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following fact sheet (No. R45003) on March 3, 2026, by reference and digital services librarian Maya V. Thomas. Here are excerpts: * * * Muslim Holidays: Fact Sheet Introduction Islam is one of the three major Abrahamic faiths, alongside Judaism and Christianity. According to the 2020 U.S. Religion Census, the number of followers of Islam in the United States is 4.5 million./1 Muslims annually observe two major more PR

WASHINGTON, March 4 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R47240) on March 3, 2026, entitled "Navigating the Appropriations Status Table." The report is written by senior research librarians Justin Murray, Carol Wilson and Ben Leubsdorf. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY The CRS Appropriations Status Table is an online tool for tracking legislation that provides annual funding for federal programs, projects, and activities. It displays the status o more PR

WASHINGTON, March 3 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12744) on March 2, 2026, by legislative attorney Kevin J. Hickey: * * * Patent Law: An Introduction and Issues for Congress Patents, a form of intellectual property, give their owners certain exclusive rights in new and useful inventions. To encourage innovation, the Constitution gives Congress the power to grant patents to inventors for a limited time. Patents have been a part more PR

WASHINGTON, March 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11284) on March 4, 2026, by Asian trade and finance specialist Karen M. Sutter. Here are excerpts: * * * The Philippines Overview and Recent Developments The United States and the Republic of the Philippines maintain a relationship that includes a bilateral security alliance, extensive military cooperation, close people-to-people ties, and many shared strategic and economic i more PR

WASHINGTON, March 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10951) on March 4, 2026, by defense health fellow Quadre Nichols and defense health care policy specialist Bryce H. P. Mendez. Here are excerpts: * * * Problematic Substance Use in the Military: Prevention, Treatment and Research Efforts In 1982, Congress enacted requirements for the Department of Defense (DOD), which is "using a secondary Department of War designation," under more PR

WASHINGTON, March 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN11053) on March 4, 2026, by American national government analyst Sarah J. Eckman. Here are excerpts: * * * Redistricting Commissions for Congressional Districts Historically, state legislatures have determined congressional district boundaries, and this remains true in most states. The role of political actors in redistricting at times leads to concerns, by some, about conflict more PR

WASHINGTON, March 6 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12125) on March 5, 2026, by Asian trade and finance specialist Karen M. Sutter. Here are excerpts: * * * Section 301 and China: The U.S.-China Phase One Trade Deal On January 15, 2020, then-President Donald J. Trump signed a trade agreement with then-Vice Premier Liu He of the People's Republic of China (PRC, or China). The agreement sought to resolve some long-standing compla more PR

WASHINGTON, March 3 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12014) on March 2, 2026, by social policy specialist Zhe Li. Here are excerpts: * * * Social Security Retirement Earnings Test Overview Background Social Security is a work-related, federal insurance program that provides monthly cash benefits to workers and their eligible family members in the event of a worker's retirement, disability, or death. Social Security retirement b more PR

WASHINGTON, March 6 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R44389) on March 5, 2026, entitled "Statutory Framework for Congressional Management of DOD General and Flag Officers" by section research manager Michael J. Vassalotti and senior research librarian Sofia Plagakis. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY In the exercise of its constitutional responsibilities to shape and oversee the U.S. Armed Forces, Congress has enacted an array of laws that gover more PR

WASHINGTON, March 3 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12662) on March 1, 2026. The white paper is written by Middle Eastern affairs specialists Clayton Thomas, Jeremy M. Sharp, Christopher M. Blanchard and Jim Zanotti: * * * U.S. and Israeli Military Operations Against Iran: Issues for Congress On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched military operations against targets in Iran. The United States and Iran had be more PR

WASHINGTON, March 4 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF13162) on March 3, 2026, by Rhoda Margesson, international humanitarian policy specialist and Emily M. McCabe, foreign assistance and foreign policy specialist: * * * U.S. International Food Assistance Primer Global food insecurity generally refers to varying degrees of hunger and malnutrition among populations worldwide stemming from a lack of regular access to sufficient, saf more PR

WASHINGTON, March 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11401) on March 4, 2026, by legislative attorney Karen Sokol: * * * The United States' Prosecution of Nicolas Maduro Moros: United States v. Maduro Following the seizure of Nicolas Maduro Moros (Maduro) by U.S. armed forces in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 3, 2026, a superseding indictment charging him and other defendants with narco-terrorism, narcotics, and weapons off more PR

WASHINGTON, March 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11284) on March 4, 2026, by Asian trade and finance specialist Karen M. Sutter. Here are excerpts: * * * U.S.-China Trade Relations The People's Republic of China (PRC or China) is the second-largest global economy and has been a top U.S. trading partner since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. China is a major export market for U.S. aircraft, agriculture more PR

WASHINGTON, March 4 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12150) on March 2, 2026, by Andrew S. Bowen, Russian and European affairs analyst: * * * Ukrainian Military Performance and Outlook Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) have defended and repelled Russian advances, despite ongoing disadvantages in personnel and a smaller defense industry. The UAF has demonstr more PR

WASHINGTON, March 4 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11573) on March 3, 2026, by agricultural policy analyst Eleni G. Bickell. Here are excerpts: * * * USDA's Regulation of Agricultural Biotechnology The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates certain organisms developed using genetic engineering (GE) under its authority to prevent the introduction and dissemination of plant pests. In May 2020, USDA's Animal and Plant He more PR