WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12700) on Jan. 28, 2026, by legislative attorney Kevin J. Hickey: * * * "Skinny Labels" for Generic Drugs Under Hatch-Waxman New "brand-name" drugs are often protected from generic competition by patents. In general, a drug manufacturer intending to market a generic version of a brand-name drug must either wait for those patents to expire or challenge the validity or applicabil more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12644) on Jan. 26, 2026. The white paper is written by section research manager Lauren R. Stienstra, American national government specialist Bruce R. Lindsay, flood insurance and emergency management specialist Diane P. Horn, homeland security and appropriations specialist William L. Painter, research assistant Daniela E. Lacalle and emergency management and disaster recovery spec more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10814) on Jan. 28, 2026, by Cory Welt, Russian and European affairs specialist. Here are excerpts: * * * Belarus: An Overview Belarus, located in eastern Europe, is a close ally of Russia. Belarus's leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has served as president for more than 31 years. Belarus's already substantial dependence on Russia increased further starting in 2020, when a governme more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11274) on Jan. 28, 2026, by military personnel specialist Kristy N. Kamarck and senior research librarian Carly A. Miller. Here are excerpts: * * * Defense Primer: Active Component Enlisted Retention Retention The term retention refers to the rate at which military personnel voluntarily choose to stay in the military after their obligated term of service has ended as determin more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11313) on Jan. 26, 2026, by military personnel specialist Kristy N. Kamarck. Here are excerpts: * * * Defense Primer: Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Background The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a federally funded program of instruction for high school-aged students administered by the armed forces. The purpose of JROTC, according to 10 U.S.C. Sec more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10260) on Jan. 26, 2026, by military personnel specialist Kristy N. Kamarck. Here are excerpts: * * * Defense Primer: Military Pay Raise The phrase "military pay raise," frequently used in discussions of military compensation, almost always refers to the annual increase in basic pay for members of the uniformed services. By law (37 U.S.C. Sec.1009), basic pay is automatically  more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF13118) on Jan. 29, 2026, by energy policy analysts Martin C. Offutt and Lexie Ryan. Here are excerpts: * * * DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Appropriations, FY2026 The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is responsible for renewable energy and end-use energy efficiency technology development. Other activ more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12768) on Jan. 28, 2026, by natural resources policy analyst Anthony R. Marshak. Here are excerpts: * * * Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM; Figure 1) is a systems-level management approach for living marine resources (LMRs) that accounts for an ecosystem's physical, biological, economic, and social components. This approach to fis more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48390) on Jan. 14, 2026, entitled "Federal Reserve: Policy Issues in the 119th Congress" by macroeconomic policy specialist Marc Labonte. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY The responsibilities of the Federal Reserve (Fed) fall into four main categories: monetary policy, regulation of certain banks and other financial firms, provision and oversight of certain interbank payment systems, and len more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48390) on Jan. 14, 2026, entitled "Federal Reserve - Policy Issues in the 119th Congress:" (Continued from Part 1 of 4) * * * Monetary Policy Monetary policy refers to the Fed's influence over interest rates and the money supply to alter economic activity. Congress has delegated monetary policy to the Fed but conducts oversight to ensure that the Fed meets its statutory mandate from 1977 of more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48390) on Jan. 14, 2026, entitled "Federal Reserve - Policy Issues in the 119th Congress:" (Continued from Part 2 of 4) * * * Bank Regulation The Fed regulates bank holding companies (BHCs) and thrift holding companies - parent companies that own most large and small depositories - to try to ensure that they do not pose safety and soundness risks to their depositories and for other regulator more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48390) on Jan. 14, 2026, entitled "Federal Reserve - Policy Issues in the 119th Congress:" (Continued from Part 3 of 4) * * * Payments Because banks and select other institutions maintain master accounts at the Fed to hold their reserves, those accounts are used to facilitate interbank payments. To that end, the Fed operates the following interbank payment settlement systems for those instit more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- he Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48584) on Jan. 26, 2026, entitled "Golden Dome - Related CRS Products" by section research manager Brendan W. McGarry and defense policy analyst Hannah D. Dennis: * * * Contents Golden Dome (Specific) ... 1 Air and Missile Defense (General) ... 1 Related Defense Agencies ... 2 Threat Assessments ... 2 Other Related Products ... 2 Contacts Author Information ... 3 * * * On January more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12577) on Jan. 29, 2026, by economic development policy analyst Joseph V. Jaroscak and research librarian Ben Leubsdorf. Here are excerpts: * * * Governing the District of Columbia: Overview and Timeline The U.S. Constitution provides for the creation of a district to serve as the permanent seat of the federal government. Article I, Section 8, clause 17 also grants Congress pl more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11390) on Jan. 27, 2026, by legislative attorney Hannah-Alise Rogers: * * * Litigation over State Attempts to Lower Drug Costs: Prescription Drug Affordability Boards (PDABs) Prescription drug affordability continues to dominate headlines, with President Trump taking actions to implement Most Favored Nation Pricing by negotiating directly with pharmaceutical companies and more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN11982) on Jan. 26, 2026, by natural resources policy specialist Charles V. Stern. Here are excerpts: * * * Responding to Drought in the Colorado River Basin The Colorado River Basin covers more than 246,000 square miles in seven U.S. states and Mexico. Basin waters are governed by multiple documents, known collectively as the Law of the River. The Colorado River Compact of 1922 more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11747) on Jan. 26, 2026, by social policy specialist Barry F. Huston. Here are excerpts: * * * Social Security: Benefit Calculation Overview Background Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI), referred to on a combined basis as OASDI, are social insurance programs that protect workers and their family members against loss of income due to old age, more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11087) on Jan. 27, 2026, by legislative attorney Jared P. Cole: Here are excerpts: * * * Title VI and Peer-to-Peer Racial Harassment at School: Federal Appellate Decisions Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs. While that mandate applies broadly to programs of more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12483) on Jan. 29, 2026, by nonproliferation specialist Paul K. Kerr: * * * U.S. Arms Transfer Restrictions and AUKUS Cooperation On September 15, 2021, Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States announced an "enhanced trilateral security partnership," named AUKUS after the participating countries. The partnership consists of two lines of effort, known as pillars more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF13162) on Jan. 26, 2026. The white paper is written by international humanitarian policy specialist Rhoda Margesson, foreign assistance and foreign policy specialist Emily M. McCabe and agricultural policy analyst Benjamin Tsui: * * * U.S. International Food Assistance Primer Global food insecurity generally refers to varying degrees of hunger and malnutrition among population more PR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF13163) on Jan. 29, 2026, by legislative attorney Matthew D. Trout: * * * U.S. Territorial Expansion: The Constitutional Roles of Congress and the President The United States has expanded significantly from the original 13 colonies to its present-day borders. Over time, new territories have become part of the nation. Some of these territories would eventually achieve statehood,  more PR