WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The Congressional Budget Office issued the following cost estimate for the Wildfire Risk Evaluation Act (H.R. 3924). * * * H.R. 3924 would direct the Departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security, and the Interior to conduct a quadrennial review of the wildfire environment in the United States and to submit their findings to the Congress. The first review would be due within a year of enactment. As part of the review, the departments would: * Project wildfire challenges facing the country over the next two decades; *  more PR

WASHINGTON, June 9 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48295) entitled "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Budget: Background, Trends and Policy Options" by financial economics specialists Karl E. Schneider and Baird Webel. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank; P.L. 111-203). Dodd-Frank specified that the CFPB would be funded outside of congressional app more PR

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- The Government Accountability Office issued the following news release on June 11, 2026: * * * GAO Urges Immediate Action to Address America's Unsustainable Fiscal Path For the first time since the aftermath of World War II, the federal government's publicly held debt temporarily surpassed the size of the entire U.S. economy. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) projects that, under current fiscal policies, debt will permanently exceed that threshold in the coming years. In its 10th annual report on the nati more PR

WASHINGTON, June 11 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48980) entitled "Noncompetitive Federal Contract Awards: Other than Full and Open Competition" by Dominick A. Fiorentino, government organization and management analyst and David H. Carpenter, legislative attorney. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY In the context of federal procurement, Congress has long been interested in the view that increased competition among potential vendors could result in (1) lower prices, (2) higher quality goods a more PR

WASHINGTON, June 9 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48974) entitled "Researching Critical Minerals: Selected Resources" by research librarians Michael P. Jourdan and Emily N. Peterson: * * * SUMMARY The demand for critical minerals and rare earth elements is increasing due to their applications in various advanced and emerging technologies, including batteries, semiconductors, medical equipment, solar and wind energy systems, and certain military equipment. The increasing demand has led to sup more PR

WASHINGTON, June 12 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48962) on June 9, 2026, entitled "Transition of Servicing Defaulted Federal Student Loans to the Department of the Treasury: Background and Observations" by social policy specialist Alexandra Hegji. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY As of December 31, 2025, the Department of Education's (ED's) portfolio of defaulted federal student loans comprises loans of about 7.8 million borrowers (about 18% of all federal student loan borrowers) owing $1 more PR

WASHINGTON, June 10 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF13246) by foreign affairs analyst Daniel J. Longo. Here are excerpts: * * * The U.S.-South Korea Alliance: Issues for Congress Overview The U.S.-South Korea (Republic of Korea, or ROK) alliance dates to the 1950-1953 Korean War, during which more than 36,000 Americans died in-theater helping South Korea repel an invasion by North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK) intended to reunify the country under com more PR