WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11409) on Jan. 2, 2024, by military ground forces specialist Andrew Feickert: * * * Defense Primer: Army Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) As an operational concept, Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) influence what types of weapon systems and equipment the Army procures, what types and numbers of soldiers are needed, the organizational structure of the Army, and what type of training is require  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12562) on Dec. 29, 2023, by section research manager Colin Willett. Here are excerpts: * * * Asia Elections in 2024 In 2024, a number elections in Asia could have implications for U.S. policy in the region. Scheduled and expected election dates are listed below in chronological order; snapshots of the key issues for selected elections may be found on the following page. * * * Figure:   more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11725) on Jan. 3, 2024, by European affairs analyst Sarah E. Garding. Here are excerpts: * * * Bulgaria: An Overview After decades of single-party communist rule and a difficult transition period in the 1990s, Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union (EU) in 2007. Bulgaria's Black Sea location and NATO and EU memberships make it an important U.S. partner, particularly in the w  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12499) on Jan. 3, 2024, by natural resources policy specialist Carol Hardy Vincent. Here are excerpts: * * * Bureau of Land Management: FY2024 Appropriations The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in the Department of the Interior (DOI), manages 245 million acres of federal land, nearly all in the West. Under its multiple-use mission, BLM manages lands for diverse purposes, including live  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12561) on Jan. 2, 2024, by senior research librarian Shannon S. Loane: * * * Connecting Constituents with Federal Assistance for the Arts and Humanities The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities is the primary vehicle for federal support for the arts and the humanities. Established in 1965, the Foundation currently consists of three agencies: the Institute of Museum and Libra  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12482) on Jan. 4, 2024, by transportation and industry analyst Rachel Y. Tang and aviation policy specialist Bart Elias. Here are excerpts: * * * Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization: Legislative Action in the 118th Congress The most recent multiyear Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-254), was enacted in Octobe  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11140) on Jan. 4, 2024, by economic development policy analyst Julie M. Lawhorn. Here are excerpts: * * * Federal Regional Commissions and Authorities: Overview of Structure and Activities Federal regional commissions and authorities address perceived regional economic underdevelopment. These organizations generally accommodate multileveled and multijurisdictional participation and imple  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10499) on Jan. 5, 2024, by Congress specialist Jacob R. Straus. Here are excerpts: * * * Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA): An Overview In 1938, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (22 U.S.C. Sec.Sec.611-621; FARA) was enacted to require individuals doing political or advocacy work on behalf of foreign entities in the United States to register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) a  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12482) on Jan. 5, 2024, by Shayerah I. Akhtar, international trade and finance specialist. Here are excerpts: * * * India's Economy: Overview and Issues for Congress India's economy - its current performance and potential - attracts significant U.S. commercial attention. Since 2000, U.S. Administrations and Congresses have sought to deepen U.S. economic ties with India, based on shared i  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12482) on Jan. 5, 2024, by Catherine A. Theohary, national security policy, cyber and information operations specialist: * * * Defense Primer: What Is Irregular Warfare? Introduction United States military doctrine distinguishes between two types of warfare: traditional warfare and irregular warfare. In Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Publication (JP) 1 Doctrine for the Armed Forces of  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12040) on Jan. 3, 2024, by science and technology policy analyst Emily G. Blevins and legislative attorney Kevin J. Hickey: * * * Patent-Eligible Subject Matter Reform: An Overview The U.S. patent system is designed to encourage innovation. The types of inventions that can be patented, however, may affect the patent system's ability to incentivize innovation in certain fields, especially  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12482) on Jan. 4, 2024, by nonproliferation specialist Paul K. Kerr and research assistant Ilana Krill: * * * 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 ef  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12040) on Jan. 3, 2024. The white paper was written by Christina L. Arabia, security assistance, security cooperation and global arms trade analyst, and Andrew S. Bowen and Cory Welt, Russian and European affairs specialists. Here are excerpts: * * * U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine The United States has been a leading provider of security assistance to Ukraine, particularly since Ru  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12302) on Jan. 2, 2024, by European affairs specialist Kristin Archick: * * * U.S.-European Relations in the 118th Congress An Evolving Relationship Since the end of World War II, the United States and Europe have forged a close, wide-ranging partnership. Often termed the transatlantic relationship, the U.S.-European partnership encompasses the 31-member North Atlantic Treaty Organizatio  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12179) on Jan. 3, 2024, by Energy Policy analyst Martin C. Offutt: * * * DOE's Proposed Regulation on Electricity Distribution Transformers The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regulates the energy efficiency of electricity distribution transformers using authority under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (P.L. 94-163), as amended. DOE issued a proposed rule on January 11, 2023, that, i  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN11831) on Jan. 5, 2024, by American national government analysts Sarah J. Eckman and Karen L. Shanton: * * * Election Worker Safety and Privacy Concerns about election workers' safety and privacy have been reported since the 2020 election in surveys, news articles, and testimony before congressional committees. Those concerns, along with a perceived increase in politically motivated job sc  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN11981) on Jan. 4, 2024, by energy policy specialist Ashley J. Lawson: * * * Electricity Transmission Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law P.L. 117-169, commonly known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). The IRA contains several provisions aimed at incentivizing increased development of electricity transmission infra  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12210) on Jan. 4, 2024, by defense budget specialist Brendan W. McGarry and Congress and legislative process specialist Valerie Heitshusen. Here are excerpts: * * * FY2024 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity By law (31 U.S.C. Sec.1105(a)), the President is to send the annual federal budget request to Congress by the first Monday in February. In practice, Presidents sometimes send it lat  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12215) on Jan. 5, 2024, by Bryce H. P. Mendez, defense health care policy specialist. Here are excerpts: * * * FY2024 NDAA: TRICARE for Reservists Background Since September 11, 2001, Congress has enacted new or modified benefits tailored to certain Selected Reserve members and their dependent family members. These benefits include expanded eligibility for health care benefits offered th  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12202) on Jan. 2, 2024, by military manpower specialist Kristy N. Kamarck. Here are excerpts: * * * FY2024 NDAA: Military Child Care Programs Background The Department of Defense (DOD) operates the largest employer-sponsored child care program in the United States, serving approximately 200,000 children of servicemembers and DOD civilians. DOD's child development programs (CDPs) are par  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12217) on Jan. 2, 2024, by military manpower specialist Kristy N. Kamarck. Here are excerpts: * * * FY2024 NDAA: Military Spouse Employment Matters Background The Department of Defense (DOD) provides certain benefits and services to military servicemember spouses as part of broader quality of life programs to support recruitment and retention. The unpredictable nature of military service  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12294) on Jan. 3, 2024, by Agricultural Policy specialist Renee Johnson: * * * Selected Outcomes of COP28: Agriculture and Food Systems The 2023 Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its subsidiary agreement, the Paris Agreement, took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in December 2023. Among other outcomes, COP  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12295) on Jan. 4, 2024, by American national government analyst Barry J. McMillion. Here are excerpts: * * * U.S. District Court Nominees Confirmed During the First Three Years of the Biden Presidency: Overview and Analysis This Insight provides statistics related to the nomination and confirmation of U.S. district court nominees during the first three years of the Biden presidency. This   more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11099) on Jan. 2, 2024, by deputy assistant director Michael John Garcia: * * * Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (December 26, 2023-January 1, 2024) The federal courts issue hundreds of decisions every week in cases involving diverse legal disputes. This Sidebar series selects decisions from the past week that may be of particular inte  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB10993) on Jan. 2, 2024, by legislative attorney Madeline W. Donley: * * * Regulating Gender in School Sports: An Overview of Legal Challenges to State Laws Public debate over the participation of transgender women in women's sports has proliferated in recent years, raising questions of fairness in contexts ranging from the Olympics to elementary school sports teams. School districts  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R47831) on Nov. 8, 2023, entitled "Federal Economic Assistance for Coal Communities." The report was written by economic development policy analysts Julie M. Lawhorn and Adam G. Levin, environmental policy analyst Lance N. Larson, and labor policy analyst Benjamin Collins. Here are excerpts: * * * Federal Economic Assistance for Coal Communities Changes in energy production and markets broadl  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R47831) on Nov. 8, 2023, entitled "Federal Economic Assistance for Coal Communities:" (Continued from Part 1 of 3) * * * Economic Diversification and Employment in Coal Communities In recent years, coal communities across the United States have faced a combination of interrelated economic diversification and employment challenges, including the following:/52 * declining coal-related tax reven  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R47831) on Nov. 8, 2023, entitled "Federal Economic Assistance for Coal Communities:" (Continued from Part 2 of 3) * * * Policy Considerations Since FY2014, Congress has supported policies designed to address economic diversification, environmental challenges, and workforce and business development in coal communities. Should Congress continue to support programs to assist coal communities, po  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R47788) on Oct. 18, 2023, entitled "Section 1071: Small Business Lending Data Collection and Reporting." The report was written by financial economics specialist Darryl E. Getter, agricultural policy specialist Jim Monke and public finance specialist Anthony A. Cilluffo. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY Small businesses are owned by and employ a wide variety of entrepreneurs - skilled trade te  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R47788) on Oct. 18, 2023, entitled "Section 1071 - Small Business Lending Data Collection and Reporting:" (Continued from Part 1 of 2) * * * Selected Data Collection Issues Under Section 1071 Prior to Section 1071 implementation, various types of lenders collected and reported small business data under different programs, as listed in the following examples: * To comply with mission-based requ  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R44918) on Oct. 13, 2023, entitled "Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of the U.S. Financial Regulatory Framework" by macroeconomic policy specialist Marc Labonte. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of the U.S. Financial Regulatory Framework The financial regulatory system has been described as fragmented, with multiple overlapping regulators and a dual state-federal  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R44918) on Oct. 13, 2023, entitled "Who Regulates Whom? An Overview of the U.S. Financial Regulatory Framework:" (Continued from Part 1 of 2) * * * Securities Regulation For regulatory purposes, securities or capital markets can be divided into derivatives and other types of securities. Derivatives are mostly regulated by the CFTC./28 Other types of securities fall under the SEC's jurisdiction  more