WASHINGTON, March 1 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10675) on Feb. 29, 2024, by military ground forces specialist Andrew Feickert: * * * Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) What Is Security Force Assistance (SFA)? Security Force Assistance (SFA) is defined as "unified action to generate, employ, and sustain local, host-nation, or regional security forces in support of a legitimate authority." By definition "security forces i  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10590) on Feb. 23, 2024, by social policy specialist Emilie Stoltzfus. Here are excerpts: * * * Child Welfare: Purposes, Federal Programs and Funding The Work of Child Welfare Agencies Children depend on adults - usually their parents - to protect and support them. The broadest mission of public child welfare agencies is to strengthen families so that children can depend on their paren  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12600) on Feb. 27, 2024, by public finance analyst Donald J. Marples and Nicholas E. Buffie. Here are excerpts: * * * Clean Vehicle Tax Credits The federal government currently offers three tax credits that reduce clean vehicle purchase prices and thus may increase demand for clean vehicles (e.g., electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles). Each clean vehicle cr  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11233) on Feb. 28, 2024, by Cameron M. Keys, defense logistics and resource management policy analyst, and Brendan W. McGarry, defense budget analyst. Here are excerpts: * * * Defense Primer: Defense Working Capital Funds Since 1870, the U.S. military has operated various types of working capital funds to procure and provide materiel and commercial products and services to its forces. C  more

WASHINGTON, March 1 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12601) on Feb. 29, 2024, by education policy specialist Rebecca R. Skinner and research assistant Isobel Sorenson. Here are excerpts: * * * ESEA: Charter Schools Program Charter schools are public schools of choice that are created in accordance with state laws and are publicly funded and tuition-free. They are operated according to the terms of charters or contracts granted by a charte  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12329) on Feb. 26, 2024, by Taylor N. Riccard, government organization and management analyst. Here are excerpts: * * * Expiration and Cancellation of Unobligated Funds Unless Congress chooses to intervene, appropriated funds that have not been obligated may expire and be cancelled according to procedures that are outlined in statute. Relevant provisions related to the expiration and can  more

WASHINGTON, March 1 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12233) on Feb. 29, 2024, by agricultural policy specialist Jim Monke. Here are excerpts: * * * Farm Bill Primer: Budget Dynamics Congress is considering a new farm bill because provisions in the 2018 farm bill (P.L. 115-334) began expiring at the end of FY2023 (CRS Report R47659, Expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill and Extension in 2024). In November 2023, Congress enacted a one-year exten  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10339) on Feb. 26, 2024, by public finance analyst Gary Guenther: * * * The Internal Revenue Service's Private Tax Debt Collection Program For the third time in its history, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is managing a program to collect certain delinquent individual income tax debt using private debt collection agencies (PCAs). Section 32102 of the Fixing America's Surface Transport  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12596) on Feb. 26, 2024, by public finance analyst Nicholas E. Buffie. Here are excerpts: * * * Tax Credit Transfers and Direct Payments in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA; P.L. 117-169) created or modified 20 energy-related income tax credits. These credits subsidize clean or efficient energy production and usage by individuals and businesse  more

WASHINGTON, March 1 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11197) on Feb. 29, 2024, by nonproliferation specialist Paul K. Kerr and foreign affairs analyst Michael A. Weber. Here are excerpts: * * * U.S. Arms Sales and Human Rights: Legislative Basis and Frequently Asked Questions U.S. law establishes the conditions under which the U.S. government and U.S. commercial entities may sell defense articles to foreign countries. This In Focus provide  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12200) on Feb. 27, 2024, by military ground forces specialist Andrew Feickert: * * * The U.S. Marine Corps Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) Background On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) announced a major force design initiative planned to occur over 10 years originally referred to as "Force Design 2030" but now known as "Force Design." As part of this initiative, the Marines  more

WASHINGTON, March 1 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12517) on Feb. 29, 2024, by international trade and finance analyst Kyla H. Kitamura. Here are excerpts: * * * U.S.-Japan Critical Minerals Agreement On March 28, 2023, the United States and Japan signed a critical minerals agreement (CMA) covering five key minerals related to the production of batteries for clean vehicles (commonly referred to as electric vehicles or "EVs"). The U.S.-J  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12581) on Feb. 26, 2024, by Middle Eastern affairs specialist Christopher M. Blanchard and research assistant Abigail G. Martin. Here are excerpts: * * * Yemen: Conflict, Maritime Attacks, and U.S. Policy Yemen is a conflict-afflicted nation along the strategic Bab al Mandab Strait, one of the world's most active shipping lanes. Since 2015, a civil war has pitted the Iran-backed Houthi  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12000) on Feb. 26, 2024, by natural resources policy specialists Anna E. Normand and Mark K. DeSantis: * * * Federal Actions to Address Offensive or Derogatory Geographical Names Some stakeholders have brought renewed attention to names of geographical features in the United States that they identify as offensive or derogatory and have called for accelerated processes to rename these feat  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12301) on Feb. 26, 2024, by Middle Eastern affairs specialist Christopher M. Blanchard. Here are excerpts: * * * Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea: Issues for Congress Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and Israel's military response in Gaza, the Ansar Allah/Houthi movement, an Iran-backed force in Yemen, has targeted (Figure 1) Israeli territory and commercial and naval vessels near t  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12321) on Feb. 26, 2024, by American national government analyst Barry J. McMillion. Here are excerpts: * * * U.S. Circuit Court Nominees Confirmed Through February 15 of President Biden's Fourth Year in Office: Overview and Comparative Analysis This Insight provides statistics related to the nomination and confirmation of U.S. circuit court nominees through February 15, 2024, of the Bid  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11118) on Feb. 27, 2024. The white paper was written by legislative attorneys Jimmy Balser, Rosemary W. Gardey and Daniel T. Shedd: * * * Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (February 19-February 25, 2024) The federal courts issue hundreds of decisions every week in cases involving diverse legal disputes. This Sidebar series selects dec  more