WASHINGTON, May 9 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF13221) by economic development policy analyst Joseph V. Jaroscak: * * * Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery: A Primer In response to some disasters, Congress has provided supplemental funding for long-term disaster recovery and other related purposes under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program's statutory authority (42 U.S.C. Sec.Sec.5301 et se  more

WASHINGTON, May 7 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11681) on May 6, 2026, by defense policy analyst Anya L. Fink. Here are excerpts: * * * Defense Primer: LGM-35A Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile The LGM-35A Sentinel is envisioned as 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 le  more

WASHINGTON, May 6 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11007) on May 5, 2026, by military personnel specialist Kristy N. Kamarck. Here are excerpts: * * * Defense Primer: Personnel Tempo (PERSTEMPO) United States military operations around the globe may lead to prolonged, recurrent deployments for some U.S. servicemembers. Those servicemembers and/or their families may face deployment-related stress. In addition, preparation for dep  more

WASHINGTON, May 4 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48930) on May 1, 2026, entitled "Government Shutdowns: Applying the Antideficiency Act to a Lapse in Appropriations" by legislative attorneys Sean Stiff and Matthew D. Trout: * * * SUMMARY Congress funds much of the federal government through a series of 12 regular, annual appropriations acts. A significant portion of that funding is for a single fiscal year, and most agencies thus rely on pass  more

WASHINGTON, May 6 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11360) on May 4, 2026. The white paper is written by foreign affairs specialist Michael A. Weber and international trade and finance specialists Christopher A. Casey and Cathleen D. Cimino-Isaacs. Here are excerpts: * * * Section 307 and Imports Produced by Forced Labor The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that in 2021 on any given day, 27.6 million people were   more

WASHINGTON, May 5 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11428) on May 4, 2026, by legislative attorney Hannah-Alise Rogers: * * * Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: The Adjudication of Petitions and the 240-Day Deadline The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was created by Congress via the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. The VICP is a no-fault compensation program made up of two essential components. Fir  more