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This report provides an overview of the process by which the Department of Defense (DOD) acquires weapon systems and briefly discusses recent major efforts by Congress and DOD to improve the performance of the acquisition system. For a discussion on the process for dealing with significant cost growth in weapon systems... | The Department of Defense (DOD) acquires goods and services from contractors, federal arsenals, and shipyards to support military operations. Acquisition is a broad term that applies to more than just the purchase of an item or service; the acquisition process encompasses the design, engineering, construction, testing,... |
The enactment of various conservation and environmental protection statutes in the 1960s and 1970s created a new awareness of environmental harms. At the same time, the civil rights initiatives also secured nondiscrimination in a number of legal rights, including education, employment, housing, voting, etc. Over the fo... | The enactment of various conservation and environmental protection statutes in the 1960s and 1970s created a new awareness of environmental harms. At the same time, the civil rights initiatives also secured nondiscrimination in a number of legal rights, including education, employment, housing, voting, etc. Over the fo... |
This report is intended to provide a brief overview of the various potential restrictions or regulations within federal law on the lobbying activities of non-profit organizations. Public charities, social welfare organizations, religious groups, and other non-profit, tax-exempt organizations are not generally prohibite... | Public charities, religious groups, social welfare organizations and other non-profit organizations which are exempt from federal income taxation are not generally prohibited from engaging in all lobbying or public policy advocacy activities merely because of their tax-exempt status. There may, however, be some lobbyin... |
National governments throughout the world have offered prizes to encourage innovation since at least the late 1700s. For example, Napoleon's government offered a 12,000 franc prize for technologies that would enhance the preservation of food to better feed advancing military troops. This lead to the process of preservi... | Since at least the 18th century, philanthropic organizations, industry, governments, and nongovernmental organizations throughout the world have offered many different kinds of prizes with a variety of objectives to reward accomplishments in science and technology. In the United States, Congress authorized most of toda... |
Venezuela continues to be in the throes of a deep political crisis under the authoritarian rule of President Nicolás Maduro. Narrowly elected to a six-year term in 2013 following the death of longtime populist President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), Maduro is unpopular. Despite serious economic challenges and recurring prot... | Venezuela's Economic Crisis: Overview Venezuela is facing a political crisis under the authoritarian rule of President Nicolás Maduro, who appears to have continued to consolidate power over the political opposition in recent months. Underpinning Venezuela's political crisis is an economic crisis. Venezuela is a major ... |
The federal Lifeline program, established in 1985 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), assists qualifying low-income consumers to gain access to and remain on the telecommunications network. The program assists eligible individuals in paying the reoccurring monthly service charges associated with telecommuni... | The Federal Lifeline Program, established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1985, is one of four programs supported under the Universal Service Fund. The Program was originally designed to assist eligible low-income households to subsidize the monthly service charges incurred for voice telephone usage a... |
In 2010, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ( P.L. 111-203 , 124 Stat 1394), also known as the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA), established a new regulatory framework to address financial market instability. Included in that framework was the creation of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC),... | The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (DFA; P.L. 111-203) in 2010 as part of a comprehensive reform of banking and securities market regulators. The council is charged with monitoring systemic risk in the financial system and coordi... |
Energy tax policy involves the use of the government's main fiscal instruments -- primarilytax subsidies (tax credits, deductions, exemptions, and lower tax rates) as financial incentives, andincreased taxes as financial disincentives -- to alter the allocation or configuration of energyresources and thereby achieve po... | This report provides background on the theory and application of tax policy as it relates tothe energy sector, particularly with respect to the theory of market failure in the energy sector andsuggested policy remedies. Economic theory suggests that producers of energy-related minerals be taxed no differentlythan non-m... |
The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for building and maintaining much of the federal water resources infrastructure in the United States. The Corps is faced with more demands for building and maintaining its projects than available federal funding allows. This situation raises a number of basic questions about h... | The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for much of the federal water resources infrastructure in the United States. The Corps is faced with more demands for building and maintaining its projects than available federal funding allows. This situation is raising basic questions about how the Corps functions, including... |
Each year, the Senate and House Armed Services Committees report their respective versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). These bills contain numerous provisions that affect military personnel, retirees and their family members. Provisions in one version are often not included in another; are treated... | Military personnel issues typically generate significant interest from many Members of Congress and their staffs. Ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of what the Bush Administration terms the Global War on Terror, along with the emerging operational role of the Reserve Components, further hei... |
Congressional office spending has been a regular topic of interest to academics, interest groups, newspapers, and constituents for many years. It is a topic frequently mentioned in newspaper articles that address individual Member spending or generally discuss financial accountability among elected officials, and it ha... | Members of the House of Representatives have one consolidated allowance, the Members' Representational Allowance (MRA), with which to operate their offices. The MRA was first authorized in 1996 and was made subject to regulations and adjustments of the Committee on House Administration. Representatives have a high degr... |
Recent fire seasons have been getting more severe, with more acres burned and more damage to property and resources. More acres burned in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, and 2012 than in any other years since record-keeping began in 1960. Many assert that the threat of severe wildfires and the cost of suppressing fires h... | Severe wildfires have been burning more acres and more structures in recent years. Some assert that climate change is at least partly to blame; others claim that the increasing number of homes in and near the forest (the wildland-urban interface) is a major cause. However, most observers agree that wildfire suppression... |
Some Members of Congress have expressed interest in the judicial award of remedies for patent infringement for more than a decade. Several bills introduced in previous sessions of Congress proposed refor ms to damages and injunctions principles in patent law. These bills were not enacted, however, and the changes made ... | For more than a decade, some Members of Congress have considered bills that have proposed reforms to the law of patent remedies. Under current law, courts may award damages to compensate patent proprietors for an act of infringement. Damages consist of the patent owner's lost profits due to the infringement, if they ca... |
Since November 1986, the Commemorative Works Act (CWA) has provided the legal framework for the placement of commemorative works in the District of Columbia. The CWA was enacted to establish a statutory process for ensuring "that future commemorative works in areas administered by the National Park Service (NPS) and th... | Since the enactment of the Commemorative Works Act (CWA) in 1986, Congress has authorized 35 commemorative works to be placed in the District of Columbia or its environs. Nineteen of these works have been completed and dedicated. This report contains a catalog of the 19 authorized works that have been completed and ded... |
On May 27, 2015, the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule revising regulations that define the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Discharges to waters under CWA jurisdiction, such as the addition of pollutants from factories or sewage... | On May 27, 2015, the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule revising regulations that define the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Discharges to waters under CWA jurisdiction, such as the addition of pollutants from factories or sewage... |
Section 1512 applies to the obstruction of federal proceedings—congressional, judicial, or executive. It consists of four somewhat overlapping crimes: use of force or the threat of the use of force to prevent the production of evidence (18 U.S.C. 1512(a)); use of deception or corruption or intimidation to prevent the p... | Obstruction of justice is the frustration of governmental purposes by violence, corruption, destruction of evidence, or deceit. It is a federal crime. In fact, it is several crimes. Obstruction prosecutions regularly involve charges under several statutory provisions. Federal obstruction of justice laws are legion; too... |
Medicaid is a federal-state entitlement program that pays for health care and related services on behalf of certain low-income individuals. All states participate in Medicaid, but participation is not required. If states participate, then under federal Medicaid law they are required to provide health service benefits t... | Medicaid is a federal-state entitlement program that pays for health care and related services on behalf of certain low-income individuals. Prescription drugs are an optional Medicaid benefit and all states cover outpatient drugs. States can create formularies, or lists of preferred drugs, but federal rules tend to res... |
Subsets and Splits
Short Government Reports Sample
Retrieves short reports or summaries from the training dataset, which helps identify potentially incomplete or truncated entries that might need data quality improvement.
Short Government Reports Filtering
Retrieves short reports from the training dataset, providing basic filtering but offering limited analytical value beyond simple length constraints.