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| Date April 24, 2024 |
Report No. IN12348 |
Title
INSIGHTi Ecuador s April 2024 Plebiscite on Security Measures: Implications for Congress Updated April 24, 2024 On April 21, 2024, Ecuador held a plebiscite on 11 proposed reforms that seek to address the country s ongoing security crisis. According to preliminary results released by Ecuador s electoral body, voters voted in favor of 9 of the 11 questions, approving all of the reforms aimed at ...
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| Date April 29, 2024 |
Report No. IF12646 |
Title
April 29, 2024 Taiwan s Position in the World Introduction Taiwan, the self-governing Asian democracy that also calls itself the Republic of China (ROC), has struggled to maintain international space for itself in the world. The People s Republic of China (PRC), with its capital in Beijing, has never controlled Taiwan, but claims sovereignty over it and has vowed to unify with it, by force if ...
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| Date May 1, 2024 |
Report No. IN12301 |
Title
INSIGHTi Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea: Issues for Congress Updated May 1, 2024 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 the Bab al Mandeb Strait, a key maritime choke point. In response, the United States, its ...
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| Date May 1, 2024 |
Report No. IF12523 |
Title
Updated May 1, 2024 Repatriation of Native American Remains and Cultural Items: Requirements for Agencies and Institutions Some federal agencies, museums, and other institutions have, over time, acquired human remains and cultural items related to the Indigenous peoples who originally inhabited the United States. Congress has mandated the return or repatriation of some of these remains and ...
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| Date May 1, 2024 |
Report No. TE10101 |
Title
Statement of Michael Ratner Specialist in Energy Policy Before Committee on the Budget U.S. Senate Hearing on Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change May 1, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov TE10101 Congressional Research Service 1 Chairman Whitehouse, Ranking Member Grassley, Members of the ...
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| Date May 2, 2024 |
Report No. R46413 |
Title
Election Day: Frequently Asked Questions Updated May 2, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R46413 SUMMARY Election Day: Frequently Asked Questions Election Day is the day legally established to select public officials in the United States. General elections for federal offices President, Vice President, and U.S. Congress are held on the Tuesday after the first ...
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| Date May 6, 2024 |
Report No. LSB11162 |
Title
Legal Sidebari Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (April 29 May 5, 2024) May 6, 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 interest to federal lawmakers, focusing on orders and decisions of the Supreme Court ...
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| Date May 7, 2024 |
Report No. IF11882 |
Title
Updated May 7, 2024 Defense Primer: Directed-Energy Weapons Both the 2022 National Defense Strategy and the House Armed Services Committee s bipartisan Future of Defense Task Force Report have identified directed energy as a technology that could have a significant impact on U.S. national security in the years to come. As the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to invest in directed-energy (DE) ...
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| Date May 7, 2024 |
Report No. R42755 |
Title
The Post-9/11 GI Bill: A Primer Updated May 7, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R42755 The Post-9/11 GI Bill: A Primer Summary The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers several educational assistance programs, most notably the GI Bills, that provide funds to or on behalf of veterans and servicemembers and their family members to facilitate their ...
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| Date May 9, 2024 |
Report No. IF10922 |
Title
Updated May 9, 2024 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program Background Under the initial authorization for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program (Title I of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, P.L. 103-322, the 1994 Crime Act ), grants could be awarded for (1) hiring new police officers or rehiring police officers who have been laid off to ...
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| Date May 9, 2024 |
Report No. IF10574 |
Title
Updated May 9, 2024 Defense Primer: Intelligence Support to Military Operations Nine of 18 total statutory elements of the Intelligence Community (IC) reside within the Department of Defense (DOD) and provide integrated intelligence support to military strategy, planning, and operations. These elements include the National Security Agency (NSA), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), ...
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| Date May 9, 2024 |
Report No. IF12658 |
Title
May 9, 2024 Social Security: Representative Payees and Power of Attorney Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients (referred to herein as beneficiaries for both programs) may require additional help managing their finances and may grant power of attorney to family, friends, or professionals to act on their behalf. One common question is why individuals with ...
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| Date May 10, 2024 |
Report No. IF10703 |
Title
Updated May 10, 2024 Lebanese Hezbollah Hezbollah ( Party of God, also spelled Hizballah) is an Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militia and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Hezbollah is an Iranian partner force, helping Tehran project power across the region, train allied militias (reportedly including Hamas), and threaten U.S. interests and allies across the region. Formed in the ...
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| Date May 13, 2024 |
Report No. R48065 |
Title
Congressional Recognition of Commemorative Days, Weeks, and Months: Background and Current Practice May 13, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R48065 SUMMARY Congressional Recognition of Commemorative Days, Weeks, and Months: Background and Current Practice R48065 May 13, 2024 Jacob R. Straus Specialist on the Congress In each Congress, Members typically introduce ...
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| Date May 14, 2024 |
Report No. LSB10482 |
Title
Legal Sidebari State Marijuana Legalization and Federal Drug Law: A Brief Overview for Congress Updated May 14, 2024 State marijuana laws have changed significantly in recent years, and federal law appears poised to change in the coming months. At the state level, many states have enacted laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. A smaller but growing number of states have also ...
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| Date May 14, 2024 |
Report No. LSB10694 |
Title
Funding Limits on Federal Prosecutions of State-Legal Medical Marijuana Updated May 14, 2024 Federal law generally prohibits the production, distribution, and possession of marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes. In April 2024, news outlets reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) planned to change the status of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by ...
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| Date May 15, 2024 |
Report No. IN12358 |
Title
INSIGHTi Potential Disapproval of SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 Under the Congressional Review Act May 15, 2024 A growing number of firms are providing platforms for crypto transactions, which has prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to consider how crypto exposures should be treated. Many of these firms safeguard the platform users crypto assets and maintain crypto keys ...
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| Date May 16, 2024 |
Report No. IF11735 |
Title
Updated May 16, 2024 China s One Belt, One Road Initiative: Economic Issues The People s Republic of China (PRC or China) in 2013 launched an ambitious and multifaceted foreign economic policy initiative One Belt, One Road to expand China s global economic reach and influence. In 2015, China s leaders changed the English name to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), possibly to deflect from the ...
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| Date May 20, 2024 |
Report No. IF12525 |
Title
Updated May 20, 2024 The IRS Technology Modernization Program: An Overview The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collects 95% of the funds needed to operate federal government programs and agencies. In FY2023, the agency collected $4.7 trillion in gross revenues, processed 272 million tax returns and other forms, and issued $659 billion in refunds. The IRS s information technology (IT) systems are ...
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| Date May 20, 2024 |
Report No. IF12669 |
Title
May 20, 2024 The Terrorist Watchlist The Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS), more commonly referred to as the Terrorist Watchlist (or the Watchlist) and formerly known as the Terrorist Screening Database, is the U.S. government s consolidated dataset containing sensitive, but not classified, law enforcement and national security information regarding those who are known to be or are reasonably ...
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| Date May 20, 2024 |
Report No. R48071 |
Title
The Agricultural Cooperative Extension System: An Overview May 20, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R48071 SUMMARY The Agricultural Cooperative Extension System: An Overview The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 (7 U.S.C. 341 et. seq.) established the Agricultural Cooperative Extension System (CES), or simply extension, which delivers research-based knowledge to farmers, ...
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| Date May 21, 2024 |
Report No. R47599 |
Title
AUKUS Pillar 2 (Advanced Capabilities): Background and Issues for Congress Updated May 21, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R47599 SUMMARY AUKUS Pillar 2 (Advanced Capabilities): Background and Issues for Congress AUKUS Pillar 2 refers to a suite of cooperative activities conducted by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to develop and field ...
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| Date May 23, 2024 |
Report No. IF10115 |
Title
Updated May 23, 2024 Social Services Block Grant Introduction The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is a flexible funding stream used by states and territories to support a wide variety of social services. At the federal level, the SSBG is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Table 1 shows recent TANF transfer levels, as reported in TANF financial data published ...
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| Date May 23, 2024 |
Report No. R48060 |
Title
Department of Health and Human Services: FY2025 Budget Request Updated May 23, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R48060 SUMMARY Department of Health and Human Services: FY2025 Budget Request This report provides information about the FY2025 budget request for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Historically, HHS has been one of the larger ...
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| Date May 23, 2024 |
Report No. R47663 |
Title
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2024 Provisions Updated May 23, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R47663 SUMMARY Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2024 Provisions Through appropriations legislation, Congress provides not only budget authority for federal agencies and departments to operate, but also legally binding direction on ...
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| Date May 24, 2024 |
Report No. IF12675 |
Title
May 24, 2024 A Hypothetical Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment Based on the Research Consumer Price Index for the Elderly Background The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers Social Security, a social insurance program that protects an insured worker and his or her eligible family members against a loss of income due to the worker s retirement, disability, or death. People of all ...
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| Date May 24, 2024 |
Report No. R48075 |
Title
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42): Medicaid and Medicare Provisions May 24, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R48075 SUMMARY Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42): Medicaid and Medicare Provisions The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (CAA 2024; P.L. 118-42), enacted on March 9, 2024, provides appropriations to federal agencies ...
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| Date May 24, 2024 |
Report No. R44136 |
Title
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Budget: Fact Sheet Updated May 24, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R44136 The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Budget: Fact Sheet he Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the federal agency charged with supporting ...
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| Date May 24, 2024 |
Report No. R47627 |
Title
Electricity Transmission Permitting Reform Proposals Updated May 24, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R47627 SUMMARY Electricity Transmission Permitting Reform Proposals R47627 May 24, 2024 Ashley J. Lawson Specialist in Energy Policy Permitting reform has been a topic of debate in the 118th Congress. One aspect of this debate addresses the processes for planning ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. IF11218 |
Title
Updated May 28, 2024 Ecuador: Country Overview and U.S. Relations Ecuador is an ethnically and geographically diverse country of 18.5 million people, encompassing portions of South America s Pacific coast, Amazon Basin, and Andean highlands. Guayaquil, a major port city, has become a transit hub for cocaine trafficked from neighboring Colombia and Peru, the world s largest cocaine producers (see ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. IN10965 |
Title
INSIGHTi The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Reinsurance, and Catastrophe Bonds Updated May 28, 2024 Insurance transfers risk from one entity who does not want to bear that risk to another entity that does. An initial insurance purchase, such as homeowners buying a policy to cover damage to their home, is often only the first transfer of that risk. The initial (or primary) insurer may ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. IN11696 |
Title
INSIGHTi Climate Change, Slow-Onset Disasters, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Updated May 28, 2024 FEMA and Climate Change The United States is already experiencing certain effects of climate change, including high temperature extremes and heavy precipitation events. The U.S. Global Change Research Program, among other bodies, expects these trends to continue and intensify, likely ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. IN11911 |
Title
INSIGHTi Floodplain Buyouts: Federal Funding for Property Acquisition Updated May 28, 2024 Flooding is the most frequent natural disaster in the United States and experts expect effects to intensify in the future. A floodplain buyout is a property acquisition in which a government agency purchases private property, relocates or demolishes any structures on it, and preserves the land as open space. ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. IN12193 |
Title
INSIGHTi The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) Updated May 28, 2024 Flooding is the most frequent and costly natural disaster facing the nation, and floodplain policy has particular relevance for infrastructure and the federal government s exposure to flood losses and demand for disaster assistance. The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) is a mechanism for federal agencies ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. IN12368 |
Title
INSIGHTi Georgia s Parliament Passes Transparency of Foreign Influence Law May 28, 2024 On May 28, 2024, the Georgian parliament overrode (via a simple majority) President Salome Zourabichvili s veto and passed a law titled On Transparency of Foreign Influence (Zourabichvili is a political independent). The legislation, which the U.S. Department of State has called Kremlin-inspired, was introduced ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. LSB11170 |
Title
Legal Sidebari Courts Disagree as to Whether the Federal Felon-in-Possession Firearm Prohibition Violates the Second Amendment May 28, 2024 There is growing disagreement among the federal appeals courts as to whether the federal ban on individuals convicted of a felony possessing firearms, found at 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and commonly known as the felon-in-possession prohibition, violates the Second ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. IF10594 |
Title
Updated May 28, 2024 Defense Primer: Concurrent Receipt of Military Retirement and VA Disability Concurrent receipt refers to a veteran s simultaneous receipt of two types of monetary benefits: military retired pay from the Department of Defense (DOD) and disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Prior to 2004, existing laws and regulations stipulated that a military ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. LSB11169 |
Title
Legal Sidebari HHS Finalizes Rule Addressing Section 1557 of the ACA s Incorporation of Title IX May 28, 2024 On May 6, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), issued a final rule implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Through reference to another law, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), Section ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. R48016 |
Title
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Inter Partes Review Updated May 28, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R48016 SUMMARY The Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Inter Partes Review The 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) is widely viewed as the most significant patent statute enacted by Congress in over 50 years. Although the AIA made many important changes ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. IN11777 |
Title
INSIGHTi National Flood Insurance Program Risk Rating 2.0: Frequently Asked Questions Updated May 28, 2024 This Insight answers some frequently asked questions about Risk Rating 2.0, which came fully into effect on April 1, 2022, changing the way the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) calculates flood insurance premiums. For additional information, see CRS Report R45999, National Flood ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. IF12370 |
Title
Updated May 28, 2024 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: FY2024 Appropriations Congress generally funds the civil works activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in annual Energy and Water Development appropriations acts. These activities include the planning and construction of authorized water resource projects and the operation and maintenance (O&M) of infrastructure and navigation ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. LSB11171 |
Title
Legal Sidebari Congressional Court Watcher: Recent Appellate Decisions of Interest to Lawmakers (May 20 May 27, 2024) May 28, 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 interest to federal lawmakers, focusing on orders and decisions of the Supreme Court ...
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| Date May 28, 2024 |
Report No. RS20844 |
Title
Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure Updated May 28, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov RS20844 SUMMARY Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure RS20844 May 28, 2024 Jill H. Wilson Analyst in Immigration When civil unrest, violence, or natural disasters erupt in countries around the world, concerns Policy arise over the ...
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| Date May 29, 2024 |
Report No. IF12676 |
Title
May 29, 2024 Sanctions in the FY2024 Emergency Supplemental Appropriation, P.L. 118-50 Introduction President Biden signed P.L. 118-50, Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes, into law on April 24, 2024. Division D, the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, and subsequent divisions of P.L. 118-50 consist of provisions ...
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| Date May 29, 2024 |
Report No. R48077 |
Title
Judiciary Appropriations, FY2024 May 29, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R48077 SUMMARY Judiciary Appropriations, FY2024 Funds for the judicial branch are included annually in the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill. The bill provides funding for the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; the U.S. ...
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| Date May 29, 2024 |
Report No. IF12677 |
Title
Updated May 29, 2024 Maldives: Background and Issues Facing Congress Background The Republic of Maldives is an archipelagic nation of approximately 515,000 people located in the Indian Ocean near strategic sea lanes southwest of Sri Lanka. About 188 of Maldives 1,192 low-lying coral islands are inhabited. Maldives has been extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change and sea level rise. ...
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| Date May 29, 2024 |
Report No. LSB11172 |
Title
Legal Sidebari The Hur Tapes and the President s Claim of Executive Privilege May 29, 2024 President Biden has asserted executive privilege over audio recordings of an interview he gave to Special Counsel Robert Hur (the Hur tapes ) that are being sought by the House Judiciary and House Oversight and Accountability Committees (the Committees) as part of their ongoing impeachment investigation. The ...
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| Date May 29, 2024 |
Report No. IF12302 |
Title
Updated May 29, 2024 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 wide-ranging partnership. Often termed the transatlantic relationship, the U.S.-European partnership encompasses the 32-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), relations with the 27-member European Union (EU), and extensive ...
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| Date May 29, 2024 |
Report No. IF12679 |
Title
May 29, 2024 The Biden Administration s New Restrictions on Firearms Sales Federal firearms policies and changes to firearms regulations are subjects of ongoing congressional interest. The Biden Administration made several recent changes to firearms regulations, including those that affect licensing and associated requirements to perform background checks and those that govern private gun sales ...
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| Date May 29, 2024 |
Report No. R45210 |
Title
Farm Bills: Major Legislative Actions, 19652024 Updated May 29, 2024 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45210 SUMMARY Farm Bills: Major Legislative Actions, 19652024 The farm bill provides an opportunity for Congress to address agricultural and food issues comprehensively about every five years. Over time, farm bills have tended to become more complicated and ...
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