WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R40948) on Nov. 26, 2025, entitled "Constitutional Points of Order in the Senate" by Valerie Heitshusen, Congress and legislative process specialist. Here are excerpts: * * * Summary In general, the Senate's presiding officer does not take the initiative in enforcing Senate rules and precedents. Instead, a Senator may raise a point of order if he or she believes the Senate is taking (or is about to take) an action that violates the rules. In more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12378) on Nov. 21, 2025, by natural resources policy specialist Nicole T. Carter. Here are excerpts: * * * Desalination: Converting Saline Water into a Municipal Water Source Desalination is increasingly playing a role in U.S. municipal water supplies. Congress has funded both desalination research and municipal desalination construction projects. Additionally, desalination technologies have applications in military and disast more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF13124) on Nov. 21, 2025, by Megan S. Lynch, Congress and legislative process specialist: * * * Distinguishing Between Discretionary and Mandatory Spending Background and Historical Context Congressional budget rules distinguish between discretionary spending and mandatory spending because these types of funding are provided in different ways and, therefore, require different methods of budget control. Since its inception, Co more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11379) on Nov. 26, 2025, by legislative attorney Jay B. Sykes: Here are excerpts: * * * Federal District Court Rejects the FTC's Monopolization Case Against Meta Platforms On November 18, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC's) lawsuit alleging that Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook and hereinafter Meta) committed monopolization by acquiring Instagram an more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48735) on Nov. 21, 2025, entitled "Federal Voter Eligibility and Voter Registration: Overview and Issues for Congress" by American national government. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY State and local election officials engage in a variety of efforts to ensure that ineligible voters do not vote. Voter eligibility for federal elections is largely established by qualifications set forth in the U.S. Constitution in the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, N more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48735) on Nov. 21, 2025, entitled "Federal Voter Eligibility and Voter Registration - Overview and Issues for Congress:" (Continued from Part 1 of 2) * * * Enforcing Federal Voter Eligibility Several federal laws address fraudulent voter registration and unlawful voting. These election laws may serve as a deterrent and can also provide an enforcement mechanism for instances of fraudulent voter registration or unlawful voting. Many states al more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48731) on Nov. 19, 2025, entitled "Full-Year Continuing Resolutions: Frequently Asked Questions." The report is written by Drew C. Aherne, Congress and legislative process analyst, Taylor N. Riccard and Dominick A. Fiorentino, government organization and management analysts. Here are excerpts: * * * Contents Introduction ... 1 Frequently Asked Questions ... 1 How often have full-year CRs been enacted? ... 1 How have full-year CRs pr more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN12616) on Nov. 24, 2025, by Catherine A. Theohary, national security policy, cyber and information operations specialist: * * * FY2026 Department of Defense Cyber Budget Request Introduction The "cyber budget," as it is known colloquially, of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) - which is "using a secondary Department of War designation" under Executive Order 14347 dated September 5, 2025 - is the aggregate of defense program more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. RS22637) on Nov. 26, 2025, entitled "House Committee Hearings: The 'Minority Witness Rule'" by Christopher M. Davis, Congress and legislative process analyst: * * * When a House committee or subcommittee holds a hearing, the minority party members of the panel have the right to call witnesses of their choosing to testify on at least one day of that hearing. Clause 2(j)(1) of House Rule XI - colloquially known as the "minority witness rule" - s more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48215) on Nov. 25, 2025, entitled "Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing: Frequently Asked Questions" by natural resources policy specialists Caitlin Keating-Bitonti and Anthony R. Marshak. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY Over the past two decades, successive U.S. Administrations and Congresses have recognized that illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing threatens national, regional, and global security and have acted to c more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48215) on Nov. 25, 2025, entitled "Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing - Frequently Asked Questions:" (Continued from Part 1 of 3) * * * Are Transnational Crimes Associated with IUU Fishing? IUU fishing, as well as some seafood industries, may be associated with other illegal activities, such as human and other forms of trafficking (e.g., arms, drugs, wildlife), labor exploitation, and organized crime./75 For example, some experts  more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48215) on Nov. 25, 2025, entitled "Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing - Frequently Asked Questions:" (Continued from Part 2 of 3) * * * What Actions Are U.S. Agencies Taking to Address IUU Fishing? Several federal departments and agencies, including DOD, the Department of State, NOAA, and the USCG, engage in various efforts to combat IUU fishing on the high seas and in the EEZs of partner nations. These agencies' efforts include es more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R46260) on Nov. 19, 2025, entitled "The Payments in Lieu of Taxes Program: An Overview" by natural resources policy specialists Carol Hardy Vincent and Eric P. Nardi. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY The Department of the Interior's (DOI's) Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT; 31 U.S.C. Sec.Sec.69016907) program provides compensation for certain tax-exempt federal lands, known as entitlement lands. PILT payments are made annually to units of gen more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Legal Sidebar white paper (No. LSB11376) on Nov. 21, 2025, by legislative Attorney Todd Garvey: * * * Site Visits, Information Gathering and Oversight by Members of Congress Several disputes have arisen in the 119th Congress surrounding access by Members of Congress to federal buildings. On several occasions, Members have been denied entry to various agency offices, and at least one Member was forcibly removed from an agency press conference in a federa more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12695) on Nov. 20, 2025, by natural resource policy specialist Eva Lipiec: Here are excerpts: * * * Tornadoes: Forecasting, Detection and Communication Tornadoes are narrow, violently rotating columns of air, connecting the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. They affect communities across the United States every year and can cause fatalities and injuries, destroy property and crops, and disrupt businesses. A May 2025 weath more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R47614) on Nov. 24, 2025, entitled "U.S. Marine Corps Force Design Initiative: Background and Issues for Congress" by military ground forces specialist Andrew Feickert: * * * SUMMARY On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) announced a major force design initiative referred to as "Force Design 2030," which is now known as "Force Design." As part of this 10year initiative, the Marine Corps plans to redesign the service for naval expedit more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF10209) on Nov. 21, 2025, by Asian affairs specialist Mark E. Manyin and international trade and finance analyst Liana Wong. Here are excerpts: * * * U.S.-Vietnam Relations Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1995, overlapping strategic and economic interests have led the two countries to expand ties across a wide spectrum of issues. Particularly si more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48736) on Nov. 21, 2025, entitled "Vehicle Geolocation Data Collection: Issues for the 119th Congress" by transportation policy analyst Naseeb A. Souweidane. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY Passenger and fleet vehicles collect several types of data, including geolocation data. Vehicle geolocation data support features such as navigation, emergency response services, vehicle tracking applications, personalized insurance rates, and fleet man more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R48736) on Nov. 21, 2025, entitled "Vehicle Geolocation Data Collection - Issues for the 119th Congress:" (Continued from Part 1 of 2) * * * Federal Agency Authorities and Actions Several federal agencies currently or in the future could have some regulatory authority over the use of vehicle geolocation data, including the FTC, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Department of Commerce (DOC), the FCC, and DOJ. Cu more PR

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following Insight white paper (No. IN10979) on Nov. 24, 2025, by Kelsi Bracmort, natural resources and energy policy specialist: * * * Year-Round Sale of E15 E15 - a fuel blend of up to 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline - generally cannot be sold during the summer driving season (June 1-September 15) because it does not meet gasoline Reid vapor pressure (RVP) requirements, which limit fuel volatility under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The statute allows the U.S. Environmen more PR