Topic: U.S. Congressional Research Service
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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Briefing
US gun industry by the numbers
As the debate over gun control rages on, the firearms industry in the United States is thriving. Here are seven key figures.
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Gas prices fact check: Six ideas in Congress, but can they work?
Soaring gas prices have also shown a consistent and significant ability to push members of Congress over the deep end. Here's the experts' take on 6 ideas floating through Congress.
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East Asia's top 5 island disputes
Many of the island territories are small, isolated from the countries’ mainlands, and sparsely populated. But strategic interests and abundant natural resources make them valuable.
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Out of options in debt ceiling talks? Nope, here are five.
How many ways are there to resolve the debt ceiling crisis? Frustration is mounting in both political parties as an Aug. 2 deadline looms to avoid default on America's debt obligations and deficit-reduction negotiations are gridlocked. Still, at least five options for handling the matter have been discussed in recent days and months. Other possible solutions may emerge, but here’s the state of play on the options to date.
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Top 5 overlooked stories of 2010
Here are five 2010 developments that probably didn't get as much attention as they should have, given their potential import to America in the years ahead.
All Content
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US Chamber sees limp economy, high unemployment rate in election year
US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue offered a grim outlook Thursday for cutting the politically sensitive unemployment rate, citing slow economic growth.
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Iraq ledger: War by the numbers
Reckoning the costs of war in Iraq will take years. Using federal government and other sources, analysts at the Center for American Progress have calculated an 'Iraq War Ledger.'
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Absent a super committee, now who'll lean on Congress to cut US deficit?
Global markets or deadlines for extending tax breaks may yet force Congress to try again for a 'grand bargain' to shrink the US deficit. But big action before the 2012 election is unlikely.
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Punish Iran for its nuclear secrecy? How sanctions could work.
The UN's nuclear watchdog is set to rebuke Iran over its nuclear program. No sanctions are planned, but the US will keep pushing, and some experts say diplomacy could still work.
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Opinion: Super committee: Let Bush tax cuts expire and your work will be done
Another decade of these lower tax rates for the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans would cost the US Treasury around $2 trillion – more than the amount of deficit reduction (at least $1.2 trillion) the debt super committee must find.
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Piece by piece, will Obama's health-care reform law be dismantled?
The administration itself has abandoned a long-term health-care provision for seniors, and the Supreme Court will decide soon whether to take up the law. Critics see beginning of the end for Obama's health-care reforms.
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The Vote
How flat will Rick Perry's flat tax be?Rick Perry is going to propose a flat tax plan soon. He’s said it’s going to be 'flatter and fairer' than Herman Cain’s signature '9-9-9' proposal, which has been hammered by his rivals.
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Opinion: Founding Fathers' advice to deficit 'super committee': Bring US troops home
If the deficit 'super committee' is serious about finding $1.5 trillion in cuts over the next decade, they will have no choice but to do as the Founding Fathers would have done – bring the troops home and drastically reduce America's foreign military presence.
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Tornados, fires, floods: How much will Congress allot for disaster aid?
The House and Senate are far apart on how much to mete out for cleanup and recovery after an unusual streak of natural disasters this year. They don't usually budget for such events.
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On the Economy
Deregulation will not create jobsRepublicans' jobs proposals rely heavily on deregulation, but a lenient tax code is largely to blame for our economic woes
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East Asia's top 5 island disputes
Many of the island territories are small, isolated from the countries’ mainlands, and sparsely populated. But strategic interests and abundant natural resources make them valuable.
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Debt-ceiling drama just a preview of December?
The debt-ceiling deal passed by the Senate and signed by President Obama Tuesday requires another $1.2 trillion in cuts by December. Compromise might not be any easier then.
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Decoder Wire
A balanced budget amendment to solve the debt crisis? It's an old story.A proposed amendment to the Constitution requiring a balanced federal budget has been the subject of congressional hearings for 60 years. But the issue is even older than that.
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Out of options in debt ceiling talks? Nope, here are five.
How many ways are there to resolve the debt ceiling crisis? Frustration is mounting in both political parties as an Aug. 2 deadline looms to avoid default on America's debt obligations and deficit-reduction negotiations are gridlocked. Still, at least five options for handling the matter have been discussed in recent days and months. Other possible solutions may emerge, but here’s the state of play on the options to date.
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Afghanistan troop drawdown: why Congress doesn't like it
In a break with prevailing patterns on Capitol Hill, the response to President Obama’s announcement about a troop drawdown in Afghanistan is not playing out strictly along party lines.
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Ethanol vote: First step toward extinction for federal tax subsidies?
Sen. Tom Coburn's bid to end tax subsidies for ethanol failed. But the measure got 34 GOP votes, suggesting that many Republicans are open to eliminating tax breaks to trim the deficit.
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The Daily Reckoning
Which is worse, China's debt problem or ours?The US is in bad shape with subprime debt, but China's local governments aren't doing so well either
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Tax VOX
Is corporate tax reform realistic?International tax experts say that the US lags behind other nations in terms of corporate tax reform. Is there any hope of changing the system?
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Democrats' deficit-cutting plan: Big Oil subsidies the first target
Senate Democrats on Tuesday began enumerating ways to cut the US budget deficit. Tax breaks for oil and gas companies topped their list, as they challenged Republicans to whittle 'subsidies.'
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Decoder Wire
John Boehner's tough talk on debt limit: a departure from historySpeaker John Boehner would exact a stiff price for once again raising the debt ceiling: trillions in spending cuts. Guess how many times Congress has raised debt limit since 1962?
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The Monitor's View: Did Navy SEALs bring a peace dividend for Obama?
The killing of Osama bin Laden by the Navy SEALS should compel a more sober risk assessment of the terrorist threat by Congress and the Obama administration. Bin Laden himself wanted to bankrupt the US by causing overreaction to fear.
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Qaddafi claims Al Qaeda could overrun Libya. Could it?
While most experts say Qaddafi is grossly exaggerating the influence of Al Qaeda, new questions are being raised about its true scope as Washington debates arming the opposition.
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Tax VOX
Ease corporate tax by hitting up shareholdersA higher tax on investors and a lower tax on corporations could keep more investments in the US.
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Medicare premium hike could offset Social Security raise
Medicare price increases could wipe out any gain from a Social Security cost-of-living-adjustment next year for three-quarters of Medicare beneficiaries, estimates AARP.
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Why Libya's Qaddafi could survive like Saddam in 1991
Rather than the euphoric victories in Tunisia and Egypt, Libya's conflict now evokes another uprising: Iraqis' 1991 failed bid to overthrow Saddam Hussein, who ruled for another 12 years.
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