Foreign Farmland Ownership in the United States – CRS In Focus IF11977

Legislation introduced in the 117th Congress seeks to restrict foreign investment and ownership of U.S. agricultural land. In 2019, foreign persons and entities held an interest in 2.7% of U.S. privately owned agricultural land—covering crop, grazing, and forest land—according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Other related legislation seeks to limit the eligibility of … Read more

Recent CRS Reports – May 2021

“House Rules Changes Affecting Committee Procedure in the 117th Congress (2021-2022),” CRS Report R46804, May 28, 2021 (17-page PDF) “Redistricting Commissions for Congressional Districts,” CRS Insight IN11053, May 28, 2021 (6-page PDF) “The Vacancies Act: A Legal Overview,” CRS Report R44997, May 28, 2021 (43-page PDF) “Federal Agricultural Recovery Resources for Drought-Related Losses,” CRS Insight … Read more

Recent CRS Reports – March 2021

The Economic Effects of Financing a Large and Permanent Increase in Government Spending, Congressional Budget Office, CBO Working Paper 57201, March 2021 (42-page PDF) “Recommendation for New U.S. Circuit and District Court Judgeships by the Judicial Conference of the United States (117th Congress),” CRS Insight IN11639, March 26, 2021 (6-page PDF) “District of Columbia Voting … Read more

Asylum Processing at the Border: Legal Basics (CRS LSB10582)

Recent statistics and reports from the southern border show a sharp increase in the arrival of non-U.S. nationals (called “aliens” under governing law) who lack visas or other valid entry documents. (This Sidebar generally refers to such aliens encountered at the cusp of entry into the United States as “undocumented migrants” to distinguish them from … Read more

Contingent Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Perspectives and Contemporary Analysis (CRS R40504)

The 12th Amendment to the Constitution requires that presidential and vice presidential candidates gain “a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed” in order to win election. With a total of 538 electors representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 270 electoral votes is the “magic number,” the arithmetic majority necessary to … Read more

Facial Recognition Technology and Law Enforcement: Select Constitutional Considerations (CRS R46541)

Facial recognition technology (FRT) is a biometric technology that compares two or more images of faces to determine whether they represent the same individual. Automated FRT is increasingly used by law enforcement to help identify criminal suspects and other persons of interest. Law enforcement may use FRT and associated image databases to compare and match … Read more

The Future of Space Tourism (CRS R46500)

Several private companies are developing plans to take paying customers to space on a regular basis. Federal oversight of space tourism has been deliberately light, consistent with the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-492), in which Congress mandated a “learning period” for companies to develop business models, establish safety standards, and design … Read more

COVID-19 and China: A Chronology of Events (December 2019-January 2020) (CRS R46354)

In Congress, multiple bills and resolutions have been introduced related to China’s handling of a novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, that expanded to become the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. This report provides a timeline of key developments in the early weeks of the pandemic, based on available public reporting. It also considers … Read more

Effects of COVID-19 on the Federal Research and Development Enterprise

Summary The federal research and development (R&D) enterprise is a large and complex system that includes government facilities and employees as well as federally funded work in industry, academia, and the non-profit sector. The nation’s response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting the federal R&D enterprise, and the federal government and others … Read more