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Coast Guard Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program: Background and Issues for Congress [Updated July 27, 2021]
From the Introduction: "The Coast Guard's Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) program envisages procuring 30 replacements for the Coast Guard's 35 aging river buoy tenders (WLRs), inland construction tenders (WLICs), and inland buoy tenders (WLIs). The Coast Guard wants to award the first contract for constructing the new WCCs in FY2022, and to have the first new WCC be in service by 2025. The Coast Guard's proposed FY2022 budget requests $67.0 million in procurement funding for the WCC program. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Coast Guard's proposed acquisition strategy and funding requests for the WCC program."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
O'Rourke, Ronald
2021-07-27
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FY 2018 Audit of Science and Technology Bankcard Program Indicates Risks
From the Highlights: "'The Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012' requires the Office of Inspector General to conduct an annual risk assessment and periodic audits of agency charge card programs. We conducted this audit to determine to what extent S&T [Science and Technology Directorate] implemented internal controls to ensure that its Bankcard Program is managed and maintained to prevent illegal, improper, and erroneous purchases and payments, as required. [...] Although the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) had internal controls in place to ensure it managed and maintained its Bankcard Program as required, S&T did not always adhere to Department of Homeland Security and internal purchase card policies and procedures. Of 421 purchase card transactions selected for review, we identified 394 transactions that did not have required supporting documentation, separation of key transaction duties, approvals and other required signatures, or did not comply with other risk-based procedures. According to S&T officials, these issues occurred due to shortfalls in program oversight and training, as well as outdated policy. As a result, we identified $63,213 in questionable costs associated with purchase card transactions for which S&T personnel could not provide supporting documentation."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General
Johnson, William; Hughes, Kathy; McCowin, LaTrina . . .
2021-07-27
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Inadequate FEMA Oversight Delayed Completion and Closeout of Louisiana's Public Assistance Projects
From the Highlights: "From 2013 to 2018, Louisiana received nearly $957 million to help recover from nine federally-declared disasters. Our objective was to determine to what extent the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ensures Louisiana manages and provides oversight of Public Assistance (PA) grants to ensure compliance with Federal regulations. [...] FEMA did not ensure Louisiana adequately managed and provided oversight of PA grants to make certain the State complied with Federal regulations. Specifically, Louisiana had a backlog of 600 incomplete projects beyond their approved completion dates. We attribute this to the State not conducting regular site visits to assess subrecipients' ongoing projects and identify and resolve issues as they arose that would have helped ensure prompt project completion. In addition, FEMA had a backlog of 2,150 completed grant projects it had not closed out due to inadequate oversight of its Region 6 staff to ensure they promptly carried out this responsibility."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General
Arnold, Larry; Skrmetti, John; James, Mary . . .
2021-07-27
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: H.R. 1734, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Amendments of 2021
This is the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on May 26, 2021. From the Bill Summary: "H.R. 1734 would extend the collection of coal reclamation fees through 2036. The bill would reauthorize annual payments to states and Indian tribes under the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) program, which would be made without further appropriation. Under the bill, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) would be required to disburse previously sequestered amounts to states and tribes. The bill also would exempt future payments from sequestration. Finally, H.R. 1734 would increase the minimum annual payment that some states receive from $3 million to $5 million."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-07-27
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Pipeline Cybersecurity: Protecting Critical Infrastructure, Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, U.S. Senate, First Session, July 27, 2021
This is from the July 27, 2021 hearing, "Pipeline Cybersecurity: Protecting Critical Infrastructure," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. This hearing reviews "the current state of pipeline cybersecurity and the role that federal regulators play in protecting our nation's critical infrastructure from malicious actors." The hearing also provides "members an opportunity to examine recent actions taken in response to pipeline cyber incidents and gaps in our current oversight and regulatory structure." A video of the hearing is available for viewing, and statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Polly Trottenberg, Leslie Gordon and David Pekoske.
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
2021-07-27
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MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 27, 2021: Guidance for Implementing COVID-19 Prevention Strategies in the Context of Varying Community Transmission Levels and Vaccination Coverage
he Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This early release issue of MMWR contains the following article: "Guidance for Implementing COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Prevention Strategies in the Context of Varying Community Transmission Levels and Vaccination Coverage." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from MMWR can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2021.html].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2021-07-27
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 1471, Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act of 2021
This is the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 26, 2021. From the Document: "S. 1471 would make it a federal crime to export Native American cultural items, archaeological resources, and objects of antiquity without proper authorization and would require exporters to obtain an export certification. Federal agencies would need to convene working groups to reduce trafficking and encourage repatriation of cultural heritage items. The bill also would direct the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Department of State to designate liaisons to facilitate voluntary returns of unlawfully acquired items. Those agencies would provide training to tribal organizations, collectors, and dealers concerning the new prohibitions."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-07-27
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Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies' Key Practices to Improve Performance, Report to the Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate
From the Highlights: "Federal agencies face significant, longstanding procurement challenges that increase the risk of waste and mismanagement. GAO [U.S. Government Accountability Office] was asked to review key procurement practices in the private sector and assess whether federal agencies could adopt them. This report examines key practices that leading companies use to improve the performance of their procurement organizations, and the extent to which procurement leaders at selected federal agencies use those practices. GAO interviewed senior procurement leaders at seven leading companies, and experts from four professional associations and five academic institutions. GAO selected these individuals based on literature reviews and conversations with knowledgeable officials. GAO compared key practices they identified to those used at six federal agencies selected based on the dollar value and number of their procurement actions, among other factors. GAO analyzed documentation on each agency's procurement management practices, and interviewed the agencies' senior procurement leaders. The federal government does not have generally accepted definitions for outcome-oriented and process-oriented metrics. For the purposes of this report, GAO defined outcome-oriented metrics as those metrics that measure the results of organizations' procurement activities. GAO defined process-oriented metrics as those metrics that measure the type or level of procurement activities conducted."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-07-27
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Critical Infrastructure Protection: TSA is Taking Steps to Address Some Pipeline Security Program Weaknesses, Statement of Leslie V. Gordon, Acting Director, Homeland Security and Justice, Statement Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. Senate
From the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Highlights: "The nation's pipelines are vulnerable to cyber-based attacks due to increased reliance on computerized systems. In May 2021 malicious cyber actors deployed ransomware against Colonial Pipeline's business systems. The company subsequently disconnected certain systems that monitor and control physical pipeline functions so that they would not be compromised. This statement discusses TSA's [Transportation Security Administration] actions to address previous GAO findings related to weaknesses in its pipeline security program and TSA's guidance to pipeline owner/operators. It is based on prior GAO products issued in December 2018, June 2019, and March 2021, along with updates on actions TSA has taken to address GAO's recommendations as of June 2021. To conduct the prior work, GAO analyzed TSA documents; interviewed TSA officials, industry association representatives, and a sample of pipeline operators selected based on type of commodity transported and other factors; and observed TSA security reviews. GAO also reviewed TSA's May and July 2021 Pipeline Security Directives, TSA's Pipeline Security Guidelines, and three federal security alerts issued in July 2020, May 2021, and June 2021."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-07-27
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 1037, Manufacturing.gov Act
This is the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on May 12, 2021. From the Document: "S. 1037 would require the Department of Commerce to establish a section on its manufacturing.gov website that contains information about federal manufacturing programs. That new section would include contact information for relevant federal programs, an avenue for public feedback, and issue-area webpages. CBO [Congressional Budget Office] expects that the department would carry out most of the activities required under S. 1037 as part of its normal duties to update and maintain the manufacturing.gov website. Any additional costs would be insignificant and subject to the availability of appropriated funds."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-07-27
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Fact Sheet: The Biden Administration Blueprint for a Fair, Orderly and Humane Immigration System
From the Webpage: "The United States can have an orderly, secure, and well-managed border while treating people fairly and humanely. In January, the Biden-Harris Administration 'launched' [hyperlink] a broad, whole of government effort to reform our immigration system, including sending to Congress legislation that creates a new system to responsibly manage and secure our border, provide a pathway to citizenship, and better manage migration across the Hemisphere. [...] Today the Administration is releasing a blueprint that outlines the next steps Federal agencies will be taking to continue implementing the President's transformative vision for a 21st century immigration system that secures the border, fairly and efficiently considers asylum claims, strengthens regional migration management efforts in North and Central America, and addresses the root causes of migration from Central America."
United States. Office of the White House Press Secretary
2021-07-27
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Report 6: Three Areas in Which Pandemic Management Could Have Been Better
From the Document: "The purpose of this retrospection is not to be unduly critical. Certainly, members of Canada's political class should on balance receive at least a passing grade for their management of the pandemic. [...] [M]y goal is to understand whether different courses of action were possible at three key policy junctures. From the perspective of what citizens would consent to or agree to, at least, it does seem possible that other policy paths could have been taken. I look at three different sets of policy choices in particular. First, I examine the application of lockdowns, in particular the trade off of locking-down various essential and non-essential services in exchange for keeping schools open. Second, I look at the use of technology-based tracking and tracing to enable smarter lockdowns. Third, I consider the prioritization of vaccine roll outs."
Public Policy Forum (Ottawa, Ont.)
Loewen, Peter John, 1979-
2021-07-27
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #57: Social Media News Consumption and COVID-19 Vaccination Rates
From the Document: "Earlier this month, we witnessed a vigorous back and forth between the White House and Facebook regarding the role of the company in circulating health misinformation. On the White House side, the Surgeon General released an Advisory [hyperlink] declaring misinformation a public health threat to the nation, highlighting, in part, the role of social media. [...] Our data suggests that Facebook is a major source of information regarding COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], comparable with CNN [Cable News Network] or Fox News. Further, we find that 'those who are most reliant on Facebook for information have substantially lower vaccination rates than those who rely on other sources'. In fact, Facebook news consumers are less likely to be vaccinated than people who get their COVID-19 information from the often vaccine-skeptical Fox News"
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Lazer, David; Green, Jon; Ognyanova, Katherine . . .
2021-07-27
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Nuclear Arms Control After the Biden-Putin Summit [Updated July 26, 2021]
From the Document: "After meeting in Geneva on June 16, 2021, President Biden and Russia's President Vladimir Putin released a Joint Statement on Strategic Stability [hyperlink], which outlined their agreement on a path forward for nuclear arms control and risk reduction. In February, the two Presidents had agreed [hyperlink] to extend [hyperlink] the New START [Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty] Treaty for five years [hyperlink] beyond its planned expiration on February 5, 2021. This treaty limits deployed long-range strategic nuclear weapons but does not address all U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons or other factors that could affect the risk of nuclear use. In their joint statement, the Presidents agreed to hold further discussions on these issues; the first round of strategic stability talks are scheduled [hyperlink] to begin on July 28, 2021."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Woolf, Amy F.
2021-07-26
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S. Rept. 117-32: K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021, Report to Accompany S. 1917, Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office, July 26, 2021
From the Purpose and Summary: "S. 1917, the K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021, provides cybersecurity guidance to K-12 educational institutions across the United States. It directs the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to conduct a study of cybersecurity risks and challenges facing schools. Following completion of the study, the bill directs CISA to use the findings to create a set of cybersecurity recommendations and an online toolkit for educational institutions. The bill also instructs CISA to consult with teachers, school administrators, Federal agencies, non-Federal cybersecurity entities, and private sector organizations when conducting the study and developing the recommendations and online toolkit and exempts such consultation from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Additionally, S. 1917 requires CISA to make the findings of the study, its cybersecurity recommendations, and the online toolkit publicly available on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website. Finally, S. 1917 specifies that these K-12 cybersecurity recommendations are voluntary."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2021-07-26
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: H.R. 2641, Pacific Northwest Pumped Storage Hydropower Development Act of 2021
This is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on May 26, 2021. From the Document: "Under current law, nonfederal entities that propose to develop hydropower at reservoirs administered by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) must enter into a lease with BOR or obtain a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The regulatory jurisdiction of each BOR reservoir was previously negotiated by the agencies to clarify which permitting process would be in effect for each reservoir. At least one project, a proposal to develop pumped storage hydropower within BOR's Colombia Basin Project (CBP) in the state of Washington, would need permits from both agencies because it would be constructed on two reservoirs; Banks Lake would require a BOR lease and Lake Roosevelt reservoir would require a FERC license. (Pumped storage hydropower is a type of storage for hydroelectric energy used by electric power systems for load balancing.) H.R. 2641 would make BOR the sole regulatory authority for developers seeking a lease for a pumped storage hydropower facility at federal reservoirs. The bill also would require the nonfederal developer to negotiate an agreement with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation as a condition for a BOR lease on CBP facilities."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-07-26
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COVID-19 State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report 12 (June 21, 2021 - July 12, 2021)
From the Summary: "Consumer concerns about the safety of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccines were amplified by multiple, overlapping and widely circulating misinformation narratives. As a result, some consumers questioned the transparency of the government in reporting and addressing adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. The Delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 continues to drive concerns about vaccine effectiveness, especially among those who are already vaccinated. However, those who remain unvaccinated are generally less likely to perceive the Delta variant as a threat, and vaccine intentions do not appear to be affected."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2021-07-26
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 15, Protecting Seniors from Emergency Scams Act
This is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on April 28, 2021. From the Document: "S. 15 would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report to the Congress on scams targeting senior citizens. The bill also would require the FTC to update its website to include the latest information on scams targeting seniors and work with media and law enforcement to distribute the latest information on such scams. Using information from the FTC, CBO estimates that implementing S. 15 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2021-2031 period[.]"
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-07-26
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: H.R. 3119, Energy Emergency Leadership Act
This is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Cost Estimate as passed by the House of Representatives on July 19, 2021. From the Document: "H.R. 3119 would amend the Department of Energy Organization Act to add energy emergency and energy security functions to the duties assigned by the Secretary to assistant secretaries in the Department of Energy (DOE). Those assistant secretaries also would provide energy security-related technical support and response assistance to state, local, and tribal governments."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-07-26
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COVID-19 Contracting: Actions Needed to Enhance Transparency and Oversight of Selected Awards, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Highlights: "In March 2020, Congress passed the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act as part of the federal response to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. The act had certain provisions for federal contracting, including providing additional flexibilities. Contracting plays a critical role in the pandemic response as agencies obligate billions of dollars for goods and services. The act also included a provision for GAO [U.S. Government Accountability Office] to review federal contracting in response to COVID-19. This report examines, among other objectives, the extent to which the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security--the only agencies that reported using other transaction agreements in response to COVID-19 in the federal procurement database--used such agreements, including awards to consortia, and oversight of such use. GAO analyzed federal procurement data as of March 2021; reviewed a nongeneralizable sample of 15 agreements selected based on high dollar amounts, agency, a mix of products and services, among other criteria; reviewed agency policies; and interviewed agency officials. GAO is making 14 recommendations to selected agencies, to improve the transparency of agreement awards in the federal procurement database and update policies to improve the oversight of agreements awarded through consortium management firms. The agencies agreed with 11 of the recommendations and did not agree with three of them. GAO continues to believe the recommendations are valid, as discussed in the report."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-07-26
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 65, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
This is the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate as passed by the Senate on July 14, 2021. From the Document: "Under S. 65, goods from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China would be presumed to be made using forced labor, and their importation would be banned. The bill also would impose sanctions on people or entities that contribute to forced-labor practices in that region. Those actions would have insignificant effects on direct spending and revenues. The bill also would require the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and the Department of Treasury to report to the Congress on their efforts to address forced labor in the Xinjiang region. Satisfying those requirements would each cost less than $500,000 and total $1 million over the 2021-2026 period. Such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-07-26
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 576, Great Lakes Winter Commerce Act of 2021
This is the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on April 28, 2021. From the Document: "S. 576 would authorize the appropriation of $350 million in 2022 for the Coast Guard (USCG) to acquire an icebreaker vessel for use in the Great Lakes. The bill also would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO), within one year of enactment, to review proposed standards for the Coast Guard's icebreaking operations in the Great Lakes and provide recommendations to improve that program. Under the bill, the USCG would report to the Congress on its plans to implement GAO's recommendations and would need to maintain a database on icebreaking activities in the Great Lakes. [...] Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that the costs to the USCG and GAO to implement the administrative and reporting requirements under the bill would total $1 million over the 2021-2026 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-07-26
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 516, Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act
This is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on May 12, 2021. From the Document: "S. 516 would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish an interagency working group on advanced air mobility (AAM) consisting of representatives from at least 10 federal agencies. [...] Using information from DOT and based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing S. 516 would cost $1 million over the 2021-2026 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-07-26
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Estimating SARS-CoV-2 Infections from Deaths, Confirmed Cases, Tests, and Random Surveys
From the Document: "There are multiple sources of data giving information about the number of SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] infections in the population, but all have major drawbacks, including biases and delayed reporting. For example, the number of confirmed cases largely underestimates the number of infections, and deaths lag infections substantially, while test positivity rates tend to greatly overestimate prevalence. Representative random prevalence surveys, the only putatively unbiased source, are sparse in time and space, and the results can come with big delays. Reliable estimates of population prevalence are necessary for understanding the spread of the virus and the effectiveness of mitigation strategies. We develop a simple Bayesian framework to estimate viral prevalence by combining several of the main available data sources. It is based on a discrete-time Susceptible-Infected-Removed (SIR) model with time-varying reproductive parameter. Our model includes likelihood components that incorporate data on deaths due to the virus, confirmed cases, and the number of tests administered on each day. We anchor our inference with data from random-sample testing surveys in Indiana and Ohio. We use the results from these two states to calibrate the model on positive test counts and proceed to estimate the infection fatality rate and the number of new infections on each day in each state in the United States. We estimate the extent to which reported COVID [coronavirus disease] cases have underestimated true infection counts, which was large, especially in the first months of the pandemic. We explore the implications of our results for progress toward herd immunity."
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Irons, Nicholas J.; Raftery, Adrian E.
2021-07-26
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Guidance on 'Long COVID' as a Disability Under the Ada, Section 504, and Section 1557
From the Document: "Although many people with COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] get better within weeks, some people continue to experience symptoms that can last months after first being infected, or may have new or recurring symptoms at a later time. This can happen to anyone who has had COVID-19, even if the initial illness was mild. People with this condition are sometimes called 'long-haulers.' This condition is known as 'long COVID.' [...] This guidance explains that long COVID can be a disability under Titles II (state and local government) and III (public accommodations) of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), and Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Section 1557). Each of these federal laws protects people with disabilities from discrimination. This guidance also provides resources for additional information and best practices. This document focuses solely on long COVID, and does not address when COVID-19 may meet the legal definition of disability."
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office for Civil Rights; United States. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division
2021-07-26
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Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Marks Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act and Announces Resources to Support Individuals with Long COVID, July 26, 2021
This fact sheet details the Biden-Harris administration's policies aimed at improving available resources for Americans with disabilities and providing expanded resources for Americans with long COVID (coronavirus disease). This document also presents clarification for Long COVID's classification as a disability.
United States. White House Office
2021-07-26
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S. Rept. 117-31: Reporting Efficiently to Proper Officials in Response to Terrorism Act of 2021, Report to Accompany S. 517, Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office, July 26, 2021
From the Purpose and Summary: "The purpose of S. 517, the Reporting Efficiently to Proper Officials in Response to Terrorism Act of 2021, or REPORT Act, is to require agencies to submit to Congress an unclassified report on each act of terrorism that occurs in the United States within a year of the conclusion of the investigation into the act. [...] The report must include the facts of the act of terrorism, identified national security gaps that require correction to prevent similar future acts of terrorism, and recommendations for new measures that could strengthen homeland security. A public summary of the report must also accompany the more detailed report for Congress."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2021-07-26
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Overview of the Global Humanitarian and Displacement Crisis [Updated July 23, 2021]
From the Document: "Humanitarian and displacement crises worldwide have become significantly worse in the past five years. The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated humanitarian need. In addition, the lockdowns and economic recession caused by the pandemic created far-reaching secondary impacts such as increased food insecurity, gender-based violence, and poverty, and reduced access to education and health. The United Nations (U.N.) anticipates that globally more than 238 million people will require humanitarian assistance and protection due to conflict, disaster, and the pandemic in 2021 (a near 30% increase over 2020). The United States is the single largest humanitarian and emergency food assistance donor, consistently providing nearly one-third of total assistance worldwide (more than $9.6 billion in FY2021, excluding American Relief Plan Act funds)."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Margesson, Rhoda
2021-07-23
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Military Suicide Prevention and Response [Updated July 23, 2021]
From the Background: "When a servicemember dies by suicide, those close to the member often experience shock, anger, guilt, and sorrow. As such, a servicemember's suicide may adversely impact the wellbeing of his or her family and friends. Further, it may affect the morale and readiness of his or her unit. The military's response to suicidal thoughts (ideation), attempts, and deaths involves coordinated efforts among command and unit leadership, medical professionals, counselors, and others across the military community. Under its constitutional authority to organize and regulate the military, Congress has oversight over this issue and may consider policy interventions to mitigate suicide risk factors."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Kamarck, Kristy N.; Mendez, Bryce H. P.
2021-07-23
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Crypto-Asset Exchanges: Current Practices and Policy Issues [July 23, 2021]
From the Document: "Crypto-asset exchanges, which include cryptocurrency exchanges and are also referred to as digital asset [hyperlink] trading platforms, are market structures where digital asset buying and selling can occur. Some industry observers perceive [hyperlink] digital asset trading platforms as similar to securities exchanges in functionality. However, they are generally not subject to the same regulatory regime, leading to policy debates regarding market integrity, investor protection, and the need to foster financial innovation. [...] Many observers have called for changes to the regulatory framework governing crypto-asset exchanges. Some [hyperlink] have questioned whether digital asset trading warrants more regulatory safeguards. SEC [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] Chair Gary Gensler has asked Congress to provide more clarity regarding authority over crypto-asset exchanges. Gensler [hyperlink] stated that the lack of oversight of crypto-asset exchanges represents a 'gap in our system' that denies traders basic investor protection--such as [hyperlink] the protections found in traditional securities markets. Members of Congress followed up [hyperlink] with inquiries into the agency's authority over crypto-asset exchange regulation. Opponents of stricter regulation voice concerns that new regulation may hinder innovation and place the United States at a competitive disadvantage relative to other countries. Additionally, the use of state [hyperlink] and federal [hyperlink] bank charters by crypto-asset exchanges has the potential to affect how these exchanges are regulated. The Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which charters and regulates national banks, reportedly [hyperlink] developed a new charter for national payments institutions, which would provide a nationwide licensing and regulation platform for money transmitters."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Su, Eva; Scott, Andrew P.
2021-07-23
