Names for Navy ships traditionally have been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy, under the direction of the President and in accordance with rules prescribed by Congress. Rules for giving certain types of names to certain types of Navy ships have evolved over time. There have been exceptions to the Navy's ship-naming rules, particularly for the purpose of naming a ship for a person when the rule for that type of ship would have called for it to be named for something else. Some observers in recent years have perceived a breakdown in, or corruption of, the rules for naming Navy...

The Navy for several years has carried out a variety of irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) activities. Among the most readily visible of the Navy's recent IW operations have been those carried out by Navy sailors serving ashore in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of the Navy's contributions to IW operations around the world are made by Navy individual augmentees (IAs)-individual Navy sailors assigned to various Department of Defense (DOD) operations. The May 1-2, 2011, U.S. military operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed Osama bin Laden reportedly was carried out by a team of...

International sanctions on Iran's key energy and financial sectors harmed Iran's economy and arguably contributed to Iran's acceptance of restrictions on expanding its nuclear program in exchange for modest sanctions relief. The interim nuclear "standstill" agreement (Joint Plan of Action, JPA) began implementation on January 20, 2014, and has been extended twice (until June 30, 2015) to allow time to translate it into a comprehensive nuclear agreement. The economic pressure of sanctions included the following: Iran's oil exports decreased to about 1 million barrels per day (mbd) at the end...

CVN-78 was procured in FY2008. The Navy's proposed FY2015 budget estimates the ship's procurement cost at $12,887.2 million (i.e., about $12.9 billion) in then-year dollars. The ship received advance procurement funding in FY2001-FY2007 and was fully funded in FY2008-FY2011 using congressionally authorized four-year incremental funding. The Navy did not request any procurement funding for the ship in FY2012 and FY2013. To help cover cost growth on the ship, the ship received an additional $588.1 million in procurement funding in FY2014, and the Navy is requesting another $663.0 million in...

The Coast Guard's FY2013 budget initiated a new project for the design and construction of a new polar icebreaker. The project received $7.609 million in FY2013 and $2.0 million in FY2014. The Coast Guard's proposed FY2015 budget requests $6 million to continue initial acquisition activities for the ship. Coast Guard polar icebreakers perform a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions. The Coast Guard's two existing heavy polar icebreakers-Polar Star and Polar Sea-have exceeded their originally intended 30-year service lives. Polar Star was placed in caretaker status on...

The Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations. Under MDA and Navy plans, the number of BMD-capable Navy Aegis ships is scheduled to grow from 33 at the end of FY2014 to 43 at the end of FY2019. The figure of 43 ships for FY2019, however, includes four BMD-capable Aegis cruisers that are proposed under the Navy's FY2015 budget for some form of reduced operating status starting in FY2015. Under the Administration's European Phased...

The Navy had been planning to procure an eventual total of 52 LCSs, but on February 24, 2014, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that "no new contract negotiations beyond 32 ships will go forward" and that the Navy is to submit "alternative proposals to procure a capable and lethal small surface combatant, generally consistent with the capabilities of a frigate. I've directed the Navy to consider a completely new design, existing ship designs, and a modified LCS." Following Hagel's February 24, 2014, announcement, the Navy began an internal study of options for small surface...

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant helps states fund, among other benefits and services, cash assistance for needy families with children. While there are some federal rules that determine who may qualify for TANF-funded cash assistance (e.g., the family must have a dependent child), states determine the financial eligibility criteria and cash assistance benefit amounts. There is a large amount of variation among the states in the income thresholds that determine whether a family is eligible for cash assistance and in the benefit amounts paid. Most states only...

Technological innovation is a primary engine of long-term economic growth, and research and development (R&D) serves as the lifeblood of innovation. The federal government encourages businesses to invest more in R&D than they otherwise would in several ways, including a tax credit for increases in spending on qualified research above a base amount. This report describes the current status of the credit, summarizes its legislative history, discusses policy issues it raises, and describes legislation to modify and extend it. The report will be updated as warranted by legislative activity or...

The U.S. Constitution grants authority over the regulation of foreign commerce to Congress. It exercises this authority in numerous ways, including through oversight of trade policy and the consideration of legislation to approve trade agreements and authorize trade programs. Policy issues cover such areas as: U.S. trade negotiations; U.S. trade and economic relations with regions and countries; international trade institutions; tariff and nontariff barriers; worker dislocation from trade liberalization; trade remedy laws; import and export policies; international investment; economic...