{ "id": "RL30365", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL30365", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 388505, "date": "2011-06-08", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T00:47:29.579539", "title": "Federal Government Corporations: An Overview", "summary": "To assist Congress in its oversight activities, this report provides an overview of the government corporation as an administrative model. As defined in this report, a government corporation is a government agency that is established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures. By this definition, currently there are 17 government corporations.\nIn the typical contemporary Congress, several bills are introduced to establish government corporations. At the time of publication of this report, two bills had been introduced in the 112th Congress to improve U.S. infrastructure by establishing government corporations\u2014H.R. 404 and S. 652. Similarly, in the 111th Congress, government corporations bills included ones that would have created an Indian Development Finance Corporation (H.R. 1607 ), a Green Bank (H.R. 1698), and a National Infrastructure Development Bank (H.R. 2521).\nThe government corporation model has been utilized by the federal government for over a century. Today\u2019s government corporations cover the spectrum in size and function from large, well-known entities, such as the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to small, low-visibility corporate bodies, such as the Federal Financing Bank in the Department of the Treasury and Federal Prison Industries in the Department of Justice.\nThe federal government does not possess a general incorporation statute as states do. Each government corporation is chartered through an act of Congress. The use of separate acts to charter each corporation has resulted in wide variance in the legal and organizational structure of government corporations. That said, the Government Corporation Control Act of 1945, as amended, does provide for the standardized budget, auditing, debt management, and depository practices for those corporations listed in the act.\nWithin the executive branch, no one agency is responsible for the oversight and supervision of government corporations. Neither the House nor the Senate have single committees with the responsibility to oversee all government corporations. Instead, each corporation is overseen by the committee(s) with jurisdiction over its policy area.\nMany government corporations, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, have been established to exist in perpetuity. Other government corporations, such as the U.S. Enrichment Corporation, though, have been designed to serve as transition vehicles to transform from governmental entities into private firms.\nCongress at times has found the government corporation an attractive governance option. A well-designed and -operated government corporation does not require annual appropriations because it generates revenues from the provision of goods and services. Moreover, each government corporation may be endowed with the administrative flexibilities required to accomplish its goals while remaining responsive to Congress and the President. Finally, as noted above, the government corporation may be established to serve an enduring purpose or may serve as a vehicle for privatization.\nThis report will be updated in the event of a significant development.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL30365", "sha1": "7bdde3a14a1b40f3bd3fc9e99429e034bb8ab4c4", "filename": "files/20110608_RL30365_7bdde3a14a1b40f3bd3fc9e99429e034bb8ab4c4.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL30365", "sha1": "92b33cb0e499d400ac4323a754d7c653e2992175", "filename": "files/20110608_RL30365_92b33cb0e499d400ac4323a754d7c653e2992175.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc462441/", "id": "RL30365_2009Jan07", "date": "2009-01-07", "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41", "title": "Federal Government Corporations: An Overview", "summary": "This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category currently consisting of some 17 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to them in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is a government agency that is established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and required to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20090107_RL30365_09a9210c61135e4a542e37f91bf6d39f968b7b25.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20090107_RL30365_09a9210c61135e4a542e37f91bf6d39f968b7b25.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Government corporations", "name": "Government corporations" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Executive departments", "name": "Executive departments" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Government and business", "name": "Government and business" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc770603/", "id": "RL30365_2008Jan31", "date": "2008-01-31", "retrieved": "2015-11-04T09:58:14", "title": "Federal Government Corporations: An Overview", "summary": "This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category currently consisting of some 17 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to them in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is a government agency that is established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and required to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20080131_RL30365_bd3f407c7c566c587ba583ffe564e09e09a8a646.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20080131_RL30365_bd3f407c7c566c587ba583ffe564e09e09a8a646.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Executive departments", "name": "Executive departments" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Government and business", "name": "Government and business" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Government corporations", "name": "Government corporations" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs9156/", "id": "RL30365_2006Mar23", "date": "2006-03-23", "retrieved": "2006-08-10T15:21:52", "title": "Federal Government Corporations: An Overview", "summary": "This report provides an overview of federal government corporations, a category\r\ncurrently consisting of some 18 corporate agencies performing functions assigned to\r\nthem in law. A government corporation, as defined in this report, is an agency of\r\ngovernment, established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service and\r\nintended to produce revenues that meet or approximate its expenditures.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20060323_RL30365_0295f3e84937a52b927e436128d75781c0b626e6.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20060323_RL30365_0295f3e84937a52b927e436128d75781c0b626e6.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Business", "name": "Business" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Government corporations", "name": "Government corporations" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Executive departments", "name": "Executive departments" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Energy Policy" ] }