U.S. Foreign Assistance: Budget Development and Execution
U.S. foreign assistance provided through Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations is subject to a high level of congressional input, as mandated under the F...
Secretarial Waiver Authority Under the ESEA and CARES Act
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136) was signed into law. The law includes new waiver authority for the Secretary of Education (the Secretar...
Power of Siberia: A Natural Gas Pipeline Brings Russia and China Closer
Overview
The “Power of Siberia,” the first natural gas pipeline to bring Russian gas into China, began operations in December 2019. The pipeline’s initial capacity, 5 billion cubic meters (BCM), would...
CARES Act Elementary and Secondary Education Provisions
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136) was signed into law. The law includes several provisions that apply to elementary and secondary educati...
House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress: Structure and Procedures
On January 4, 2019, the House established the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress by adopting Title II of H.Res. 6, the House rules package for the 116th Congress (2019-2020), on a 418-1...
Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund and COVID-19
As part of the U.S. government’s economic response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; H.R. 748/P.L. 116-136), was signed int...
Unemployment Insurance Provisions in the CARES Act
This In Focus summarizes the Unemployment Insurance (UI) provisions in Title II, Subtitle A, of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136; enacted March 27, 2020)...
State Broadband Initiatives: Selected State and Local Approaches as Potential Models for Federal Initiatives to Address the Digital Divide
Access to high-speed internet, known as broadband, is becoming increasingly essential to daily life as more applications and activities move online. This has become particularly apparent during the co...
Bureau of Reclamation: History, Authorities, and Issues for Congress
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), an agency within the Department of the Interior (DOI), is responsible for the management and development of many of the large federal dams and water diversion ...
Retirement and Pension Provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)
Congress provides a variety of tax incentives for employers to offer retirement plans and for individuals to save for their retirement. In addition, a number of restrictions exist to ensure that retir...
COVID-19: International Trade and Access to Pharmaceutical Products
As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues, governments and the private sector have begun assessing the possibility of developing medical countermeasures (e.g., vaccines, antiviral treat...
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Safe Harbor Provisions for Online Service Providers: A Legal Overview
In 1998, Congress enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Pub. L. No. 105-304, to usher copyright law into the digital era. The ease and efficiency of digital copying and distribution see...
Cloud Computing: Background, Status of Adoption by Federal Agencies, and Congressional Action
Cloud computing is a new name for an old concept: the delivery of computing services from a remote location, analogous to the way electricity, water, and other utilities are provided to most customers...