Policy Library

6,587 documents

Making it a Priority: What Happens to Employee Claims When a Business Declares Bankruptcy?
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-16 · Posts · 1,926 words · PDF available
Workers are not immune from their employer’s financial difficulties. Troubled companies commonly downsize their workforce, cut wages, and curtail employee benefits. Businesses on the brink of collapse...
Drilling Under New Wyoming Leases on Hold as Judge Requires BLM to Reconsider Impacts on Climate Change
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-16 · Posts · 1,220 words · PDF available
A recent decision in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit has paused oil and gas exploration and production activity in certain leased areas of Wyoming and hinted at ...
Nielsen v. Preap: High Court Clarifies Application of Immigration Detention Statute to Criminal Aliens
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-12 · Posts · 2,190 words · PDF available
Recently, the Supreme Court in Nielsen v. Preap interpreted provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as mandating the detention pending removal proceedings of non-U.S. nationals (aliens...
Title IX and Sexual Harassment: Private Rights of Action, Administrative Enforcement, and Proposed Regulations
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-12 · Reports · 33,245 words · PDF available
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) provides an avenue of legal relief for victims of sexual abuse and harassment at educational institutions. It bars discrimination “on the basis ...
Access to Broadband Networks: Net Neutrality
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-10 · Resources · 1,792 words · PDF available
The move to place restrictions on the owners of the networks that comprise and provide access to the internet, to ensure equal access and nondiscriminatory treatment, is referred to as “net neutrality...
IRS Reform and the Taxpayer First Act of 2019
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-10 · Resources · 1,214 words · PDF available
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has two main statutory responsibilities: to collect most of the revenue needed to fund the federal government and to enforce federal tax laws and regulations. In FY2...
Water Infrastructure Financing: History of EPA Appropriations
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-10 · Reports · 20,759 words · PDF available
The principal federal program to aid municipal wastewater treatment plant construction is authorized in the Clean Water Act (CWA). Established as a grant program in 1972, it now capitalizes state loan...
Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act: Understanding Apportionments for States and Territories
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-05 · Reports · 11,878 words · PDF available
The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. §§669 et seq.), enacted in 1937 and now known as the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, provides funding for states and territories to ...
Multinational Species Conservation Fund: FY2020 Appropriations
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-05 · Reports · 1,445 words · PDF available
International species conservation is addressed by several funds, including those under the Multinational Species Conservation Fund (MSCF) and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (NMBCF)....
Civil Rights at School: Agency Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-04 · Reports · 16,375 words · PDF available
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits federally funded programs, activities, and institutions from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin. In its current form, largely un...
Virtual Currencies and Money Laundering: Legal Background, Enforcement Actions, and Legislative Proposals
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-03 · Reports · 7,558 words · PDF available
Law enforcement officials have described money laundering—the process of making illegally obtained proceeds appear legitimate—as the “lifeblood” of organized crime. Recently, money launderers have inc...
2018 Farm Bill Primer: Program Eligibility and Payment Limits
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-03 · Resources · 1,206 words · PDF available
Since 1970, Congress has used various policies to address the issue of who should be eligible for farm program payments and how much an individual recipient should be permitted to receive in a single ...
Judiciary Budget Request, FY2020
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-03 · Resources · 1,188 words · PDF available
Overview The FY2020 judiciary budget request totals $8.29 billion. This total includes $7.62 billion in discretionary funds (an increase of 4.9% over FY2019), and $669.8 million in mandatory funding, ...
HUD FY2019 Appropriations: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-02 · Reports · 5,912 words · PDF available
The programs and activities of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are designed primarily to address housing problems faced by households with very low incomes or other special housi...
FY2018 State Grants Under Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Congressional Research Service · 2019-04-01 · Reports · 2,151 words · PDF available
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most recently comprehensively amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), is the primary source of federal aid to K-12 education. ...
America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-270): Drinking Water Provisions
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-28 · Reports · 16,034 words · PDF available
Congress has long deliberated on the condition of drinking water infrastructure and drinking water quality as well as the financial and technical challenges some public water systems face in ensuring ...
High Court to Determine Proper Method to Serve Process on a Foreign Government
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-27 · Posts · 1,383 words · PDF available
Update: On March 26, the Supreme Court held 8-1 in favor of Sudan, finding that the most natural reading of the statute requires the mailing of service of process directly and expeditiously to the Min...
Congressional Subpoenas: Enforcing Executive Branch Compliance
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-27 · Reports · 29,958 words · PDF available
Congress gathers much of the information necessary to oversee the implementation of existing laws or to evaluate whether new laws are necessary from the executive branch. While executive branch offici...
Overview of Federal Housing Assistance Programs and Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-27 · Reports · 21,065 words
The federal government has been involved in providing housing assistance to lower-income households since the 1930s. In the beginning, the federal government played a role in supporting the mortgage m...
Runaway and Homeless Youth: Demographics and Programs
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-26 · Reports · 13,518 words · PDF available
This report discusses runaway and homeless youth, and the federal response to support this population. There is no single definition of the terms “runaway youth” or “homeless youth.” However, both gro...
Veto Override Procedure in the House and Senate
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-26 · Reports · 2,263 words · PDF available
A bill or joint resolution that has been vetoed by the President can become law if two-thirds of the Members voting in the House and the Senate each agree to pass it over the President’s objection. Th...
Categories of Federal Civil Service Employment: A Snapshot
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-26 · Reports · 6,210 words · PDF available
According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal workforce consists of an estimated two million civilian employees. Federal law categorizes these employees into three types of servic...
Federal Support for Runaway and Homeless Youth
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-26 · Resources · 1,757 words · PDF available
Since the 1970s, the federal government has funded shelter and services for homeless youth unaccompanied by their parents, including youth who run away from home. This brief discusses these and other ...
The Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-26 · Reports · 3,058 words · PDF available
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123), signed into law on February 9, 2018, created a joint select committee of the House and Senate. The Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations...
Continuing Legal Education: What’s Required and Opportunities for Members and Staff to Satisfy Those Requirements
As members of the self-regulated legal profession, attorneys are required, under the rules of their state bars, to maintain competence in their legal knowledge and skill. These rules apply to preserve...
Delegation of Federal Aviation Administration Certification Authorities to Aviation Manufacturers
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-25 · Resources · 1,533 words · PDF available
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certifies pilots, aircraft, and aircraft components, as well as airlines and charter flight operators. It requires that aircraft and component design specific...
Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB): A Legal Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-25 · Reports · 10,208 words · PDF available
The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or Board) is a quasi-judicial independent agency in the executive branch charged with protecting federal employees against improper employment-related actions....
Data Protection Law: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-25 · Reports · 46,980 words · PDF available
Recent high-profile data breaches and other concerns about how third parties protect the privacy of individuals in the digital age have raised national concerns over legal protections of Americans’ el...
Foreign Money and U.S. Campaign Finance Policy
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-25 · Resources · 1,640 words
Introduction Federal campaign finance law and regulation prohibits foreign money in U.S. elections. The public record reveals little evidence that foreign money has intruded into U.S. campaigns system...
Attaching a Price to Greenhouse Gas Emissions with a Carbon Tax or Emissions Fee: Considerations and Potential Impacts
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-22 · Reports · 18,938 words · PDF available
The U.S. Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018, concluded that “the impacts of global climate change are already being felt in the United States and are projected to intensify in the fu...
Defining Hemp: A Fact Sheet
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-22 · Reports · 5,177 words · PDF available
Botanically, hemp and marijuana are from the same species of plant, Cannabis sativa. However, hemp and marijuana are genetically distinct forms of cannabis that are distinguished by their use and chem...
Older Americans Act: Senior Community Service Employment Program
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-21 · Reports · 3,438 words · PDF available
The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) authorizes the Department of Labor (DOL) to make grants to support part-time community service employment opportunities for eligible individuals...
International Trophy Hunting
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-20 · Reports · 15,955 words · PDF available
International trophy hunting is a multinational, multimillion-dollar industry practiced throughout the world. Trophy hunting is broadly defined as the killing of animals for recreation with the purpos...
VAWA Reauthorization: Substantive Criminal Law Proposals
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-20 · Posts · 1,018 words · PDF available
The authorization of appropriations for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) expired at the end of FY 2018. The House Judiciary Committee has voted out an amendment in the nature of a substitute of ...
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): FY2019 Budget Request and Appropriations
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-20 · Resources · 1,299 words · PDF available
The mission of the Department of Commerce (DOC) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to understand and predict changes in weather, climate, oceans, and coasts; to share that infor...
Federal District Court Enjoins the Department of Homeland Security from Terminating Temporary Protected Status
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-18 · Posts · 2,429 words · PDF available
Update: In February 2019, several months after this Sidebar was originally published, a lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging the Department...
Supreme Court Once Again Considers Partisan Gerrymandering: Implications and Legislative Options
Is there a standard for determining whether a redistricting map is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander? Or, do claims of partisan gerrymandering raise political questions that lie beyond the juri...
Online Political Advertising: Disclaimers and Policy Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-18 · Resources · 1,610 words
Introduction and Background How campaign finance law and regulation affect online political ads illustrates the challenge of incorporating emerging technologies into preexisting regulatory frameworks....
Financing Airport Improvements
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-15 · Reports · 13,500 words · PDF available
There are five major sources of airport capital development funding: the federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP); local passenger facility charges (PFCs) imposed pursuant to federal law; tax-exempt ...
Huawei v. United States: The Bill of Attainder Clause and Huawei’s Lawsuit Against the United States
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-14 · Posts · 2,647 words · PDF available
On March 6, 2019, Chinese electronics manufacturing and telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. (Huawei) filed a lawsuit against the United States, challenging the constitutionality of a law ...
Special Counsel Investigations: History, Authority, Appointment and Removal
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-13 · Reports · 21,889 words · PDF available
The Constitution vests Congress with the legislative power, which includes authority to establish federal agencies and conduct oversight of those entities. Criminal investigations and prosecutions, ho...
Opioid Use and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-12 · Resources · 1,612 words · PDF available
The prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD)—problematic opioid use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress—among pregnant women has gradually increased as the nation’s opioid epidemic...
History and Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-12 · Testimony · 4,249 words · PDF available
Voting Rights Act, VRA, Supreme Court, Fourteenth Amendment, Fifteenth Amendment, voting, elections, coverage formula, Shelby County v. Holder, preclearance requirement, redistricting
2018 Farm Bill Primer: Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-08 · Resources · 1,246 words · PDF available
The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and periodically address agricultural...
UPDATED: District Court Strikes the Individual Mandate and Declares the Affordable Care Act Invalid: What Happened and What Lies Ahead?
UPDATE 3/7/2019: In December 2018, the district court in Texas v. United States issued a partial final order and stayed its judgment pending appeal. The Department of Justice and the intervening state...
District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP): Overview, Implementation, and Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-07 · Reports · 27,668 words · PDF available
The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP) is the only federally funded voucher program for elementary and secondary education. It operates exclusively in the District of Columb...
UPDATE: Will the FTC Need to Rethink its Enforcement Playbook? Third Circuit Considers FTC’s Ability to Sue Based on Past Conduct
UPDATE: On February 25, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Third Circuit) affirmed the district court’s judgment in the case FTC v. Shire ViroPharma, Inc. The Third Circuit explain...
Justice Department Reverses Stand on Gambling Statute
In January, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced that the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) had determined that a federal gambling statute, the so-called Wire Act, appl...
Funding for EPA Water Infrastructure: A Fact Sheet
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-06 · Reports · 1,655 words · PDF available
Federal funding to assist communities with capital projects to meet the water-related goals and requirements of federal laws has been provided through programs in the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Saf...
Evolution of the Meaning of “Waters of the United States” in the Clean Water Act
Congressional Research Service · 2019-03-05 · Reports · 21,899 words · PDF available
For more than forty-five years, all three branches of government have struggled with how to interpret the meaning of “waters of the United States” in the Clean Water Act. In a shift from early water p...