Policy Library

7,020 documents

The Excise Tax on High-Cost Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: Estimated Economic and Market Effects
Congressional Research Service · 2017-01-12 · Reports · 7,409 words
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148, as amended) included a provision to impose an excise tax on high-cost employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) coverage beginning in 2018 (...
Expanding Federal Support for Urban Agriculture
Congressional Research Service · 2017-01-09 · Resources · 1,675 words
Over the past decade, food policy in the United States has addressed ongoing shifts in consumer preferences and producer trends that favor local and regional food systems. This has led to increased ag...
Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN)
Congressional Research Service · 2017-01-06 · Resources · 1,670 words
The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN or WIIN Act; P.L. 114-322) authorized a broad range of water resource and water quality activities when it was signed into law on Decembe...
Insurance Regulation: Background, Overview, and Legislation in the 114th Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-30 · Reports · 21,188 words
The individual states have been the primary regulators of insurance since 1868. Following the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act, this system has operated with the explicit blessing of Congress, but has also ...
The Role of State Approving Agencies in the Administration of GI Bill Benefits
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-29 · Reports · 16,910 words
State Approving Agencies (SAAs) play an important role in the administration of GI Bill® benefits. GI Bill benefits provide educational assistance payments to eligible veterans and servicemembers and ...
Legal Services Corporation: Background and Funding
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-21 · Reports · 12,150 words
The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a private, nonprofit, federally funded corporation that helps provide legal assistance to low-income people in civil (i.e., noncriminal) matters. The primary re...
NASA: FY2017 Budget and Appropriations
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-21 · Reports · 3,873 words
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in 1958 by the National Aeronautics and Space Act (P.L. 85-568) to conduct civilian space and aeronautics activities. It has four m...
U.S. International Corporate Taxation: Basic Concepts and Policy Issues
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-21 · Reports · 4,356 words
Recent deficit reduction and tax reform plans have included broad proposals to reform the U.S. international corporate tax system. These proposals have raised concerns over how changing the way Americ...
The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-16 · Reports · 9,125 words
Numerous federal, state, and local agencies share responsibilities for regulating the safety of the U.S. food supply. Federal responsibility for food safety rests primarily with the Food and Drug Admi...
Special Minimum Wages for Workers with Disabilities: Frequently Asked Questions
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-16 · Reports · 2,295 words
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as amended, sets the minimum wage for covered workers at $7.25 per hour. Section 14(c) of the FLSA permits certified employers to pay a worker with a disability th...
Implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA, P.L. 111-353)
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-16 · Reports · 10,022 words
Congress passed comprehensive food safety legislation in December 2010 (FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA, P.L. 111-353), representing the largest expansion and overhaul of U.S. food safety a...
The FCC’s Rules and Policies Regarding Media Ownership, Attribution, and Ownership Diversity
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-16 · Reports · 12,767 words
From the earliest days of commercial radio, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its predecessor, the Federal Radio Commission, have encouraged diversity in broadcasting. This concern has r...
State Management of Federal Lands: Frequently Asked Questions
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-16 · Reports · 5,537 words
The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres of land, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres in the United States. This land is managed by numerous agencies, but four agencies administer about 9...
Financial Challenges of Operating Nuclear Power Plants in the United States
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-14 · Reports · 16,523 words
Some of the 60 operating nuclear power plants (comprising 99 nuclear reactors) in the United States have experienced financial stress in recent years due to a combination of low wholesale electricity ...
The Trump List of Possible Justices is Great but Two Names are Missing
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-13 · Commentary · 1,362 words
As director of the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, I was inundated last week with interview requests regarding President-elect Trump’s “list” of poten...
As 'Law and Order' President, Trump Can Improve Criminal Justice for Everyone
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-13 · Commentary · 810 words
The Trump administration promises “law and order.” But beyond enforcing our nation’s laws, the incoming administration has an opportunity to reform our criminal justice system in ways that elevate the...
The High Court Declines to Stay Ohio Early Voting and Same-Day Registration Case
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-12 · Commentary · 1,048 words
States have the constitutional prerogative to regulate early voting and same-day registration.
A New Defense for Religious Liberty: Going on Offense Against Bad Laws
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-12 · Commentary · 894 words
One way to preserve the American conscience is for individuals to pre-emptively put unjust laws on trial by way of pre-enforcement challenges.
Virginia Dems Blocking the Truth About 100s of Non-Citizens Engaged in Voter Fraud
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-12 · Commentary · 1,695 words
Election integrity foes mistakenly tell us voter fraud is a myth.
Will the DC Circuit Court of Appeals Strike Down This Latest Attempt to Strip Citizens of Their 2nd Amendment?
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-12 · Commentary · 1,280 words
In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court for the first time recognized that the “Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms.” It threw out D.C.’s virtual ban on the owner...
Here's Why Jeff Sessions Is the Perfect Pick for Attorney General
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-12 · Commentary · 876 words
President-elect Donald Trump has picked Sen. Jeff Sessions to serve as the 84th Attorney General of the United States—and he couldn’t have made a better choice.
Fate of Federal Courts Rests with Next President
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-12 · Commentary · 840 words
The next president will have the opportunity to leave a massive imprint on the federal courts for a generation or more.
Commercial Space Industry Launches a New Phase
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-12 · Reports · 9,024 words · PDF available
Rockets, satellites, and the services they provide, once the domain of governments, are increasingly launched and managed by privately owned companies. Although private aerospace firms have contracted...
The National Space Council
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-12 · Reports · 6,391 words · PDF available
According to press reports, the Trump Administration may reestablish the National Space Council, a coordinating body in the Executive Office of the President that was last active in 1993. The National...
No More Obama Judges
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-08 · Commentary · 763 words
With the Senate back from its election hiatus for a brief lame-duck session, there is one thing that Republicans must absolutely not do: confirm any of the remaining judicial nominations of President ...
Taming the Bureaucratic Beast: The Herculean Task Ahead of President-Elect Donald Trump
Heritage Foundation · 2016-12-08 · Commentary · 1,220 words
President-elect Donald Trump certainly has his work cut out for him: Undoing all of the damage done by President Barack Obama over the past eight years.
Generalized System of Preferences: Agricultural Imports
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-08 · Reports · 4,263 words
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) provides duty-free tariff treatment for certain products from designated developing countries. Agricultural imports under GSP totaled $2.6 billion in 2015, ...
Has the U.S. Government Ever “Defaulted”?
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-08 · Reports · 12,944 words
During recent debt limit episodes, federal officials have contended that if the debt limit were to constrain the government’s ability to meet its obligations, that would be an unprecedented blemish on...
Domestic Energy Challenges in the 21st Century
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-01 · Resources · 1,508 words
Overview Advances in technology have dramatically increased U.S. oil and natural gas production (Figure 1). This increase has important policy implications for energy markets, infrastructure, security...
The U.S. Trade Situation for Fruit and Vegetable Products
Congressional Research Service · 2016-12-01 · Reports · 8,697 words
Over the last decade, there has been a growing U.S. trade deficit in fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. Although U.S. fruit and vegetable exports totaled $6.3 billion in 2015, U.S. imports of ...
On the Line on Election Day: Eight Key Issues Decided by Next US President - The Supreme Court
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-30 · Commentary · 422 words
There is no question that the future of the supreme court is on the ballot.
It Shouldn't Be Hard for Trump to Build That Wall
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-30 · Commentary · 864 words
To stem the tidal wave of illegal immigration engulfing America, the most important first step that Donald Trump can take is to order the Department of Homeland Security to enforce our existing immigr...
Is Trade with China a Factor in Rising Mortality among Middle-Age White Men?
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-29 · Commentary · 563 words
In the aftermath of a presidential election that brought intense scrutiny to white, working-class voters in small towns, a new working paper in economics seeks to explain how at least two symptoms of ...
How to Repeal Obamacare: A Road Map for the GOP
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-29 · Commentary · 1,215 words
With President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and the GOP’s successful effort to keep control of Congress, conservatives now have a real chance to eliminate Obamacare. The question is how to do it.
Book Review: The War on Cops
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-29 · Commentary · 2,453 words
In The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe, Heather Mac Donald, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, offers a scathing, data-driven account of the misguided and s...
Acting AAG’s Policy Speech Sends the Wrong Signals on Antitrust Enforcement (or “a Wild Ride Back to the Fifties and Sixties”)
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-29 · Commentary · 2,400 words
In a September 20 speech at the high profile Georgetown Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium, Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse sent the wrong signals to the business community and to f...
Patents as a Key to Commercialization: Guidance for Patent-Antitrust Analysis
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-29 · Commentary · 1,569 words
In a September 23 submission to the FTC and the DOJ, however, U.S. International Trade Commissioner F. Scott Kieff focused on a broader theme – that patent-antitrust assessments should keep in mind th...
Drug Testing and Crime-Related Restrictions in TANF, SNAP, and Housing Assistance
Congressional Research Service · 2016-11-28 · Reports · 18,035 words
Throughout the history of social assistance programs, administrators have attempted to limit access only to those families considered “worthy” of assistance. Policies about worthiness have included bo...
Heritage Helps Lead Fight Against Criminalization of Scientific Dissent on Climate Change
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-23 · Commentary · 627 words
The Heritage Foundation is helping to lead the fight against the criminalization of scientific dissent on the unproven and questionable theory of man-induced, catastrophic climate change.
Federal Income Tax Treatment of the Family
Congressional Research Service · 2016-11-23 · Reports · 14,735 words
Individual income tax provisions have shifted over time, first in increasing the burden on larger families, and then in decreasing it. These shifts were caused by changing tax code features: personal ...
China's Huge 'One Belt, One Road' Initiative Is Sweeping Central Asia
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-21 · Commentary · 1,056 words
Having overbuilt in many domestic industries—such as coal, cement and even solar panels—the Chinese government is redirecting its capital abroad. The aim is to reduce excessive industrial capacity at ...
Has Hong Kong's Economy Peaked?
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-21 · Commentary · 814 words
From 1981 to 2015, Hong Kong sustained an annual growth rate of almost 5 percent, despite numerous global recessions. It was a testament to the power of economic freedom.
Uber Forced out of China
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-21 · Commentary · 766 words
Earlier this week, ride-boking giant Uber sold its Chinese operations to China’s ride-booking service Didi Chuxing. Didi will acquire all of Uber’s China’s operations.
What Does Donald Trump's Victory Mean for Asia?
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-21 · Commentary · 1,202 words
Trying to predict the incoming Trump Administration’s policy toward Asia is difficult if not impossible at this point. We are in uncharted territory since Trump made a number of campaign statements th...
Sorry, but the Accurate Legal Term is 'Illegal Alien'
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-18 · Commentary · 864 words
The College Fix is reporting that the politically correct Rutgers University student newspaper, the Daily Targum, has fired columnist Aviv Khavich for trying to use the term “illegal alien” in a colum...
The FTC, not the FCC, Should Regulate Internet Privacy
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-18 · Commentary · 795 words
This proposed ban is just one among many unfortunate features in the latest misguided effort by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate the privacy of data transmitted over the Interne...
On Judicial Nominations, Senators Are Meant to Advise, Not Rubber-Stamp
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-17 · Commentary · 902 words
The Constitution assigns joint responsibility to the U.S. Senate. Article II, section 2 stipulates that the president “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoi...
No, Election Fraud Is Not as Unlikely as a Lightning Strike
Heritage Foundation · 2016-11-17 · Commentary · 805 words
As the president informed the assembled Floridians, “You are much likelier to get struck by lightning than to have somebody next to you commit voter fraud.”
Social Security Benefits for Noncitizens
Congressional Research Service · 2016-11-17 · Reports · 9,634 words
Concerns about the number of unauthorized (illegal) aliens residing in the United States have fostered considerable interest in the eligibility of noncitizens for U.S. Social Security benefits. The So...
Infrastructure Finance and Debt to Support Surface Transportation Investment
Congressional Research Service · 2016-11-17 · Reports · 11,047 words
Investment in surface transportation infrastructure is funded mainly with current receipts from taxes, tolls, and fares, but it is financed by public-sector borrowing and, in some cases, private borro...