High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program
Administered by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the HIDTA program provides assistance to law enforcement agencies—at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels—that...
Sequestration as a Budget Enforcement Process: Frequently Asked Questions
A sequester provides for the automatic cancellation of previously enacted spending, making largely across-the-board reductions to nonexempt programs, activities, and accounts. Sequestration is current...
AUKUS and Indo-Pacific Security
In 2021, Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States announced a trilateral security partnership intended to “deepen diplomatic, security, and defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific reg...
NIH Indirect Costs Policy for Research Grants: Recent Developments
On February 7, 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), published supplemental policy guidance that instituted a 15% indirect cost...
The Committee Markup Process in the House of Representatives
The purpose of a committee markup is to determine whether a bill or draft bill should be recommended to the full House and, if so, in what form. At the beginning of a markup, committee members often m...
Letters of Marque and Reprisal (Part 1): Introduction and Historical Context
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution authorizes Congress to “grant letters of Marque and Reprisal[,]” which are instruments that permit private citizens to seize enemy vessels and their...
Letters of Marque and Reprisal (Part 2): Drafting History and U.S. Practice
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution authorizes Congress to “grant letters of Marque and Reprisal[,]” which are instruments that permit private citizens to seize enemy vessels and their...
India’s Domestic Political Setting
Overview
India, the world’s most populous country, is, according to its Constitution, a “sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic” where the bulk of executive power rests with the prime mini...
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974: Background and Congressional Consideration of Rescissions
Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress exercises the “power of the purse.” This power is expressed through the application of several provisions, particularly Article I, Section 9, clause 7, which stat...
Medicaid’s Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD) Exclusion
Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that finances the delivery of primary and acute medical services, as well as long-term services and supports, for a diverse low-income population, including c...