The U.S. Army’s Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) System
Background
Protecting high-value military sites against enemy cruise missile (CM), unmanned aerial system (UAS), and rocket, artillery, and mortar (RAM) attacks has long been an important consideratio...
No Surprises Act (NSA) Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) Process Data Analysis for 2023
The No Surprises Act (NSA), part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260), established various consumer protections related to surprise billing—that is, circumstances in which indiv...
Overview of Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Access to Taxpayer Data and Recent Law (Title II of P.L. 118-258)
The Supporting America’s Children and Families Act (P.L. 118-258) was enacted on January 4, 2025. Title II of the law, which passed the House on September 18, 2024, 405-10, and was approved in the Sen...
January 2025 Los Angeles County Wildfires
Introduction
Starting on January 7, 2025, 10 wildfires—the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Woodley, Lidia, Sunset, Kenneth, Archer, Auto, and Little Mountain Fires—began in Los Angeles (LA) County, Californi...
Small Business Research Programs: Overview and Issues for Reauthorization in the 119th Congress
Small businesses are often viewed as being critical to the economy—creating jobs, improving productivity, and advancing innovation. Given the perceived importance of small businesses, Congress has a l...
Western Hemisphere: Issues for the 119th Congress
The Trump Administration’s 2020 Western Hemisphere Strategic Framework asserted that “deep geographic, economic, and cultural ties make the region critical to United States national security, peace, a...
Lying in State or Honor in the U.S. Capitol by Non-Members of Congress
From January 7 to January 9, 2025, President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr. lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. On December 30, 2024, House and Senate leaders issued a joint letter to announce th...
Water Resources Development Acts: Primer and Action in the 118th Congress
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is a Department of Defense agency that, among other missions, develops water resource projects, principally to improve navigable channels, reduce flood and sto...
Biden Administration Withdraws Offshore Areas from Oil and Gas Leasing: Can a Withdrawal Be Withdrawn?
On January 6, 2025, President Joe Biden issued two presidential memoranda directing the withdrawal of areas in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the northern Bering Se...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH): Background and Congressional Issues
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the leading federal agency for biomedical and health research. In FY2024, NIH used its over $47 bil...