Federal Inspection of Meat, Poultry, and Egg Products
On July 19, 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and state public health regulatory...
Federal Deductibility of State and Local Taxes
Under current law, taxpayers who itemize can deduct state and local real estate taxes, personal property taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes (in lieu of income taxes) from federal income when calcula...
Legislative Branch Agency Appointments: History, Processes, and Recent Actions
The leaders of the legislative branch agencies and entities—the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Library of Congress (LOC), the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Government Publishi...
Federal Student Loan Debt Relief in the Context of COVID-19
In early 2020, in response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump Administration declared a public health emergency under the Public Health Service Act, a national emergency under the National E...
Offshore Wind: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Engagement with Federally Recognized Tribes
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), within the Department of the Interior (DOI), administers offshore wind leasing on the U.S. outer continental shelf (OCS). Among its responsibilities, BOEM...
The Small Business Administration’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition
Small businesses and startups sometimes benefit from assistance growing their companies, including opportunities to raise capital, mentorship, and commercialization help. Accelerators—organizations of...
Legal Definitions: A Research Guide for Congressional Staff
This report is designed to introduce congressional staff to examples of legal and nonlegal sources, including statutes, legislation, and dictionaries, for researching legal definitions. It includes go...
Restoration of Cell Phone Services: Hurricane Helene
On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida. The hurricane caused flooding and damage to personal property and critical infrastructure, including roads, power, and commun...
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing: Frequently Asked Questions
Over the past two decades, successive U.S. Administrations and Congresses have recognized that illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing threatens national, regional, and global security and ...
Credit Card Swipe Fees and Routing Restrictions
The basic structure of a credit payment involves a customer, the customer’s bank (called the issuing bank), a card payment network, the merchant, the merchant’s bank (called the acquiring bank), and p...
False Statements and Perjury: An Overview of Federal Criminal Law
Federal courts, Congress, and federal agencies rely upon truthful information in order to make informed decisions. Federal law therefore proscribes providing the federal courts, Congress, or federal a...
False Statements and Perjury: An Abridged Overview of Federal Criminal Law
Federal courts, Congress, and federal agencies rely upon truthful information in order to make informed decisions. Federal law therefore proscribes providing the federal courts, Congress, or federal a...
The Equal Time Rule for Political Candidates: Constitutional Context
On July 23, 2024, two days after announcing that he would exit the 2024 presidential race, President Joe Biden wrote on social media that he would address the country on “what lies ahead.” In advance ...
The Federal Land Management Agencies
The Property Clause in the U.S. Constitution (Article IV, Section 3, clause 2) provides Congress the authority to acquire, dispose of, and manage federal property. Currently, approximately 640 million...