Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Funding Overview
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works to protect public health by providing leadership, information, and scientific expertise in preventing and controlling diseases, including out...
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2024 Budget and Appropriations
Each year, Congress considers 12 distinct appropriations measures to fund federal programs and activities. One of these is the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) app...
Disqualification of a Candidate for the Presidency, Part I: Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment as It Applies to the Presidency
On March 4, 2024, the Supreme Court in Trump v. Anderson reversed the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in Anderson v. Griswold that former President Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s prim...
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Appropriations: FY2025 President’s Budget Request
Since FY2006, Congress has funded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations acts. For FY2025, the President requested $10.99 bill...
Supreme Court Allows Emergency Abortions in Idaho but Leaves Litigation Unresolved
On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court, in a one-sentence, unsigned (per curiam) order accompanied by four concurring and/or dissenting opinions, concluded that it had “improvidently granted” review befo...
Northeast Asia: Key to Liquefied Natural Gas Markets
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Northeast Asia—including China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—is the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importing region in the world. In 2023, it accounted for approximately 50% of global LNG tra...
From Bill to Law: Stages of the Legislative Process
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Prepared by Valerie Heitshusen (Information as of July 11, 2024. Prepared by Valerie Heitshusen, Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process, Jennifer E. Manning,
Senior Research Librarian, a...
Fischer v. United States: Supreme Court Reads Federal Obstruction Provision Narrowly in Capitol Breach Prosecution
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Fischer v. United States, a case concerning whether a federal obstruction of justice statute covers a defendant’s alleged participation in the ...
Presidential Immunity from Criminal Prosecution in Trump v. United States
On July 1, the Supreme Court issued a divided 6-3 opinion in Trump v. United States addressing, for the first time, the existence and scope of a constitutionally based presidential immunity from crimi...
NATO’s July 2024 Washington, DC Summit: In Brief
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) 2024 summit, marking the alliance’s 75th anniversary, is scheduled to be held in Washington, DC, July 9-11. In addition to highlighting NATO’s past achi...
Botswana
Botswana, dubbed “an excellent democratic partner” by the State Department, generally performs well on governance, economic, and human development metrics. The arid, landlocked, and sparsely populated...
Erlinger v. United States: Supreme Court Rules on Jury Determination for Prior Offenses for ACCA Sentencing Purposes
Introduction
Near the end of its term, the Supreme Court in Erlinger v. United States held that the right to a jury trial, complete with proof beyond a reasonable doubt found by a unanimous panel, att...
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Sections 3 and 4—Presidential Disability
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment, proposed by Congress in 1965 and ratified by the states in 1967, provides for presidential succession, vice presidential vacancies, and presidential disability. Presidentia...
United States v. Bannon: Criminal Contempt of Congress and Bad Faith
On May 10, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) decided United States v. Bannon, an appeal of Stephen Bannon’s conviction under the criminal contempt of Congress statute...
Considerations for Implementing Congressionally Directed Spending: How Federal Agencies Administer Earmarks
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328), and the community projects detailed in the joint explanatory statement, provided approximately $15.3 billion for community project funding (al...
Tribal Self-Determination Authorities
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1 DOI, "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible to Receive Services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs," 89 Federal
Register 944, January 8, 2024; 2 P.L. 93-638, §3; 3 P.L. 103-413, ...