Campus Protests, Federal Funding, and the First Amendment
Recent protests at college campuses regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict have gained nationwide attention, raising questions as to when authorities may, within the bounds of the First Amendment, take a...
Government Coercion of Private Speech: National Rifle Association (NRA) v. Vullo
On May 30, 2024, the Supreme Court released its opinion in National Rifle Association (NRA) v. Vullo, a case addressing the First Amendment limitations on coercive government speech. Although the Firs...
The Impact of Proposed Rescheduling of Marijuana on D.C. Regulatory Authority
In 2014, voters in the District of Columbia (the “District”) approved Initiative 71, a ballot measure that, as a matter of local D.C. law, repealed the local prohibition on the recreational use of mar...
Supreme Court Overrules Chevron Framework
In what has the potential to be one of the most consequential decisions in federal administrative law, the Supreme Court on June 28, 2024, overruled Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense C...
De Novo Banks: Policy Issues for the 118th Congress
While the size of the banking system has grown in terms of assets, the number of banks has steadily fallen over the past four decades. For example, in the 1980s, there were more than 18,000 banks. Tod...
Supreme Court Declines to Decide Whether Sixteenth Amendment Requires “Realization” to Tax Income
On June 20, 2024, the Supreme Court decided Moore v. United States, an appeal challenging a one-time “Mandatory Repatriation Tax” (MRT) on U.S. shareholders of a foreign corporation for accumulated, b...
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations for FY2024
The House and the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations subcommittees are charged with providing annual appropriations for the Department of ...
United States Trustee v. John Q. Hammons Fall 2006, LLC: Congressional Intent in Determining Remedies for Violations of the Bankruptcy Clause Uniformity Requirement
On June 14, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision in United States Trustee v. John Q. Hammons Fall 2006, LLC that specified the appropriate remedy for individuals affected by the Court’s 2022 ...
Federal Material Witness Statute: A Legal Overview of 18 U.S.C. § 3144
This is an overview of the law under the federal material witness statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3144, which authorizes the arrest of material witnesses, permits their release under essentially the same bail la...
Department of Defense Contractors and Efforts to Mitigate Foreign Influence
Some U.S. firms, including some Department of Defense (DOD) contractors, receive foreign investment or have other ties to foreign entities, including foreign firms and foreign governments. Some DOD co...
The Biden Administration’s Proclamation and Rule, Securing the Border, and DHS Operational Constraints
Citing record high levels of enforcement encounters at the Southwest land border (SWB), President Biden signed a Presidential Proclamation on June 3, 2024, that suspends and limits the entry of certai...
The Department of Labor’s 2024 Final Rule on Investment Advice in Private Sector Pension Plans and Individual Retirement Accounts
On April 25, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final regulation to redefine investment advice within private sector pension and retirement plans, which replaced regulations issued in 1975 (...
National Level Exercises: History, Authorities, and Congressional Considerations
Every two years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducts a National Level Exercise (NLE) to evaluate the nation’s progress toward preparedness for catastrophic events. These exercises ...
Hemp Provisions in the House Farm Bill and FY2025 Agriculture Appropriations Bill
Recent action by the House Agriculture Committee on the next farm bill (Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024; H.R. 8467, as amended) and the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on t...
Automobiles, Air Pollution, and Climate Change
On August 5, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14037, “Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks” (86 FR 43583). The order required, among other items, executive agencies t...
Medicaid Coverage for Former Foster Youth Up to Age 26
Children are removed from families and placed into foster care due to incidents of abuse, neglect, or other family crisis. During FY2022, nearly 570,000 children spent at least a day in foster care. O...
Foreign Ownership, Control, and Influence (FOCI) Risks in the Food and Agriculture Sector
In recent years, congressional concerns over potential risks to domestic food security posed by foreign ownership, control, and influence (FOCI) of critical infrastructure in the U.S. food and agricul...