Family-to-Family Health Information Centers: Current Status and Policy Considerations
Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2F HIC) receive mandatory appropriations to provide information, education, technical assistance, and peer support to families of children and youth with ...
Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs): Frequently Asked Questions
Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) offer a range of services for veterans, servicemembers, dependents, and survivors. Some VSOs may provide programming for veterans in their communities, such as jo...
Gun Control: Juvenile Record Checks for 18- to 21-Year-Olds
On June 25, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA; P.L. 117-159), which includes several firearms-related sections. Section 12001 addresses juvenile access t...
National Infrastructure Bank: Proposals in the 118th Congress
Introduction
The term infrastructure generally refers to long-lived, capital-intensive systems and facilities in the areas of transportation, energy, water, and telecommunications. Some broader defini...
Statutory Federal Gun Registry Prohibitions and ATF Record Retention Requirements
On April 11, 2022, the Attorney General signed a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) final rule, Final Rule 2021R-05F, that includes a provision requiring gun dealers to retain t...
CFPB Consumer Complaints: U.S. and Congressional District Data
Consumers having trouble with a consumer financial product or service—such as with a mortgage, student loan, credit card, payday loan, bank account, credit reporting, or debt collection—can submit com...
Haiti: Recent Developments and U.S. Policy
Haiti, located on the island of Hispaniola bordering the Dominican Republic, remains mired in interrelated political, security, and humanitarian crises. Haiti lacks an elected president and legislatur...
Parliamentary Elections in Bangladesh: Overview and Issues for Congress
Overview
Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority South Asian country of 167 million, held parliamentary elections on January 7, 2024, amid concerns about democratic backsliding and political violence. Incumbent...
International Tax Proposals Addressing Profit Shifting: Pillars 1 and 2
On June 5, 2021, finance ministers of the Group of 7 (G7) countries, including the United States, agreed in a communiqué to two proposals addressing global profit shifting. They agreed to Pillar 1, al...
The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022 (Division FF, Title I of P.L. 117-328, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023): Section-by-Section Summary
The Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act was enacted on December 29, 2022, as Division FF, Title I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328). The act primarily reautho...
Artificial Intelligence Prompts Renewed Consideration of a Federal Right of Publicity
Recent uses of artificial intelligence (AI) to create realistic images, videos, replicas, or voice simulations of real people have prompted some Members of Congress to call for federal legislation to ...
Foreign Country Actions to Place the Israel-Hamas Conflict Before International Courts
The escalation since October 7, 2023, in the Israel-Hamas conflict has reportedly resulted in significant civilian casualties; destruction of civilian residential areas and infrastructure, including h...
The AI Executive Order and Considerations for Federal Privacy Policy
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14110 on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. This E.O. advances a coordinated approach to t...
Supreme Court to Consider Request to Stay EPA’s Good Neighbor Interstate Air Pollution Rule
On February 21, 2024, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear argument on applications to postpone implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) “Good Neighbor Plan,” a rule addr...
September 12, 2023, Is Estimated to Be the Beginning of the Congressional Review Act “Lookback” Period
The Congressional Review Act (CRA, 5 U.S.C. §§801-808) is an oversight tool that Congress may use to consider a joint resolution overturning a rule issued by a federal agency. Under the act, when a ru...
Misunderstood mechanics: How AI, TikTok, and the liar's dividend might affect the 2024 elections
It’s been over a year since the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched an international conversation about how generative artificial intelligence—i.e., AI capable of producing text, images, video, and m...
Congress’s Power over Court Decisions: Jurisdiction Stripping and the Rule of Klein
Article III of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government, creating a federal judiciary with significant independence, providing federal judges with life tenure, and pr...