H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections Act (ACE Act): Legal Background
On July 11, 2023, H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections Act (ACE Act), was introduced in the 118th Congress. The ACE Act proposes to amend federal election law primarily in the areas of elec...
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers: Background and Current Status
Trade Adjustment Assistance, TAA, TAAW, Outsourcing, offshoring, foreign trade, foreign competition, free trade, job training, income support, unemployment, dislocated workers, unemployment insurance,...
Fourth Circuit Says Public Charter Schools Are State Actors, Supreme Court Declines to Weigh In
On June 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Fourth Circuit) held in Peltier v. Charter Day Schools that a public charter school’s dress code policy discriminated against female...
H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act
H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act, proposes substantial changes to federal election administration and campaign finance law. The Committee on House Administration (CHA) ordered...
Strategic Competition in the Arctic
Arctic, strategic competition, great power competition, homeland security, coast guard, icebreaker, Polar Security Cutter, PSC, Russia, China
The Department of Homeland Security’s “Metering” Policy: Legal Issues
Generally, an alien who arrives in the United States without valid documentation is subject to a streamlined, expedited removal process, but may pursue asylum and related protections if, during proces...
Gun Control, Veterans’ Benefits, and Mental Incompetency Determinations
The federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended, prohibits certain classes of persons from purchasing or possessing firearms and ammunition. One of the classes of prohibited persons are those who have...
Supreme Court Holds That Federal Labor Relations Authority Has Jurisdiction to Regulate State National Guards
On May 18, 2023, the Supreme Court decided Ohio Adjutant General’s Department v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, a case on the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s (FLRA’s) power to regulate the lab...
Post-Wildfire Debris Flows: Federal Role in Assessment and Warning
A debris flow (also known as a mudflow or mudslide) is a type of landslide that involves a slurry of water, soil, rock, vegetation, or other debris moving down a slope. Often a debris flow may encount...
303 Creative v. Elenis: Supreme Court Recognizes Free Speech Exception to Nondiscrimination Law
In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, issued on June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause barred a state from enforcing its nondiscrimination law against a website ...
Supreme Court Invalidates Student Loan Cancellation Policy Under the HEROES Act
On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court decided two cases concerning the Department of Education’s (ED’s) plan to cancel up to $20,000 of outstanding federal student loan debt for certain borrowers. In Bi...
Polselli v. IRS: Supreme Court Clarifies Notice Requirements for a Third-Party IRS Summons
In Polselli v. IRS, decided on May 18, 2023, the Supreme Court held that when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues a third-party summons to aid the collection of a taxpayer’s delinquent taxes, th...
“Reserved” but Not “Secured”: Supreme Court Sinks Navajo Nation’s Attempt to Compel Federal Action on Tribal Water Rights
On June 22, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision in two consolidated cases (hereinafter Navajo Nation) involving the Navajo Nation’s rights to water on the Navajo Reservation, which generally l...
Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP): Overview of Recent Research, Legislation, and Selected Issues for Congress
Across many countries and in the United States, Indigenous peoples—women and girls in particular—are disproportionately affected by violence. In the United States, for example, 84% of American Indian ...
The Supreme Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action at Harvard and the University of North Carolina
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision upending precedent permitting limited use of race in higher education admissions. In an opinion deciding a pair of cases, Students for Fair A...
The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax: Overview, Data, and Policy Options
Since 2013, certain higher-income individuals have been subject to a 3.8% “unearned income Medicare contribution” tax, more commonly referred to as the net investment income tax (NIIT). The statutory ...
Status of Efforts to Restore Chesapeake Bay Water Quality
For decades, Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia), multiple federal and local agencies, and others have work...