Bureau of Land Management: FY2023 Appropriations
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in the Department of the Interior (DOI), manages 244 million acres of federal land, nearly all in the West. Under its multiple-use mission, BLM manages lands for d...
Federal Statutory Bankruptcy Alternatives: A Roadmap
In most cases, a bankrupt entity will either liquidate or reorganize under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and the U.S. bankruptcy courts will administer those proceedings. There are, however, certain entit...
SBA Disaster Loan Interest Rates: Overview and Policy Options
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is authorized to provide low-interest, long-term disaster loans, either on a direct basis or in partnership with private lenders, to eligible individuals, busin...
COVID-19 Relief Assistance to Small Businesses: Issues and Policy Options
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several types of programs to support small businesses, including direct disaster loan programs for businesses, homeowners, and renters; loan gu...
SEC-Proposed Regulations to Reform Stock Trading
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates capital markets, announced four proposed rules on December 14, 2022, to reform the market structure for trading. The proposed regulation a...
The Federal Patient-Provider Dispute Resolution Process
Introduction
The No Surprises Act, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260), established various consumer protections, including the prohibition of balance billing consumers in...
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) FY2023 Budget Request and Appropriations
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an agency of the Department of Commerce whose mission is to understand and predict changes in weather, climate, oceans, and coasts; to sha...
Preventing Improper Payments: Lessons from Using Data Matching in Pandemic Relief Program Oversight
For the past several decades, data matching has enabled the use of government data to identify fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in benefit programs. Data matching is the comparison of different ...
Federal Lands and Related Resources: Overview and Selected Issues for the 118th Congress
The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the authority to acquire, dispose of, and manage federal property. The 118th Congress faces multiple policy issues related to federal lands and the natural, cultu...
East Palestine, OH, Train Derailment and Hazardous Materials Shipment by Rail: Frequently Asked Questions
On February 3, 2023, a freight train carrying hazardous materials operated by Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation derailed in the town of East Palestine, OH. The derailment involved a fire and damage...
Prior Converted Cropland Under the Clean Water Act
For decades, the value of wetlands and efforts to protect them have been recognized in different ways through national policies, federal laws, and regulations. The central federal regulatory program, ...
Trade-Related Agencies: FY2023 Appropriations, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS)
This report provides an overview of actions taken by the Administration and Congress to provide Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations for the International Trade Administration (ITA), the U.S. Internat...
Cryptocurrency: Selected Policy Issues
Cryptocurrencies are digital financial instruments exchanged across public blockchains, and recorded on ledgers, that do not require central intermediaries (e.g., commercial banks, central banks) for ...