The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: A Primer
Congress enacted the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA, P.L. 104-4) to “strengthen the partnership between Federal, State, local, and tribal governments by ensuring that the impact of legisla...
Interstate Compacts: An Overview
The Compact Clause (Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3) provides that “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, ... enter into Any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power...
Managing Electronic Messages from High-Level Officials Through Capstone
In the course of their official duties, federal employees regularly create federal records and, therefore, have records management responsibilities. The Federal Records Act (FRA; 44 U.S.C. Chapters 21...
The President’s Authority to Use the National Guard or the Armed Forces to Secure the Border
On May 2, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved a request from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to send an additional 1,500 active-d...
Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program: Issues and Congressional Considerations
Congress appropriated $42.45 billion to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to administer the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program established unde...
Supreme Court Addresses Scope of False Claims Act’s Knowledge Requirement
On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., a case involving the scienter, or mental state, requirement of the False Claims Act (FCA). The FCA proh...
Congressional Primer on Responding to and Recovering from Major Disasters and Emergencies
In the United States, the principles of disaster management presume a leadership role by the state, local, territorial, and tribal (SLTT) governments affected by the incident. The U.S. federal governm...
Central Asia: Implications of Russia’s War in Ukraine
The five countries of Central Asia—Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—share historical, economic, and military ties with Russia, but since they became independen...
Defense Primer: International Armaments Cooperation
What is International Armaments Cooperation?
International armaments cooperation (IAC) refers to an array of research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E), procurement, and sustainment partne...
Immigration 101: Executive Branch Agencies Involved with Immigration
While Congress has plenary power over immigration law, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Homeland Security Act (HSA), and other laws grant substantial discretion over immigration policy to th...
Debating the Public Debt Clause
As early as June 5, 2023, according to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, the federal government could face a “binding” statutory debt limit. If the debt limit were to bind, the Secretary would b...
Financial Disclosure in the U.S. Government: Frequently Asked Questions
Federal government officials and employees, when taking official action, are expected to “put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to persons, party, or Government depa...
Executive Branch Ethics and Financial Disclosure Administration: The Role of Designated Agency Ethics Officials (DAEOs)
When acting in an official capacity, federal public servants are expected to put the government’s interests ahead of their own. Federal laws (e.g., the Ethics in Government Act, 5 U.S.C. §§13101-13111...
Medical Product Regulation: Drugs, Biologics, and Devices
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the safety and effectiveness of drugs, biologics, and devices (“medical products”) pursuant to its authorities under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmeti...