Removal Protections for Administrative Adjudicators: Constitutional Scrutiny and Considerations for Congress
Since the passage of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 1946, administrative law judges (ALJs) across all federal agencies have enjoyed statutory removal protection. The Constitution, however, ...
The Clean Water Act at Fifty: Highlights and Lessons Learned from a Half Century of Transformative Legislation
Clean Water Act, CWA, water pollution, wastewater, Water Resources Reform and Development Act, America’s Water Infrastructure Act, AIWA, Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, WIFIA, Sewer O...
Supreme Court Overturns HHS Regulation Reducing the Medicare Outpatient Drug Reimbursement Rate for 340B Hospitals
On June 15, 2022, the Supreme Court unanimously decided American Hospital Association (AHA) v. Becerra, holding that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) lacked discretion to cut Medicare’...
The U.S. Dollar as the World’s Dominant Reserve Currency
The U.S. dollar is the world’s dominant reserve currency, among other such currencies including the euro, the yen, the pound, the renminbi (RMB), the Canadian dollar, the Swiss franc, and the Australi...
Global Research and Development Expenditures: Fact Sheet
Research and development (R&D) plays a central role in advanced economies in areas such as economic growth and job creation, industrial competitiveness, national security, energy, agriculture, transpo...
Statutory Basis for Biden Administration Student Loan Forgiveness
On August 24, 2022, President Joe Biden announced a plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan balances for borrowers with annual income in 2020 or 2021 below $125,000 or household income below $25...
Undersea Telecommunication Cables: Technology Overview and Issues for Congress
Undersea telecommunication cables enable consumers, businesses, and governments, including the military, to communicate with each other and to access the internet. Private and state-owned telecommunic...
U.S. Research and Development Funding and Performance: Fact Sheet
Research and development (R&D) in the United States is funded and performed by a number of sectors—including the federal government, state governments, businesses, academia, and nonprofit organization...
The Insurrection Bar to Office: Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment
In the aftermath of the events of January 6, 2021, in and around the U.S. Capitol, there have been calls for accountability for those who participated, as well as for those who may have helped instiga...
Reservations, Understandings, Declarations, and Other Conditions to Treaties
Article II, Section 2, clause 2, of the U.S. Constitution (the Treaty Clause) permits the President “by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Sena...
Department of Defense Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E): Appropriations Structure
The Department of Defense (DOD) conducts research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) in support of its mission requirements. The work funded by these appropriations plays a central role in the...