Policy Library

7,020 documents

Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski: Determining When A Statute Creates a Federal Right Actionable Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Congressional Research Service · 2022-11-03 · Posts · 2,995 words · PDF available
Not every right under the Constitution or federal statute is explicitly associated with a private remedy. One federal law that provides a remedy when state or local governments violate rights protecte...
The Major Questions Doctrine
Congressional Research Service · 2022-11-02 · Resources · 1,762 words · PDF available
Congress frequently delegates authority to agencies to regulate particular aspects of society, in general or broad terms. However, in a number of decisions, the Supreme Court has declared that if an a...
Veteran Status Based on Service with Certain Civilian Groups
Congressional Research Service · 2022-11-02 · Resources · 1,597 words · PDF available
Throughout history, civilians have played a role in supporting U.S. Armed Forces both at home and abroad. In some circumstances, civilians have deployed to a theater of combat as government employees ...
Unemployment Insurance Program Integrity: Recent Developments
Congressional Research Service · 2022-11-02 · Resources · 1,667 words · PDF available
Program integrity activities are designed to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of government resources. The federal-state Unemployment Insurance (UI) system has faced long-standing program integrity cha...
The Federal Contested Election Act: Overview and Recent Contests in the House of Representatives
Congressional Research Service · 2022-11-02 · Resources · 1,752 words · PDF available
The Federal Contested Election Act (FCEA; 2 U.S.C. §§381-396), enacted in 1969, rests at the intersection of federal election law and policy, legislative procedure, and constitutional provisions regar...
EMTALA Emergency Abortion Care Litigation: Overview and Initial Observations (Part I of II)
Congressional Research Service · 2022-11-01 · Posts · 1,306 words · PDF available
After the Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey in holding that the U.S. Constitu...
State Legislatures, State Courts, and Federal Elections: U.S. Supreme Court to Consider Moore v. Harper
Congressional Research Service · 2022-11-01 · Posts · 3,475 words
During the fall 2022 term, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a case that could significantly affect how states regulate federal elections. In Moore v. Harper, the Court is poise...
EMTALA Emergency Abortion Care Litigation: Overview and Initial Observations (Part II of II)
Congressional Research Service · 2022-11-01 · Posts · 2,377 words · PDF available
As discussed in Part I of this Legal Sidebar series, after the Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and state abortion restrictions began going into effect in some states...
Presenting Measures to the President for Approval: Possible Delays
Congressional Research Service · 2022-11-01 · Reports · 7,044 words · PDF available
The Constitution requires Congress to present each measure it enacts to the President for approval. While the Constitution requires the President to act on measures within 10 days of their presentment...
Online Consumer Data Collection and Data Privacy
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-31 · Reports · 12,091 words · PDF available
Large amounts of consumer data can be collected, processed, and analyzed by operators of websites and mobile applications (apps) and third parties, which are entities other than the website or app pri...
Pakistan’s 2022 Floods and Implications for U.S. Interests
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-28 · Resources · 1,576 words · PDF available
Overview The summer 2022 floods in Pakistan created a humanitarian crisis and raised environmental and governance issues with implications for U.S. interests. In mid-June, at the beginning of monsoon ...
New Markets Tax Credit: An Introduction
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-26 · Reports · 4,082 words · PDF available
The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) is a nonrefundable tax credit intended to encourage private capital investment in eligible, impoverished, low-income communities. NMTCs are allocated by the Community...
U.S. Aluminum Manufacturing: Industry Trends and Sustainability
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-26 · Reports · 9,317 words · PDF available
Aluminum—a lightweight, ductile, malleable, and corrosion-resistant metal—is a major component used in a wide range of consumer, industrial, and technological goods, including aircraft, building mater...
Timber Harvesting on Federal Lands
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-25 · Reports · 10,595 words · PDF available
Congress has granted some federal land management agencies the authority to sell timber from federal lands. Two agencies, the Forest Service (FS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), conduct timbe...
Potential Enforcement of State Abortion Laws on Federal Property
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-24 · Reports · 5,471 words · PDF available
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a number of state laws now regulate pre-viability abortions. At the same time, several federal agencies, i...
The EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework: Background, Implementation, and Next Steps
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-24 · Posts · 1,684 words · PDF available
On October 7, 2022, President Biden signed and issued the Executive Order on Enhancing Safeguards for United States Signals Intelligence Activities (the Data Protection EO or the EO). The Data Protect...
FEMA’s Role in Logistics Management for Disaster Response
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-24 · Resources · 1,451 words · PDF available
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) plays a key role in responding to domestic emergencies and disasters. Part of FEMA’s response role is logistics and supply chain management to ensure sup...
Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 117th Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-21 · Reports · 17,437 words
The 117th Congress has taken action on bills that address a range of immigration issues and has enacted several immigration provisions. Most of the enacted provisions are included in appropriations ac...
Small Business Research Programs: SBIR and STTR
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-21 · Reports · 18,356 words
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program was established in 1982 by the Small Business Innovation Development Act (P.L. 97-219) to increase the participation of small innovative companies...
Sanctions Legislation and the Bill of Attainder Clause
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-21 · Resources · 1,820 words · PDF available
Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution prohibits Congress from enacting bills of attainder. The Supreme Court has described a bill of attainder as “a law that legislatively determines guilt and inf...
The Americans with Disabilities Act in Cyberspace: ADA Applicability to Websites
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-20 · Posts · 2,472 words · PDF available
In 1990, passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) required businesses nationwide to accommodate people with disabilities. Under the statute’s terms, for example, a “motion picture house” o...
The Americans with Disabilities Act in Cyberspace: Website Accessibility Standards
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-20 · Posts · 2,446 words · PDF available
Written in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gives uncertain guidance about businesses’ and nonprofits’ responsibility to make their online offerings accessible to the disabled. As expla...
Statutory Testimony Requirements: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-19 · Reports · 10,142 words · PDF available
Congress uses a number of tools and strategies to conduct oversight of the executive branch. Recent challenges in several high-profile investigations have caused some to question the effectiveness of ...
Community Development Block Grant Public Service Expenditure Cap: In Brief
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-19 · Reports · 3,664 words · PDF available
The Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG), administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a primary source of flexible federal funding to states and localiti...
The National Security Council: Background and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-19 · Reports · 10,468 words · PDF available
On February 4, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden signed National Security Memorandum (NSM)-2, Renewing the National Security Council System. In it, the Biden Administration articulates how it intends to...
Net Neutrality Law: An Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-18 · Reports · 12,168 words · PDF available
While there is general support for the basic concept of the open internet, net neutrality has been a perennially difficult subject for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission). The co...
Immigration: Public Charge 2022 Final Rule
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-18 · Posts · 987 words · PDF available
Under federal immigration law, a noncitizen (alien) who is likely to become a public charge is deemed inadmissible, or ineligible to be admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident (LP...
Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2023 (Division A of P.L. 117-180)
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-18 · Reports · 10,463 words · PDF available
This report provides an analysis of the continuing appropriations provisions included in the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2023 (Division A of P.L. 117-180). On September 30, 2022, the President sign...
Flooding: Selected Federal Assistance and Programs to Reduce Risk
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-18 · Reports · 24,677 words · PDF available
Recent flood disasters and concerns about future flood risks have raised congressional and public interest in communities’ ability to adapt to, withstand, and recover rapidly from floods. Federal prog...
Issues in Law Enforcement Reform: Responding to Mental Health Crises
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-17 · Reports · 17,882 words · PDF available
The manner in which police have handled mental health-related encounters has come under increased scrutiny during the last few decades, especially regarding the use of force. Through hearings and legi...
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-17 · Reports · 5,998 words · PDF available
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is an agency within the Department of Defense with both military and civil works responsibilities. The agency’s civil works activities consist largely of the p...
LGBTQ Pride Month: Fact Sheet
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-17 · Reports · 1,029 words · PDF available
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month, which is observed during the month of June, celebrates the achievements of the LGBTQ community and recognizes the historical and cult...
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-17 · Resources · 1,714 words · PDF available
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a trade agreement, signed in late 2020 after eight years of talks, among the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)...
Overview of the 340B Drug Discount Program
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-14 · Resources · 1,691 words · PDF available
Congress created the 340B Drug Discount Program (340B) in 1992 through the Veteran’s Health Care Act (P.L. 102-585) to enable health care providers that serve low-income and uninsured patients to purc...
Social Security: Scheduled Versus Payable Benefits
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-14 · Resources · 1,431 words · PDF available
Background Social Security is a self-financing program that, in 2022, covers approximately 182 million workers and provides monthly cash benefits to over 65 million beneficiaries. Social Security is c...
Opening the Floodgates? Federal Circuit Lets Claims Proceed Against Corps of Engineers for Hurricane-Related Flooding
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-13 · Posts · 2,561 words · PDF available
Can private property owners make the United States government pay for flood damage to their land during a natural disaster where the United States has undertaken activities to reduce flood risks? The ...
Women in Congress: Statistics and Brief Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-13 · Reports · 9,657 words · PDF available
As of October 12, 2022, 151 women are serving in the 117th Congress. There are 127 women serving in the House (including 3 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner), 93 Democrats and 34 Republicans. Th...
Forfeiture Trail for Russian Oligarchs’ Luxury Assets
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-13 · Posts · 537 words · PDF available
The Justice Department recently announced issuance of seizure warrants for a luxury yacht and airplanes located in various foreign countries and owned by sanctioned Russian oligarchs. The warrants ant...
Courts Evaluate the Role of Contract Pharmacies in the 340B Drug Discount Program
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-13 · Posts · 2,253 words · PDF available
Congress created the 340B Drug Discount Program (340B) in 1992 through the Veteran’s Health Care Act (P.L. 102-585) to enable safety net providers (those that provide health care services to “uninsure...
Women in Congress, 1917-2022: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and Lists by State and Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-13 · Reports · 35,360 words
In total 400 women have been elected or appointed to Congress, 260 Democrats and 140 Republicans. These figures include six nonvoting Delegates, one each from Guam, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, a...
Wilderness: Issues and Legislation
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-12 · Reports · 10,210 words · PDF available
The Wilderness Act of 1964 established the National Wilderness Preservation System and, in it, Congress reserved for itself the authority to designate federal lands as part of the system. As of Septem...
Ranked-Choice Voting: Legal Challenges and Considerations for Congress
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-12 · Posts · 1,953 words · PDF available
Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is an alternative voting system that allows voters to rank multiple candidates on a ballot in order of preference. RCV has been adopted in at least 50 jurisdictions across t...
FTC Considers Adopting Commercial Surveillance and Data Security Rules
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-12 · Posts · 2,536 words · PDF available
On August 11, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) announcing that the agency is considering enacting new regulations on “commercial survei...
The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-12 · Resources · 1,569 words · PDF available
The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson; 16 U.S.C. §§669 et seq.), initially enacted in 1937 as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (50 Stat. 917), provides funding f...
Reserve Funds in the Congressional Budget Process: Frequently Asked Questions
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-12 · Reports · 2,921 words · PDF available
Reserve funds authorize the chair of the Budget Committee to revise the budgetary levels agreed to in the budget resolution in order to accommodate certain policies or legislation. A reserve fund prov...
Data Protection and Privacy Law: An Introduction
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-12 · Resources · 1,608 words · PDF available
Recent controversy surrounding how third parties protect the privacy of individuals in the digital age has raised national concerns over legal protections of Americans’ electronic data. The current le...
Environmental, Social and Governance Funds: SEC-Proposed Disclosure Reform
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-12 · Resources · 1,672 words · PDF available
On May 25, 2022, citing concerns over lack of consistent, comparable, and reliable investor disclosures regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) fund and ESG investment adviser strategies...
Bankruptcy Basics: A Primer
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-12 · Reports · 20,517 words · PDF available
U.S. bankruptcy law has two central aims. First, it seeks to relieve debtors of certain financial obligations they are unable to satisfy by providing them with a “fresh start” from those difficulties....
Courts Clarify Federal Railroad Safety Act Employee Protection for “Good Faith” Safety Reports
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-11 · Posts · 2,192 words · PDF available
The Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) contains several provisions that prohibit railroads from punishing an employee for engaging in certain protected activities, including reporting safety hazards, ...
The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Brief Overview
Congressional Research Service · 2022-10-11 · Resources · 1,706 words · PDF available
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., prohibits disability discrimination in many areas of life, from work to public services to commercial business. With some excepti...