Overview of the SEC Climate Risk Disclosure Proposed Rule
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-1 to issue sweeping proposed climate-related disclosure rules for public companies. In issuing the proposed rules, the SEC cited...
Bureau of Land Management: FY2022 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...
“Hacktivists” and the Ukraine-Russia Conflict: Legal Considerations
Since Russia’s February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine, a growing number of nongovernmental hackers motivated by social or political objectives—so-called “hacktivists”—have conducted offensive cyberspa...
Introduction to Budget Authority
Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress exercises the “power of the purse.” This power is expressed through the application of several provisions, particularly Article I, Section 9, which states that fu...
Overview of FY2022 Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS)
This report describes actions taken to provide FY2022 appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) accounts. The annual CJS appropriations act provides funding for the Dep...
Federal Crop Insurance: Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops
For decades, Congress has sought to expand federal crop insurance coverage for fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops—starting with changes enacted in the 1990s through farm bill legislation in...
Refining Reed: City of Austin Updates Test for Content-Based Speech Restrictions
The Supreme Court’s April 21, 2022, decision in City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, LLC is the latest development in the Court’s free speech jurisprudence on content neutrality. C...
Puerto Rico’s Public Debts: Accumulation and Restructuring
Puerto Rico’s public debts totaled just over $70 billion when the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (P.L. 114-187; PROMESA) became law on June 30, 2016. Most of those debts...
U.S. Citizenship Through Military Service and Options for Military Relatives
Overview
Obtaining U.S. citizenship provides certain benefits to immigrants, including the right to vote, security from deportation, and eligibility for a U.S. passport. Congress has provided opportun...
Equal Protection Does Not Mean Equal SSI Benefits for Puerto Rico Residents, Says Supreme Court
On April 21, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States v. Vaello-Madero, a case asking whether the equal protection guarantee in the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment requires Congress to p...