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...
Selected Health Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act
Overview
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law P.L. 117-169, a budget reconciliation measure known as the Inflation Reduction Act (the Act). The Act makes wide-reaching changes to Medica...
Overview of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act, H.R. 8152
On July 20, 2022, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 53-2 to advance the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), H.R. 8152, to the full House of Representatives. The ADPPA would c...
Inflation Reduction Act Methane Emissions Charge: In Brief
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed H.R. 5376 (P.L. 117-169), a budget reconciliation measure commonly referred to as the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022” (IRA). Among other provisions, IRA in...
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Appropriations: FY2023 President’s Budget Request
Since FY2006, Congress has funded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bills. For FY2023, the President requested $11.88 bil...
Tax Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (H.R. 5376)
***TO BE SUPPRESSED***
July 27, 2022, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin released legislative text for the budget reconciliation legislation, also known as the "Inflation Red...
The Carbon Cycle: Key Component of the Climate System, with Implications for Policy
Large quantities of carbon are actively exchanged between the atmosphere and the other carbon storage pools, including the oceans, vegetation, and soils on the land surface. The exchange, or flux, of ...