The Rice’s Whale: Conservation Efforts, Implications for Ocean Sectors, and Considerations for Congress
The Rice’s whale (Balaenoptera ricei; Figure 1) is a recently described species of baleen whale (i.e., whales that contain baleen plates in their mouths for sieving plankton) and one of the rarest wha...
Yemen: Conflict, Red Sea Attacks, and U.S. Policy
Yemen is a conflict-afflicted nation along the strategic Bab al Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most active shipping lanes. Since 2015, a civil war has pitted the Iran-backed Houthi movement against...
2025 Army Transformation Initiative (ATI) Force Structure and Organizational Proposals: Background and Issues for Congress
On April 30, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum, “Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform,” directing the Secretary of the Army to
implement a comprehensive transformation ...
Defense Primer: DOD Dependents Overseas Schools (DODDS)
The Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) manages 161 schools in 11 foreign countries, seven states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and a virtual school. DODEA organizes these schools in two separate b...
Staff Pay, Selected Positions in Senators’ and Senate Committee Offices, FY2024
Levels of pay for congressional staff are a source of recurring questions among Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. There may be interest in congressional pay data for multiple r...
Changes To International Tax Provisions in P.L. 119-21, the FY2025 Reconciliation Law
P.L. 119-21, the FY2025 reconciliation law commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, makes several changes to existing elements of the international tax system. For an overview of the existing...
FCC v. Consumers’ Research: High Court Rejects Challenge to Universal Service Fund
In the Communications Act of 1934, Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make available, “so far as possible, to all the people of the United States,” wire and radio communi...
Stablecoin Legislation: An Overview of S. 1582, GENIUS Act of 2025
On July 17, 2025, the House passed S. 1582, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025, or GENIUS Act, without amendment. An overview of key policy issues can be...
Votes on Measures to Adjust the Statutory Debt Limit, 1978 to Present
Almost all borrowing by the federal government is conducted by the Department of the Treasury, within the restrictions established by a single, statutory limit (ceiling) on the total amount of debt th...
Electric Vehicle Taxes and the Federal Highway Trust Fund
Like other vehicles, electric vehicles (EVs) may use federally funded roads. Unlike other vehicles, EVs do not consume gasoline or other fuels, and thus do not incur federal fuels taxes. To address th...
U.S. Court of International Trade: Background, Judgeships, and Caseload Statistics
Background of the Court
In 1980, with the passage of the Customs Courts Act, Congress reorganized the U.S. Customs Court as the U.S. Court of International Trade. The judges serving on the Customs Cou...
Public Health Prevention and the Determinants of Health
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Federal health policy often focuses on coverage of, and access to, health care services and the treatment of disease. However, numerous economic, social, and environmental policies within the purvie...
Supreme Court’s Appointments Clause Ruling Preserves ACA Preventive-Services Coverage Requirements
On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood, held that members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)—a volunteer panel of experts in primary and pr...
Trump v. CASA, Inc. and Nationwide Injunctions During the Second Trump Administration
On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Trump v. CASA, Inc., a trio of consolidated cases in which the Court limited the ability of federal courts to issue nationwide injunctions—court orders agai...
Selected Horticultural Provisions in FY2025 Budget Reconciliation (P.L. 119-21, Title I)
In July 2025, Congress enacted H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21), providing for FY2025 budget reconciliation. Title 1 (Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry) of P.L. 119...