CRS Report – Scope of CDC Authority Under Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), April 13, 2021: “Since the beginning of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, all levels of government have grappled with how to stem the spread of the disease. Until the recent authorization of several COVID-19 vaccines, community mitigation… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Capitol Police Told to Hold Back on Riot Response on Jan. 6
The New York Times – “The Capitol Police had clearer advance warnings about the Jan. 6 attack than were previously known, including the potential for violence in which “Congress itself is the target.” But officers were instructed by their leaders not to use their most aggressive tactics to hold off the mob, according to a… Continue Reading
Explore Congressional Reactions to Historic Events on Congress.gov
In Custodia Legis: “The Congress.gov team has received feedback requesting that we add content from prior congresses to the Congressional Record and public law text collections. We are pleased to announce that we have made substantial progress on this request. The Bound Congressional Record collection now goes back to the 82nd Congress (1951-1953) and the… Continue Reading
Legal Issues Related to Transportation Mask-Wearing Mandates
CRS Legal Sidebar – Legal Issues Related to Transportation Mask-Wearing Mandates April 12, 2021: “On January 21, 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order directing federal agencies to require mask wearing in a range of transportation contexts nationwide. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order (Mask Order) requiring… Continue Reading
ITER, The Grand Illusion: A Forensic Investigation of Power Claims
“Is nuclear fusion a likely solution to climate change? Is fusion a viable energy alternative? For 70 years, fusion scientists have promoted new design concepts, pointed to computer models, and unequivocally stated that fusion is the answer. But where is the experimental evidence that the scientific method demands? And why has energy from nuclear fusion… Continue Reading
GPO and Libraries Set Goal to Make Every US Government Document Accessible
“The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) is undertaking a massive effort to capture and make publicly accessible every U.S. Government document through the National Collection of U.S. Government Public Information (National Collection). GPO will do this by digitizing documents and making them accessible on govinfo and the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP), as well as… Continue Reading
Columbia Launched Democracy Reform and Voting Rights in the United States Web Archive
“Columbia University Libraries is pleased to announce the launch of the Democracy Reform and Voting Rights in the United States Web Archive. The ongoing struggle in the United States between advocates for voting rights and official proponents of voter suppression measures intensified in 2020 during a bitter presidential election campaign conducted amidst the substantial additional… Continue Reading
CBO Updates Its Interactive Tool for Analyzing the Effects of Federal Minimum-Wage Increases
“[April 5, 2021], CBO updated its interactive tool—initially released in November 2019—that allows users to create custom policy options to examine how different approaches to changing the minimum wage would affect earnings, employment, family income, and poverty. The estimates shown in the tool were generated using the same methods underlying CBO’s most recent reports on… Continue Reading
A Comprehensive Guide to Those Responsible for the January 6 Insurrection
“This primer by Seth Abramson also explains, in detail, how and why the attack on the Capitol occurred. The Department of Justice calls the FBI investigation into the January 6 assault on the United States Capitol one of the largest criminal probes in American history. One of the reasons the investigation is so historically vast and complex is that… Continue Reading
CRS – Biometric Technologies and Global Security
CRS In Focus – Biometric Technologies and Global Security March 30, 2021: “Biometric technologies use unique biological or behavioral attributes—such as DNA, fingerprints, cardiac signatures, voice or gait patterns, and facial or ocular measurements—to authenticate an individual’s identity. Although biometric technologies have been in use for decades, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and Big… Continue Reading
CRS – Mergers and Acquisitions in Digital Markets
Mergers and Acquisitions in Digital Markets, March 30, 2021: “Some Members of Congress have expressed concern about mergers and acquisitions in digital markets, specifically those involving “Big Tech”—Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft. Mergers can be separated into three categories: (1) a merger between competitors (i.e., horizontal merger), (2) a merger with a firm… Continue Reading
Federal ‘Brain Drain’ Examined by Science Committee
[March 17, 2021] “… during the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee hearing, “Brain Drain: Rebuilding the Federal Scientific Workforce,” Subcommittee Chairman Bill Foster (D-IL) submitted a Majority staff report into the record on trends in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce within federal science agencies following the sequestration in the early 2010s that impacted staffing within federal agencies and… Continue Reading
