House Committee on the Budget – Impoundment Explainer, November 22, 2024 Fact Sheet Download Document Reports & Documents Budget Basics Focus on Function Letters Ranking Member Boyle’s Statement – “The legal theories being pushed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are as idiotic as they are dangerous,” said Ranking Member Boyle. “Unilaterally slashing funds that… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
A Primer on the Impoundment Control Act
LawFare – “Refusals to undertake required spending are already a major theme of Trump’s second term, but the law limits such executive action. During his 2024 campaign, President Trump indicated that he planned to “restore executive branch impoundment authority to cut waste, stop inflation, and crush the Deep State.” Russell Vought, Trump’s pick to lead… Continue Reading
Inflation Reduction Act Tracker
“The Sabin Center and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) are relaunching the Inflation Reduction Act Tracker (IRA Tracker) with added functionality and analysis. The IRA Tracker is an interactive tool designed to help users understand the climate change-related provisions in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The website includes a database with summaries of the… Continue Reading
House G.O.P. Floats Medicaid Cuts and More to Finance Trump’s Huge Agenda
The New York Times: “President Trump wants a massive tax cut and immigration crackdown bill. Now Republicans must decide what to cut to help pay for it. Top Republicans are passing around an extensive menu of ideas to cover the cost of a massive tax cut and immigration crackdown bill. They could create a 10… Continue Reading
FBI Warned Agents It Believes Phone Logs Hacked Last Year
Bloomberg [unpaywalled] – “FBI leaders have warned that they believe hackers who broke into AT&T Inc.’s system last year stole months of their agents’ call and text logs, setting off a race within the bureau to protect the identities of confidential informants, a document reviewed by Bloomberg News shows. FBI officials told agents across the… Continue Reading
Toyota exposed as major funder of climate change deniers
Raw Story: “Nearly three decades after its introduction, the hybrid Toyota Prius is still associated with environmental action and the scientific consensus that fossil fuel emissions, including those from vehicles, must be reduced to avoid the worst effects of planetary heating. But a Tuesday report from watchdog group Public Citizen reveals how Toyota has spent… Continue Reading
Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case
The New York Times – gift article “…The Justice Department delivered the 137-page volume [link provided by DOJ – https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf]— representing half of Mr. Smith’s overall final report, with the volume about Mr. Trump’s other federal case, accusing him of mishandling classified documents, still confidential — to Congress just after midnight on Tuesday. The former… Continue Reading
Strict Scrutiny
“A podcast about the United States Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it. Hosted by three badass constitutional law professors– Leah Litman, Kate Shaw, and Melissa Murray– Strict Scrutiny provides in-depth, accessible, and irreverent analysis of the Supreme Court and its cases, culture, and personalities. Each week, Leah, Kate, and Melissa break down… Continue Reading
Supreme Court’s Contempt for Facts Is a Betrayal of Justice
Scientific American [unpaywalled] – The Supreme Court majority’s recent decisions about homelessness, public health and regulatory power, among others, undermine the role of evidence, expertise and honesty in American democracy. “When the Supreme Court’s Ohio v. EPA decision blocked Environmental Protection Agency limits on Midwestern states polluting their downwind neighbors, a sad but telling coda… Continue Reading
The State of Democracy, January 2025
Marist Poll: “While more than seven in ten Americans say the issues that divide the country pose a serious threat to the nation’s democracy, there has been a steep decline in the proportion of Americans who have this view. In fact, many Americans think most of the key components to the U.S. democracy are working… Continue Reading
Our Lunch and Learn Webinar, “Locating Congressionally Mandated Reports”
In Custodia Legis: “We hope you can join us on January 28, 2025, at 1 p.m. EST for our latest Lunch and Learn webinar, “Locating Congressionally Mandated Reports.” This webinar is the latest installment in the Law Library’s lunchtime learning program. Earlier webinars in this series have covered federal legislative history research, the Law Library’s… Continue Reading
The Truth About January 6th
Jason Kottke: “Today is the fourth anniversary of the attack on Congress and attempted coup of the United States government and the man who incited it will be sworn in as President of the United States later this month. On this dark day, it is important to remember what happened and why, so I went… Continue Reading
