Legislation
States Hold Retail Electricity Rate Power But Congress Eyes Limits
How far Congress can go to influence retail electricity rates, which state public utility commissions (PUCs) have held primary authority over since 1935, is...
National Fisheries Institute Lobbies On Fourteen Issues
The National Fisheries Institute Inc. (NFI) filed its second-quarter lobbying disclosure listing fisheries management, seafood traceability, tariffs, and...
Congress Weighs Reauthorization of Terrorism Insurance Backstop
The federal terrorism insurance backstop is set to expire at the end of 2027, and Congress has yet to resolve whether, and on what terms, to extend it...
National Flood Insurance Program Faces Dec. 11 Funding Deadline
Congress faces a Dec. 11 deadline to keep the National Flood Insurance Program operating, with nearly 4.5 million policies and more than $1.3 trillion in...
Marijuana Rescheduling Leaves Most Penalties and Consequences Intact
Federal rescheduling of medical marijuana changed tax and other rules for qualifying businesses and products, but most marijuana-specific criminal penalties...
Affordable Housing Block Grant Rules Lag Behind New Federal Law
The federal government's largest block grant dedicated exclusively to affordable housing is operating under regulations that have not caught up with major...
Federal Regulation of Kratom Compound 7-OH Remains Unsettled
A kratom-related compound sold in products online and at convenience stores remains outside federal controlled-substance schedules as the Drug Enforcement...
Senate Energy Panel Advances Bills in 20-Measure Markup
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a business meeting on Sept. 30 to mark up more than 20 bills covering energy policy, public lands,...
Congress Overturns 23 Agency Rules Under Congressional Review Act
Congress has overturned 43 federal agency rules using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) since its enactment in 1996, including 23 during the 119th...
Federal Fuel Economy Rules Weakened by Zero Penalties, New Standards
The federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program now carries a $0 civil penalty for manufacturers violating fuel-economy standards, weakening a...
FDA Proposal to Require GRAS Notices Raises Legal Questions
Whether the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can require companies to disclose substances they determine are generally recognized as safe (GRAS), without...
Congress Enacts First Law Restricting U.S. Investment in China
Congress has enacted the first ever program to regulate investment in China. A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report published Oct. 1 examines the...
Health Data Interoperability Still Faces Persistent Barriers
Digital health information interoperability in the United States is a long-term initiative spanning multiple decades, but many obstacles still remain,...
Homeland Security Funding Unresolved as December Deadline Nears
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has no full-year appropriation for fiscal year 2027, and a stopgap continuing resolution (CR) keeping the...
Congress Weighs Federal Role in Electricity Transmission Permits
Electricity transmission permitting reform is not simply about whether to build more power lines. It involves who gets to decide, and who pays. A new...
Senate Farm Bill Would Delay State SNAP Cost-Sharing by One Year
A bill reported by the Senate Agriculture Committee (S. 5526) would delay by one year, from October 1, 2027, to October 1, 2028, when states must begin...
Classwide Drug Scheduling Questioned Amid Synthetic Opioid Spread
The Drug Enforcement Administration has had difficulties keeping pace with new substances that chemists slightly alter to fall outside existing controls, a...
Klobuchar Tours Flood-Hit New Richland, Advances Two Bills
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) made news this week at a Senate hearing as well as advancing two bipartisan bills through the Senate this week.She also toured...