International Affairs
Trump's Russia Sanctions Waiver Draws Bipartisan Backlash
President Trump waived a recently enacted bipartisan Russia sanctions law, drawing criticism from members of both parties. The New York Times reported that...
Timing For Education Funding Weighed as School Districts Wait
Impact Aid's largest payment category, Section 7003(b) Basic Support Payments, is the only federal elementary and secondary education program receiving at...
DEA Schedules Three Kratom Compounds as 7-OH Decision Awaits
Three kratom-related compounds are now federally controlled substances, while a fourth, 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), remains unscheduled, according to an...
House-Passed SPEED Act Would Narrow Federal Environmental Reviews
Federal environmental reviews for energy infrastructure and other projects could become faster but less comprehensive if the Senate acts on a House-passed...
Federal Energy Bill Could Override Objections by States
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would determine whether federal permitting...
Data Center Opposition Crosses Party Lines as Midterms Approach,
Data-center opposition is crossing party lines and shaping some of the tightest races ahead of the midterm elections.
Medicaid Coverage Gap for Disabled Adult Children Faces Congress
Some adults with disabilities who would otherwise qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can lose access to SSI-based Medicaid because of the way...
Compensation for Radiation Victims Faces 2027 Sunset
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), a nearly four-decade-old program providing one-time cash payments to Americans sickened by atomic weapons...
Ranked-Choice Voting Faces Bans and Mandates in Congress
Federal courts have uniformly upheld ranked-choice voting (RCV) as constitutional, while Maine's state courts have twice found it conflicts with the state...
Good Neighbor Law Runs Into Legal Questions On Timber Program
The Good Neighbor Authority (GNA), which lets the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior authorize states, counties, and Tribes conduct land management...
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...
Litigating Damages Done By AI Agents Exposes Gaps In Criminal Law
Existing federal criminal law likely covers people who intentionally use AI to commit crimes, but leaves a significant gap when an AI agent causes harm...
Congress Weighs 4.9 GHz Public Safety Band's Future
Stakeholders disagree over who should control and use frequency used by first responders or the 4.9 GHz public safety spectrum band. Local public safety...
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...
