Another one of President Trump’s first acts in office was to restore a policy preventing recipients of American foreign aid from performing or counseling on abortions. The policy — known as the Mexico City Policy by its proponents for the location of a United Nations meeting where President Ronald Reagan first announced it in 1984 — has been in effect during successive Republican administrations and revoked under Democratic ones. President George W. Bush last reinstated the policy in 2001 in an Executive order that rescinded President Bill Clinton’s Executive order issued in 1993. President Barack Obama reversed the order again…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, (CFPB), which was the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA-D), is in danger of being weakened or abolished under a Trump Administration. Conservatives in Congress have long opposed the agency as having too much independence, and have supported legislation to restructure it by turning it into a five-member commission and bringing it into the appropriations process. The Bureau is currently funded through the Federal Reserve. Also controversial is the manner in which CFPB’s current director, Richard Cordray, was confirmed. His 2012 nomination was held up by the Republican leadership until July 2013 after Senate Democrats…

One of the hallmarks of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was his promise to build a wall along the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States. His original plan was to force Mexico to pay for the wall by threatening to impose regulations that would stop the flow of cash remittances sent from undocumented Mexicans living in the United States to their relatives at home. In early January, however, President-elect Trump’s transition team signaled to Republicans leaders in Congress that his preference would be to fund the border wall through the appropriations pocess and have Mexico reimburse…

The controversy over a planned 1,100-mile pipeline, originating in North Dakota and stretching across four States to Illinois, came to Capitol Hill in September, when Senator Bernie Sanders (VT-I) attempted to add an amendment to a water projects bill to slow its development. The Dakota Access Pipeline, as it is called, would carry up to 570,000 barrels of domestically produced oil each day. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota, which opposes the project, says that a spill from the pipeline near their reservation could pollute the water and that construction would destroy sacred sites and burial grounds. Dallas-based…

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently issued the first Federal policy guidelines for automated vehicles. The nonbinding guidelines are a preliminary step designed to lay out goals and work with manufacturers and designers of driverless cars to improve the technology without stifling innovation. NHTSA called on makers of “highly autonomous vehicles” — those in which the vehicle can take full control in some circumstances — to test new features and share the data with the agency at least four months before the technology hits the road. Other portions of the policy apply to lower-levels of automation, including some…

Delegates to the Republican National Convention approved their party′s platform in Cleveland on July 18. Delegates to the Democratic Convention approved theirs in Philadelphia on July 25. Read the highlights of both documents below …   2016 Republican Party Platform: ″Making America Great Again″ We believe in American exceptionalism. We believe the United States of America is unlike any other nation on earth. We believe America is exceptional because of our historic role — first as refuge, then as defender, and now as exemplar of liberty for the world to see. Read more highlights … 2016 Democratic Party Platform: ″We…

In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled that women did not have to register for the draft because they did not participate in the front lines of combat. The debate resumed, however, when Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced in December 2015 that the Pentagon was opening all combat roles to women. In late April 2016, the House Armed Services Committee, by a vote of 32 to 30, approved an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to require women to register for the draft when they turn 18. Representative Duncan Hunter (CA-R), an opponent of the change, offered the amendment…

Prospective students use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to apply for Federal student financial aid, as well as for aid from State governments and most colleges and universities. According to a 2015 report from the college financing website Edvisors, however, an estimated 2 million low-income students would have qualified for a Federal Pell grant, but failed to correctly fill out or complete the FAFSA — a lengthy form with more than 100 questions. Congress has taken note, and both Republicans and Democrats have introduced legislation to simplify the process and the application. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and…

There is a new, bipartisan drive in Congress to expand what are known as 529 education savings accounts by offering a tax credit for annual contributions to such accounts by low- and middle-income families. A 529 plan, otherwise known as a “qualified tuition plan,” is an education savings account designed to help families set aside funds for future education costs. The plans are sponsored by States or educational institutions and are authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Boost Savings for College Act, introduced by Senators Richard Burr (NC-R) and Bob Casey (PA-D), would provide a tax…