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…

In a recent speech on the Obama Administration’s approach to rural poverty, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack focused on the use of biofuels in manufacturing as a way to address persistent high unemployment in rural communities. Secretary Vilsack said that such communities — defined as areas where 20 percent of the population has been poor for three decades or more — might rebuild their local economies by producing renewable fuels. According to the Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service, an estimated 353 counties are in this category. In 2010, the Agriculture Department created five Regional Biomass Research Centers to help establish…

On April 4, the Obama Administration released Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment. The report was developed over three years by climate change and public health experts from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Agriculture, U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. According to a White House fact sheet, the assessment: “… reinforces that climate change is a significant threat to the health of the…

As part of a series of proposals designed to tighten Federal gun laws, President Obama, in early January, pushed for $500 million in Federal appropriations for improved access to mental health services. His announcement opened up a debate in Congress over whether, and to what extent, gun policy and mental health reform should be linked legislatively. Most Republicans have said that improving the Nation’s mental health system would be the best way to reduce gun violence, while most Democrats have maintained that both mental health reform and gun safety measures are needed. Mental health advocates, while wary about combining the…

The U.S. Government is responding on several fronts to the outbreak of Zika, a virus primarily spread by mosquitoes that recently has been linked to birth defects and other concerning health conditions in parts of Latin America. In early February, the Obama Administration sent Congress a request for $1.9 billion in emergency funding to combat Zika overseas and in the United States. The money would go to the Department of Health and Human Services and the State Department and its U.S. Agency for International Development. It would be used for preparedness efforts, mosquito control, vaccine research and development, testing and…

In his January 12, 2016, State of the Union Address, President Obama announced a “national effort” to find innovative new treatments for cancer and said he was putting Vice President Joe Biden “in charge of mission control.” Last October, after stating that he would not be running for President, Biden called for a “moon shot in this country to cure cancer” and said that he would dedicate the remainder of his term to that cause. In a January 12 blog post, the Vice President wrote that although “innovations in data and technology offer the promise to speed research advances and…

The drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, resulted from a 2014 decision by the city to switch its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The change was made without adding chemicals to prevent pipe corrosion, so lead leaked into residents’ water, creating a serious public health problem. As the crisis gained national attention in the fall of 2015, Michigan’s congressional representatives called for action. On February 10, the House passed, 416 to 2, H.R. 4470, introduced by Representative Dan Kildee (MI-D), to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to notify the public within 15 days after discovering…

One issue that is uniting Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, the Obama Administration, and the technology industry is the need to expand high-speed Internet access nationwide, especially for rural and other underserved communities. According to a Brookings Institution study, 75.1 percent of American households had a broadband Internet subscription in 2014; however, there remains “enormous variation in U.S. digital connectivity across demographic groups and between metropolitan areas.” In September 2015, the White House released a report by the Administration’s Broadband Opportunity Council, created last March to develop a broadband expansion strategy. The report contained recommendations for both expanding broadband…