Feature Channels: Government/Law

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Starting in April, millions of small businesses began to receive postcards from the Internal Revenue Service about the new Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. Even if your business hasn’t received a postcard, you may still be eligible for this credit designed to help small businesses and non-profit organizations that pay employee health insurance premiums in 2010, says Bill Terando, a professor of accounting at Butler University.

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As the U.S. Census Bureau prepares to release 2009 birth rate data this week, Kenneth Johnson, senior demographer at the Carsey Institute at the University of the New Hampshire, is available to discuss the implications of minority births possibly creating the first “minority majority” in the nation.

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First Nations communities and municipal governments in British Columbia are quietly creating and implementing a range of successful cooperation agreements, says a Wilfrid Laurier University researcher.

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The increased privatization of public space is leading to increasing marginalization of the homeless and the people on the fringes of society, says a University of Calgary researcher. And that, she warns, may weaken democracy by keeping better-off people unaware of how others live.

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As lawmakers begin meeting next week to mull over legislation aimed at averting another financial crisis, a former Federal Reserve economist cautions that such sweeping reform could have serious unintended consequences. “This is very ambitious and hugely complicated legislation that is being done very fast,” says Robert Bliss, who is now a professor at Wake Forest University Schools of Business.

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A Texas Tech University expert on immigration and border history says that the law is no different than the Repatriation Act of the 1930s or Operation Wetback of the 1950s.

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A Université de Montréal philosopher and ethicist is proposing that governments implement an organ donation tax credit to help increase the number of organs available for transplant.

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A University of Iowa law professor and expert in evidence collection and suspect rights said the Miranda Rights are becoming increasingly threatened after Monday's ruling by the United States Supreme Court.

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Linda Hagedorn, an Iowa State University professor, has worked with U.S. State Department officials to open dialogue on exporting the U.S. community college model to Indonesia. President Obama visits the country June 14.

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Economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean is having negative impacts.

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Facebook may not be your only privacy risk.

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Cornell University President David J. Skorton has sent a letter to Congress, co-signed by four other university presidents, asking for prompt repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” military policy.

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Americans are divided over whether to increase offshore oil drilling, and a majority believes the risks outweigh the benefits, according to a new nationwide survey released today by Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Indiana University Professor and former EPA official Jim Barnes says federal regulators are making a big mistake by not following through on a moratorium on offshore drilling.

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Homeland security and other regulatory agencies are creating jobs and a record-breaking budget according to a new study from the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis and the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center. A Decade of Growth in the Regulators’ Budget: An Analysis of the U.S. Budget for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 details the rise in regulatory spending and who gets the lion's share of this year's $59 billion federal regulatory budget.

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A review article describes the carcinogenic effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including bisphenol A (BPA). Researchers express the need for more complex strategies for studying how these chemicals affect health but report that ample evidence supports changing public health and environmental policies to protect the public, particularly the developing fetus and women of reproductive age.

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W. Ross Morrow, who's just finishing his first year at Iowa State University, believes engineers have a place in public policy debates. He's had some first-hand experience: A report he helped write as a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs attracted the attention of a New York Times blog, Rush Limbaugh and Bloomberg Television.

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Signed by the governor May 18, the new measure gives statutory authority for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening programs to the Alabama Department of Public Health. Experts say the life-saving practice of expanding proven cancer screening programs benefits everyone, especially the medically under-served and the uninsured.

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A random sample of littered cigarette packs reveals that 75 percent of the cigarettes used in Chicago bring no tax revenue to the city, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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A new Cornell University study has found that unattractive defendants are 22 percent more likely to be convicted, and tend to get hit with longer, harsher sentences – with an average of 22 months longer in prison recommended by the study’s participants.

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The American Physical Society (APS), a leading organization of physicists, today called for swift action on the U.S. House reauthorization of the 2007 bipartisan America COMPETES legislation, after the bill was sent back to the Science & Technology Committee for legislative changes.

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As the Supreme Court is set to rule in two cases involving juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole, a Baylor Law School professor makes the case on why the practice should end.

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Government action, specifically on the part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, must play a critical role in the development and implementation of global privacy regulations, according to an Indiana University expert.

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The decline in the generosity of Social Security benefits for workers who recently reached their 60s has been the leading cause of the trend toward delayed retirement of older men, a new national study suggests.

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With the British election less than a week away, Americans may not have to wait until November to see which direction the political tide is moving in the United States. Voting results overseas may portend results here later, says David Coates, author of the new book Answering Back: Liberal Responses to Conservative Arguments and a political science professor at Wake Forest University.

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Following the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the United States enacted a series of laws as part of the war on terror. According to one Ryerson University researcher, this legislation has had an unforeseen impact on America’s immigrants and immigration policies.

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A Baylor Law School professor has studied the new Arizona immigration law and believes it will result in racial profiling and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

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After becoming the first university in the world to be granted special consultative status by ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council), Fairleigh Dickinson University has appointed 22 faculty members to serve two-year terms on substantive committees at the United Nations.

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Immigration law expert Stephen Yale-Loehr, co-author of a 20-volume treatise on immigration law, and Cornell University Law School adjunct professor, comments on the controversial new Arizona immigration-enforcement law.

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National Wildlife Federation and 25 groups issued a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today calling for suspension of the permitting process for a proposed tar sands pipeline known as Keystone XL. The groups say the full scope of its environmental and social impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions have not been considered.

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Tracy Mitrano, Cornell University’s director of IT Policy and its director of Computer Policy and Law Programs, comments on the recent Federal Appeals Court decision in Comcast v. Federal Communication Commission and the FCC’s efforts to enforce “network neutrality” on Internet providers.

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Alison LaCroix’s new book delves into an underexplored area of history, shedding light on the nature of federalism, a system very important to the development of America. Given the ongoing debates about the framers’ original intent, understanding the true origins of federalism is especially significant.

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To understand why public policies fail or succeed, it's essential to learn how people form networks within an organization, or among groups that collaborate, says Pamela Mischen, associate professor of public administration at Binghamton University.

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Thomas Hirschl, professor of Development Sociology at Cornell University, comments about the widespread reliance on food stamps, Medicaid, reduced school lunches and other forms of public assistance.

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In a year when the death penalty continues to stir passions from Texas to Connecticut and beyond, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Oshinsky’s new book will help Americans better understand the history, politics and role of capital punishment in the United States.

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As the Internet spreads across the globe, countries don’t necessarily need democracy to join the online community, a new study found. Rather, social factors such as population growth and violent conflict are much more important.

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A class to be offered next fall at the University of Iowa College of Law will spend an entire semester examining the recently passed health care reform law.

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Student creates system that makes keeping up with Congress as easy as clicking a mouse.

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Low-wage workers in Cook County lose $7.3 million each week in at least a dozen industries through violations of minimum wage and overtime laws, says a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Steven C. Kyle, Cornell University associate professor of Applied Economics and Management, comments on reports that the Treasury Department is already earning an 8.5 percent profit on its investments in bailed out banks.

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“I think that Judge Sweet showed an impressive understanding of genetics and some of the nuances involved. I agree with him," says Jim Evans, who led an HHS task force on gene patenting and a school to teach judges about genetics.

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April Fool's Day is a day traditionally full of practical jokes and pranks. Thus, it is only fitting that on April 1st U.S. District Court Richard Leon will hold a hearing on the Daimler FCPA enforcement action during which he is expected to approve a DOJ - Daimler brokered deferred prosecution agreement and other various aspects of the settlement discussed below.

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“Proponents claim drug courts are an effective alternative to incarceration and work to curb recidivism, reduce costs and even save lives, but it is not at all clear whether any of these things are true,” says Mae Quinn, JD, problem-solving courts expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

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A new study by James K. Boyce and Matthew E. Riddle of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, assesses the impacts of the CLEAR Act on families.

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A champion of environmental issues who served Maryland’s 1st district for 9 terms, former U.S. Congressman Wayne Gilchrest is now sharing first-hand experience at Salisbury University. His environmental issues course allows students to explore AND debate Washington politics and policies!

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Secure World Foundation has released a budget analysis that examines an array of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) space security programs as outlined in its Fiscal Year 2011 budget request.

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The newly signed health care reform law should stand up well to legal court challenges, says constitutional expert and political scientist Mark Graber of the University of Maryland. Graber describes the measure as "constitutionally mainstream."

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Census Day is April 1, and experts from the Florida State University are available to answer media questions and give perspective to news stories as census data is collected and released. The 2010 Census form will be one of the shortest in U.S History consisting of 10 questions.

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A study by Indiana University researchers casts doubt on the idea that improving education and income would reduce support for suicide bombings.

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Michael C. Dorf, professor, Cornell University Law School, discusses potential constitutional issues raised by Sunday’s passage of health reform legislation in the House of Representatives.