Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia

"On April 9, 1865, Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in the parlor of a house in Appomattox Court House, VA, to discuss this surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, which would end the Civil War. According to the terms, the men of Lee's army could return home in safety if they pledged to end the fighting and deliver their arms to the Union Army.."
Lee's surrender 

A Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court? Legal Questions and Considerations

"The Code of Conduct for United States Judges (the Code) is a set of ethical canons that the JudicialConference of the United States (Judicial Conference) has adopted to promote public confidence in the integrity, independence, and impartiality of the federal judiciary. The Code governs the behavior of most federal judges; however, it does not explicitly apply to Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the Justices consult the Code, along with other sources, for guidance when performing their judicial duties, the Court is not presently subject to a defined body of general ethical rules.

Some observers maintain that “Supreme Court justices should be bound by the same code of ethics that all other federal judges are required to follow.” To that end, some Members of Congress have introduced legislation that would require the Judicial Conference to “issue a code of conduct[] which applies to each justice” on the Court. While some commentators and legislators have supported ethical rules for the Supreme Court for years, the issue gained increased prominence in March 2022 following reports that Virginia Thomas, wife of Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, sent text messages in January 2021 to thenWhite House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows encouraging him to contest the result of the 2020 presidential election. In response to those reports, some have debated whether Justice Thomas should recuse himself from certain cases voluntarily, while others have called for broader changes to the Court’s ethical obligations that would bind all the Justices. By contrast, some commentators question whether Congress should—or even could—impose a code of ethics on the Supreme Court.

This Sidebar canvasses the relevant legal considerations surrounding proposals to establish a Supreme Court code of conduct. After discussing the existing Code that applies to lower federal judges, the Sidebar describes recent legislative proposals to create a similar code for the Supreme Court, as well as potential constitutional obstacles to those proposals..."
Supreme Court code of conduct 

War Crimes: A Primer

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine has given rise to numerous accusations of war crimes. This Legal Sidebar addresses the sources and content of the law of war, also known as the law of armed conflict or international humanitarian law (IHL) as it pertains to war crimes that occur in an international armed conflict. IHL applies to the conduct of war; it does not address the legality of the war itself. For information about potential accountability for war crimes in international tribunals, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10704, The Role of International Tribunals in the Response to the Invasion of Ukraine, by Nina M. Hart and Stephen P. Mulligan.

Sources of International Humanitarian Law

IHL is a combination of international treaties and customary international law. The Hague Convention of1907 generally prescribes rules of conduct for armed forces, while the Geneva Conventions and Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts 1 (Protocol 1) address the rights of protected persons, such as civilians and prisoners of war, in an international armed conflict. Not all states are parties to these and other treaties pertaining to the law of war, but many provisions are regarded as reflecting customary international law, which is binding on all states.

Principles of International Humanitarian Law.

Certain principles undergird IHL and form the basis for the content of war crimes and serve to reduce unnecessary suffering during war. The most important principles are military necessity, humanity, and honor. The principles of distinction and proportionality flow from the first three. The Department of Defense’s Law of War Manual describes their interaction as follows:

Military necessity justifies certain actions necessary to defeat the enemy as quickly and efficiently as possible. Conversely, humanity forbids actions unnecessary to achieve that object. Proportionality requires that even when actions may be justified by military necessity, such actions not be unreasonable or excessive. Distinction underpins the parties’ responsibility to comport their behavior with military necessity, humanity, and proportionality by requiring parties to a conflict to apply certain legal categories, principally the distinction between the armed forces and the civilian population. Lastly, honor supports the entire system and gives parties confidence in it. (Citations omitted).

The main purposes of the law of armed conflict are:

 Protecting combatants, noncombatants, and civilians from unnecessary suffering;
 Providing certain fundamental protections for persons who fall into the hands of the enemy, particularly prisoners of war, military wounded and sick, and civilians;
 Facilitating the restoration of peace;
 Assisting the commander in ensuring the disciplined, ethical, and effective use of military force;
 Preserving the professionalism and humanity of combatants; and
 Preventing the degeneration of warfare into savagery or brutality.."
War crimes 

IPCC Sixth Assessment Report

[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] 

"The evidence is clear: the time for action is now. We can halve emissions by 2030.

GENEVA, Apr 4 – In 2010-2019 average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history, but the rate of growth has slowed. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach. However, there is increasing evidence of climate action, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released today.

Since 2010, there have been sustained decreases of up to 85% in the costs of solar and wind energy, and batteries. An increasing range of policies and laws have enhanced energy efficiency, reduced rates of deforestation and accelerated the deployment of renewable energy.

“We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a liveable future. We have the tools and know-how required to limit warming,” said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee.  “I am encouraged by climate action being taken in many countries. There are policies, regulations and market instruments that are proving effective.  If these are scaled up and applied more widely and equitably, they can support deep emissions reductions and stimulate innovation.”

The Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Working Group III report, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of climate change was approved on April 4 2022, by 195 member governments of the IPCC, through a virtual approval session that started on March 21. It is the third instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed this year..."
Climate Assessment Report 

Past, Present, and Future Impact of SEED

"CDC recognizes April as Autism Acceptance Month. We are highlighting the work we’ve done through CDC’s Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) and what we’ve learned about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) so far. Join the nationwide effort to raise awareness and promote acceptance of ASD and its impact on children and families.

CDC’s Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) is the largest study in the United States to help us learn more about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preschool-aged children, including risk factors and what signs to look for. SEED has now been expanded to learn more about the health, functioning, and needs of children with ASD and other developmental disabilities as they mature.

What Have We Learned from CDC’s Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) So Far?

• There is not one cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are several factors associated with the development of ASD, including
  • Mother and child autoimmune conditions, such as eczema/psoriasis,
  • Pregnancy factors, such as infection with fever in the second trimester of pregnancy, and
  • Environmental factors, such as the interaction between air pollution and neighborhoods with high poverty.
• Children with ASD are more likely to have developmental delays, gastrointestinal issues, and sleep problems, and to engage in self-harming behaviors.
• Contrary to recommendations, many children with ASD are given medication to treat challenging behaviors before they receive behavior therapies.
• Adolescents with ASD are much more likely to have mental health conditions and unmet health care needs.."
  SEED 

Five Facts About Davis-Bacon and Related Acts

"With President Biden’s signing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law on Nov. 15, 2021, our nation is poised to address our aging infrastructure and at the same time create an estimated 800,000 good paying jobs in construction and related industries. Most of the construction projects funded or assisted through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be subject to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage labor standards. That means construction workers on these projects must be paid at least the locally prevailing wage and fringe benefits required for the work they perform...

1. Davis-Bacon is a federal law that requires local prevailing wages be paid on most federal and federally funded construction contracts. The Davis-Bacon Act ensures that federal government funds elevate labor standards for construction workers across the country, and that taxpayer dollars are used to ensure local wage and benefit standards, allowing responsible contractors to compete for federally funded or assisted construction contracts.

2. If it’s a Davis-Bacon project, it requires Davis-Bacon wages. Construction workers working on Davis-Bacon covered construction contracts must be paid no less than the locally prevailing wages for all hours worked in each labor classification. If a construction worker on a Davis-Bacon project works in more than one labor classification, the contractor or subcontractor must pay the highest applicable wage rate for all hours worked or different wage rates based on the actual hours worked in each labor classification. Local wage determinations that list labor classification and wage rates are issued by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department and can be found at sam.gov.

3. Understand the wages owed to construction workers. Contractors and subcontractors on Davis-Bacon projects must pay their construction workers not less than the wages and fringe benefits listed on the wage determination for the work performed. To help ensure workers are paid the proper rates, workers, contractors and subcontractors should familiarize themselves with:

   1. where the work is being performed,

   2. the type of construction (building, residential, highway, or heavy), and

   3. the applicable labor classifications for the work being performed..."
      Davis-Bacon Act 

1950 Census Records

"On April 1, 2022, the 1950 Census records were released and are available free of charge.
Search the 1950 Census at 1950Census.Archives.gov

 

Taken every 10 years since 1790, the United States census provides a snapshot of the nation's population. Because of a 72-year restriction on access to the records, the most recent census year currently available is 1950.

On April 1, 2022, the 1950 Census was released, and users can access it for free through a dedicated website at 1950census.archives.gov. This population census is the 17th decennial census of the United States. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has digitized and is providing free online access to the 1950 Census population schedules for U.S. states and territories, enumeration district maps, and enumeration district descriptions.  

Bulk Download:  In addition, researchers can download the full 1950 Census dataset through the Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Registry of Open Data .  

How You Can Help

You can search the 1950 Census website by name and location. You can also search by Indian Reservation for form P8 Indian Reservation Schedules.

To develop the initial name index, we are using Amazon Web Services’ artificial intelligence / optical character recognition (AI/OCR) Textract tool to extract the handwritten names from the digitized 1950 Census population schedules. 

Because the initial name index is built on optical character recognition (OCR) technology, it is not 100-percent accurate. The National Archives is asking for your help in submitting name updates to the index using a transcription tool that is available on the 1950 Census website. You can help us improve the accuracy of the name index and make the records more accessible for everyone. More information will be forthcoming.."
1950 Census 

Quick Summary of President’s FY 2023 Census Bureau Budget Request

[The Census Project]
"On March 28, President Biden released his Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal. It includes $1.505 billion for the Census Bureau. The President’s request is a $151 million increase over the recently-enacted FY 2022 funding level for the Bureau ($1.354 billion). 
 
According to the White House release, this request includes $408 million “to finalize and evaluate the Decennial Census and lay the groundwork for a successful 2030 Census.”
 
The Census Bureau’s FY 2023 Congressional Justification provides more detail. Below are some highlights:

• $153.4 million ($34 million over FY 2022) to support data collection related to the Economic Census and Census of Governments.
• $235.6 million ($10 million over FY 2022) to support the American Community Survey (ACS), including an initiative to improve the measurement of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) population in the ACS. 
• $14.7 million increase in FY 2023 to support the High Frequency Data Program—an initiative that has emerged from the Bureau’s experimental Pulse Surveys. The request enables the Census Bureau to expand the program’s capabilities to provide “data and products quickly and more frequently in response to changing conditions in the economy and society.”
• $8.4 million increase for Enterprise Data Dissemination, which includes funding for an initiative “to build evidence, evaluations, and improve underlying racial and ethnicity data.”
• $68 million ($2.5 million increase over FY 2022) for all Household Surveys account, which funds the Current Population Survey and Survey of Income and Program Participation. Within this account, SIPP would receive a $1 million decrease over its FY 2022 level, while CPS would see an increase of approximately $4.5 million to develop and test a self-response web-based instrument.
• $3.7 million increase in FY 2023 to support the Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) program that began during the pandemic to provide more granular population data. The Census Bureau plans to transition the program from focusing exclusively on the pandemic to address other disasters and “add data for steady state programs.”.."
  President Biden's 2023 Budget Request 

Honoring and Protecting Farmworkers, Always Essential

"Our Wage and Hour Division has prioritized agricultural stakeholders throughout its ongoing Essential Workers – Essential Protections outreach initiative. These efforts will continue beyond this week with outreach events in English and Spanish for farmworkers, advocates and employers. We’ll be educating agricultural stakeholders on essential worker protections we enforce, such as:

• Required wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the H-2A visa program.

• Field sanitation provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, including clean drinking water, hand-washing facilities and toilets.

• Housing and transportation safety standards under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the H-2A visa program.

• Protections for some of the most vulnerable workers, including minors and labor trafficking victims.

Farmworkers deserve to live in safe and sanitary housing. And the vehicles used to transport these workers must be maintained in safe operating conditions. When farmworkers’ safety is at risk, the Wage and Hour Division will not hesitate to act, as evidenced by our recent investigation in Missouri and another in Idaho.

We are equally dedicated to protecting farmworkers who are victims of human trafficking. As a partner in the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, the department works aggressively with other federal law enforcement agencies to bring labor traffickers to justice, as we did recently in Georgia.

Over the past three years, the Wage and Hour Division has recovered over $21.5 million in wages owed to agricultural workers and assessed over $20 million in civil money penalties against employers, including those who intentionally or repeatedly failed to comply with the law, pay workers their hard-earned wages and ensure their housing and transportation safety. We use every available tool, including litigation, to protect workers from harassment, abuse and retaliation for asserting their rights. Agricultural workers are at higher risk for exploitation for several reasons, such as the migratory and seasonal nature of the work, their reliance on employer-provided housing, the physical demands of the job and typically low wages..."
Farm workers 

Reflecting on how the Affordable Care Act Changed Health Coverage

"Before the passage of the Affordable Care Act, getting adequate and reliable health coverage was a challenge for millions of Americans.

Many plans didn’t allow you to keep children on your health plan after they graduated from college, pre-existing conditions like heart disease and cancer often weren’t covered when you switched to new coverage, and many plans only covered a limited amount for essential benefits, leading to significant out-of-pocket costs. And millions of Americans didn’t have health coverage at all.

Since 2010, the ACA has made health coverage more accessible and affordable for many Americans. Thanks to the ACA,

• Your children can stay on your health plan until they turn 26.
• Health plans can’t deny you coverage because you have a pre-existing condition.
• Dollar limits for essential health benefits have been banned.
• You can get preventive care without having to pay out of pocket.

And more importantly, the ACA ensures all Americans have access to health coverage.  If you lose the health coverage from your employer – for instance, if you lose your job – or if your employer doesn’t offer a health plan, you can sign up for health coverage in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Through the marketplace, you can find and compare coverage options, so you can decide which is best for you. And you may qualify for a tax credit that lowers your monthly premium, as well as for reductions in the amount you pay for deductibles, coinsurance and copayments. By making these plans available and affordable, the marketplace has reduced the number of uninsured by about 80 percent over the last dozen years. You can apply for marketplace coverage by visiting www.HealthCare.gov  or by calling 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325).

At the Employee Benefits Security Administration, we also have some great resources available to help you make the most of your health benefits. You can learn more about the ACA on our website, and read about 10 ways to make your health benefits work for you, or speak to a benefits advisor by visiting https://askebsa.dol.gov or calling 1-866-444-3272..."
Affordable Care Act 

The Law of War and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

"In the days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, many countries condemned the action as a violation of international law governing when countries may use force against one another. Since then, several observers, including the U.S. Secretary of State and other foreign government officials, have cited evidence that the Russian military has targeted civilians, struck protected sites, and taken other actions that violate international law regulating the conduct of war. This Legal Sidebar provides a brief introduction to the international legal framework governing the use of force in the invasion of Ukraine and concludes with a discussion of avenues for accountability and options for Congress.

Terminology

The law of war generally refers to the portion of international law that regulates the inception of use of force, the conduct of hostilities, and the protection of war victims, among other things. The term is often used interchangeably with the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law. There are two major categories under the law of war umbrella: jus ad bellum (legal rules governing when a country can resort to use of force) and jus in bello (law governing conduct during the use of force). While they can be interrelated, jus ad bellum and jus in bello generally operate independently such that compliance with one category is required regardless of compliance with the other. For example, a state that is a victim of a jus ad bellum violation because it is attacked without a lawful basis must still comply with jus in bello when conducting military operations to defend itself.

Jus ad Bellum: Deconstructing the Justifications for War in Ukraine

The starting point to analyze most aspects of jus ad bellum is the U.N. Charter. Article 2(4) prohibits member-states from using or threatening to use force against one another, but there are exceptions. Article 51 preserves member-states’ right to act in either individual or collective self-defense when an armed attack occurs, and Chapter VII of the charter permits the U.N. Security Council to authorize military actions necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. A state can also consent to the use of force in its territory. 

Customary international law (described in this CRS Report) also informs jus ad bellum. Customary international law requires that the use of force be proportionate to the justification for military action and necessary because no other reasonable means of redress are available..."
Law of War and Russia 

Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress

"The United States has actively pursued the development of hypersonic weapons—maneuvering weapons that fly at speeds of at least Mach 5—as a part of its conventional prompt global strike program since the early 2000s. In recent years, the United States has focused such efforts on developing hypersonic glide vehicles, which are launched from a rocket before gliding to a target, and hypersonic cruise missiles, which are powered by high-speed, air-breathing engines during flight. As former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Commander of U.S. Strategic Command General John Hyten has stated, these weapons could enable “responsive, long-range, strike options against distant, defended, and/or time-critical threats [such as road-mobile missiles] when other forces are unavailable, denied access, or not preferred.” Critics, on the other hand, contend that hypersonic weapons lack defined mission requirements, contribute little to U.S. military capability, and are unnecessary for deterrence.

Funding for hypersonic weapons has been relatively restrained in the past; however, both the Pentagon and Congress have shown a growing interest in pursuing the development and near-term deployment of hypersonic systems. This is due, in part, to the advances in these technologies in Russia and China, both of which have a number of hypersonic weapons programs and have likely fielded operational hypersonic glide vehicles—potentially armed with nuclear warheads. Most U.S. hypersonic weapons, in contrast to those in Russia and China, are not being designed for use with a nuclear warhead. As a result, U.S. hypersonic weapons will likely require greater accuracy and will be more technically challenging to develop than nuclear-armed Chinese and Russian systems.

The Pentagon’s FY2022 budget request for hypersonic research is $3.8 billion—up from $3.2 billion in the FY2021 request. The Missile Defense Agency additionally requested $247.9 million for hypersonic defense. At present, the Department of Defense (DOD) has not established any programs of record for hypersonic weapons, suggesting that it may not have approved either mission requirements for the systems or long-term funding plans. Indeed, as Principal Director for Hypersonics (Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering) Mike White has stated, DOD has not yet made a decision to acquire hypersonic weapons and is instead developing prototypes to assist in the evaluation of potential weapon system concepts and mission sets..."
Hypersonic weapons 

Connecting the Dots: “Women’s Work” and the Wage Gap

"Most of us know that women are sometimes paid less than their male colleagues. But what you may not know is just how much the difference adds up. 

The gender wage gap is a calculation that reflects the fact that, on average, women are paid less than men. In 2020, the latest year with available data, when comparing the median wages of women who worked full-time, year-round to the wages of men who worked full-time, year-round: 

• All women were paid, on average, 83% of what men were paid. Or put another way, women were paid 83 cents to every dollar paid to men.  

• Many women of color were paid even less. For example, Black women were paid 64%, and Hispanic women (of any race) were paid 57% of what white non-Hispanic men were paid. 

These figures are calculated by looking at the median wages of all workers who were employed full-time for at least 50 weeks out of the year, so these figures reflect many notable differences between working women and men. These are useful numbers to help identify a distinct pattern of lower pay, but by themselves these figures do little to help us understand why women’s pay is lower.  

In 2020, the Women’s Bureau collaborated with the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct what is currently the most comprehensive analysis of the gender wage gap to date. The data shows that the majority of the gap between men and women’s wages cannot be explained through measurable differences between workers, such as age, education, industry or work hours. It is highly likely that at least some of this unmeasured portion is the result of discrimination, but it is impossible to capture exactly in a statistical model..."
Women's work 

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Issues New FOIA Guidelines to Favor Disclosure and Transparency

"To mark the start of Sunshine Week, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued comprehensive new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidelines today that strengthen the federal government’s commitments to transparency in government operations and the fair and effective administration of FOIA.

The Attorney General’s guidelines, which were announced in a memorandum, direct the heads of all executive branch departments and agencies to apply a presumption of openness in administering the FOIA and make clear that the Justice Department will not defend nondisclosure decisions that fail to do so. The guidelines also emphasize that the proactive disclosure of information is fundamental to the faithful application of the FOIA and note the Justice Department’s efforts to encourage proactive agency disclosures, including by providing more specific criteria regarding how relevant metrics should be reported in agency Annual FOIA Reports, as the Government Accountability Office recommended.

“At the Justice Department, and across government, our success depends upon the trust of the people we serve. That trust must be earned every day,” said Attorney General Garland. “For more than fifty years, the Freedom of Information Act has been a vital tool for advancing the principles of open government and democratic accountability that are at the heart of who we are as public servants. Together with our partners across the federal government, the Justice Department will work every day to uphold those principles, which are essential to the rule of law.”.."
FOIA 

Ladder Safety

"Each year in the U.S., more than 100 people die and thousands more are injured from ladder-related falls. March is ladder safety month. Learn more about how to prevent extension ladder and step ladder-related fall injuries and deaths. 

Ladder fall injuries are a persistent hazard both in the workplace and at home. There are five major causes for ladder fall incidents:

1. Incorrect extension ladder setup angle — In approximately 40% of cases, the leading cause of ladder-related injuries is a ladder sliding out at the base due to an incorrect setup angle.
2. Inappropriate ladder selection — Selection of a ladder with the proper duty-rating is also important to avoid structural failure. Selection of a ladder made of nonconductive material can avoid electrocution and related falls.
3. Insufficient ladder inspection — Reduce the likelihood of ladder structural failure by practicing regular inspection and maintenance.
4. Improper ladder use — Activities such as overreaching, carrying objects, applying excessive force, slips, and missteps are also frequent causes of ladder-related fall injuries.
5. Lack of access to ladder safety tools and information — Small companies that account for up to 80% of all construction companies, and individual ladder users, such as homeowners, do not typically receive the required training for safe use of extension ladders and step ladders..."
   Ladders