WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following report (No. R46900) on Dec. 23, 2021, entitled "The Child Tax Credit: Legislative History" by public finance specialist Margot L. Crandall-Hollick: * * * SUMMARY When the child tax credit was initially enacted in 1997, it was a relatively modest nonrefundable tax credit for middle-income families with children. Through successive legislative changes, eligibility for the credit has expanded to both lower- and higher  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (TNSPol) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued the following news release on Dec. 29, 2021: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the Rhode Island Republican Party to renounce State Representative Patricia Morgan's "divisive and tone-deaf" comments on race. Yesterday, Rep. Morgan tweeted that she once "had a Black friend" who is now "hostile and unpleasant." She sa  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 -- The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public's Policy Preferences Across States issued the following report (No. 70) on Dec. 11, 2021, entitled "MA Governor Charlie Baker's Approval". The report was a joint project of Northeastern University, Harvard University/Harvard Medical School, Rutgers University and Northwestern University. * * * Summary Memo From: The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public's Policy Preferences Across States Partners: Nort  more

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Dec. 28 -- The Indiana Democratic Party issued the following news release on Dec. 27, 2021: The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today celebrated the continued success of President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan. This time, Hoosiers read about the Rescue Plan's READI program - a $500 million economic development effort commissioned by the state - and how it will create a brighter future for communities  more

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, Dec. 30 -- The Indiana Democratic Party issued the following news release on Dec. 29, 2021: The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today called on Governor Eric Holcomb to condemn the Indiana Republican Party's effort to discredit the COVID-19 vaccine during his first (public) pandemic address in more than 274 days. The INGOP's partisan effort includes House Bill 1001 and Senate Bill 114, proposed legislat  more

BOULDER, Colorado, Dec. 28 (TNSRep) -- The National Education Policy Center issued an 18-page policy brief in September 2021 entitled "Understanding the Attacks on Critical Race Theory." The policy brief was written by Francesca Lopez of Pennsylvania State University; Alex Molnar of the University of Colorado Boulder; Royel Johnson, Ashley Patterson and LaWanda Ward of Pennsylvania State University; and independent scholar Kevin Kumashiro. * * * Introduction Attacks on Critical Race Theory (  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (TNSRep) -- The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 294-page draft final report in December 2021. (Continued from Part 2 of 16) * * * Chapter 1: The History of Reforms and Reform Debates Any account of what has precipitated today's debate about the role and operation of the Supreme Court would be incomplete without an understanding of the long history of political debate and institutional reform surrounding the Court. This history, w  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (TNSRep) -- The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 294-page draft final report in December 2021. (Continued from Part 3 of 16) * * * Vi. The Progressive Era: Structural Reforms and Democracy-Based Critiques of the Courts A. Reorganization of the Federal Courts As a result of the structural reforms of the Reconstruction era, the dockets of the federal courts--and in particular the Supreme Court--became crowded "beyond all control."/9  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (TNSRep) -- The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 294-page draft final report in December 2021. (Continued from Part 6 of 16) * * * IV. Other Structural Reforms At points in history, and in today's debate over Supreme Court reform, lawmakers and commentators have proposed different schemes for altering the composition of the Court beyond its basic expansion. In this Chapter, we focus on three categories of such reforms: proposals t  more

BISMARCK, North Dakota, Dec. 27 -- Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Larry Kudlow on Sunday Morning Futures where he discussed the Democrats' upcoming socialist legislative agenda and energy policy. Excerpts and a full video are below. On Schumer and the Democratic Party: "Every move that is made, every vote that he calls, he is thinking about [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and the possibility that she will run against hi  more