The Niskanen Center recently submitted a comment in response to a Request for Information (RFI) from the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) on the carbon-emission ...

Last October, we posited that Congress could reach a bipartisan deal on permitting reform to address project timelines and get more transmission and clean energy built. With the introduction of the ...

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is undergoing its biggest structural shift in decades, as federal action moves resettlement toward a model where states have a greater leading role. This piece ...

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 30, 2026 – The Niskanen Center strongly supports the introduction of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026. This legislation includes the most ...

On August 25, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule titled “Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions.” The rule would introduce a $103,265 fee for cap-subject H-1B petitions. In ...

Despite near universal frustration with the U.S. legal immigration system, Congress has not meaningfully reformed its laws in more than 35 years. Still, policymakers could make the existing approach ...

Claire Holba is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Niskanen Center, where she focuses on the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and humanitarian policy. She works on advancing community-driven immigration ...

Americans overwhelmingly support paid family and medical leave (PFML) as part of a broader set of policies to help them balance work and family life. Despite popular support, federal policymakers have ...

The U.S. electric grid is fragmented, with limited to no power exchange between regions and interconnections. This fragmentation increases costs to consumers and risks blackouts from power shortages ...

In conversations about modernization, it’s easy to focus on the technology. What’s more important is building trust. This event highlights the research behind VA’s successful modernization from ...

A decade-long study of the Department of Veterans Affairs finds that sustained improvements in trust and service delivery depended on implementing the product model at agency scale, not technology ...

State capacity is not an abstract policy concern. It is the government’s ability to turn law, funding, staff, data, technology, and authority into services people can use. When that capacity is weak, ...