In 1984, Congress passed the Sentencing Reform Act and set up the Sentencing Commission, a governmental body that wrote stringent sentencing guidelines for drug offenders. Since the law was passed and the commission was created, the federal prison population has grown by nearly 800 percent. A large portion of that growth came from the influx of … [Read more...]
Republicans Remain Inconsistent on States’ Rights Issues
Just prior to Christmas, Republicans banded together in the house to pass a bill that would allow people with concealed carry permits to travel across state-lines with their weapons. Under this bill, a person who receives their permit in a gun-haven like Texas would be able to bring his gun into a stricter state, like California, without being … [Read more...]
Independent Truckers Chafe at New Logging Requirements
In 2012, Congressional Republicans wrote a rule requiring truckers to install electronic logging devices (ELDs) in their vehicles. That rule went into effect on December 18th after protests from independent truckers like Dick Pingel, who supported Trump but now feels neglected by the administration. Whereas before truckers were expected to use … [Read more...]
Federal Judges Halt Trump’s Attempt to Destroy Obamacare No-Cost Birth Control Mandate
President Trump succeeded in killing The Affordable Care Act’s “individual mandate” via the new tax law’s provision eliminating penalties for Americans who choose not to purchase health insurance, starting in 2019. However, Trump failed to enact the so-called moral and religious- exemption rules that would have quashed Obamacare’s no-cost birth … [Read more...]
Trump Administration Weakens Protections for Women in the US
During the past year, Donald Trump and his cabinet have proposed and executed a number of regressive policies, taking aim at regulations, health care, the tax code and the budget. Because these issues have a universal impact, it is easy to forget that some people feel the consequences more than others. In this regard, it deserves saying that women … [Read more...]
Controlling the Fracking Narrative
In 2005, Congress passed a bill (HR 6) that led to devastating consequences in poor rural counties throughout the country, including areas in Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Texas. Notably, the energy bill included an exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), allowing hydraulic fracking to continue without federal oversight. That exemption, … [Read more...]
Trump Administration Delivers Major Blow to Small Farmers
On January 20th, President Trump signed a memorandum and sent it to the heads of federal agencies. The memo’s intent was to limit the publication and implementation of rules already in the pipeline. Specifically, the memo ordered agency heads to do the following: “With respect to regulations that have been published in the [Office of the Federal … [Read more...]
GOP Tax Plan Would Give Churches Political Autonomy
This past Thursday, Republicans in the House unveiled their plan to radically alter the tax code, revealing the details of a project long kept in the dark. Major proposed changes include a reduction of the number of tax brackets from seven to five and a slashing of the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent. The measure, entitled the Tax Cuts and … [Read more...]
Republicans Take On the Endangered Species Act
It is no secret that Republicans in Congress and the White House want nothing more than to roll back EPA regulations – even EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to dismantle many of the agency’s programs. It’s perhaps less publicized that certain GOP members of Congress have made it their duty to radically alter the Endangered Species Act, a law … [Read more...]
TCPA Under Attack
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump came under fire for a number of reasons. One reason, missed by top headlines, was his unsolicited dispatch of a mass text saying “Reply YES to subscribe to Donald J. Trump for President. Your subscription will help make America great again! Msg&data rates may apply.” That text, sent to thousands of … [Read more...]
