Last week, the Trump administration submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court that effectively reversed the administration’s position on arbitration agreements as originally stated in a petition for review, filed in 2016. The Office of the Solicitor General rarely changes its position on a major case like this, even if there’s a … [Read more...]
Cutting Medicaid Could Hollow Out Addiction Treatment Programs
Ever since OxyContin hit the market in 1996, the opioid epidemic has caused extreme turmoil. In 2015, 33,000 people died as a result of opioid-related overdoses. And of the 20.5 million people suffering from substance abuse in that year, 2 million were addicted to opioid pain relievers. The crisis didn’t emerge out of a vacuum. In the late 1990s, … [Read more...]
The Proliferation of Anti-LGBTQ Laws
Over time, and through great struggle, federal law has been established to defend against discrimination based on sex, age, nationality, disability, religion or race in a variety of different forums, including housing, education, employment, voting rights, and access to public space. In certain states, people of varying sexual orientations and … [Read more...]
Department of Education Reduces Protections and Streamlines Student-Loan Servicing
On Tuesday April 11th, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos nullified three memos from Obama’s Department of Education. These memos which were meant to improve customer protections for borrowers and simplify the student-loan servicing industry. The memos – which were authored by John B. King Jr., Obama’s Secretary of Education, and Ted Mitchell, … [Read more...]
American Leaders Become Increasingly Separated From Everyday People
In early April, United Airlines made headlines after a team of security officers dragged a man off a plane for refusing to leave his seat. The airline asked the man to leave because of a policy (shared by other airlines) that essentially allows for passengers to be kicked off a flight when the plane is overbooked. The incident was caught on several … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Decision Limits Power of SEC
Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that effectively limits the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to recover funds gained through fraudulent activity. Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored the opinion for the court, writing that the SEC must seek “disgorgement” – the process whereby illegally garnered … [Read more...]
House Republicans Vote to Repeal Key Reforms in Dodd-Frank
This past Thursday while everyone was watching the Comey hearing, the House of Representatives voted to rescind several post-2008 regulations that Republicans regard as too restrictive on financial institutions. This is the latest in a series of GOP-guided initiatives to roll back Obama-era rules. Trump said earlier in his presidency that he would … [Read more...]
Kansas Republicans Abandon Governor Brownback’s Experiment in Conservative Governance
Kansas Republicans made an about face this week when they decided to abandon the extremely conservative tax policy that Governor Sam Brownback (R) called a “real live experiment” in unfettered trickle-down economics. The Governor attempted to veto the bill but was overridden by the state legislature, a major embarrassment for the Republican leader … [Read more...]
DeVos Gives Vague Response Regarding Discrimination in Private Schools
When asked by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) whether religious discrimination would be allowed in private schools receiving federal funding, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos would not respond directly to the question. Instead, she insisted on repeating this phrase: “Schools that receive federal funds must follow federal law.” The question came … [Read more...]
DOJ No Longer Allows Settlements to Fund Third-Party Organizations
Two weeks ago, the Justice Department ended yet another Obama-era policy that allowed money from legal settlements to go to third-party organizations. Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a memo (dated June 5th) demanding that all settlement funds are to go directly to the victims involved in the case. The guidance could majorly affect large … [Read more...]
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