U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt recently blocked an Indiana state law requiring women to get an ultrasound 18 hours before getting an abortion. The judge found the measure to be overly burdensome for low income women. Judge Pratt’s ruling, which was issued on Friday March 31st, came after a lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on behalf of Planned … [Read more...]
Leaked Memo Offers Insight Into Proposed EPA Budget Cuts
In late March that a newly uncovered document reveals serious cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including 25 percent of the workforce and 56 programs. The leaked document, obtained by the Washington Post, contains the most detailed budget plan to date and entails slashing programs such as water runoff control, pesticide safety and … [Read more...]
OIG Will Review Administration’s Decision to Halt ACA Advertisements
Following a request from Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Pat Murray (D-Wash), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) will investigate the Administration’s decision to halt paid outreach advertisements and to suspend other related efforts aimed at informing the public of Marketplace enrollment in … [Read more...]
Pence’s Tie-Breaking Vote Leads to Nullification of Obama-era Rule
Mike Pence cast a tie breaking vote on March 29th, rescinding an Obama-era regulation pertaining to the funding of healthcare providers that offer abortion services. With a vote of 51 to 50 in favor of nullifying the rule, the bill will now go to President Trump who is expected to sign it. A tie breaking vote was necessary after Senators Lisa … [Read more...]
Resolution Repealing Drilling Regulation Gets Stuck in the Senate
A resolution aiming to repeal an Obama-era rule that limits the environmental impact of the oil and gas industry has hit a road bump in the Senate, as several Republicans and moderate Democrats have not fully committed to a yes vote. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulation requires drillers to implement methane mitigation technologies to … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Rejects Texas Standard for Determining Inmates’ Mental Ability
The Supreme Court rejected Texas standards for determining which mentally disabled people are exempt from death row. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the majority opinion saying, “Texas cannot satisfactorily explain why it applies current medical standards for diagnosing intellectual disability in other contexts, yet clings to superseded … [Read more...]
Trump Proposes the Elimination of Essential Funding for Appalachia
Of the 19 federal programs that Trump would like to eliminate, there are a few that would sever lifelines to regions that helped put him in the Oval Office. One of the key programs on the chopping block is the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), created during Lyndon B. Johnson’s “war on poverty.” Cutting these programs amounts to a bitter … [Read more...]
Senate Rescinds Rule Protecting Predators in Alaskan Wildlife Refuges
The U.S. Senate passed a “resolution of disapproval” last week, overturning an Obama-era rule that protected wolves, grizzly bears and coyotes from extreme hunting practices including aerial spotting, baiting, and killing animals who are with their cubs in their dens. The regulation, which was rescinded with a party-line vote of 52-47, specifically … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Raises Standards for Education of Students With Disabilities
The Supreme Court recently raised the standards for educational benefits given to the (approximately) six million students with disabilities. The unanimous decision rejected the ruling of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals which found that non-trivial progress was sufficient to satisfy requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities in … [Read more...]
Internet Privacy Rules Rescinded
The Senate voted last week in favor of a resolution repealing a set of Obama-era rules that promised to protect internet privacy for consumers. This comes not long after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stayed the enactment of the rules in February. The bill passed mostly along party lines with a vote of 50 to 48. President Trump signed … [Read more...]
Trump’s Budget Proposes Slashing NIH Funding by 20 Percent
Donald Trump’s recent “skinny budget” includes a devastating cut to the National Institute of Health (NIH) budget, amounting to $6 billion, which is 20 percent of the entire $31 billion budget. According to the Forbes, “This is colossally short-sighted, stupid and even cruel.” It’s “stupid” when you consider the fact that the NIH budget is only … [Read more...]
Trump Administration Rescinds Obama-era Guidance Concerning Student Loan Defaults
Last week the Trump Administration directed the Department of Education to put a stop to an Obama-era rule published in 2015 as a memo. The memo, known as a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), required debt collectors to stop charging high interest rates for defaulted student loans. Trump’s team sent out a letter advising guarantee agencies to … [Read more...]
Texas AG Expresses Concern Over Muslim Prayer in School
According to the The Washington Post, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Texas sent the Frisco school district superintendent a letter expressing concern about a spare classroom being used, in part, for group prayer by Muslim students. This is only three months after Attorney General, Ken Paxton, made headlines when he helped a school … [Read more...]
HR 1215 Protects Assailants and Punishes Victims
The House is expected to vote next week on HR 1215, known as the Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017, as it has already been passed by the House Judiciary Committee. One of the more contentious provisions would enforce a cap of $250,000 on non-economic damages in malpractice suits. It also restricts victims from pursuing a case after a certain … [Read more...]
Trump Puts a Stop to Obama-era Emissions Standards
At a rally outside of Detroit, Donald Trump announced a plan to pull back on fuel emissions regulations put in place during Barack Obama’s presidency. Trump met with auto industry executives in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to discuss a plan to review the measures known as CAFÉ standards, which would require companies to increase the gas mileage of … [Read more...]
Facebook to Developers: Stop Surveillance
Facebook’s New Policy Instructs Developers to Prohibit the Use of Data for Surveillance Purposes According to a report on CNET, Facebook announced this past Monday that they have already changed policy to prevent developers from using customers’ data for the purposes of surveillance. Rob Sherman, Facebook's deputy chief privacy officer, explained … [Read more...]
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