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What's New?

Supreme Court Recognizes Some Absolute Immunity for Presidents, but Holds that Trump's Claims to Total Immunity Go Beyond What The Court is Willing to Recognize
July 2, 2024. In another 6-3 opinion, Chief Justice Roberts writes for the majority that there are some areas in which presidents have absolute immunity, others that are officials acts and are entitled a presumption of immunity, but others outside of officials acts are not so protected. Justice Sotomayor wrote for the dissenters, finding that the Court has indeed placed presidents above the law.
   Read the opinion.

Supreme Court Dramatically Relaxes Statute of Limitations on Administrative Procedure Act Challenges to Agency Action
July 2, 2024. The Supreme Court, once again in a 6-3 opinion, ruled that a business that did not exist when a rule was adopted by an agency nevertheless could later challenge that rule. In do doing the Court found that: "An APA plaintiff does not have a complete and present cause of action until she suffers an injury from final agency action, so the statute of limitations does not begin to run until she is injured." Corner Post v. Bd. of Governors of the Federal Reserve, at 6. Justice Jackson wrote for the three dissenters, finding that: "The flawed reasoning and far-reaching results of the Court's ruling in this case are staggering." Id. at 2, Jackson, J., dissenting.
   Read the opinion.

Supreme Court Reverses the Chevron Deference Standard
July 2, 2024. In another 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, struck the long-standing Chevron deference standard for judicial review of agency interpretations of standards they are charged to administer. After explaining why the Chevron deference standard has survived for forty years, Justice Kagan, for the dissenters warned: "Today, the Court flips the script: It is now 'the courts (rather than the agency)' that will wield power when Congress has left an area of interpretive discretion. A rule of judicial humility gives way to a rule of judicial hubris. In recent years, this Court has too often taken for itself decision-making authority Congress assigned to agencies. The Court has substituted its own judgment on workplace health for that of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; its own judgment on climate change for that of the Environmental Protection Agency; and its own judgment on student loans for that of the Department of Education. See, e.g., National Federation of Independent Business v. OSHA, 595 U.S. 109 (2022); West Virginia v. EPA, 597 U.S. 697 (2022); Biden v. Nebraska, 600 U.S. 477 (2023). But evidently that was, for this Court, all too piecemeal. In one fell swoop, the majority today gives itself exclusive power over every open issue--no matter how expertise-driven or policy-laden--involving the meaning of regulatory law. As if it did not have enough on its plate, the majority turns itself into the country's administrative czar. It defends that move as one (suddenly) required by the (nearly 80-year-old) AdministrativeProcedure Act. But the Act makes no such demand. Today's decision is not one Congress directed. It is entirely the majority's choice. And the majority cannot destroy one doctrine of judicial humility without making a laughing-stock of a second. (If opinions had titles, a good candidate for today's would be Hubris Squared.)" Id. at 3, Kagan, J., dissenting.
   Read the opinion.

National Science Foundation and Department of Energy Announce First Awards Under the Administration's National AI Research Resource Program
May 13, 2024. The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy have announced the first awards under the National AI Research Resource pilot program designed to allow researchers to access federal state of the art AI capability to support their work. The pilot program is a two-year effort and is part of the administration's AI initiative that began with President Biden's Executive Order 14110 issued in 2023. The NSF explained: "AI holds the potential to accelerate discovery and innovation and help solve critical societal and global challenges. However, many researchers lack the necessary access to the computing, data, software and educational resources needed to fully conduct their research and to train the next generation of researchers. The NAIRR aims to bridge this gap and ensure that AI resources and tools are accessible to the broad research and education communities in a manner that advances trustworthy AI and protects privacy, civil rights and civil liberties. By connecting the research community to needed infrastructure resources, the NAIRR pilot will enable research that advances the frontiers of AI as well as the use of AI to drive breakthroughs in other fields of science and engineering."
   Applications for future awards opened last week and that information is available on the NAIRR program website below.
   Read the NSF Press Release on the NAIRR Program.
   Read Executive Order 14110.
   Access the NAIRR Program Website with Information on Opportunities, Applications, and Awards.
   Access NSF's Webpage Explaining the Program.

Preparing for Supreme Court Oral Argument in Trump Claim of Immunity Case
April 9, 2024. The parties have now submitted their briefs on the merits in No. 23-939 Trump v. United States concerning Mr. Trump's claim to immunity from criminal prosecution in response to the indictment brought against him by the Special Counsel. The oral argument before the Supreme Court is scheduled for April 25. See the post for February 28 on this webpage for more information on the case.
   Read the Special Counsel's Brief.
   Read the Trump Brief.
   Access the Joint Appendix in the case.

EU Parliament Adopts Artificial Intelligence Act
March 14, 2024.The European Parliament yesterday voted to approve the Artificial Intelligence Act with 523 votes in favor, 46 against, and 49 abstentions. The act has been under development for some time with complex consultive processes and analyses. The European Commission has explained: "The European AI Strategy aims at making the EU a world-class hub for AI and ensuring that AI is human-centric and trustworthy. Such an objective translates into the European approach to excellence and trust through concrete rules and actions." The new AI Act arrays regulatory requirements according to four classes of AI with some uses banned. As the EU Parliament explained in its news release: "The new rules ban certain AI applications that threaten citizens' rights, including biometric categorisation systems based on sensitive characteristics and untargeted scraping of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage to create facial recognition databases. Emotion recognition in the workplace and schools, social scoring, predictive policing (when it is based solely on profiling a person or assessing their characteristics), and AI that manipulates human behaviour or exploits people's vulnerabilities will also be forbidden." The European Commission provided more information in its announcement of last week, including explanation of the four classes, which include: Unacceptable Risk, High Risk, Limited Risk, and Minimal Risk.
   Read the European Parliament News Release on the Vote.
   Read European Commission "AI" Act News Release March 6 with Additional Links to key documents.
   Access the European Commission's "European Approach to Artificial Intelligence" release.
   Read Artificial Intelligence Act, Final Draft, January 21, 2014.
   Read EU AI Innovation Package.
   Read EU Coordinated Plan on AI.
   Read About the European AI Office and Its Functions.
   Access the EU Artificial Intelligence Act Website.

Biden Administration Releases FY 2025 Budget Proposal and Supporting Materials
March 11, 2024. The White House has released the President's Budget of the United States for FY 2025. The Office of Management and Budget released has released some of the documents, including the president's budget document with his budget message. There are also other key materials, including the "Analytic Perspectives" document which provides the economic and policy assumptions behind the budget, and the "Budget Appendix" which is the document that contains the very detailed information on agency budgets and funds. Also, a number of the executive departments are expected to release their budget-in-brief documents which provide more detailed program by program explanations of past, present, and requested funding. Those documents for the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and Environmental Protection Agency will be posted as soon as they are available.
   Download the President's Budget of the United States for FY 2025 document, including the President's Message to Accompany the FY 2025 Budget.
   Download the FY 2025 Budget Facts Sheets.
   Access the FY 2025 Budget Appendix -- All detailed information about agencies and funds.
   Access the FY 2025 Budget Analytic Perspectives webpage (economic and budget assumptions).
   Access the FY 2025 Federal Credit Supplement (information on direct loans and loan guarantees by the Federal Government.).
   Access the FY 2025 Supplemental Materials website.
   Access the U.S. Department of Education, Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Summary and Background Information.
   Access the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2025 Budget-in-Brief.
   Access the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Fiscal Year 2025 Budget-in-Brief.
   Access the Office of Management and Budget Budget Webpage.

Supreme Court Overturns Colorado Ruling that Removed Trump from the Ballot
March 4, 2024. Although all members of the U.S. Supreme Court agreed on reversing the Colorado Supreme Court decision that removed Mr. Trump from the ballot in that state under the Fourteenth Amendment, there was a sharp disagreement among the members about the scope of the per curiam opinion. Justice Barrett concurred in part and in the judgment, joining only Parts I and II–B of the per curiam opinion. Justice Sotomayor wrote a strongly worded opinion for herself and Justices Kagan and Jackson, concurring only in the judgment of the Court. The four justices were critical of the majority because on grounds that it went well beyond what was necessary to address the Colorado case.
   Read the Opinions.

Supreme Court to Hear Trump's Claim of Immunity
February 28, 2024.The Supreme Court today issued an order indicating it will hear the case involving Mr. Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution. The Court wrote: "The application for a stay presented to The Chief Justice is referred by him to the Court. The Special Counsel's request to treat the stay application as a petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, and that petition is granted limited to the following question: Whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. Without expressing a view on the merits, this Court directs the Court of Appeals to continue withholding issuance of the mandate until the sending down of the judgment of this Court. The application for a stay is dismissed as moot. The case will be set for oral argument during the week of April 22, 2024. Petitioner's brief on the merits, and any amicus curiae briefs in support or in support of neither party, are to be filed on or before Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Respondent's brief on the merits, and any amicus curiae briefs in support, are to be filed on or before Monday, April 8, 2024. The reply brief, if any, is to be filed on or before 5 p.m., Monday, April 15, 2024." For more information on this case, see the posting below for Febryuary 16, 2024.
   In something unusual for this kind of proceeding, there have been several amicus curiae briefs filed in the Supreme Court. (The full docket sheet for Trump v. United States, No. 23A745, can be accessed through the Court's docket search page at the link below.)
   See the order published today by the Supreme Court.
   Read Trump's Application for a Stay to the Supreme Court.
   Read the U.S. Brief in Opposition to the Application for a Stay.
   Access the Supreme Court Docket Search Page to find the Full Docket Sheet for case No. 23A745 with All Key Documents.

Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Social Media Content Moderation Policies
February 26, 2024. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today in cases from Florida and Texas, Moody v. NetChoice, 22-277, and NetChoice v. Paxton, 22-555, involving state statutes prohibiting social media platforms from regulating content, what they refer to as content moderation. The lower courts ruled against the Florida statute, but although the district court halted the Texas action pending the litigation, the Fifth Circuit reversed. These are facial challenges.
   Read the Florida's Brief as Petitioner in 22-277.
   Read the Brief of Respondents NetChoice in 22-277.
   Read the Florida statute S.B. 7072.
   Read the Brief of the United States in Support of Repondents in 22-277 and Petitioners in 22-555.
   Read Brief of Petitioners NetChoice in 22-555 the Texas Case.
   Read the Brief of Respondent Texas Attorney General Paxton in 22-555.
   Read the Texas statute HB20.
   Read the Oral Argument Transcript--Florida Case.
   Read the Oral Argument Audio.
   Read the Oral Argument Transcript--Texas Case.
   Read the Oral Argument Audio.

Alabama Supreme Court Allows Wrongful Death Suits for Destruction of Embryos Raising Questions for Clinicians and Others
February 21, 2024. The Alabama Supreme Court has issued an opinion in which it concludes that, under the Alabama's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, "Unborn children are 'children' under the Act, without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics." LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, at 11. According to the Court, that includes embryos. Therefore, clinics and those who work with embryos now face possible legal action if and when they accidentally or intentional destroy an embryo. For more information and the opinion, see the Heath Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Supreme Court Considering Trump Petition for Stay of the Criminal Case in D.C.
February 16, 2024.The Supreme Court has before it a petition (No. 23A745) by former president Donald Trump to issue a stay that would halt the criminal proceedings under an indictment against him in the federal district court in D.C. His attorneys have asked the Court to stay the ruling of the D.C. Circuit panel issued last week denying him immunity from prosecution (see the posting below for February 6) and block further action on starting his criminal trial on a four-count indictment issued by the grand jury at the request of special counsel Jack Smith. They are asking that the Supreme Court stay the lower court ruling to allow more time for them to file a petition in the Supreme Court for certiorari to consider the D.C. Circuit ruling against Trump's claims of immunity from prosecution as a former president. Alternatively, they ask the Court to stay the case until they have can seek an en banc review by the full D.C. Circuit. The special counsel has filed in opposition, arguing that the Court already rejected his earlier request for an expedited ruling on the immunity question in the Supreme Court and contending that there is no basis for any appeal at this time of the D.C. Circuit ruling. The district court issued an extensive opinion on that matter in December and the D.C. Circuit also issued a unanimous and lengthy opinion rejecting the immunity claim last week. Smith asked that if the Court does issue a stay that would prevent the case from going to trial now, it would expedite consideration of the case and schedule arguments in March.
   In something unusual for this kind of proceeding, there have been several amicus curiae briefs filed in the Supreme Court. (The full docket sheet for Trump v. United States, No. 23A745, can be accessed through the Court's docket search page at the link below.)
   Read Trump's Application for a Stay to the Supreme Court.
   Read the U.S. Brief in Opposition to the Application for a Stay.
   Access the Supreme Court Docket Search Page to find the Full Docket Sheet with All Key Documents.

Senate Appears Like to Advance Kids Online Protection Act
February 15, 2024.Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have announced that they now have 62 co-sponsors in the Senate for passage of a new version of S.1409 the Kids Online Safety Act released today, which is more than needed to overcome a possible filibuster. The proposed legislation follows a long process of hearings including testimony by a range of people from social media companies, parents' groups, and others. There is not currently a companion bill in the House.
   Read the Current Version of S. 1409 released today.
   Access Senator Blackburn's webpage on the bill with materials.
   Access Senator Blumenthal's webpage on the bill with materials.

D.C. Circuit Denies Trump Immunity Claim
February 6, 2024. A U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel has rejected former President Donald Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution brought by the Special Counsel, beginning its per curiam opinion by writing: "President Trump was charged in a four-count Indictment as a result of his actions challenging the election results and interfering with the sequence set forth in the Constitution for the transfer of power from one President to the next. Former President Trump moved to dismiss the Indictment and the district court denied his motion. Today, we affirm the denial. For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution." United States v. Trump, at 3.
   The court continued later after analyzing the several arguments put forward by Trump's counsel for immunity: "Former President Trump lacked any lawful discretionary auithority to defy federal criminal law and he is answerable in court for his conduct." Id. at 30. And it concludes its core argument by explaining that: "We cannot accept former President Trump's claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power--the recognition and implementation of election results. Nor can we sanction his apparent contention that the Executive has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count. At bottom, former President Trump's stance would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches. Presidential immunity against federal indictment would mean that, as to the President, the Congress could not legislate, the Executive could not prosecute and the Judiciary could not review. We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter. Careful evaluation of these concerns leads us to conclude that there is no functional justification for immunizing former Presidents from federal prosecution in general or for immunizing former President Trump from the specific charges in the Indictment. In so holding, we act, 'not in derogation of the separation of powers, but to maintain their proper balance.'..." Id. at 40-41.
   Read the Court of Appeals Opinion.
   Read the District Court Opinion.
   Read the Indictment.

Federal Trade Commission Announces Settlements Aimed at Reining in Data Brokers and Others Gathering and Distributing Personal Data
January 18, 2024. The Federal Trade Commission has announced another settlement in its current efforts to constrain data brokers and other firms seeking to gather and share large amounts of private information on consumers and medical care users. Today the FTC announced a settlement with InMarket and on January 9 it announced a settlement in the X-Mode Social and Outlogic case concerning sale of location data charging that the companies "did not fully inform consumers and obtain their consent before collecting and using their location data for advertising and marketing." FTC Press Release
   Access the FTC Press Release on the InMarket Settlement.
   Read the Proposed Order in the InMarket Case.
   Read the Complaint in the InMarket Case.
   Read the FTC Press Release on the Settlement with X-Mode Social and Outlogic on Sales of Location Data.
   Read the Complaint in the X-Mode Social and Outlogic Case.
   Read the Proposed Order in the X-Mode Social and Outlogic Case.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Cases Seeking to Overturn the Chevron Deference Doctrine
January 17, 2024. The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in two cases in which the challengers to the government actions are asking the Court to overturn the longstanding Chevron doctrine, providing for deference by courts to the interpretations of statutes by administrative agencies charged with their implementation. Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (No. 22-451) and Relentless v. Department of Commerce (No. 22-1219) challenge requirements imposed on the operators of fishing vessels under the Magnuson-Stevens Act by the National Marine Fisheries Service to pays fees for on-board inspectors of their vessels, but the real core of both cases is the attempt to get the Supreme Court to reject the deference doctrine from Chevron, U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council that has been controlling law since that case was decided in 1984.
   Access the Docket Sheet for Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo with all briefs and materials.
   Access the Docket Sheet for Relentless v. Department of Commerce with all briefs and materials...
   Read the Transcript of the Oral Argument in Relentless.
   Read the transcript of Oral Argument in Loper Bright.

GAO Issues Major Report on AI in Federal Agencies
December 14, 2023.The Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week issued a major report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the federal government, specifically studying 23 agences. As GAO explained: "In this report, GAO reviewed the implementation of AI at major federal agencies. This report examines (1) federal agency reported current and planned uses of AI, (2) the extent to which federal agencies' AI reporting was comprehensive and accurate, and (3) the extent to which federal agencies have complied with selected federal policy and guidance on AI." GAO Watchblog Post. The GAO report offered 35 recommendations. In introducing its post on this one, GAO said that, among other things: "Federal law and guidance have several requirements for agencies implementing AI, but they haven't all been met. For example, there's no government-wide guidance on how agencies should acquire and use AI. Without such guidance, agencies can't consistently manage AI. And until all requirements are met, agencies can't effectively address AI risks and benefits."
   Read the GAO WatchBlog Post on the New Report.
   Read the Full Report.
   Read the "Highlights Pages" of the Report.

Special Counsel Seeks Supreme Court Ruling on Whether Trump is Immune from Prosecution
December 11, 2023.Special Counsel Jack Smith today filed a Petitioner for Certiorari Before Judgment in the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the question: "Whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin." The Supreme Court promptly issued an order stating: "Petitioner's motion to expedite consideration of the petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment is granted, and respondent is directed to file a response to the petition on or before 4 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, December 20, 2023." The case is No. 23-624.
   In asking the Court to take the case, the Special Counsel wrote: "This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he had been impeached but not convected before the criminal proceedings begin. The district court rejected respondent's claims, correctly recognizing that former Presidents are not above the law and are accountable for their violations of federal criminal law while in office. . . . It is of imperative public importance that respondent's claims of immunity be resolved by thie Court and that respondent's trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected. Respondent's claims are profoundly mistaken, as the district court held. But only this Court can definitively resolve them. The Court should grant a writ of certiorari before judgment to ensure that it can provide the resolution that this case warrants, just as it did in United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 686-687 (1974)."
   Read Petition for the Writ of Certiorari Before Judgment.
   Read the Court's Order.
   Access the Supreme Court Docket page for the case.

Texas Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order Allowing Emergency Exception to Texas Abortion Ban for Dallas Woman
December 7, 2023.The Center for Reproductive Rights file suit in Travis County court and obtained an order allowing a Dallas woman with severe pregnancy dangers to obtain an abortion as an exception to Texas' near complete abortion ban.
   Read the Application for the TRO.
   Read the Temporary Restraining Order.

Seventeen Nations Come Together to Create Guidance for Secure AI Development
November 29, 2023. The U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) and the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have worked with agencies from fifteen other countries to produce a "Guideline for Secure AI Development." The introduction to the guideline explains that this guideline operates from a "secure-by-design" foundation. It goes on to explain that: "AI systems have the potential to bring many benefits to society. However, for the opportunities of AI to be fully realised, it must be developed, deployed and operated in a secure and responsible way. AI systems are subject to novel security vulnerabilities that need to be considered alongside standard cyber security threats. When the pace of development is high--as is the case with AI--security can often be a secondary consideration. Security must be a core requirement, not just in the development phase, but throughout the life cycle of the system. For this reason, the guidelines are broken down into four key areas within the AI system development life cycle: secure design, secure development, secure deployment, and secure operation and maintenance. For each section we suggest considerations and mitigations that will help reduce the overall risk to an organisational AI system development process."
   Access the Guideline for Secure AI Development.
   Read the U.S./U.K. Joint Press Release on the New Guideline.
   Access the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) Website.

DOD Publishes Its "Responsible AI Toolkit"
November 20, 2023. The Department of Defense Chief Digital & Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) has followed last month's publication of President Biden's Executive Order 14110 entitled "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence" with the DOD release of its Responsible AI Toolkit. The DOD CDAO blog post on the toolkit explains its origins tracing back to a 2020 publication on Ethical Principles for AI at DOD and then to the 2022 Responsible AI Strategy and Implementation Pathway.
   For more information last month's executive order and related materials, See the post on this page for October 31.
   Access DOD's Reponsible AI Toolkit.
   Read DOD's Chief Digital & Artificial Intelligence Office Blog Post About the Toolkit.
   Read DOD's Responsible AI Strategy and Implementation Pathway from 2022.
   Read the Blog Post of February 2021 on "Progress and Future of Responsible AI in the DoD."
   Read DOD's February 2020 Ethical Principles for AI.
   Read Executive Order 14110.
   Access the Chief Digital & Artificial Intelligence Office Website.

Office of Management and Budget Issues Major New Policy Document on Regulatory Analysis
November 13, 2023. The Biden Administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a new circular on regulatory analysis, explaining what is expected of agencies engaged in rulemaking. Circular A-4 Regulatory Analysis. The new circular, is a major change, indeed the first full re-write since the Bush administration's version in 2003, which this new document supersedes. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs issued a press announcement on November 9 stating that: "While much of Circular A-4--which was originally issued in 2003 and which has not been revised since--has continued to provide helpful guidance for agencies, advances in economics and science have prompted important revisions."
   In its introduction to the new circular, OMB explained its purposes and origins, but also issued at the same time an accompanying document entitled "Circular No. A-4: Explanation and Response to Public Input." The OMB introduction to the new Circular A-4 writes: "This Circular is designed to assist analysts in regulatory agencies by providing guidance on conducting high-quality and evidence-based regulatory analysis--referred to as either 'regulatory analysis' or 'analysis' in this Circular for brevity--and standardizing the way benefits and costs of Federal regulatory actions are measured and reported. Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review) requires agencies to conduct a regulatory analysis for regulatory actions that are significant as defined by Section 3(f)(1) of that Executive Order, as amended, and more generally to assess the benefits and costs of other significant actions. These requirements apply to regulatory actions that rescind or modify existing regulations, as well as to new regulatory actions, and apply to the extent consistent with applicable law. This Circular is intended to aid agencies in their analysis of the benefits and costs of regulations, when such analysis is required, and when agencies undertake such analysis as a matter of discretion. Analysts may find it useful to consult additional supporting information relevant to the materials in this Circular, contemporaneously published in a separate document by OMB, entitled OMB Circular No. A-4: Explanation and Response to Public Input."
   Read the New Circular A-4 on Regulatory Analysis.
   Read OMB's Companion Document to Circular A-4 "OMB Circular No. A-4: Explanation and Response to Public Input."
   Read the OMB Press Announcement of the New Policy Documents on November 9.

President Biden Issues Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence
October 31, 2023. President Biden has issued an Executive Order entitled "Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence." The Fact Sheet issued with the order explains that the executive order addresses a number of components, including: "New Standards for AI Safety and Security; Protecting Americans' Privacy; Advancing Equity and Civil Rights; Standing Up for Consumers, Patients, and Students; Supporting Workers; Promoting Innovation and Competition; Advancing American Leadership Abroad; Ensuring Responsible and Effective Government Use of AI."
   Read the Executive Order.
   Read the Facts Sheet Issued with the Order.
   Remarks on Issuance of AI Executive Order by President and Vice President.

Fifth Circuit Allows Mefipristone to Remain Available on the Market But With Limitations Pending Likely Supreme Court Review
August 16, 2023. A panel of the Fifth Circuit today issued is ruling on FDA actions taken over time that have made Mefipristone readily available. The Fifth Circuit began by explaining the status of the drug and its response to the district court. "We conclude that the Medical Organizations and Doctors' claim as to the 2000 Approval is likely barred by the statute of limitations. Accordingly, that component of the district court's order must be VACATED. This means that, until final judgment, Mifeprex will remain available to the public under the conditions for use that existed in 2016. We also VACATE the portion of the order relating to the 2019 Generic Approval because the Medical Organizations and Doctors have not shown that they are injured by that particular action. The generic version of mifepristone will also be available under the same conditions as Mifeprex. We AFFIRM the components of the stay order that concern the 2016 Amendments and the 2021 Non-Enforcement Decision. Those agency actions-which generally loosen the protections and regulations relating to the use of mifepristone-will be stayed during the pendency of this litigation. Finally, we note that our holding is subject to the prior order of the Supreme Court, which stayed the district court's order pending resolution of this appeal and disposition of any petition for writ of certiorari." More information on this ruling and the challenges and key elements in the case are presented in the postings from April 7 to April 20 on the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Supreme Court Issues Stay, Leaving Biden Administration Rules on Ghost Guns in Place
August 8, 2023. In an order today in the case of Garland v. Vanderstok, a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of a district court order vacating a rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms aimed at ghost guns. The Court's stay will remain in place pending the ruling by the Fifth Circuit and a possible certiorari petition to the Supreme Court. The Court ended its order by noting that: "Justice Thomas, Justice Alito, Justice Gorsuch, and Justice Kavanaugh would deny the application for stay."
   Read the Supreme Court's Stay Order.
   Read the ATF Rule.
   Read the Lower Court Opinions and Orders.

Fifth Circuit Stays Broad District Court Injunction Against Biden Administration Interactions with Social Media Companies
July 14, 2023. A panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a stay of the broad Louisiana federal court injunction against the Biden administration in the social media cases. More more information on the case and the district court ruling, see the post for July 6 below.
   Read the Fifth Circuit Stay.

Challenge Launched in Federal Court to Idaho Abortion Travel Ban
July 13, 2023. Legal Action, joined by Stoel Rives, and the Lawyering Project have brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho on behalf Lourdes Matsumoto, the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, and the Indigenous Idaho Alliance against Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, seeking a declaratory judgment and an injunction that would block a new statute that would make criminal assisting travel by pregnant minors across state lines to receive abortion services if there was "intent to conceal an abortion from the parents or guardian of a pregnant, unemancipated minor." Idaho Code § 18-623. For more information and documents, see the Healthcare, Disability, and Development page of this website.

EPA Proposes New Standards to Address Lead Levels in Schools and Homes
July 12, 2023. The Environmental Protection Agency had issued proposed rules significantly reducing allowable levels of lead dust and other indicators of lead-based paints. In issuing the proposed rules, EPA wrote: "Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to strengthen requirements for the removal of lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 buildings and child care facilities, known as abatement activities, to better protect children and communities from the harmful effects of exposure to dust generated from lead paint, advancing President Biden's whole-of-government approach to protecting families and children from lead exposure. If finalized, this rule is estimated to reduce the lead exposures of approximately 250,000 to 500,000 children under age six per year." For more information and documents, see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

GAO Provides New Report Providing 13 Key Practices for Evidence-Based Policymaking.
July 12, 2023. The U.S. Government Accountability Office today announced a new report entitled "Evidence-Based Policymaking: Practices to Help Manage and Assess the Results of Federal Efforts" that is a metastudy based on the many studies GAO has done on the subject of evidence-based policymaking. The report recommends "13 key practices" to enhance evidence-based decisions and implementation.
   Read the Report.
   Read the GAO Watchblog posting on the Evidence-Based Policy.

Federal District Judge in Louisiana Issues Broad Injunction Against Biden Administration Interactions with Social Media Companies
July 6, 2023. Federal District Judge Terry A. Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana had issued a preliminary injunction in a case that blocks efforts by the Biden administration to work with social media companies to address problems of misinformation or disinformation in a case brought by Missouri. That injunction is based on a 155 page Memorandum Ruling on Request of a Preliminary Injunction finding that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on their claim of First Amendment violations, stating that assertion in extraordinarily strong terms.
   Read the Injunction.
   Read the Memorandum Ruling on Request for a Preliminary Injunction.

Federal District Judge Criticizes Supreme Court but Applies Latest Second Amendment Case
June 30, 2023. Judge Carlton W. Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi has issued a ruling dismissing a charge by the federal government that former felon convicted many years ago on grounds citing last year's Supreme Court ruling in the New York gun control case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022). Reeves' opinion provides a devastating critique of the Supreme Court's Bruen opinion, but nevertheless found that he had no choice under the requirements of that ruling except to dismiss the charges.
   Judge Reeves took a similar approach in a 2020 case in which he found it necessary to rule in favor of a police officer in a search and seizure case even though the facts clearly showed a violation of the Fourth Amendment because of the way the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the doctrine of qualified immunity for public officials. Indeed, at the end of that ruling Reeves called upon the Supreme Court to reject that doctrine altogether.
   Read the Reeves Opinion Dismissing the Charges.
   Read the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bruen.
   Read Judge Reeves October 2022 Ruling Concerning Whether He Should Appoint a Historian to aid his Decision in the case.
   Read Reeves' 2020 Opinion in the Jemison Case Calling for an End to the Qualified Immunity Doctrine.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
June 30, 2023. The Court struck down the Biden Administration's Student Loan Forgiveness program, rejecting the claims that the challengers lack standing as well as the administration's assertion that it had authority for the program under the HEROES Act.
   Read the opinions.

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Web Designer Who Refused to Do Work for Same-Sex Couples
June 30, 2023. The Justice Gorsuch wrote for a 6-3 majority in 303 Creative v. Elenis, concluding that mandating the web designer to provide services to same-sex couples violated her First Amendment right to freedom of expression.
   Read the opinions.

Supreme Court Finds Harvard and UNC Diversity Admissions Programs a Violation of Equal Protection Clause
June 29, 2023. In an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts, a 6-3 majority of the Supreme Court today found the Harvard and University of North Carolina diversity admissions programs in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented. (Justice Jackson did not take part in the Harvard case, but dissented in the North Carolina case.)
   Read the opinions.

Supreme Court Rejects Claims of Legislative State Legislature Doctrine in Elections Matters
June 27, 2023. The Supreme Court today issued a ruling in the North Carolina elections case Moore v. Harper which rejected claims that there is an "independent state legislature" doctrine that insulates decisions by state legislatures about elections from judicial review even under the state's constitution in the state Supreme Court. "We are asked to decide whether the Elections Clause carves out an exception to this basic principle. We hold that it does not. The Elections Clause does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review." Slip Op. at 15. The 6-3 opinion was written by Chief Justice Roberts. Justice Thomas filed a dissent joined by Justices Alito and Gorsuch.
   Read the opinions.

Attorney General, Civil Rights Divsion, and City of Minneapolis Announce Results of Policing Investigation and Plans for Reform
June 16, 2023. Attorney General Merrick Garland, joined by other key DOJ leaders and representatives of the U.S. Attorneys Office were joined by the Minneapolis Mayor and Chief of Police for the release of the U.S. Department of Justice Investigation Report on policiing in the city following the murder of George Floyd. For more information and key documents see the Civil Rights page of this website.

Supreme Court Rejects Challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act
June 15, 2023. In a 7-2 majority opinion written by Justice Barrett, the Supreme Court today rejected a variety of challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act. For more information and the opinions, see the Civil Rights page of this website.

European Union Moves Forward on First Major Effort to Regulate AI
June 16, 2023. The European Parliament announced today that it has taken the next step in approving the Artificial Intelligence Act, the first major effort to regulate AI internationally. In its release on the action, the EU indicated that the new policy will provides: "Full ban on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for biometric surveillance, emotion recognition, predictive policing; Generative AI systems like ChatGPT must disclose that content was AI-generated; and AI systems used to influence voters in elections considered to be high-risk."
   Read the European Parliament press release on the new policy.
   Read the text of the new policy.

President Signs Debt Limit Extension Legislation
June 3, 2023. President Biden today signed H.R. 3746 the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 which was a bipartisan compromise to address the debt ceiling. The legislation passed the House on a vote of 314-117 on Wednesday and the Senate by a vote of 63-36 on Thursday. As he signed the bill the president extended his appreciation to "Speaker McCarthy, Leader Jeffries, Leader Schumer, and Leader McConnell for their partnership."
    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its report scoring the bill on May 30 in which CBO projected that: "budget deficits would be reduced by about $1.5 trillion over the 2023-2033 period relative to its May 2023 baseline projections."
   Read H.R. 3746.
   Read the White House Release Announcing that President has Signed the Legislation.
   Read the Congressional Budget Officer Report Scoring H.R. 3746 issued May 30.

House Votes on Debt Limit Extension
May 31, 2023. The House of Representatives today is debating and will vote on H.R. 3746, the "Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023" which is the compromise reached between President Biden and Speaker of the House McCarthy.
   Read H.R. 3746.

European Regulators Issue Final Ruling on a 1.2 Billion Euro Fine Against Meta
May 22, 2023. The European Union's Data Protection Board announced today the final decisions in the case brought against Meta, resulting in a 1.2 billion fine for violations of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR. The case came from a complaint brought in 2018 before the Data Protection Commission of Ireland (DPC)in the transfer of data to the U.S. The DPC announced that at the core of its ruling was a finding that: "In breach of its obligations in relation to transparency, information in relation to the legal basis relied on by Meta Ireland was not clearly outlined to users, with the result that users had insufficient clarity as to what processing operations were being carried out on their personal data, for what purpose(s).... The DPC considered that a lack of transparency on such fundamental matters contravened Articles 12 and 13(1)(c) of the GDPR. It also considered that it amounted to a breach of Article 5(1)(a), which enshrines the principle that users' personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner...." The final ruling comes after review by the European Data Protection Board and modification of the original fine and order.
   For more information on the earlier proceedings, see the posting for January 4, 2023 on this webpage.
   Read the European Data Protection Board Announcement on the Decision.
   Read the Final Decisions of the Data Protection Commission of Ireland.

Supreme Court Stay in Mefipristone Cases Keeps Stay of Lower Court Orders in Place Pending Resolution of the Fifth Circuit Ruling and Likely Appeal to the Supreme Court After That
April 20, 2023. The Court today granted the government's and company's stay requests in the mefipristone case. "Application (22A902) granted by the Court. The application for stay presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is granted. The April 7, 2023 order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, case No. 2:22-cv-223, is stayed pending disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought. Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. Justice Thomas would deny the application for stay. Justice Alito dissents. (Detached Opinion)."

President Biden Issues New Regulatory Review Executive Order and OIRA Adds Additional Implementation Materials
April 18, 2023. President Biden on April 6 signed Executive Order 14094 entitled "Modernizing Regulatory Review" which follows on an earlier presidential memorandum issued when the president took office in January 2021. The same day the new executive order was issued, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget posted an overview of this policy initiative, a memorandum on implementation of the new order; draft guidance on implementing Section 2(e) of the new order; and a proposed new OMB Circular No. A-4 on Regulatory Analysis. OIRA is soliciting public commment on the draft guidance and the proposed circular with links on the OIRA page with postings on the Modernizing Regulatory Review" policy and process until June 6. (The OIRA memorandum on implementing Section 2(e) explains that this section of the executive order "concerns the process for persons not employed by the executive branch to request meetings with Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) officials regarding the substance of regulatory actions under OIRA review.")
   In its posting on this new material, OIRA explains that:"Regulatory analysis is a critical input that helps to ensure that regulatory policies are crafted to improve people's lives. OIRA is working to provide agencies with additional tools to make their analysis even stronger by reflecting new developments in scientific and economic understanding, more robustly accounting for regulatory effects that are difficult or impossible to quantify, and helping agencies take the distributional consequences of regulations into account when selecting among potential regulatory alternatives. OIRA has released proposed revisions to Circular A-4 and will be accepting public comment on those proposed revisions. The preamble to the proposed revisions provides further information as to the nature of the proposed changes and identifies issues for which public comment may be particularly useful. OIRA is also accepting recommendations for potential peer reviewers of the proposed revisions."
   Read Executive Order 14094 Modernizing Regulatory Review.
   Read Presidential Memeorandum on Modernizing Regulatory Review of January 20, 2021.
   Read OIRA Postings on the "Modernizing Regulatory Review" Policy and Process.
   Read Memorandum on Implementation of Modernizing Regulatory Review Executive Order.
   Read Draft Guidance Implementing Section 2(e) of Modernizing Regulatory Review Executive Order.
   Read Proposed Circular A-4 on Regulatory Analysis.

Supreme Court Issues Stay in the Mefipristone Cases
April 14, 2023. Justice Alito today issued a temporary stay in the mefipristone cases until next Wednesday and called for filing of briefs respondents by Tuesday for the Court's consideration of next steps. For more information and the orders, see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Government and Danco Laboratories File Petitions for Stay in Supreme Court in the Mefipristone Cases
April 14, 2023. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has filed a petition for a stay of the lower courts orders from the Texas mefipristone case (see posts for April 13 and April 7 below). Danco Laboratories, also a party in the litigation has also filed a petition for a stay. Both petitions seek challenges the rulings of the Northern District of Texas and the Fifth Circuit. For more information and the documents see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Fifth Circuit Issues Partial Stay in Mefipristone Case
April 13, 2023. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has issued a partial stay of the Texas district court ruling against the FDA in the mefipristone case. For more information and the order see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

District Judge in Texas Rules Against FDA in Abortion Pill Case, but District Judge in Washington Rules the Other Way and Mandates Continued Access on the Same Day
April 7, 2023, 2023. Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk ruled against the FDA approval of what is called the abortion pill today, but Judge Thomas O. Rice of the Eastern District of Washington rules the other way and ruled that the federal government had to maintain availability of the drug. For more information and the opinions see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Fifth Circuit Rejects State Challenges to Biden Administration Policy on "Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases"
April 5, 2023. The Fifth Circuit has dismissed a challenge by a number of states to a Biden administration policy that is part of the administration's initiative to address climate change. Among the first things President Biden did upon taking office was to issue E.O. 13,990 entitled Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis. Part of that order re-establish an interagency working group to develop guidance on the "social cost of greenhouse gases." Ten state attorneys general challenged the order and its implementation in the Western District of Louisiana on a variety of grounds. A panel of the Fifth Circuit has dismissed the case on grounds that they lacked standing to bring the suit. For more information and relevant documents see the Sustainable Development page of this website.

Federal District Court in Texas Follows Earlier Ruling in the Becerra with a Broad Injunction Against Mandatory Coverage of Some Preventive Services Under the ACA
April 3, 2023. Federal District Judge Reed O'Connor yesterday followed up on his earlier ruling in the Braidwood Management v. Becerra case with a dramatic opinion enjoining significant types of coverage for screening and other matters under the Affordable Care Act. For more information and the opinion, see the Healthcare, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Biden Administration Releases FY 2024 Budget Proposal and Supporting Materials
Updated April 3, 2023 The White House has released the President's Budget of the United States for FY 2024. The Office of Management and Budget released has released some of the documents, including the president's budget document with his budget message. There are also other key materials, including the "Analytic Perspectives" document which provides the economic and policy assumptions behind the budget, and the "Budget Appendix" which is the document that contains the very detailed information on agency budgets and funds. Those items available are posted below and others will be added as they are uploaded. Also, a number of the executive departments have released their budget-in-brief documents which provide more detailed program by program explanations of past, present, and requested funding. Those documents for the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and Environmental Protection Agency are posted below.
   Download the President's Budget of the United States for FY 2024 document, including the President's Message to Accompany the FY 2024 Budget.
   Download the FY 2024 Budget Facts Sheets.
   Access the FY2024 Budget Appendix -- All detailed information about agencies and funds.
   Access the FY 2024 Budget Analytic Perspectives webpage (economic and budget assumptions).
   Access the FY 2024 Federal Credit Supplement (information on direct loans and loan guarantees by the Federal Government.).
   Access the FY 2024 Supplemental Materials website.
   Access the U.S. Department of Education, Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Summary and Background Information.
   Access the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2024 Budget-in-Brief.
   Access the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Fiscal Year 2024 Budget-in-Brief. Will be Posted at this Link as Soon as It Is Available.
   Access the Office of Management and Budget Budget Webpage.

New IPCC Report and Calls for Action
March 20, 2023. The Intergovernmental Panel on Claimate Change has issued its finds for the AR6 Synthesis Report with one its dramatic conclusions stating that: "Global GHG emissions in 2030 implied by nationally determined contributions (NDCs) announced by October 2021 make it likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century and make it harder to limit warming below 2°C. There are gaps between projected emissions from implemented policies and those from NDCs and finance flows fall short of the levels needed to meet climate goals across all sectors and regions." IPCC Headline Statements. For more information, documents, and materials supporting the announcement, see the Sustainable Development page of this website.

EPA to Issue Rules to Address PFAS Pollution in Drinking Water
March 15, 2023. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday a series of actions to address PFAS (Per- and and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) pollution, particularly in drinking water, as part of the implementation of what EPA terms its "PFAS Strategy Roadmap." For more information and key documents, see the Sustainable Development page of this website.

Justice Department Reports on Investigation of Louisville PD and Announces Negotiations on a Consent Decree for Refoms
March 9, 2023. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland yesterday announced that the Department of Justice was releasing the results of its investigation into the Louisville, Kentucky Police Department that was launched in the wake of the killing of Briana Taylor. He also announced an "agreement in principle" with Louisville for reforms in the police department that is expected by the parties upon completion of negotiations to be entered as a consent decree. For more information and documents, see the Civil Rights page of this website.

Justice Department Argues Against Former President Trump's Claim of Immunity from Suits by Police and Legislators from January 6 Attack on the Capitol
March 2, 2023. The Civil Division of the Department of Justice has, at the request of the court, filed an amicus curiae brief in the D.C. Circuit arguing against former President Trump's claim that he has absolute immunity against suit in a case brought by former Capitol police officers and members of Congress who suffered injuries in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. The DOJ framed the issued succinctly: "In these suits, Members of Congress and Capitol Police officers have brought civil damages claims against former President Trump arising from injuries they sustained during the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The United States respectfully responds to this Court's request for its views regarding the former President's assertion of absolute immunity." Blasingame v. Trump, Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae, at 9. And on that question, the brief argues: "Nevertheless, although courts should be reluctant to conclude that a suit against the President is based on conduct that lies beyond the outer perimeter of his Office, the United States agrees with the district court that a meaningful perimeter exists. Nixon v. Fitzgerald establishes a rule of absolute immunity for the President's official acts. It is not a rule of absolute immunity for the President regardless of the nature of his acts. Here, the district court concluded that plaintiffs' complaints plausibly allege that President Trump's speech at the rally on January 6, 2021, precipitated the ensuing attack on the Capitol--and, in particular, that the complaints plausibly allege that the former President's speech encouraged imminent private violent action and was likely to produce such action. The United States expresses no view on that conclusion, or on the truth of the allegations in plaintiffs' complaints. But in the United States' view, such incitement of imminent private violence would not be within the outer perimeter of the Office of the President of the United States." Id. at 10.
   Read Justice Department Brief.

Supreme Court Hears Argument in Student Loan Policy Cases
March 1, 2023. The Supreme Court yesterday heard oral argument in two cases involving challenges to the Biden Administration policy on student loans, Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown that came a result of lower court rulings against the administration's actions to remove significant amounts of student loan debate in response to the COVID crisis under the what is known as the HEROES Act. That legislation is Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act or Act), P.L. 108-76, 117 Stat. 904-905 (August. 18, 2003). In addition to the questions relating to the HEROES Act, there are important questions of standing in before the Court in this matter. (See the post for December 1, 2022 on this matter.)
   Listen to the Oral Argument in Biden v. Nebraska.
   Read the Transcript of Oral Argument in Biden v. Nebraska.
   Read Listen to the Oral Argument in Department of Education v. Brown.
   Read the Transcript of Oral Argument in Department of Education v. Brown.
   Read the Brief for Petitioner in Biden v. Nebraska.
   Read the Brief for Respondents in Biden v. Nebraska.
   Read Read the Brief for Petitioners in Department of Education v. Brown..
   Read the Brief for Respondents in Department of Education v. Brown.
   Access the Docket Sheet in Biden v. Nebraska.
   Access the Docket Sheet in Department of Education v. Brown.
   Read the Announcement of the Current Version of the Student Loan Forgiveness Program issued in October 2022.
   Read the Memorandum of the Department of Education Explaining Its Interpretation of the HEROES Act.
   Access the HEROES Act.

National Academy of Public Administration Issues New Report on Regulatory Compliance During the COVID-19 Pandemic
January 17, 2023. The National Academy of Public Administration today released a new study carried out by the Academy’s Center for Intergovernmental Partnerships with the support of the PEW Charitable Trusts on State Regulatory Compliance Processes: Lessons from COVID-19. The report addresses adaptation of state and in some cases local regulatory programs to various types of permitting and regulatory compliance issues during the pandemic. For more information and there report, see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Federal Trade Commission Proposes New Rules to Block Non-Compete Clauses for Employees
January 11, 2023. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for a new "Non-Compete Clause Rule" designed to address the use non-compete clauses for employees. In announcing the new proposal, the FTC said: "The Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule that would ban employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers, a widespread and often exploitative practice that suppresses wages, hampers innovation, and blocks entrepreneurs from starting new businesses. By stopping this practice, the agency estimates that the new proposed rule could increase wages by nearly $300 billion per year and expand career opportunities for about 30 million Americans. Companies use noncompetes for workers across industries and job levels, from hairstylists and warehouse workers to doctors and business executives. In many cases, employers use their outsized bargaining power to coerce workers into signing these contracts. Noncompetes harm competition in U.S. labor markets by blocking workers from pursuing better opportunities and by preventing employers from hiring the best available talent."
   Read the FTC Press Announcement.
   Read the FTC Fact Sheet on the Proposed Rule.
   Read the Proposed Non-Compete Clause Rule (as submitted to the Federal Register).
   Access the FTC Webpage on the Non-Compete Clause Rulemaking.
   Access the Regulation.gov Public Comment page for the Proposed FTC rule.

Locating Reports and Materials for January 6 Committee Now that the 117th Congress has Ended
January 9, 2023. The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol ceased its operation when the 117th Congress ended. The House of Representatives has provided the following message about how to access the committee's documents and materials, including the final report. "The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will provide a website archive for these Committee websites in the Spring of 2023. Until those official archives are public, the links below provide access to the official documents of the committees no longer standing and access to known archival copies of the sites maintained by other House offices. View official Committee reports, printed hearing records, and other publications of the Select Committee at GovInfo.gov. [The specific link for that material is provided below.]Congressman Bennie Thompson, the former Chair of the Select Committee, maintains an archival copy of content from the Select Committee's website as part of his Congressional Member office website. [Again the specific link for that material is provided below.]
   As noted in the post for December 23 below, the Committee issued its final report with 17 specific findings focused on the responsibility of former President Trump and a number of his supporters for the attack on the Capitol and attempt to prevent the lawful transfer of authority following the 2020 election and making a range of recommendations, including criminal referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice. The 845 page report includes a lengthy and extensively documented executive summary (some 193 pages) with a 15 page discussion of criminal referrals. (See the posting of December 19 below for more details on the specific criminal statutes involved.) The report also refers members of Congress to the House Ethics Committee for refusal to respond to subpoenas. The committee also posted over the past two days transcripts of witness testimony of dozens of witnesses
   Access the Reports and Materials through the GovInfo.gov Website.
   Access the Archived copy of Committee Content on Congressman Bennie Thompson's Congressional Member office website..
   Read the Final Report of the Committee.
   Browse Select January 6th Committee Final Report and Supporting Materials Collection

European Regulators Find Meta in Violation of the General Data Protection Regulation and Impose Fines
January 4, 2023. The Data Protection Commission of Ireland (DPC) has issued a ruling in a case that began in 2018 against the data firm Meta Ireland for violations of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and imposed fines in the amount of "€210 million (for breaches of the GDPR relating to its Facebook service), and €180 million (for breaches in relation to its Instagram service)." (This is approximately 414 million in U.S. dollars.) The DPC announced that at the core of its ruling was a finding that: "In breach of its obligations in relation to transparency, information in relation to the legal basis relied on by Meta Ireland was not clearly outlined to users, with the result that users had insufficient clarity as to what processing operations were being carried out on their personal data, for what purpose(s).... The DPC considered that a lack of transparency on such fundamental matters contravened Articles 12 and 13(1)(c) of the GDPR. It also considered that it amounted to a breach of Article 5(1)(a), which enshrines the principle that users’ personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner...." The DPC rejected the part of the complaints that were based on the idea of "forced consent" by users. The European Data Protection Board concurred with much, but not all, of the DPC ruling. The DPC then issued its final ruling on December 31, 2022. The DPC has given the company 3 months to remedy the situation and come into compliance with the GDPR.
   Read the Data Protection Commission of Ireland Release on Ruling.

January 6 Committee Publishes Its Final Report and Dozens of Transcripts of Witness Testimony
December 23, 2022. The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol has issued its final report with 17 specific findings focused on the responsibility of former President Trump and a number of his supporters for the attack on the Capitol and attempt to prevent the lawful transfer of authority following the 2020 election and making a range of recommendations, including criminal referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice. The 845 page report includes a lengthy and extensively documented executive summary (some 193 pages) with a 15 page discussion of criminal referrals. (See the posting of December 19 below for more details on the specific criminal statutes involved.) The report also refers members of Congress to the House Ethics Committee for refusal to respond to subpoenas. The committee also posted over the past two days transcripts of witness testimony of dozens of witnesses
   Read the Final Report of the Committee.
   Access the Postings of the Witness Testimony.
   Access the January 6 Committee Website.

January 6 Committee Holds Final Public Hearing/Business Meeting
December 19, 2022. The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, created by H. Res. 503 in June 2021, held its final public business session yesterday with a unanimous vote to approve the committee's report and its criminal referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice of former President Trump and others for violations of provisions of federal criminal law. Specifically, the committee voted to refer Trump and others for violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c) Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; 18 U.S.C. § 371 Conspiracy to Defraud the United States; 18 U.S.C. § 1001 Conspiracy to Make a False Statement; and 18 U.S.C. § 2383 Makes it a cime to Incite, Assist, or giving Aid or Comfort to an Insurrection. The committee made clear during the hearing that others are included, but leaves to the Department of Justice the work of determining who should be charged for these violations. The committee also referred four members of Congress to the House Ethics Committee for failing to honor a valid subpoena to provide evidence and testimony to the committee.
   Watch the Hearing.
   Read the "Introductory Material to the Final Report of the Select Committee" Pubished Pending Release of Committee's Full Final Report.
   Read H. Res. 503 Creating the "Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol."
   Access the January 6 Committee Website.

Elventh Circuit Rejects Constraints on DOJ Control and Investigation of Documents After Mar-a-Lago Search
November 22, 2022. The Eleventh Circuit has issued a particularly strongly worded ruling overturning the district court which authorized a special master to review materials in the DOJ investigation of former President Trump's possession of documents at his Florida estate. "The law is clear. We cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of the warrant. Nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so. Either approach would be a radical reordering of our caselaw limiting the federal courts'involvement in criminal investigations. And both would violate bedrock separation-of-powers limitations. Accordingly, we agree with the government that the district court improperly exercised equitable jurisdiction, and that dismissal of the entire proceeding is required. The district court improperly exercised equitable jurisdiction in this case. For that reason, we VACATE the September 5 order on appeal and REMAND with instructions for the district court to DISMISS the underlying civil action." Trump v. U.S., at 20-21. This removes the special master and clears the way for DOJ to use the documents in its investigation.
   Read the Opinion.

Supreme Court to Consider Biden Administration's Student Loan Forgiveness Program in February
December 1, 2022 (Updated to November 18, 2022 post). The U.S. Supreme Court today issued an order refusing the Justice Department request to vacate a nationwide injunction against the Biden administration' student loand forgiveness program imposed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, but responded to the DOJ's alternative request for the Court to hear the case on an expedited schedule. The Court's order reads: "Consideration of the application to vacate injunction presented to Justice Kavanaugh and by him referred to the Court is deferred pending oral argument. The application to vacate injunction is also treated as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment, and the petition is granted on the questions presented in the application. The Clerk is directed to establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in the February 2023 argument session." The Eighth Circuit had issued its injunction on November 14 that bans the implementation of the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness program pending appeal. This followed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri dismissing the case brought by Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina for lack of standing.
   This follows a ruling by Judge Mark T. Pittman of the Northern District of Texas against the loan forgiveness policy. (See the post for November 11 on this webpage below.)
   These cases followed the announcement in August of the Biden administration's student loan debt relief program, citing authority for the program under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act). States and others brought challenges to the proposal. Then in October, the administration announced a modified version of the policy and also published a memorandum explaining the use of the HEROES Act as support for the policy.
   Read the Supreme Court's December 1 Order Granting Cert. for Expedited Review.
   Read the DOJ Motion to Vacate the 8th Circuit Stay of the Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
   Read the 8th Circuit Opinion.
   Read the District Court Opinion in the Eastern District of Missouri Dismissing the State Challenge to the Program.
   Read the Northern District of Texas Opinion.
   Read the Announcement of the Current Version of the Student Loan Forgiveness Program issued in October 2022.
   Read the Memorandum of the Department of Education Explaining Its Interpretation of the HEROES Act.

Senate Passes Bill to Protect Same-Sex Marriage
November 30, 2022. The Senate yesterday Passed an amended version of H.R. 8404 The Respect of Marriage Act by a vote of 61-36, clearing the way for a final vote in the House, which, if favorable, would send the bill aimed at protecting same-sex marriage to the president for signature. For more information and documents, see the Civil Rights page of this website.

Supreme Court Rejects Former President's Request for a Stay Following Lower Court Orders to Provide Tax and Other Records to House Ways and Means Committee
November 22, 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court today issued a brief order rejecting former President Trump's request for a stay to block lower court rulings requiring the Treasury to turn over tax filings and related records to the House Committee on Ways and Means. Chief Justice Roberts had issued a stay pending consideration of the matter by the full Court. Today's order said: "The application for stay of the mandate presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is denied. The order heretofore entered by The Chief Justice is vacated." This case goes back to a December 2021 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissing a suit by Trump intended to block disclosure of the records to the committee. The D.C. Circuit affirmed that ruling in August.
   The committee originally requested the records as part of a consideration of the processes by which presidential audits are conducted. The letter to the Treasury calling for the records indicated that: "the Committee was considering 'the extent to which the IRS audits and enforces the Federal tax laws against a President.' 2019 Request at 1.2 Chairman Neal noted that IRS policy--called the Presidential Audit Program (Program)--required a mandatory examination of the President's tax returns. See id. The Chairman then wrote that the Committee needed 'to determine the scope of any such examination' and whether it reviewed all 'underlying business activities required to be reported.'" Committee on Ways and Means v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, D.D.C. at 5.
   Read the Supreme Court's Order of November 22 .
   Read the Stay Order Issued by Chief Justice Robers on November 1.
   Read Trump's Application for a Stay.
   Read the DOJ Response to the Trump Stay Request.
   Read the Ways and Means Committee Response to the Trump Stay Request.
   Read the D.C. Circuit Opinion Affirming the District Court .
   Read the District Court Opinion Dismissing Trump's Suit to Bar Treasury from Providing the Tax Records to the Committee.

Attorney General Garland Appoints Special Counsel to Handle Trump Investigations Related to Documents and Also the January 6 Attack on the Capitol
November 22, 2022. The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday announced that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland had appointed a special counsel: "[T]he appointment of former career Justice Department prosecutor and former chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, Jack Smith, to serve as Special Counsel to oversee two ongoing criminal investigations. The first is the investigation, as described in court filings in the District of Columbia, into whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021. The second is the ongoing investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records, as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation, referenced and described in court filings submitted in a pending matter in the Southern District of Florida." Press Release. Attorney General Garland then made public remarks explaining his reasons for making that appointment at this time.
   Read the Attorney General's Remarks on the Appointment of the Special Counsel.
   Read the DOJ Press Release on the Appointment of the Special Counsel.
   Read the Appointment Order.

GAO Issues Another New Report on Cybersecurity, Focusing on Ransomware and State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government Organizations
November 16, 2022. In another of its recent round of reports on cybersecurity, the Government Accountability Office today issued its most recent offering, "Ransomware: Federal Coordination and Assistance Challenges." The report starts from the fact that: "State, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government organizations, including schools, have been particularly targeted by ransomware attacks, which can have devastating impacts on vital government operations and services. According to the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center-an independent, nonprofit organization-SLTTs experienced approximately 2,800 ransomware incidents from January 2017 through March 2021." Watchblog Post. It then goes on to identify areas where the federal government can improve coordination and assistance with and among these governments units and specifically to provide: "(1) interagency coordination; (2) awareness, outreach, and communication; and (3) coordination with schools." Id.
   Read the Report.
   Read the GAO Watchblog post on the New Release.
   Read GAO's September Report "Ransomware: Federal Agencies Provide Useful Assistance but Can Improve Collaboration."
   Read the GAO Watchblog Post on the September Report.

GAO Issues New Report on Implementation of Zero Trust Architecture for Cybersecurity
November 15, 2022. The Government Accountability Office today issued a report entitled "Cybersecurity: Secret Service Has Made Progress Toward Zero Trust Architecture, but Work Remains." This report addresses implementation by this particular agency of the Zero Trust Architecture principles for cybersecurity, but it speaks more broadly to this set of materials and the challenges agencies face in meeting their requirements. These principles include "Identity, Device, Network, Applications and Workload, and Data." See the GAO Report Highlights page. The report comes as part of an effort to track implementation of the federal governments Zero Trust Architecture for Cybersecurity policy that grew out of the implementation of Executive Order 14028 "Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity" issued in May 2021. Since then CISA and OMB have been working to provide policy materials that led to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) publication of its initial work in that year and to OMB's Memorandum M-22-09 issued in January 22 entitled "Moving the U.S. Government Toward Zero Trust Cybersecurity Principles."
   Today's report indicates that some agencies, including the Secret Service launched their own efforts before the OMB policy document was issued, which now requires those agencies to step back and integrate the current policy before they will be able to move forward to complete implementation efforts on their Zero Trust Architecture.
   Read the New GAO Report.
   Read the GAO Watchblog Post on the New Report.
   Read the OMB Memorandum M-22-09 Moving the U.S. Government Toward Zero Trust Cybersecurity Principles.
   Read the May 2021 Executive Order 14028 Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity.
   Read the OMB Release on OMB's Zero Trust Architecture Policy.
   Access CISA's Zero Trust Maturity Model Website.
   Access the Federal Government's Zero Trust Hub Website.

Federal District Judge In Texas Strikes Biden Administration Student Loan Forgiveness Program
November 11, 2022. Judge Mark T. Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas yesterday issued an opinion in Brown v. U.S. Department of Education that "declares unlawful and vacates [the student loan forgiveness] program." Order at 26. Relying on the major questions doctrine holding in the Supreme Court's West Virginia v. EPA opinion, Judge Pittman found that; "having interpreted the HEROES Act, the Court holds that it does not provide 'clear congressional authorization' for the Program proposed by the Secretary." Id. at 25.
   Read the Order.

Update: Stay Issued Last Week by Justice Thomas of Grand Jury Subpoena to Senator Graham Vacated by the Full Supreme Court
November 2, 2022. The Supreme Court yesterday vacated the stay imposed by Justice Thomas last week on an emergency appeal brought by Senator Graham seeking to block a subpoena requiring him to give testimony before a Fulton County, Georgia grand jury investigating alleged attempts at interference in the 2020 presidential election. "The application for stay and an injunction pending appeal presented to Justice Thomas and by him referred to the Court is denied. The order heretofore entered by Justice Thomas is vacated." It went on to note in part that: "The lower courts also made clear that Senator Graham may return to the District Court should disputes arise regarding the application of the Speech or Debate Clause immunity to specific questions." Senator Graham had claimed that the subpoena was barred by the Speech or Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution, but the Eleventh Circuit rejected his arguments last week.
   Read the Order Vacating the Stay.
   Read the Stay Order Issued by Justice Thomas.
   Read Graham's Emergency Application for Stay.
   Read the Eleventh Circuit Ruling Rejecting Graham's Request.

January 6 Committee Issues Subpoena to Mr. Trump Demanding Documents and Testimony
October 24, 2022. The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol voted has issued a subpoena calling on Donald Trump to provide a list of documents and communications records related to its investigation of the attack on the Capitol and to testify in a deposition and before the committee next month.
   Read the Committee's Letter to Mr. Trump, the Subpoena, and the Schedule of Documents Demanded.
   Read the January 6 Committee Release Explaining the Subpoena and Related Actions.

Eleventh Circuit Overturns District Court Order and Allows Justice Department to Move Forward with Investigation Into Former President's Actions Regarding Classified Documents
September 22, 2022. The Eleventh Circuit has granted a Department of Justice request for a stay of a district court order preventing it from making use of classified documents taken from former President Donald Trump's Florida estate pursuant to a search warrant. The Eleventh Circuit opinion cautions that "We decide only the narrow question presented: whether the United States has established that it is entitled to a stay of the district court's order, to the extent that it (1) requires the government to submit for the special master's review the documents with classification markings and (2) enjoins the United States from using that subset of documents in a criminal investigation. We conclude it had." Trump v. United States, at 2. The court found that the United States showed "a substantial likelihood of success on the merits" in its assertion that the district court "likely erred in exercising jurisdiction to enjoin the United State's use of the classified records in its criminal investigation and to require the United States to submit the marked classified documents to a special master." Id. at 16. The court rejected the claim that "the former president would have an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings" and also found that "the record contains no evidence that any of these records were declassified." Id. at 18-19. The court also found that the United States would suffer irreparable injury in the absence of a stay in part because of the nature of the classified materials and the fact that "its national-security review is inextricably intertwined with it criminal investigation." Id. at 25. The opinion concludes: "[W]e GRANT the stay pending appeal. The district court order is STAYED to the extent that it enjoins the government's use of the classified documents and requires the government to submit the classified documents to the special master for review. Id. at 29.
   Read the Eleventh Circuit Opinion.
   Read the Challenged District Court Order.
   Read the DOJ Motion for Partial Stay Pending Appeal.

Idaho Federal District Judge Blocks State Anti-Abortion Statute in Case Brought by DOJ
August 25, 2022. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill of the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho yesterday issued a memorandum decision and order blocking portions of Idaho's anti-abortion statute. This case was brought in that court by the U.S. Department of Justice. For more information an key documents, see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Biden Administration Announces Student Debt Loan Forgiveness Progam
August 25, 2022. President Biden has announced that his administration will move forward with the much-discussed student loan forgiveness program. In announcing the plan, he also released a Fact Sheet providing more detail, beyond the basic statement that most students would have $10,000 forgiven, but those who qualified for Pell grants would have $20,000 forgiven.
   Read the Read the President's announcement of the Program.
   Read the Fact Sheet on the Program Released by the White House.

Federal District Court Issues Injunction Against HHS EMTALA Guidance on Abortion Services
August 24, 2022. Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Federal District for the Northern District of Texas has issued a preliminary injunction against HHS guidance issued by Secretary Becerra in July concerning Abortion Services and the requirements of EMTALA. For more information and documents, see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Digital Marketing and Analytics Company Brings a Preemptive Suit Against the FTC Over Alleged Consumer Tracking Practices Dealing with Sensitive Healthcare and Other Services
August 18, 2022. An Idaho based firm, Kochava (chartered in Delaware) has filed suit against the Federal Trade Commission in Federal District Court in Idaho charging that the FTC has misinterpreted its authority under the statute and block efforts by the commission to take enforcement action against the firm on grounds of unfair and deceptive trade practices. In the complaint the company seeks to have the court: "i. That the FTC's structure violates Article II by providing improper insulation from the president, and Kochava's due process rights would be violated through any administrative proceeding. ii. Section 13(b) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 53(b) only authorizes the FTC to seek injunctive relief if and when the target is 'is violating, or is about to violate, any provision of law enforced by the Federal Trade Commission' and does not authorize the FTC to seek injunctive relief for past conduct that has ceased absent evidence that it is likely to recur. iii. Kochava's practice of data collection, specifically of latitude and longitude, IP address and MAID information associated with a consumer's device is not an 'unfair… act or practice' within the meaning of Section 5 of 15 U.S.C. § 45(a). Kochava v. Federal Trade Commission, Complaint at 11-12.
   The FTC has signaled its concern about location tracking and distribution of consumer information related to healthcare and other sensitive matters recently. This also follows on the executive order 14076 "Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services" issued by President Biden in July, requesting the FTC "to consider actions, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law (including the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), to protect consumers' privacy when seeking information about and provision of reproductive healthcare services." Sec. 4. For more information and relevant documents, see the Healthcare, Disability, and Development page of this website.

President Signs the Chips and Science Act of 2022
August 10, 2022. Yesterday President Biden signed into law H.R. 4346, commonly referred to as the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which provides major subsidies and tax incentives for manufacturing and research and development on computer chips in the U.S. The research portion of the legislation is broader and also includes STEM education and a variety of other science and technology research and education related matters.
   Read the Enrolled Bill.
   Read the President's Remarks on Signing the Bill

Department of Justice Announces Federal Criminal Charges in Breonna Taylor Killing
August 4, 2022. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, head of the Civil Rights Division of DOJ, today announced criminal charges against four former and curent Louisville police officers, alleging that officers knowingly provided false information to obtain a search warrant that was later used to conduct a search of Ms. Breonna Taylor's home, which, in turn, led to her shooting death by officers who conducted the raid. In addition to falsifying the affidavit seeking a warrant, the charges allege that two of the officers conspired to provide false information to investigators. For more information and documents, see the Civil Rights page of this website.

Justice Department Sues Idaho Challenging the State's Abortion Ban Under EMTALA
August 1, 2022. Just over two weeks after the Biden administration warned states about the protections for Women in need of abortion services under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), the Justice Department has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Idaho against the state of Idaho seeking to block implementation of the state's near total ban on abortion services. (On the previous action by the administration, see the posting for July 15 on this webpage.) In its press release announcing the suit, the DOJ wrote: "The complaint seeks a declaratory judgment that § 18-622 conflicts with, and is preempted by, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) in situations where an abortion is necessary stabilizing treatment for an emergency medical condition." For more information and key documents, see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Biden Administration Seeks to Ensure Access to Abortion in Life-threatening Emergencies, but Is Already Facing Legal Challenge from a State Attorney General
July 15, 2022. President Biden issued Executive Order 14076 entitled "Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services" last Friday in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, seeking to take a number of steps to provide federal protections for reproductive rights. (See the posting for July 8 below on this webpage.) On Monday, the Secretary of Health and Human Services issued a letter to healthcare providers and what HHS termed "Guidance to Clarify that Emergency Medical Care Includes Abortion Services" under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), 42 U.S.C. 1395dd. On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Kenneth Paxton filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas challenging the HHS actions under the Biden order, claiming that it was ultra vires (beyond the power) of the agency. exceeds statutory authority as reviewable under the Administrative Procedure Act section 706, violated the rulemaking requirements of section 553 of the APA, is arbitrary and capricious again under the APA, is an unconstitutional use of the spending power, is done under an unconstitutional delegation of power, and is a violation of the Tenth Amendment. The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to find the HHS actions unlawful and bar any efforts at enforcement of the policy. For more information and relevant documents, see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

President Biden Issues Executive Order on Reproductive Health Services Including Abortion
July 8, 2022. In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Dobbs case and actions taken in some states since then to ban or punish abortion related medical services, President Biden today issued an executive order entitled "Executive Order on Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services." In doing so, he wrote: "In the face of this health crisis, the Federal Government is taking action to protect healthcare service delivery and promote access to critical reproductive healthcare services, including abortion. It remains the policy of my Administration to support women’s right to choose and to protect and defend reproductive rights. Doing so is essential to justice, equality, and our health, safety, and progress as a Nation." The White House also issued a "Fact Sheet" on the order at the same time as it released the directive itself. For the order and fact sheet as well as additional information, see the Health Care, Disability, and Development page of this website.

Supreme Court Activity

Budget and Finance

Biden Administration Releases FY 2024 Budget Proposal and Supporting Materials
Updated April 3, 2023 The White House has released the President's Budget of the United States for FY 2024. The Office of Management and Budget released has released some of the documents, including the president's budget document with his budget message. There are also other key materials, including the "Analytic Perspectives" document which provides the economic and policy assumptions behind the budget, and the "Budget Appendix" which is the document that contains the very detailed information on agency budgets and funds. Those items available are posted below and others will be added as they are uploaded. Also, a number of the executive departments have released their budget-in-brief documents which provide more detailed program by program explanations of past, present, and requested funding. Those documents for the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and Environmental Protection Agency are posted below.
   Download the President's Budget of the United States for FY 2024 document, including the President's Message to Accompany the FY 2024 Budget.
   Download the FY 2024 Budget Facts Sheets.
   Access the FY2024 Budget Appendix -- All detailed information about agencies and funds.
   Access the FY 2024 Budget Analytic Perspectives webpage (economic and budget assumptions).
   Access the FY 2024 Federal Credit Supplement (information on direct loans and loan guarantees by the Federal Government.).
   Access the FY 2024 Supplemental Materials website.
   Access the U.S. Department of Education, Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Summary and Background Information.
   Access the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2024 Budget-in-Brief.
   Access the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Fiscal Year 2024 Budget-in-Brief. Will be Posted at this Link as Soon as It Is Available.
   Access the Office of Management and Budget Budget Webpage.

Financial Report of the United States Government
April 17, 2023. The Financial Service Bureau of the Department of the Treasury publishes the Financial Report of the United States. The Government Accountability Office publishes a guide to understanding the financial report.
   Read the Most Current Report (This page had the full .pdf and sections for the most recent report).
   Access the Financial Report of the U.S. Government website
   Access the GAO Guide to the Financial Report
   Read the Congressional Research Service's Report, "Federal Financial Reporting" Federal Financial and Budgetary Reporting: A Primer," Updated 2022
   Read the Congressional Research Service's Report, "Federal Financial Reporting" (A 2013 report, but still a useful resource.)

Public Law Resources

The United States Supreme Court
   (Docket, Briefs, Oral Arguments, Opinions)
   Access the Supreme Court Homepage

Court of Appeals and District Court Opinions
   Government Printing Office -- U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
   Government Printing Office -- U.S. District Courts
   The Legal Information Institute Cornell University
   https://www.law.cornell.edu/federal/opinions.html
   FindLaw.com
   https://www.findlaw.com/casecode/

Constitution of the United States
   The Constitution with Analysis and Interpretation (GPO for the Senate 2016 Edition).
   The Constitution -- The Basic Document from (GPO) as Amended and Unratified Amendments.
   The Amendments to the Constitution -- The Basic Document from (GPO)

GovInfo.gov The Primary Site for Federal Documents
   GovInfo.gov is the primary site to access federal documents. [This website replaced what was known as the Federal Digital System (FDsys) in December 2018.]
   Access GovInfo.gov

United States Code and Statutes at Large
   The U.S. Code and the Statutes at Large from 1789 to the present are available online. The materials up to 1950 are available through the Library of Congress online and from 1951 on are available through the Government Printing Office online resources.
   Access the U.S. Code.
   Access the Statutes at Large Via the Library of Congress. This site includes Volumes 1-64, (1789-1950) via the Library of Congress website
   Access the Statutes at Large (1951 - Present).

U.S. Regulations (Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations)
   The Federal Register provides the daily publication of administrative rules and rulemaking announcements (among other executive branch publications). The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification for federal rules by subject.
   Federal Register
   Code of Federal Regulations

U.S. Government Regulation Process Portals
   Regulations.gov is the comprehensive Internet portal created in response to the E-Government Act of 2003 where comments can be provided to pending rules.
   https://www.regulations.gov
   RegInfo.gov is a site that provides status reports and regulatory analysis materials on federal rules, including the regulatory Agenda, regulatory review analyses, information collection analyses, and public input on pending rules (via Regulations.gov).
   https://www.reginfo.gov

U.S. Department of Justice Opinions and Briefs
   Opinions Issued by the Office of Legal Counsel
   Briefs Filed by the Solicitor General

Presidential Executive Orders
   Until the beginning of the Trump Administration, executive orders and the changes they made in other existing orders were available through the National Archives' "Disposition Tables." Since the beginning of the Trump administration, there has been a transition underway to provide the orders through a "Executive Orders" site operated by the Office of the Federal Register.
   National Archives and Records Administration
   Disposition Tables from Dwight W. Eisenhower to George W. Bush
   Full text links from 1995 to January 20, 2017
   https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/disposition.html
   Office of the Federal Register
   Executive Orders
   Full text links from 1995 to January 20, 2017
   Full text links from 1994 to Present

Presidential Proclamations and Presidential Memoranda
   Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Through January 2009 and then Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents thereafter.
   Because of their historical importance, the Alito Memorandum, the signing statement on the Detainee Protection Act, and the response of Senators McCain and Warner to are posted as well. Also at the request of some interested in the subject, articles on the subject by the author are provided.
   Federal Register Presidential Proclamations Website
   Federal Register "Other Presidential Documents" Website Focusing on Presidential Memoranda.

Other Sources for Accessing Presidential Proclamations, Memoranda, Signing Statements
   Compilation of Presidential Documents
   Ms. Joyce Green's Index to signing statements from 2001 to presentl
   Ms. Joyce Green's Signing statements from 2001 to presentl
   Ms. Joyce Green's Signing statements from 2001 to presentl -- Annotated
   Access the Woolley and Peters Data Base of Signing statements from 1929 to present.
   Additional Materials About the Alito Memorandum, the Detainee Protection Act Order, the Senate Response, and Explanatory Articles.
   Read the Alito Memorandum.
   Read the Presidential Signing Statement on H.R.2863.
   Read the Levin Response to the Signing Statement.
   Read the McCain and Warner Response.
   Access Phillip J. Cooper, George W. Bush, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Use and Abuse of Presidential Signing Statements.
   Access Phillip J. Cooper, Signing Statements as Declaratory Judgments: The President as Judge.

National Security Directives
   Federation of American Scientists
   https://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/direct.htm

Executive Agreements and Treaties
   Treaties are international agreements that require Senate advice and consent under the Constitution, but executive agreements do not in most instances require specific congressional approval, though they may require appropriations or other actions for implementation. Executive agreements are considered as treaties in the international arena even though they are not treaties within the United States in constitutional terms. The U.S. Department of State Provides the following sources.
   For information on international materials, see the International Law Resources further down on this webpage.
   Texts of International Agreements to Which the U.S. is a Party (TIAS)
   Treaties in Force
   Treaties Pending in the Senate
   Office of Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs

United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports
    GAO Reports to Congress, testimony, Comptroller General's Contracts Rulings, Major Rulemaking Reports
   https://www.gao.gov/

Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS)
    "ACUS is an independent federal agency charged with convening expert representatives from the public and private sectors to recommend improvements to administrative process and procedure. ACUS initiatives promote efficiency, participation, and fairness in the promulgation of federal regulations and in the administration of federal programs." From the ACUS website. The site provides a variety of resources, including ACUS reports on specific topics in administrative law.
   ACUS Homepage

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
   Congressional Research Service reports to Congress are prepared for the use of the committees and members of Congress. The Library of Congress has launched a publicly available Congressional Research Service Reports website (mandated by Section 154 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018). Until the passage of that legislation, the LOC took the position that the CRS reports were prepared for the use of Congress and did not make them available to the public, though other websites have made many of them available online.
   The Federation of American Scientists' site website has been one of the best places to find CRS reports. A site opened in 2016 known as EveryCRSReport.com with more than 8,000 such documents.
   Access the CRS Reports Library of Congress Page.
   Access a collection of selected CRS reports via the Federation of American Scientists site.
   .Access the EveryCRSReport website.

Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS)
   As the ACUS explains it "ACUS is an independent federal agency charged with convening expert representatives from the public and private sectors to recommend improvements to administrative process and procedure."
   Access the ACUS Website
   Access the Federal Administrative Procedure Sourcebook
   Access the Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies

U.S. Government Agencies Directory and US Government Manual
   USA.gov Directory of Agencies and Elected Officials. The Government Printing Office also prepares the official US Government Manual. The other key item is a report in U.S. Executive Agencies prepared by the Administrative Conference of the United States.
   USA.gov Homepage
   Most Recent US Govenrment Manual (2017) in .pdf
   US Govenrment Manual Online
   ACUS Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies

Native American Law Resources

Native American Tribal and Nation Constitutions and Bylaws
   Constitutions and Bylaws via University of Oklahoma Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project
   Project Homepage

National Indian Law Library
   Includes Indian Law Bulletin and Tribal Law Gateway
   https://www.narf.org/nill/index.htm

National Indian Law Library
   National Indian Court Judges Association
   NILL Homepage

International Law Resources

United Nations International Law Materials
   Home page for UN Legal Affairs
   Access the United Nations Treaty Collection
   Access UN Documents

International Court of Justice
   Home Page
   Case Law

European Union Law "Eur-Lex"
   Home Page

Congressional and General Federal Research

Congressional Materials
   Congress.gov: Legislative Information on the Internet
   Congress.gov Homepage
   Congressional Research Service reports to Congress are prepared for the use of the committees and members of Congress. The Library of Congress has launched a publicly available Congressional Research Service Reports website (mandated by Section 154 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018). Until the passage of that legislation, the LOC took the position that the CRS reports were prepared for the use of Congress and did not make them available to the public, though other websites have made many of them available online.
   Access the CRS Reports Library of Congress Page.
   Access a collection of selected CRS reports via the Federation of American Scientists site.
   .Access the EveryCRSReport website.

   Legislative History Materials. The Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., has published its "Legislative SourceBook"
   https://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook/
   Richard J. McKinney and Ellen A. Sweet, "Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioners Guide to Compiling the Documents and Difting for Legislative Intent," on its Internet site.
   https://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook/fed-leg-hist.htm

General Federal Government Searches
   https://www.USAgov.gov/index.shtml

General Legal Research Sites

Legal Dictionary -- Findlaw.com
   Access this easy to use Legal Dictionary.

The Legal Information Institute Cornell University
   https://www.law.cornell.edu/

FindLaw.com
   https://www.findlaw.com/

Peter W. Martin, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (LII 2003 ed.)
   https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/

Federal Legislative History
   Offered by Library of Congress Law Library
   Offered by Georgetown Law Library
   "Federal Legislative History 101," by Rick McKinney, Provided by the Law Librarians' Society of Washington D.C.
   "Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioner's Guide," by Richard J. McKinney and Ellen A. Sweet, Provided by the Law Librarians' Society of Washington D.C.

Standard Approaches to Statutory Interpretation
    Larry M. Eig Specialist in American Public Law of the Congressional Research Service has provided a useful guide to the essential norms of legislative interpretation, in his CRS Report to Congress entitled "Statutory Interpretation: General Principles and Recent Trends."
   Access "Statutory Interpretation: General Principles and Recent Trends."

Legislative History Guides for All 50 States
   Compiled by the Law Library of the Maurer School of Law, Indiana University