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Articles 1 - 20 of 20
Full-Text Articles in Law
Barack Obama And Congress: How The Rules Of The Caucus Hinder The President’S Legislative Agenda, Jordan Acker
Barack Obama And Congress: How The Rules Of The Caucus Hinder The President’S Legislative Agenda, Jordan Acker
Legislation and Policy Brief
In order to fix the Democratic caucus, strong leadership, combined with effective rules, are needed. First, the overall leadership needs to be restructured according to the ideology of the caucus. While strong leadership may come from the center or the left, it is important that leadership tend toward the center of the caucus, not the national political center. A moderate member of the caucus who is under no threat of removal, such as Senator Schumer, Senator Stabenow, or Senator Durbin, would make effective leaders. Part of the problem with the current leadership is, at times, it has failed to “pull …
Government Transparency And The Obama Era, Ross Schulman
Government Transparency And The Obama Era, Ross Schulman
Legislation and Policy Brief
Government transparency has been a focus of President Barack Obama’s campaign and administration, but effort has been expended on programs that have emphasized policy and legislative transparency over ethical and data transparency. This emphasis is misplaced. During the 2008 Presidential Election, the Obama campaign tapped into a large reserve of predominantly younger people who demanded a connection with the candidates before them. A large part of that connection was focused on the transparency that came from this highly networked campaign. President Obama’s campaign in particular embodied that approach, both through its promises and its actions. Now that the Obama administration …
The Scarlet "L": Lobbying Reform And The First Amendment, Mona Sheth
The Scarlet "L": Lobbying Reform And The First Amendment, Mona Sheth
Legislation and Policy Brief
While the enactment of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA) in Congress shifted the lobbying industry towards heightened transparency and stronger ethics, future reforms of the executive branch threatened the constitutional rights of lobbyists. As the following pages summarize, the collective forces of the 2008 presidential campaign, executive ethics order, and stimulus restrictions also endangered the success of the congressional response. An examination of the Obama Administration’s executive directives and an exploration of the constitutional issues implicated in the ARRA guidance on stimulus funds reveal that disclosure and enforcement are more effective (and constitutional) methods to …
Why The Honest Leadership And Open Government Act Of 2007 Falls Short, And How It Could Be Improved, Rand Robins
Why The Honest Leadership And Open Government Act Of 2007 Falls Short, And How It Could Be Improved, Rand Robins
Legislation and Policy Brief
This paper will examine the track record of federal and state lobbying and campaign finance laws, as well as related First Amendment litigation, and propose alternative regulatory regimes accounting for the concerns raised when lobbying and campaign finance intersect. The scope of this paper will be limited in large measure by focusing on the HLOGA registration and disclosure provisions, and addressing campaign finance law tangentially where appropriate. Intended to bring greater transparency to the inner-workings of government, some of these provisions actually facilitate the potential of a small number of lobbyists to distort the political process.
Filling The Criminal Liability Gap For Private Military Contractors Abroad: U.S. V. Slough And The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act Of 2010, Missye Brickell
Filling The Criminal Liability Gap For Private Military Contractors Abroad: U.S. V. Slough And The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act Of 2010, Missye Brickell
Legislation and Policy Brief
To ensure that all contractors who commit crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan can be prosecuted effectively in the United States, Congress must pass legislation to update Federal criminal law and fill the gaps that may leave certain types of contractors free from any criminal liability. The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2010 (CEJA) attempts to do just that, and while it may deter some PMCs from participating in the U.S. military and security contracting market, the benefits of having a fully accountable U.S. legal system outweigh the drawbacks for individual contracting companies.
“Bring[Ing] Our Enemies To Justice”: Terrorism And The Court, Anna Elazan
“Bring[Ing] Our Enemies To Justice”: Terrorism And The Court, Anna Elazan
Legislation and Policy Brief
This article focuses on the venue of Mohammad’s trial and is broken into three sections. The first section reviews the historical use of military tribunals. This section begins by looking at the basis for Presidential authority to authorize the use of military commissions. This section then outlines the first use of military commissions since World War II. President George W. Bush’s authorization parallels the provisions in President Franklin Roosevelt’s authorization of the use of commissions in the 1940s. However, following authorization, the military commissions were subject to judicial challenges and significant revision by Congress. Finally, this section tracks recent developments …
“For Any Reason”: Paper Promises To Protect Service Members, Tami Martin
“For Any Reason”: Paper Promises To Protect Service Members, Tami Martin
Legislation and Policy Brief
In short, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) is the law that prohibits lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals from serving openly in the military. Despite the fact that the Obama Administration has yet to fulfill the campaign promise of ending DADT, many believe the question is more "when" than "if" it will be repealed. Much attention has focused on ending the policy, but it is also important to consider what might happen after repeal. This article briefly examines the history of DADT, major policies meant to protect service members from harassment they experience because of their actual or perceived sexual …
The Limits Of Presidential Recess Appointment Power, Michael Mcnerney
The Limits Of Presidential Recess Appointment Power, Michael Mcnerney
Legislation and Policy Brief
The purpose of this article is to examine the constitutional, legislative, and traditional authority of the President to make recess appointments. The second section discusses the background of the current debate by framing the issue in the context of recent controversial appointments. The third section examines the constitutional language and common law interpretation of the President’s authority. The fourth section looks at appointment power legislation passed by Congress. The fifth section provides parliamentary and legislative recommendations for Congress to act upon to keep its authority. The article concludes by providing a final examination of the reason for a limited presidential …
Disincentives To Data Breach: Problems With Notification And Future Legislative Possibilities, Ross Schulman
Disincentives To Data Breach: Problems With Notification And Future Legislative Possibilities, Ross Schulman
Legislation and Policy Brief
In the modern digitized and networked world, personal identifying information has quickly become a commodity that can be traded, sold, or given away like any other. The uses and potential abuses of personal identifying information, however, distinguish this commodity from any other. Personal identifying information can be copied infinitely, is often not protected nearly as well as physical commodities, and, most importantly, can have particular importance to the person identified by that information. The producer of a bushel of apples presumably cares very little about where his apples end up, as long as he is paid for them to begin …
Armed And Dangerous: The Crime Of Mortgage Fraud And What Congress Must Do To Stop It, Gabriel Zitrin
Armed And Dangerous: The Crime Of Mortgage Fraud And What Congress Must Do To Stop It, Gabriel Zitrin
Legislation and Policy Brief
Instead, it will simply argue that while the relevant monetary policymakers continue far too slowly in the pursuit of mortgage securities reform, lawmakers whose purview includes the housing sector should use this opportunity to pursue a two-part strategy of aggressively combating fraud in the terms and sales of individual mortgages and taking bold measures to ensure that not simply embattled mortgage-holders but the victims of fraudulent lending behavior can achieve financial sustainability, even as they keep ownership of their homes.
Tax Relief In The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009, Steven Gassert
Tax Relief In The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009, Steven Gassert
Legislation and Policy Brief
On February 17, 2009, less than thirty days after his inauguration, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This new law was one of many measures from the new administration designed to quickly stimulate the ailing American economy. The $789 billion package was divided between direct government spending, tax reductions and financial relief to states and individuals. The bill contains $285.6 billion in tax reductions, which is about 36.3% of the legislation. In this article, I will analyze some of the tax provisions that were written into ARRA, and attempt to assess their …
Breathing New Life Into Old Technological Infrastructure: Broadband Internet As A Means Of Jump-Starting The Economy And Connecting The Country, Elizabeth Chernow
Breathing New Life Into Old Technological Infrastructure: Broadband Internet As A Means Of Jump-Starting The Economy And Connecting The Country, Elizabeth Chernow
Legislation and Policy Brief
This paper examines the current structure of universal service and the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, recent pushes to expand the definition of and funding for universal service to include broadband access, and how broadband internet can contribute to saving the ailing economy. This paper concludes by calling for the inclusion of broadband internet in the Universal Service Fund.
Public Financing, George Bush, And Barack Obama: Why The Publicly Funded Campaign Does Not Work, And What We Can Do To Fix It, Jordan Acker
Public Financing, George Bush, And Barack Obama: Why The Publicly Funded Campaign Does Not Work, And What We Can Do To Fix It, Jordan Acker
Legislation and Policy Brief
Today, there are very different public financing rules for both the general and primary election. In the primary, if a candidate meets the requirements for public funding, the federal government will match up to $250 of an individual’s total contributions to an eligible candidate. In order for this to occur, candidates must adopt strict finance limits. In the general election, if an eligible candidate accepts public funding, he or she must cease fundraising after the conclusion of the primaries, and spend the public funding that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) grants them. This money covers all campaign expenditures, except for …
Public Financing's Last Breaths, Kellen Clemons
Public Financing's Last Breaths, Kellen Clemons
Legislation and Policy Brief
After this peculiar and unique election cycle, the public financing laws will have to be redeveloped in order to have any bearing on future elections. Without some change to the rules, candidates will continue to opt out and use the Internet and grassroots initiatives to out-raise one another, to the possible disadvantage of the goals of the public finance system. In essence, this election cycle has seen politics destroy the current public financing system. Through the advisory opinions of the Federal Election Commission and the decisions of the major candidates to opt out of public financing, the role of the …
Help America Vote Act Enforcement, Tiana Butcher
Help America Vote Act Enforcement, Tiana Butcher
Legislation and Policy Brief
Although the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) features extensive mandates, its enforcement provisions of are weaker than those found in previous federal election reform laws, including the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act. Activists argue this limited enforcement power is a failing of the Act. Congress may have chosen to adopt weak enforcement mechanisms due to political posturing, lack of funding, faulty technology, or lobbying by the states. Regardless of the reason behind this choice, stronger enforcement mechanisms in HAVA would, paradoxically, fail to encourage election reform or deter election reform altogether.
A Survey Of Federal Agency Rulemakers’ Attitudes About E-Rulemaking, Jeffrey Lubbers
A Survey Of Federal Agency Rulemakers’ Attitudes About E-Rulemaking, Jeffrey Lubbers
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Drawing on a survey of U.S. civil servants engaged in developing regulations across a wide variety of agencies, this chapter analyzes how bureaucrats in key positions view the impact on their work of “electronic rulemaking” – that is, the creation of online opportunities for members of the public to comment on proposed administrative regulations. There is strong evidence that rulemakers appreciate the value of new technologies for public participation purposes and for internal administration and coordination functions, but less evidence that they see the utility of e-rulemaking for improving the quality of administrative rules.
Legislative Updates, Keyla Bade
Writer's Block: Why Punctuation Matters, Part Two, David Spratt
Writer's Block: Why Punctuation Matters, Part Two, David Spratt
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Misplaced Modifiers - Say What, David Spratt
Misplaced Modifiers - Say What, David Spratt
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.