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Archive: 2012 December
New Leadership in Foreign Affairs
President Obama’s nomination of Senator John Kerry (MA-D) to be the next Secretary of State likely paves the way for Senator Robert Menendez (NJ-D) to replace Kerry as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Menendez is currently the third-ranking Democrat on the committee; however, the committee’s second-ranking Democrat, Senator Barbara Boxer (CA-D), already heads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and cannot chair two committees. Senator Kerry, who first came to the Senate in 1985 and has had a seat on the Foreign Relations Committee ever since, became chairman in 2009. Recently, his focus has been on Afghanistan,…
Accountability Review Board Issues Report on Benghazi Attack
On Wednesday, the State Department Accountability Review Board (ARB) charged with investigating the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, issued its report. It found that “systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department” resulted in a security posture at the consulate that was “grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place.” It also stated that, because of budgetary concerns, a few State Department managers in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Eastern Affairs favored “restricting the use of resources as a…
The Impending Debate on Filibuster Reform
On January 3, 2013, 100 senators and 434 representatives (there is one vacancy) will take the oath of office and become the 113th Congress of the United States. Senate Democrats picked up two additional seats in the 2012 elections, giving them a 55-vote majority, including the two Independents, who are expected to caucus with the majority party. With the Republicans holding 45 seats, and Vice President Joe Biden’s tie-breaking vote, it might appear that the Democrats have a comfortable cushion; but under the current filibuster rules, any senator can still stall a vote and demand a supermajority of 60 votes…
Supreme Court to Hear Gay Marriage Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in two cases dealing with the issue of gay marriage. In United States v. Windsor, the Court will consider the constitutionality of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act. In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Court tackles the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the State. The Court’s action sets the stage for a highly contentious, closely watched legal battle — the first time the High Court has directly addressed the issue of gay marriage. Oral arguments are expected in March, with a decision by the beginning of summer. Future issues of Supreme…
Could the Court Revisit Health Care Reform?
The Supreme Court’s landmark series of decisions on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in June of this year may not be the last word on the matter. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court instructed the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to rehear a lawsuit challenging the law’s mandate that companies and organizations with more than 50 employees provide health care or pay a penalty. Although the Supreme Court had upheld the requirement that all Americans have insurance or pay a fine (technically, a tax) — the so-called individual mandate — it declined to rule…