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Category: General
Pros & Cons of Drug Imports from Canada
Federal and State Importation Proposals to Lower Drug Costs Americans spend more on prescription drugs than any other country in the world. In 2017, U.S. consumers spent about $333 billion on prescription drugs, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and prescription drug costs are expected to continue to trend upward over the next decade. The idea of importing drugs from Canada to help lower prescription drug costs in the United States has steadily gained traction over the years. Approximately 80% of Americans are in favor of buying prescription drugs imported from Canada, according to a 2019 Kaiser…
Abortion Gag Rule
The Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision on January 22, 1973, making abortion legal in the United States. Today, the Federal Government uses abortion as a factor in deciding which countries or organizations receive U.S. foreign assistance. Federal policies on funding or supporting abortion or family planning programs abroad drive legislation and debate. Decisions over how U.S. funds should be used abroad have been perpetually contentious, and administrations have rescinded and re-instituted them. A September 12, 2018, Congressional Research Service report, Abortion and Family Planning-Related Provisions in U.S. Foreign Assistance Law and Policy, says: The Executive Branch has…
Marijuana Law Enforcement
On January 4, a few days after marijuana became legal in California, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that he was rescinding the Obama Administration policy of non-interference with State marijuana laws. Though marijuana remains illegal under Federal law, the Obama Justice Department had issued guidance discouraging enforcement of that law in States where the substance has been legalized. Eight States and the District of Columbia now have laws allowing for recreational marijuana use, and many more permit the use of medical marijuana. In a memo to U.S. attorneys, Sessions said prosecutors should disregard the old guidance and instead use their…
North Korea Sanctions
On May 4, the House of Representatives overwhelming passed legislation to place sanctions on North Korea’s shipping and labor trafficking sectors. The 419 to 1 vote came amid rising concerns about that country’s progress toward developing a long-range nuclear missile that could reach the United States. The bill — H.R. 1644, the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act, introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ed Royce (CA-R) — now goes to the Senate, where it may be amended but is expected to pass easily. In remarks on the House floor, Representative Royce stated: “North Korea has worked over…
Voter Fraud Commission
On May 11, President Trump signed an Executive order creating a Presidential Commission on Election Integrity. The commission is aimed at investigating alleged voter fraud. Vice President Mike Pence will chair the group; Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) will serve as vice chair. The panel will be tasked with studying “vulnerabilities in voting systems and practices used for Federal elections that could lead to improper voter registrations and improper voting, including fraudulent registrations and fraudulent voting.” A White House spokesperson said the panel would also include Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson (R), former Ohio Secretary of State…
Stream Protection Rule
On January 31, the House passed, 228 to 194, a resolution to prevent the implementation of the Interior Department Stream Protection Rule, also known as the Stream Buffer Rule. The Senate followed suit on February 2 by a vote of 54 to 45. The President signed the bill into law on February 16. The controversial Obama Administration rule updated a 1983 rule and sought to limit polluted runoff from surface coal mining into nearby water sources. When it released the final regulation in December 2016, the Interior Department argued that the updated version “incorporates current science, technology, and modern mining practices…
New Voting Laws
Leading Democrats in the House sent a letter to the Justice Department on April 12 requesting a review of new voting laws nationwide following reports of problems experienced during primary elections in Arizona and North Carolina. Seventeen States have new laws in place this election year with provisions that include voter ID requirements, cutbacks in early voting, and registration changes. Senior Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and the chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Asian Pacific American Caucus, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus signed the letter. The Justice Department is already investigating voting issues…
For-Profit Colleges
Over the past six years, the U.S. Department of Education has established tougher regulations targeting for-profit, or career colleges — institutions that operate as a business, often have shareholders, and derive most of their revenue from taxpayer-funded student financial aid. Among other actions, the Department has issued “gainful employment” regulations (also applied to community colleges and public universities), intended to help ensure that students at career colleges don’t end up with debt they cannot repay. The rule requires colleges to track their graduates’ performance in the workforce and eventually will cut off Federal funding for career training programs that fall…
Gun Transfers
In the wake of the shooting of two Virginia television journalists, Senator Tim Kaine (VA-D) introduced S. 2016, the Responsible Transfer of Firearms Act. The legislation is designed to hold people responsible if they sell or transfer a firearm to someone who is barred by Federal law from firearms possession. In essence, the proposal would raise the bar for commercial and private dealers who are now protected from criminal prosecution. Under Kaine’s bill, gun sellers would be criminally liable for a bad sale if they did not take reasonable, affirmative steps to determine that the customer met Federal criteria. The…
Conflict Over Iran Sanctions Heats Up
The Obama Administration recently achieved a milestone in its negotiations to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons; however, the deal is in conflict with proposed congressional legislation that would impose additional sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The January 12 agreement, reached by the United States and its five partners in the talks ― Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia ― spells out how Iran, in return for some relief from current sanctions, will scale back its uranium enrichment program, suspend progress on a plutonium plant, and open up key sites to daily inspectors. These terms go into effect on January…