US federal court hears arguments in case that could overturn LGBTQ employment protections
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Tuesday held oral arguments in Braidwood Management v. EEOC. The case is a class-action lawsuit filed by a for-profit wellness business and a church. The plaintiffs are seeking declaratory judgment that the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) allow employment policies that [...]
The Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare) may be the Supreme Court equivalent of the cat with nine lives. Or at least four. Starting with its decision in NFIB v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. 519 (2012), the Supreme Court has now turned aside three distinct lines of attack on the Act’s controversial “individual mandate” (which [...]
Defend Democracy Before It’s Too Late: A One-Page Bill Would Do It
America faces unprecedented and existential threats to voting rights, free and fair elections, and the very future of our democracy. Congress must take urgent action now — well within its constitutional powers — to stop these threats in their tracks. All it would take is a simple one-page bill. I have proposed a draft here. [...]
Biden administration reinstates LGBTQ healthcare protections denied by Trump
US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced on Monday that healthcare providers are prohibited from discriminating against gay and transgender individuals, reversing a controversial Donald Trump-era policy. HHS’s decision allows the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to extend the interpretation of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and Title [...]
The Fake Filibuster: A Clear and Present Danger to Democracy
Judging by much of the debate over the Senate filibuster rule, you’d think it was some honorable tradition worth keeping — “an elegant weapon of a more civilized age,” as Obi-Wan Kenobi described the lightsaber to Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars. Not so. The filibuster is a dangerous relic with a deeply destructive [...]
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), the former astronaut and rising political star, was sworn in December 2, marking the end of an astonishingly long period (two years plus three months) during which the people of Arizona were deprived of their constitutional right to elect one of their two U.S. senators. It is an outrage that it [...]
In Significant DACA-Rescission Ruling, Chief Justice Roberts Again "Threads the Needle"
The Supreme Court’s 5-4 invalidation, in Department of Homeland Security, et. al. v. Regents of the University of California, et. al. of the Trump Administration’s attempt to rescind the DACA program has obvious practical (if only temporary) significance for millions of Americans. The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provided renewable two-year deferrals from [...]
Supreme Court hears oral arguments on ACA birth control mandate exemptions and political robocalls
The Supreme Court continued oral arguments by conference call on Wednesday, hearing both Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania and Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants Inc. The first case involves the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) birth control mandate, which requires employers to provide health insurance that includes [...]
On the last day of its 2018-2019 Term, the Supreme Court decided in Department of Commerce v. New York that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross could not add a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census solely on the basis of the “contrived” and “pretextual” reason he cited (the need to better enforce the Voting Rights [...]
Since its enactment in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has provided meaningful coverage for millions of Americans, reformed the national health insurance and health care delivery infrastructure, and assured basic public health services through core funding. Enforcing the ACA has also entailed a multitude of political and legal challenges including (1) dozens of failed [...]
