Law

Requiring Groups to Provide Names of Members, Coalition Partners and Sympathizers to Obtain Public Records Will Have Chilling Effect

March 12, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of labor unions should not be forced to disclose information about itself and its associates to obtain documents under a state open records law, three groups told the Texas Supreme Court today.

In an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” brief, the groups – Public Citizen, Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and Texans for Public Justice – urged the state’s high court to overturn a lower court’s ruling.    » read more »

March 11, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan bill to curtail the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine was unanimously reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee today by a vote of 19-0. The Fair Sentencing Act, introduced by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) was amended by the Judiciary Committee and will reduce the current 100:1 sentencing disparity to roughly 20:1.    » read more »

Says U.S. Northern Commander Backs Begich on Law of the Sea Treaty; Gen. Renuart says ratification would not compromise U.S. sovereignty

March 11, 2010 -- The Commander of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, agreed with Senator Mark Begich that the Senate should move forward on ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In a question and answer exchange between Sen. Begich, a member of the committee, and Air Force Gen. Victor Renuart, Jr., Begich asked whether, given the growing importance of and attention to the Arctic, the General supported the ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty.    » read more »

Data Show That Congress Should Focus on Curtailing Medical Errors, Not Patients’ Rights to Seek Redress for Injuries

March 3, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Fewer medical malpractice payments were made on behalf of doctors in 2009 than any year on record, according to an update of the National Practitioner Data Bank that was released this week.

The data contradict claims by some that medical malpractice litigation is to blame for rising health care costs. Changing the liability system to the detriment of patients will not curb health care costs.

The value of malpractice payments in actual (unadjusted) dollars was the lowest since 1999. Adjusted for inflation, payments were at their lowest since 1992, a Public Citizen analysis shows.    » read more »

Bill Seeks to Protect Witnesses from Intimidation, Coercion

Washington, D.C. -- February 23, 2010 -- U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, today introduced legislation intended to promote justice by protecting witnesses to a crime. The legislation, the State Witness Protection Act of 2010, ensures that state witnesses will receive the same protections from actions of intimidation and retaliation as federal witnesses have under federal law.

The legislation is cosponsored by three fellow Senate Judiciary Committee members: Senators Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).    » read more »

Dodd Introduces Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Supreme Court Campaign Finance Ruling

February 24, 2010 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today introduced a constitutional amendment to reverse a recent Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance that has the effect of allowing virtually unlimited corporate spending in elections. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) joined Dodd as an original cosponsor of the constitutional amendment.    » read more »

January 29, 2010 -- Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse delivered a speech this morning on the floor of the U.S. Senate about the dangers of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which opens the door to unlimited corporate spending on political advertising. The full text of Whitehouse's speech is below:

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I rise this morning to join Chairman Leahy's eloquent and inspiring remarks of yesterday and express my strong disagreement with the Supreme Court's decision released last week in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission.    » read more »

After President Uses State Of The Union To Call For Such Legislation, Franken Bill Fixes Supreme Court "Citizens United" Ruling

Washington, D.C. -- Jan 28, 2010 – Late last night, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) introduced the “American Elections Act of 2010” to keep foreign interests out of American elections. Franken’s bill would provide a legislative fix to the Supreme Court ruling, dubbed Citizens United, which allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on American elections, effectively nullifying Minnesota’s prohibition on corporate spending on elections—a 20 year-old standard—and opening a door for foreign governments to interfere with American democracy.    » read more »

Legislation follows U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 decision to reverse late-campaign advertisements funded by corporations and unions.

January 26, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) believes what the U.S. Supreme Court made wrong the U.S. Congress can make right again, which is why today he introduced comprehensive legislation to keep foreign influence out of American elections.    » read more »

Jan 25, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court decision in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which overturns long-held limits on corporate and union contributions in campaign financing.

“The Supreme Court's decision to allow unlimited third-party political advertising practically hangs a ‘For Sale’ sign on the U.S. Capitol, giving corporations, shadowy interest groups, and unions permission to spend limitless amounts to influence elections.

"This decision undermines the voice of the individual constituents I represent. We need to return to a system of one person--one vote, but this pushes us in the direction of one dollar--one vote.”    » read more »

Hall Bill Will Block Corporations with Foreign Shareholders or Principals from U.S. Political Elections; Bill Would Create Strict Ban on Advertising by Companies Under Any Level of Foreign Control

January 26, 2010 -- Washington, DC – In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision last week to allow unlimited spending by corporations in federal election campaigns, U.S. Rep. John Hall (D-New York) announced legislation today that would ban campaign spending by corporations which are under even minimal foreign ownership or control.    » read more »

January 26, 2010 -- Washington, D.C. -- Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence issued the following statement today about allegations raised in an article entitled "The Guantanamo ‘Suicides'," in the March 2010 issue of Harper's Magazine, authored by Scott Horton:

"I am deeply disturbed by the allegations raised in the article relating to the deaths of three detainees at Guantanamo in 2006.

"I'm calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to thoroughly investigate these allegations and to also review the work done by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

"These are grave allegations, which deserve a thorough investigation by the Attorney General of the United States.    » read more »

Justice Department Requires Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to Make Significant Changes to Its Merger with Live Nation Inc.; Software Licensing Agreement, Divestiture and Anti-Retaliation Provisions Will Preserve Competition in Ticketing in the United States

January 25, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to license its ticketing software, divest ticketing assets and subject itself to anti-retaliation provisions in order to proceed with its proposed merger with Live Nation Inc.    » read more »

January 21, 2010 -- Washington, D.C.--The U.S. Supreme Court, in its ruling in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, struck down significant portions of campaign finance laws. In particular, the case removed restrictions in place for decades that have limited campaign spending from corporations. The Sierra Club offered the following comments in response.

Statement of Cathy Duvall, Political Director of Sierra Club

"We are extremely troubled and dismayed by today's decision. It appears that the High Court confirmed our worst fears with its sweeping ruling that cast aside the laws that protected us from unlimited corporate campaign spending.    » read more »

January 21, 2010 -- Today, the Supreme Court further tilted the playing field in favor of business corporations in public elections. By allowing unlimited corporate treasury expenditures that explicitly support or oppose particular candidates, the Court has increased the already excessive influence that corporations exert in our electoral system.

And we believe the Court wrongly treated corporate expenditures the same as union expenditures, contrary to the arguments we made in our brief in this case.

Unions, unlike businesses, are democratically-controlled, nonprofit membership organizations representing working men and women across the country, and their independent speech should accordingly be given greater protection.    » read more »