Public PolicyRSS

  • May 26, 2009

    Lawmaker Tries Again For Disaster Reinsurance Plan

    Rep. Ron Klein, D-Fla., has reintroduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to establish a massive federal reinsurance fund to back up to $200 billion a year in losses from catastrophic natural disasters, hoping early bipartisan support will shepherd the bill through both chambers of Congress.

  • May 22, 2009

    Broad Climate Bill Clears House Energy Committee

    After a contentious four-day markup session, U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has scored the first victory for his massive climate change bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., clinching first-ever House committee approval for a bill to regulate carbon dioxide.

  • May 22, 2009

    Lawmakers Seek Funds For New Food Safety School

    Michigan lawmakers have introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress to establish extensive new training programs for state and local food safety inspectors, in response to growing concerns about inspectors' ability to catch urgent contamination issues following several recent nationwide food product recalls.

  • May 22, 2009

    Bill To Regulate Muni Bond Advisers Draws Support

    A House proposal to expand the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's power to regulate municipal financial advisers attracted support from lawmakers and the agency itself at a hearing Thursday.

  • May 22, 2009

    Bill Would Mandate Paid Vacation For U.S. Workers

    Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., has introduced legislation that would, for the first time, make paid vacation a requirement under federal law.

  • May 26, 2009

    House Tries Again To Untangle Surplus Lines Rules

    Insurance organizations are applauding an effort by Reps. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., and Scott Garrett, R-N.J., to revive a bill that aims to simplify the rules governing taxation, regulation and accessibility of multistate surplus lines insurance.

  • May 21, 2009

    White House Steps Back From Federal Preemption

    Two months after the U.S. Supreme Court's Wyeth v. Levine ruling, the White House has released a memorandum signaling that, unlike the Bush administration, it will encourage executive departments and agencies to preempt state laws only after full consideration of the states' legitimate prerogatives and with sufficient legal basis.

  • June 2, 2009

    Patent Damages Best Left To Courts: Chief Judge

    Claims by academic legal experts that U.S. courts refuse to apportion damages in patent cases and that damages awards tend to overcompensate patent owners have been “greatly exaggerated,” according to the top judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

  • May 21, 2009

    Waxman-Markey Climate Bill Faces Grueling Markups

    The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday rejected an amendment to strike a carbon cap-and-trade program from the mammoth climate change bill sponsored by Sens. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., as lawmakers worked to prepare the bill for a committee vote by Memorial Day.

  • May 21, 2009

    Bill To Limit Product Liability For Sellers Reintroduced

    Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., has reintroduced a bill to limit product liability suits against companies that sell defective products but play no role in their manufacture, design or use.

  • June 19, 2009

    Changes To FCA Increase Contractor Liability

    With billions of dollars in federal stimulus money flowing through the U.S. economy, recent changes to a Civil War-era law designed to combat government contract fraud has raised the stakes for a wide range of government contractors and given potential whistleblowers greater powers to pursue claims, experts say.

  • May 21, 2009

    Spain Hits Abertis With €23M Fine Over Digital TV

    Spain's competition regulator has imposed a nearly €22.7 million ($31.6 million) fine on Abertis Infraestructuras SA, ruling that the infrastructure company's telecom division abused its dominant position during the country's rollout of digital television.

  • May 20, 2009

    SEC Aims To Give Investors More Proxy Rights

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday put up for public comment a proposed rule change that would give shareholders the right to nominate their own candidates for corporate boards of directors.

  • May 20, 2009

    House Sends Credit Card Reform Bill To Obama

    Just a day after the U.S. Senate passed sweeping reforms to the credit card industry, the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would stop credit card companies from raising customers' interest rates without notice and assessing fees that consumer advocacy groups contend cripple credit card holders.

  • May 20, 2009

    US Appeals WTO Ruling For Japan In Zeroing Battle

    The U.S. government has appealed a World Trade Organization decision in a long-running dispute with Japan over the U.S.' controversial method of calculating anti-dumping duties known as zeroing.

  • May 20, 2009

    Veterans' Employment Rights Act Passes House

    The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation that would allow the U.S. Office of Special Counsel to enforce the re-employment rights of veterans or current members of the military working in the federal sector.

  • May 20, 2009

    Investor Suits V. Credit Rating Firms May Be On Way

    Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., has introduced a bill that aims to reform the credit rating industry by making agencies more accountable for assigned ratings, in part by allowing investors to take legal action against firms for not taking the proper steps to craft a good rating.

  • May 20, 2009

    OSHA Cites 30 Violations In Fatal Delek Refinery Fire

    The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has slapped Delek Refining Ltd. with one willful and 29 serious safety violations in relation to a November 2008 explosion at the company's Tyler, Texas, oil refinery that killed two workers and injured three.

  • May 20, 2009

    House Panel Rejects Nuclear Environmental Play

    A U.S. congressional committee has voted down an amendment to a massive environmental bill that would have advanced nuclear energy as a tool to fight climate change.

  • May 19, 2009

    NC House Votes Down Contributory Negligence Rule

    The North Carolina House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make it the 47th state to allow tort plaintiffs to recover damages even when they are somewhat at fault.