Don’t panic about House v. Burwell. From the New York Times on what might happen if the House prevails in House v. Burwell: A study by the Department of Health and Human Services estimated that premiums for midlevel “silver plans” could rise by nearly 30 percent without [cost-sharing] reimbursements. Many consumers would be protected, since […]
On May 17, 2016, the Energy Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice will hold a teleconference on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, LLC decision, a watershed case concerning the scope of a state’s powers, consistent with the Federal Power Act, to subsidize new […]
This week, Chief Judge Garland sent his questionnaire to the Senate. As I reviewed that “lengthy” submission, my mind turned again to “brooding spirts.” In particular, it is interesting that Garland’s list of his “most significant” opinions includes two dissents. To begin, here is Garland’s list: Cause of Action v. FTC (2015) Wagner v. FEC […]
Having previously held that the House of Representatives has standing to sue, the district court in House v. Burwell has now held that the Obama administration is violating the Appropriations Clause in making cost-sharing payments under the ACA in the absence of the requisite congressional appropriation. The court has stayed its decision pending appeal, meaning […]
I’m guessing I’m not alone in looking at a pile of final exams to grade. In case you need a distraction (or a start on your summer reading list), here is the April 2016 edition of the most-downloaded recent papers (those announced in the last 60 days) from SSRN’s U.S. Administrative Law eJournal, which is […]
Gretchen Morgenson writes in this week’s New York Times Sunday Business section: There is a lot about this problem of income inequality—and about the economy over all—that Mr. Obama cannot control. Still, there is something he could do right now to help narrow the widening gulf between rich and poor. In one deft move, Mr. […]
This has been a quiet week at the D.C. Circuit. There was only one published opinion—and it’s about attorneys’ fees. So with this extra time, why not think a little bit more about Amtrak? (Or, if you would rather spend your “five minutes a week” on something else, enjoy this or this instead.) Dan Hemel’s […]
In my next two posts, I will investigate the relationship between regulatory approval of vaccines and the response to the global public health emergency surrounding the spread of the Zika virus. That emergency has resurrected and brought into sharper relief some of the most vexing questions surrounding the regulatory state and pregnancy: the appropriate circumstances, […]
From his perch at Politico, Dan Diamond has launched what promises to be a terrific new health-policy podcast, Pulse Check, with an interview with CMS’s acting administrator, Andy Slavitt. The interview is refreshingly candid: among other things, Slavitt confesses that the Obama administration has a lot of work to do to win back the hearts […]
In a characteristically thoughtful post discussing the D.C. Circuit’s decision in American Association of Railroads v. Department of Transportation, Aaron Nielson writes: Imagine three companies—let’s call them A, B, and C. Each manufactures cars. Imagine further that Congress authorizes A to regulate B and C, and A uses that power to benefit itself, for instance […]
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, RegBlog is celebrating its fifth birthday with a special series looking back on the last five years in regulation. This RegBlog@5 Series has been a lot of fun so far, and it epitomizes RegBlog’s ability to help bridge the gap between theory and practice in the regulatory state. […]
The ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, Government Personnel Committee will host two brown bag lunches this month on the latest developments at the Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB”) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), Office of Federal Operations. These brown bags are part of a larger series of discussions the Government Personnel […]
Imagine three companies—let’s call them A, B, and C. Each manufactures cars. Imagine further that Congress authorizes A to regulate B and C, and A uses that power to benefit itself, for instance by requiring B and C to provide valuable inputs to A on preferential terms. Would that be constitutional? Certainly not, at least […]
A D.C. Circuit panel held today that the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) is unconstitutional. This is the second time the same panel has struck down the PRIIA (the first time the panel was reversed by the Supreme Court). The panel’s primary holding is that “the PRIIA violates the Fifth Amendment’s […]
Greetings from Andrew Emery and Susan Prosnitz, co-chairs of the ABA’s 2016 Fall Administrative Law Conference to be held on December 8-9, 2016, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. As is the customary practice of the ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, we would like you to propose topics […]