April 24, 2017, Global Policy Watch

In response to the unprecedented use of the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) by the 115th Congress and the Trump Administration, the Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”), a nonprofit dedicated to wildlife conservation, filed a lawsuit in an Alaska federal court challenging the constitutionality of the Act. The CRA is a statute that requires federal ...

December 14, 2016, Global Policy Watch

 As the President-elect begins to nominate individuals for Senate-confirmed positions in his administration, one of the major hurdles these individuals face is the statutory requirement that the Director of the Office of Government Ethics (“OGE”) review and certify a public disclosure of each source of income exceeding $200 and each property interest exceeding ...

December 13, 2016, Inside Political Law

As the President-elect begins to nominate individuals for Senate-confirmed positions in his administration, one of the major hurdles these individuals face is the statutory requirement that the Director of the Office of Government Ethics (“OGE”) review and certify a public disclosure of each source of income exceeding $200 and each property interest exceeding ...

December 13, 2016, Covington Alert

As the President-elect begins to nominate individuals for Senate-confirmed positions in his administration, one of the major hurdles these individuals face is the statutory requirement that the Director of the Office of Government Ethics (“OGE”) review and certify a public disclosure of each source of income exceeding $200 and each property interest exceeding ...

November 29, 2016, Global Policy Watch

In just five short weeks, the 115th Congress will convene in Washington.  Now that Republicans control majorities in both houses and the White House, Republican leaders hope to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn regulations issued by the Obama Administration over the past few months.  According to a recent Congressional Research Service ...

July 26, 2016, Global Policy Watch

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued two private letter rulings (PLRs) that may be interesting for tax-exempt organizations that engage in political activity. In the first ruling, the IRS held that a company could not deduct payments made to charity under a PAC matching contribution program as an “ordinary and necessary business expense.”  ...

July 25, 2016, Inside Political Law

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued two private letter rulings (PLRs) that may be interesting for tax-exempt organizations that engage in political activity. In the first ruling, the IRS held that a company could not deduct payments made to charity under a PAC matching contribution program as an “ordinary and necessary business expense.”  ...

June 2, 2016, Global Policy Watch

A recent settlement between the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) and Massachusetts Republican Party may highlight an emerging trend: state parties using federal preemption to avoid strict state campaign finance laws.  At issue was whether the Massachusetts Republican Party could use funds from its federal campaign account to pay for ...

June 1, 2016, Inside Political Law

A recent settlement between the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) and Massachusetts Republican Party may highlight an emerging trend: state parties using federal preemption to avoid strict state campaign finance laws.  At issue was whether the Massachusetts Republican Party could use funds from its federal campaign account to pay for ...

March 22, 2016, Global Policy Watch

As Congress becomes further embroiled in election-year politics, especially a high-stakes standoff between the White House and the Senate Judiciary Committee over the President’s nomination to the Supreme Court, it appears ever more likely that 114th Congress will end in December 2016 without passing comprehensive patent legislation.  With the House and Senate ...

October 8, 2015, Covington Alert