Additional Topics

Letters & Testimony

The ABA frequently corresponds with Members of Congress, the Executive Branch and other governmental bodies and testifies before Congress on matters of importance to the administration of justice and the legal profession.

116th Congress

9/8/20
Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
ABA Letter to FEMA to Implement the Disaster Legal Services (DLS) Program

6/5/2020
Department of the Treasury and Small Business Administration
ABA Comments Regarding the SBA Paycheck Protection Program Interim Final Rules

5/11/2020
Department of Health and Human Services
ABA Letter Opposing PSDA Requirement Waivers

4/9/2020
House and Senate Appropriations Committees
ABA Thanks Congress for Emergency LSC Funding, Requests Additional LSC Funding to Address COVID-19 Pandemic

3/24/2020
Executive Office for Immigration Review and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement
ABA Letter to EOIR and ICE to Protect Individuals Working In and Appearing Before Immigration Courts

3/19/2020
House and Senate Appropriations Committees
ABA Urges Congress to Include Supplemental Emergency LSC Funding in Stimulus Bill 

3/12/2020
U.S. House and Senate Leadership
ABA Letter Regarding the Impact of COVID-19 on Associations, Nonprofits, and Other Tax-Exempt Organizations
 

12/23/2019
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen of the Department of Justice ABA Letter Urging Justice Department to Issue Guidance on Federal Government Lawyer Participation in Bar Associations

9/17/2019
Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance ProgramsABA Letter to Withdraw the Proposed Rule of Religious Exemption in Executive Order 11246

115th Congress

5/23/18
Senate Appropriations Committee
ABA Letter in Support of the Library of Congress's FY2019 Budget Request

3/30/18
House Appropriations Committee
ABA Letter in Support of the Library of Congress's FY2019 Budget Request

3/7/18
Senate Judiciary Committee
ABA Letter Supporting Legislative Steps to Reduce Gun Violence

11/30/17
Attorney General Jeff Sessions
ABA Letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions Urging Diversity in U.S. Attorney Candidates

6/19/17
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
ABA Letter in Support of the Library of Congress's FY2018 Budget Request

5/3/17
House Appropriations Subcommittee
ABA Letter in Support of the Library of Congress's FY2018 Budget Request

114^th Congress

10/25/16
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
ABA Urges CFPB to Protect the Attorney-Client Privilege in New Rules Governing Disclosure of Confidential Information

5/24/15
Chairman and Ranking Member of House Financial Services Committee Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing 

ABA Opposes H.R. 4450, the “Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act,” Supports Other Means to Fight Money Laundering

5/18/15
U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
Letter Introducing the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources as a Resource for Congress

4/6/15
Senate Finance Committee
ABA Urges Congress to Reject Harmful Tax Proposals Affecting Law Firms

4/6/15
House Ways & Means Committee
ABA Urges Congress to Reject Harmful Tax Proposals Affecting Law Firms

113^th Congress

11/14/14
Speaker John Boehner
ABA Supports Reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act

11/14/14
Secretary Jacob Lew and Secretary Jeh Johnson
ABA Supports Reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act

1/13/14
House Ways & Means Committee
ABA Urges Congress to Reject Burdensome New Tax Proposal Affecting Law Firms

1/13/14
Senate Finance Committee
ABA Urges Congress to Reject Burdensome New Tax Proposal Affecting Law Firms

7/31/13
State and Local Bar Presidents
ABA Urges State and Local Bar Members to Follow New ABA Ethics Opinion and Voluntary Lawyer Guidance to Fight Money Laundering

6/27/13
White House
ABA Letter Regarding the Senate Intelligence Committee Study on CIA Detention and Interrogation

5/28/13
U.S. Department of Labor 
ABA Letter Regarding Intern Pro Bono Work 

5/24/13
Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
ABA Comments on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States

5/8/13
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
ABA Comments on FATF’s Draft Report on Money Laundering Vulnerabilities of Legal Professionals

112^th Congress

11/26/12
Treasury Department and Financial Action Task Force
ABA Advises Treasury Department and FATF of the Bar's Efforts to Fight Money Laundering

11/20/12
Hon. Phil Mendelson, Chair, Council of the District of Columbia
ABA Letter urging passage of DC legislation to facilitate reentry of city residents formerly involved with the criminal justice system

9/6/12
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr (California)
ABA Letter Urging Governor Brown to Sign California Legislation to Provide Accommodations for Disabled Test-takers

6/21/12
Senate
ABA Urges Support for S. 811, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2011 (ENDA)

6/14/12
White House
ABA Asks President Obama to Recognize October 14-20, 2012 as "Mediation Week"

6/14/12
DOJ
ABA Asks Attorney General Holder to Recognize October 14-20, 2012 as "Mediation Week"

5/17/12
House and Senate
ABA Urges Congress to Authorize Self-Funding for the SEC and CFTC

5/4/12
Treasury Department Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
ABA Opposes Treasury Department Proposal Requiring Law Firms to Disclose Client Identities and Beneficial Ownership Information

4/23/12
Senate Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch
Letter Supports Library and Law Library of Congress Funding Needs

4/10/12
House Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch 
Letter Supports Library and Law Library of Congress Funding Needs

4/5/12
California State Assembly
ABA Letter Supporting Legislation to Provide Accommodations for Disabled Test-takers

3/27/12
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Letter to FATF providing reactions to revised International Anti-Money Laundering Standards

3/1/12
House
ABA Letter Supporting Appropriate Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities

3/1/12
Attorney General
ABA Letter Supporting Appropriate Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities

12/16/11
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
ABA Opposes S 1483, the “Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act”

111^th Congress

11/02/11
Senate
ABA Urges Support for the Respect for Marriage Act, S. 598

9/28/10
Senate
ABA Supports H.R. 2314, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2010

6/21/10
HUD
Letter commenting on Proposed HEARTH Act Regulations (Department of Housing and Urban Development)

4/26/10
DOD
ABA Supports Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (Secretary of Defense)

4/26/10
House
ABA Supports Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (Armed Services Committee)

4/26/10
Senate
ABA Supports Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (Armed Services Committee)

11/19/09
Senate
Letter expressing our support for the Specter-Schumer substitute to S. 448, the Free Flow of Information Act of 2009 (Committee on the Judiciary)

11/10/09
House
Letter supporting the "Every Child Deserves a Family Act", H.R. 3827

11/5/09
Senate
ABA Testimony of Kevin Shepherd before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

11/4/09
Senate
ABA supports S. 1584, the Employment Non Discrimination Act of 2009 (Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions)

10/5/09
House
ABA supports H.R. 3017, the Employment Non Discrimination Act of 2009 (Committee on Education and Labor)

9/16/09
Senate
Letter supporting S. 448, the Free Flow of Information Act of 2009 (Committee on the Judiciary)

7/16/09
House
ABA urges Removal of Federal Funding Ban for Syringe Exchange Programs

7/2/09
Senate
ABA Opposes the Enactment of S. 569

7/1/09
House
ABA urges support for H.R. 2728

7/1/09
House and Senate
ABA urges full funding for GLIN

5/5/09
House
ABA supports funding requests of the Library and the Law Library of Congress

4/24/09
Federal Trade Commission
ABA urges the FTC to postpone implementation of the Final Rule relating to Identity Theft Red Flags and Address Discrepancies Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003

2/12/09
House &Senate
Letter urging procurement fix for stimulus bill, H.R. 1

2/5/09
House
Letter requesting a joint hearing on DHS Waiving of Laws Protecting Indian Rights

2/4/09
Senate
Letter supporting H.R. 11, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

1/22/09
Senate
Letter supporting S. 181, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

1/8/09
House
Letter supporting H.R. 11, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

110^th Congress

8/15/08
US Dept. of Education
Comment letter to the Department of Education concerning implementation of public service loan forgiveness under P.L. 110-84, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.

7/30/08
Senate
Letter supporting programs in the Higher Education Act reauthorization and for prompt passage of the Conference Report.

7/29/08
Senate
Letter urging a vote for cloture on a motion to proceed to consideration of S. 2035, the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007.

7/29/08
House
Letter supporting the introduction of the Charles H. W. Meehan Law Library Improvement and Modernization Act.

7/18/08
House
Letter supporting the harmonizing of the definitions of "homeless" under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistant Act to include those living in campgrounds, motels or doubled-up in other’s homes.

7/10/08
House
Letter recommending the creation of a bipartisan independent commission to address the challenges of disaster response and preparedness(Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management)

7/10/08
Senate
Letter recommending the creation of a bipartisan independent commission to address the challenges of disaster response and preparedness(Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs)

5/7/08
House
Written statement supporting funding and special issues confronting the Law Library of Congress (Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch)

4/28/08
Senate & House
Letter supporting S. 2767, a bill to provide for judicial discretion regarding suspensions of student eligibility under section 484(r) of the Higher Education Act of 1965(Committee on Education and Labor)

4/22/08
Senate
Letter supporting S.1843, the Fair Pay Restoration Act

2/7/08
Senate
Letter commending the recent introduction of S. 2523, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007

1/29/08
House
Letter regarding the oversight of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990(Committee on Education and Labor)

1/25/08
House
Letter supporting H.R. 840, a bill to amend the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act (House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity)

1/4/08
Senate
Written Statement on The Fair Pay Restoration Act (Committee on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions)

12/18/07
House
Written statement H.R. 40, a bill to create a commission to study those effects of slavery evident into the present day(Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties)

11/6/07
Senate & House
Letter supporting the passage of Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007, H.R. 3685.

10/24/07
House
Written Statement on the subject of "The Library of Congress: Current Issues with Library Management" (Committee on House Administration)

10/23/07
House
Letter supporting the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act

10/16/07
House
Letter supporting the retention of gender identity and gender expression protection in H.R. 2015, Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 (Committee on Education and Labor)

9/19/07
Senate
Letter addressing the need for a federal reporters’ shield law and expressing support in principle for S. 1267, the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007 (Committee on the Judiciary)

9/18/07
House
Letter supporting H.R. 2761, legislation that would reauthorize, for fifteen years, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act

6/25/07
House
Letter supporting the amendment of the federal definition of homelessness (Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity)

6/13/07
House
Letter supporting H.R. 2102, the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007 (Committee on Judiciary)

5/2/07
DOT &FHWA
Letter making recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration on their Model PPP Legislation (Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration)

1/31/07
House
Written statement regarding Presidential Signing Statements (Committee on the Judiciary)

1/17/07
House Senate
Letter regarding Presidential Signing Statements (to Congressional Leadership)

109th Congress

9/20/06
House
Letter commenting on H.R. 5018, the American Fisheries Management and Marine Life Enhancement Act (Committee on Resources)

6/28/06
Senate
Letter commenting on the mark-up on S. 2831, the Free Flow of Information Act of 2006 (Committee on the Judiciary)

3/21/06
USCCR
Letter commenting on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights)

3/17/06
Senate
Letter supporting the needs of animals as part of emergency response planning

3/8/06
Senate
Letter commenting on S. 2012, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation)

3/3/06
Senate
Letter supporting full funding for the Library of Congress and the Law Library of Congress (Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Branch)

3/3/06
House
Letter supporting full funding for the Library of Congress and the Law Library of Congress (Committee on Appropriations)

1/17/06
House
Letter supporting authorizing the Law Library of Congress to make its World Law Bulletin available to the public (Joint Committee on the Library)

10/19/05
Senate
Written statement commenting on reporters' privilege legislation (Committee on the Judiciary)