Washington Letter December 2012

Featured Articles

Disability

Senate fails to approve disabilities treaty

The Senate was unable to garner a two-thirds vote this month to pass a resolution of advice and consent to ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), a treaty strongly supported by the ABA.

IOLTA

IOLTA impacted by Senate's block of FDIC extension

A program that fully insures non-interest-bearing transaction accounts, including Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) funds that are channeled to legal services programs, is set to expire Dec. 31 after a vote to extend the program was blocked over a budgetary point of order.

Federal Government

Reforms needed to address school to prison pipeline

“There is growing evidence that our public schools overly rely upon suspension, expulsions and referrals to law enforcement in managing student behavior,” ABA President Laurel G. Bellows said in a statement submitted for a Dec. 12 hearing on the “school to prison pipeline,” a cycle perpetuated by school discipline practices that unnecessarily remove students from the classroom.

Federal Government

President announces gun violence initiative

President Obama, saying that “words need to lead to action,” announced a new initiative Dec. 19 that will identify concrete proposals addressing gun violence that he will send to Congress in January for immediate consideration.

Civil Rights & Constitution

Human Rights Commission addresses trafficking

The 112th Congress failed to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, but the ongoing crisis of human trafficking and forced labor is still a subject of discussion on Capitol Hill.

Federal Government

Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law

Top security experts convened Nov. 29-30 in Washington, D.C., for the 22nd Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law, an event cosponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security.

Court Administration

Federal judges file class action salary lawsuit

Seven federal judges filed a class action lawsuit Nov. 30 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims seeking back pay that Article III judges who are serving or served any time from 2006 to the present are owed for cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) they did not receive in six of the past 17 years.

Federal Government

ABA urges CBO scoring for secondary payer bill

The ABA urged the House Ways and Means Committee this month to request a scoring by the Congressional Budget Office for H.R. 5284, a bill that addresses confusion and uncertainty in situations where Medicare is a secondary rather than the primary payer of medical expenses related to workplace injuries.

Legislation & Lobbying

State Legislative Workshop

ABA Governmental Affairs Director Thomas M. Susman spoke Nov. 29 at the annual State Legislative Workshop, a gathering of the members of the Governmental Relations Section of the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE).

Federal Government

Washington News Briefs

December 2012 Washington News Briefs, including Judicial Nominations, USPTO Code of Professional Responsibility

American Bar Association TM American Bar Association

Washington Letter December 2012

Congress clears legislation to protect privileged information

Featured Articles

Senate fails to approve disabilities treaty

IOLTA impacted by Senate's block of FDIC extension

Reforms needed to address school to prison pipeline

President announces gun violence initiative

Human Rights Commission addresses trafficking

Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law

Federal judges file class action salary lawsuit

ABA urges CBO scoring for secondary payer bill

State Legislative Workshop

Washington News Briefs