chevron-down Created with Sketch Beta.

    January 2024 Washington Letter

     

    Federal Government

    Legislative State of Play: Border Security Deal

    As of late January, Congress continues negotiations on a bipartisan border security deal, but the chances for success appear to be diminishing. However, most of the negotiations have taken place behind closed doors.

    This Month's Articles

    Advocate of the Month

    We are pleased to honor Thomas (“Tom”) Prol as our Advocate of the Month for January 2024 for his help in advancing the ABA’s lobbying efforts, including to support for Congressional passage of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. In addition to being a SOGI Commissioner, Tom is a member of the House of Delegates and ABA State Captain for New Jersey. A partner at Sills Cummis & Gross law firm in Newark, he was the first openly gay president of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Tom is a founding and current executive board member of Garden State Equality, the largest LGBTQ rights advocacy and education organization in New Jersey. In June 2023, Governor Philip D. Murphy named him the Chair of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, the fiscal watchdog agency that administers state elections and campaigns.  In 2016-19, Tom served on COREJ and the Gavel Awards Committee and in 1999-2000, he was Second Circuit Governor of the ABA Law Student Division. He lives in Asbury Park (where Bruce Springsteen became famous) with his feisty 12 lb. Jack Russell Terrier, Sparky.

    Legislative Research Tip

    Law Library of Congress Legal Reports The Law Library of Congress has produced over 4,000 Legal Reports on foreign, comparative, and international law topics. Originally created for congressional staff and executive branch agencies, the reports are now available on the Library of Congress Digital Collections page. Each report contains citations to domestic and international legal resources, and can be downloaded as a PDF document. Users can search the reports by Date (1940s to present) and Topics such as Immigration, Labor, and Taxation; or browse the full collection by an alphabetical listing of titles.

    About the Washington Letter

    The ABA Washington Letter is a monthly publication produced by the Governmental Affairs Office to report and analyze congressional and executive branch action on legislative issues of interest to the ABA and the legal profession. The newsletter highlights ABA involvement in the federal legislative process and focuses on the association's legislative and governmental priorities and other issues on which the ABA has policy.

    Current Washington Letter

    Questions? Contact Allison Rosenstock, 202-667-1771