The Tap: Thursday, June 16, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #21 of The Tap, which was published on June 18, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• The U.S. Supreme Court issued unanimous rulings reversing or vacating judgments in three cases.
  • In Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the court vacated and remanded the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. In an opinion authored by Justice Elena Kagan, the court held that a district court “should give substantial weight to the objective reasonableness of the losing party’s position” when awarding attorneys’ fees in certain cases arising under the Copyright Act.
  • In Kingdomware Technologies, Inc., v. United States, the court reversed and remanded the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In an opinion authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court held that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs must use a provision of federal law known as the Rule of Two in all applicable contracting decisions. The Rule of Two mandates that the VA award contracts to veteran-owned small businesses when there is a reasonable expectation that two or more businesses will bid for a contract.
  • In United Health Services, Inc., v. United States ex. rel. Escobar, the court reversed the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit and sent the case back to that court for additional proceedings. In another opinion authored by Justice Thomas, the court said that organizations can be held liable for fraud or misrepresentation under the False Claims Act if they bill the government for a service without complying with government regulations—even if those regulations are not explicit. However, an organization’s misrepresentation must be “material’’ to the government’s payment decision in order for the misrepresentation to be actionable, and this “materiality requirement is demanding.” The court provided guidelines for what constitutes materiality in the decision.

• CNN reported that “hundreds” of staffers working on Hillary Clinton’s primary election campaign were transitioning to the payroll of the Democratic National Committee, where they will work to help elect Clinton as well as Democratic candidates down the ticket. According to the article, the campaign and the DNC “have begun diverting money to coordinated campaigns in Florida, Wisconsin, Nevada, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and North Carolina.”

• Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he is considering running for re-election, according to Reuters. Rubio said, "I'll go home later this week. And I'll have some time with my family. And then, if there's a change in our status, I'll be sure to let everyone know." Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.), who initially ran for Rubio’s seat, ended his campaign Friday to instead seek re-election to the House. Jolly exited the race because he expected Rubio to run for re-election. Rubio has until Florida’s filing deadline on June 24 to decide.

• During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, CIA Director John Brennan said that although coalition efforts have weakened the self-described Islamic State, also known as ISIS/ISIL, the terrorist group’s ability to carry out global acts of terror has not been reduced. Brennan said, “Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group’s terrorism capability and global reach. … The resources needed for terrorism are very modest, and the group would have to suffer even heavier losses of territory, manpower and money for its terrorist capacity to decline significantly.”

• Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that Iran is suing the United States “to reclaim roughly $2 billion frozen in a Citibank account in New York” after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the money could go to victims and family members of victims of terrorist attacks supported by Iran. According to The Hill, “Iran claims that the U.S. action to bar Tehran from accessing the assets is a violation of a 1955 treaty.”

• House Republicans presented their plan to improve how the federal government functions. Part four of their six-part “A Better Way” agenda proposes “clarify[ing] roles between the three government branches, updat[ing] rules for governing, simplify[ing] spending, and put[ting] information about government actions into the light.” The full plan can be viewed here.

• Key vote: The House passed HR 5293 - the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017 by a vote of 282-138. The $576 billion defense spending bill “[p]rovides FY2017 appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for military activities.”

• The House passed HR 5471 - the Countering Terrorist Radicalization Act by a vote of 402-15. The legislation proposes directing the secretary of Homeland Security to provide training for personnel at the federal, state, and local levels to “counter violent extremism, identify and report suspicious activities, and increase awareness of and more quickly identify terrorism threats.” The legislation also proposes directing the secretary of Homeland Security to collect testimonials of former violent extremists and their associates to combat terrorist recruitment and establish a board to coordinate the department’s efforts to combat terrorism.

State

• New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) nominated his former chief counsel Chris Porrino to replace outgoing Attorney General Robert Lougy (R), marking the second officeholder change this year. Lougy is leaving the post following a nomination by Christie to the New Jersey Superior Court. Christie has a history of elevating state attorneys general to loftier posts—he appointed Paula Dow to the Superior Court in 2012. Dow was replaced by Jeff Chiesa, whom Christie appointed to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat in June 2013. John Hoffman held the seat from that time until March 2016, when he departed to take a position at Rutgers University and Lougy assumed the post. Porrino served as Christie's chief counsel for a year and a half, departing in July 2015 to resume private practice. His nomination is subject to confirmation by the state Senate. New Jersey currently has a divided government.

Local

• The Philadelphia City Council became the first big city in America to levy a “soda tax” when it approved a tax of 1.5 cents per ounce (18 cents per 12-ounce can) on soft drinks and other sugary beverages. The council vote was 13-4 in favor, with council members Brian O'Neil (R), David Oh (R), Maria Quinones Sanchez (D), and Al Taubenberger (R) opposing the legislation. The tax will go into effect on January 1, 2017, and the city estimates it will raise approximately $91 million each year. According to the The Philadelphia Inquirer, the American Beverage Association (ABA) spent millions to stop the legislation. Following the vote, the organization announced its intention to wage a court battle against the new tax. In its statement, the ABA criticized the tax and said, “Working families and small businesses simply cannot afford to pay this tax.” Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the fifth-largest city in the U.S. by population.
  • In the weeks leading up to the vote, Mayor James Kenney (D) had proposed a tax of three cents per ounce (36 cents per 12-ounce can) and City Council President Darrell L. Clarke (D) had called for a 15 cent tax on drink containers larger than seven ounces, including water. A Harvard University study released in April 2016 found that the mayor’s proposal would result in “an estimated 2280 cases of diabetes prevented over a one-year period once the tax reaches its full effect.” The Harvard report noted that the city had projected up to $400 million in new revenue over a five-year period as a result of the proposed tax.
  • The first municipality in the United States to set a tax on soft drinks was Berkeley, California, in 2014. More than 76 percent of city voters approved the local ballot measure. According to ABA executive Lauren Kane, recent soft drink taxes have failed to pass 43 times between both states and local governments.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #20 of The Tap, which was published on June 11, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

State

• The New York State Legislature is expected to adjourn its regular session. New York is one of 20 states under divided government. Democrats control the Assembly by 60 seats (with two vacancies) and the governor’s office. The Senate’s partisan balance currently stands at 32 Democrats and 31 Republicans. Even though Democrats hold a numerical advantage in all three areas of the state government, a coalition between Republicans and the five members of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) will keep Republicans in control of the Senate. In addition, Sen. Simcha Felder (D) has caucused with Republicans since he was first elected in 2013. The state Senate has been included in Ballotpedia’s 20 battleground chambers to watch in 2016.