US

April 5, 2020 – In a letter to FTC Chairman Joe Simons, EPIC urged the FTC to “open an investigation of Zoom’s business practices and to issue, as soon as practicable, Best Practices for Online Conferencing Services.” The EPIC letter followed a 2019 complaint from EPIC warning that Zoom had “placed at risk the privacy and security of the users of […]

WASHINGTON, DC, April 3, 2020 – President Trump announced this morning that he is nominating U.S. District Judge Justin Walker to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Walker’s investiture took place just three weeks ago, where he was fist-bumping Mitch McConnell and Justice Brett Kavanaugh as much of the country was already beginning to engage in social […]

April 3, 2020 – The impact of the coronavirus shutdowns showed up very clearly in the March data as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a loss of 701,000 jobs, a decline almost as high as the peaks hit in the housing crash. The unemployment rate jumped 0.9 percentage points to 4.4 percent, while the […]

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2020 – Across the country, government leaders and health care providers are going to extreme lengths to ensure a steady supply of gloves, masks, ventilators and other critical medical equipment as the number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases skyrocket. But a new investigation by ProPublica, along with reporting by numerous other outlets, […]

NEW YORK, April 2, 2020 – Earlier today, advocates and experts from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, Common Cause, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights joined Stand Up America in urging Congress to immediately provide more election assistance funding to states during the coronavirus pandemic.  The groups joining the […]

Washington, D.C. April 2, 2020 – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for funding the Department of Labor, slammed the Department of Labor (DOL) for issuing guidance on paid leave—which was included in the Families First […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. March 31, 2020 -Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, released an extended statement for the record on H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The statement provides guidance to the Trump Administration on congressional intent behind the law, and serves to […]

BUFFALO, N.Y. March 31, 2020 – Activity from phony Twitter accounts established by the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) between 2015 and 2017 may have contributed to politicizing Americans’ position on the nature and efficacy of vaccines, a health care topic which has not historically fallen along party lines, according to new research published in […]

PISCATAWAY, N.J. March 31, 2020 – New Jersey’s home health aides are caring for seniors and people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, while earning an average salary of just $25,000 per year, according to a report released today by the Center for Women and Work at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations. Since home […]

March 27, 2020 – Following reports of the Environmental Protection Agency’s move to implement broad changes that would relax environmental rules, the American Thoracic Society expressed disappointment with the plan. The ATS views the EPA’s announcement that it is exercising enforcement discretion on essential environmental health protections with great concern. While we understand and appreciate […]

March 28, 2020 – Due to extensive community transmission of COVID -19 in the area, CDC urges residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately.  This Domestic Travel Advisory does not apply to employees of critical infrastructure industries, including but not limited to trucking, […]

March 27, 2020 Dear President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Ambassador Birx: Thank you for actively engaging the health care community—particularly the nation’s physicians and the organizations that represent them—in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. As more than 800,000 physicians across more than 40 specialties in medicine, we continue to support travel […]

Washington, D.C. March 26, 2020– Today, under the cover of a national crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), and the National Credit Union Administration issued small dollar bank lending guidance that lacks the consumer protections needed to […]

NEW ORLEANS, LA, March 27, 2020 — Today, El Paso County, Texas, and the Border Network for Human Rights filed a brief requesting that the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals uphold a lower court’s decision invalidating President Trump’s proclamation of a national emergency on the southern border. Last October, a federal district court in […]

WASHINGTON March 27, 2020 – The House today passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the third piece of legislation to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation follows H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted on March 18, and H.R. 6074, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act enacted […]

Washington March 27, 2020 – Jared Kushner’s shadow coronavirus task force appears to be violating both the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by using private email accounts with no assurance their communications are being preserved and by meeting in secret, according to a letter sent today by Citizens for Responsibility […]

WASHINGTON March 27, 2020 – The administration’s well-documented hostility toward labor unions and workers’ rights is complicating federal efforts to respond to the coronavirus as agencies are refusing to negotiate with the largest federal employee union over how best to protect federal workers and the public they serve. Federal agencies including the Department of Veterans […]

Washington, D.C. March 25, 2020 — Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement on the Senate’s coronavirus legislation: “America is facing a grave health crisis with a serious impact on our economy.  I salute the strong leadership of Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats.  I especially thank our House Democratic Committee Chairmen, who worked hard to move […]

Washington, D.C. March 25, 2020 – A federal court today granted a request by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to strike down federal permits for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. The Court found the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it affirmed federal permits for the pipeline originally issued […]

New York, NY, March 24, 2020 — Today a federal court ruled against President Trump in a lawsuit that claims he has used government power to retaliate against media coverage and reporters he dislikes in violation of the First Amendment. Specifically, the court denied a government motion to dismiss the case and will allow it […]