Articles

Congress holds hearing on unconstitutional agency—and PLF lawyer testifies

March 09, 2023 | By JOE LUPPINO-ESPOSITO

When Congress asked Pacific Legal Foundation for advice on how to reform one of our recent government adversaries, we were more than happy to oblige. The House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy held a hearing Thursday on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a uniquely unconst ...

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The Hill : Congress can ensure charter school funds reach those who need it

September 19, 2022 | By JOE LUPPINO-ESPOSITO

It isn’t often that a government agency sandbags a program that Congress has entrusted it to execute. But that’s the case with the Department of Education (DOE) and the federal Charter Schools Program. … ...

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The Hill : Elections don’t matter unless you have this rulemaking fix

March 08, 2022 | By JOE LUPPINO-ESPOSITO

Most politicians won’t soon forget the pandemic-restriction backlash against governors and state officials that became evident after the November 2021 elections. And there is a high likelihood of that sentiment continuing this November in state elections. Elections are often referendums on government policy. Lesson learned? Perhaps. But elect ...

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The Hill : Pulling back the curtain on DC’s rulemakers?

August 02, 2021 | By JOE LUPPINO-ESPOSITO

For all matters of government policy, there’s usually someone to praise or blame. When it comes to agency rulemaking, however, it is not often so clear who’s responsible. A new bipartisan bill in front of Congress could fix that. With federal regulation, all executive action should, in theory, be consistent with law and reflect the  ...

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The Hill : The Biden administration should join the fight against overcriminalization

April 07, 2021 | By JOE LUPPINO-ESPOSITO

Four years ago, no one would have believed that the administration of former President Trump would have been defined, in part, by major criminal justice reforms. The bipartisan First Step Act rightfully made plenty of headlines and received praise from across the political spectrum. But one executive order in the final days did not garner … ...

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Locked-down Congress opens its doors to PLF

April 02, 2021 | By JOE LUPPINO-ESPOSITO

It’s not often that you have to prep for a Supreme Court argument and congressional testimony in the same trip, but such was the case for PLF attorney Wen Fa. With short notice, Wen was asked to testify at a March 18 hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil … ...

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Governor Andrew Cuomo’s emergency powers scandal

February 18, 2021 | By JOE LUPPINO-ESPOSITO

Although Governor Andrew Cuomo’s intentionally false reporting on COVID deaths in nursing homes last year is shameful by itself, it also highlights a larger problem with emergency orders issued by governors alone without other checks. While there are now over a dozen New York State senators who want to limit the governor’s emergency pow ...

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The President vetoed a bill that would have decimated family fisheries and the ocean

January 13, 2021 | By JOE LUPPINO-ESPOSITO

Thanks to a last-minute veto by President Donald Trump on January 1, dozens of American family fishing businesses will be saved from going out of business, and the ocean ecosystem will be better protected—both of which were being threatened by a bill that was more rhetoric than science. In mid-December, Congress passed S. 906, the … ...

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Washington Examiner : Pandemic silver lining

January 06, 2021 | By JOE LUPPINO-ESPOSITO

In the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic, one constant theme is government overreach. Since the early failure to control the outbreak, government executives have overcompensated by taking a risk-averse, iron fist approach, rather than looking for ways to mitigate or temper regulations to minimize the economic hardship that also kills. In Marc ...