Report from Governmental Affairs

ABA’s 2015 advocacy priorities span 10 categories

The ABA Governmental Affairs Office is focusing its advocacy efforts for the 114th Congress on federal legislative and governmental priorities adopted by the association’s Board of Governors in February. The process of setting these priorities began when the GAO sent a survey to ABA leaders and members asking them to…

May 1, 2015 1:30 AM CDT

Members’ involvement is vital in ongoing ABA efforts to lobby Congress

When the 114th Congress convened in January, it ushered in a new era with the retirement of the last of the “Watergate babies” elected in 1974 and a dramatic shift to a Congress under complete Republican control for the first time in nearly a decade. In addition, the average age…

Apr 1, 2015 12:50 AM CDT

Financial commitment by Congress to address elder abuse issues is an encouraging step

Responding to a push by the ABA and elder rights advocates for a greater commitment from the federal government to address the growing problem of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation, Congress has approved $4 million in new funding this year for the Elder Justice Initiative.

Feb 1, 2015 6:23 AM CST

ABA urges the Treasury Department to exempt law firm clients from certain reporting rules

The ABA is urging the U.S. Department of the Treasury to incorporate language protecting the confidentiality of law firm clients into a proposed rule establishing customer due diligence requirements for banks and other financial institutions. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, began the rule-making process in…

Jan 1, 2015 12:50 AM CST

ABA voices concerns about the impact of over-criminalization of US laws

In a rare example of bipartisan cooperation during the 113th Congress, the Task Force on Over-Criminalization completed a year and a half of hearings this summer on the state of the nation's criminal justice system and how it can be improved.

The House Judiciary Committee established the task force in May 2013 for an initial six months in response to the increasing number of federal crimes that provide for prison sentences, which have driven up incarceration rates.

Dec 1, 2014 5:20 AM CST

Opponents of requiring accrual method of accounting for law firms gain support

Opposition to a tax proposal in Congress that the ABA warns would impose new financial burdens on many law firms by fundamentally changing the manner in which they must pay their taxes appears to be picking up steam. The proposed legislation would require all law firms and other personal service…

Nov 1, 2014 1:45 AM CDT

Bar leaders take their annual springtime lobbying trek to Capitol Hill

ABA Day in Washington has become a rite of spring for bar leaders from around the United States. So it was fitting that the cherry blossoms lining Washington’s Tidal Basin were peaking in early April just as some 350 lawyers from 49 states and the District of Columbia arrived on…

Jun 1, 2014 6:49 AM CDT

ABA opposes burdensome accounting method affecting law firms

Congress is poised to consider legislation to simplify the tax laws this year, but the ABA says one of the key provisions being considered would have the opposite effect and cause negative unintended consequences—both for the overall tax system and for many lawyers and law firms in particular. The provision,…

Mar 1, 2014 7:50 AM CST

Bipartisan push is on for sentencing reform

As the federal prison population and costs rise at an alarming rate, there is a bipartisan push in Congress to enact legislation calling for smarter sentencing procedures. The numbers are staggering. Since 1980, the federal prison population has increased by close to 800 percent—from 25,000 to more than 219,000. And…

Feb 1, 2014 7:40 AM CST

ABA backs bipartisan bill supporting permanent families for foster children

The ABA is urging enactment of bipartisan legislation in Congress to enhance federal efforts to provide permanency for children in foster care. The legislation, unanimously passed by the House in October and expected to garner Senate approval as well, would extend and expand the Adoption Incentives Program originally enacted as…

Jan 1, 2014 7:50 AM CST

Funding cuts threaten federal courts’ ability to do their work, ABA cautions Congress

The ABA is urging Congress to restore cuts in funding for the federal courts that went into effect earlier this year and to protect the judicial branch from future budget reductions that would undermine the ability of the courts to carry out their constitutional and statutory functions. “Our concern for…

Dec 1, 2013 7:40 AM CST

ABA urges Congress to restore remedies in the Voting Rights Act in wake of Supreme Court ruling

The ABA’s policymaking House of Delegates adopted a resolution (DOC) in August urging Congress “to act expeditiously to preserve and protect voting rights” by restoring a key legislative remedy against racially discriminatory voting laws that was rendered essentially inoperative by a decision issued earlier in the summer by the U.S.…

Nov 1, 2013 6:00 AM CDT

Dedication ceremony marks the opening of ABA’s new DC offices

Moving into a new home always is an exciting occasion. That was the case this spring when the American Bar Association moved some 250 staff members based in Washington, D.C., to new offices. But for the ABA, whose ongoing presence in Washington began more than 70 years ago with one…

Sep 1, 2013 7:10 AM CDT

Bar leaders at ABA Day spend a lot of time on the Hill—and that’s just how they want it

When leaders of the ABA and representatives of other bar associations from around the United States descend on Capitol Hill for a few days every spring, they are all business as they lobby members of Congress on issues of importance to the legal profession and the justice system. The three-day…

Jun 1, 2013 6:30 AM CDT

ABA urges increased funding for legal programs serving the military and veterans

As the 113th Congress settles into its first session, the ABA has resumed its advocacy efforts supporting legislation that would bolster legal assistance programs for active service members and veterans. One of the ABA’s priorities in this area is passage of the Justice for Troops Act, which would authorize the…

Mar 1, 2013 7:10 AM CST