Federal Updates
Budget
Government shuts down, then passes continuing resolution amid stalled budget and immigration negotiations
On January 19, the federal government shut down after Congress failed to reach a long-term funding agreement. At the heart of the disagreement was the Republican party’s refusal to protect the future of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and funding for community health centers without the inclusion of partisan poison pills that jeopardize compromise from both parties. The vote took place largely along party lines with all but 5 Democrats in the Senate opposing the budget due to a lack of commitment to protect Dreamers.
However, negotiations continued throughout the weekend and, three days into the shutdown, the parties agreed to a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through February 8. The new continuing resolution will fund CHIP for the next 6 years; however, funding for community health centers and protection for the DACA program were not included. Since Trump rescinded DACA in September, 122 immigrant youth have lost protection from deportation every day.
Republican tax scam passed – cuts to essential safety net programs anticipated
December 22, Republicans pushed through their tax bill, which included massive tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and corporations as well as the elimination of the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act. The individual mandate required that everyone have health insurance coverage or pay an annual penalty. Without it, some younger and healthier individuals are expected to drop their coverage, increasing insurance premiums for everyone else. As a result, an estimated 13 million people will lose insurance coverage. The tax scam is also expected to balloon the federal deficit, and Republicans have set their sights on cutting more from social safety net programs including Medicare and Social Security in 2018.
Actions by the Administration
Alex Azar confirmed as HHS secretary
January 24, the Senate voted to confirm former Eli Lilly pharmaceutical executive, Alex Azar, as the new HHS secretary. Azar also previously served as general counsel and deputy secretary of HHS during the Bush administration. He opposes the ACA, which he will be responsible for administering, and has a record of donating to politicians who oppose abortion rights.
Trump administration proposes rule on association health plans
January 4, the Department of Labor released its proposed rule on association health plans (AHPs) which allow employers to band together to buy insurance that is not subject to the ACA’s regulations barring discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions and requiring coverage of “essential health benefits”. Consequently, AHPs could offer cheap, “junk coverage” to younger and healthier individuals and employees while offering comprehensive coverage to older individuals and individuals with pre-existing conditions for much higher premiums.
Remaining PACHA members dismissed without notice
On December 29, the Trump administration dismissed all 10 remaining members of the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). Prior to the dismissal, 6 members of the council previously resigned in protest over the administration’s lack of action in addressing the HIV epidemic. It is not unusual for a sitting president to appoint new PACHA members upon taking office. However, this sudden dismissal has led to serious concern about the administration’s commitment to addressing the domestic HIV epidemic, especially in light of the administration’s tendency towards conservative ideological appointments and failure to appoint anyone to the Office of National AIDS Policy a year into the presidency.
Rumors of banned words list fuel concerns about impact of conservative ideology at HHS
In the middle of December, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration had prohibited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from using the following words in official documents being prepared for the 2019 budget: vulnerable, entitlement, diversity, transgender, fetus, evidence-based and science-based. Health care advocates and members of the scientific community interpreted this as an escalation of the administration’s censorship of abortion and LGBT- related issues. However, later reports revealed that in reaction to the administration’s rhetoric, federal agency staff may have actually been trying to save their projects from funding cuts by avoiding the use of words likely to attract negative attention from the administration.
HHS establishes “Department of Discrimination”
On January 18, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the creation of a “Conscience and Religious Freedom” Division in the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The division was created to carry out the department’s new rules granting broad latitude in implementing protections for health providers who have religious or moral objections to providing certain health care services, including abortion and contraception. In a dramatic departure from the focus of the office which currently focuses on enforcing federal civil rights and health care privacy laws, the new office and rule essentially cements a license to discriminate for providers and healthcare workers who, based on their personal beliefs, do not want to provide services to transgender individuals, women, or same-sex couples. Roger Severino, who currently leads the HHS Office of Civil Rights, has prioritized strengthening so-called “conscience protections” for health care workers since being appointed by the administration and has a long record of opposing LGBT rights and providing transition related care to transgender patients. Read PWN’s statement condemning the creation of the new office and rule here.
Kentucky becomes first state to impose work requirements for Medicaid – 9 other states await approval
On January 11, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it would support states applying for Section 1115 experimental waivers that would allow them to create work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries. One day later, Kentucky became the first state to have its wavier approved, allowing it to require adults between the ages of 19 to 64 to complete 80 hours per month of community engagement activities, such as employment, education, job skills training, and community service to maintain their Medicaid eligibility or have their coverage suspended. In response, Medicaid beneficiaries from Kentucky have filed a lawsuit arguing that the waiver is inconsistent with the objectives of the Medicaid Act, which is to provide health care insurance to low-income people who cannot afford it. Nine other states—Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin—have also applied for the Section 1115 waivers, with mores states expected to apply.
Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights
20-week abortion ban dies in Senate
January 29, the Senate voted 51-46 and rejected an unconstitutional federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The 20-week ban passed easily in the House along party lines in October but failed to reach 60 votes necessary to proceed to vote in the Senate. Most Democrats voted against the bill with the exception of Sens. Joe Donnelly (IN), Joe Manchin (WV) and Bob Casey (PA), while Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) joined Democrats to block the legislation from advancing. With only the narrowest exceptions for protecting the life of the pregnant person and with limited exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, the legislation would have made it illegal for providers to perform or attempt abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy with a penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment.The decision by Sen. Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to bring a procedural vote on the bill to the floor was widely condemned by reproductive health, rights and justice advocates for further politicizing and attempting to obstruct safe and legal abortion access and diverting attention away from urgent policy matters like seeking a resolution for Dreamers.
Civil Rights
Texas man potentially targeted as “Black Identity Extremist”
While sleeping in the one-bedroom Dallas apartment he shared with his son in December, anti-police violence activist Christopher Daniels was raided by the FBI and later taken into custody, where he has remained since his arrest. After the culmination of the two years of surveillance, the FBI seized weapons and literature on armed resistance and racial oppression – items the government says he is prohibited from possessing due to a misdemeanor conviction in 2007. An ardent and vocal critic of law enforcement, friends and family of Daniels feel that he was targeted under the new government classification for domestic terror threats, which the FBI called “black identity extremists (BIE).”
The new classification is reportedly being used to characterize individuals “who resort to violence or unlawful activities in response to perceived racism and injustice in American society.” Though the FBI has declined to comment on Daniels’ case and whether he was surveilled as a BIE, civil rights advocates have expressed concerns about the practice of targeting Black political activism and criminalizing speech.
Department of Justice rolls back protections for incarcerated trans individuals
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards are federal rules that address how prison facilities should respond to abuse. Included in PREA are requirements that individuals be screened and assessed to determine whether they may be at risk of abuse because of their transgender status, gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, or because they are intersex. Facilities are required to use this assessment to arrange housing for individuals at risk.
However, PREA protections for people of trans experience may soon be eliminated. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a known hate group, is representing several incarcerated cisgender women at Carswell Federal Medical Center in Texas, who are arguing that it is cruel and unusual punishment to be housed with transgender women. Prison officials are currently negotiating a settlement that could result in major changes to the way people of trans experience are treated and housed in federal detention facilities. The settlement terms are expected in a few weeks.
Sessions and Trump DOJ renew federal crackdown on marijuana
Days after marijuana officially became legal in California, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that he would be repealing an Obama-era guideline known as the Cole Memo that previously shielded states with legalized marijuana from federal interference. While several states allow legalized marijuana use, it is still illegal under federal law. This reversal is consistent with Sessions’ other actions to revive the war on drugs. Until now, the Cole Memo gave federal prosecutors permission to focus their resources elsewhere and leave enforcement to the states themselves. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) have introduced a companion bill to the Marijuana Justice Act of 2017 introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) that would reform federal cannabis laws and address the impact of drug-related mass incarceration on communities of color.
Immigration Watch
Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s DACA rescission – renewals continue
January 10, a federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote that attorneys for the immigrants “have clearly demonstrated that [immigrants] are likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm,” unless the court steps in with an injunction. Under the injunction, DACA renewals can continue while courts evaluate whether the creation of DACA under the Obama administration was unlawful as asserted by the Trump DOJ.
New immigration proposal from White House holds Dreamers hostage
A memo released by the White House on January 25 indicates that Trump would be willing to provide a long-term pathway to citizenship for an estimated 1.8 million DACA-eligible immigrants, in exchange for $25 million in funding for a border wall and drastic changes to the legal immigration system, including a severe reduction in family-based immigration and an elimination of the visa lottery system. This proposal, which would keep families divided and which seeks to pit different groups of immigrants against each other, is opposed by most immigrant rights groups.
Trump ends Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadorans
January 10, the Trump administration ended temporary protected status (TPS) for 250,000 Salvadorans. TPS is granted to protect individuals from deportation when it would be unsafe for them if they were forced to return to countries that have been destabilized by armed conflict or natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security has already ended TPS for immigrants from Haiti, Sudan and Nicaragua. Many recipients of TPS from these countries have been living, working and raising families in the U.S. for decades; these countries also remain unstable. Adding to the controversy are remarks Trump allegedly made January 12 during closed-door immigration negotiations, in which he referred to Haiti and every country on the continent of Africa as “shithole countries” and said we didn’t need more immigrants from those places and should instead get more immigrants “from places like Norway,” validating the perception that these decisions around TPS are at least partly based on racism rather than an objective assessment of the countries’ current conditions.
A decision on whether the agency will extend TPS for Syria, Nepal, Honduras, Yemen and Somalia is still forthcoming.
Immigration agency loses fingerprint records, placing naturalized citizens at risk for deportation
The DOJ announced January 9 that a U.S. District Court judge for the District of New Jersey had ordered the revocation of a person’s naturalization certificate, reverting him to a lawful permanent resident and subjecting him to potential deportation. The man, Baljinder Singh, is the first person to be affected by “Operation Janus,” a joint operation by the DOJ and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The USCIS had failed to use fingerprint records effectively, and thousands granted citizenship before fingerprints were digitized may now at risk for having their citizenship revoked.
Administration scales up immigration raids, sparking fear
In further escalation of the Trump administration’s persistent attack on immigrant communities, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun raids and sting operations across the country, including on 7-11 convenience stores and Motel 6 locations. To date, ICE sweeps have been conducted in 17 states and Washington, DC. Recently, U.S. Border Patrol agents boarded a Greyhound bus in Florida to check IDs and took a woman into custody. Medical providers have reported that these ICE crackdowns are affecting access to health care for immigrants who have been skipping appointments and avoiding seeking care with unfamiliar physicians or treatment for chronic conditions for fear their personal information may be shared with authorities. The administration has also targeted immigration rights activists speaking up against the climate of intolerance and bigotry.
State Updates
Alaska ends cash bail system
January 1, an Alaska law that essentially eliminated the cash bail system in the state went into effect. Under the state’s newly created Pretrial Enforcement Division, when someone is charged with a low-level crime, a risk assessment will be conducted to determine whether they will be likely to show up to subsequent court appearances and unlikely to commit crimes while released. Secured bail bonds can only be set for those charged with violent offenses and with high-risk scores. Elimination of cash bail could help address inequity in the criminal justice system: the majority of people in jails in the US remain locked up without a trial simply because they can’t afford bail.
Florida measure to reinstate voting rights to people convicted of felonies qualifies for ballot
January 23, the Voting Restoration Amendment, which would automatically restore voting rights to Florida citizens convicted of felonies who have completed their prison sentence, parole, and probation, received enough petition signatures required to go on the ballot in Florida. Florida currently has one of the strictest felon disenfranchisement laws in the country — only Florida, Kentucky, Virginia, and Iowa permanently bar people with felony convictions from voting for life unless they seek clemency through a complicated and arbitrary process. In total, roughly 1.6 million Florida citizens are barred from casting a ballot, including over 23% of voting age African Americans. Disenfranchisement of citizens with felony convictions dates back largely to the expansion of voting rights to African Americans after the Civil War, when states, particularly in the South, enacted almost simultaneously laws targeting Black citizens and laws revoking the right to vote to those convicted. Read more about the history of felon disenfranchisement and racism here.
Maryland proposes state individual mandate
January 9, Maryland lawmakers proposed a measure that would reinstate financial penalties for those who decide to go without health coverage. Instead of collecting fines from the uninsured, the Maryland proposal would give those people the option to use their penalty money to purchase a health insurance plan. A similar approach could be taken by any state that runs its own marketplace and has a state income tax, which includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Pennsylvania governor vetoes 20-week abortion ban bill
December 18, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf vetoed a Republican backed bill that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. If it had become law, the measure would have been one of the strictest abortion laws in the country.
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