United States Senate Committee Research Articles

Addressing the Marketing Practices of Medicare Advantage Plans.

The Medicare Advantage (MA) Program, home to nearly half of the eligible Medicare population, has recently come under increased scrutiny. Recent investigations conducted by the United States Senate Committee on Finance and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have uncovered marketing practices of MA insurance agents that "were not complying with current regulation and unduly pressuring beneficiaries, as well as failing to provide accurate or enough information to assist a beneficiary in making an informed enrollment decision." These findings come at a time in which MA programs are under investigation for denials of prior authorization requests that fall within Medicare guidelines for covered health services. In this Commentary we consider the backdrop for the growing scrutiny of the MA program and the implications thereof to its future trajectory.

Increasing the Agricultural Infrastructure and Technology of Somalia

The purpose of this policy proposal is to address the food and water insecurity that the entire nation of Somalia is experiencing in order to secure the United States’ national interests in the region of The Horn of Africa. I urge Bob Menendez, the chairman of The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, to consider my recommendations to tackle this systemic issue in the fragile state of Somalia because this foreign aid will save millions from severe malnutrition and dehydration, while weakening terrorist organizations in the region at the same time. My policy recommendation to tackle this issue are to increase foreign aid to Somalia in the way of developing water infrastructure countrywide.

Written Testimony of Maurice E. Stucke, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, Hearing on “Examining Competition and Consumer Rights in Housing Markets” Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 2:30 P.M.

Written Testimony of Maurice E. Stucke, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, Hearing on “Examining Competition and Consumer Rights in Housing Markets” Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 2:30 P.M.

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health.

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health.

Are Reforms to Section 1201 Needed and Warranted? Responses to Questions for the Record from the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property

This is a written response to Chairman Tillis, Senator Blumenthal, and Senator Grassley, expanding on the initial testimony at https://ssrn.com/abstract=3694085.

Are Reforms to Section 1201 Needed and Warranted? Testimony Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property

This testimony recounts: 1. The wide array of ordinary people affected by Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in their efforts to engage in noninfringing activities; 2. The chilling, burdensome nature of the regulatory process with which they must engage in the triennial review; and 3. Suggested approaches to reforming Section 1201.

Testimony of Nakita Q. Cuttino Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law Before The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

This document is the written testimony of Nakita Q. Cuttino for the June 30, 2020, hearing Digitization of Money and Payments by the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. This testimony examines the existing and potential consumer risks posed by time and access frictions in the U.S. payments system. Specifically, these frictions have long been exploited in the marketplace by service providers like payday lenders and check cashers with deleterious effects on millions of Americans. Emerging financial technology, or fintech, services like early wage access programs demonstrate that these frictions will continue to be exploited in a digital economy. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to resolve these time and access frictions to improve consumer welfare. The testimony explains why a public banking option with existing payments infrastructure will most effectively serve the aims of financial inclusion in the immediate future.

Testimony and Follow-Up Responses, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Hearing on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act at 22: How Other Countries Are Handling Online Piracy

This testimony was given to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property as part of its Hearing on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act at 22: How Other Countries Are Handling Online Piracy. In it I first briefly describe the goals and trade-offs inherent in any intermediary liability law; then describe the DMCA’s place in the global landscape of intermediary liability laws; then discuss concerns about filtering proposals and the recently enacted Article 17 of the EU’s Digital Single Market (DSM) Directive. The document also includes follow-up responses to additional questions from Senators Tillis, Coons, and Blumenthal submitted on April 14, 2020.

Turn-taking and the structural legitimization of bias: The case of the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing by the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

This paper offers an analysis of the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, with particular attention to the role of the Committee chairperson within this procedural infrastructure—an infrastructure that, we argue, systematically provides for and thereby implicitly legitimizes the insertion of bias in its proceedings, while nonetheless orienting to an ideology of fairness based on time limits for speaking. Focusing on the linguistic and interactional mechanisms through which chairpersons may use the ‘interstitial spaces’ that emerge within such hearings, we conclude that the structural privileges afforded to partisan chairpersons can compromise the Committee's ability to reach impartial and unbiased conclusions in its investigations, and we offer recommendations with regard to how this might be resolved.

Testimony Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on the Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

Professor Rebecca Ingber testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee as it considered the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Her testimony focused on Judge Kavanaugh's national security and international law jurisprudence, in particular, the court's role in considering international law constraints on the President's war powers, and the potential effects of this judicial approach on executive power.

Enhancing Investor Protection and the Regulation of Securities Markets

This is the congressional testimony of Professor John C. Coffee, Jr., before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

What's at Stake for Tribes? – The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel Opinion on Internet Gaming, Testimony of Dean Kevin K. Washburn, Oversight Hearing Before the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, 112th Congress, Second Session

The recent opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel has created a lot of activity after years of uncertainty about the legality of Internet gaming in the United States. Internet gaming poses a threat of unknown magnitude to brick and mortar casinos, including Indian casinos. Because internet activities are difficult to regulate across state boundaries and national uniformity is likely to be more effective and more efficient than multiple state regulatory structures, Congress should federalize the regulation of Internet gaming. Congress should, however, consider the important role that Indian gaming has had in lifting the socioeconomic status of Indian people and improving the self-governance and self-sufficiency of Indian nations. Congress must insure that Indian tribes have an equal opportunity to be part of the future of Internet gaming.

Testimony on Law Enforcement in Indian Country before the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, 110th Congress, 1st Session (June 21, 2007)

Public safety and criminal justice on Indian reservations are better served when Indian tribes play a central role in these functions. Most of the successes of law enforcement in Indian country have involved careful cooperation and coordination between law enforcement agencies of different sovereigns. Even informal cooperation can be highly effective in improving public safety. Lack of cooperation undermines public safety.

Statement of Professor Sharon K. Sandeen Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on 'Protecting Trade Secrets: The Impact of Trade Secret Theft on American Competitiveness and Potential Solutions to Remedy this Harm.'

This is formal testimony given by Professor Sandeen before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary regarding the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA).

Written Testimony of David K. Min Before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, 'Housing Finance Reform: Developing a Smooth Plan for Transition'

This testimony analyzes the transition proposed by S. 1217, the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013, proposed by Sens. Corker (R-TN) and Warner (D-VA), and identifies six issues that need to be addressed for a successful transition: (1) the development of a common securitization platform and single security; (2) achieving liquidity for the new MBS contemplated by Corker-Warner; (3) responsibly reducing conforming loan limits; (4) ensuring the continued flow of mortgage finance for underserved market segments; (5) attracting sufficient and appropriately priced capital into the new system; and (6) maintaining sources of countercyclical liquidity. Such a transition would be the largest such undertaking in history, and one that, to the best of my knowledge, has no close precedents. Fannie and Freddie currently hold slightly more than $5 trillion in mortgage-related assets. Since the sudden and steep decline in private mortgage finance that occurred in 2008, the two enterprises have been responsible for more than 60% of the new mortgage originations, about $1.7 trillion each year, an amount equivalent to slightly more than 10% of our nation’s annual gross domestic product. The federal government has some experience in resolving failed institutions — recently, the government’s interactions with AIG and General Motors come to mind, and before that, we had the experience of the Resolution Trust Company in resolving hundreds of failed thrifts. But I can think of no instance in which we have tried to simultaneously resolve large failed institutions and transition their core economic functions into a newly created set of institutions, certainly not on the scale imagined by Corker-Warner. The guiding principle for legislators and regulators who are structuring our housing finance transition must first and foremost be, “Do no harm.” Avoiding the disruption of mortgage liquidity, either systemwide or in individual market segments, should be a paramount concern during this period. A failure to adhere to this principle would be catastrophic for the housing markets and the broader economy.I suggest a number of changes to Corker-Warner's transition plan: (1) delegate more responsibility to regulators and remove arbitrary timetables; (2) phase in the transition in parts (such as starting with the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage or high cost conforming loans), rather than all at once; (3) convert legacy securities into the new MBS created under Corker-Warner; (4) pre-approve these new MBS for use in the To Be Announced Market and as collateral for Fed lending, repo markets and derivatives transactions to increase liquidity; (5) give a running start to institutions focused on underserved markets (particularly affordable rental housing); and (6) prove expanded emergency powers to create sources of countercyclical liquidity.

Improving Health Outcomes Through Education

By the time you read this message, it will have been several months since its submission to the publisher; however, I feel that it is important to keep American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) members and colleagues abreast of several issues affecting the Academy's membership and the patients we treat. As many of you may know, the AAPM received a letter in May from Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Finance, and Senator Charles Grassley who also serves on this committee. The letter requested information regarding the relationship between opioid manufacturers and nonprofit health care organizations. Similar letters were also sent to several other entities. AAPM made immediate contact with Senator Baucus' staff and gave assurance of AAPM's support of the committee's efforts, as well as underscoring our commitment to addressing the problem of prescription drug abuse and misuse as well …

Statement of Alex T. Skibine United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing on the US Justice Department Opinion on Internet Gaming: What is at Stake for Tribes

Statement of Alex T. Skibine United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing on the US Justice Department Opinion on Internet Gaming: What is at Stake for Tribes

ETFs and the Present Danger to Capital Formation

Prepared Testimony by Harold Bradley and Robert E. Litan before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investments.

Prepared Statement of Professor Mike Koehler Before the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary - 'Examining Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act'

This prepared statement was in connection with my November 30, 2010 testimony before the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary in a hearing titled, Examining Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The following topics are covered: Congressional intent in enacting the FCPA; why FCPA has changed; the impact of the new era of FCPA enforcement; the prosecution of individuals; and FCPA and deterrence.Despite being a fundamentally sound statute, the FCPA is being enforced in this new era of FCPA enforcement in many fundamentally unsound ways. The issue is not whether FCPA is good or bad for any one constituency, but whether the DOJ is enforcing, in many instances, the FCPA consistent with its provisions and consistent with Congressional intent. The issue is also whether the DOJ''s rhetoric is consistent with its conduct in prosecuting the most egregious instances of corporate bribery so that FCPA deters and not yield inconsistent results and two tiers of justice. These are the issues that need to be examined and the time to examine these issues is now.

Fiduciary Duties of Investment Bankers: Senate Testimony – May 4, 2010

This testimony before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs focuses on two issues: to what extent should investment bankers have fiduciary duties to investors? And should there be criminal liability for willful breach of these duties? The testimony concludes that these duties are the wrong tool for dealing with any problems that might exist in the investment banking industry. Fiduciary duties are an amorphous concept which courts and commentators have applied in many different forms to many different types of conduct. Applying these duties to investment bankers would cast a potentially wide net over not only bad conduct but also conduct that should be viewed as clearly legitimate. Moreover, even under a narrow view of these duties, they are inappropriate for most aspects of investment banking. These problems with fiduciary duties would be significantly exacerbated by imposing criminal liability for their breach.