In a rare move, the Securities & Exchange Commission has assessed penalties against a political intelligence firm for failing to adopt adequate policies to prevent the flow of inside governmental information to the firm’s clients. The enforcement action is particularly noteworthy because all the factual allegations took place in 2010, before Congress passed the STOCK
November 2015
This Week in Congress – November 30, 2015
Congress returns after the week-long Thanksgiving break looking to complete its business for the year and adjourn by December 11. Much work still needs to be done in order to allow members to achieve that goal.
The December 11 date is when the current short-term funding for the federal government expires thereby requiring that a…
Thanksgiving Treat: Executive Branch Gift Rules in for Rewrite
As the nation looks forward to giving thanks with family and friends, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) will be proposing revisions to regulations that specify when employees of the federal executive branch must say, “No, thanks.” These changes are only proposals at this time and have not yet taken effect. Many of the changes…
What’s New in the TPP’s Intellectual Property Chapter
Note: This post is the third in a series of posts on the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by Covington’s International and Public Policy lawyers. The final TPP text, which was released on November 5, 2015, is available here. TPP is not expected to enter into force until at least 2016, with…
FEC Provides Some Answers To Candidates and Super PACs
Last week the Federal Election Commission (FEC) took incremental steps toward defining the rules for those considering becoming a candidate and how candidates interact with Super PACs. FEC AO 2015-09 (Senate Majority PAC and House Majority PAC). As expected, the agency could not reach consensus on most of the legal issues raised, but it did…
Ninth Circuit Hears FTC’s Throttling Case Against AT&T
Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit heard oral argument in AT&T’s appeal of a lower court decision to not dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) complaint alleging that AT&T misled consumers by limiting its “unlimited” data plan for mobile customers.
As we previously reported, in October 2014 the FTC filed a complaint alleging that…
Kenyan Government Disavows Controversial Local Ownership Requirement
The Kenyan government has suspended a controversial local ownership requirement in the new Companies Act 2015. The confusion regarding how the provision made its way into the law is unsettling for foreign companies that are interested in one of the region’s top investment destinations.
Regarded as an overdue modernization of Kenya’s company and insolvency laws,…
Health Care Providers Continue to Lag Behind Patient Demand for Digital Communications
While Americans continue the trend towards replacing the traditional phone call with email and texts, health care providers have yet to catch on when interacting with their patients. A recent survey by Nielsen Strategic Health Perspectives found that less than a third of Americans have access to digital communications with their physicians:
The survey found…
What’s the Deal with Low Oil Prices?
The International Energy Agency (IEA)’s latest monthly market report, published on November 13, 2015, revealed that the already “massive cushion” of oil stockpiles has inflated further to reach a record level of almost 3 billion barrels. Following the announcement, oil prices reportedly dropped to a two-month low.
The IEA described this stockpile as “an…
The Pitfalls of Changing a Pending Proposal
As acquisition timelines become increasingly protracted, contractors face the thorny question of if, when and how to advise a procuring agency of changes affecting an already submitted proposal. In a series of decisions, the Government Accountability Office has held that contractors must inform the procuring agency of any “material change” to a proposal that occurs…