News and Issues

"First, the Department published model legislation to help states craft appropriate requirements for securing firearms kept in residences and vehicles and to ensure that those firearms do not fall into the hands of children, teens, and prohibited persons. Second, the Department published model legislation to help states craft appropriate requirements for the prompt reporting of lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement. The resources for states announced today follow model legislation on extreme risk protection orders first published by the Justice Department in June 2021. Wednesday, December 13, 2023" more »

- On Tuesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will consider several bills, including S. 1840, a bill to reauthorize and improve the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program for FY 2024 through 2028. Hearings: Judiciary - On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee will hold a hearing, “Second Amendment Rights Empower Women’s Rights.” Military - On Tuesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations with hold a hearing to examine Coast Guard Academy whistleblowers, focusing on stories of sexual assault and harassment. The House and Senate are in session. Health- The House will consider H.R. 3226, the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early more »

"Attorney General Garland provided updates on the Department’s work over the past year on issues unique to Tribal communities and how the Department’s broader work is taking into account Tribal interests. In his remarks, he announced that the U.S. Marshals Service has developed a legislative proposal to formalize its role in enforcing Tribal violent felony arrest warrants, which would expand the practice that the Marshals Service has piloted over the last year to serve Tribal warrants at the request of, and in close coordination with, Tribal law enforcement and the Department’s Office of Tribal Justice." more »

"As of this year, commercial insurers have enticed just over half of all Medicare beneficiaries — or nearly 31 million people — to sign up for their plans instead of traditional Medicare. The plans typically include drug coverage as well as extras like vision and dental benefits, many at low or even zero additional monthly premiums compared with traditional Medicare. But even as enrollment soars, so too has friction between insurers and the doctors and hospitals they pay to care for beneficiaries. Increasingly, according to experts who watch insurance markets, hospital and medical groups are bristling at payment rates Medicare Advantage plans impose and at what they say are onerous requirements for preapproval to deliver care and too many after-the-fact denials of claims." more »