Random Excerpts

In fact, it was only a few years ago, in Masterpiece Cakeshop, that the government acknowledged the constitutional problems involved in compelling artists to speak government-favored messages. In that case, the United States acknowledged “a basic First Amendment principle that ‘freedom of speech prohibits the government from telling people what they must say.’””°° The department had it right when it argued that the government may not “compel the dissemination of its own preferred message,” because the First Amendment protects the “individual freedom of mind.”®’ It was also correct when it argued that “[a]n artist cannot be forced to paint, a musician cannot be forced to play, and a poet cannot be forced to write.”°* The United States’ directly contrary position in 303 Creative is hard to explain based on anything other than its support for the message the State of Colorado was attempting to compel.

Statutorily restricting eligibility for first-time homebuyers and abandoning the affirmative obligation authorities erected for the single-family housing programs across federal agencies and government-sponsored enterprises.”

OMS leads the agency’s core mission support functions to improve efficiency, coordination, and customer experience for internal customers, stakeholders, and the public, including protection of EPA’s facilities and other critical assets nationwide, acquisition activities (contracts), grants management, human capital, information technology, and information management activities.

• Restrict HHS’s ability to declare indefinite public health emergencies (PHEs). Currently, HHS is merely required to notify Congress of sucha declaration within 48 hours. Congress should establish a set time frame for any PHE, placing on the Secretary the burden of proof as to why an extension of the PHE is necessary.

• Commence a new agency rulemaking process to rescind the current Administration’s Title [IX regulations; restore the Title IX regulations promulgated by then-Secretary Betsy DeVos on May 19, 2020; and define “sex” under Title IX to mean only biological sex recognized at birth.

With such reforms, the supporting office (previously the OASH and OSG) would be better equipped than other HHS offices or agencies to reduce silos and consolidate or eliminate duplicative functions. Congress should consider legislation that would require this office to take such actions or at least make such recommendations to the Secretary. Such legislation would require a thorough analysis of the various legal authorities impacting the department’s current organizational structure.

Remove restrictions on physician-owned hospitals. The Affordable Care Act (ACA)* imposed restrictions prohibiting Medicare from reimbursing physician-owned and specialty hospitals. The current restrictions do little more than serve the special interests of large hospital systems and undercut consumer choice of high-quality, specialty care. These restrictions should be removed so that physician-owned hospitals can compete with other hospitals in serving Medicare patients.”°

PLGHA requires foreign NGOs, as a condition of receiving assistance, to agree not to perform or actively promote abortions as a method of family planning in foreign countries. Previous pro-life Presidents beginning with Ronald Reagan applied these conditions to family planning assistance, but President Trump for the first time expanded the Mexico City Policy to protect “global health assistance furnished by all departments or agencies” (estimated to be $8.8 billion annually).

The Space Executive’s design reflects the original design principles of the ODNI. The ODNI was explicitly not designed to be a departmental headquarters with command and control of the 18 agencies’ vast bureaucracies. Rather, it was designed to be small and lightweight with a mission to coordinate and integrate the critical activities of the IC’s 18 agencies without creating new bureaucracy. That goal should remain in force, and calls by outside entities or Congress to add new centers and layers should be rejected.

Congress should make the Department of Defense (DOD) a CFIUS co-chair with the Department of Treasury. Making DOD an official CFIUS co-chair along with Treasury will establish a balanced committee process by elevating national security interests to an equal stature. The committee is currently imbalanced toward the interests of corporate America because Treasury is the sole chair of CFIUS and, in practice, runs a process that is not fully transparent and which biases it from the national security interests represented by DOD and the Intelligence Community (IC).