Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act

S. 3117, H.R. 5912 FY 2017 funding for the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, Funding for the Cultural Programs Division of the State Department's Office of Citizen Exchanges and Cultural Grant Program & the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (including funding for Museums Connect). S. 3155, H.R. 889 Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, S. 2763, Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act.

Client expense: $17,019 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Education, Dept of, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Interior, Dept of (DOI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Natl Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), Natl Endowment for the Arts, Natl Endowment for the Humanities, Natl Institutes of Health (NIH), Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Natl Park Service (NPS), Natl Science Foundation (NSF), SENATE, Smithsonian Institution, State, Dept of (DOS)

General lobbying with regard to proposed revisions to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence. General lobbying with regard to clarifying state and federal court jurisdiction in certain cases. General lobbying with regard to altering the requirement of complete diversity. S. 401/H.R. 758 (Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2015); amends Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to make sanctions mandatory. Lobbying with regard to federal judicial selection generally, including the Supreme Court of the United States, and with specific regard to the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Merrick Garland. H.R. 2304 (SPEAK FREE Act of 2015); Amends the federal judicial code to allow a person against whom a lawsuit is asserted to file a special motion to dismiss claims referred to as strategic lawsuits against public participation ("SLAPP suits") that arise from an oral or written statement or other expression, or conduct in furtherance of such expression, by the defendant in connection with an official proceeding or about a matter of public concern. H.R. 5111 (Consumer Review Fairness Act); prohibits the use of certain clauses in form contracts that restrict the ability of a consumer to communicate regarding the goods or services offered in interstate commerce that were the subject of the contract. H.R. 2110/S. 2044 (Consumer Review Freedom Act); prohibits the use of certain clauses in form contracts that restrict the ability of a consumer to communicate regarding the goods or services that were the subject of the contract. H.R. 384/H.R. 3279 (Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act); amends titles 5 and 28, United States Code, to require annual reports to Congress on, and the maintenance of databases on, awards of fees and other expenses to prevailing parties in certain administrative proceedings and court cases to which the United States is a party. H.R. 2336/S.__ (Sunshine in Litigation Act); amends Chapter 111 of Title 28, United States Code, relating to protective orders, sealing of cases, disclosures of discovery information in civil actions, and for other purposes. H.R. 2110/S. 2044 (Consumer Review Freedom Act); prohibits contracts that prohibit consumers from making certain public comments on businesses. General lobbying with regard to regulatory reform issues. H.R. 185 (Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015); amends the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), which is the law that governs how federal agencies propose and establish regulations. S. 226/ H.R. 427 (REINS Act); provides that major rules of the executive branch shall have no force or effect unless a joint resolution of approval is enacted into law. S. 543/H.R. 1029 (EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015); amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to revise the process of selecting members of the Science Advisory Board, guidelines for participation in Board advisory activities, and terms of office. H.R. 1927 (Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015); amends the federal judicial code to prohibit federal courts from certifying any proposed class unless the party seeking to maintain a class action affirmatively demonstrates through admissible evidentiary proof that each proposed class member suffered an injury of the same type and extent as the injury of the named class representatives. S. 1113; amends title 28, United States Code, to remand certain civil actions transferred by the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation. H.R. 1579 (ALERT Act of 2015); amends title 5, united States Code, to provide for the publication, by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, of information relating to rulemakings H.R. 2648/S. 1109 (Truth in Settlements Act of 2015); requires adequate information regarding the tax treatment of payments under settlement agreements entered into by Federal agencies. General lobbying with regard to settlement disclosures. S. 1607 (Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act of 2015); authorizes the President to require an independent regulatory agency to: (1) comply, to the extent permitted by law, with regulatory analysis requirements applicable to other federal agencies; (2) publish and provide the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs with an assessment of the costs and benefits of a proposed or final economically significant rule and an assessment of costs and benefits of alternatives to the rule; and (3) submit to the Office for review any proposed or final economically significant rule. S. 708 (Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015); Requires the Commission to evaluate and make recommendations and propose legislation for modification, consolidation, or repeal of regulations that have been finalized not later than 10 years before the establishment of the Commission (covered regulations) for the purpose of reducing compliance costs, encouraging growth and innovation, improving competitiveness, and protecting public safety. S. 1820 (Early Participation in Regulations Act); requires agencies to publish an advance notice of proposed rule making for major rules. S. 1818 (Principled Rulemaking Act); amends title 5, United States Code, to reform the rule making process of agencies. S. 1817 (Smarter Regs Act of 2015); implements retrospective review of major rules. H.R. 3624 (Fraudulent Joinder Prevention Act of 2015); amends title 28, United States Code, to prevent fraudulent joinder. Lobbying with regard to factoring and structured settlements. H.R. 712 (Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act); creates new requirements for civil actions seeking to compel agency actions. H.R. 1155 (SCRUB Act); creates new requirements for agencies when making a new rule, creates a regulatory oversight commission. S. 2006 (Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015); reforms the process by which Federal agencies analyze and formulate new regulations and guidance documents. H.R. 4768 (Separation of Powers Restoration Act); modifies the scope of judicial review of agency actions to authorize courts reviewing agency actions to decide de novo all relevant questions of law, including the interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions and rules. H.R. 4612 (Midnight Rule Relief Act of 2016); prohibits some federal agencies from proposing or finalizing any midnight rule unless the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs finds that such a rule will not result in: (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices; (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete internationally; or (4) a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses. H.R. 5063 (Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016); prohibits government officials from entering into a settlement agreement resolving a civil action on behalf of the United States, or from enforcing such a settlement agreement, if that agreement requires a donation to be made to any person by any party (other than the United States) to such agreement. S. 3446/H.R. 3765 (ADA Education and Reform Act of 2015); amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to promote compliance through education, to clarify the requirements for demand letters, to provide for a notice and cure period before the commencement of a private civil action. H.R. 241 (ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to Stores and Services (ACCESS) Act of 2015); amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to prohibit an aggrieved person from commencing a civil action for discrimination based on the failure to remove a structural barrier to entry into an existing public accommodation unless the owner or operator of such accommodation: (1) is provided a written notice specific enough to identify such barrier; and (2) has, within specified time periods, either failed to provide the aggrieved person with a written description outlining improvements that will be made to remove such barrier or provided such description and failed to remove such barrier. H.R. 4719 (Correcting Obstructions to Mediate, Prevent, and Limit Inaccessibility (COMPLI) Act); amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to prohibit persons aggrieved by certain public accommodation violations from commencing a civil action for discrimination unless they: (1) provide the owner or operator of the accommodation with a written notice that is specific enough to identify the violation; (2) specify in the notice that the owner or operator has 90 days to remove or correct the violation before an action will be brought; and (3) refrain from sending demand letters, requests for settlement, or other communications to the owner or operator during such 90-day period. General lobbying with respect to diversity jurisdiction and potential changes to the jurisdiction rules. S. 3155/H.R. 889 (Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act); to amend chapter 97 of title 28, United States Code, to clarify the exception to foreign sovereign immunity set forth in section 1605(a)(3) of such title) S. 2763/H.R. 6130 (Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016); to provide the victims of Holocaust-era persecution and their heirs a fair opportunity to recover works of art confiscated or misappropriated by the Nazis.

Client expense: $1,150,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Education, Dept of, Executive Office of the President (EOP), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Office of Management & Budget (OMB), Office of the Vice President of the United States, SENATE

Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (HR 889/S 3155)

Client expense: $20,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE, State, Dept of (DOS)