Pressure is increasing on the Biden Administration to release the delayed Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to protect workers from COVID-related risks. On April 26, Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Rashida Tlaib...more
4/30/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Educational Institutions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
OMB ,
OSHA ,
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) ,
State Attorneys General ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
As President Biden’s first executive orders demonstrate, climate change is now at the heart of the federal environmental policy agenda. Outside of government, there’s a growing momentum among private companies to focus on and...more
On April 21, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation held a hearing entitled “Prepare for Takeoff: America’s Safe Return to Air Travel.” The...more
4/23/2021
/ Airlines ,
Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Inspector General ,
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Price-Fixing ,
State Attorneys General
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released documents showing President Trump’s political appointees discussing their efforts to exert influence over the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines and reports to more...more
4/16/2021
/ Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Indictments ,
OSHA ,
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) ,
Presidential Nominations ,
SIGPR ,
Trump Administration ,
Virus Testing
As part of its ongoing investigation into pandemic-related government contracts entered into by the Trump Administration, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released documents that offer a real-time look...more
4/9/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fraud ,
Fraud Abuse and Waste ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Price Gouging ,
Public Contracts ,
SIGPR ,
Small Business ,
Trump Administration ,
Vaccinations
It’s been an eventful week for the marijuana industry. After years of false starts, New York legalized the use of recreational marijuana on March 31 - just hours later, New Mexico legislators passed a bill to do the same....more
4/5/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Financial Institutions ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Mexico ,
New Legislation ,
Recreational Use ,
SAFE Act ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Revenues
With President Donald Trump’s departure from office and the inauguration of President Joe Biden comes the prospect of major shifts in the relationship between the United States and Mexico. President Biden has taken immediate...more
WilmerHale podcast co-host and Partner John Walsh welcomes Partner Jason Chipman, who moderates a discussion between fellow WilmerHale lawyer Matthew Ferraro and special guest Nina Schick on “deepfakes”—using synthetic media...more
A pesar de los impactos de la pandemia del COVID-19, 2020 fue un año activo no solo para la aplicación de la Ley de Prácticas Corruptas Extranjeras (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FCPA), sino también para la lucha contra la...more
3/29/2021
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Argentina ,
Brazil ,
Central America ,
Colombia ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Latin America ,
Mexico ,
Paraguay ,
Peru ,
Petrobras ,
Statutory Penalties ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was an active year for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement - and anti-corruption enforcement more generally. Enforcement actions related to Latin America played...more
3/29/2021
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Argentina ,
Brazil ,
Central America ,
Colombia ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Latin America ,
Mexico ,
Paraguay ,
Peru ,
Petrobras ,
Statutory Penalties ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
As part of an ongoing investigation into a “failed” $35 million contract to provide six million N95 masks to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Chair James Clyburn...more
3/25/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Nursing Homes ,
OSHA ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs
On March 10, Mexico’s amended Electricity Industry Law entered into force, introducing preferences for the Mexican state-owned utility, Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), with respect to the supply of electricity to the...more
3/19/2021
/ CPTPP ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Energy Sector ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investors ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Power Grid ,
Public Utility ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Utilities Sector
On March 15, the SBA Office of the Inspector General published a report identifying $692 million in duplicate PPP loans. This confirmed earlier findings made by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in...more
3/18/2021
/ Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Fraud ,
Inspector General ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Price Gouging ,
SIGPR ,
State Attorneys General ,
Trump Administration ,
Wire Fraud
Republican leaders urged their House Democrat counterparts to hold a joint hearing regarding the undercounting of COVID-19 deaths in New York nursing homes. The letter was signed by Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Cathy...more
3/12/2021
/ Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Nursing Homes ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Wire Fraud
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis launched an investigation into One Medical’s COVID-19 vaccine-distribution practices. In a letter, Subcommittee Chair James Clyburn (D-SC) highlighted the need for...more
3/5/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Capital Requirements ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fraud ,
Nursing Homes ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Vaccinations
On February 19, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis held a video briefing on ensuring equity in coronavirus vaccinations. In a press release, the Subcommittee identified the following takeaways from the...more
2/26/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Congressional Committees ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement ,
Eviction ,
Fraud ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
State Attorneys General ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Vaccinations
On her first day as Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said she would ask the FTC to look into N95 mask fraud, including 1.9 million counterfeits shipped to...more
2/19/2021
/ Amazon ,
CARES Act ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Counterfeiting ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Identity Theft ,
Indictments ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
State Attorneys General ,
Workplace Safety
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis sent letters to the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services summarizing initial results of the panel’s investigation into the previous administration’s...more
House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Chair James Clyburn (D-SC) released a statement following a new report from the Government Accountability Office on the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report...more
2/5/2021
/ Attorney General ,
Biden Administration ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Congressional Reports ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Fraud ,
GAO ,
Information Reports ,
OSHA ,
SIGPR
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the House is planning to bring a coronavirus relief bill to a vote the first week of February. On the Senate side, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he aims to secure passage of the...more
President Biden will seek quick Senate approval of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan. The package includes more than $400 billion to combat the pandemic directly, including money to...more
With the Biden Administration set to take over, COVID-19 priorities are expected to change. To assist with identifying and anticipating the Administration’s priorities, we outline below the Administration’s key initiatives....more
1/19/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
FEMA ,
Government Investigations ,
Public Private Partnerships (P3s) ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Relief Measures ,
Small Business ,
State and Local Government ,
USAID ,
Vaccinations ,
World Health Organization
Congress has been focused this past week on the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and the 232-197 vote to impeach President Trump for a second time, on a charge of “incitement of insurrection.” Meanwhile,...more
WilmerHale Partner Louis Tompros and Counsel Stephanie Lin discuss the Pepe the Frog copyright infringement case with host John Walsh. Louis, Stephanie and a team from WilmerHale assisted Matt Furie, the creator of Pepe the...more
On December 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to approve a Final Rule requiring companies to annually disclose information about payments they made to the U.S. government or any foreign government...more