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ACUS Announces Appointment of New Senior Fellow

Posted on September 27, 2012 by admin-acus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Megan Kindelan
202-480-2091
mkindelan@acus.gov

ACUS Announces Appointment of New Senior Fellow
Senior Fellows Now Number 30

Washington, D.C., September 27, 2012 – The Administrative Conference of the United States today announced the appointment of a new Senior Fellow, Judge John M. Walker Jr.

Judge Walker is a Senior Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and was formerly a Special Counsel for the Conference from 1987-1992.

“I am honored to welcome Judge Walker back to ACUS,” said Paul R. Verkuil, Conference Chairman.  “His distinguished legal background and reputation in the field will be invaluable to the Conference as we work to improve federal administrative processes.”

Before being appointed to the Second Circuit, Judge Walker was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  He has been a Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School since 2000; an Adjunct Professor at NYU Law School; and a Director and on the faculty of NYU Law School’s Institute of Judicial Administration and Appellate Judges Seminar.  Judge Walker has also been a Director of the U.S. Association of Constitutional Law since 1997.

Senior Fellows, who are appointed by the Chairman with approval by the Conference’s presidentially appointed Council, serve for two-year terms and may be reappointed.

About ACUS

The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector with diverse views and backgrounds.  With the exception of the Chairman, all Conference Members are unpaid.

The Conference is committed to promoting effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process by leveraging interactive technologies and encouraging open communication with the public, making improvements to the regulatory process by reducing unnecessary litigation, and improving the use of science and the effectiveness of applicable laws. Learn more at www.acus.gov.

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Remembering Russell E. Train for improving federal decision-making

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Tatham

Earlier this week, on Sept. 17, 2012, America lost one of its great conservationists and administrative lawyers—Russell E. Train.  Mr. Train had a long history of government service that began in the halls of Congress in 1949, where he was an Attorney, Chief Counsel, and Minority Advisor on various Congressional Committees.  In 1956, Mr. Train moved to the Department of Treasury where he headed the Legal Advisory Staff.  By 1957, he had earned a seat on the bench of the U.S. Tax Court, where he served as a judge until 1965.

Mr. Train left public service in 1965, but not for long.  In 1968, Mr. Train was elected Chair of President Nixon’s Task Force on the Environment.  At the same time, he served as President of the Conservation Foundation and worked with the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs to hire Lynton Keith Caldwell to assist in developing the legislation that became the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  After NEPA’s enactment, as well as a year of service as Undersecretary at the Department of Interior, Mr. Train was chosen by President Nixon to serve as the first chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality.  There, he oversaw the early implementation of NEPA.

It didn’t take long for administrative law scholars to realize the benefits that the law Mr. Train helped pioneer brought to the administrative decision-making process.  On March 7, 1972, then Chairman of the Administrative Conference Roger C. Cramton, accompanied by then Research Director Richard Berg, testified to the Senate Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs and Public Works regarding The Effect of NEPA on Decision-Making by Federal Administrative Agencies.  Chairman Cramton (speaking personally rather than on behalf of the Conference) testified that NEPA is an “important success story” for “nudging and pushing Federal agencies toward a more constructive and rational position in balancing environmental considerations with other values. . . .  We all know that there is a tendency of each agency to become absorbed in its own mission, its own special constituency, that tends to limit its perspective and its breadth of view.”  He praised the law for creating “more thoughtful, more informed decisionmaking by Federal agencies.”

In a 2010 preamble to the Environmental Law Institute’s tribute to NEPA after 40 years, NEPA Success Stories, Mr. Train commented that “NEPA democratized decisionmaking” and modestly chose to recognize the importance of “the many federal employees and citizens who have applied the law over these decade”[1]  It is for his contributions to this pioneering and important process to improve federal decision-making, and for his own public service, that we remember Russell Train today.


[1] Environmental Law Institute, NEPA Success Stories 3 (2010).  Available at: http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa_information/NEPA_Success_Stories.pdf.

*This article is not an official communication from the Administrative Conference of the United States, nor does the Conference express any views  on the National Environmental Policy Act or any of the testimony referenced in this article.

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Judge Patricia McGowan Wald Steps Down from ACUS Council

Posted on September 12, 2012 by admin-acus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Megan Kindelan
202-480-2091
mkindelan@acus.gov

Judge Patricia McGowan Wald Steps Down from ACUS Council
Reflects on Time Spent as a Council Member

Washington, D.C., September 12, 2012 – The Administrative Conference of the United States today announced that Judge Patricia McGowan Wald has resigned as a member of the presidentially-appointed Council due to her Senate confirmation as a member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

“My two years on the Council have certainly been among the most satisfactory parts of my public career,” said Wald, who previously served for 20 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, including five years as Chief Judge.

Wald credited the “extraordinarily collegial atmosphere” among the 10 other council members, the leadership of Conference Chairman Paul R. Verkuil, and the hard work of ACUS staff  as key reasons the Conference has been successful.

Wald also recognized the work of the 40 public and 50 private members of the Conference, who “donated hundreds of hours to reform the administrative process.”

“Everyone at the Conference worked especially hard during the last two years to ensure that we had a credible and substantial work product,” Wald said.  “I think we certainly accomplished that and I know the agency’s terrific record will continue into the future.”

Conference Chairman Verkuil said that Wald’s keen insights and analysis of recommendations will be greatly missed.  “We have been honored to have Judge Wald serve on the Council. Her preparation and careful analysis ensured that each recommendation we adopted was of the highest quality and usefulness to regulators, government agencies, and the public,” said Verkuil.  “Her reputation in the field of administrative law is unmatched.”

Wald said one of the Conference’s greatest accomplishments was its “willingness to tackle, and I think to significantly contribute to, the improvement of agency operations in some of the most vexing and controversial regulatory areas such as immigration, government contractors and international regulator cooperation.”

Wald also stated one key indicator of the Conference’s success is that government agencies have adopted many of the recommendations passed by the full Conference membership.

“One of the goals of ACUS is to inquire from the agencies and from non-governmental sources to see what some of the trickiest areas of agency practice are that perhaps the agencies themselves do not always have the time or resources to inquire deeply into,” added Wald.  “ACUS performs a valuable service by then researching and finding solutions to these issues.”

The Conference has adopted more than 200 recommendations aimed at improving Federal regulatory practices and procedures, including 14 new recommendations since its revival two years ago.

About ACUS

The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector with diverse views and backgrounds.  With the exception of the Chairman, all Conference Members are unpaid.

The Conference is committed to promoting effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process by leveraging interactive technologies and encouraging open communication with the public, making improvements to the regulatory process by reducing unnecessary litigation, and improving the use of science and the effectiveness of applicable laws. Learn more at www.acus.gov.

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GAO Characterizes HHS Information Memorandum as a “Rule” for Purposes of the CRA

Posted on September 12, 2012 by reeve

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recent decision to consider waivers of the welfare work requirements, in addition to drawing considerable attention from political candidates and the media, has also raised a very interesting question of administrative procedure: the definition of “rule” under the Congressional Review Act (CRA).

On July 12, 2012, HHS issued an Information Memorandum that notified states of HHS’s willingness to waive certain provisions of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program that require states to ensure that TANF recipients engage in work activities.  Invoking its waiver authority under section 1115 of the Social Security Act, HHS informed states that it would allow them to test various strategies designed to improve employment outcomes for program participants.  Though HHS informally notified certain members of Congress of this change, it did not formally submit the rule to Congress pursuant to the CRA, contending that the Information Memorandum constituted a non-binding guidance document exempt from the CRA.

On July 31, 2012, Senator Orin Hatch and Congressman Dave Camp asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to determine whether or not the HHS Information Memorandum comprised a “rule” that must be submitted to Congress under the CRA.  Noting that the CRA’s definition of “rule” is congruent to that of section 551 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), GAO concluded that the Information Memorandum qualified as a rule subject to the Act.  GAO stated that the Information Memorandum was a general statement of policy with prospective application and did not qualify for any of the exclusions under the CRA.  As such, GAO concluded that the CRA required HHS to submit the Information Memorandum to Congress.

This decision highlights the very broad interpretation of “rule” the applies both to section 551 of the APA and to the CRA, with many more agency actions’ qualifying as “rules” than those that are subject to the notice-and-comment requirements of section 553 of the APA.  If you are interested in learning more about the CRA, you can find information about a project the Administrative Conference undertook to study the Act, which is available on the ACUS website at this link.  If you have any questions about this post or the work of the Conference more generally, please contact Attorney Advisor Reeve T. Bull (rbull@acus.gov).

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Incorporation by Reference in the Spotlight

Posted on September 11, 2012 by emily

Last December, the Administrative Conference ignited an important public policy debate when it adopted Recommendation 2011-5, Incorporation by Reference.  The discussion is set to continue with an exciting event sponsored by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the coordinator of the U.S. voluntary standardization system.  ANSI  has announced that incorporation by reference will be the focus of the Legal Issues Forum at World Standards Week, an annual meeting and celebration of the U.S. standard development community.

The Administrative Conference is pleased to have both staff and members participating in the Legal Issues Forum. Attorney Advisor and in-house researcher Emily S. Bremer will moderate the discussion among an impressive panel of speakers. The panelists include Government Member Esa Sferra-Bonistalli, Senior Attorney for the U.S. Coast Guard, and Senior Fellow Peter Strauss, a professor at Columbia Law School.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 10th in Washington, DC, at the Newseum’s Knight Conference Center, 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. Registration information is available on ANSI’s website.

More information on the Conference’s project on incorporation by reference is available here and here.

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Administrative Conference Appoints New Members

Posted on September 4, 2012 by admin-acus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Megan Kindelan
202-480-2091
mkindelan@acus.gov

Administrative Conference Appoints New Members
Renowned Experts Will Work to Improve the Administrative Process

Washington, D.C., September 4, 2012 – The Administrative Conference of the United States today announced the appointment of senior fellows, public members and a liaison representative to the Conference:

  • Senior Fellows
    • Kenneth W. Starr, Former U.S. Solicitor General and Federal Judge; currently President, Baylor University (ACUS Liaison Representative 1988-1989)
    • William H. Webster, Former Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Judge (ACUS Public Member 1991-1994)
  • Public Members
    • Gary D. Bass, Founder and Former Executive Director, OMB Watch; currently Executive Director, Bauman Foundation
    • George W. Madison, Former General Counsel, U.S. Department of the Treasury (ACUS Government Member 2010-2012)
    • Eugene Scalia, Former Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor; currently Partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
    • Virginia E. Sloan, Founder and President, The Constitution Project
  • Liaison Representative
    • Melvin F. Williams Jr., Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Millennium Challenge Corporation

“I am honored these experts are joining the Conference to help us improve efficiency and effectiveness across government,” said Paul R. Verkuil, Conference Chairman.

Members of the Administrative Conference donate their time and expertise to help improve government processes.  As a public-private partnership, the Administrative Conference brings together more than 150 agency heads, general counsels, law firm partners, public interest advocates and legal academics.

“I am amazed by the depth of knowledge of our members and their notable accomplishments,” added Verkuil.  “Our goal is to work collaboratively to solve problems on a bipartisan basis and to benefit from the new ideas these distinguished individuals will bring to the Conference.”

About ACUS

The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector with diverse views and backgrounds.  With the exception of the Chairman, all Conference Members are unpaid.

The Conference is committed to promoting effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process by leveraging interactive technologies and encouraging open communication with the public, making improvements to the regulatory process by reducing unnecessary litigation, and improving the use of science and the effectiveness of applicable laws. Learn more at www.acus.gov.

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Workshop on Improving the Use of Science in the Administrative Process

Posted on August 21, 2012 by admin-acus

On September 10, 2012, the Administrative Conference, in collaboration with the National Academies, will be presenting an all-day workshop on “Improving the Use of Science in the Administrative Process.”  The workshop will address current issues relating to science in the administrative process, and discuss draft Recommendations by the Conference aimed at improving federal agencies’ use and administration of regulatory science.  Pre-registration is required to attend in person.  To register for the workshop, please click here.

The workshop agenda includes opening remarks by Conference Chairman Paul R. Verkuil, followed by several panel discussions on topics ranging from enhancing the integrity and transparency of science-based regulations to improving public access to scientific evidence.  The panelists are drawn from a cross-section of scientific disciplines, academia, federal agencies, and the private sector.

This collaborative workshop is an outgrowth of the Conference’s Science in the Administrative Process Project.  In March 2011, the Committee on Regulation discussed draft Recommendations aimed at improving science in the administrative process.  These Recommendations were based on the draft report by the Conference’s consultant, Prof. Wendy Wagner, entitled, “Use of Science in the Administrative Process: A Study of Federal Agency Decision-Making.”  The workshop presents an opportunity for stakeholders, federal agencies, members of the scientific community, and the public to come together to discuss the Conference’s proposed Recommendations and, more generally, to explore other ways to improve the use of science in the administrative process.

Visit the Science in the Administrative Process Project Page for more information about this Project.

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Praise for the Conference’s Recommendation on the Paperwork Reduction Act

Posted on August 15, 2012 by emily

Two months since it was adopted by the Administrative Conference,  Recommendation 2012-4, Paperwork Reduction Act is being praised for its potential to help agencies reduce the public burdens of government information collections.

Recommendation 2012-4 suggests ways for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and individual agencies to revitalize the process for creating, reviewing, and approving information collection requests. The suggestions provide low-cost ways to improve public engagement and streamline the process without increased burden on the public.

The importance of the issues addressed in the Recommendation was emphasized on June 22, 2012, when Cass R. Sunstein, the Administrator of OIRA at that time, issued a memo to executive departments and agencies addressing the need for the government to significantly reduce reporting and paperwork burdens on the public.

Writing on RegBlog, a project of the Penn Program on Regulation, Sam Batkins, Director of Regulatory Policy for the American Action Forum, has urged that “[a]gencies looking for other guidance beyond the Sunstein memo should heed the recommendations of the Administrative Conference of the United States.”  Mr. Batkins identified as “most salient” the provision of the Recommendation that urges agencies not to view information collection requests as final at the time they are put out for public comment.  This seemingly small shift is essential if agencies are to use public engagement more effectively to improve information collection techniques and reduce unnecessary burden on the public.

Visit the Paperwork Reduction Act Implementation Page for more information on this recommendation.

 

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ACUS Announces New Senior Fellow Appointments

Posted on August 8, 2012 by admin-acus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Megan Kindelan
202-480-2091
mkindelan@acus.gov

ACUS Announces New Senior Fellow Appointments
Senior Fellows Now Include Three Supreme Court Justices

Washington, D.C., August 8, 2012 – The Administrative Conference of the United States today announced the appointment of five Senior Fellows, including Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

In addition to Justice Kagan, Supreme Court Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Antonin Scalia, a former Chairman of the Administrative Conference, are also Senior Fellows.

“All of the Senior Fellows announced today have demonstrated expertise in the field of administrative law and regulation,” said Paul R. Verkuil, Conference Chairman.  “By joining Justices Breyer and Scalia, Justice Kagan deepens the connection ACUS shares with members of the United States Supreme Court.”

These experts will work with the Conference membership to improve the administrative process and make government work better.  Some recommendations recently adopted by the Conference include improving the immigration removal adjudication process, addressing midnight rulemaking, and enhancing coordination between government agencies.  Executive Order 13609, recently issued by President Obama, was based in part on a recommendation adopted by the Conference last year to enhance regulatory cooperation between United States agencies and foreign authorities.

Senior Fellows, who are appointed by the Chairman with approval by the Conference’s Presidentially-appointed Council, serve for two-year terms and may be reappointed.

The following distinguished individuals have agreed to serve as Senior Fellows to further the mission of the Conference:

Jodie Z. Bernstein
Of Counsel, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Public Member (2010-2012 and 1994-1995), Council Member (1978-1981), Government Member (1977)

The Honorable Elena Kagan
Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court
Public Member (1994-1995)

The Honorable Robert A. Katzmann
Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Public Member (1994-1995)

The Honorable Stanley Sporkin
Former Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Special Counsel (1986-1994), Liaison Representative (1982-1985)

The Honorable Stephen F. Williams
Senior Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Liaison Representative (1990-1995)

About ACUS

The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector with diverse views and backgrounds.  With the exception of the Chairman, all Conference Members are unpaid.

The Conference is committed to promoting effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process by leveraging interactive technologies and encouraging open communication with the public, making improvements to the regulatory process by reducing unnecessary litigation, and improving the use of science and the effectiveness of applicable laws. Learn more at www.acus.gov.

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ACUS Recommendations Stand the Test of Time

Posted on July 27, 2012 by admin-acus

Administrative Implications of the Affordable Care Act

*This article is not an official communication from the Administrative Conference of the United States, nor does the Conference express any views  on the Affordable Care Act or any of the ACA provisions referenced in this article.

By Blair Druhan, ACUS Legal Intern

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacts the largest expansion of Medicaid in the program’s history by expanding access to Medicaid to all adults under age 65 who are U.S. citizens and have incomes at or below 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Line.[1] The Congressional Budget Office estimated that this expansion would add an additional 17 million citizens to the Medicaid program.[2] The Administrative Conference’s historic Recommendation 90-8, Rulemaking and Policymaking in the Medicaid Program,[3] may be of continuing relevance to this modern expansion.

In Recommendation 90-8, the Conference suggested that Congress consider the challenges of Medicaid service expansion for States when mandating changes to Medicaid and when setting statutory deadlines associated with those changes. The Conference also encouraged the Health Care Financing Administration, which formerly oversaw Medicaid and Medicare, to act promptly when responding to a legislative change in Medicaid services and to make the associated regulations and guidance publically available to the States. These steps were viewed as necessary for States to have an adequate opportunity to respond to Congressional mandates in a timely manner. These steps are also important where agencies are required to develop new administrative structures to implement Congressional mandates, as under the ACA.

After Congress passed the ACA, multiple administrative agencies began implementing the ACA through rulemaking, policymaking, and administrative transformations. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the agency most responsible for its implementation: from implementing the individual mandate to developing several healthcare related programs and grants, overseeing state healthcare exchanges, and developing standards regulating private insurance companies. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a sub-agency within HHS, is responsible for implementing and overseeing the ACA Medicaid expansion. CMS has already undertaken rulemaking and policymaking that affects each State under the ACA.

CMS responded to the passage of the ACA with guidance and rulemaking in order to prepare for the 2014 deadline well before the Supreme Court decided National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius.[4] After proposed rules, regulatory impact analyses, and public input, CMS issued a final rule, Medicaid Program; Eligibility Changes Under the Affordable Care Act of  2010, on March 16, 2012 in order to assist States with the Medicaid expansion.[5] In addition to addressing the enrollment provisions of the ACA, this rule “simplifies the current eligibility rules and systems in the Medicaid and CHIP programs.” This document was publicly issued twenty months before the statutory deadline. CMS also issued multiple director letters offering guidance on Medicaid eligibility and enrollment to state health officials in response to the expansion.

CMS is not the only agency within HHS that will be affected by the ACA, as the Secretary of HHS also has to develop an administrative structure that will allow it to oversee and enforce the ACA individual mandate, which requires every individual to have minimal essential coverage health insurance by January 1, 2014.[6] The Secretary of HHS also has the authority to determine whether an individual is exempt from the individual-mandate penalty. An individual can be exempt from the penalty on multiple grounds, including on the grounds that the individual has “suffered a hardship with respect to the capability to obtain coverage under a qualified health care plan.”[7]  However, Congress did not provide the agency with guidance on how to implement this exemption, and the agency has not publicly spoken on how it will administer the exemption process. For example, the agency might choose to create a formal hearing process where independent Administrative Law Judges would hear requests for exemptions or appeals if a request is denied. HHS will have to address the implementation of this exemption in the near future, because the Secretary recently announced that this exemption would be applied to the estimated 3 million individuals who may not get coverage in the event that a State declines to implement the Medicaid expansion. On July 10, the Secretary wrote a letter to each Governor and stated that if a State chooses to opt out of the Medicaid expansion, then the individuals who would have been eligible for Medicaid coverage under the expansion would be exempt from the individual-mandate penalty under the hardship exemption. [8]

The individual mandate also directly impacts the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which must collect and enforce the penalty associated with violating the individual mandate.[9] In response to these new responsibilities, the IRS plans to increase its workforce by more than an estimated 6,500 employees.[10] As IRS and HHS work together to implement and enforce their shared responsibilities under the individual-mandate provisions of the ACA, they may need to develop appropriate policies or procedures for facilitating and documenting their coordination of these efforts. The Conference encourages such coordination in Recommendation 2012-5, Improving Coordination of Related Agency Responsibilities, another recommendation that promises continued relevance in the future of federal agencies.[11]

[1] 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)(VIII) (2012).

[2] Robert Pear, Court’s Ruling May Blunt Reach of the Health Law, N.Y. Times, July 25, 2012, at A16.

[3] Administrative Conference of the United States, Recommendation 90-8, Rulemaking and Policymaking in the Medicaid Program, (Dec. 18, 1990), available at http://www.acus.gov/acus-recommendations/rulemaking-and-policymaking-in-the-medicaid-program/.

[4]In Sebelius, the Court altered the enforcement mechanism of the Medicaid expansion. Under the ACA, if a State did not follow the expansion, the Secretary could withhold all Medicaid funds from that State. In Sebelius, the Court held that withholding all Medicaid funds would be coercive and unconstitutional. Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v. Sebelius, 132 S. Ct. 2566, 2608 (2012). Though Sebelius will change how the expansion is enforced, it is likely that most States will choose to follow—or partially follow—the expansion; thus, CMS must continue to prepare for it.

[5] 42 C.F.R §§ 431, 435, 457 (2012).

[6] 26 U.S.C. § 5000A.

[7] 26 U.S.C. § 5000A(e)(5) (2012).

[8] Letter from Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, to State Governors (July 10, 2010) , available at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_XXgJWFJtilZUZNMnJ6dW0ybEE/edit?pli=1. A recent New York Times article discusses the Congressional Budget’s Office prediction that 3 million people who were predicted to gain coverage would not gain coverage due to certain States choosing to opt out of the Medicaid expansion after Sebelius. Pear, supra note 2. Of course, a number of factors could change this prediction.

[9] 26 U.S.C. § 5000A.

[10] Jim Kouri, IRS Geared Up for Obamacare Individual Mandate Tax – OpEd, EurasiaReview (July 3, 2012), http://www.eurasiareview.com/03072012-irs-geared-up-for-obamacare-individual-mandate-tax-oped/.

[11] Administrative Conference of the United States, Recommendation 2012-5, Improving Coordination of Related Agency Responsibilities, (June 15, 2012), available at http://www.acus.gov/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/06/Final-Recommendation-2012-4-Paperwork-Reduction-Act.pdf.

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