Boy Scouts will lobby bill to curb tactics used in bankruptcy proceedings



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With Daniel Lippman

PROGRAMMING NOTE: We will be off Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday, but we will be resuming our normal schedule on Monday, November 29.

THE BOY SCOUTS WILL RELEASE ON THE BANKRUPTCY INVOICE: The Boy Scouts of America hired the former Democratic representative from Alabama. Bud Cramer and Jefferies Murray of Group 535 lobby for bankruptcy reform legislation to curb a settlement practice that would free troop sponsors, including tens of thousands of churches and civic groups; local councils; and the national Boy Scouts organization for responsibility for sexual abuse complaints filed against the organization.

– The House Judiciary Committee this month approved the law prohibiting the release of non-debtors. The bill targets what Democrats describe as a flaw in the bankruptcy code which “helped the Sackler family, the people and institutions that made it possible Larry Nassar, and others like them escape responsibility for wrongdoing through bankruptcy proceedings. ”

– The bill would restrict the use of third party, or non-debtor, discharges in bankruptcy proceedings, except with the express consent of creditors. The practice, which has divided federal courts, protects affiliates, officers or other stakeholders who may be accused of wrongdoing but who have not themselves filed for bankruptcy – in exchange for settlement payments and, in the case of Boy Scouts, signing rights insurance. The tactic has been used in the bankruptcy settlements of several high-profile cases in recent years, including that of the opioid maker Purdue pharma, United States Gymnastics and the dioceses of the church.

– The bill would also place restrictions on the ability of bankruptcy courts to stay lawsuits against third parties while a repayment plan is negotiated, and allow courts to dismiss Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization cases if a debtor was formed in a divisional merger that took place within the last decade. Critics of the bill, which was approved by parties, argue that the legislation could disrupt bankruptcy proceedings in favor of lengthy litigation that may result in less collection or no resolution at all, while empowering a small number of recalcitrant creditors. .

– “The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have engaged Group 535 to help explain our proposed reorganization plan to lawmakers and demonstrate how the current structure is the best way forward for Scouting and for Survivors, with this plan on. the point of establishing the largest sexual abuse compensation fund in US history, “a spokesperson told PI, adding that the organization has” spent nearly two years working on a restructuring funding to reach a resolution that will fairly compensate survivors of past abuse and ensure that Scouting’s mission continues. . ” The Associated Press reported this fall that votes to approve the Boy Scouts reorganization plan and $ 1.6 billion trust fund project are being sent to more than 82,000 men who claim to have been molested as Boy Scouts.

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THE PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS GROUP RELEASES: Guarding against pandemics, an advocacy group that calls for more investment in preparing for the next pandemic, is stepping up its lobbying operations as it seeks to increase the amount of funds included in the Democrats’ reconciliation bill or by other ways.

– According to disclosures filed this week, Varun Krovi, a former House Democratic collaborator and former lobbyist at Invariant, registered as an internal lobbyist for the group in September. The group hired a team of more than a dozen lobbyists to Ogilvy Government Relations a month later, according to another disclosure dossier. The group, which is funded in part by crypto billionaire and donor Biden Sam Bankman-Fried, already hired Van Scoyoc Associates in August.

– Guarding Against Pandemics fought for Democrats to provide $ 30 billion for pandemic preparedness in their reconciliation bill, a number initially requested by the president Joe biden this spring. He later reduced that figure to $ 15 billion, and the amount included in the version passed by the House last week was further reduced to $ 3 billion, according to the figures of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another $ 16.2 billion would be used to build public health infrastructure.

– Responding to previous reports that pandemic preparedness funding could be cut as Democrats seek to lower the price of the bill, Guarding Against Pandemics called the suggestion “unthinkable.” The group also applauded the pandemic preparedness provisions in the legislation introduced by representatives. Diana DeGette (D-Col.) And Fred upton (R-Mich.) Last week, although this bill faces a high chance in a tightly divided Congress.

DO IT FOR THE ‘GRAMME:Adam Mosséri, the head of Instagram, To accepted for the first time to testify before Congress, as bipartisan anger rises against the prejudice caused to young people by the application ”, Ryan Mac of the New York Times and Cecilia Kang report. Mosseri “is expected to appear before a Senate panel the week of December 6 in a series of hearings on protecting children online, the senator said Richard blumenthal, who will lead the hearing.

– “Sir. Mosseri’s appearance follows this year’s hearings with Antigone Davis, the global head of security for Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, and with Francoise Haugen, a former employee turned whistleblower. Ms Haugen’s revelations about the social networking company, particularly about Facebook and Instagram’s research into its effects on certain teens and young girls, have drawn criticism, inquiries from politicians and inquiries from regulators.

– “Blumenthal said he would ask Mr Mosseri about how Instagram’s algorithms can send children to dangerous rabbit holes” and “ask Mr Mosseri for a pledge to make the ranking decisions and Instagram recommendation transparent to the public and experts who can study how the app amplifies harmful content.

ANOTHER TILT FOR THE ISRAELI SPYWARE SOCIETY: Apple continued the ONS Group, the Israeli surveillance company, in federal court on Tuesday, another setback for the besieged company and the unregulated spyware industry ”, The New York TimesNicole perlroth reports. “The lawsuit is the second of its kind – Facebook sued NSO in 2019 for targeting its WhatsApp users – and another big decision by a private company to tackle invasive spyware by governments and the companies that provide their tools. spy. “

– “For the first time, Apple is seeking to hold NSO accountable for what it says is monitoring and targeting Apple users. Apple also wants to permanently prevent NSO from using any Apple software, service or device, a move that could render the company’s Pegasus spy product worthless, given that its core business is giving government customers full access to it. iPhone or Android smartphone of a target.

– “Apple is also seeking unspecified damages for the time and cost necessary to deal with what the company claims to be the abuse of its products by NSO. Apple said it would donate the proceeds of the damage to the organizations that exposed the spyware.

Jenelle Krishnamoorthy was promoted to Vice President of Global Public Policy and International Affairs at Merck. Most recently, she was the company’s associate vice president for global communications and population health policy.

Nothing.

GEORGIA VALUES ACTION (Super PAC)
PURPLE PAC (PAC)
Supernova PAC (Super PAC)
Texans vs. Beto (PAC)

535 Group, LLC: Boy Scouts Of America
Ballard Spahr LLP: Grail, LLC
Cdb Projx LLC: Clemson University
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc .: Pew Charitable Trusts
Pandemic Protection, Inc .: Pandemic Protection, Inc.
Washington & Madison, LLC: Hellenic American Institute

Big Fire Law & Policy Group, LLP: Ndn Collective
First strategy: Sda Inc.
Maryland and District of Columbia Association of Credit Unions: Maryland and District of Columbia Association of Credit Unions


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