Elena Kagan’s Nomination, Obama Signs Financial Regulation Bill and Defending the Right to Work

1. LEGAL

The Senate Judiciary Committee approves the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Attorney Hans Bader offers a personal assessment of Elena Kagan.

“The Committee voted to confirm her despite her lackluster record as Solicitor General, where she inexplicably failed to defend federal laws protecting crime victims. Despite Kagan’s dereliction of duty, she was nominated to the serve on the Supreme Court by President Obama.

2. FINANCE

Today President Obama will sign recently-passed financial regulation bill into law.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs  John Berlau on passage of Dodd-Frank finance legislation.

 “Rather than wait for Congress’s own Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to issue its report in December to examine the role of Fannie and other causes, Congress has instead passed a bill that will not prevent future bubbles and imposes untold costs that will put the country in danger of slipping back into a recession.”

3. LABOR

Republican candidates for governor in Michigan are voicing support for making Michigan a “right-to-work” state.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: F. Vincent Vernuccio defines and discusses right-to-work, and the far reaching implications of such legislation.

 “Unions are very powerful in Michigan, so for years right to work has faced a hostile political environment. Today, however, the state’s economic troubles are glaring for all to see, so now is no time for business as usual. Rigid work rules and lavish compensation packages helped bring the Big Three to their knees. Like the Big Three, Michigan cannot carry on as before — and Michiganders know it. If Michigan’s fortunes are to revive, right to work will be a needed first step.”