WASHINGTON — One of President Joe Biden's nominees to a federal appeals court has generated rare concern from some Democrats and outside groups over his signature on a legal brief defending a parental notification law in New Hampshire, injecting the issue of abortion into his confirmation fight from an unexpected flank.
New Hampshire Attorney General Michael Delaney speaks about drug abuse issues Feb. 22, 2013, in Concord, N.H.
Michael Delaney, nominated for the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Boston, said in written testimony to senators that he did not write the 2005 brief and otherwise had “extremely limited involvement” in the case that was brought while he was deputy attorney general in New Hampshire.
But the signing of the brief, along with scrutiny of his representation of St. Paul's School, a private boarding school in New Hampshire that was sued in connection with a sexual assault, is complicating a confirmation fight in which the White House has little room for error.
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The close attention on an abortion case also shows how stakes are ever-higher in a post-Roe v. Wade world. Access to abortion could hinge on lower-level judges now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the constitutional right to the procedure and advocates on both sides want near-certainty as they assess nominees. The issue helped derail one proposed Biden pick last summer when the White House decided not to nominate an anti-abortion lawyer in Kentucky following an outcry from Democrats.
Delaney’s case will test how far Biden will push Democrats to support his nominees to the federal bench even after the White House set records in the number of appointments in his first two years. It will also test the power of personal persuasion in the clubby Senate, whose members can often be influenced by fellow members whose counsel they trust.
In this case, both New Hampshire Democratic senators, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, strongly back Delaney and are deeply respected by other senators. Both are also fierce supporters of abortion rights.
Democrat Maggie Hassan
At issue is a New Hampshire law, passed in 2003 but repealed in 2007, that required minors to tell their parents before they obtained an abortion. As the state’s deputy attorney general, Delaney was among those who signed a brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court that defended the law because it “does not present a substantial obstacle to any woman's right to choose an abortion.”
The law, according to the brief filed in the case, Ayotte vs. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, "promotes compelling state interests, not the least of which is protecting the health of the pregnant minor by providing an opportunity for parents to supply essential medical history information to the physician.”
Delaney's involvement is detailed in response to written questions from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that he submitted after his confirmation hearing last month. But his signature on the brief has caused consternation for Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a strong supporter of abortion rights.
“For me personally, reproductive rights is a fundamental, core issue," Blumenthal told The Associated Press. "And I think I’d want to know why he put his name on the brief and what it reflects in his personal view.”
Besides Blumenthal, two other Democratic members of the closely divided Senate, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, have also expressed general reservations about his nomination, particularly as it relates to the St. Paul's case. And at least one other Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee is concerned about Delaney’s involvement in the Planned Parenthood case, according to a person familiar with the senator’s thinking who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations over the nomination.
One factor being weighed is how much Delaney's involvement in the brief was just a matter of course in his job. Delaney told senators that he was not involved in the decision to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, nor did he represent New Hampshire during oral arguments there. He was not directly involved in formulating the brief's arguments, he said, and while he read the brief before it was submitted, he said he does not recall whether he offered substantive feedback.
In a statement to the AP, former New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, said: “Mike Delaney strongly supports women’s reproductive freedom."
Lynch said he disagreed with then-Attorney General Kelly Ayotte on the Planned Parenthood case. “When Mike became my legal counsel, he worked with me to successfully repeal the law at issue in the case,” he said.
Still, in private conversations, groups that support abortion access have similarly raised questions about why Delaney signed a brief that defended abortion restrictions. They have been dissatisfied with the responses.
In a previously unreported letter, the National Council of Jewish Women said it would oppose the confirmation of Delaney, the first nominee from the Biden administration that it has rejected. The group pointed to his representation of St. Paul’s as well as to his signature on the Planned Parenthood brief.
Saying federal judges should have a record that “evidences fairness, independence, fidelity to constitutional values, and respect for the individuals who appear before the court seeking justice,” the group wrote in the letter that ”unfortunately, after reviewing the record, we do not think that Mr. Delaney possesses those important qualifications.”
The White House continues to support Delaney's nomination. Privately, White House officials are concerned that focusing on one motion or case could set a precedent for Republican opponents of Biden's picks to undermine other candidates for the bench, according to a person with knowledge of the internal deliberations who insisted on anonymity to discuss them.
Here's a breakdown of what's in President Biden's proposed budget
Intro
President Joe Biden released his annual budget Thursday, outlining his policy priorities for the year ahead.
Make no mistake, the proposed budget has no chance of making it through the Republican-controlled House. But Biden's plan could frame upcoming political battles on Capitol Hill, where the GOP has yet to unveil its own spending plan.
Biden's budget comes out after the US hit the debt ceiling, a cap set by Congress, earlier this year. The Treasury Department is now taking extraordinary measures to allow the government to keep paying its bills. But the country could start to default on its obligations over the summer if Congress doesn't address the debt ceiling before then. Republicans are calling for some spending cuts in exchange for voting to raise the cap, while the White House does not want to negotiate on resolving the debt limit drama.
Place a minimum tax on billionaires
Place a minimum tax on billionaires: The budget includes a 25% minimum tax on all the income of the wealthiest .01% of Americans, including their appreciated assets. It would hit those with a net worth of more than $100 million. Prior efforts to add this type of tax were not successful.
Increase the corporate tax rate
Increase the corporate tax rate: Biden wants to increase the corporate tax rate to 28%, up from the 21% rate set by the GOP tax cut package in 2017. The budget would also reduce incentives for multinational businesses to book profits in low-tax jurisdictions and raise the tax rate on their foreign earnings to 21% from 10.5%. And it would hike the stock buybacks tax enacted last year to 4%, from 1%.
Repealing Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy
Repealing Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy: Biden's budget would scrap some tax cuts for certain individuals that were put in place by the Republican's 2017 tax law.
Biden's plan would raise the top tax rate to 39.6% from 37%. This would impact single filers making more than $400,000 a year and married couples making more than $450,000 per year, according to the administration.
It also proposes taxing capital gains at the same rate as wage income for those earning more than $1 million, as well as closing the carried interest loophole that allows investment managers to treat much of their compensation as capital gains -- thus lowering their tax rate.
The Biden administration has previously had trouble getting support for these provisions from some Democrats.
Restore the enhanced child tax credit
Restore the enhanced child tax credit: The budget calls for reviving the expanded child tax credit, which was in place for 2021. It would beef up the credit to $3,600 per child for those under age 6 and $3,000 for older children. It would permanently make the credit fully refundable so more low-income families would qualify.
Improve Medicare's finances
Improve Medicare's finances: Biden wants to shore up Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund, known as Part A, by raising taxes on those earning more than $400,000 a year and by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for even more drugs.
Medicare, which covers more than 65 million senior citizens and people with disabilities, will only be able to fully pay scheduled benefits until 2028, according to the most recent forecast by its trustees. Biden's proposal would extend Medicare's solvency by 25 years or more, according to the White House.
The plan would increase the net investment income tax rate on earned and unearned income above $400,000 to 5%, up from 3.8%. Also, it would be levied on the owners of certain pass-through firms who include business income on their personal tax returns and aren't currently subject to the tax.
In addition, the measure would dedicate the revenue from the tax, which was created by the Affordable Care Act, to Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund.
Also, the proposal would build on the Inflation Reduction Act, which congressional Democrats passed last summer, by allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of more drugs and bringing drugs into negotiation sooner after they launch. And it would extend the law's requirement that drug companies pay rebates to Medicare if they increase prices faster than inflation to commercial health insurance.
$35 insulin for all Americans
$35 insulin for all Americans: The budget also calls for capping the price of insulin at $35 a month for everyone. The Inflation Reduction Act limited the price of each insulin prescription to $35 a month for Medicare beneficiaries as of this year.
Democrats had hoped to extend the provision to those with private insurance as part of last year's package, but congressional Republicans blocked the measure.
Reduce prescription drug costs for seniors
Reduce prescription drug costs for seniors: The budget proposes to limit Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket costs for generic drugs used for certain chronic conditions to no more than $2. Seniors' costs would also drop if Medicare expanded its drug price negotiations.
Make enhanced Obamacare subsidies permanent
Make enhanced Obamacare subsidies permanent: Biden wants to continue the more generous Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire after 2025. The temporary enhancement has beefed up the premium subsidy and allowed more middle-class folks to qualify. The proposal would also provide Medicaid-like coverage to those in states that have not expanded the public health insurance program for low-income Americans.
Increase food security
Increase food security: The budget would provide more than $15 billion to allow more states and schools to provide free school meals to an additional 9 million children.
Reduce maternal mortality
Reduce maternal mortality: Biden would provide $471 million to reduce maternal mortality rates and expand maternal health initiatives in rural communities. It would also require all states to provide continuous Medicaid postpartum coverage for 12 months, instead of 60 days.
Lower Medicaid spending
Lower Medicaid spending: The budget would require private insurance companies that provide Medicaid coverage to pay back some money when they charge the program far more than they actually spend on patient care. And it would give the Department of Health and Human Services the authority to negotiate additional, supplemental Medicaid drug rebates on behalf of states.
Make college more affordable
Make college more affordable: The spending plan calls for a $500 increase to the maximum Pell grant, which is awarded to roughly 7 million college students from the lowest-income families annually. Currently, the maximum Pell grant is $7,395 for the 2023-2024 school year. Congress has increased the maximum amount by $900 over the past two years, but the grant historically covered a larger share of the cost of college than it does now.
Biden's budget would also provide $500 million for a new grant program to help make two years of community college free.
Universal preschool and affordable child care
Universal preschool and affordable child care: The budget would provide funding for a new federal-state partnership program that would provide universal, free preschool. The spending plan would also increase funding for existing federal early care and education programs.
Provide paid family and medical leave
Provide paid family and medical leave: Biden's budget would establish a national paid family and medical leave program. It would provide 12 weeks of leave for eligible employees to take time off to care for and bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one, heal from their own serious illness, address circumstances arising from a loved one's military deployment, or find safety from domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, according to the administration.
Congress provided for some paid sick leave during the Covid-19 pandemic, but lawmakers let the benefit expire in 2021.
Address climate change
Address climate change: The spending plan calls for billions of dollars of investment to help address climate change.
For example, money would go toward creating clean-energy jobs and cutting energy bills for families, funding climate research and helping communities become strengthen their infrastructure to withstand floods, wildfires, storms and drought brought on by climate change.
The investments would also help achieve Biden's goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% by 2030.
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