Showing 1191–1200 of 2202

• 6/17/1981

  Anti-Lobbying Restrictions Applicable to Community Services Administration Grantees

  The anti-lobbying rider in the Community Services Administration (CSA) appropriation act is broader than the generally applicable restrictions on lobbying by executive officers, and prohibits recipients of CSA grant funds from engaging in any activity designed to influence legislation pending before Congress, including direct contacts with Congress. Congress is under no obligation to make funds available to any agency for every authorized activity in any given fiscal year, and there should be no presumption that it has done so. The anti-lobbying statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1913, and the general "publicity and propaganda" rider in the General Government Appropriations Act, have been narrowly construed to prohibit the use of federal funds for "grassroots" lobbying, but not to prohibit a wide range of necessary communications between the Executive on the one hand, and Congress and the general public on the other. The considerations that underlie this narrow construction are irrelevant to a prohibition against lobbying by private persons receiving federal grants and contracts. Statements made by individual legislators and committees after the enactment of legislation carry little weight in statutory interpretation, and are not a sufficient basis for altering a conclusion required by the plain meaning of the statutory language. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22676/download.

  6/17/1981

• 6/16/1981

  Representation of Criminal Defendants by FBI Agent-Attorneys

  7/27/2020

• 6/16/1981

  Suspension or Termination of Contract with National Conference on State Building Codes and Standards

  7/27/2020

• 6/12/1981

  Memorandum of May 27,1981 requesting our opinion on several questions relating to the determination of wage rates under the Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Acts.

  7/27/2020

• 6/12/1981

  Determination of Wage Rates Under the Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Acts

  The Secretary of Labor is required to determine "prevailing" wage rates under the Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Acts with reference to an objective standard of predominance or currency in a given locality. It is proper to define the prevailing rate in terms of the lowest rate only where the lowest rate is also that which occurs with the greatest frequency. Where no single wage rate is predominant, it would ordinarily be permissible for the Secretary to use an average. The minimum wage rate required by law to be included in all contracts subject to the Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Acts must be at least the prevailing rate as determined by the Secretary of Labor. In the absence of a statutory definition of a term, one must look to the common understanding of the word, and to the legislative history and purpose of the statute generally. In addition, a presumption of correctness may be accorded the longstanding administrative interpretation of a term. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22671/download.

  6/12/1981

• 6/11/1981

  Constitutionality of Regulations Requiring Prepublication Clearance of Books by Former Iranian Hostages

  Under the Supreme Court's holding in Snepp v. United States, 444 U.S. 507 (1980), the broad prepublication clearance requirements in regulations of the International Communications Agency (ICA) would be held unenforceable through judicial process in a wide variety of applications, notably insofar as they apply to previously disclosed information or to the expression of personal opinions by persons who do not regularly have access to classified information. The Supreme Court is not likely to uphold a prior restraint on publication by ICA employees in the absence of some powerful showing that substantial and specific harm to the United States would probably result if the publication were permitted. The expression of personal opinion not based on classified information would not satisfy this test. While the issue is not free from doubt, a strong argument can be made that disciplinary action against an employee based on the need for a foreign policy free from internal dissension in the Foreign Service would not be constitutionally impermissible, particularly if the employee maintained responsibilities at a highly visible level. However, the courts might find discipline involving discharge appropriate only if the statements ultimately made severely and irreparably impaired an individual's ability to perform some services as an employee. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22666/download.

  6/11/1981

• 6/9/1981

  Constitutional Principles concerning the "Legislative Veto" Issue relating to Possible Statutory Changes in Federal Benefit Programs

  10/27/2020

• 6/8/1981

  Opinion whether a New Jersey polygraph statute, prohibiting employers from requiring submission to a lie detector test as a condition of employment, precludes the National Security Agency (NSA) from conducting polygraph examinations of individuals employe

  7/27/2020

• 6/8/1981

  Legality Under Anti-Lottery Laws of Amendments to Simultaneous Oil and Gas Leasing Procedures

  The amendment of the Simultaneous Oil and Gas (SOG) Leasing Procedures to clarify the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior to decline to award leases to applicants whose names are drawn under the SOG procedures, provides some additional support for the conclusion in the April 7, 1980, OLC memorandum that the SOG program is not a prohibited lottery within the scope of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1302 and 1304. Serious legal difficulties would arise if the SOG regulations were amended to establish a multiple filing system which would give preference to those willing and able to pay the most for lease opportunities, because of the statutory requirement that oil and gas leases be awarded not to the highest bidder but to the first qualified person making application to hold a lease. Moreover, insofar as a multiple filing system would tax lease applicants by making their chances depend on the size of their payments, and potentially enrich the government, it might be considered a violation of the anti-lottery laws. In the absence of a specific statutory limitation on the amount which may be charged each applicant for a lease, the Secretary is authorized to increase the present fee to a level that more accurately reflects the actual cost of administering the system. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22656/download.

  6/8/1981

• 6/8/1981

  Negotiated Sale of Foreign Gifts to Members of Congress

  The General Services Administration is authorized to negotiate the sale of gifts from foreign governments to their original recipients, including Members of Congress, notwithstanding the general prohibition against public contracts with Members of Congress in 18 U.S.C. §§ 431 and 432. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22661/download.

  6/8/1981