President Joe Biden and other global leaders are planning on signing a global tax deal that will include a 15% tax minimum that applies to multinational corporations that earn more than $867 million a year. This will keep corporations from being able to set up in “tax havens,” or countries with lower taxes. Enacting this in America may prove difficult due to the resistance from Republicans in Congress since, more than likely, a few would also have to show support for a bill or package setting this up. Considering how anti-tax the current Republicans in Congress are, this will probably take a lot of time and negotiations to come to fruition.
The Food and Drug Administration has officially cleared Pfizer’s low-dose COVID-19 vaccine for children in the 5-11 age range. The Pfizer vaccine becomes the first COVID-19 vaccine available to this age group, allowing about 28 million children to be eligible for the vaccine if their parents choose to vaccinate them. While children are less likely to contract a severe case of COVID-19, they are still susceptible to long–term health conditions if the virus is contracted, so the release of the vaccine for this age group is putting many parents at ease.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is beginning efforts to reverse the Trump administration’s cuts to the Obama-era program that allowed poor defendants legal representation in court, the Office for Access to Justice. The Justice Department is asking Congress for $6 million in order to bring this previously defunct office back to life. This is an important step for making sure all Americans have equal access to legal representation in civil litigations.
The Supreme Court declined to block a health care employee vaccine mandate in Maine. The group that requested this block is made up of unvaccinated employees stating the mandate violated their “religious liberty rights.” Maine, however, does not offer religious exemptions for vaccinations, only medical. This is the latest case of the Supreme Court upholding states’ and public businesses’ rights to place vaccine mandates on employees. They have also refused to strike down vaccine mandates from universities and schools over the past few months. This allows citizens to see that, even in the conservative majority Supreme Court, vaccine mandates do not violate the Constitution.
Biden appointed Sara Minkara as the U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights. Minkara, who lost her eyesight at age 7, will work in the State Department and was tasked with leading the U.S. strategy of promoting and protecting the rights of those with disabilities internationally. This position was created during the Obama administration but left empty during the Trump Administration. Minkara is an entrepreneur who has advised many different groups, including the United Nations, on disability rights and issues, as well as on policy that allows for the inclusion of all.
