The Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Citizens United have filed their supplemental briefs in Citizens United v. FEC. On June 29 the Supreme Court ordered a rehearing of the case to address whether the Court should overturn two previous rulings. One is the decision in Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce, ruling that a state ban on corporate spending in election campaigns does not violate the First Amendment. And secondly, McConnell v. FEC, upholding the ban on corporate and labor union spending for electioneering communications.

The Department of Justice has temporarily withdrawn the government's appeal of a federal court injunction prohibiting enforcement of the anti-prostitution pledge under the U.S. Global AIDS Policy. The pledge was enacted as part of the U.S. Global AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003, requiring organizations that receive federal funds under the Act to pledge their "opposition to prostitution." In 2005, the Alliance for Open Society International and Pathfinder International filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the policy, arguing that it violated the First Amendment.

Earlier this week Roll Call ($$) noted that formal guidance on lobbying for Recovery Act funding is still absent. Shortly after a post appeared on the White House blog on May 29, it was expected that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would soon release formal guidance.