Douglas Alexander: “25 of us in the Senate have introduced S. 489, a bipartisan piece of legislation--Senators Kyl and Cornyn on the…”

“25 of us in the Senate have introduced S. 489, a bipartisan piece of legislation--Senators Kyl and Cornyn on the Republican side and Senators Pryor and Nelson on the Democratic side, and a number of others--to try to put some reasonable limits on the use of Federal court consent decrees that take away from elected officials and State and local government the right to make policy decisions that they make so they can get on with their business without undue interference from the courts. It is based on a scholarship book called ``Democracy by Decree'' by two former lawyers for the National Resources Defense Council, David Schoenbrod and Ross Sandler. Their scholarship has been applauded by a broad range of people, including former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and former Senator Bill Bradley. It talks about the importance of taking Federal court consent decrees, which can be very useful tools, and making certain they don't last forever. To use a one-paragraph example: In New York, a 1974 federal consent decree has mandated bilingual education in the city's schools for more than 30 years--even though many parents want no part of it. In Tennessee--my State--a Federal consent degree from 1979 prevents the state from requiring generic, rather than brand-name, drugs for Medicaid patients despite the fact that this is standard practice for many private drug plans and other State Medicaid Programs.…”