5 ms·
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-gives-cdc-authority-to-stop-evictions-during-pandemic/ar-BB18BTug https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-gi
by ForHackernews 6y ago
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-gives-cdc-authority-to-stop-evictions-during-pandemic/ar-BB18BTug https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-gives-cdc-auth...
The legal passage cited is this: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/42/70.2 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/42/70.2
> § 70.2 Measures in the event of inadequate local control.
> Whenever the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determines that the measures taken by health authorities of any State or possession (including political subdivisions thereof) are insufficient to prevent the spread of any of the communicable diseases from such State or possession to any other State or possession, he/she may take such measures to prevent such spread of the diseases as he/she deems reasonably necessary, including inspection, fumigation, disinfection, sanitation, pest extermination, and destruction of animals or articles believed to be sources of infection.
(emphasis mine)
I'm sure this will be challenged in court, but the text as written seems extraordinarily broad. The CDC can do anything they "deem reasonably necessary"!
- chrisco255 6y agoYeah that won't hold up in court. Otherwise the CDC is an unlimited force for tyranny within government.
- aaomidi 6y agoNo court is going to stop a reasonable use of power to stop a public health crisis. The precedent of doing that would be too bad.
- abduhl 6y agoUh oh - over expansive authority being given to the executive branch by the legislature? What could possibly go wrong.
- refurb 6y agoThey should try and suspend habeus corpus. That would be interesting to watch.
- bagacrap 6y agothe eviction moratorium is pretty far removed from the list of examples given. Can the CDC also mandate that no one be laid off during a pandemic, or that hospitals provide care for free? The cdc's interpretation of this law leads to some pretty ridiculous implications.
- evgen 6y agoStopping lay-offs? Probably not. Demanding hospitals provide free care that is relevant to preventing or limiting the spread of a dangerous communicable disease? Absolutely. As the saying goes: "The Constitution is not a suicide pact." When it comes down to it, in an emergency we can do whatever we collectively think is necessary for survival.
- aaomidi 6y agoCan the CDC also mandate that no one be laid off during a pandemic, or that hospitals provide care for free? Yes.
- pjkundert 6y agoCan the CDC suspend the laws of physics, and demand a free solid gold toilet for every citizen? Yes.