5 of the shadiest things in the government spending deal. Congressional negotiators reached a deal this week that would extend most government funding through fall 2015 — learn all about it here. But since this is basically a must-pass bill, party leaders have thrown in several provisions that little or nothing to do with funding the government, but are instead gifts to important interest groups or constituencies. Here are 5 of the shadiest. 1) Campaign finance limits will be weakened One part of the compromise would give political parties the ability to raise a whole lot more money.
Previously, the limit on giving to a party committee was $32,400 per individual per year. Previously, the limit on giving to a party committee was $32,400 per individual per year. The change is an effort for the parties to regain control of campaign fundraising, after years where larger and larger sums have been steered to outside groups. 2) Big banks will get to trade "custom swaps" The spending deal includes a gift for big banks too. Sen. A marijuana plant. Tina Gerhardt: ALEC Targets Renewable Energy Standards and Global Warming Education.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is suffering backlash from its battle on a new front: renewable energy standards. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) have let their ALEC memberships expire, according to Greenwire. Why? Last October, ALEC adopted the "Electricity Freedom Act" model bill.
This model bill, which ALEC is now seeking to roll out in various states, would end requirements for states to derive a specific percentage of their electricity needs from renewable energy sources. Given the gridlock on national legislation, renewable energy standards, which are typically passed at the state or local level, set targets for shifting from fossil fuel energy to renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy. SEIA let its one-year membership expire last fall; AWEA let its membership drop this month. Carrie Hitt, Senior Vice-President of State Affairs at SEIA, told The Progressive in an interview: He continued: Computer Professionals Update Act seeks to remove overtime pay for IT pros. A bill is currently making its way through the United States Senate that effectively eliminates overtime pay for IT professionals. There was a bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate last week that seeks to modify the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) computer employee exemption, effectively eliminating overtime pay for IT professionals.
The Computer Professionals Update Act ("CPU"/S. 1747) was introduced in the Senate by Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) and cosponsors Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Enzi (R-WY), and Michael Bennet (D-CO). Under current law, an employee qualifies for the exemption if his "primary duty" consists of: In effect, S. 1747 would remove overtime protection and compensation for virtually any worker directly employed in information technology. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. When Lobbyists Write Bills. Those of us who went through the H-1B expansion battle in 1998 know well that industry does not have good faith when it comes to H-1B visas.
Now that the H-1B visa has again come to the attention of the public, let me take this opportunity to describe how things work in Washington. What Americans fail to appreciate is that controlling the text of legislation is the key to controlling Washington. When lobbyists can write the bills, they can control the government. Here, lobbyists are assisted by the American media. The media is so lazy that they rarely actually read bills. H-1B provides an excellent example of rule by bill text. While it was technically illegal for an employer to replace an American workers with an H-1B worker, there was a big (and probably unintentional when created) loophole. When AIG did the first large-scale replacement of Americans with H-1B workers, they used an H-1B importer called Syntel to supply the workers. 1. 2. 3.
ALEC Accountability Act set for introduction in Arizona | Cuéntame | Latino News. Video. Music. Impact. Arizona Representative Steve Farley (D-Tucson) has announced that he will introduce a bill, the “ALEC Accountability Act of 2012,” aimed to make the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) more transparent. As many of you know, ALEC is a mastermind organization that works to advance legislation authored by corporate interests at the state level. Thanks to Beau Hodai for sharing his latest investigation with Cuentame readers. ViaBeau Hodai, DBA Press/In These Times, January, 2012 A call for accountability With the 2012 legislative season and yet another episode of the Great American Campaign Circus dawning over the face of the nation, Arizona may find itself the proving grounds for possible reform in the age of ‘pay-to-play’ politics. Arizona Rep. This network, known as the ALEC “scholarship fund,” annually holds more than $1 million in special interest funds to be distributed to state lawmakers for attendance at various functions (commonly referred to as “junkets”). 1.) 2.) 3.)
Did AT&T Lie to Your Representative? Earlier this summer 76 House Democrats were misled by AT&T. They signed on to a letter circulated by Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) that was so packed with AT&T talking points and spin that it’s worth wondering who really drafted the letter. In it the 76 Democrats repeated AT&T’s argument that merging with T-Mobile is the only way that it can extend its mobile network to 97 percent of the population.
They also signed on to the AT&T notion that this merger will "create thousands of jobs … which will greatly contribute to our continuing economic recovery. " But here’s the rub. An AT&T lawyer recently leaked a document that revealed AT&T can accomplish its network buildout for one-tenth the cost of acquiring T-Mobile. Being wrong on the facts has never stopped AT&T’s relentless drive to get Washington to bless this disastrous deal. AT&T’s believes that the truth doesn't matter in a Washington where fact checking takes a distant second to check writing. (Not coincidentally, Rep. Regulators exist to ‘serve the banks,’ next House finance chairman declares | Raw Story. By Sahil KapurMonday, December 13, 2010 15:25 EDT Alabama Republican Spencer Bachus, the incoming chairman of the House banking committee, says the role of Congress and federal regulators is to “serve” financial institutions.
“In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks,” Bachus told The Birmingham News in an interview. The Republican leadership last week designated Bachus the next chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, which is tasked with overseeing banks, financial markets, housing and consumer credit. Democrats characterized the remark as a Freudian slip, nicknaming the Alabaman “Big Bank Bachus” and claiming the new Republican-controlled House will put the interests of financial institutions ahead of the American public.
Bachus later told the Birmingham News he merely meant Congress shouldn’t micromanage banks. The outgoing chairman, Rep. House Republicans vote to cut funds to implement food safety law. The House also waded into a controversial issue pending at the FDA, forbidding the agency from approving the sale of genetically engineered salmon, a matter that has triggered an intense debate about the place of biotechnology in the food supply. No Democrats voted in favor of the agriculture appropriations bill, which passed by a vote of 217 to 203. Nineteen Republicans joined the Democrats in opposition. The White House opposed many of the cuts, saying they would force the USDA to furlough inspectors at meat and poultry processing plants and leave the FDA unable to meet the requirements of a food safety law passed in December.
The legislation, which was the first major change to the nation’s food safety laws since 1938, calls for the FDA to significantly step up scrutiny of domestic and imported food and devise a system aimed at preventing the kind of contamination that sickens one in six Americans every year. Rep. Rep. “China is the Wild West,” Dingell said. Rep. Bernie Sanders - We To Have To Pass A Constitutional Amendment To End Citizens United Ruling. Cantor Promises Oil Speculators That GOP Will Block Financial Regulations. Senate votes down bill to end oil company subsidies, see how they voted and who gets oil money — Autoblog. As expected, a Democratic bill that would have put an end to the multi-billion-dollar annual tax subsidies for oil companies Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil failed to overcome a Republican filibuster on Tuesday evening. The heavily partisan 52-in-favor, 48-against vote fell eight shy of the 60 required to bring the bill to the floor.
If passed, the bill would have eliminated $12 billion in subsidies for production of oil within the U.S. and cut $6 billion in credits for taxes that oil companies pay to foreign governments. Finally, the bill would have put an end to oil companies writing off some drilling and development costs. According to the Huffington Post, Republicans say that the bill unfairly singles out oil companies and would hinder their ability to hire American workers, thus leading to reduced oil production and increased dependence on foreign oil. Wall Street quietly seeks to undo new financial rules. GOP, U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Beat Back Bill To Combat Outsourcing. Senate Republicans beat back an effort by Democrats Tuesday to end tax breaks for companies who send jobs offshore only to import products back into the United States. The House has passed a series of similar legislation over the past several weeks, as Democrats work to portray Republicans as in the pocket of Big Business at the expense of workers, the economy, the trade deficit and the budget deficit.
That message was muddied, however, by the defection of four Democrats and Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman, who voted against the motion to end a filibuster. "I wish this election would be a simple referendum on this issue," Dick Durbin, the Senate's number two Democrat, said on the Senate floor Monday night. "Who in the world believes that we should be rewarding corporations in our country for shipping jobs overseas? " The U.S. In 2004, Chamber head Tom Donohue made the case that outsourcing shouldn't be a concern because only "two, maybe three million jobs, maybe four" would be lost. Report: Prison industry helped create Arizona immigration law |
Report: Prison industry helped create Arizona immigration law James Reyes, 67, left, of Tucson waves his Arizona state flag in the 105-degree heat at the Phoenix Rising rally in Arizona Saturday afternoon. "I'm an American", Reyes said, "and I'm proud of this country.= An Orange County contingent about 15 anti-illegal immigration activists led by Barbara Coe, head of the Huntington Beach anti-illegal immigration group California Coalition for Immigration Reform., joined SB1070 supporters in Arizona for "Phoenix Rising" rally across from the capital building in Phoenix. Prison companies helped draft and pass controversial Arizona's immigration law SB1070, a National Public Radio investigation shows.
The law is currently tied up in the courts after a judge blocked some of the most contentious provisions of the bill from taking effect. It would allow police to ask people to prove they are in the country legally during a lawful stop. Arizona state Sen. "Enough is enough," Pearce told NPR. Halliburton objects, so PA limits fracking disclosure rules.
A funny thing happened on the way to tighter public disclosure rules for fracking fluids in Pennsylvania. Halliburton sent a letter of objection and bingo, the rules suddenly got less stringent. Initial drafts of the rules required drillers to disclose all types of chemicals contained in the millions of gallons of fracking fluids they pump deep below ground to dislodge natural gas from shale formations. The final draft of the rules allow drillers to designate parts of the record as containing trade secrets that will be kept from the public, according to as story in yesterday's Times Tribune, Another new provision requires drillers to disclose only the chemicals listed on federal safety documents - called material safety data sheets - instead of every toxic or nontoxic chemical injected into a well. What prompted rule drafters at the state Department of Environmental Protection to make the changes?
Times Tribune staff writer Laura Legere reports: Insurers Gave U.S. Chamber $86 Million Used to Oppose Obama's Health Law. Health insurers last year gave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce $86.2 million that was used to oppose the health-care overhaul law, according to tax records and people familiar with the donation.
The insurance lobby, whose members include Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Cigna Corp. of Philadelphia, gave the money to the Chamber in 2009 as Democrats increased criticism of the industry, according to a person who requested anonymity because laws don’t require identifying funding sources. The Chamber got the money from the America’s Health Insurance Plans as the industry urged Congress to drop a plan to create a competing government-run insurance plan. “Clearly the secrecy was important to industry,” Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, said in an interview.
The group tracks money in politics and isn’t affiliated with a political party. Close Open Source: U.S. U.S. Only Amounts Required Thomas J. Thomas J. Critics Pounce.