12/16/14 More surprises written by KPCC News...Its is short overviews but comprehensive. The U.S. Senate voted Saturday night to fund the government for another year with the $1.1 trillion Omnibus Appropriations package, otherwise known as the CRomnibus. Its the last moments of the 113th Congress, the witching hour when unrelated laws are magically inserted into the spending bill to keep the government running. Tucked inside the 1,603-page CRomnibus youll find: The rollback of a provision of Dodd-Frank After the financial meltdown, Congress passed a measure that requires banks to turn over risky investments in derivatives to subsidiaries that are not FDIC insured. Thats so if the bank goes bust on the investment, taxpayers are off the hook. The CRomnibus puts banks back in the derivative trading business, with the backing of the FDIC. L.A. Democrat Maxine Waters and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi led a fight in the House against the measure — but failed to stop it. A boosted for federal campaign contribution limits Currently, the most an individual can give to a political party is $32,400. This measure allows ten times that amount: $324,000 a year. Tea Party supporters are not amused and see the provision as a way for the Republican Party establishment to hold onto power. But Democrats benefit too. A pension cut for troubled union retirement plans If youre one of the million or so Americans who work for supermarkets, drive trucks, or build homes, your pension could shrink. Some private pensions are in trouble - theyre underfunded and not enough new workers are contributing to the pool. The federal agency that bails out pension funds is also running out of money. A deal that allows these pensions to cut pensions for already retired workers was crafted by retiring Northern California Congressman George Miller, the top Democrat on the Education and Workforce Committee. Critics say it opens the door to slashing pensions in other industries as well. No money for high-speed rail Earlier this year, the House passed a measure from Turlock Republican Jeff Denham to prohibit any federal dollars to be spent on Californias high speed rail project. The budget bill made it simple: theres no high speed rail money at all in next years budget. But its mostly symbolic: California officials say they werent expecting any more federal money for the next fiscal year. Theyre already got nearly $4 billion in federal funds in the bank. Hands off medical marijuana Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has been working for years on federal legalization of medical marijuana — without much success. This year, the Huntington Beach Republican pitched it to conservative GOP colleagues as a states rights issue. The CRomnibus contains a provision that prohibits the federal government from spending any money to stop states from implementing medical marijuana laws. Pay raise: Dont spend it all in one place Federal workers will get that 1 percent pay raise promised by President Obama. So do members of the military ranking below a general or a commissioned officer. Thats better than Joe Biden: Congress froze the salary of the Vice President, ambassadors, and other senior political appointees. The President appears to be off the hook: perhaps its veto insurance for next year. Unaccompanied minors Theres nearly a billion dollars in this years budget for the Department of Health and Human Services unaccompanied minors program. $14 million will go to school districts to help them absorb immigrant students. A few drips for the drought Senator Dianne Feinstein got an additional $50 million for western drought response. Its designed to get more water to the people who need it, giving priority to the activities that will have the most direct, most immediate, and largest impact on extending limited water supplies during current drought conditions. Lets go to Jupiters moon! Every year, theres a fight over how money for NASA should be spent: human space travel or unmanned exploration. NASA tries to split the baby, but because building rockets capable of getting people to Mars are expensive, planetary science usually comes in second. Every year, Burbank Democrat Adam Schiff, whose district includes the Jet Propulsion Lab, negotiates to boost funding for planetary science. This year theres enough money to keep the Mars Rover Opportunity going, plus $118 million for a mission to Jupiters most promising moon Europa,c onsidered the most likely place to find life in our solar system. Sail your boat in Long Beach Theres nearly $8 million to dredge the Queensway Bay channel at the mouth of the Los Angeles River. Nearly ten thousand boats use this channel every year and ferries rely on it to get to Catalina Island. You can leave the light on The Republican Congress hates those new-fangled fluorescent and LED light bulbs. Once again, theyve postponed a federal phase-out of the more energy-hungry incandescent bulbs. Pay for your own portrait Get a plumb Senate chairmanship? Want your own gigantic portrait in the committee room? Next year, you have to pay for it yourself. Taxpayers are no longer picking up the tab. House chairmen have been paying for their own portraits for years, creating portrait fundraising committees to solicit donations. How did California lawmakers vote? The final House vote was 219-206. Most California Republicans voted for the measure, except for Tom McClintock (Granite Bay), Doug LaMalfa (Redding) and Rohrabacher (yes even though it had his pot law inside). Most California Democrats voted against the measure, except for Brad Sherman (Sherman Oaks), Raul Ruiz (Palm Springs), Scott Peters (San Diego), George Miller (Walnut Creek), John Garamendi (Sacramento), Susan Davis (San Diego), Jim Costa (Fresno), Julia Brownley (Ventura), and Ami Bera (Sacramento). Not voting: three Californians who are retiring from Congress: Gary Miller (R-Riverside), Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Montclair) and John Campbell (R-Irvine.) Why is it called a CRomnibus? Washington loves dumb names. An omnibus spending measure covers all departments for the next fiscal year. A Continuing Resolution is a short-term funding measure. In this package, the Department of Homeland Security only got enough money to get to March of next year. Republicans are trying to defund the Presidents efforts to take executive action on immigration reform.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 05:08:30 +0000
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