The two provisions that have been criticized the most by Democrats are the rider that weakens campaign finance regulations by increasing the amount that an individual can donate to a party committee in a year from $32,400 to $324,000, thus giving rich people even more say than they already have, and the rider that guts Dodd-Frank and sets the stage for future bank bailouts. Elizabeth Warren has spoken eloquently and forcefully against the latter provision, which was, in fact, directly written by Citigroup. However, the toxicity of the deal did not end there: But there’s so much more to the CRomnibus than just those two riders. Under the bill, trustees would be enabled to cut pension benefits to current retirees, reversing a 40-year bond with workers who earned their retirement packages. Voters in the District of Columbia who approved legalized marijuana will see their initiative vaporized, with local government prohibited from taxing or regulating the drug’s sale. Trucking companies can make roads less safe by giving their employees 82-hour work weeks without sufficient rest breaks. Pell grants for college students will be cut, with the money diverted to private student loan contractors who have actively harmed borrowers. Government financiers of overseas projects will be prevented from stopping funding for coal-fired power plants. Blue Cross and Blue Shield will be allowed to count “quality improvement” measures toward their mandatory health spending under Obamacare’s “medical loss ratio” provision, a windfall saving them millions of dollars. I’m not done. The bill eliminates a bipartisan measure to end “backdoor” searches by the NSA of Americans’ private communications. It blocks the EPA from regulating certain water sources for farmers. It adds an exception to allow the U.S. to continue to fund Egypt’s military leadership. In a giveaway to potato growers, it reduces nutrition standards in school lunches and the Women, Infant and Children food aid program. It halts the listing of new endangered species. It stops the regulation of lead in hunting ammunition or fishing equipment. It limits contributions to the Green Climate Fund to compensate poor countries ravaged by climate change. I could go on. And even if the offending measures on derivatives and campaign finance were removed, all of that dreck would remain. dailykos/story/2014/12/14/1351689/-Which-32-Senate-Democrats-Just-Sold-You-Out-to-Give-Wall-Street-a-CRomnibus-Christmas?detail=emailb#
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 19:37:38 +0000
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