March 3, 2017

AG Sessions

I am deeply disturbed by reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied under oath about communicating with Russian officials. There is just no question that the AG’s decision to recuse himself from investigations into Trump associates’ contacts with the Russians is not enough. AG Sessions should resign and an independent investigation into the larger question of President Trump and his associates’ ties to and communication with Russia should commence immediately.

Community Meetings

We continue working to finalize community meetings and have three scheduled so far. Details are below:

• Monday March 13th, Somerville High School auditorium from 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 81 Highland Avenue.
• Wednesday April 12th, Stetson Hall, Randolph from 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 6 S. Main Street.
• Thursday April 13th, East Boston High School auditorium from 6-7:30 PM, 86 White Street.

As additional meetings are added we will share the details with you. Hope to see you at one of the meetings.

Trump and His Taxes

We have an update on efforts to access President Trump’s tax returns using a 1924 law authorizing the Chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation to obtain the tax return of any individual.

On Monday night, New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell tried to offer what is known as a “privileged resolution” which must be considered within two legislative days. If approved, it would have launched the process of reviewing those tax returns in an Executive Session, closed to the public and subject to secrecy requirements. After that review a vote would be taken on whether to proceed with efforts to release the taxes to the public.

House Republicans objected, arguing that the resolution shouldn’t be considered “privileged”. The Republican Chair agreed with that assessment and tabled the resolution. Democrats appealed the Chair’s ruling and a vote was held. Every Republican (except two who voted “present”) voted to “table the appeal of the ruling of the chair”. What that means in non-legislative terms is that House Republicans stood together in keeping Trump’s tax returns secret, from the House itself and also from the American people.

Regulation: a New Entry for Comedian George Carlin’s Famous List of Dirty Words?

On Wednesday the House considered H.R. 998, the SCRUB Act. You’ve no doubt noticed that the new Administration and House Republicans are spending an awful lot of time laying the groundwork to eliminate federal regulations. H.R. 998 is one more way they are trying to accomplish that. It creates a nine member commission appointed by the President to review all federal regulations and identify those that should be repealed. The commission will have subpoena power and wide raging authority to review and eliminate regulations related to the environment, public health, consumer protection and so much more. In fact, the way the legislation is written will give this commission more power than federal Inspectors General. I voted NO. H.R. 998 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

If You Don’t Report the Injury to OSHA Then it Didn’t Happen

On Wednesday the House considered H.J. Res. 83, Disapproving of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to “Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness.” That long title translates into a resolution weakening the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) authority requiring employers to retain records of serious injuries, illnesses and deaths for 5 years. Since 1972, OSHA has directed employers to report injuries on the “OSHA Log” and post a yearly summary in the workplace. In 2012 a court sided with a construction company that failed to record hundreds of violations, noting that if OSHA had not investigated the incident within six months of it occurring, it could not then go back and fine a company for not reporting the incident. Rather than continue to argue in courts, OSHA issued a rule making it clear that if a company did not properly maintain records of an incident for 5 years, OSHA could impose a fine even after six months. This legislation repeals that rule. If it were to become law, OSHA could no longer require public disclosure or impose fines on a company if action is not taken within 6 months. I voted NO. The resolution, which should be called the Don’t Report Those Workplace Injuries, You Might Get Lucky Act passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

“Deconstructing the Administrative State” as Steve Bannon Would Say

Also Wednesday the House considered H.R. 1009, the OIRA Insight, Reform and Accountability Act. This legislation applies to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). This office reviews major rules from agencies while they are still in draft form. The OIRA can sign off on the rules without changes, propose revisions, or recommend that the draft rules be withdrawn. H.R. 1009 gives the OIRA significantly more authority, extending its reach to independent agencies. H.R. 1009 is so shockingly broad that it would apply to regulatory actions taken by independent federal financial regulators like the Federal Reserve, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The practical impact of this legislation is that the Trump Administration could undermine the work of all these agencies. Politics should not interfere with independent regulatory agencies established by law to be independent. Presidents appoint their members, subject to Senate confirmation, but once serving, the members should not be subject to political influence. The SEC is designed to protect investors as well as target insider trading, fraud, and other financial crimes. The FDIC protects the deposit insurance fund. The CFTC regulates the derivatives market which Warren Buffett described as the “financial weapons of mass destruction” that nearly brought down the economy. H.R. 1009’s definition of regulation also appears to apply to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy guidance and the statements it issues on interest rates. This would be unprecedented interference in the Fed’s monetary policy independence. I voted NO. The resolution passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

Let’s Bury Them in Paperwork

On Thursday the House considered H.R. 1004, the Regulatory Integrity Act of 2017. The stated intent of this legislation is to create additional transparency in the regulatory process. What it really does is establish such a broad definition of public communication that agencies would be significantly impeded from doing the work required to implement regulations. H.R. 1004 prohibits agencies from communicating any information with the public about a proposed rule if that communication could be perceived as trying to build support for the agency’s efforts. However, it also requires agencies to make public every pending regulation, including timing, a description of it and all public communication about it. The legislation also requires that agencies submit to Congress a record of every public communication related to the top 5 regulations every year. This includes records of every phone call, electronic communication and oral conversation. It should be apparent that no possible notion of transparency could justify these overly burdensome demands. This legislation should be called the Let’s Bury Them in Paperwork Act. I voted NO. H.R. 1004 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:

Behind the Curtain

Here are this week’s additions. If you need to catch up or share with friends, you can find the full list here.

27. On February 28, 2017 President Trump issued an Executive Order requiring the EPA to start repealing “Waters of the United States”. This provided clarity on the bodies of water subject to Clean Water Act protections, including restoring those protections for small streams. More than 117 million Americans currently get their drinking water from small streams, including a million people in Massachusetts. With this action, small streams could now be more vulnerable to pollution, which would in turn have a negative impact on the drinking water of millions of people.
28. The Department of Labor is proposing to delay for 60 days the effective date of a fiduciary rule that directs financial advisors to place the best interests of their clients before profits they may make when recommending an investment. The rule would have gone into effect on April 1th. The DOL is only offering a 15 day comment period on the 60 day extension, until March 17th. If you would like to submit comments on this, you may do so here.
29. During the week of February 27, 2017 the Department of Justice announced that the federal government would no longer challenge a 2011 Texas voter ID law on the grounds that it discriminates against minorities. That particular law has been described as one of the most restrictive voting laws in the country.
30. On March 2, 2017 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set aside a rule regarding personal data collection by internet service providers (ISPs). That rule required ISPs to obtain explicit customer permission before collecting personal customer data information such as websites visited or browsing habits. The FCC argues now that providers overseen by the Federal Trade Commission, such as Google, do not have to obtain permission before collecting customer data so ISPs shouldn’t be burdened either. Of course, that logic completely sets aside the customer, who may not want their ISP to use their personal information for advertising purposes.
31. H.J. Res. 83 as described above
32. H.R. 1004 as described above

What’s Up Next

The next House votes will take place on Tuesday March 7th. The House is expected to consider the Department of Defense Appropriations bill.