Both houses of Congress reconvened today. There are no votes expected on bills.
This evening, the Senate will debate on four district judge nominees and then vote on the nominations. Tomorrow, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled a cloture vote on the controversial nomination of Caitlin Joan Halligan to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Second Amendment supporters consider Halligan to be the worst Obama judicial nominee since Elena Kagan. Halligan is a committed adversary of gun rights, an abject apologist for enemy combatants, and an "uber-Leftwing judicial activist" President Obama may be seeking to mitigate with Halligan the decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court which overturned the D.C. gun ban. At minimum, Halligan is being slipped into the Federal judicial system by the Obama administration in hopes she will support progressive efforts in future years via her legal decisions.
Some readers have inquired on more information on actions in the U.S. House. There are often votes on issues which people watching on C-span don't know why they were brought up and voted on when they were. Many of these bills being voted under Suspension of the Rules.
"Suspension of the rules" is a procedure generally used to quickly pass non-controversial bills in the United States House of Representatives. The bill in question will be set aside, there is no debate and passage requires a 2/3 majority for passage. The following bills in the House are Legislation Considered Under Suspension and awaiting a vote when there is an opening after they have been published electronically for 3 days:
1) H.R. 2351 - North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act
2) H.R. 944 - To eliminate an unused lighthouse reservation, provide management consistency by incorporating the rocks and small islands along the coast of Orange County, California, into the California Coastal National Monument managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and meet the original Congressional intent of preserving Orange County's rocks and small islands, and for other purpose
3) H.R. 2360 - Outer continental shelf energy production
4) H.R. 643 - Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District Land Exchange Act
5) H.R. 1560 - To amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to allow the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe to determine blood quantum requirement for membership in that tribe
6) S.683 - Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance Act
7) S. 535 - Fort Pulaski National Monument Lease Authorization Act
8) S.Con.Res. 32 - A concurrent resolution to authorize the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make technical corrections in the enrollment of H.R. 470, an Act to further allocate and expand the availability of hydroelectric power generated at Hoover Dam, and for other purpose.
This week, the House is expected to vote on the following bills:
Legislation Considered Under Suspension:
1) H.R. 1254 - Synthetic Drug Control Act
2) H.R. 2405 - Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Re-authorization Act
3) H.R. 3237 - SOAR Technical Corrections Act
4) H.R. 2297 - To promote the development of the Southwest waterfront in the District of
Columbia, and for other purposes
5) H.R. 313 - Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2011
6) H.R. 2471 - To amend section 2710 of title 18, United States Code, to clarify that a video tape service provider may obtain a consumer's informed, written consent on an ongoing basis and that consent may be obtained through the Internet
7) H.R. 1021 - Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act of 2011
8) S.J.Res. 22 - A joint resolution to grant the consent of Congress to an amendment to the compact between the States of Missouri and Illinois providing that bonds issued by the Bi-State Development Agency may mature in not to exceed 40 years, as amended
9) S. 1639 - A bill to amend title 36, United States Code, to authorize the American Legion under its Federal charter to provide guidance and leadership to the individual departments and posts of the American Legion, and for other purposes
10) S. 1541 - A bill to revise the Federal charter for the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. to reflect a change in eligibility requirements for membership
Legislation Consider Under Rule (published online for 3 prior to debate and voting): H.R. 10 - Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2011. As identified by Phil Kerpin in his book Democracy Denied, "The REINS Act requires the Congress to affirmatively approve any executive branch or independent agency regulations that have a material effect on the national economy. This restores accountability to our elected officials, rather than leaving the immense regulatory power in the hands of the iconic faceless bureaucrats conveniently 'invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.'"
U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, aka The Dodd-Frank Agency:
Politico reported last night, “President Barack Obama is targeting Red State Republican senators opposed to Richard Cordray’s nomination as director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — part of his larger strategy to portray the GOP as pawns of Wall Street. . . . ‘We intend to aggressively take the case for Mr. Cordray’s nomination directly to the American people,’ deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said Sunday — ahead of Obama’s Tuesday visit to red Kansas. . . . Earnest said the push would be among the most ‘aggressive’ efforts Obama has made on behalf of any nominee short of a Supreme Court confirmation.”
Reuters adds, “With a Senate vote on Cordray tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Obama and his aides will give a series of media interviews on the nomination of the former Ohio attorney general to head the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Republicans opposed creation of the consumer agency, which was created under the 2010 Dodd-Frank legislation overhauling Wall Street regulation. . . . But Republicans have warned of the risk of regulatory overreach that could make the U.S. financial industry less competitive. They have demanded changes before agreeing to confirm Cordray, who was nominated by Obama in July. In his former role as attorney general in Ohio, Cordray was known as a leader among state attorneys general in a probe of dubious mortgage foreclosure practices. He lost his re-election bid last year and in December, he worked alongside outspoken consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren to help set up the new consumer agency.”
Back in May, 44 Senate Republicans sent a letter to President Obama saying, “As presently organized, far too much power will be vested in the CFPB director without any effective checks and balances. Accordingly, we will not support the consideration of any nominee, regardless of party affiliation, to be the CFPB director until the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reformed.” (Because he was not yet sworn in at the time, Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) later also signed the letter, bringing the number to 45).
Republican senators explained, “The Dodd-Frank Act grants the CFPB director unprecedented authority over financial institutions and main street businesses. The CFPB director will have vast rulemaking, supervisory, investigative and enforcement powers and the authority to regulate any person or business that offers or sells a “financial product or service.” This authority will extend to not just traditional financial institutions, but also potentially thousands of entrepreneurs and small businesses. This authority will directly affect every American household by limiting their choices when purchasing financial products, restricting the availability of credit to consumers, and increasing the cost of goods or services purchased using credit. . . . Despite this broad mandate the Dodd-Frank Act failed to provide any real checks on the CFPB director’s powers. Once confirmed, the director effectively answers to no one. The CFPB director will be appointed for a five year term and can only be removed by the President in cases of ‘inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.’ Thus, the director cannot even be removed for poor performance, including enacting ill-conceived regulations. Moreover, the Dodd-Frank Act grants the director unfettered authority to set the budget of the CFPB. No agency or institution, including Congress, can review the CFPB budget, and no mechanisms were put in place to ensure that the director is effectively managing public money.”
When the president first nominated Cordray in July, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell warned, “I would remind him that Senate Republicans still aren’t interested in approving any one to the position until the President agrees to make this massive new government bureaucracy more accountable and transparent to the American people.” He added, “Republicans have voiced our serious concerns over the creation of the CFPB because it represents a government-driven solution to a problem government helped create. We have no doubt that, without proper oversight, the CFPB will only multiply the kind of countless burdensome regulations that are holding our economy back right now, and that it will have countless unintended consequences for individuals and small businesses that constrict credit, stifle growth, and destroy jobs. That’s why everybody from florists to community bankers opposed its creation. That’s why we’ll insist on serious reforms to bring accountability and transparency to the agency before we consider any nominee to run it.”
Senate Republicans haven’t changed their position on the president appointing what amounts to another unaccountable czar to this agency since then. As Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, reminded, “The CFPB is unaccountable by design. We will continue to fight for accountability from regulators.”
Tags: Washington, D.C., US Senate, US House, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Dodd-Frank Agency, CFPB, REINS Act, Obama Czar, Richard Cordray To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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