LABOR, ECONOMY & THE CLIMATE - page 13

Neil Gorsuch issued his first Supreme Court opinion on Monday, delivering a decision limiting the scope of a law protecting consumers from abusive debt collection practices. Gorsuch wrote that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) only applies to agencies working on behalf of creditors, and that it’s legal for banks to attempt to collect on defaulted debts that they have purchased. Keeping with Supreme Court tradition, the rookie Justice’s debut opinion was short—just thirteen pages long—and relatively uncontroversial in the legal world. There were… Keep Reading

An ambitious bid to replace Republicans’ Dodd-Frank repeal proposal with legislation restoring Glass-Steagall was defeated on Tuesday. The House Rules Committee voted down the bipartisan Glass-Steagall restoration bill before advancing the push to washout financial reforms passed after last decade’s massive banking collapse. The move, which wasn’t unexpected, means that the lower chamber will likely go ahead this week with considering conservatives’ Dodd-Frank replacement. While Democrats on the committee asked for a roll call vote after the Dodd-Frank repeal advanced along party lines, they did… Keep Reading

The White House on Monday announced its plan to privatize the US air traffic control system. President Trump did not reveal many details of the sell-off, simply stating that he would be “proposing new principles to Congress.” Trump also said the sale would go to “one great company that can piece it all together,” and that it would be “non-profit” and “self-financing.” The President claimed that “passenger advocates [and] pilot unions” support the plan, but one major labor stakeholder said that it is awaiting crucial details.… Keep Reading

A frustrated Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent a letter to officials within the Trump Organization, pressing for more information about how the President’s businesses operate in compliance with the US Constitution. Cummings released to the public on Wednesday a 9-page glossy pamphlet provided by the Trump Organization to the House Oversight Committee this month. The document detailed how Trump’s business would avoid violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which prohibits Presidents from accepting foreign gifts. Government ethics watchdogs warned that foreign entities could attempt to curry… Keep Reading

A Republican congressman who represents some of the most deprived parts of the country is anxious that the Trump administration is recklessly planning on destroying a program designed for his constituents. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) admonished top White House budget aide Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday, saying the administration was relying on a 21-year-old study when justifying plans to shutter the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). Johnson told Mulvaney that the program last year raised $866 million in public and private investment, and that more than three-quarters of… Keep Reading

A bill that advanced through the House could lead to unconstitutional abuses by lightly-trained law enforcement officers, Democrats have warned. Some of their colleagues in the Senate, however, appear poised to help the legislation become law. Federal probation officers would be granted the power to arrest those not under their direct supervision, under the proposal. It passed the House on Friday in a 229-177 vote, largely along party lines. If and when Senators decide to take up the measure, it will have the support of… Keep Reading

President Trump isn’t interested in restoring the Glass-Steagall Act, reversing prior claims made by White House officials. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Thursday that the administration doesn’t support the segregation of retail and investment banking—the crux of the Depression-era legislation. “We think that would have a very significant problem on [sic] the financial markets, on the economy, and on liquidity, and we think there are proper things that we could look at around regulation,” Mnuchin said. “But we do not support a separation of banks… Keep Reading

A lynch pin of President Trump’s nationalist agenda looks dead on arrival in the Senate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that Trump’s proposed “border adjustment tax” stands little chance of being approved by the upper chamber. Calls for such a levy served as part of the Trump campaign’s broadsides against free trade agreements and the deindustrialization of the United States. “It probably wouldn’t pass the Senate,” McConnell told Bloomberg news on Tuesday, referring to the border tax. “The Secretary of the Treasury, and [Speaker… Keep Reading

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that debt collectors can pursue payments, even if they’re fully-aware that the validity of their claim has expired. Justices ruled 5-3 that creditors can file litigation to get money owed by debtors, after the statute of limitations on the debt has passed. The decision reversed a federal appellate court order, which forbade the behavior under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The case centered around an Alabama woman, Aleida Johnson, who had filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, in federal… Keep Reading