LABOR, ECONOMY & THE CLIMATE - page 33

A federal watchdog reported that regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) aren’t bothering to collect enough information necessary to ensure that fracked wastewater isn’t poisoning people. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the EPA has shirked its responsibilities under the Safe Drinking Water Act to keep tabs on Underground Injection Control (UIC) programs, which work to ensure that wastewater associated with oil and gas production is properly injected into underground wells to prevent contamination of nearby areas. “EPA has not collected inspection and enforcement information,… Keep Reading

A short-handed Supreme Court threw the labor movement a lifeline, dismissing a challenge to rules on public sector collective bargaining fees. “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court,” the Justices announced in a one sentence ruling. The move upheld a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the case, Friedrichs v. California’s Teachers Association. Just months ago, such an outcome seemed impossible, as this and other publications noted. That changed on Feb. 13, when Justice Antonin Scalia suddenly died. “When the… Keep Reading

Another tightening of credit markets is just around the corner, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard. Bullard said Thursday that the Fed is likely to soon hike interest rates for the second time in months, despite signaling last week that it had grown more concerned about global economic developments. “The relatively minor downgrades… suggest that the next rate increase may not be far off provided that the economy evolves as expected,” Bullard said. On March 16, the Fed announced after a… Keep Reading

If Republicans are hoping to make libertarian-minded opposition to healthcare reform a central part of their election campaign this fall, they’re going to have to go up against a lot of people who are reportedly alive because of a Big Government intrusion. In celebrating the sixth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act coming into law, a leading House Democrat touted a study that claims increased oversight of hospitals has saved tens of thousands of lives. “The Affordable Care Act also is improving the quality of care,”… Keep Reading

Presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) rebuffed calls to drop out of the race, and won two out of three contests Tuesday night as the primary calendar started its shift to the West. Sanders trounced the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Idaho and Utah caucuses, winning the former 78-21 percent. With nearly all the votes counted in Utah, Sanders is up 60 points. Clinton did pick up a sizeable win in the Arizona primary, where she bested Sanders 58-40 percent. But the… Keep Reading

The Federal Reserve might not yet be certain if Goldman Sachs is “too big to fail,” but it believes the notorious behemoth isn’t too big to acquire other banks. Goldman’s purchase of $17 billion in deposits from GE Capital Bank was approved on Monday by the Fed. The deal had been in the works since last August. Fed officials noted that public comments filed in response to the proposed merger charged that Goldman “should not be allowed to increase in size and complexity, arguing that… Keep Reading

Tucked into the 2017 Republican budget introduced this week is a one line provision that calls for lottery winners to be stripped of their Medicaid coverage. The spending plan, which must first be approved by both the House and the Senate, calls on relevant congressional committees to consider “major reforms” to save $30 billion in the upcoming fiscal year—one being, “ending Medicaid payments for lottery winners.” The budget text doesn’t describe details of the new policy, but it’s likely borrowed from legislation introduced earlier this… Keep Reading

Conservatives are assailing a rule on payday lending currently being formulated by the Obama administration as an attack on states’ rights. Right-wing members of the House Financial Services Committee accused the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of trying to “preempt” state law, in its impending regulatory initiative focusing on short-term loans. Bureau Director Richard Cordray told the committee on Wednesday that a rule will be coming in the Spring, but that it wouldn’t be based on preemption. He said it will be focused on setting minimum standards… Keep Reading