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LABOR, ECONOMY & THE CLIMATE - page 42

Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Endorses Bernie Sanders For President

One of the leaders of the progressive flank of the Democratic Party is set this week to give Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) his first Capitol Hill endorsement for president. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) will formally make his endorsement during an appearance with the independent senator and presidential candidate at a rally in Tucson Friday, the Los Angles Times reported. “I couldn’t sit on the sidelines and wait for the tea leaves to be read better,” Mr. Grijalva said… Keep Reading

“Your Decision Is Dangerous”–Sen. Boxer Attacks Nuclear Watchdogs’ Handling Of San Onofre Plant

A decision by the Nuclear Regulator Commission (NRC) to exempt a problematic, shuttered California nuclear plant from safety requirements has evoked the ire of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who accused regulators of putting peoples’ lives at risk. The ranking member of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee took NRC Chairman Stephen Burns to task during an oversight hearing Wednesday, saying she was “perplexed” by the commission’s June decision to let operators of the San Onofre nuclear plant scale back their emergency planning operations. Burns… Keep Reading

Trade Deficit Grows As Capitol Hill Gears Up for T.P.P. Fight

As Washington braces itself for a battle over the recently-finalized Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Commerce Department on Tuesday reported that the US trade deficit grew by $6.5 billion to $48.3 billion in August—the sixth highest monthly sum since the start of the Great Recession. The increase in the deficit happened in spite of record low spending in the US on petroleum and a record high value of net American service exports, Commerce noted. It was buoyed by record high spending on US services in the rest… Keep Reading

TPP Finalized: GOP Hates Tobacco Carve-Out; Special Provisions Validate Dem Concerns, Senator Claims

A slew of negative reactions from key lawmakers to news that the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been finalized has raised doubts that the deal will be ratified by the United States. Among the issues at the heart of the grumbling is language that would exempt tobacco companies from TPP investor-state dispute settlement fora—a carve-out that has reportedly enraged conservatives and caused at least one Democrat to say it validates his party’s concerns about the deal writ large. “The removal of tobacco from the dispute resolution process… Keep Reading

Vitter: Financial Overseer Literally Staffed By Active Duty Wall Streeters, Must Change Before Nominees Approved

A Senate Banking Committee member vowed to block nominations to an obscure financial sector overseer, saying that it is riddled with systemic conflicts of interest that have sapped markets of confidence. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said that reforms must be passed before the Securities Investors Protection Corporation (SIPC) can proceed with business as usual, and denounced how the non-profit government-created organization has treated victims of multibillion dollar fraudster Alan Stanford. “Investors are led to believe that if a broker-dealer fails, SIPC will be there to… Keep Reading

Tea Partier Puts Leadership Candidates On Watch Ahead Of Government Shutdown Vote

The far-right flank of the Republican Party is keeping a close eye on House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the front-runner in the upcoming House Speaker election, warning him that his upcoming vote to keep the government funded could be his undoing. Appearing on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Wednesday, Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, called for a complete overhaul in party leadership—a sign that Rep. McCarthy has a lot of work to do to win support from a Tea Party… Keep Reading

Litigious Agribusiness Group Not Pleased with EPA Pesticide Worker Safety Update

The Environmental Protection Agency this week finalized new rules on pesticide application, updating for the first time since 1992 regulations aimed at improving farmworker safety. While workers advocates, labor unions and environmental groups cheered the move as long overdue, a review of wholly-dismissive public comments filed last year suggests agribusiness could vigorously resist and challenge the reforms. Filing remarks in opposition to the proposed rule last year were The Biopesticide Industry Alliance (BPIA)–a group that counts chemical-maker giants Monsanto, Bayer, DuPont, Syngenta among members–and the… Keep Reading

F.T.C. Sues to Stop “Gag Clauses” Affecting Free Expression, In First-of-Kind Litigation

A federal regulator this week launched a new kind of lawsuit against a company for trying to stifle online criticism from unhappy customers. On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission asked a judge to fine a weight loss product firm for allegedly deceiving consumers and ensnaring them in contracts designed to silence bad publicity. The regulator told The Sentinel it had never before invoked the “unfairness doctrine” to quash companies’ attempts to get customers to agree to non-disparagement. A spokesperson for the commission said it had concerns… Keep Reading

“Dark Money” Already Smashing Records

Donors not tied to official campaigns–many anonymously–have given far more to candidates than the amount they dished out at the same time four years ago. But despite a competitive race in both major parties this time around, a review of Federal Election Commission data conducted by The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) found primarily one faction responsible for the early surge. “The rise of single-candidate operations gives conservative organizations an edge in a presidential race marked by a large crop of Republican presidential candidates,” the non-profit… Keep Reading

S.E.C. Proposes Shedding Light on Relatively Unregulated Firms That Have Grown Five-Fold Since Collapse

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to propose making mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) more open about practices amid fears the investment firms pose an increasingly large risk that regulators are currently unable to cope with. The rules, if finalized, would seek to ensure that investors can liquidate their mutual fund assets “in a timely manner” by forcing firms to be open about and prepare for the possibility of withdrawal panics. “Under the proposed reforms, mutual funds and ETFs would be… Keep Reading

Latest C.F.P.B. List of Most Complained About Financial Companies Loaded With Wall Street Giants

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report Tuesday showing that Americans are this year more dissatisfied with financial firms —especially debt collectors, credit reporters, and mortgage lenders. The watchdog pointed out that among the “Top 10 Most-Complained-About Companies,” credit reporters Equifax and Experian were financial industry leaders in terms of inspiring grievances. Each firm was the subject of more than 900 monthly complaints on average between June and August 2015. Wall Street giants Bank of America and Wells Fargo, plus another credit reporting… Keep Reading

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