[List in progress: I will add pending legislation, regulations, and executive actions as I become aware of them – Statuses as of 12/22/16, unless otherwise noted]
On-going:
Monitor staff salaries page of whitehouse.gov – if Bannon is getting paid….I’m gonna go ballistic.
Watch to see if any the Obama administration advances for LGBT community are reversed
Watch for GOP holding CHIP hostage as part of their efforts to “replace” Obamacare. [Jan 14, 2017]
Watch for lifting of sanctions on Russia, to pave the way for ExxonMobil’s $500 million joint venture or big joint ventures signed with Central Asia republics like Kazakhstan. Also, if Executive Order 13490 holds, Tillerson would have to recuse himself for any issues involving ExxonMobile for 2 years – Monitor ExxonMobil press releases, annual reports, regulatory filings and the State Dept releases. [Jan 14, 2017]
Bank Compensation: Incentive-based Compensation Arrangements rule: “meant to rein in excessively risky behavior across a wide swath of the financial industry, would force executives to wait longer to cash out their bonuses. It would also give companies as long as seven years to take back pay tied to misconduct, even if the bonus is already vested or the person no longer works for the firm.” [Source] Joint rule by 1) Federal Reserve 2) SEC 3) National Credit Union Administration, 4) FDIC, 5) Comptroller of the Currency, 6) Federal Housing Finance Agency. Public comment period began May 16, 2016 and closed July 22, 2016. Track its progress using SEC File No. S7-07-16 at https://www.sec.gov/rules/rulemaking-index.shtml
Russia investigations: H.R. 6447 Protecting Our Democracy Act proposed by Swalwell and Cummings and H.R. 5181, the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act of 2016 from May 2016.
College debt: For a list of relevant legislation see studentloanbilltracker.com Web-based form to email your senator to ask them to support the Reducing Educational Debt (RED) act (S. 2677 – The combination of H.R. 2962, S. 793, and S. 1061.): actionnetwork.org/letters/support-the-red-act-help-student-borrowers Jan 7 update: Rep. Chaffetz (R-UT) (who also chairs the House Oversight Committee…let’s just say I’m NOT a fan) has introduced H.R. 297, which among other things would reclassify Pell Grants as “discretionary spending”- he says this would not affect the number or amount of grant awards, but we all know the GOP loves to talk about cutting discretionary spending and introducing bills that indiscriminately apply across-the-board cuts to all spending that falls within that classification.
Refugees: HCR 28 urges a halt to all refugee resettlement. This is a concurrent resolutions meaning it is not submitted to the president and does not have the force of law. However, it presents an opportunity to voice your opinion and indicate that Trump has NO mandate on this part of his platform.
Various agencies: House Bill: Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) – would apply to all “unauthorized” programs by gradually defunding and then eliminating them. (Read this Politico article for background on unauthorized programs.)
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