Today in Republican Governance
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There’s no question that Trump/Bannon is a unique type of horror when it comes to international relations. There’s also no question that on most issues, the real terror Americans face is not from Trump/Bannon per se but from the bog standard Republican Party. Example A:
Moving to dismantle former President Barack Obama’s legacy on the environment and other issues, House Republicans approved a measure Wednesday that scuttles a regulation aimed at preventing coal mining debris from being dumped into nearby streams.
Lawmakers also voted to rescind a separate rule requiring companies to disclose payments made to foreign governments relating to mining and drilling.
Republicans said the votes were first in a series of actions to reverse years of what they see as excessive government regulation during Obama’s presidency. Rules on fracking, guns and federal contracting also are in the cross-hairs as the GOP moves to void a host of regulations finalized during Obama’s last months in office.
What’s more, the law prevents the executive branch from imposing substantially similar regulations in the future.
It is that aspect of the law that frightens environmental groups that have fought for years for the coal-mining rule and another rule to restrict energy companies from burning off natural gas during drilling operations on public lands.
Using the review act to overturn a federal regulation “is like burning down your house because you don’t like the paint color,” said Jenifer Collins, a clean water advocate for the environmental group Earthjustice.
Collins calls the review act “an extreme and blunt instrument” that essentially prevents federal rule-makers from addressing a topic once Congress has acted.
The Republican-led House voted Thursday to repeal an Obama-era Social Security Administration regulation to keep people with severe mental illnesses from buying guns.
The vote was 235-180.
“The Social Security Administration not only overstepped its mission with this regulation, it discriminated against certain Americans with disabilities who receive Social Security benefits. The agency should be focused on serving all of its beneficiaries, not picking and choosing whose Second Amendment rights to deny,” said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee.
Democrats complained that repealing the rule, which was adopted in the waning days of the Obama administration, would lead to more gun violence.
“The American people and the families that are being hurt day after day by gun violence — they deserve some due process too,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.
Meanwhile we need to keep Iranian PhD students and Syrian grandmothers out of the country to keep us safe. Guns? No safety issue at all!