Biden/Harris Legislative/Policy Discussions - Now with a Republican House starting 2023

[EmirOfShmo]

2 hours ago, PleaseBlitz said:

I haven't read the whole thing, but an addition to phasing out private prisons, which will take forever because they are massive facilities that have to be totally reorganized, I wish he would issue an EO that phases out all of the private companies that provide services to prisoners.  For example, prisons have outsourced food services companies, banking providers, telecom providers, etc.  They are all expensive AF because they have to pay a ton of their profits in kickbacks to the people actually running the prison (that give them access) and because its not like prisoners can choose another service provider or, you know, leave.  So they get ****ed.  So like, if a prisoner's family wants to send him money for a razor at the commissary, the bank takes $30 for the deposit (which is free for non-prisoners) and the $2 razor costs $20.  You could implement this much faster because each thing is on a much smaller scale than the entire prison.

Around 2004-5 I had a client that assembled the MRE's for the military & federal prisons near Myrtle Beach, SC. Their entire MRE process was to receive dehydrated food from around the country (I think it was all US made) and put it in a pouch. I still remember being amazed how the guys on the ground were able to make vanilla, chocolate or strawberry milkshakes from the dry pack crap without any ice. They charged the US Gov't a FORTUNE to put these packs together + the dehydrated food charge. 

For the federal prisons: They made - and I quote - "Heart attack-in -a-sack" - which was essentially sacks of overly salted & high fat foods like: stew, spaghetti & other non-healthy meals RTE for the federal prisons in huge portion plastic sacks. Probably still going on today....

[China]

Biden replaces controversial White House physician

 

President Joe Biden has replaced the controversial White House physician who offered misleading information about President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis last fall.

 

A White House official said Biden had selected Dr. Kevin O'Connor to replace Dr. Sean Conley as his doctor. It's not uncommon for a president to name his own physician when taking office, though his two most recent predecessors each retained the incumbent doctor who had attended the men who served before them.

 

Conley generated controversy in the fall when he admitted to offering rosy descriptions of Trump's condition because the White House wanted to project optimism. In reality, Trump suffered serious conditions like shortness of breath that required supplemental oxygen.

Biden has a long history with O'Connor, who served as his physician while vice president. He is a retired US Army colonel who served in the 82nd Airborne Division, the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the United States Army Special Operations Command.

He administered Biden's physical in 2019 and prepared a report that deemed the then-candidate "healthy" and "vigorous." At 78, Biden is the oldest newly inaugurated president in history.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[redskinss]

So what do people think the odds of Washington DC becoming a state are?

[TradeTheBeal!]

 

[@DCGoldPants]

20 minutes ago, redskinss said:

So what do people think the odds of Washington DC becoming a state are?

 

With the filibuster in place? Low. 

 

They should def still try, though. I'd like to see the GOP go on about how the 700K DC residents, a little less than Alaska and much more than Vermont or Wyoming don't deserve complete representation. Also, I want to see who slips and mentions DC being mostly African-America with their opposition. 

Edited January 27, 2021 by @SkinsGoldPants

[Larry]

16 minutes ago, redskinss said:

So what do people think the odds of Washington DC becoming a state are?

 

Absolutely zero.  

 

Odds of a majority of the Senate voting to make themselves less powerful?  

[redskinss]

Just now, Larry said:

 

Absolutely zero.  

 

Odds of a majority of the Senate voting to make themselves less powerful?  

That's kind of what I figured. 

Thx.

[China]

2 hours ago, redskinss said:

So what do people think the odds of Washington DC becoming a state are?

 

2 hours ago, Larry said:

 

Absolutely zero.  

 

Odds of a majority of the Senate voting to make themselves less powerful?  

 

I guess we'll find out for sure...

 

Legislation that would make Washington DC 51st state introduced to Senate

 

Sen. Tom Carper introduced legislation to the Senate that could allow Washington DC to become the 51st US state.

 

The legislation, S. 51, is called the DC Admissions Act, and, if passed, would make Washington DC a full fledged state.

 

Many of the more than 700,000 residents of Washington DC have long argued for their statehood, as they pay taxes but do not have representation in the Senate. and only a non-voting Congressperson in the House.

 

Democrats have traditionally backed the move, as residents of Washington DC tend to be liberal and vote with the Democratic Party.

 

Republicans, naturally, do not want the district to gain statehood for the same reason.

 

"This isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue; it’s an American issue because the lack of fair representation for D.C. residents is clearly inconsistent with the values on which this country was founded," Mr Carper said in a statement.

 

The bill was first introduced in 2013, but has been tabled until now.

 

In order for the legislation to pass, Senate Democrats will need to convince 10 Republicans to vote in support of the measure.

 

In the event that the Senate removed the filibuster, it could also end with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote and granting the district statehood.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[skinsmarydu]

Why even have a congressperson that can't vote?  (I wasn't aware of that.)  Kinda defeats the purpose of "being represented", doesn't it? 

 

[visionary]

 

[The Evil Genius]

 

[visionary]

 

[visionary]

 

[visionary]

 

 

[Fresh8686]

This country can’t survive another republican majority. They are doubling down on their fascist bent and will only get worse. It also can’t survive another 2-4 years of legislative inaction. We need to get rid of the filibuster and pass changes the majority of this country want. That’s the only way people will see that democracy is effective and the only way Dem’s will keep the majority. 
 

I hope someone in the Democratic Party conveys this reality to people like Manchin and Sinema. And I hope it doesn’t take another domestic terrorist attack to hammer that home. Unchecked aggression always escalates. We’ve seen this escalation over the last 4 years. It’s not just going to suddenly stop it’s trajectory. 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Fresh8686

[visionary]

 

[visionary]

 

 

 

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[goskins10]

12 minutes ago, Cooked Crack said:

 

 

 

 

Not sure about Space FOrce but I hope this is a sign he and the Dems are looking at things on their merit not just get rid of it becasue dumbass did it. He was mostly a tool but did do a few good things even if they were consistently for the wrong reason. 

 

 

[visionary]

 

[PleaseBlitz]

The new Acting Director of the CFPB is not ****ing around.

 

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/the-bureau-is-taking-much-needed-action-to-protect-consumers-particularly-the-most-economically-vulnerable/

 

This is a letter he sent to staff, which signals an, ahem, change in direction from the Trump admin.  

 

Quote

Hello all,

 

I am following up on my initial email reflecting the new priorities and focus of the CFPB. In particular, I would like to convey my broad vision for SEFL in the coming months.

 

But first, I want to thank everyone for their hard work during these trying times. I know it has been a tough year for everyone working and living through a pandemic, and that you all have pushed through despite tragedy and loss. This email conveys a change of direction, but it is not intended as a criticism of how our professional team executed on the prior leadership’s direction.

 

As I noted in my first email, my priorities for the CFPB are (1) relief for consumers facing hardship due to COVID-19 and the related economic crisis, and (2) racial equity.

 

On COVID-19, we need to take swift action now, in order to make sure our actions help people in the middle of the crisis, rather than just cleaning up after the fact. As you know, protecting economically vulnerable consumers is core to the mission of the CFPB and a key reason why the agency was created. It is going to take urgent action for the CFPB to step up to this challenge.

 

One thing we can do immediately is focus our supervision and enforcement tools on overseeing the companies responsible for COVID relief. I am concerned about the findings described in last week’s Supervisory Highlights edition that companies are failing to properly administer relief through the crisis. In a series of Prioritized Assessments last year our examiners found the following:

• Mortgage servicers gave consumers incomplete and inaccurate information about CARES Act forbearances, failed to process forbearance requests, and collected and assessed late fees despite having approved forbearances.
• Servicers withdrew money even though consumers were in deferment.
• One student loan servicer denied thousands of forbearance extensions because the loan holder never responded.
• Companies across markets misreported accounts to credit bureaus and violated CARES Act amendments that added protections to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
• Some banks set off stimulus payments and unemployment insurance benefits in order to cover bank fees and other debts.
• Examiners found that the widely used policy of banks only taking PPP applications from pre-existing customers may have a disproportionate negative impact on minority-owned businesses.

These are just a few examples that show the types of harms consumers are suffering and the meaningful impact that strong oversight could have on the country’s recovery effort. Moving forward, the CFPB will take aggressive action to ensure that regulated companies follow the law and meet their obligations to assist consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

With that in mind, I have directed SEFL to always determine the full scope of issues found in its exams, systemically remediate all of those who are harmed, and change policies, procedures, and practices to address the root causes of harms. For the Prioritized Assessments that do not already do this, I want Supervision to follow up to ensure it is done, without conducting new follow-up exams. Companies that have not already received instructions from our examiners should expect to receive letters in the mail soon.

 

In some cases, penalties may be necessary. I have also directed SEFL to expedite enforcement investigations relating to COVID-19 so that we can take action now to ensure that industry gets the message that violations of law during this time of need will not be tolerated.

Over the coming weeks, we will also be reversing policies of the last administration that weakened enforcement and supervision. As of today, it is the official policy of the CFPB to supervise lenders with regard to the Military Lending Act. And we are planning to rescind public statements conveying a relaxed approach to enforcement of the laws in our care.

 

It’s also time for the CFPB to take bold and swift action on racial equity. I know this is close to the hearts of many of you. The country is in the middle of a long overdue conversation about race, and as we all know, practices and policies of the financial services industry have both caused and exacerbated racial inequality. I am going to elevate and expand existing investigations and exams and add new ones to ensure we have a healthy docket intended to address racial equity. This of course means that fair lending enforcement is a top priority and will be emphasized accordingly. But we will also look more broadly, beyond fair lending, to identify and root out unlawful conduct that disproportionately impacts communities of color and other vulnerable populations.

 

The CFPB is uniquely positioned to help consumers in their time of need. I look forward to working with each of you to meet the moment.

Best,
Acting Director Uejio

 

[bearrock]

27 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

The new Acting Director of the CFPB is not ****ing around.

 

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/the-bureau-is-taking-much-needed-action-to-protect-consumers-particularly-the-most-economically-vulnerable/

 

This is a letter he sent to staff, which signals an, ahem, change in direction from the Trump admin.  

 

 

 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau trying to protect consumers.  Almost mind boggling.

[visionary]

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by visionary

[visionary]

 

 

 

 

[visionary]