The US Congress-Climate Change? Doubtful

By Ecantados on December 7, 2014 • ( 3 )

Really, they’re actually talking about Tax Reform? Mostly it’s code words for ‘spreading the taxation out to the most people, excluding corporations (even though they are ‘people’) of course because they are soooo willing to pay their part. They’re been ‘leaking’ to the press, mainly Senator Corker, that the Highway Trust Fund gasoline tax needs to be raised. Yet, McCain and Coburn went after Congress July 2009 on Fox News to wit:

Two Republican senators are accusing the federal government of misusing $78 billion in Highway Trust Funds on scenic beautification and other low-priority projects rather than committing money to essential programs to restore major highways and bridges.

Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma say the Government Accounting Office report released Thursday shows that the nearly bankrupt fund wasted billions over the past five years when it should have been using money earned by the federal fuel tax to maintain the nation’s highways and bridges.

Hope they don’t change their minds

Next on their agenda: Keeping Feinstein from releasing the GITMO torture information. She’s close on doing it though before she leaves as Chairwoman of the SIC. Rodgers says it will make for more violence. Uh I suppose he hasn’t already noticed all the violence already? Sen. Richard M. Burr, R-N.C also becomes the brand new Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. If you don’t know Burr, no body does, much. He’s more or less portrayed as a ‘party voter’ which wouldn’t bode well if the Republican’s want to go to war again as in boots on the ground. He is making some noise about resigning in 2016. If he does, he’ll probably join Cantor on Wall Street. No surprise there.

Not to forget, the XL pipeline. The Republicans are Serious about that piece of the pipeline they want built. Whether they have enough oomph to override a Presidential veto is to be seen.

Things to watch that are coming up Social Security check Increases, Veterans check increases or not but so far it’s set at 1.7% increase for 2015. No doubt they are still ‘discussing’ how to sell the Seniors on the Chained CPI for check increases. Their biggest fail with the SS program is that they don’t consider that people have to work to pay into the fund. The fewer people working and/or the people that are working making minimum wage aren’t paying into or paying enough to support the program. The idea they floated about privatizing SS would need the same amount of money paid in but without workers making sufficient wages the fund would still be in trouble because private funds would be investing in Wall Street. All the pension fund payers found out the hard way that Wall Street isn’t such a good bet. The hedge fund managers were happy though. They made a ton of money.

Add Immigration and Border Security to the mixed bag of things to watch with this Republican Congress…..or watch them do a lot of PR and talking on the House and Senate floors for C-Span.

More later.