Economy

Trump Targets: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Chair (and other chairs of independent agencies)

Congressional Republicans have fought unrelentingly for years to weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, put into place under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The purpose of the CFPB is to promote fairness and transparency for mortgages, credit cards, and other consumer financial products and services. The CFPB was created to provide a single point of accountability for enforcing federal consumer financial laws and protecting consumers in the financial marketplace.

Congress Votes to Allow Drug Testing for Unemployment Benefits

In a celebratory tweet Sunday evening, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) trumpeted a new law passed by Congress that makes it easier for states to make unemployment benefits subject to drug tests.

The old rule, implemented under former President Barack Obama, mandated that states could only test applicants if they were looking for work in jobs that require regular drug screenings.

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But Democrats have warned that the new law essentially vilifies jobless Americans and plays into the often-false stereotype that unemployed people are more likely to use drugs.

UPDATED: Administration Makes It Harder for Companies to Hire Skilled International Employees

In their continued efforts to curb immigration of all varieties, the Trump administration suspended a program that allows high-skill industries to more easily hire the best talent from around the world.

The US is temporarily suspending expedited processing of H-1B visas, eliminating the option of shorter wait times for the program that helps highly skilled foreigners work at US companies.

Georgia Senators Working to Remove Consumer Banking Protections

Senators Isakson and Perdue, both of Georgia, have filed legislation to overturn regulations capping overdraft fees on pre-paid debit cards. It appears one of the major beneficiaries of this regulation rollback would be a company called Total System Services, which has donated tens of thousands of dollars to both Senators.

House Republicans Plan to Gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Roll Back Wall Street Regulations

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, born out of the financial crisis and intending to help even out the information gap between consumers and corporations, is under fire by the House Financial Services Committee led by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). According to a memo obtained by the Washington Post:

A Republican plan to dismantle Wall Street regulations would strip the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of many of its powers, including eliminating its consumer complaint database and scaling back its enforcement abilities...

Senate Republicans Aim to Drastically Cut Legal Immigration

Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) are introducing legislation today to significantly decrease the number of people eligible to receive green cards. The plan would cut legal immigration in half over the next 10 years.

First Steps Being Taken Towards Scrapping or Renegotiation of NAFTA

If the White House is indeed proceeding under fast-track authority, that suggests Trump could intend to scrap NAFTA altogether and forge bilateral trade deals with Mexico and Canada instead, said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Trump Signs Executive Orders on Federal Hiring Freeze, TPP Withdrawal

President Trump signed three executive orders on Monday morning that cancel an agreement for a far-reaching trade deal with Asia, start a hiring freeze for many federal government positions, and reinstitute an intermittent policy that prevents federal family-planning money from being sent to international organizations that discuss or perform abortion services.

The executive order ending the United States’ participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership was symbolic, as the deal was unlikely to make it through Congress.

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