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Posts Tagged “

Senate

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att

New Spy Law Will Provide Immunity To Wiretapping Telcos

Update: Voted! Passed 293-129.
Today the House votes on a new compromise FISA Bill that will make the NSA's formerly questionable activities—like spying on Americans—legal, and will grant conditional immunity upon the telephone companies that aided the NSA in spying on their customers. It's "conditional" because there will still be a court review, but nobody seems to be taking the court review seriously: Senator Russ Feingold, D-WI, calls it a "capitulation" in the ongoing fight over holding the telcos responsible, and Rep. Roy Blunt, R-MO, says the review will be a "formality." Looks like you're about to get off free, Verizon and AT&T! More »

1:07 PM on Fri Jun 20 2008
By Chris Walters
4,413 views, 110 comments

Latest by stopNgoBeau: @ARP: I only said it b/c of his obvious "I know more than you" attitude. more »

news from the swamp

Republicans Have Killed The Passenger's Bill Of Rights. Long Live The Passenger's Bill Of Rights!

Get ready to spend nine hours on the tarmac without food or water. Senate Republicans yesterday shoved the Passenger's Bill of Rights into the chamber's overhead bin, killing off hope that the bill will pass before the elections. Even worse, the shot-down bill had transformed into a gleaming marvel of consumer protection. More »

1:15 PM on Wed May 7 2008
By Carey
8,263 views, 171 comments

Latest by n/a: Clearly, he has recovered his purse and taken a friggin' hike, as I suggested. I know I'm taking that chance that he'll hit me with it by pointing that out, but c'est la vie. Oh, Bladefist? That's *French.* Just another reason for more »

news from the swamp

Senate Committee Votes To Rollback FCC's Media Consolidation Plan

Poor Kevin Martin. The Senate is well on its way towards killing his proposal to let newspapers get all freaky and consolidate with television and radio stations. Martin shouldn't be too surprised: this is exactly what happened the last time a FCC Chairman tried to ram media consolidation down our throats. More »

9:20 AM on Sat Apr 26 2008
By Carey
1,244 views, 6 comments

do not call

Telemarketers Weep As President Signs Do Not Call Improvement Act

Never again will you have to worry about renewing your Do Not Call List registration thanks to Public Laws 110-187 and 110-188. Our newest laws provide a permanent stream of funding for the Do Not Call List and guarantee that registrations will never expire. Read the White House's ebullient press release, after jump. More »

10:45 AM on Wed Feb 20 2008
By Carey
8,245 views, 114 comments

That was fast. The Senate today passed H.R. 5140, a $167 billion economic stimulus plan, by a vote of 81-16. The final bill grants rebates to seniors and disabled veterans, but does not extend unemployment insurance or provide heating assistance to the poor. The bill will now take a quick breather in the House before sprinting down Pennsylvania Avenue for the President's signature. [AP]

39 comments

Update: The Senate passed the bill.
Seniors and disabled veterans have joined the unemployed on the list of people who won't receive help from Congress under the developing economic stimulus plan. The Senate yesterday rejected an expanded stimulus package by a single vote, meaning that they will most likely approve the House's $146 billion plan that will send a $600 rebate check to most taxpayers. Congress will continue tweaking the package ahead of a self-imposed February 15 deadline. [U.S. Senate]

41 comments

digital tv transition

Introducing The Most Accurate Press Release Ever Published

The Senate Commerce Committee issued a bold press release aggressively backing FCC Commissioner Michael Copps' contention that the nation is woefully unprepared for the pending transition to digital television. The release is a stunning rebuke to the FCC and the Commerce Department, which have dickered over responsibility for the ongoing transition. The Committee plans to hold a hearing on February 14 to find out just what content should, under ideal circumstances, go here. Full release, after the jump. More »

1:30 PM on Sat Feb 2 2008
By Carey
6,313 views, 24 comments

Latest by ranwhenparked: Seeing as how over 89% of households already have either cable or satellite TV service, does anyone else think all this hand wringing over terrestrial digital is just a tad overblown? I mean, the last few holdouts against pay TV more »

news from the swamp

Bush Bashes Senate For Stalling Stimulus Package

President Bush held a press conference just now in which he bashed the Senate for stalling the stimulus package:

"Whatever the senate does they should not delay this package. They should not keep money out of your pocket, the sooner you get a check, the more likely it is that the stimulus package will kick in and make a difference. So my attitude is if that if you're truly interested in dealing with the slowdown in the economy—the Senate ought to accept the House package, pass it, and get it to my desk as soon as possible."
More »

3:22 PM on Wed Jan 30 2008
By Meg Marco
4,068 views, 110 comments

Latest by n/a: Wake up people! there's no such thing as money for nothing! The American Economy is in DEEEEP sh@*, nothing an economic stimulus package can solve. Your looking at the same effect the war on "terrorism in Iraq" had: postpone the more »

The House yesterday passed H.R. 5140, the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008, by a vote of 385-35. The $146 billion economic stimulus plan funds $600 rebates for most taxpayers making less than $75,000. The Senate is preparing a competing $161 billion package that would extend unemployment insurance and give most Americans, including billionaires, a $500 rebate check. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi begged the Senate to shut up and play nice, saying: "I hope the Senate will take heed. It's not unprecedented that one chamber has yielded to another." [THOMAS]

25 comments

President Bush is expected to use his State of the Union address to tell the Senate to STFU and pass the stimulus package already. [Associated Press]

9 comments

seniors

Creditors Can Steal Your Social Security Check Right Out Of Your Bank Account

Nathalie Martin's elderly cousin had her social security check garnished straight from her bank account by a collections agency. Apparently, most banks skip over the section of federal law that protects social security and other public benefits from creditors. Good thing Nathalie is a bankruptcy scholar and knows how to fight the sleazy debt collectors. More »

4:30 PM on Sun Jan 6 2008
By Carey
8,146 views, 54 comments

news from the swamp

Congress Actually Passed Consumer-Friendly Legislation In 2007

Members of Congress introduced 7,440 bills this year and almost none of them help consumers in any meaningful way. Less than fifteen bills this session snagged our editorial love. Most cleared only one chamber, and some still haven't earned a hearing—but maybe when Congress returns they'll lob a few of our favorites towards Pennsylvania Ave.

H.R. 3010: Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007
What It Does: Prevents corporations from shackling consumers with extra-judicial mandatory binding arbitration agreements.
Status: Hearings held in both the House and Senate.

More »

10:00 PM on Sun Dec 30 2007
By Carey
2,712 views, 12 comments

labels

Country Of Origin Labeling Expanded To Chickens, Macadamia Nuts, And Goat Meat

Ever wonder where your goat meat came from? No? Well several Senators did, so their chamber's version of the farm bill extends country of origin labeling to chickens, macadamia nuts, and goat meat. The labels, which are already required for beef, pork, lamb, peanuts, fresh fruits, and vegetables, should appear by late next year. More »

9:30 AM on Sat Dec 22 2007
By Carey
1,152 views, 15 comments

subprime meltdown

Senate OKs FHA Mortgage Bill

On Friday the Senate passed new legislation that would make more Federal Housing Administration Loans available to troubled borrowers facing foreclosure, lowering the down payment required and allowing larger loans. The House passed similar legislation in September, and now House and Senate members will have to "resolve a number of differences between the two pieces of legislation," says the Wall Street Journal. More »

8:35 AM on Mon Dec 17 2007
By Meg Marco
670 views, 6 comments

news from the swamp

Liveblogging The Senate Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations Hearing On Arbitrary Credit Card Rate Increases

Today at 9:30 a.m., Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) will continue his investigation into the unfair and deceptive practices of the credit card industry. Today's topic: arbitrary rate increases for cardholders in good standing. The hearing picks up where Senator Levin left off in March, when he questioned the use of excessive fees, interest charges, and the abuse of grace periods.

Today's hearing will feature two panels. First, three aggrieved consumers will share their horror stories. Then, the presidents of Discover, Bank of America, and Capitol One will explain that the three consumers who just testified are not at all representative of average cardholders. Right.

The tears and lies start flowing at 9:30 a.m.
(Photo: samwilkinson)

9:25: Two choices for your viewing and listening pleasure: Video Link—Audio Link
9:34: And we're off. Levin has arranged for an interesting hearing. The first consumer we will hear from is Janet Hard. Janet is married to a steamfitter. She has a Discover card that jumped from 18% to 24% because her FICO score dropped. When Janet complained, the rate dropped to 21%. Discover's President will testify today.

More »

Feature

9:10 AM on Tue Dec 4 2007
By Carey
4,368 views, 33 comments

news from the swamp

House Tackles Subprime Meltdown, Amends Truth In Lending Act

The House this week voted 291-127 to pass the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, Congress' first major attempt to prevent a recurrence of the ongoing subprime meltdown. The bill, supported by every Democrat and 64 Republicans, stabs at the heart of the meltdown by:
  • Establishing a national licensing and registration system for mortgage lenders;
  • Establishing the Office of Housing Counseling within HUD to help borrowers avoid foreclosure;
  • Banning loans that a borrower cannot reasonably repay;
  • Banning lenders from steering borrowers towards loans with predatory characteristics;
  • Making banks that securitize mortgages liable for violating lending laws.
More »

5:37 PM on Sat Nov 17 2007
By Carey
2,447 views, 26 comments

Latest by CumaeanSibyl: @Bunklung: Well, of course, but it's kind of useless to roll out the umpteenth version of "people spend more money than they have." I feel as though that's a universal condition, you know? Nothing new. And yet, every time there's more »

news from the swamp

CPSC Chair Thinks Senate Bill Would Overwhelm The Agency

Nancy Nord thinks a new Senate bill that would increase the budget and power of the CPSC would overwhelm the agency and "put the American people at greater risk," according to the Washington Post. More »

5:58 PM on Fri Oct 26 2007
By Meg Marco
1,591 views, 13 comments

The Senate has approved an extension of the ban on state Internet access taxes for 7 more years. This follows a similar vote in the House a couple of weeks ago. The two chambers now have to work out any conflicts and send the bill to Bush, who has indicated he will approve it. [Reuters]

8 comments

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