SOTU FACT CHECK: WHEN TRUMP TALKS ABOUT ELIMINATING REGULATIONS HE IS TALKING ABOUT GUTTING CRITICAL CONSUMER PROTECTIONS
WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP TALKS ABOUT ELIMINATING REGULATIONS HE IS REALLY TALKING ABOUT GUTTING CRITICAL CONSUMER PROTECTIONS AND PUTTING THE HEALTH & SAFETY OF AMERICA'S FAMILIES AT RISK
President Trump and Congressional Republicans spent the last year taking away critical health, safety, privacy, consumer and environmental protections from America's families to further their special interest agenda. Among the damage they have done:
- They have stripped Americans of the ability to take legal recourse when taken advantage of by major corporations.
- When presented with a choice between clean water and the interests of fossil fuel companies, Republicans and the Trump administration repealed rules designed to protect drinking water from coal mining waste.
- The Trump Administration rolled back campus sexual assault guidance, protections for transgender students, denied workers and students the right to contraceptive coverage, and protections for thousands of defrauded student loan borrowers.
- And at a time when Americans are increasingly concerned about the security of their private information, President Trump and Republicans sided with internet providers, allowing them to sell their customers' personal data, from web browsing history to sensitive financial information, without their consent.
EPI: Workers' health, safety, and pay are among the casualties of Trump's war on regulations
"An examination of the regulations repealed or rescinded reveals that many of the rules that were eliminated provided important protections to our nation's workers. President Trump and congressional Republicans have blocked regulations that protect workers' pay, safety, and rights to organize and join a union. By blocking these rules, the president and Congress are raising the risks for workers while rewarding companies that put their employees' health, safety, and paychecks at risk."
Politico: Trump's war on regulations is real. But is it working?
"His administration, he announced, had repealed 22 regulations for each new rule issued, and cut regulatory costs by $8.1 billion—a headline number for what former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon called the "deconstruction of the administrative state." But a closer look at that state during Trump's first year in office reveals a slightly different story. The vast majority of that $8.1 billion in savings came from the repeal of a single federal contracting rule. The dramatic sounding "22-to-1" statistic is an apples-and-oranges comparison, weighing all deregulatory actions against just a small subset of new rules. And much of the deregulation was done not by Trump himself, but with the help of Congress, which used an obscure law early in his term to repeal 14 late-term Obama regulations."
NYT: 66 Environmental Rules on the Way Out Under Trump
"Since taking office last year, President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority. His administration — with help from Republicans in Congress — has often targeted environmental rules it sees as overly burdensome to the fossil fuel industry, including major Obama-era policies aimed at fighting climate change… Regulations have often been reversed as a direct response to petitions from oil, coal and gas companies and other industry groups, which have enjoyed a much closer relationship with key figures in the Trump administration than under President Barack Obama."
Washington Post: Trump administration cancels hundreds of Obama-era regulations
"The White House's Office of Management and Budget detailed…how it would jettison hundreds of existing or planned regulations as part of its larger push to ease federal restrictions on the private sector, upending federal policies on labor, the environment and public health."
SPOTLIGHT: TRUMP & GOP CONGRESS USE CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT TO DESTROY COMMONSENSE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS, HARMING THE INTERESTS OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
H.J.Res.111, Undermining Consumer Protections for Financial Products
President Trump and Congressional Republicans overturned rules established to protect consumers. The repeal allows banks and financial firms to continue to force consumers into mandatory arbitration and shield potential fraud from the public. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 249 / House RCV 412]
H.J.Res.66, Making It Harder to Save for Retirement
President Trump and Congressional Republicans eliminated a rule that made it easier for states to set up retirement accounts for private-sector workers. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 120 / House RCV 96]
H.J.Res.43, Limiting Women's Health Care Options
President Trump and Congressional Republicans rolled back protections for family planning clinics and allowed discrimination against our nation's family planning providers. The rule they rolled back would have clarified existing Title X protections and protected providers from discrimination. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 101 / House RCV 99]
H.J.Res.67, Attacking Americans' Ability to Save for Retirement
President Trump and Congressional Republicans limited retirement savings options for millions of Americans. State treasurers from across the country said that the resolution "would make it more difficult for states and municipalities to seek solutions to the growing retirement savings crisis." [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 99 / House RCV 95]
S.J.Res.34, Letting Internet Providers Sell Customer Personal Data Without Consent
President Trump and Congressional Republicans allowed internet providers to sell customers' personal data without consent. The FCC rule they rolled back would have protected consumers and their data from being sold without permission by their broadband provider, but Republicans stopped it from implementation. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 94 / House RCV 202]
H.J.Res.83, Decreasing Worker Safety by Limiting Employer Injury Recording
President Trump and Congressional Republicans reduced worker safety by eliminating requirements to keep records of work-related injuries or illnesses. The OSHA rule they rolled back would have explained that recording requirements do not stop if an employer fails to create records. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 93 / House RCV 121]
H.J.Res.69, Allowing Cruel and Unsporting Hunting Practices
President Trump and Congressional Republicans allowed more cruel methods of killing wildlife. The rule they rolled back would not have prevented hunting but would have eliminated "scientifically indefensible" methods of killing. The Humane Society called the resolution "a cruel, mean-spirited, and duplicitous legislative maneuver." [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 92 / House RCV 98]
H.J.Res.42, Wasting Taxpayer Dollars While Not Helping the Unemployed or Taxpayers
President Trump and Congressional Republicans undermined a bipartisan compromise on drug testing of unemployment insurance claimants. The resolution could result in greater confusion and uncertainty for states. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 87 / House RCV 97]
H.J.Res.57, Undermining Public Education
President Trump and Congressional Republicans undermined clarity in the Every Student Succeeds Act. The passage of this resolution could result in vulnerable students being left behind. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 84 / House RCV 84]
H.J.Res.58, Blocking the Teacher Preparation Rule
President Trump and Congressional Republicans blocked a rule ensuring our nation's teachers are prepared to teach our nation's students. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 83 / House RCV 85]
H.J.Res.44, Stopping Americans from Having A Say in the Management of Public Lands
President Trump and Congressional Republicans blocked a rule to increase transparency and improve management of public lands. Hunting and sportsmen's groups said the rule they rolled back "increases federal agency transparency and incorporates best practices in land-use planning, while maintaining the important cooperating agency role of state and local governments." [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 82, House RCV 83]
H.J.Res.37, Blocking Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Rule
President Trump and Congressional Republicans blocked rules forcing federal contractors to pay fair wages and provide safe workplaces. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 81 / House RCV 76]
H.J.Res.40, Allowing Americans with Mental Impairment Easier Access to Guns
President Trump and Congressional Republicans reversed a rule that would have made it harder for certain Americans with mental incapacities to own guns. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 66 / House RCV 77]
H.J.Res.41, Reversing Anti-Corruption Rule
President Trump and Congressional Republicans prevented increased transparency for oil and mining companies that make payments to foreign governments. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 51 / House RCV 72]
H.J.Res.38, Endangering Clean Water and Public Health
President Trump and Congressional Republicans undermined the government's ability to protect our water from mountaintop mining pollutants. [115th Congress, 1st Session, Senate RCV 43 / House RCV 73]