Tag Archives: hill

Republicans Drink Their Own Kool-Aid, End Up Looking Like Idiots

by donnajansen Posted on May 8, 2014

Mother Jones

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Jonathan Bernstein makes a telling point today about the Fox News bubble that so many Republicans are trapped in. As you may recall, last week House Republicans released a survey suggesting that only 67 percent of Obamacare enrollees had paid their premiums. It was a laughably dumb survey, and it prompted the usual question: stupid or mendacious? Did Republicans really believe this nonsense, or were they just tossing out lies to muddy the waters?

Bernstein says the Republican follow-up to the survey demonstrates that they really believed their own spin:

This could be just a story of ineptitude. The House Energy and Commerce Committee wouldn’t be the first to construct a survey poorly….But yesterday, a House subcommittee invited insurance company executives to testify and, according to the Hill, Republicans on the panel were “visibly exasperated, as insurers failed to confirm certain claims about ObamaCare, such as the committee’s allegation that one-third of federal exchange enrollees have not paid their first premium.”

We don’t have to rely on reporter interpretations (here’s another one). It made no sense to hold the hearing unless Republicans were (foolishly) confident that the testimony would support their talking point, instead of undermining it.

The only plausible explanation is that closed feedback loop. Either members of the committee managed not to be aware of the criticisms of their survey, or they mistakenly wrote off the criticism as partisan backbiting.

Good catch! Obviously Republicans were caught off guard at yesterday’s hearing, and that could only happen if they really and truly believed their own flawed survey. And that, in turn, could only happen if they get pretty much all their information from Fox News and don’t bother with anything else. After all, the flaw in their survey was obvious. You didn’t have to be a brain surgeon to know that it would never stand up to scrutiny.

Welcome to the alternate universe of movement conservatism. Sometimes it bites you in the ass.

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Republicans Drink Their Own Kool-Aid, End Up Looking Like Idiots

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Fast Food Workers Will Protest Again Today. Here’s What They’re Up Against.

by BaileyD94oaqflt Posted on April 3, 2014

Mother Jones

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On Thursday, New York McDonald’s workers will stage a protest for better pay. It’s the latest effort in what has become a national movement aimed at increasing fast food wages—which average $8.69 an hour—to $15 an hour. The odds are steep, because the restaurant industry is dead set against it. A new report released Thursday details just how much power the restaurant lobby wields in Washington.

The National Restaurant Association (the other NRA), which lobbies on behalf of the $600 billion industry, has been fighting minimum wage hikes, paid sick leave, and food safety rules for decades. But over the course of the slow economic recovery, which has been characterized by a disproportionate increase in low-wage service sector jobs, the NRA sharpened its knives, more than doubling its lobbying force on the Hill. Between 2008 and 2013, the number of NRA lobbyists pushing the industry’s interests in Washington jumped from 15 to 37, according to the report, which was put together by the Alliance for a Just Society (AJS), a network of social justice organizations, and Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROCUnited), an organization that pushes for better conditions for food workers.

“The NRA has super-sized its investment in insider influence since 2008,” the report notes.

In addition to the lobbyists working on behalf of the NRA, nine of the association’s biggest members—including McDonald’s, Marriott, Walt Disney, and YUM! Brands—were represented in Washington by another 127 registered lobbyists in 2013, according to the report. That’s up from 56 in 1998.

The NRA, which represents 52,000 member companies, including KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, has spent $2.2 million on lobbying since November 2012, and over $400,000 in campaign contributions, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The industry group has lavished much of its money on Republicans, who are digging their heels in against President Barack Obama’s calls for a federal minimum wage hike from $7.25 to $10.10. So far, in 2014, 73 percent of the NRA’s campaign donations have gone to Republicans. Since 1990, the NRA has given $10.5 million to GOP candidates, and $2.1 million to Dems.

Today, fast food workers in New York will attempt to counter that money with protest signs. And congressional Dems, including Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), will hold a “Give America a Raise” rally on the Hill.

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Fast Food Workers Will Protest Again Today. Here’s What They’re Up Against.

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Republican’s bill calls for weather forecasting, not climate forecasting

by qiuyz4ye Posted on April 1, 2014

Republican’s bill calls for weather forecasting, not climate forecasting

By

Scott Gentzen

If Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) were a squirrel, he’d have starved over the winter.

Like a maladapted rodent that’s too short-sighted to save any nuts for the lean season ahead, the climate denier is sponsoring legislation that would force NOAA to focus on short-term weather forecasting at the expense of long-term climate modeling. The Hill reports that the bill, which now has 13 Republican and seven Democratic cosponsors, could get its first real hearing this week.

Bridenstine introduced the bill after 48 Oklahomans were killed by a brutal string of tornadoes last spring. “My state has seen all too many times the destructive power of tornadoes and severe weather,” Bridenstine said at the time. Then he staged a bizarre tirade on the House floor in which he demanded that President Barack Obama apologize for spending “30 times as much money on global warming research as he does on weather forecasting and warning.”

That would be quite the funding imbalance, were it true. But it’s not. The figure is just plain wrong.

Scientists have not concluded whether there is a link between climate change and tornadoes, but Stanford University researchers reported last year that climate change could cause the meteorological conditions that would lead to tornadoes and thunderstorms occurring more often.

More research into the potential climate-tornado link could help Bridenstine’s state properly prepare for extreme weather of the future. But the lawmaker seems more interested in squirreling around in the politics of the absurd than in finding out what hazards the future might hold in store for Oklahoma.


Source
GOP: Predict storms, not climate change, The Hill

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Republican’s bill calls for weather forecasting, not climate forecasting

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Government shutdown would close EPA, too

by Peggy Mason Posted on September 30, 2013

Government shutdown would close EPA, too

By

John Boehner’s

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Republican House Speaker John Boehner loves America as much as he loves a styrofoam cup full of coffee.

The chief aim of the congressional Republicans who are poised to shut down the U.S. government over the next 24 hours or so is to block the implementation of President Obama’s health plan. But if they do live out their fantasy of paralyzing the federal government, there will be plenty of other consequences — including the effective shuttering of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Here’s the latest from Reuters on the looming government blackout:

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives early on Sunday passed a measure that ties government funding to a one-year delay of President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare restructuring law. Senate Democrats have vowed to quash it.

If a stop-gap spending bill for the new fiscal year is not passed before midnight on Monday, government agencies and programs deemed non-essential will begin closing their doors for the first time in 17 years. …

The high-stakes chess match in Congress will resume on Monday when the Democratic-controlled Senate reconvenes at 2 p.m. Senate Democrats will then attempt to strip two Republican amendments from the spending bill: the one that delays the 2010 healthcare law known as Obamacare and another to repeal a medical device tax that would help pay for the program.

And here’s some details from a story in The Hill last week that explained how the government shutdown would cripple the EPA:

Speaking at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor, EPA chief Gina McCarthy said that a potential government shutdown “will mean that EPA effectively shuts down.”

“The vast majority of people at EPA will not be working,” she said. “I think it’s safe to say that I will be, but beyond that I don’t have the details.” …

McCarthy said that a small group of EPA officials would stay on the job “to keep the lights on and to respond in the event of a significant emergency,” but that most of the agency’s 17,000 employees would be sent home.

The Hill reported that the EPA’s efforts to clamp down on carbon pollution from power plants could be delayed by the shutdown. A fact that is surely not lost on the gleeful politicians behind this mess.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Politics

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You can look forward to more blackouts in a climate-changed world

by Natalia681 Posted on July 12, 2013

You can look forward to more blackouts in a climate-changed world

By John Upton

Julian Bravo

Climate change can bring with it forest fires, which can threaten power lines.

More global warming will mean a less reliable power system.

That warning comes from the Department of Energy, which released a report [PDF] on Thursday detailing the threats posed to the nation’s power infrastructure by rising temperatures, droughts, storms, floods, and sea-level rise.

“Climatic conditions are already affecting energy production and delivery in the United States, causing supply disruptions,” the report states. “The magnitude of the challenge posed by climate change on an aging and already stressed U.S. energy system could outpace current adaptation efforts, unless a more comprehensive and accelerated approach is adopted.”

Some of the threats listed in the report:

Power plants are threatened by decreased water availability and rising air and water temperatures, which make it harder to keep the facilities cool.
Refineries, oil and gas drills, power plants, and power lines along the coasts are at risk from rising seas, powerful storms, and flooding.
Hydropower, bioenergy, and some forms of solar power can be affected by droughts and rising temperatures.
Power lines carry less current and operate less efficiently in hot weather, and they are vulnerable to damage wrought by storms and forest fires.
Demand for electricity for air-conditioning is expected to rise, though demand for fuel oil and natural gas for heating is expected to fall.

According to The Hill, the release of the report marks the beginning of a larger effort by the DOE to push the energy industry to prepare for the rise in extreme weather events.

The department isn’t just talking in hypothetical terms. Click on the following map of climate-related energy disruptions to open an interactive version on the Energy Department’s website:

energy.gov

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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You can look forward to more blackouts in a climate-changed world

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EPA abandons investigation into fracking pollution

by cur07jqm Posted on June 21, 2013

EPA abandons investigation into fracking pollution

By John Upton

Shutterstock

Want to know what’s in that water? Don’t ask the EPA.

The EPA is dropping its only investigation that has found evidence of water contamination from fracking.

Following a three-year study of groundwater pollution around Pavilion, Wyo., the EPA concluded in a draft report in 2011 that fracking chemicals were a likely cause. The finding was obviously controversial — frackers would like us to believe that injecting poisonous chemicals into the ground couldn’t possibly poison water. Critics of the research found fault with the EPA’s methodology and said contamination could have predated fracking.

In the face of these controversies, the agency backed down Thursday, announcing that it was halting the research and abandoning its own draft findings. From The Hill:

The EPA said it will not complete or seek peer review of a 2011 draft study, which found that groundwater pollution in the Pavillion, Wyo., area was consistent with chemicals used in gas production.

The EPA said … it would now support further study led by the state of Wyoming.

“While EPA stands behind its work and data, the agency recognizes the State of Wyoming’s commitment for further investigation and efforts to provide clean water and does not plan to finalize or seek peer review of its draft Pavillion groundwater report released in December, 2011,” the EPA said as part of a joint release with the state of Wyoming.

“Nor does the agency plan to rely upon the conclusions in the draft report,” the EPA said.

Though the announcement was welcomed by industry, the frackers still weren’t satisfied. “EPA should not only drop the Pavillion work from consideration, it should fully retract it,” American Petroleum Institute official Erik Milito said in a statement. “Our environmental performance is strong. It is a shame this reality is sometimes overshadowed by misinformation generated by faulty procedures and analysis from a federal agency.”

So the investigation will now be handed off to the state of Wyoming, whose officials were critical of the EPA’s draft finding. And the research will be funded by the very company that did the alleged polluting. From the AP:

The new research led by Wyoming officials would be funded at least in part by a $1.5 million grant from Encana Corp.’s U.S. oil and gas subsidiary, which owns the Pavillion gas field. The state will issue a final report in late 2014, Gov. Matt Mead’s office said in a news release.

We’ll give the last word to Josh Fox, director of Gasland, the Emmy Award-winning documentary about fracking: “I’m dumbfounded,” he said. “Wyoming was openly hostile to this investigation from the get go. And to have Encana pay for it? That’s insane.”

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Head of American Petroleum Institute doesn’t see a need to regulate carbon anymore

by pedzacastrzala87 Posted on February 21, 2013

Head of American Petroleum Institute doesn’t see a need to regulate carbon anymore

By Philip Bump

Last week, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced that they will soon introduce comprehensive climate change legislation. It would make for an interesting debate in the Senate; it would be light years better than policy that exists currently. It also has literally no chance of passing either chamber.

Which has prompted the American Petroleum Institute’s Jack Gerard to dig the bill a grave for the purposes of offering a dancefloor. From The Hill:

American Petroleum Institute CEO Jack Gerard said he did not expect the Senate to vote on the bill …

“I think no, it will not get to the floor, and I think the reason it won’t get to the floor is the dynamics surrounding carbon has changed,” Gerard told E&E TV.

Specifically, Gerard cited increased use of natural gas, which has helped reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. over the past several years. However, don’t worry: Gerard is still spectacularly wrong.

philipmatarese

Jack Gerard (file photo).

The reason the bill may not/probably won’t get to the Senate floor is that the “dynamics surrounding carbon” haven’t changed one fucking bit. There’s still no political will to act on the issue, just as there has been no will to act on the issue for years. And that is solely a function of the work done by people like Jack Gerard, the Wayne LaPierre of oil production, who has built his empire on the back of the status quo. Gerard’s reason for existence, the reason he earned a reported $6.4 million in 2010, is to keep the dynamics surrounding carbon exactly where they are.

If the dynamics surrounding carbon pollution had actually changed, so would policies affecting carbon pollution. This bill is doomed to failure not because the climate problem has been solved; it’s because the political problem hasn’t been. Which is exactly how Jack Gerard wants it.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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W.Va. congressmember compares EPA head to Gadhafi

by greenenergy4 Posted on January 4, 2013

W.Va. congressmember compares EPA head to Gadhafi

By Philip Bump

Here’s some political rhetoric for you, via The Hill.

Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) said the change of leadership at the EPA might not be for the better.

“I don’t want a repeat of what happened in Libya when we helped topple [Moammar] Gadhafi and then we wound up having al-Qaeda,” McKinley told Environment & Energy Daily. …

McKinley, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, is among the many Republicans who say President Obama’s EPA is harmful to the coal industry.

So let’s analyze this. Let’s break down this statement by the esteemed congressmember from the great state of West Virginia.

Moammar Gadhafi ruled Libya as dictator for 40 years after assuming power in a coup. During that time, he started a war with Iran that took the lives of 500,000 to a million soldiers and some 100,000 civilians. Hundreds more died in uprisings against his brutal regime. Gadhafi actively supported terrorism against Western targets, including providing material support for the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. During the 2011 uprising that eventually claimed his position and life, thousands more died.

Moammar Gadhafi, left. Lisa Jackson, right.

Lisa Jackson was appointed by President Obama to serve as the head of the EPA. In that position, she has pushed hard for new standards limiting mercury pollution, smog, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. She oversaw new mileage requirements for automobiles that will dramatically decrease fuel use in the future. It is safe to say that the new standards implemented during her tenure will prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and save the government billions in healthcare costs.

But then, the Libyan resistance didn’t give McKinley nearly $400,000 in contributions over the course of his career. Mining interests committed to continuing cheap pollution did. Which may help explain the good congressmember’s odd moral position.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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Senate rejects Inhofe’s anti-biofuels amendment because it’s dumb

by Myrna Posted on November 29, 2012

Senate rejects Inhofe’s anti-biofuels amendment because it’s dumb

By Philip Bump

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). If Pavlov’s research was correct, you should be rolling your eyes right now. Inhofe. Eye roll. If for some reason you aren’t rolling your eyes, perhaps you don’t know enough about him. He’s … let’s see. Imagine if you combined George W. Bush with Donald Trump with a cartoon oil baron with a spoiled 3-year-old from whom you’ve just taken a favorite toy. Eye roll.

Inhofe’s stock in trade is climate change denialism. (For example and for example.) Representing the oil-friendly state of Oklahoma, it’s no surprise. Nor was it a surprise when, earlier this year, Inhofe targeted the military’s biofuels program, arguing that an effort to decrease reliance on fossil fuels should be undertaken only if the alternative is the same cost as a petroleum-based option. Which is stupid, because biofuels are trailing diesel fuel on the development and implementation cycle by, oh, a century and a half or so. There’s obvious benefit to such experiments, unless you love love love oil love love love it. Which I suspect Inhofe does.

U.S. Navy

A Navy vessel loads up on biofuel

Well, bad news, Senator. Your colleagues think your idea is bad. According to The Hill, the Senate voted yesterday 62-37 to remove Inhofe’s anti-biofuel amendment from the National Defense Authorization Act, with nine Republicans joining the Democratic majority. Said Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.):

Our military is on the cutting edge technologically, but much of our fighting capability relies on foreign fossil fuels and decades-old power systems. That dependence has very real human and economic costs. Today’s strong bipartisan vote affirms that we should allow our military leaders to continue to develop and use advanced alternative fuels in order to bring down costs and improve mission capabilities.

Or, to put it more bluntly, as Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) did: “Is Big Oil calling the shots here?” In a dark corner of Washington, Big Oil shuffled its feet nervously and checked its watch.

And in his office on Capitol Hill, Sen. Inhofe stamped his feet and wailed, his favorite toy having been taken away.

Source

Senate passes amendment keeping biofuel investments in defense bill, The Hill

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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