Month: May 2013
H.R. 1911: Increase Interest Rates for Students
H.R. 1911, the “Smarter Solutions for Students Act”, allows the interest rates on student loans to go up to 8.5% for undergraduate students and 10.5% for graduate students. Read More
H.R. 3: No Permits Needed For Keystone XL Pipeline
H.R. 3 “The Northern Route Approval Act” waives the permitting requirements for construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Read More
H.R. 258: Don’t Lie About Military Medals for Money
H.R. 258: “The Stolen Valor Act of 2013” penalizes people with a fine and up to a year in prison if they wear a military medal they didn’t earn in order to get money, property, or any other tangible benefit. A previous version of this bill was ruled unconstitutional. Read More
CD028: The IRS Scandal
In this episode, highlights from the House Ways and Means Committee IRS scandal hearing. IRS staffers made a list of keywords including Tea Party, 9-12, Patriot, etc. to help them find social welfare groups applying for tax exempt status that were actually political in nature. This is the scandal you’ve been told about; the real scandal is how many of them have been approved. Read More
H.R. 1062: Prevent Wall Street Regulations
H.R. 1062, the “SEC Regulatory Accountability Act” aims to make the Wall Street police much more friendly to Wall Street. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will have to take Wall Street’s financial interests into account when placing rules upon them; SEC will also have to explain themselves when they don’t take Wall Street’s rule-making suggestions. Read More
CD027: Overtime
After a health care rant, we look at H.R. 1406, a bill that would have allowed workers to get vacation time instead of cash for their overtime. It’s a bill I’d actually like to see survive. Read More
H.R. 1406: Time Off Instead of Overtime Pay
H.R. 1406 the “Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013” allows employers to offer their employees paid time off instead of overtime pay, if the employee agrees to it. Read More