Latest news with #TimScott
Al Arabiya
20 hours ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Senate Parliamentarian Deals Blow to GOP Plan to Gut Consumer Bureau in Tax Bill
Republicans have suffered a sizable setback on one key aspect of President Donald Trump's big bill after their plans to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other provisions from the Senate Banking Committee ran into procedural violations with the Senate parliamentarian. Republicans in the Senate proposed zeroing-out funding for the CFPB–the landmark agency set up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis–to save $6.4 billion. The bureau had been designed as a way to better protect Americans from financial fraud, but has been opposed by many GOP lawmakers since its inception. The Trump administration has targeted the CFPB as an example of government over-regulation and overreach. The findings by the Senate parliamentarian's office–which is working overtime scrubbing Trump's overall bill to ensure it aligns with the chamber's strict Byrd Rule processes–signal a tough road ahead. The most daunting questions are still to come as GOP leadership rushes to muscle Trump's signature package to the floor for votes by his Fourth of July deadline. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the chairman of the Banking Committee that drafted the provisions in question, said in a statement, 'My colleagues and I remain committed to cutting wasteful spending at the CFPB and will continue working with the Senate parliamentarian on the Committee's provisions.' For Democrats, who have been fighting Trump's 1,000-page package at every step, the parliamentarian's advisory amounted to a significant win. 'Democrats fought back, and we will keep fighting back against this ugly bill,' said Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee who engineered the creation of the CFPB before she was elected to Congress. Warren said that GOP proposals are 'a reckless, dangerous attack on consumers' and would lead to more Americans being 'tricked and trapped by giant financial institutions and put the stability of our entire financial system at risk–all to hand out tax breaks to billionaires.' The parliamentarian's rulings, while advisory, are rarely, if ever, ignored. With the majority in Congress, Republicans have been drafting a sweeping package that extends some $4.5 trillion in tax cuts Trump approved during his first term in 2017 that otherwise expire at the end of the year. It adds $350 billion to national security, including billions for Trump's mass deportation agenda. And it slashes some $1 trillion from Medicaid, food stamps, and other government programs. All told, the package is estimated to add at least $2.4 trillion to the nation's deficits over the decade and leave 10.9 million more people without health care coverage, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's review of the House-passed package, which is now undergoing revisions in the Senate. The parliamentarian's office is responsible for determining if the package adheres to the Byrd Rule, named after the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who was considered one of the masters of Senate procedure. The rule essentially bars policy matters from being addressed in the budget reconciliation process. Senate GOP leaders are using the budget reconciliation process–which is increasingly how big bills move through the Congress–because it allows passage on a simple majority vote rather than face a filibuster with the higher sixty-vote threshold. But if any of the bill's provisions violate the Byrd Rule, that means they can be challenged at the tougher sixty-vote threshold, which is a tall order in the 53-47 Senate. Leaders are often forced to strip those proposals from the package, even though doing so risks losing support from lawmakers who championed those provisions. One of the biggest questions ahead for the parliamentarian will be over the Senate GOP's proposal to use current policy, as opposed to current law, to determine the baseline budget and whether the overall package adds significantly to deficits. Already, the Senate parliamentarian's office has waded through several titles of Trump's big bill, including those from the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Energy & Public Works Committee. The Banking panel offered a modest bill–just eight pages–and much of it was deemed out of compliance. The parliamentarian found that, in addition to gutting the CFPB, other provisions aimed at rolling back entities put in place after the 2008 financial crisis would violate the Byrd Rule. Those include a GOP provision to limit the Financial Research Fund, which was set up to conduct analysis, saving nearly $300 million, and another to shift the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which conducts oversight of accounting firms, to the Securities and Exchange Commission and terminate positions, saving $773 million. The GOP plan to change the pay schedule for employees at the Federal Reserve, saving $1.4 billion, was also determined to be in violation of the Byrd Rule. The parliamentarian's office also raised Byrd Rule violations over GOP proposals to repeal certain aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act, including on emission standards for some model year 2027 light-duty and medium-duty vehicles.
Los Angeles Times
21 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Senate parliamentarian deals blow to GOP plan to gut consumer bureau in tax bill
WASHINGTON — Republicans have suffered a sizable setback on one key aspect of President Trump's big bill after their plans to gut the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and other provisions from the Senate Banking Committee ran into procedural violations with the Senate parliamentarian. Republicans in the Senate proposed zeroing out funding for the CFPB, the landmark agency set up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, to save $6.4 billion. The bureau had been designed as a way to better protect Americans from financial fraud, but has been opposed by many GOP lawmakers since its inception. The Trump administration has targeted the CFPB as an example of government overregulation and overreach. The findings by the Senate parliamentarian's office, which is working overtime scrubbing Trump's overall bill to ensure it aligns with the chamber's strict 'Byrd Rule' processes, signal a tough road ahead. The most daunting questions are still to come, as GOP leadership rushes to muscle Trump's signature package to the floor for votes by his Fourth of July deadline. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the chairman of the Banking Committee that drafted the provisions in question, said in a statement, 'My colleagues and I remain committed to cutting wasteful spending at the CFPB and will continue working with the Senate parliamentarian on the Committee's provisions.' For Democrats, who have been fighting Trump's 1,000-page package at every step, the parliamentarian's advisory amounted to a significant win. 'Democrats fought back, and we will keep fighting back against this ugly bill,' said Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, who engineered the creation of the CFPB before she was elected to Congress. Warren said that GOP proposals 'are a reckless, dangerous attack on consumers and would lead to more Americans being tricked and trapped by giant financial institutions and put the stability of our entire financial system at risk — all to hand out tax breaks to billionaires.' The parliamentarian's rulings, while advisory, are rarely, if ever ignored. With the majority in Congress, Republicans have been drafting a sweeping package that extends some $4.5-trillion tax cuts Trump approved during his first term, in 2017, that otherwise expire at the end of the year. It adds $350 billion to national security, including billions for Trump's mass deportation agenda. And it slashes some $1 trillion from Medicaid, food stamps and other government programs. All told, the package is estimated to add at least $2.4 trillion to the nation's deficits over the decade, and leave 10.9 million more people without healthcare coverage, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's review of the House-passed package, which is now undergoing revisions in the Senate. The parliamentarian's office is responsible for determining if the package adheres to the Byrd Rule, named after the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who was considered one of the masters of Senate procedure. The rule essentially bars policy matters from being addressed in the budget reconciliation process. Senate GOP leaders are using the budget reconciliation process, which is increasingly how big bills move through Congress, because it allows passage on a simple majority vote, rather than face a filibuster with the higher 60-vote threshold. But if any of the bill's provisions violate the Byrd Rule, that means they can be challenged at the tougher 60-vote threshold, which is a tall order in the 53-47 Senate. Leaders are often forced to strip those proposals from the package, even though doing so risks losing support from lawmakers who championed those provisions. One of the biggest questions ahead for the parliamentarian will be over the Senate GOP's proposal to use 'current policy' as opposed to 'current law' to determine the baseline budget and whether the overall package adds significantly to deficits. Already the Senate parliamentarian's office has waded through several titles of Trump's big bill, including those from the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Energy & Public Works Committee. The Banking panel offered a modest bill, just eight pages, and much of it was deemed out of compliance. The parliamentarian found that in addition to gutting the CFPB, other provisions aimed at rolling back entities put in place after the 2008 financial crisis would violate the Byrd Rule. Those include a GOP provision to limit the Financial Research Fund, which was set up to conduct analysis, saving nearly $300 million; and another to shift the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which conducts oversight of accounting firms, to the Securities and Exchange Commission and terminate positions, saving $773 million. The GOP plan to change the pay schedule for employees at the Federal Reserve, saving $1.4 billion, was also determined to be in violation of the Byrd Rule. The parliamentarian's office also raised Byrd Rule violations over GOP proposals to repeal certain aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act, including on emission standards for some model year 2027 light-duty and medium-duty vehicles. Mascaro writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
Associated Press
21 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Senate parliamentarian deals blow to GOP plan to gut consumer bureau in tax bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have suffered a sizable setback on one key aspect of President Donald Trump's big bill after their plans to gut the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and other provisions from the Senate Banking Committee ran into procedural violations with the Senate parliamentarian. Republicans in the Senate proposed zeroing-out funding for the CFPB, the landmark agency set up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, to save $6.4 billion. The bureau had been designed as a way to better protect Americans from financial fraud, but has been opposed by many GOP lawmakers since its inception. The Trump administration has targeted the CFPB as an example of government over-regulation and overreach. The findings by the Senate parliamentarian's office, which is working overtime scrubbing Trump's overall bill to ensure it aligns with the chamber's strict 'Byrd Rule' processes, signal a tough road ahead. The most daunting questions are still to come, as GOP leadership rushes to muscle Trump's signature package to floor for votes by his Fourth of July deadline. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the chairman of the Banking Committee that drafted the provisions in question, said in a statement, 'My colleagues and I remain committed to cutting wasteful spending at the CFPB and will continue working with the Senate parliamentarian on the Committee's provisions.' For Democrats, who have been fighting Trump's 1,000-page package at every step, the parliamentarian's advisory amounted to a significant win. 'Democrats fought back, and we will keep fighting back against this ugly bill,' said Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, who engineered the creation of the CFPB before she was elected to Congress. Warren said that GOP proposals 'are a reckless, dangerous attack on consumers and would lead to more Americans being tricked and trapped by giant financial institutions and put the stability of our entire financial system at risk–all to hand out tax breaks to billionaires.' The parliamentarian's rulings, while advisory, are rarely, if ever ignored. With the majority in Congress, Republicans have been drafting a sweeping package that extends some $4.5 trillion tax cuts Trump approved during his first term, in 2017, that otherwise expire at the end of the year. It adds $350 billion to national security, including billions for Trump's mass deportation agenda. And it slashes some $1 trillion from Medicaid, food stamps and other government programs. All told, the package is estimated to add at least $2.4 trillion to the nation's deficits over the decade, and leave 10.9 million more people without health care coverage, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's review of the House-passed package, which is now undergoing revisions in the Senate. The parliamentarian's office is responsible for determining if the package adheres to the Byrd Rule, named after the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who was considered one of the masters of Senate procedure. The rule essentially bars policy matters from being addressed in the budget reconciliation process. Senate GOP leaders are using the budget reconciliation process, which is increasingly how big bills move through the Congress, because it allows passage on a simple majority vote, rather than face a filibuster with the higher 60-vote threshold. But if any of the bill's provisions violate the Byrd Rule, that means they can be challenged at the tougher 60-vote threshold, which is a tall order in the 53-47 Senate. Leaders are often forced to strip those proposals from the package, even though doing so risks losing support from lawmakers who championed those provisions. One of the biggest questions ahead for the parliamentarian will be over the Senate GOP's proposal to use 'current policy' as opposed to 'current law' to determine the baseline budget and whether the overall package adds significantly to deficits. Already the Senate parliamentarian's office has waded through several titles of Trump's big bill, including those from the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Energy & Public Works Committee. The Banking panel offered a modest bill, just eight pages, and much of it was deemed out of compliance. The parliamentarian found that in addition to gutting the CFPB, other provisions aimed at rolling back entities put in place after the 2008 financial crisis would violate the Byrd Rule. Those include a GOP provision to limit the Financial Research Fund, which was set up to conduct analysis, saving nearly $300 million; and another to shift the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which conducts oversight of accounting firms, to the Securities and Exchange Commission and terminate positions, saving $773 million. The GOP plan to change the pay schedule for employees at the Federal Reserve, saving $1.4 billion, was also determined to be in violation of the Byrd Rule. The parliamentarian's office also raised Byrd Rule violations over GOP proposals to repeal certain aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act, including on emission standards for some model year 2027 light-duty and medium-duty vehicles. __ Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
UPI
a day ago
- Business
- UPI
Senate parliamentarian tosses some core Trump budget bill provisions
"I remain committed to advancing legislation that cuts waste and duplication in our federal government and saves taxpayer dollars," Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said in a statement Friday. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo June 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate Parliamentarian ruled Thursday that several key provisions from Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on the Trump budget bill violate reconciliation process rules. Reconciliation is a tool to limit debate and bypass filibuster in order to expedite a bill's passage. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough's ruling means core provisions of the bill must be removed to use reconciliation to pass the bill with a simple majority vote. Among the pieces of the bill MacDonough disallowed were a $6.4 billion cut from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau budget that would zero-out all funding for that agency by reducing its maximum funding to 0% of the Federal Reserve's operating expenses. She also knocked out Scott's provision of a $1.4 billion Federal Reserve staff pay cut. "I remain committed to advancing legislation that cuts waste and duplication in our federal government and saves taxpayer dollars," Scott said in a statement. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said, "As much as Senate Republicans would prefer to throw out the rule book and advance their families lose and billionaires win agenda, there are rules that must be followed and Democrats are making sure those rules are enforced." Scotts budget bill proposals included ending funding of the consumer bureau, as well as dissolving the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and cutting the Treasury Department's Office of Financial Research. Scott said he will continue working with the parliamentarian on his committee's budget bill provisions. "Democrats fought back, and we will keep fighting back against this ugly bill," Banking Committee ranking Democrat Elizabeth Warren said in a statement.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
New Senate bill fixes flaws in fed's system to block Chinese land purchases near military bases
Three years ago, the Chinese took advantage of a defect in US protocols to block land purchases near American military bases and almost acquired terrain near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. Now, Senate Banking Committee Republicans are championing a new bill titled the 'Protect Our Bases Act,' which is intended to patch up that protocol glitch to ensure the Chinese can't acquire land near sensitive US installations. 'The Chinese Communist Party's efforts to infiltrate and surveil all parts of the U.S national security apparatus requires vigilance from our national security agencies,' Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC), who is introducing the bill, told The Post. 'This legislation will enhance the review of foreign real estate transactions near critical national security installations, helping ensure CFIUS has the information it needs to protect our homeland and keep our nation safe.' It's being co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Kennedy (R-La.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). 3 Sen. Tim Scott warned about the threat that Chinese land purchases near US military bases pose to national security. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post 3 The attempted land purchase near Grand Forks Air Force Base in 2022 rattled US security experts. Bloomberg via Getty Images The bill comes weeks after Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web, in which Kyiv is said to have deployed some 117 drones in bases deep within Russian territory and detonated on dozens of aircraft, destroying at least 20 of them. That breakthrough military operation sent alarm bells to militaries around the world over the potential vulnerabilities that bases have to drone strikes. China is widely seen as the global leader in drone production. While the US has existing procedures intended to block Chinese land purchases near critical military outposts, a flaw in the system was nearly exploited in 2022. Back in 2022, Chinese company Fufeng Group, a company that produces sugars, fertilizers and more, attempted to acquire land near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. Typically, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is tasked with investigating foreign transactions in the US and making recommendations on which ones to block. However, at the time, CFIUS concluded that it couldn't review Fufeng Group's attempted purchase because the Department of Defense didn't list the base as a critical site for national security purposes. Ultimately, the City of Grand Forks blocked the purchase, but national security buffs believe it exposed a weakness in US protocols for blocking Chinese land purchases. 3 National security experts have long raised concerns about Chinese land purchases near US military bases. KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images The Protect Our Bases Act seeks to address that by requiring agencies in CFIUS to annually update their data on military facilities that need to be designated as sensitive sites and submit annual reports to Congress about its real estate lists. The measure is also intended to make critical records more attainable for CFIUS to use for national security reviews.
