White House and Public Citizen Agree: The Congressional Review Act Is an Important Story
April 5, 2017
White House and Public Citizen Agree: The Congressional Review Act Is an Important Story
On Press Call, Trump Spokesmen Concede That Repealing Regulations Using the CRA Won’t Create Jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Public Citizen agrees with the White House’s plea in a press call today for the media to cover the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are using to repeal public protections that their corporate donors have spent more than $1 billion opposing (PDF). Marc Short, White House legislative affairs director, and Sean Spicer, White House press secretary, demanded greater press attention to the CRA and made a number of revealing admissions about the impacts of the GOP’s deregulatory agenda.
“Trump loves the spotlight, yet went out of his way to avoid press attention when signing a number of CRA resolutions into law, including the repeal of broadband privacy protections,” said Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs for Public Citizen. “The reason for Trump’s late-night signing sessions is obvious: CRA resolutions are payback to the corporate class that elected Republicans to Congress and are designed to roll back measures that have overwhelming public support. We hope the press will cover the CRA’s usage because it’s the only legislation of consequence the president has signed, it’s a fundamental betrayal of Trump’s promises to protect working families and it’s an escalation of the corrupt insider-dealing Trump campaigned against.”
“It is refreshing to finally see the White House move away from alternative facts and admit that wiping out public protections with the CRA doesn’t create jobs or help the economy,” said Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division. “Mr. Short admitted that killing the broadband privacy rule will do nothing to create jobs and admitted that many CRA resolutions are not intended to create jobs. It makes no sense and is fundamentally dishonest to claim that repealing these regulations will save jobs or put billions of dollars back into the economy, in part because none of these regulations has taken effect and no businesses have been required to comply with them yet.”
“Coal industry special interests have made clear that repealing the stream protection rule, and other climate change measures like the Clean Power Plan, will do nothing to bring back coal jobs. Repealing rules that protect women’s health do nothing to create jobs. Killing regulations that ensure federal contractors are held to high safety standards and pay their employees fairly irrespective of gender does nothing to create jobs but hurts workers’ pocketbooks and puts their lives at risk. Allowing job seekers to be drug tested to receive unemployment benefits does nothing at all to create jobs,” Narang added.
Public Citizen is leading the opposition to the use of CRA resolutions. For the latest news and updates, visit RulesAtRisk.org.
###