Catching up the the bills that passed the House of Representatives in February, this episode details a bill designed to keep campaign donors secret, a bill to make all regulations more difficult to enact, a bill that makes unlocking your cell phone legal, a bill that prohibits states from seizing your land for another private interest's gain, a bill that sets up the defunding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau... and more. H.R. 3308: "Taxpayer Transparency Act of 2014" Introduced by Rep...
Jun 03, 2014•51 min•Ep. 72
In this episode, we look at all the important bills that become laws since the start of 2014, including a law that might cost you thousands of dollars per year, a law that ends public financing of political party nominating conventions, and a law that President Obama openly intends to ignore. We also discuss the resignation of Rep. Rob Andrews of New Jersey from the House of Representatives. Laws Discussed in This Episode S. 25: "South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance Act" Introduced by Senator O...
May 17, 2014•44 min•Ep. 71
In March, the President signed into a law some changes to our flood policy law. What is our flood policy law in the United States? How did we change it? Are the changes good? In the United States, we have a nationalized flood insurance industry. The question becomes then, does our flood insurance system have protections in place to make sure that our tax money is protected? Does is make the people in flood zones pay enough to cover the replacement of their homes? Do the rules make sense? Unfortu...
May 03, 2014•46 min•Ep. 70
In February, the House passed a package of ten bills that give away or sell Federal land, most of them so that private interests can use our land for profit. To contribute to Congressional Dish, please use the PayPal link below. Thank you. HR 2954: Public Access & Lands Improvement Act The Congressional Budget Office analysis of HR 2954 RAUL GRIJALVA (AZ):" Let's be clear: we are talking here about Federal property, that is, property owned by all Americans. The land in question in Escambia C...
Apr 18, 2014•36 min•Ep. 69
We have a new law! President Obama signed a bill loaning a billion dollars and giving another $150 million to Ukraine. In this episode, we find out exactly what's in it and why we are giving money to Ukraine - and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. HR 4152: Ukraine Aid Bill Highlighted pdf of the Ukraine Aid bill that was signed into law by President Obama: Key Sections: Section 3: Lists seventeen aspects of United States policy toward Ukraine. Section 5: The Secretary of State will ...
Apr 05, 2014•39 min•Ep. 68
The United States appears prepared to restart the Cold War and loan at least $1 billion of our tax money to Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Why? In this episode, we look at what we're asking for in Ukraine in return for our generosity. Executive Producer: Anonymous * For an excellent perspective on the Russian invasion of Crimea, listen to Episode 270: Poking the Bear and Episode 271: Cashing the Doomsday Cheque of Common Sense with Dan Carlin. The International Monetary F...
Mar 28, 2014•30 min•Ep. 67
In early February, the House passed a package of eight bills that are supposed to appeal to hunters and fisherman. For this episode, Jen is joined by Cody Herman, host of Day One Outdoors and owner of Day One Outdoors adventure tour company, who helps Jen understand the bills and discusses whether or not the changes are good. HR 3590: "SHARE Act" "Sportsman Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act" Passed the House of Representatives on February 5, 2014 by 268-154. H.R. 3590 is a collection of ...
Mar 22, 2014•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 66
On February 5, the House of Representatives passed a bill that takes away California's right to divide its dwindling water supply. The bill forces California to take water away from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta and give it to Agribusiness in the San Joaquin Valley, voiding a bunch of State and environmental laws in the process. Summary of the Bill HR 3964: "Sacramento- San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act" This is the second time the Republican-controlled House of Representati...
Mar 09, 2014•41 min•Ep. 65
In this episode, we catch up on all the bills that passed the House of Representatives in January, including a bill to protect chemical storage companies from having to pay for their messes, a few bills to damage ObamaCare, and a bill to make sure private health insurance companies can't pay for abortions. Information Presented in This Episode Mel Watt Resigns On January 7, Rep. Mel Watt of North Carolina's 12th district resigned to become Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency after bei...
Feb 24, 2014•48 min•Ep. 64
In this episode, Jen and Joe recap all the bills that passed the House of Representatives and were covered on Congressional Dish in 2013. Also, an update on the debt ceiling. Music in This Episode: Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito, In Your Name by The Undercover Hippy, Debt Ceiling See how your representative voted on S. 540, the bill that suspends the debt ceiling until March 16, 2015, which passed the House on February 11 and the Senate on February 12. If we don't...
Feb 15, 2014•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 63
On February 7, President Obama signed the Farm Bill into law, which will govern our food policy for the next five years. In the new law are cuts to food stamps, an expansion of an extremely generous crop insurance program, bailouts for livestock producers, a big favor for chemical companies, and much more. Music in This Episode: Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito, Have You Had Enough by rotflmao I'm Farming and I Grow It by The Peterson Farm Bros Farming in the United...
Feb 09, 2014•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 62
This episode is a mash-up of the State of the Union and the 2014 budget. We compare the impression President Obama gave us about what to expect for this upcoming year with the reality of what was funded in the last-minute and little-examined budget which he signed into law just two weeks before the speech. Information Presented in this Episode The following quotes are from the 2014 State of the Union. Let's compare them to what was in the budget which he recently signed into law: The 2014 Budget...
Feb 01, 2014•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 61
This week, a bill was introduced in both the House and the Senate that would hand Congress' power to negotiate trade deals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, over to the President. We also look at the budget agreement to get an idea of what Congress is putting into their last-minute must-sign-by-next-week budget. Finally, thoughts on the golf swing. Information Presented in This Episode Fast Track for Trade Agreements On Thursday, January 9, Max Baucus, retiring Democrat in the Senate, and ...
Jan 11, 2014•55 min•Ep. 60
Congress and President Obama worked together to fast-track a new & unexamined NDAA into law. The new law essentially makes NSA data collection legal, cuts military pensions, and spends an enormous amount of money making sure the United States is able to destroy the entire world at a moment's notice. Links to Information in This Episode H.R. 3304: The National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 *The title has been changed to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 since it was signed in...
Jan 04, 2014•34 min•Ep. 59
During the first week of December, the House of Representatives passed bills to extend an insurance program that provides taxpayer bailouts to private space exploration companies, made changes to TSA policies, tried (again) to deregulate Wall Street gamblers, and tried to shut down patent trolls. Executive Producer: Brandon K. Lewis Information Presented in this Episode H.R. 3547: "Space Launch Liability Indemnification Extension Act" Extends an existing government insurance program for private ...
Dec 21, 2013•36 min•Ep. 58
Hudson Hollister, Executive Director of the Data Transparency Coalition, schools Jen on the DATA Act, the bill from episode CD054. Turns out, the bill is not so bad; In fact, the bill could be really, really good. Links to Information Presented in This Episode CD054: The Hidden DATA Act episode with a detailed summary of the bill. Status and text of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) Act USASpending.gov is the website that would be improved by the DATA Act. Follow @hudsonholl...
Dec 14, 2013•58 min•Ep. 57
Jen's husband loses his job; in this episode, the political situation that doomed his solar power company. Then we make a rough plan for the future, for ourselves and Congressional Dish. Joe Briney co-hosts. Links to Information in This Episode A solar farm seen from an airplane[/caption] *Correction: Jen said that the sun shines in Western Oregon; it does not. She meant Eastern Oregon. Representatives Discussed in This Episode Rep. Greg Walden - Oregon, District 2 Greg Walden's Legal Bribes Cam...
Dec 07, 2013•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 56
Before going home for Thanksgiving, the House passed three bills designed to fast-track permits for oil and natural gas drilling. This episode highlights the Congressmen who pushed these bills through the House. Bill Summaries H.R. 1965: "The Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act of 2013" passed the House of Representatives 228-192 on Wednesday, November 20, 2013. H.R. 1965 will not become law; President Obama would veto the bill. TITLE I, Subtitle A: Speeds Up Oil and Gas Permitting ("Stre...
Nov 28, 2013•50 min•Ep. 55
A bill marketed as for "transparency" appears to keep information secret from the public and gut an oversight board. Taxpayers treat a group of Representatives to an expensive Summer getaway. Cocaine. HR 2061: "The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) of 2013" passed the House of Representatives 388-1 on Monday, November 12, 2013. Section 3: The following information would be published on the USASpending.gov website: A "pilot program" will "consolidate reports" that agencies and co...
Nov 23, 2013•34 min•Ep. 54
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is an international treaty being negotiated in almost total secrecy by the United States and eleven other nations. This week, Wikileaks published one of the twenty-nine chapters, the chapter on Intellectual Property. In this episode, we highlight the details of the patent and copyright laws contained in the leaked TPP chapter and then we quickly look at the bills that passed the House of Representatives this week. Music in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Ti...
Nov 16, 2013•36 min•Ep. 53
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a secret international treaty designed to give corporations power over governments; it is labeled as a "free trade agreement". The TPP will likely allow corporate control of the Internet, endanger food safety, increase medicine costs, remove environmental laws, prohibit financial regulations, and almost certainly would force the United States to give tax money to private corporations if our democracy creates laws that interfere with corporate profits. The O...
Nov 09, 2013•49 min•Ep. 52
The House passed a bill this week that would expand the number of banks that will be eligible for government bailouts and eliminated rules to prevent the banks from making really risky bets with our money. New Information (Found Since this Podcast Episode Was Released) YouTube video: Insanity in the House, Part 2 by Mansur Gidfar. Has additional information on the corrupt Congressmen who moved H.R. 992 through the House. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being L...
Nov 02, 2013•40 min•Ep. 51
Now that the government is back up and running and the American public has looked away, the House of Representatives got back to work privatizing our government. H.R. 3080 takes the first steps towards privatization of water projects typically done by the Army Corps of Engineers, using entirely fixable budget issues as the justification. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Music: Furlough Friday by Ti...
Oct 26, 2013•38 min•Ep. 50
The shutdown is over & the debt ceiling postponed; we take a close look at the new law that finally ended the unnecessary crisis. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Music: Now It's Over by Smile Smile (found on Music Alley by mevio) Music: Democracy is Dangerous by Thomas Pace (found on Music Alley by mevio) Text of H.R. 2775, the law that ended the shutdown and suspends the debt ceiling 144 Hous...
Oct 19, 2013•37 min•Ep. 49
For this episode, I read the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The following is a resource for finding information within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. My goal was to highlight the portions of the bill that will most directly affect our lives and put them into plain, understandable English. I'd also like for you to be able to find the text that makes these rules within the bill. The easiest way to search within a bill is by section number. You'll have to read a...
Oct 13, 2013•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 48
In the hours before the government shutdown, the crisis could have been averted. We take a look at the hours before the deadline and see what Congress has done since they slammed the government's doors shut. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Music: We Can Make the World Stop by Alun Parry (found on Music Alley by mevio) Music: Democracy is Dangerous by Thomas Pace (found on Music Alley by mevio) The...
Oct 05, 2013•36 min•Ep. 47
In this bonus episode, we take a detailed look at the House GOP's latest version of the short-term government funding bill which would delay the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and therefore guarantee that the government will shut down. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Music: Schoolhouse Rock, How a bill becomes a law (YouTube) Text of the House's second version of the continuing resoluti...
Sep 30, 2013•29 min•Ep. 46
The Senate edited the House's version of the short-term government funding bill, stripping out the language that would not-really defund Obamacare. Full details on the Senate's version, including some surprising good news, and a quick recap of the tiny bit of work the House accomplished this week. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Text of the Senate version of the 2014 Continuing Resolution Senator ...
Sep 27, 2013•23 min•Ep. 45
This week the House of Representatives passed a government funding bill that allegedly "defunds ObamaCare" but... not really. They also tried to cut food stamps, push nuclear power, exempt mining from environmental regulations, and more... Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Music: And the Good News Is by Sean Patrick McGraw (found on Music Alley by mevio) Music: I See Trouble Comin' by Scott DeCarlo ...
Sep 21, 2013•31 min•Ep. 44
This week, after Russia took the Syria vote off the House schedule, the House did not fund the government for 2014 despite their September 30th deadline. In this episode, we look at what they did instead. Links to Information in This Episode Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) President Obama's speech from Tuesday, September 10th regarding Syria: Video and transcript Music: Get Out of Our House by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by ...
Sep 14, 2013•31 min•Ep. 43
