In an op-ed in The Hill, former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) explains:
While President Trump has kept the public busy with his latest theories about President Obama’s wire-taps, the “deep state” and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ratings, the Republican Congress has been quietly pushing forward a legislative agenda that will have an all too real impact on the public. The President's tweets are dangerously distracting us from a flurry of new laws passed by Congress to inhibit federal safety standards for everything from hamburgers to helicopters.
This week a Senate committee will consider several bills under the auspices of “regulatory reform.” Who cares about regulation? Well, the next time droves of people are sent to the hospital because of bacteria-laden lettuce, or there are engine problems on the Airbus you're flying, or you’re victimized by a creative credit card scam, you will.
The House has already passed a slew of these bills and the Senate is now quietly taking them up. One bill would enable Congress overturn regulations en masse, a top priority for the Koch Brother’s network, thus allowing Congress to do away with multiple protections without public scrutiny. Already on the chopping block are environmental protections, financial reforms limiting Wall Street excess, and sick leave for workers at federal contractors, among others. Another bill, the Regulatory Accountability Act would impose new hurdles to regulations meant to protect public health, like the Clean Air Act, requiring regulators to prioritize cost over human health.
That is just the start.
The full op-ed is here.
