Progress Illinois

Rep. Phil Hare is all for improving the Trade Adjustment Assistance program (TAA) by expanding benefits to service-sector workers and those displaced because of trade imbalances with countries like China and India. That's why he's excited the Senate Finance Committee may take up a TAA reform bill tomorrow. He's just not too thrilled that Republican leaders are insisting on pairing the legislation with the proposed Colombian free trade agreement that Speaker Nancy Pelosi tabled indefinitely earlier this year. Here's Hare's response:

Let me be clear. I strongly support modernizing TAA. I voted for the House bill and lobbied for many of the provisions in it. My constituents fully understand the real life consequences when bad trade deals are combined with an inadequate safety net for displaced workers.

But the completely unrelated Colombia FTA should remain dead. Trade unionists are being murdered at a rate of one per week in 2008. Yet few if any of the perpetrators are being brought to justice. America should have zero tolerance for this type of violence.

Passing the Colombia agreement—based on the job-killing NAFTA model—would actually force more Americans into TAA while sending a terrible message about our commitment to basic human rights.

Hare is right to fight the Colombian FTA. As he pointed out in April, 39 trade unionists were murdered in Colombia in 2007 and they're being killed at a rate of over one per week this year. What's more, of 2,500-plus murders in the country since 1986, only 68 cases -- around three percent -- have resulted in convictions. Some trading partner, eh?

Instead of pushing through more lobbyist-ridden legislation, Hare suggests Congress take up the TRADE act, which aims to make American trade deals more just and humane:

What Congress should be moving is the TRADE Act— legislation that mandates a review of existing trade agreements and a renegotiation of those agreements if necessary. It also sets the terms of what must be included in future trade deals—including strong, enforceable labor and environmental standards.

The American people are desperate for a new direction on trade—including a modernized TAA. The Colombia FTA simply continues the failed policies of the past. Tying the two measures together is a bad idea any way you cut it.

John McCain says Barack Obama lacks the requisite experience to make sound judgments. It's hard to buy that theory, considering McCain has been wrong on every single decision about Iraq, particularly before 2003. But recently, the Arizona Republican seems to have taken a break from judging ... anything.

Chicago Public Radio highlights his Senate absenteeism:

In the past three months, Obama's missed more than 3 out of every 4 votes in the Senate. No gold star for attendance there, but Obama's numbers blow away those of his campaign rival, John McCain. The Arizona Republican hasn't cast a single Senate vote since early April, which is about 90 straight absences.

A spokesperson for McCain could not be immediately reached for comment. Obama's office stuck to its standard statement, insisting the senator balances his campaign and Senate responsibilities.

I guess we shouldn't complain. Non-votes are better than bad votes.

Devised as a short-term fix for cash-strapped borrowers, the virtually unregulated payday loan industry has become a key player in the U.S. economy, locking hundreds of thousands of Americans into a vicious cycle of high-interest debt. The industry's growth has been rapid, as well. In Illinois alone, payday loan storefronts outnumber McDonald's franchises. But as more Americans buckle under the weight of housing and health care costs, Sen. Dick Durbin says it's time to implement fair usury laws to protect consumers from predatory lenders:

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has taken aim at the high-interest-loan industry, introducing a bill proposing to cap rates charged for payday loans, car title loans and other forms of consumer credit at 36 percent annual interest.

Payday lenders typically charge anywhere from 200 percent annually to five times that figure depending on laws in states in which loans are obtained.

In effect, the bill would sweep aside rates higher than 36 percent annually in states where higher percentages now apply, but would not affect those with lower rates.

The bill will certainly face intense opposition from the financial services community, who fought tooth and nail for the bankruptcy bill "reforms" of 2005 and have consistently impeded legislation to tighten usury laws. But several years ago, Congress imposed a similar 36 percent annual interest cap on most loans for military personnel and their families. If it's good enough for soldiers, why not borrowers nationwide? Consumer advocates praised Durbin's move:

"It sets the bar," said Lynda De Laforgue, co-director of Citizen Action/Illinois. "It is really important because it says that this is the direction we are headed."

Image used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user taberandrew.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel himself discarded last month's rumor that he could potentially be tapped to fill Obama's U.S. Senate seat. Now comes fresh speculation that seems a bit more realistic. Politico's John Bresnahan says the speaker's gavel might soon be in the cards for the fourth ranking House Democrat:

But the private consensus among Democratic members, even among those who count themselves as critics, is that Emanuel is on the path to the speaker’s chair. Emanuel will have to do some fence-mending to get there, especially with some black and Hispanic Democrats he has offended over the years. But that obstacle is not seen as insurmountable for someone who, as chairman of the DCCC, gets the lion’s share of the credit for ending the GOP’s control of the House after 12 years.

What's the rationale? Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Whip James Clyburn, and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer are all over 68 years old. If Pelosi serves another four to six years as speaker -- the typical length of tenure for that position -- Hoyer and Clyburn may be too old to take over.

In steps 48-year-old Emanuel.

Pelosi, who has taken a beating from conservative critics but has been pretty effective in the post, would be a tough act to follow. We know Emanuel can fundraise. But does he have the policy chops or the executive acumen to blossom in such a position? In a few years, we might find out.

While Illinois foreclosures were down in June as compared to May, they were still 42 percent higher than at the same point last year. Realty Trac Inc. found that one out of every 484 households in the Chicagoland area was foreclosed upon during June. Not surprisingly, home sales are also way down in the state, as compared to the previous year. And as the AP reported last weekend, "foreclosures will keep rising next year no matter who is elected president in November."

Meanwhile, in Washington, a bill providing assistance to cash-strapped homeowners has been moving along at a "glacial pace," thanks to GOP lawmakers who oppose it. Here are the details:

The centerpiece of the housing package is a plan to rescue as many as 400,000 families by helping them trade exotic loans with rapidly rising monthly payments for more affordable mortgages backed by the federal government. Under the proposal, the Federal Housing Administration would be authorized to insure up to $300 billion in new loans for families whose lenders agree to write down their debt to no more than 87 percent of their homes' current, reduced value. [...]

The package also contains a long-sought overhaul of the FHA and housing-related tax breaks worth $14.5 billion, including a credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers. And it would offer local communities $3.9 billion in emergency funds to purchase foreclosed properties in hopes of halting or preventing the spread of blight.

The bill cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate yesterday and is headed back to the House, where it's expected to undergo further changes (those emergency funds will likely be nixed) before facing another vote in both chambers. Democratic leaders hope to get it to the president's desk by the end of the month.

On Friday, Ohio became the latest state to approve the Great Lakes Compact, joining Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, and New York. This leaves only two of the eight Great Lakes states -- Michigan and Pennsylvania -- that are yet to sign the agreement, which would ensure that the water from the lakes remains in the region. Michigan's bill just passed the state legislature and is currently awaiting Gov. Jennifer Granholm's signature. Pennsylvania's House has signed off on a measure joining the interstate compact, but it is yet to be taken up by the Senate.

With the compact so close to reaching ratification in all eight states, its supporters are now turning their sights on the final step: approval by Congress and President Bush. The AP reports:

[B]ackers have been conducting briefings for congressional staffers from the Great Lakes states in hopes of gaining quick approval.

But crucial questions remain unanswered, such as who will be the primary House and Senate sponsors, which committees will consider the compact and whether it will be structured as a bill, a resolution or an amendment to other legislation. Also unclear is when the pact would be introduced and whether it can get through Congress before the next president takes office.

"This has moved so much quicker than any of us thought," said Cameron Davis, president of the Chicago-based Great Lakes Alliance. "We're putting finishing touches on some of these strategic points but don't have our final thoughts quite ready yet."

This morning, the House passed The FISA Amendment Act of 2008 by a vote of 293-129. Authored by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, it was billed as a bipartisan compromise. The Media Consortium's Brian Beutler writes that while it certainly did garner support from both sides of the aisle, calling it a compromise "is a total farce." Salon's Glenn Greenwald agrees. Mark Agrast at the Center for American Progress has more:

Nevertheless, despite these welcome improvements, the bill fails at the most fundamental level to restore the independent judicial check on executive power that the Bush administration has done so much to undermine. Now, instead of determining whether probable cause exists for the issuance of a surveillance order, the FISA Court will be reduced to reviewing the adequacy of the surveillance procedures established by the Bush administration. Instead of evaluating the sufficiency of the assurances that were given to telecommunications companies to obtain their cooperation, the federal district courts in which the lawsuits against the companies have been filed will be authorized to do little more than determine whether such assurances were in fact provided.

Unfortunately, four members of Illinois' Democratic congressional delegation voted in favor of the measure -- Melissa Bean (8th), Rahm Emanuel (5th), Dan Lipinski (3rd), and Luis Gutierrez (4th).

But praise is in order for Democrats Phil Hare (17th), Jesse Jackson Jr. (2nd), Jan Schakowsky (9th), Danny Davis (7th), Jerry Costello (12th), and newcomer Bill Foster (14th), all of whom voted to ensure the civil liberties of Illinoisans.

Last night's House vote on the war supplemental bill will frustrate some progressives. Broken into two amendments, the first focused on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which Congress agreed to fund to the tune of nearly $162 billion through the first part of FY 2009. The second half of the bill dealt with domestic spending and progressive House leaders were forced to make some concessions on that front as well. Members of the Blue Dog coalition forced Democratic leaders to offset the cost of increased veterans' benefits but balked at an actual proposal to do so -- a tax increase on individuals with incomes above $500,000 a year or couples making over $1 million -- leaving unresolved the question of how those education benefits will be funded. And while Dems pushed through a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits, they were forced to retain a requirement that beneficiaries work at least 20 weeks to be eligible for benefits, thanks to dishonest arguments put forth by GOP opponents.

But not all was lost. As part of the second amendment, $400 million was devoted to science research, potentially staving off at least some layoffs at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Argonne National Lavorator in Batavia, IL. Rep. Bill Foster was a major supporter of the measure and said he has received assurances from the White House that it will not be vetoed by Bush:

"The scientific community was hit hard by the funding cuts that were included in the omnibus bill last year," Foster said in a statement. "As a result, scientific research in general and Fermi in particular have suffered tremendously."

During an appearance yesterday on the Illinois GOP Network's Blog Talk Radio show, Republican congressional challenger Steve Greenberg used a faulty GOP talking point to differentiate himself from 8th District Rep. Melissa Bean. He asserted that Democrats "just pushed through the largest tax increase in the history of this country, to the tune of over $600 billion," adding that Bean "drove the getaway car with Nancy Pelosi and Charlie Rangel in the back while the people’s money was in the trunk." Take a listen as he responds to a question from IL GOP Network founder Mark Johnson:

Internal mp3

Greenberg appears to be referring to the FY 2009 budget approved by the U.S. House along partisan lines last week. And he's not alone in his hyperbole; the day after the bill was approved, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) accused Democrats of "the largest tax increase in the history of this Congress, which means in the history of this nation, which means in the history of the world." Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL) also asserted that the budget "contains the single largest tax hike in American history."

So how did Greenberg, Lungren, and Putnam all arrive at this extraordinary claim?

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University of Illinois law professor Bob Lawless was all set to deliver a statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on an important topic yesterday -- how the Supreme Court's decisions on cases affecting the the financial services industry revoke state protections against deceptive lending practices. The deregulation of the credit card industry is a prime example:

The Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that banks could charge the maximum interest rate determined by state legislatures in the banks’ home states, not the interest rate of the states in which they do business. Unsurprisingly, credit card businesses moved to Delaware and South Dakota—two states with virtually no interest caps—thus rendering state usury laws worthless.

Twelve years ago, the court applied the same logic to the size of fees a bank can charge. Congress has refused to step in at the federal level, enabling the industry’s thorough deregulation.

With the freedom to act on their own accord, banks have implemented an array of confusing and punitive measures that bilk cash from clients.

But just as Lawless began his remarks, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) was forced to shut down the hearing after an unnamed Republican senator invoked Senate Rule XXVI, a rarely-enforced procedural requirement that all hearings come to a close within two hours of the Senate convening for the day.

What was there to hide? On the blog Credit Slips, Lawless recounts what was discussed before the hearing was gaveled. It's testimony that would send shivers down the spine of any politician beholden to the financial services industry.

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