Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced yesterday that the Senate would not take up any debate over gun reform next week, despite the nationwide call for Congress to take action. There is also no indication that the Senate would discuss a solution for Dreamers, even though the arbitrary deadline of March 5 is on Monday.
So, what’s more important than protecting the lives of our country’s children or ensuring that Dreamers have protection? For McConnell and many others, it’s the profits of big banks. The Senate will debate and vote on legislation next week that would deregulate 25 out of the 38 largest banks in the US and undermine key protections for homeowners and homebuyers—protections put in place to prevent another Great Recession and housing crisis. The bill would put our economy at risk of another recession, and therefore, risk peoples’ jobs and well-beings. So, why is anyone in favor of the bill? It’s simple: the big banks stand to gain a lot from this bill, just as they did from the tax bill last year.
ACTION OF THE DAY
Stop Selling Weapons of War. Since the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, numerous companies have ended their partnerships with the NRA or taken action to make their gun sales safer. The only remaining major retailer of assault weapons is Bass Pro Shops. Demand they stop selling weapons of war by signing our petition!
WHAT’S TRENDING
Dreams Deferred. Since Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) in September, hundreds of thousands of young people have been thrown into a legal limbo. A new report from the Center for American Progress explores what happened since the end of DACA—people locked out of renewals, thousands of people losing status, and a looming, arbitrary deadline. After March 5—unless we start seeing higher numbers of renewals—the number of Dreamers losing protections will skyrocket if Congress refuses to act.
In the NRA’s Pockets. At the bipartisan round table on gun policy at the White House earlier this week, Trump surprised many by voicing support for gun reform measures that are opposed by the NRA. He even called out the elected officials at the table for being scared of the NRA. Oh, how things change. Last night, Trump had dinner with NRA executives, and suddenly, his tone on gun policy is much different. In fact, one NRA executive said that Trump said he was against any kind of “gun control.” So, who’s really scared of the NRA?
UNDER THE RADAR
Pruitt Denying Science (again). In recently uncovered radio interviews from 2005, current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt stated that he believes evolution—a basic foundation of modern science—is an unproven theory, according to a report from Politico. “There aren’t sufficient scientific facts to establish the theory of evolution,” said then-Oklahoma state Senator Pruitt. These interviews bring further attention to Pruitt at a time when he is already under public scrutiny for misuse of taxpayer dollars, including over $100,000 in first-class airfare and a $25,000 soundproof phone booth in his office. In his one-year tenure as EPA Administrator, Pruitt has undermined scientific research at the agency and systematically worked to destroy as many environmental safeguards as possible, including basic rules to protect children’s health.