SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks during a news conference on September 29, 2022 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
'Remove All of Them': House GOP Adds Dozens More Poison Pills to Spending Bill
Many of the riders would harm the EPA's "ability to do its critical work," said one former agency lawyer.
Jul 24, 2023
Nearly 260 advocacy groups on Monday warned that House Republicans have not halted their efforts to push through as many restrictions on government spending as possible in the federal budget bill, adding dozens more "poison pill" riders to the legislation ahead of the upcoming August recess.
The Clean Budget Coalition, which includes watchdog groups such as Public Citizen and the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS), reported that 74 new poison pills have been added to spending bills since advocates first sounded the alarm about the practice just one week ago.
At least 291 poison pill riders, which ban certain types of spending by the federal government, have now been introduced in budgetary legislation, which is expected to be the subject of the latest spending fight this fall—just months after Republicans slashed nutritional assistance and education spending in the debt ceiling deal.
"All of these measures must be removed," said CSS on Monday.
The new poison pill riders include ones that would roll back decades of progress in securing rights for marginalized people in the U.S., including LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, those targeted by right-wing extremist or white supremacist groups, and people most impacted by air pollution.
The same-sex marriage rider would allow opponents of marriage equality to receive federal funding even if they discriminate against same-sex couples, while the pride flag rider would forbid LGBTQ+ pride flags from being flown over federal buildings.
The H-2A visas rider would block the Labor Department from enforcing a rule that strengthens protections and wage calculations for foreign workers—potentially taking away an estimated $38 million wage increase from farmworkers.
The poison pills include a number of restrictions on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and numerous environmental justice programs, such as one blocking the EPA from implementing a new rule to reduce mercury and other toxic air pollution, one that prevents the agency from enforcing new carbon pollution limits for coal and gas power plants, and one blocking it from imposing new proposed rules to reduce tailpipe emissions.
The riders will "damage the agency's ability to do its critical work," wrote former EPA attorney David Coursen at The Hill on Monday, adding that House Republicans are "hellbent on bulldozing any gains" in environmental justice with its "doomsday proposal."
"Coalition members are calling on lawmakers to remove all of them," the Clean Budget Coalition said of the riders, "and oppose passage of any legislation that includes these unpopular and controversial special favors for big corporations and ideological extremists."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nearly 260 advocacy groups on Monday warned that House Republicans have not halted their efforts to push through as many restrictions on government spending as possible in the federal budget bill, adding dozens more "poison pill" riders to the legislation ahead of the upcoming August recess.
The Clean Budget Coalition, which includes watchdog groups such as Public Citizen and the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS), reported that 74 new poison pills have been added to spending bills since advocates first sounded the alarm about the practice just one week ago.
At least 291 poison pill riders, which ban certain types of spending by the federal government, have now been introduced in budgetary legislation, which is expected to be the subject of the latest spending fight this fall—just months after Republicans slashed nutritional assistance and education spending in the debt ceiling deal.
"All of these measures must be removed," said CSS on Monday.
The new poison pill riders include ones that would roll back decades of progress in securing rights for marginalized people in the U.S., including LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, those targeted by right-wing extremist or white supremacist groups, and people most impacted by air pollution.
The same-sex marriage rider would allow opponents of marriage equality to receive federal funding even if they discriminate against same-sex couples, while the pride flag rider would forbid LGBTQ+ pride flags from being flown over federal buildings.
The H-2A visas rider would block the Labor Department from enforcing a rule that strengthens protections and wage calculations for foreign workers—potentially taking away an estimated $38 million wage increase from farmworkers.
The poison pills include a number of restrictions on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and numerous environmental justice programs, such as one blocking the EPA from implementing a new rule to reduce mercury and other toxic air pollution, one that prevents the agency from enforcing new carbon pollution limits for coal and gas power plants, and one blocking it from imposing new proposed rules to reduce tailpipe emissions.
The riders will "damage the agency's ability to do its critical work," wrote former EPA attorney David Coursen at The Hill on Monday, adding that House Republicans are "hellbent on bulldozing any gains" in environmental justice with its "doomsday proposal."
"Coalition members are calling on lawmakers to remove all of them," the Clean Budget Coalition said of the riders, "and oppose passage of any legislation that includes these unpopular and controversial special favors for big corporations and ideological extremists."
From Your Site Articles
- House Approps Republicans Pollute Annual Spending Bills with Attacks on Climate, Clean Energy, Water ›
- 'Five-Alarm Fire': GOP Adds Over 200 Poison Pills to House Spending Bills ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Nearly 260 advocacy groups on Monday warned that House Republicans have not halted their efforts to push through as many restrictions on government spending as possible in the federal budget bill, adding dozens more "poison pill" riders to the legislation ahead of the upcoming August recess.
The Clean Budget Coalition, which includes watchdog groups such as Public Citizen and the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS), reported that 74 new poison pills have been added to spending bills since advocates first sounded the alarm about the practice just one week ago.
At least 291 poison pill riders, which ban certain types of spending by the federal government, have now been introduced in budgetary legislation, which is expected to be the subject of the latest spending fight this fall—just months after Republicans slashed nutritional assistance and education spending in the debt ceiling deal.
"All of these measures must be removed," said CSS on Monday.
The new poison pill riders include ones that would roll back decades of progress in securing rights for marginalized people in the U.S., including LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, those targeted by right-wing extremist or white supremacist groups, and people most impacted by air pollution.
The same-sex marriage rider would allow opponents of marriage equality to receive federal funding even if they discriminate against same-sex couples, while the pride flag rider would forbid LGBTQ+ pride flags from being flown over federal buildings.
The H-2A visas rider would block the Labor Department from enforcing a rule that strengthens protections and wage calculations for foreign workers—potentially taking away an estimated $38 million wage increase from farmworkers.
The poison pills include a number of restrictions on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and numerous environmental justice programs, such as one blocking the EPA from implementing a new rule to reduce mercury and other toxic air pollution, one that prevents the agency from enforcing new carbon pollution limits for coal and gas power plants, and one blocking it from imposing new proposed rules to reduce tailpipe emissions.
The riders will "damage the agency's ability to do its critical work," wrote former EPA attorney David Coursen at The Hill on Monday, adding that House Republicans are "hellbent on bulldozing any gains" in environmental justice with its "doomsday proposal."
"Coalition members are calling on lawmakers to remove all of them," the Clean Budget Coalition said of the riders, "and oppose passage of any legislation that includes these unpopular and controversial special favors for big corporations and ideological extremists."
From Your Site Articles
- House Approps Republicans Pollute Annual Spending Bills with Attacks on Climate, Clean Energy, Water ›
- 'Five-Alarm Fire': GOP Adds Over 200 Poison Pills to House Spending Bills ›
Related Articles Around the Web
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.