September, 21 2022, 11:46am EDT
Reporter Memo: Bank CEO Hearing Highlights GOP Crusade to Stop Critical Public Protections for Climate and Other Financial Risks
This week, the CEOs of the nation's largest banks will sit down with the respective committees overseeing them in the U.S. House and Senate. The hearings provide a moment for Congress to hear from some of their largest campaign contributors.
WASHINGTON
This week, the CEOs of the nation's largest banks will sit down with the respective committees overseeing them in the U.S. House and Senate. The hearings provide a moment for Congress to hear from some of their largest campaign contributors. The seven bankers, who were collectively compensated $145,900,000 last year, gave over $75 million to politicians between 2016 and 2022, according to data compiled ahead of the hearing by Public Citizen.
This excessive CEO compensation for these mega bankers, underscores the need to move on long delayed rules from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act to rein in out-of-control executive compensation that incentivizes risk taking. As a recent Public Citizen report highlighted, numerous cases link compensation to fraud and investor abuse by banks. The outrageous compensation for CEOs coupled with the massive amount of political giving they do, has given them a sense of immunity. And this hubris will be on full display during this hearing.
Republican efforts to inflame their followers with new forms of climate change denial will also be center stage. Earlier this week, Republican aides on the Senate Banking Committee previewed that the GOP members would use their time with the CEOs to launch diatribes unmoored from facts about their latest euphemism for climate denial: 'woke-capitalism.'
Republican leaders are unleashing threats ahead of this week's hearings. A GOP staffer told Politico that "Republicans will send a clear warning to these financial institutions: If banks don't reverse course, they should expect more backlash from Republicans, which could include Republicans seeking to pressure banks to advance their social and political objectives when they're in power."
While Republicans on Capitol Hill lob thinly veiled threats at big banks, who are often only too happy to take risks with their companies to increase their own pay, the pressure campaign to undermine safe investment strategies by financial institutions has already begun in the states. Several Republican state officials are actively punishing financial institutions of all sizes, blacklisting them from doing business with the state government for making prudent financial decisions. The anti-free market move by these states not only puts state worker pensions at risk and costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, it demands that financial institutions ignore what will be the most significant factor in the economy for decades to come: a massive economic transformation away from fossil fuels toward clean energy.
Consumer reports found that 71% of Americans are interested in purchasing an electronic vehicle. Renewables are the fastest growing part of the energy sector. As the economy transitions, what happens to the investments financial institutions make today in fossil fuels?
Financial institutions are starting to wake up to the grave risks of fossil fuel investments and financing. That's why, at the behest of the fossil fuel industry, Republicans will use this week's hearings to push the nation's largest banks to provide more credit and investment to this volatile sector of the economy than even the banks--no strangers to excessive risk-taking--think is prudent. Congress generally doesn't bully banks into lending to one industry or another (instead, it's usually happy to subsidize an industry itself).
Republicans are ignoring several of the realities of the American economy:
- U.S. banks are the world's largest funders of fossil fuels. When they don't lend, it's overwhelmingly because they've concluded that the loans are too risky;
- Politicians shouldn't push banks into taking financial stakes in risky industries and the symbiotic relationship between major corporate donors and their politicians can lead to bad outcomes for protecting the public;
- Despite a year of record profits, the fossil fuel industry is incredibly risky (remember, a few short years ago, the price of a barrel of crude went negative); and
- Pushing financial institutions into risky investments puts the entire economy at risk, and CEOs are already inclined to take unnecessary risks due to their compensation packages. Politicians should not pile on.
While the Teflon CEOs of America's largest banks will likely dodge the politically loaded questions from the GOP, the very real questions about how banks will react to stranded investments and systemic economic risks caused by the climate crisis and other "ESG" matters are likely to linger like PFAS.
Public Citizen Expert Availability:
On Banking CEO Pay and Influence Spending:
- Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president
- Rachel Curley, democracy advocate,
- Rick Claypool, research director
On Climate-Related Financial Risk and Regulation:
- David Arkush, managing director, Climate Program
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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Democrat Flips Seat in Alabama House After Running on Abortion Rights
Democrats see the win in Alabama as a sign that supporting reproductive rights will make a difference in November.
Mar 27, 2024
Marilyn Lands, a Democratic candidate for a state House seat in Alabama, won a special election on Tuesday, defeating Republican Teddy Powell.
Lands focused her campaign on reproductive rights, including support for access to in vitro fertilization and abortion. The election was for a seat in Madison City, and it was previously held by a Republican.
"Today, Alabama women and families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation. Our legislature must repeal Alabama's no-exceptions abortion ban, fully restore access to IVF, and protect the right to contraception," Lands said in a statement.
Congrats to my friend Marilyn Lands on her resounding victory in the Alabama House District 10 special election. She campaigned on women’s reproductive freedom and pushing back on the culture wars being waged by AL Republicans. This is a big win for a better, stronger Alabama.…
— Doug Jones (@DougJones) March 27, 2024
Alabama has a strict abortion ban, and a February Alabama Supreme Court ruling declared that frozen embryos are people, imperiling access to in vitro fertilization in the state following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Lands' opponent supported the state's abortion ban.
"This special election is a harbinger of things to come—Republicans across the country have been put on notice that there are consequences to attacks on IVF—from the bluest blue state to the reddest red, voters are choosing to fight for their fundamental freedoms by electing Democrats across the country," Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, told Politico.
Democrats see Lands' win as a sign that supporting reproductive rights could continue to be a winner in November, even in deeply red states like Alabama. President Joe Biden voiced his support for access to IVF and abortion in his State of the Union address earlier this month.
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"I wasn't able to really do my job anymore," said Annelle Sheline. "Trying to advocate for human rights just became impossible."
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Saying her job at a State Department office that advocates for human rights in the Middle East has become "impossible" as the Biden administration continues to back Israel's assault on civilians in Gaza, foreign affairs officer Annelle Sheline resigned from her position on Wednesday in protest of President Joe Biden's policy in the region.
Sheline noted in an interview with The Washington Post that quitting her job in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor was not something she took lightly, with "a daughter and a mortgage"—but said her day-to-day work on human rights had become ineffectual "as long as the U.S. continues to send a steady stream of weapons to Israel."
Despite the fact that U.S. law prohibits the government from arming countries that violate human rights—as Israel has long been accused by the United Nations of doing in its policy toward the occupied Palestinian territories—the Biden administration has approved the transfer of bombs and other weapons to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since the military began its relentless bombardment of Gaza and blockade on nearly all humanitarian aid.
Sheline told the Post that as the news out of Gaza has grown more dire since October—with at least 32,490 Palestinians killed, at least 74,889 wounded, and parts of northern Gaza now facing famine conditions due to Israel's blocking of aid—some of her bureau's partners in the Middle East have stopped engaging with the State Department.
"If they are willing to engage, they mostly want to talk about Gaza rather than the fact that they are also dealing with extreme repression or threats of imprisonment," Sheline told the Post of the activists and civil society groups her office routinely worked with to further human rights in the region before Israel's assault began. "The first point they bring up is: How is this happening?"
"I wasn't able to really do my job anymore," Sheline added. "Trying to advocate for human rights just became impossible."
Sheline is just the latest official to resign in protest of Biden's approach to Israel and Gaza.
In October Josh Paul resigned from his position as director of congressional and public affairs for the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, where he oversaw weapons transfers to U.S. allies.
Paul told the Post that Sheline's decision "speaks volumes about the Biden administration's disregard for the laws, policies and basic humanity of American foreign policy that the bureau exists to advance."
A policy adviser in the Education Department, Tariq Habash, also stepped down from his role in January, saying he could no longer be "quietly complicit" in the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
The State Department's internal dissent channel has also been used by numerous officials to voice outrage over the Biden administration's continued defense of Israel's actions.
Stephen Walt, professor of international affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, called Sheline's resignation "courageous."
Feds United for Peace, a group of government workers across nearly two dozen federal agencies which organized a daylong fast in January to protest the U.S.-backed slaughter of Palestinians, expressed solidarity with Sheline.
"That decision comes at a personal and real cost to her, and is a loss of a patriotic and deeply qualified employee for the Department of State," said the group in a statement. "Every arms shipment to Israel by the Biden administration and every one of the three vetoes of U.N. cease-fire resolutions has enabled Israeli impunity in its rampage across Gaza... Thousands of innocent lives are in President Biden's hands; the time has come to translate gentle requests for the protection of civilians into concrete action to stop the killing."
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A Gallup survey released Wednesday shows that U.S. public support for Israel's military assault on Gaza has plummeted since November, with the decline particularly sharp among Democratic voters whom President Joe Biden will need to turn out to win reelection against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Just 18% of Democratic voters currently approve of "the military action Israel has taken in Gaza" and 75% disapprove, according to the new poll, which was conducted between March 1-20. In November, 36% of Democratic respondents expressed approval of Israel's war and 63% disapproved.
"The crosstabs are even more striking—nearly two-thirds of people under 54, people of color, and women disapprove of the military action in Gaza," Sam Rosenthal, political director of the progressive advocacy group RootsAction, told Common Dreams in response to the new poll. "That is effectively the Democratic Party's base."
"Given these numbers," Rosenthal added, "I don't know how President Biden can reconcile his stalwart support for Israel with the clear preference that his core constituents have for an end to this war."
Overall, Gallup found that 55% of the American public—including 60% of Independents and 30% of Republicans—disapproves of Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip, up from 45% in November. Just 36% of the U.S. public approves, down from 50% four months ago.
"Biden is risking his second term and our democracy by continuing to support the kind of violence and cruelty that is being perpetrated in Gaza right now."
Observers
noted that Gallup's new poll was conducted after the Israeli military's February 29 massacre of Palestinians seeking food aid. Since October, according to one human rights monitor, Israeli forces have killed more than 560 people waiting for humanitarian aid, the delivery of which Israel's government has intentionally hindered—fueling the spread of famine across the territory.
The Biden administration has backed Israel's assault from the beginning, providing the Netanyahu government with billions of dollars worth of weapons and diplomatic cover despite widespread and growing protests at home and abroad. Gallup's survey found that 74% of U.S. adults say they are following developments in Gaza "closely."
Political analyst Yousef Munayyer wrote on social media that "Biden's policy of continued support for Israel's war on Gaza is in line with the views of the right-wing Republicans," noting that 64% of GOP voters still approve of the Israeli assault—down slightly from 71% in November.
"Just to emphasize how extreme his position is and out of line with his voters," he added, "more Republicans disapprove of the war than Democrats who approve."
Growing Democratic opposition to Israel's military action in Gaza has fueled grassroots campaigns across the country urging voters to mark "uncommitted" on their Democratic primary ballots to pressure Biden to change course ahead of the general election against Trump, who has voiced support for Israel's devastating assault on Gaza.
"Uncommitted" campaigns won 11 Democratic National Convention (DNC) delegates in Minnesota and two in both Michigan and Washington state.
"Biden is risking his second term and our democracy by continuing to support the kind of violence and cruelty that is being perpetrated in Gaza right now," Faheem Khan, president of the American Muslim Advancement Council and a lead organizer of Uncommitted WA, said earlier this week.
Rosenthal of RootsAction told Common Dreams on Wednesday that the U.S. decision to abstain and allow the U.N. Security Council to pass a cease-fire resolution earlier this week was "a step in the right direction, and a clear indication that domestic pressure from campaigns like Listen to Michigan and other uncommitted voting efforts is working."
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"President Biden should decide quickly whether he wants to continue to uphold policy that is increasingly associated with the opposition party," Rosenthal added.
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