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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in the Government Budget Bill
Congress just passed an enormous omnibus-spending bill to keep the government running -- but what's in this bill besides funding for various agencies?
Here's the low-down on the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the bill:
Really Good: No Net Neutrality Sneak Attacks
Dec 20, 2015
Congress just passed an enormous omnibus-spending bill to keep the government running -- but what's in this bill besides funding for various agencies?
Here's the low-down on the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the bill:
Really Good: No Net Neutrality Sneak Attacks
After fighting last summer to keep out budget riders that would have undermined the FCC's open Internet rules, we knew we couldn't allow this dangerous language to make a comeback in the omnibus bill. Thousands of Net Neutrality supporters picked up the phone and urged Congress to leave these vital open Internet rules alone. Your voices made a difference: None of the riders made it into the spending bill.
Good: Financial Services Agencies and Privacy for Our Emails
Both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission believe they should be able to read our emails and other online messages without a warrant, thanks to a loophole in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Thanks to Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) and others, the spending bill requires these financial agencies to behave in accordance with the Fourth Amendment when it comes to our online communications. The language applies only to financial services agencies, and it's no substitute for a comprehensive ECPA fix, but we believe it's an important first step.
Really Bad: Cyber Surveillance Bill Made Law
CISA is back. A quick refresher: A number of bills brought up last year encourage companies to monitor and share our personal data with the government, in theory to detect hacking threats. In return, these companies get legal immunity from existing privacy laws. Varying versions of this so-called "cybersecurity" legislation passed both the House and Senate, but instead of letting the chambers settle their differences leadership decided to do an end run around the process by attaching it to the budget bill. This newly passed version is even worse than all of the previous ones, and that means more invasive government surveillance and a dangerous blow to privacy safeguards.
Bad: Civil Liberties Oversight Board Gutted
Congress also worked in a provision that would prevent the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) from gaining access to any information about government covert-action programs. The PCLOB is an independent agency designed to protect Americans' privacy and civil liberties by conducting oversight of counterterrorism programs. The language in the budget bill could allow surveillance programs to evade oversight if agencies claim they're connected to broadly defined "covert-action programs." Congress should be working to improve surveillance oversight, not remove it.
Bad: Waivers for Big Media Consolidation
The budget bill also includes a waiver allowing broadcasting conglomerates to hold on to Joint Sales Agreements (JSAs) that allow them to evade the FCC's media ownership limits. Sharing agreements like JSAs allow a single media giant to maintain control of multiple local TV stations while claiming that independent owners are in charge. JSAs and other similar schemes force out local ownership, damage media diversity, homogenize newsrooms and hurt journalists and communities of color, yet Congress decided to bail out broadcasters via the omnibus bill.
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 |
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Dana Floberg
Dana Floberg is a policy manager for Free Press Action. Follow her on Twitter: @dana_flo
Congress just passed an enormous omnibus-spending bill to keep the government running -- but what's in this bill besides funding for various agencies?
Here's the low-down on the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the bill:
Really Good: No Net Neutrality Sneak Attacks
After fighting last summer to keep out budget riders that would have undermined the FCC's open Internet rules, we knew we couldn't allow this dangerous language to make a comeback in the omnibus bill. Thousands of Net Neutrality supporters picked up the phone and urged Congress to leave these vital open Internet rules alone. Your voices made a difference: None of the riders made it into the spending bill.
Good: Financial Services Agencies and Privacy for Our Emails
Both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission believe they should be able to read our emails and other online messages without a warrant, thanks to a loophole in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Thanks to Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) and others, the spending bill requires these financial agencies to behave in accordance with the Fourth Amendment when it comes to our online communications. The language applies only to financial services agencies, and it's no substitute for a comprehensive ECPA fix, but we believe it's an important first step.
Really Bad: Cyber Surveillance Bill Made Law
CISA is back. A quick refresher: A number of bills brought up last year encourage companies to monitor and share our personal data with the government, in theory to detect hacking threats. In return, these companies get legal immunity from existing privacy laws. Varying versions of this so-called "cybersecurity" legislation passed both the House and Senate, but instead of letting the chambers settle their differences leadership decided to do an end run around the process by attaching it to the budget bill. This newly passed version is even worse than all of the previous ones, and that means more invasive government surveillance and a dangerous blow to privacy safeguards.
Bad: Civil Liberties Oversight Board Gutted
Congress also worked in a provision that would prevent the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) from gaining access to any information about government covert-action programs. The PCLOB is an independent agency designed to protect Americans' privacy and civil liberties by conducting oversight of counterterrorism programs. The language in the budget bill could allow surveillance programs to evade oversight if agencies claim they're connected to broadly defined "covert-action programs." Congress should be working to improve surveillance oversight, not remove it.
Bad: Waivers for Big Media Consolidation
The budget bill also includes a waiver allowing broadcasting conglomerates to hold on to Joint Sales Agreements (JSAs) that allow them to evade the FCC's media ownership limits. Sharing agreements like JSAs allow a single media giant to maintain control of multiple local TV stations while claiming that independent owners are in charge. JSAs and other similar schemes force out local ownership, damage media diversity, homogenize newsrooms and hurt journalists and communities of color, yet Congress decided to bail out broadcasters via the omnibus bill.
Dana Floberg
Dana Floberg is a policy manager for Free Press Action. Follow her on Twitter: @dana_flo
Congress just passed an enormous omnibus-spending bill to keep the government running -- but what's in this bill besides funding for various agencies?
Here's the low-down on the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the bill:
Really Good: No Net Neutrality Sneak Attacks
After fighting last summer to keep out budget riders that would have undermined the FCC's open Internet rules, we knew we couldn't allow this dangerous language to make a comeback in the omnibus bill. Thousands of Net Neutrality supporters picked up the phone and urged Congress to leave these vital open Internet rules alone. Your voices made a difference: None of the riders made it into the spending bill.
Good: Financial Services Agencies and Privacy for Our Emails
Both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission believe they should be able to read our emails and other online messages without a warrant, thanks to a loophole in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Thanks to Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) and others, the spending bill requires these financial agencies to behave in accordance with the Fourth Amendment when it comes to our online communications. The language applies only to financial services agencies, and it's no substitute for a comprehensive ECPA fix, but we believe it's an important first step.
Really Bad: Cyber Surveillance Bill Made Law
CISA is back. A quick refresher: A number of bills brought up last year encourage companies to monitor and share our personal data with the government, in theory to detect hacking threats. In return, these companies get legal immunity from existing privacy laws. Varying versions of this so-called "cybersecurity" legislation passed both the House and Senate, but instead of letting the chambers settle their differences leadership decided to do an end run around the process by attaching it to the budget bill. This newly passed version is even worse than all of the previous ones, and that means more invasive government surveillance and a dangerous blow to privacy safeguards.
Bad: Civil Liberties Oversight Board Gutted
Congress also worked in a provision that would prevent the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) from gaining access to any information about government covert-action programs. The PCLOB is an independent agency designed to protect Americans' privacy and civil liberties by conducting oversight of counterterrorism programs. The language in the budget bill could allow surveillance programs to evade oversight if agencies claim they're connected to broadly defined "covert-action programs." Congress should be working to improve surveillance oversight, not remove it.
Bad: Waivers for Big Media Consolidation
The budget bill also includes a waiver allowing broadcasting conglomerates to hold on to Joint Sales Agreements (JSAs) that allow them to evade the FCC's media ownership limits. Sharing agreements like JSAs allow a single media giant to maintain control of multiple local TV stations while claiming that independent owners are in charge. JSAs and other similar schemes force out local ownership, damage media diversity, homogenize newsrooms and hurt journalists and communities of color, yet Congress decided to bail out broadcasters via the omnibus bill.
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