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House GOP Adds Dozens More Poison Pills to Spending Bill

House Republicans have added over 290 "poison pill" riders to the federal budget bill that would restrict government spending. These riders would roll back progress on issues like LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, and environmental protections. The new riders include blocking same-sex marriage equality funding, banning LGBTQ+ flags from federal buildings, restricting visas for foreign farmworkers, and limiting the EPA's ability to regulate pollution. Advocacy groups are calling on lawmakers to remove all the riders from the budget bill and pass legislation without the controversial restrictions. The riders would damage agencies' ability to do critical work and reverse gains in environmental justice, according to critics.

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  • All just theatrics. Red meat for the base who will fall for it because they're gullible and let their thirst for hate cloud their judgment. This is DOA in the Senate and McCarthy knows it but still has his caucus go through with this waste of time. Tells you exactly everything you need to know about his character and fitness for leadership. Both are, to put it mildly, lacking.

  • The populist GOP is as intellectually bankrupt as it is morally bankrupt. Because it has no animating principle beyond fear and greed, its leaders will never stop with this bullshit. They will dip into endless oceans of manufactured outrage to fuel one attack after another on vulnerable out groups. Ad infinitum, for ever and ever.

    We will have peace only after they are driven out of government utterly and completely, and their leadership is ripped root and branch from public life. The only real question is whether that is going to be possible while (hopefully) avoiding bloodshed.

  • This is republicans in a nutshell. When people ask what are republicans doing for me, this is the answer... Fuck you!

  • So because this gets more evil the further you delve into it, here's the full breakdown of the riders from the cleanbudget.org report referenced in the article. Broken into subsequent comments to get the full list - here's part 1:

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – At least 74 new poison pill policy riders were added to or spotted in appropriations bills drafted in the U.S. House over the past week, according to the Clean Budget Coalition, which is tracking them, bringing the total number of new poison pill riders to at least 291.

    Coalition members are calling on lawmakers to remove all of them and oppose passage of any legislation that includes these unpopular and controversial special favors for big corporations and ideological extremists. Below is a list of new poison pills added or found in the past week:

    Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

    • The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
    • The Packers and Stockyards Act Report Rider would falsely claim that the act requires farmers to meet the impossible burden of proving that harms they experienced from meatpackers or poultry companies also harmed competition in the entire industry.
    • The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.

    Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies

    • The “Politically Sensitive Investigations” Rider would block funding for any politically sensitive investigation until the U.S. Department of Justice establishes a policy requiring non-partisan career staff to oversee such investigations. The potential targets of such investigations would include elected officials or their family members, political candidates or their family members, political organizations, religious organizations, and members of the media.
    • The Merger Guidelines Rider would block funding for revising the Merger Guidelines issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department. The previous guidelines allowed unprecedented monopolization, creating massive corporations at the expense of small businesses, startups, and consumers. The agencies issued updated merger guidelines aimed at strengthening enforcement against illegal mergers on July 19, 2023.
    • The EU Digital Markets Rider would block funding for any action that supports the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which aims to ensure a higher degree of competition in European digital markets by preventing large companies from abusing their market power and allowing new players to enter the market.
    • The Antitrust Employees Rider would block the Justice Department from using funds to add new employees to its Antitrust Division. This rider would ensure that the department is even more outmatched by enormous corporations willing to spend princely sums for lawyers to protect their monopoly positions.
    • The COVID Vaccine Rider would block funding to enforce any COVID-19 vaccine mandates or passports.
    • The China Coordination Rider would block the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Space Council from coordinating in any way with China or any Chinese-owned company without explicit authorization by law or by the FBI.
    • The Guantanamo Bay Rider would block the transfer or release of any prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay since June 2009 or setting up alternative detention facilities.
    • The Red Snapper Rider would delay urgently needed fisheries management measures in the South Atlantic potentially for years. South Atlantic red snapper is overfished and needs new management measures to rebuild fish stocks.
    • The Firearms Registry Rider would block funding for a federal firearms registry.
    • The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
    • The Solar Imports Rider would block funding to implement a two-year delay on imposing anti-dumping and other countervailing duties on solar panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
    • The Iran Rider would ban funding for any formal or informal negotiations with the government or representatives of Iran.
    • The Transgender Lawsuits Rider would block funding for suing a state or local government over transgender laws.
    • The Student Religious Beliefs Rider would block funding to discriminate against or denigrate the religious or moral beliefs of students who participate in programs for which financial assistance is provided or the parents or legal guardians of such students.

    • Part 2:

      Defense

      • The Guantanamo Bay Rider would block the transfer or release of any prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay since June 2009 or setting up alternative detention facilities.
      • The Guantanamo Bay Closure Rider would block the closure or realignment of Guantanamo Bay.
      • The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
      • The Armed Forces Anti-Extremism Rider would block funding for the appointment of a deputy inspector general in the U.S. Department of Defense whose job is to prevent and respond to supremacist, extremist, and criminal gang activities by members of the Armed Forces.
      • The Defense Contractor Climate Emissions Rider would block funding for a rule to require federal defense contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks and set science-based targets to reduce their emissions.
      • The Pride Flag Rider would restrict which flags can be flown over federal facilities – and notably excludes pride flags.

      Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies

      • The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Rider would require the U.S. Energy Secretary to sell one million barrels of refined petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and then permanently close the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve. The Northeast Reserve protects consumers by having a federal backstop available to be released into the northeast market to combat high prices or provide supply in an event of a disruption.
      • The Energy Loan Guarantee Rider would through funding cuts effectively shut down the U.S. Energy Department’s Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program – a critical tool for accelerating deployment of clean energy and decarbonization technologies.

      Financial Services and General Government

      • The Outbound Investment Review Rider would prohibit funds for the U.S. Treasury Department outbound investment review program until a briefing is provided.
      • The Standalone Authority Rider would prevent the Federal Trade Commission from abandoning its guidance on “standalone” Section 5 authority.
      • The Prior Approval Rider would prohibit funds to implement, administer, or enforce the Federal Trade Commission’s “Use of Prior Approval Provisions in Merge Orders,” which would negatively impact the mergers process.
      • The D.C. Policing Rider would prohibit the District of Columbia from implementing its policing bill, the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022.
      • The Out-of-State Gun Permits Rider would allow an individual with a valid weapons carry permit from any state or territory to possess and carry a concealed handgun in areas governed by the District of Columbia and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
      • The Retail Investor Information Rider would prohibit funds for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to collect retail investor personal information even when there is evidence of wrongdoing and would require that an analysis of privacy concerns be submitted to Congress. The SEC collects this information for tax purposes.
      • The Small Business Rules Rider would direct the U.S. Small Business Administration to issue an economic impact report on small business concerns stemming from rules issued by the agency during the last two fiscal years.
      • The Cocaine Discovery Rider would require the White House to submit a report on the investigative materials associated with the cocaine discovery on July 2, 2023.
      • The IRS Guns Rider would prevent the IRS from purchasing firearms or ammunition above the levels in the agency’s possession as of July 13, 2023. This rider stems from the right-wing conspiracy theory that the IRS is stockpiling firearms to initiate an assault against Americans and to prevent Americans from accessing ammunition during an ammo shortage.

      • Part 3:

        Homeland Security

        • The COVID Vaccine Rider would block funding for any requirement that employees of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) receive COVID-19 vaccines.
        • The COVID Travel Rider would block funding for any rules current or future that advance safer travel to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
        • The Guantanamo Bay Rider would block the transfer or release of any prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay since June 2009 or setting up alternative detention facilities.
        • The ICE Prosecutorial Discretion Rider would block funds for implementing the Biden administration’s “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law’’ that the U.S. Supreme Court approved as lawful on June 23, 2023.
        • The Border Wall Rider would prohibit any funds being used or transferred to any other federal agency, board, or commission to dismantle existing parts of the current border wall.
        • The CBP One Application Rider would block funds being used for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One Application or any successor application to parole immigrants into the U.S.
        • The ICE Detention Rider would direct DHS to prioritize detention of immigrants and ensure that the average daily population of detainees is maintained at full capacity throughout the year. It also specifies that immigrants in the Alternative to Detention program have mandatory ankle monitoring throughout the duration of all immigration proceedings.
        • The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.

        Interior, Environment and Related Agencies

        • The Glacier National Park Reservation Rider would prohibit the park from implementing a reservation system to address overcrowding.
        • The Bison Rider would prohibit the U.S. Department of the Interior from establishing a working group to help restore bison populations.
        • The Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS) Rule Rider would block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing and implementing its new rule to reduce mercury and other toxic air pollution, including lead, chromium, arsenic, and soot from coal- and oil-fired power plants.
        • The Lead Ammunition and Tackle Rider would prevent agencies charged with wildlife protection from banning toxic lead in ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands unless an impossible set of criteria are met.
        • The Carbon Pollution Rule Rider would block the EPA from finalizing and implementing new carbon pollution limits for coal- and gas-fired power plants.
        • The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.
        • The Smithsonian Rider would prevent the museum from partnering with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices
        • The Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Rider would prohibit listing the animal under the Endangered Species Act.
        • The Ethylene Oxide Emissions Rider would block the EPA from enforcing its proposed rule to limit the hazardous air pollutant.
        • The Rat Poison Rider would block the EPA from restricting rodenticides that pose health risks to humans and other mammals and birds.
        • The Tailpipe Emissions Rider would block the EPA from implementing its proposed rules to reduce harmful air pollutants from light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
        • The Conservation Land Use Rider would prohibit the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from implementing the Conservation and Landscape Health rule, which allows the agency to better prioritize conservation of public lands.
        • The Grizzly Bear Rider would delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population of Grizzly Bears under the Endangered Species Act.
        • The Pride Flag Rider would restrict which flags can be flown over federal facilities – and notably excludes pride flags.
        • The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.

  • What is a poison pill and a rider in the context of a spending bill?

    • Adding phrases to become law which have nothing to do with the scope and intention of the overall bill, and are generally wild additions that have no hope of passing on their own.

      Sometimes they’re added to intentionally bog down a bill so it won’t pass. The riders are used as a sort of narcissistic bargaining chip in political “negotiation”.

35 comments