Jonathan Kantrowitz

Consumer Watchdog has called on Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd to re-affirm his commitment to an independent consumer financial regulator today after the nation’s largest bank announced it would not oppose the agency.

Last week, the CEO of Bank of America told President Obama his company does not oppose creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Also last week, former Citigroup Chairman John Reed endorsed a consumer regulator in testimony before the Senate Banking panel. Dodd is widely rumored to be considering dropping the agency from financial reform legislation.

In the letter to Senator Dodd, Consumer Watchdog wrote:

“Abandoning an independent consumer financial regulator is not a small compromise, but an untenable capitulation to those in the financial industry who have no interest in meaningful reform. It would be a disappointing and embarrassing end to more than a year of this committee’s work on a financial regulatory overhaul were you to propose a bill that provides less consumer protection than even the nation’s largest bank is willing to accept.”

In the letter the group noted that an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency, with full rulemaking, examination and enforcement authority, is critical to both address the problems that caused the last financial crisis and create a new regulatory structure to prevent crises in the future.

The letter continues: “Meaningful financial reform must make the marketplace safer for everyday Americans. The question remains: Will you side with the public, or those who stand in the way of reform?

“We urge you to put these questions to rest by publicly reaffirming your support for a strong, independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency that will create fair rules of the road for financial products and crack down on the consumer abuses that devastated American homes, savings and economic security.”

The fact that Connecticut has the largest gap in the nation between white and minority students at the proficient level has been well established. But another gap, at the other end of the achievement level, has been documented in a new report.

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test proficiency level and percentile data as well as results from state assessments demonstrate the existence of substantial excellence gaps for Black, Hispanic, and Free and Reduced Lunch Eligible (FARM) students. White students had higher average AP scores than Black and Hispanic students on AP tests and were more likely to make a “5” on an AP exam or take an AP exam.

According to NAEP proficiency data, the percentage of students at the advanced level increased in Math Grade 4, but scores were stagnant except for a decline among Black students in Grade 8. In Reading, Black students improved in Grade 4 as did FARM and Hispanic students in Grade 8, while White and FARM students had weaker performances in Grade 4. The excellence gap increased in Math in Grade 4 as well as for Black students in Grade 8,while in Reading it declined for Hispanic students, for Africans American students in Grade 4, and FARM students in Grade 8.

NAEP scale scores at the 90th percentile increased only in Math Grade 4, with stagnation or decline on other assessments except for Black students gains in Reading Grade 4. The excellence gap narrowed in Math Grade 8, as well as in Reading (both grades) for FARM students, in Reading Grade 8 for Black students, and Reading Grade 4 for Hispanic students.
While there has been a gradual increase in the proportion of students scoring at the advanced level in Grade 7 in both Math and Reading and in Grade 4 Math, White and more affluent students have improved more rapidly than their peers (Grade 4 Reading performance was stagnant). In Grade 10, the percentage of high-performing White and affluent students has increased, with basic stability among Black, Hispanic, and low income students.

On AP exams, there were modest increases in achievement gaps as measured by mean AP scores. While there were increases in the gap between White and Black students in the percentage of tests taken which received a 5, there was a decrease in the gap between White and Hispanic students. There was also an increase in the gap between White and minority students in the percentage of tests receiving a 5 on the AP exam weighted by enrollment and the number of tests taken weighted by enrollment.
Summary

You thought the Senate was dysfunctional because 41 Senators could outvote 59? Well, it’s actually worse than that: 1 can outvote 99 through the right of each Senator to put a “hold” on any Senate action. Paul Krugman has more on the story, including an explanation of the headline:

So, here’s the news from the Senate. Martha Johnson was nominated to head the General Services Administration, and was confirmed by a nearly unanimous vote — but only after having had her nomination held hostage for nine months by Senator Kit Bond, who wanted more pork for Kansas City. And now Senator Richard Shelby has placed a hold on — are you seated — all, all, Obama administration nominees, until he gets some pork for Alabama.

What’s going on? The Senate has rules based on the idea that it was a chamber of gentlemen who would find ways to work together. But now, 41 Senators belong to a party that has no interest in a working government, no desire to work with the majority in good faith.

Despite a sharp drop in public concern over global warming, Americans—regardless of political affiliation—support the passage of federal climate and energy policies, according to the results of a national survey released today by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities.

The survey found support for:

• Funding more research on renewable energy, such as solar and wind power (85 percent)
• Tax rebates for people buying fuel-efficient vehicles or solar panels (82 percent)
• Establishing programs to teach Americans how to save energy (72 percent)
• Regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant (71 percent)
• School curricula to teach children about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global warming (70 percent)
• Signing an international treaty that requires the United States to cut emissions of carbon dioxide 90 percent by the year 2050 (61 percent)
• Establishing programs to teach Americans about global warming (60 percent).

“Surprisingly, majorities of both Republicans and Democrats support many of these policies, including renewable energy research, tax rebates, regulating carbon dioxide, and expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas,” said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change. “Further, majorities in both parties support returning revenues from a cap-and-trade system to American households to offset higher energy costs, perhaps opening a pathway for Congressional action.”

Sixty percent of Americans, however, said they have heard “nothing at all” about the cap-and-trade legislation currently being considered by Congress. Only 12 percent had heard “a lot.”

When cap and trade is explained, 58 percent support the policy, but this support drops to approximately 40 percent if household energy costs increase by $15 a month, or 50 cents a day. Sixty-six percent support cap and trade, however, if every household were to receive a yearly bonus of $180 to offset higher energy costs. In addition, 59 percent of Americans said they would likely spend the bonus on home energy efficiency improvements. This increases to 71 percent likely if the government offered to double the bonus, if it was spent on energy efficiency improvements.

Sixty-two percent said the United States should make a “medium-” to “large-scale” effort to reduce global warming, even if doing so has “moderate” or “large” economic costs. This represents, however, a 12-point decline since the fall of 2008. Sixty-nine percent said global warming should be a “medium” priority to “very high” priority of President Obama and Congress, while approximately half want local, state, and federal officials to do more to address the issue. Both of those results represent 10- to 15-percentage-point declines since the fall of 2008.

“Most Americans continue to want their elected leaders at all levels of government to get on with the job of developing solutions to global warming,” said Edward Maibach, director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University. “Two out of three also want to see ordinary citizens like themselves doing more about global warming.”

The results come from a nationally representative survey of 1,001 American adults, age 18 and older. The sample was weighted to correspond with U.S. Census Bureau parameters. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percent, with 95 percent confidence. The survey was designed by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities and conducted from December 24, 2009, to January 3, 2010, by Knowledge Networks, using an online research panel of American adults.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced yesterday that he will be introducing a constitutional amendment in the coming days to reverse the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The decision overturned 100 years of precedents to come to the unjustified conclusion that corporations deserve the same free speech protections as individual Americans.

“Money is not speech,” said Dodd. “Corporations are not people. And in the wake of one of the most radical decisions in the Supreme Court’s history of campaign finance jurisprudence, a constitutional amendment is necessary to fully restore the trust and voice of the American people. If corporations – foreign as well as domestic – are allowed even greater and more direct influence over our elections, our democracy as we know it will cease to exist. I won’t stand for that. I urge my colleagues, and the American people, to join me in defense of democracy by supporting this amendment and other interim steps to mitigate the damage done by this decision.”

Dodd’s proposed amendment would authorize Congress to regulate the raising and spending of money for state and federal political campaigns, and to implement and enforce the amendment through appropriate legislation.

I don’t think we need to go so far – I think the amendment should simply say “Corporations are not people and are not entiled to the rights of people under this Constitution.”

Following news reports this morning that Republicans are seeking to raise money from Wall Street and the banking lobby using the pitch that they will stymie financial regulatory reform and protect banks from the type of oversight that could prevent another financial collapse, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine released the following statement:

“The GOP’s brazen appeal to Wall Street for campaign contributions in exchange for Republicans’ vow to block financial reform is a new low for Congressional Republicans who’ve already seen their brand deteriorate over the last year as a result of their continued insistence at putting the interests of Wall Street over the needs of Main Street.

“John Boehner’s efforts to cut a deal with Wall Street in exchange for carrying their water in Congress demonstrates what we’ve said all along – that the GOP’s interests extend to no one other than themselves and their special interest friends and they will stop at nothing to win in November. And, this is far from an isolated incident. We’ve seen the GOP grow increasingly dependent on their relationship with the very same people who sent this economy into a tailspin and decimated bank accounts and balance sheets for families and businesses across this country. Less than two months ago, Republicans met behind closed doors with 100 banking lobbyists to strategize how best to block financial regulatory reform and now Republicans are delivering the bill for services rendered.

“But, the real people paying the price for this quid pro quo between Republicans and Wall Street are the main street Americans who are trying desperately to rebuild after eight years of reckless behavior in the financial industry – cheered on by a Republican Congress and the Bush Administration. While the President and Democrats are fighting for them, Republicans are teaming up with the very people whose reckless behavior nearly toppled our economy. The American people have every right to be disgusted by this activity by Republicans.”

134 co-sponsors a sign of growing momentum following a week storming the hill, pressing Congress to act.

Today, the House Fair Elections Now Act (H.R. 1826), championed by House Democratic Caucus Chairman John B. Larson (D-Conn.), gained its 134th co-sponsor, pushing the number of supporters to more than half of the Democratic Caucus. This high level of support is a sign of the growing momentum for changing the way campaigns are financed in this country, according to Public Campaign and Common Cause.

“The country needs both parties to work to solve the political crisis created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, and the bipartisan solution that has the broadest support within Congress is Fair Elections,” said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public Campaign. “Not only is it the best policy response to the escalating cost to run for office, it will take candidates off the fundraising treadmill and encourage them to seek support from voters back home. This bill is democracy-in-action.”

“The Supreme Court has left no room for doubt that we need a campaign finance system that makes elected officials beholden to the people they’re supposed to represent instead of the wealthy special interests,” said Common Cause President Bob Edgar. “The Fair Elections Now Act would do that.”

In the two weeks since the Citizens United decision was released, the groups have stormed the Hill, working with others to mount a significant campaign to:
• Organize a letter of 41 top business executives to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urging them to include Fair Elections in any legislative package.
• Deliver 177,716 petition signatures to district and Capitol Hill offices for both House members and Senators.
• Place nearly 5,000 calls to targeted congressional offices.
• Line up more than 200 faith leaders, including prominent individuals within denominations, to sign a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid to urge that the response to Citizens United include Fair Elections.
• Brief more than 100 congressional offices on Fair Elections.
• Launched a “fax” day today, when thousands of faxes will be sent to targeted congressional offices.

“Over the past two weeks, we have brought Americans’ concerns about the big money-dominated system directly to Congress,” said David Donnelly, campaign manager of the joint effort. “From business executives to faith leaders to ordinary Americans, everyone is sick of the time Congress spends courting Wall Street and other special interests. We will continue to direct the voices of concerned and angry Americans to urge our elected officials to act in the people’s interest and pass Fair Elections.”

The Fair Elections Now Act (H.R. 1826) would create a voluntary system that blends limited public funds with a 4 to 1 match on donations of $100 or less. Candidates would be freed from the eternal chase for big campaign checks, able to spend their time talking with voters and addressing our country’s challenges. With Fair Elections, candidates would need to rely solely on their grassroots base of support and not Wall Street lobbyists or PACs. Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is the sponsor of companion legislation in the Senate.

The 134 co-sponsors represent a broad, ideologically diverse array of the House, with strong support across caucuses and party lines. Supporters include 66 percent of new members, 62 percent of Democratic women, and half of all Congressional Black Caucus members.

To learn more about the Fair Elections Now Act and view the full list of House co-sponsors.

Politico has the story:

A new poll of self-identified Republicans released Tuesday shows a large slice of the GOP believes President Barack Obama is a “socialist” who was not born in this country, should be impeached, wants the terrorists to win and only won the 2008 election because ACORN “stole” it for him.

According to the poll, 63 percent of Republicans believe Obama is a socialist; 39 percent think Obama should be impeached; 24 percent said Obama wants “the terrorists to win”; and 31 percent agreed with the statement that Obama is “a racist who hates white people.”

According to the survey, 36 percent of respondents do not believe the president was born in this country, and 21 percent think the liberal advocacy group ACORN stole the election for Obama.

Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of the Republicans polled, 23 percent, want their state to secede from the union.

Fifty-one percent of those polled believe sex education should not be taught in schools; 77 percent want creationism taught in schools; 31 percent want contraception outlawed; and 34 percent believe birth control is “abortion.”