Two Democratic lawmakers are seeking information from the
country’s biggest accounting firms about the revolving door between the firm’s
tax departments and top positions at the Treasury Department.Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Representative
Pramila Jayapal of Washington made the request after The New York Times
detailed how multinational accounting firms effectively draft tax rules from
inside the government that benefit their clients.
The Times found at least 35 examples in which employees of
big accounting firms left to join the Treasury’s tax policy office or other
government positions and then returned to the same firm. In nearly half of
those cases, the officials were promoted to partner when they rejoined their
old employer, which often means a doubling of their pay.… Continue Reading
Senator Elizabeth Warren accused Facebook Inc., along with other social media giants, of using their wealth to exert influence on Washington in a way that undermines the democratic system.“The loudest voice in this hall is Facebook and the other giant corporations, they hire the lobbyists, they make the big campaign contributions. And even more importantly, they fund dark money -- the part that, you never even see their fingerprints on it,” Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television with David Westin on Tuesday. “They’re the ones that undermine the basic premise of democracy.”… Continue Reading
On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) introduced a bill that would reform the way the government authorizes bank mergers. The proposal is an effort to stop the endless “rubber stamping” of bank consolidation, which Warren argues comes at the expense of customers and small banks.The Bank Merger Review Modernization Act, introduced with Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Illinois), would strengthen rules for the authorization process for bank mergers, in hopes of ensuring that future mergers serve the public. The act creates protections to make the process more transparent and to evaluate the financial risks that may emerge from a merger.… Continue Reading
At a hearing of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned General
Christopher Cavoli, Commander of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa and nominee to
be Commander of the United States European Command and the Supreme Allied
Commander Europe about the security challenges that climate change poses to
U.S. national security interests and the importance of Congressional oversight
of taxpayer dollars to aid UkraineWhen Senator Warren asked General Cavol… Continue Reading
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), led nine of their colleagues in introducing the Sustaining
Our Democracy Act. This legislation would provide $20 billion in mandatory
federal funding over the next decade to help states and local governments
support election administration, including by training and recruiting
nonpartisan poll workers and election officials and increasing access to voting
in underserved communities.“Voting is the beating heart of our democr… Continue Reading
Today, at a hearing of the Senate
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.) announced that she had secured strong ethics commitments from Michael
Barr, President Biden’s nominee to be Federal Reserve Vice Chair for
Supervision. Barr confirmed that he would not seek employment or compensation -
including as a result of board service - from any company that has a matter
before the Fed, or any financial services company, for four years after he
leaves … Continue Reading
Now that the Senate has passed a budget resolution, we’re one step closer to realizing President Biden’s transformational agenda: a once-in-a-generation investment in child care and Medicare, combating climate change and other efforts that would actually make our government work for families. The other half of the package — how to pay for these investments — is equally important.The already huge gap between the 0.1 percent and everyone else is just getting wider. Billionaire wealth surged by $1.8 trillion from the early days of the pandemic through last month. The 400 richest Americans had more total wealth, as of 2019, than all 10 million Black American households, plus a quarter of Latino households, combined. Yet the ultrarich pay only 3.2 percent of that wealth in taxes, while 99 percent of families pay 7.2 percent. And scores of giant U.S. corporations pay zero.I’ve proposed measures that would raise more than $5 trillion in revenue — far more than we need to enact the Biden plan.… Continue Reading
In early April 2020, just as wave after wave of coronavirus cases were hitting the United States and hospitals in hot spots were worried about being overrun with sick and dying people, I set up a conference call with a big group of Massachusetts nurses. They were working long hours, there were no known COVID-19 treatments, and they were watching their patients die alone. I’d also heard terrible stories about the shortage of face masks and other protective gear. Let’s be clear: If nurses can’t do their jobs, then the whole health care system breaks down and all of America is at risk.I thanked the nurses and said I agreed with everyone in our country who had been calling them “heroes.” There were some polite responses, and then I asked the obvious question: What do you need so you can do your jobs? The first answer: child care. Another chimed in, saying, Yeah, we need child care. And then the dam broke, with the nurses talking over each other. The always-tricky and always-stressful task … Continue Reading
We all want the same things in life: health, security and promising futures for our families. The Covid-19 pandemic has made it clear how caregivers -- including child care, home care and nursing home workers -- are essential to achieving this vision. But families struggle to afford care, while care jobs remain undervalued, understaffed, underprotected and underpaid. It's time for Congress and President Joe Biden to make real change.Caregivers have taken on some of the worst burdens of the pandemic. Home care workers like Joyce Barnes in Virginia described to the Washington Post last April how she was given paper towels and rubber bands to wear as masks and was
expected to buy her own hand sanitizer to use at work. Child care workers like Rosa Carreño in California witnessed a system on the verge of collapse with thousands of fellow providers closing their doors as the costs of care during the pandemic, including the additional staff needed to support distance learning, piled up.The v… Continue Reading
