Murkowski v. EPA, Big Labor and Debit Card Fees

The Senate will vote today on Lisa Murkowski’s resolution to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act.

Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter, who was heavily supported by organized labor, has lost the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

A bipartisan effort is emerging to remove Sen. Dick Durbin’s amendment to control merchant interchange fees on debit card transactions from the final financial bill.

1. ENVIRONMENT

The Senate will vote today on Lisa Murkowski’s resolution to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis on why we need the Murkowski resolution to rein in the EPA:

“The endangerment finding is a classic case of bureaucratic self-dealing. EPA has positioned itself to determine the stringency of fuel economy standards, set climate policy for the nation, and even amend provisions of the Clean Air Act – powers Congress never delegated to the agency. Worse, America could end up with a pile of greenhouse gas regulations more costly than any climate bill or treaty the Senate has declined to pass or ratify, yet without the people’s representatives ever voting on it.”

 

2. POLITICS

Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter, who was heavily supported by organized labor, has lost the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Ivan Osorio on the role of organized labor in politics.

“Big Labor did get something out of this, in that it gave [incumbent Senator Blanche] Lincoln enough of a scare to make other Democrats think twice before crossing the unions, but her having won shows Democrats that placing their constituents’ priorities over those of their party’s most powerful interest group can be a winning strategy. This is to the good, as politicians of both major parties, especially at the state level, now need to confront some powerful public sector unions — which now represent the majority of all unionized workers — to bring government budgets under control.”

 

3. FINANCE

A bipartisan effort is emerging to remove Sen. Dick Durbin’s amendment to control merchant interchange fees on debit card transactions from the final financial bill.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of the Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs John Berlau on why these price controls would benefit big merchants at the expense of consumers.

“A revealing speech Durbin made on the Senate floor shows that it isn’t small businesses and consumers who would most benefit from Durbin’s measure. The big winners would be some of the nation’s biggest retailers, including one particular merchant that just happens to be in Durbin’s home state, who would be allowed to shift their costs of processing credit and debit cards to consumers.”