Congressional Dish

In this episode, the House of Representatives tries to approve ultra-deepwater drilling in the "Western Gap": The middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Links to Information in This Episode The Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act : The guy who told me that the How ultra-deepwater drilling is done The from Craig Pittman, TampaBay.com, April 13, 2013 - Matt Smith, CNN, April 29, 2013 Where is the Western Gap? - Tom Fowler, Wall Street Journal, February 21, 2012 Existing leases in the Western Gap area   The Trans Pacific Partnership: The creepy free trade agreement Representatives Quoted in This Episode

In this episode, the House schedule has Jen frustrated, the House Farm Bill unexpectedly dies, and the House passes an abortion bill. Links to Information in This Episode Congress wants to get rid of , the abortion bill Representatives Quoted in This Episode

In this episode, we take a look at the first draft of the 2014 Department of Defense funding bill and see what it tells us about the United States future in war. We also look at three bills the House passed for Wall Street. Links to Information in this Episode Music: by (found on ) Music: Gambler's Blues by (found on ) Artwork:

In this episode, a look at the House's 2014 military construction and veterans funding bill's first-draft and then examine whether it's wise to continue a system that fast-tracks applications for animal anti-biotics. Links to Information in this Episode Music: "In Your Name" by (found on ) : Funding for military construction and the Department of Veteran's Affairs of President Obama's May 23, 2013 speech on national defense to National Defense University in Washington, D.C of President Obama's speech of the strategy allowed in Section 123 that transfers expired funds to the “Foreign Currency Fluctuations, Construction, Defense” account so that it can magically become unexpired : The privatization of their government for the benefit of U.S. corporations leaving Iraqi industries - including cement - to watch and go broke (by ) Music: from the (score by ) : "Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Re-authorization Act of 2013" Thom Hartmann segment on the consequences of factory farming from January 2013 Music: " by () : "The Safeguarding America's Pharmaceuticals Act of 2013" Representatives Featured in this Episode (in order of appearance)

The House passed , a bill waiving permit requirements for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and passed , a bill that could raise interest rates for college students while tying their rates to the market. Links to Information in this Episode: Music: by (downloaded from ) , the Keystone XL bill. about Keystone XL's effect on the climate. Refineries in Texas are . Keystone XL route from Canada to Texas running through their land. [caption id="attachment_577" align="aligncenter" width="758"] Bitumen is not oil; it's tar and is sticky like peanut butter.[/caption] 2010 tar sands spill in Kalamazoo, Michigan . [caption id="attachment_578" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tar sands oil sinks near Kalamazoo, Michigan: August 1, 2010. Source: EPA[/caption] Keystone XL will go over the Ogallala Aquifer from the tar sands spill in Mayflower, Arkansas [caption id="attachment_580" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tar sands oil next to a home in Mayflower, Arkansas. Source: EPA[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_581" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tar sands oil flows onto a residential street in Mayflower, Arkansas. Source: EPA[/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Another river of tar sands oil in Mayflower, Arkansas.[/caption]   from the oil spill fund [caption id="attachment_582" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The pipe that burst in Mayflower, Arkansas was 20 inches in diameter; Keystone XL will be 36 inches in diameter.[/caption] Tar sands energy James Hansen, NASA climatologist, NYT Op-Ed [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="464"] Look how big these earth movers are! Takes a lot of carbon to operate these beasts.[/caption] of the Keystone XL pipeline saying the State Department review isn't good enough for Canadian tar sands. Keystone XL Keystone XL probably Keystone XL Americans are to Keystone XL Music: by () , the student loan bill. Music: by () , the bill that prohibits lying about military medals. , the bill that penalizes chemical attacks and attacks on ships and gives corporations U.S. protection. Representatives Quoted in Order of Appearance

In this episode, highlights from the House Ways and Means Committee IRS scandal hearing. IRS staffers made a list of keywords including Tea Party, 9-12, Patriot, etc. to help them find social welfare groups applying for tax exempt status that were actually political in nature. This is the scandal you've been told about; the real scandal is how many of them have been approved. Background In January of 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in the infamous Citizen's United case that corporations count as people and that corporation donations count as speech, making them protected by the Constitution. This opened the floodgates to large amounts of corporate money making its way into U.S. elections. At the same time, the IRS saw a sharp increase in the number of groups claiming tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code. Groups that qualify do not have to pay taxes to the U.S. government and, more importantly to political groups, do not have to disclose their donors. The law for 501(c)(4) groups says that they must exist "exclusively" for social welfare purposes, but an I says that they must exist "primarily" for social welfare purposes. That wiggle room has been applied broadly, to put it mildly, and we now have clearly political groups claiming tax-exempt status as 501(c)(4) organizations. In March of 2010, the division of the IRS charged with making sure that groups claiming tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code were "primarily" social welfare groups, not political groups, made a list of keywords to look for in the names of groups that might indicate the groups were political in nature. The keywords they looked for include: "" "Patriots" "" References to government spending, government debt, or taxes "Make America a better place" Statements criticizing how the country is being run. The IRS employees also asked questions that were considered unnecessary when they were finally analyzed by IRS management. Although the list was inappropriate, most of the groups analyzed during the same time period had names unrelated to the list. In the end, the IRS Inspector General found no evidence of corruption at the IRS; instead, they concluded the problems arouse out of mismanagement. However, the real problem as far as us American citizens are concerned, is that clearly political groups are being given tax-exempt status, allowing them to keep their donors secret. Out of the 298 applications the IRS Inspector General reviewed, 0 had been denied. Here are some examples of groups that enjoy tax-exempt status as social welfare groups: , the group co-founded by Karl Rove the group that worked on behalf of the Obama campaign. and , front groups for the billionaire Koch brothers' interests , the group that focuses on "building the progressive movement". Further Reading Also in This Episode Bills that passed the House of Representatives this week: People Quoted in This Episode Steve Miller, acting Commission of the IRS (has since resigned) Russel George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

After a health care rant, we look at H.R. 1406, a bill that would have allowed workers to get vacation time instead of cash for their overtime. It's a bill I'd actually like to see survive. Links to Information in this Episode Music: by Music: by () Music: by () It just keeps getting worse. I am scheduling a vote for next week on the full repeal of . — Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) Representatives Quoted in Order of Appearance Repeal ObamaCare montage I "Interest-free loan" montage

The House worked on two bills this week. H.R. 527, which changes the way we sell helium, passed in a beautifully bipartisan way. H.R. 1549, which dismantles a piece of ObamaCare, died a uniquely Republican death. Links to Information in this Episode Music: by () Text of , an example of government functioning properly. Music: by () Text of Washington Post: Representatives Featured in this Episode (in order of appearance)

, better known as CISPA, passed the House of Representatives and is now moving into the Senate. It's a better bill than it was in the last Congress, but it's still not ready to become law. Links to information in this podcast Music: by (found on ) Representatives Quoted in This Episode (in order of appearance) Further Reading

In the hours before the Boston marathon bombing, President Obama quietly signed a bill gutting the STOCK Act. Full details on the shady way both houses of Congress passed the bill in under two days. Executive Producer: Anonymous Please Support Congressional Dish Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank’s online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Frank Konkel. March 22, 2013. FCW. April 4, 2012. C-SPAN. 60 Minutes. Nov 13, 2011. CBS News. Senate passage of S. 716 took 10 seconds. The Chicago Tribune. url: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-rt-us-usa- congress-securitybre93b0zj-20130412,0,6596065.story Chris Coons. Congressional Record -- Senate. S2583. April 12, 2013. Laws Sponsor: Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) Sponsor: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) Sponsor: Darrell Issa (R-CA) Sponsor: Michael McCaul (R-TX) Music Presented in This Episode Money, Money, Money by The Undercover Hippy (found on MusicAlley by mevio)