Tag: Congress

The best climate news you may not have heard about

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2022/11/the-best-climate-news-you-may-not-have-heard-about/

Excerpt:

A treaty adopted 35 years ago and meant to solve an entirely different problem is also protecting the climate. And with bipartisan support from the Senate and President Joe Biden’s Oct. 26 signature, the U.S. became the world’s 139th nation to adopt a key amendment to that agreement — the first time the U.S. has joined a legally binding global measure specifically to combat climate change.

Global warming was on the back burner in 1985 when scientists from the British Antarctic Survey found a gaping hole in the planet’s stratospheric ozone layer. A natural feature of the atmosphere, the ozone layer is located between about 10 to 25 miles above Earth’s surface. It shields the planet from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which is harmful in large doses to our skin and to myriad other aspects of plant and animal life.

Researchers rapidly pinned down the cause of the ozone destruction: chlorofluorocarbons, known as CFCs, which are chemicals used as refrigerants and to manufacture aerosol sprays and other materials. CFCs had been recognized for years as a threat to the ozone layer, but the ozone hole found in the mid-1980s was far worse than anything expected by that point.

By 1987, diplomats had crafted a treaty known as the Montreal Protocol to fix the problem. It was an immense success, ratified by every member state of the United Nations.

There was a major catch, though.

Both CFCs and their leading replacements – hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs – trap heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming.  

….

Enter the Kigali Amendment. 

Adopted at a United Nations meeting held in the Rwanda capital in October 2016, it uses a variety of policy approaches to throttle back on both the production and consumption of HFCs. The amendment has put the world on track to eliminate more than 80% of HFCs by midcentury. 

One reason the Kigali Amendment passed the Senate with bipartisan support (69-27, including 21 of the chamber’s 50 Republicans) is that national action on HFCs along the lines of Kigali was already in gear. The pandemic stimulus bill of late 2020 specified an 85% cut in HFC production by 2030. Many lawmakers, especially those from states with major chemical manufacturing, had recognized that cutting HFCs made sense. For one thing, nations that have not ratified the amendment cannot trade HFCs with those that have. 

Author(s): Bob Henson

Publication Date: 3 Nov 2022

Publication Site: Yale Climate Connections

Letter to FIO and NAIC from Senate Banking Committee

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/brown_letter_on_insurance_031622.pdf

Excerpt:

  1. What risks do the more aggressive investment strategies pursued by private equity-controlled insurers present to policyholders?
  2. What risks do lending and other shadow-bank activities pursued by companies that also
    own or control significant amounts of life insurance-related assets pose to policyholders?
  3. Are there risks to the broader economy related to investment strategies, lending, and
    other shadow-bank activities pursued by these companies?
  4. In cases of pension risk transfer arrangements, what is the impact on protections for
    pension plan beneficiaries if plans are terminated and replaced with lump-sum payouts or
    annuity contracts? Specifically, how are protections related to ERISA and PBGC
    insurance affected in these cases?
  5. Given that many private equity firms and asset managers are not public companies, what
    risks to transparency arise from the transfer of insurance obligations to these firms? Will
    retirees and the public have visibility into the investment strategies of the firms they are
    relying on for their retirements?
  6. Are state regulatory regimes capable of assessing and managing the risks related to the
    more complex structures and investment strategies of private equity-controlled insurance
    companies or obligations? If not, how can FIO work with state regulators to aid in the
    assessment and management of these risks?

Author(s): Sen. Sherrod Brown

Publication Date: 16 March 2022

Publication Site: U.S. Senate Banking Committee

Senate Finance Chair Broadens Inquiry Into Private Placement Life Insurance

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2022/09/21/senate-finance-chair-broadens-inquiry-into-private-placement-life-insurance/

Graphic:

Excerpt:

A lawmaker who helps shape federal tax legislation has indicated that he wants to keep wealthy families from using private placement life insurance to replace any federal tax loopholes that Congress closes.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, today announced that he has written to Prudential Financial, Zurich Insurance Group and the American Council of Life Insurers to get more information about the PPLI market, and the possibility that many PPLI policies may serve only to reduce the income taxes of families that rank in the wealthiest 1% of American families, not to provide genuine insurance.

“Is investment in PPLI products marketed to new or existing clients as a means to minimize or eliminate ordinary income, capital gains or estate taxes?” Wyden asks in the letters to Prudential and Zurich. “If so, please explain the legal basis for why these products help minimize or eliminate taxes.”

Author(s): Allison Bell

Publication Date: 21 Sept 2022

Publication Site: Think Advisor

Social Security Reform: Benefit Formula Options

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.actuary.org/sites/default/files/2022-08/SocSecReformBenefits0822.pdf

Graphic:

Excerpt:

From its inception, the formulas
for determining benefits payable
under the Social Security System
have included elements of
individual equity and social
adequacy, so that benefits vary
in proportion to differences
in worker contributions, yet
benefits are sufficient to meet
the deemed financial needs
of most workers and covered
dependents.
• According to the 2021 Social
Security Trustees Report,
accumulated assets will be
depleted by 2034 and income
to the system thereafter will be
insufficient to pay all scheduled
benefits when due.
• Some or all of this shortfall
can be averted by changing
the primary formula for retired
worker benefits, changing the
formulas for determining the
benefits of eligible spouses and
other dependents of workers,
and/or changing the formula for
computing annual cost-of-living
increases.
• This issue brief explores a
wide variety of proposals for
changing the formulas for
determining benefits that
have been made over the
years by members of Congress,
government-appointed panels
and commissions, and outside
experts, with an eye toward how
the proposed changes would
affect the balance between
individual equity and social
adequacy.

Author(s): American Academy of Actuaries Social Security Committee

Publication Date: August 2022

Publication Site: American Academy of Actuaries

Top 10 Medicare Bills Introduced in 2022

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2022/04/28/top-10-medicare-bills-introduced-in-2022/

Excerpt:

Here’s a look at the top-performing Medicare bills introduced since Jan. 1.

We searched Congress.gov for new Medicare bills, then ranked the bills based on co-sponsorship bipartisanship and numbers.

Some of these bills could pass on their own. Others could surface as provisions in much larger bills, such as a Ukraine aid bill or a COVID-19 pandemic response funding bill.

What It Means

These measures seem to have the legislative mojo to go places.

Each sponsor has managed to overcome the current hostility between Republicans and Democrats and persuade at least one member of the opposite party to sign on as a co-sponsor.

Author(s): Allison Bell

Publication Date: 28 April 2022

Publication Site: Think Advisor

8 New Social Security Bills in Congress Now

Mary Pat Campbell

Link:https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2022/04/21/8-new-social-security-bills-in-congress-now/

Excerpt:

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, pressed House leaders Tuesday to pass the Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust Act, H.R. 5723, which adopts the consumer price Index for the elderly as the basis of the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and applies the payroll tax to annual wages above $400,000.

“I wish to indicate our strong support for H.R. 5723 – Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust and encourage its prompt floor consideration this Congress,” Jayapal told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Monday in a letter.

The bill, Jayapal wrote, “increases benefits across the board at a time of higher inflation, protects low-income seniors, widows and widowers, ends wait-times for those with disabilities needing support and more. Crucially, it is paid for by making millionaires and billionaires pay the same rate as everyone else by ensuring the payroll tax is applied to wages above $400,000.”

She urged Pelosi to move the bill to a vote in the House “as soon as possible.”

Author(s): Melanie Waddell

Publication Date: 21 April 2022

Publication Site: Think Advisor

A Politicized Fed Endangers the Economy

Mary Pat Campbell

Link:https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-politicized-fed-endangers-economy-monetary-federal-reserve-powell-balance-sheet-climate-stress-test-social-justice-11642448983

Excerpt:

It is time to depoliticize monetary policy. First, instead of making the Fed’s mandate broader, Congress should consider narrowing it to one of price stability. The Fed’s contribution to achieving full employment should be through focusing on long-term price stability. Next, as we learn to live with Covid and as the economy continues to recover, the Fed must go beyond merely tapering its bond purchases. It must set out a credible process and timetable to unwind its balance sheet.

Should the Fed be called on again to exercise emergency powers, Congress must ensure those powers are of limited duration and that any credit facilities created are quickly transferred to the Treasury Department. Finally, the more improvisational and discretionary the Fed’s conduct of monetary policy, the more difficult it is to withstand political pressures. The Fed should move to a monetary-policy framework that is more systematic, predictable and transparent.

If politicized monetary policy doesn’t prove transitory, it is doubtful the Fed will be able to deliver either stable prices or maximum employment.

Author(s): Jeb Hensarling

Publication Date: 17 Jan 2021

Publication Site: WSJ

MishTalk TV Episode #1: Is Inflation Transitory or Not?

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://mishtalk.com/economics/mishtalk-tv-episode-1-is-inflation-transitory-or-not

Excerpt:

The great debate is whether or not inflation is transitory. 

I discuss the pros and cons with Chris Temple at the National Investor. 

Chris is primarily in the “not transitory” camp, especially in regards to energy.

I discuss the “it is transitory” case. 

In  my view, much depends on what Congress does or doesn’t do and I do not think the matter is settled, depending of course on the duration of “transitory”.

Author(s): Mike Shedlock, Chris Temple

Publication Date: 20 Sept 2021

Publication Site: Mish Talk

Labor Shortage Draws Attention of U.S. Lawmakers

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/labor-shortage-draws-attention-of-u-s-lawmakers-11622712602

Excerpt:

Congressional lawmakers from both parties are considering incentives such as providing federal funding to pay for hiring bonuses for workers and expanded tax credits for employers. A handful of states are moving to implement such programs on their own, without waiting for Washington.

Some economists, Republican lawmakers and business owners say enhanced federal unemployment benefits are contributing to the labor shortage, because many workers receive more in government aid than they would get on the job. Those benefits — $300 a week on top of regular state payments — are due to expire after Labor Day.

Other economists say the payments have provided a boost to many lower-income families, who have disproportionately lost jobs in the coronavirus pandemic, while in turn pushing money back into the broader economy.

Author(s): Kate Davidson

Publication Date: 3 June 2021

Publication Site: Wall Street Journal

Cuomo: Congress must include SALT cap repeal in future legislation

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://thehill.com/policy/finance/549083-cuomo-congress-must-include-salt-cap-repeal-in-future-legislation

Excerpt:

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Monday urged Congress to include repeal of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap in future legislation as House Democrats from the state are pushing to include such a repeal in an infrastructure package.

“Don’t pass another bill until you fully repeal SALT,” Cuomo said during a news conference.

Cuomo’s remarks came as he signed a state budget that raises state taxes for wealthy individuals and lowers taxes for the middle class.

The legislation Cuomo signed Monday raises the top state tax income rate to 10.9 percent for income above $25 million. It also continues phasing in tax cuts for middle-class households that were first enacted in 2016 and provides an income tax credit for certain homeowners with income up to $250,000.

Author(s): Naomi Jagoda

Publication Date: 19 April 2021

Publication Site: The Hill

Bill Reintroduced to Shore Up Social Security, Medicare

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/04/15/bill-reintroduced-to-shore-up-social-security-medicare/

Excerpt:

A bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced Thursday legislation to shore up the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds.

The Time to Rescue United States Trusts, or TRUST Act, would establish bipartisan, bicameral commissions to address the long-term solvency of major trust funds.

….

The Congressional Budget Office projects the Highway Trust Fund will be insolvent by 2022, the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund in 2026, the Social Security retirement fund in 2032, and Social Security Disability Insurance in 2035.

Author(s): Melanie Waddell

Publication Date: 15 April 2021

Publication Site: Think Advisor

No, ‘Infrastructure Of Care’ Is Not Infrastructure – And Three Reasons Why It Matters

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2021/04/18/no-infrastructure-of-care-is-not-infrastructureand-three-reasons-why-it-matters/?sh=25de6d53721c

Excerpt:

First, as I referenced in passing in my prior column, the long-lasting nature of infrastructure is what justifies paying for it over time. This proposal’s spending is meant to be accomplished over 8 years, with the tax increase funding it over 15 years. That could be justifiable for some types of infrastructure, when it is something new rather than ongoing maintenance, but is not at all appropriate for ongoing day-to-day spending.

Author(s): Elizabeth Bauer

Publication Date: 18 April 2021

Publication Site: Forbes