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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2017)
Page 2 The Skanner February 8, 2017 Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Melanie Sevcenko Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2016 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2017 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar RSS feeds BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION #SkNews Opinion EDITORIAL: Let the Republicans Pay the Price, or We Will P resident Donald Trump has nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Su- preme Court, hoping to cement the court’s extreme right-wing bias for a genera- tion to come. For almost a year Repub- licans refused to consider President Obama’s nominee, well-respected mainstream Judge Merrick Garland. Now Republicans are in a rush to confirm Gorsuch, one of the youngest nominees to the court at age 49. Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life, so confirm- ing Gorsuch would have a long-term effect on our coun- try. (By the way, we don’t be- “ Bernie Foster Publisher The Skanner News nomination. If they don’t what will be next? Republicans may never permit a future Demo- cratic president to appoint a Supreme Court Justice. What they did to Judge Garland was unacceptable and must have consequences. Neil Gorsuch is a judge who has supported efforts to de- fund Planned Parenthood and took the side of an em- ployer who wanted to exclude What they did to Judge Garland was unacceptable and must have consequences lieve anyone in government should have a job for life — even Supreme Court Justices — because when you’re too comfortable you tend to lose touch with reality.) Democrats must oppose this contraception coverage from its healthcare plan; a man who hated his liberal high school so much he started a club called Fascism Forever. If Gorsuch is confirmed we can AP PHOTO/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch meets with Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. expect a right-wing extremist court for years to come. Hats off to Sen. Jeff Merkley who has already promised to filibuster this nomination. Sen. Merkley says he will not vote for any nominee who is not Judge Merrick Garland. We hope every Democrat will join Sen. Merkley to insist that the Republicans find 60 votes for Judge Gorsuch — if they can. The President has encour- aged Sen. Mitch McConnell to use the ‘so-called’ nuclear op- tion and change Senate rules in order to push through this appointment. That’s a bad precedent, but if Sen. McCo- nnell wants to take that low road, then let him. Democrats may not be able to block this nomination for good, but they should not make it easy. Let the Republicans pay the price for the last eight years of obstruction. Lawmakers, Lobbyists Attack Consumer Protection Agency A s a new Congress and White House begin their respective gov- ernmental roles, a still-growing cadre of sup- porters and opponents are focusing on the future of the Consumer Financial Protec- tion Bureau (CFPB). Ironically, Capitol Hill’s on- going regulatory tug-of-war is really not a partisan issue for much of the nation. Early consumer polls documented that the strongest supporters for financial regulation were consumers of color. Consid- ering that Black and Latino consumers are often target- ed for financial abuse, strong support is understandable. Even a December 2016 on- line poll conducted by Glover Park Group/Morning Con- sult revealed strong support for CFPB among Trump vot- ers as well: By a margin of 55 to 28 per- cent, Trump voters oppose ef- forts to weaken or eliminate the CFPB; • 47 percent say the Dodd Frank financial reforms should be kept or expanded, as against 27 percent who want to see that law scaled back or repealed; and • 41 percent want the bureau to be left alone, and 14 per- cent say its power should be increased. So why are some Capitol Hill lawmakers and lobbyists still determined to attack the CFPB and Richard Cordray, it’s the director of the agency? A number of recent actions appear out of sync with even Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist President Trump’s base. As early as January 11, a bill was filed to change CFPB’s governance from a single di- rector to a five-member com- mission. Nearly six years ago, “ tion of CFPB, the specter of its still pending regulation hangs in the balance. After public hearings and com- ments, many consumer advo- cates anxiously await rules that would govern small dol- lar loans such as payday and car-title, and others affecting debt collection and auto fi- nance. In the meantime, a growing number of lawmakers, state officials and consumer advo- cates are raising their respec- A growing number of lawmakers, state officials and consumer advo- cates are raising their respective voices to alert consumers CFPB opponents tried unsuc- cessfully to create a less effi- cient commission rather than an accountable, single direc- tor structure. Sponsored by Nebraska’s Senator Deb Fish- er, the measure was assigned to the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and awaits further consideration. On January 20, Reince Prie- bus announced to federal agency heads and executive departments that a regulato- ry freeze would take effect at noon that same day. As an in- dependent law enforcement agency, many consumer advo- cates would argue that CFPB should be exempted from ex- ecutive actions. Even though the Priebus memo made no specific men- tive voices to alert consumers of all at stake and their com- mitment to financial fairness. A total of 16 state attorneys general agree. On January 23, Connecticut AG George Jepsen and his colleagues filed a motion to intervene in a federal appeals case, de- fending the constitutionality of the CFPB. Writing for the group, AG Jepsen said, “The CFPB is the cop on the beat, protecting Main Street from Wall Street misconduct. It was structured by Congress to be a power- ful and independent agency that would protect consum- ers from the abuses of Wall Street, banks, and other large financial institutions…. That mission is still critical to con- sumers today.” The following day, Janu- ary 24, a letter to President Trump from 38 members of the Congressional Black Caucus called for Director Cordray to remain in his po- sition through his confirmed 2018 term. According to the CBC members, with Director Cordray’s leadership nearly $30 million in civil monetary penalties and over $400 mil- lion in restitution went to 1.4 million minority consumers. “Communities of color and, indeed, all consumers in America will benefit from having Director Cordray re- main in his position and con- tinue to independently imple- ment the mandates imposed upon him by Congress as the Director of the CFPB”, wrote the CBC. The letter to President Trump also followed a Janu- ary 18 guest column jointly authored by California Con- gresswoman Maxine Waters and Congressman Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, the newly-elected chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Their column declared that CFPB Director Richard Cor- dray had their “unyielding support” and added that the Bureau is “America’s most im- portant consumer protection agency.” “In 2007, the American econ- omy was shaken to its core. Trillions of dollars in wealth disappeared,” wrote Waters and Richmond. Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com
