Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20171128 : comparemela.com

Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Brangham congress is getting back to work with only a few days left before the year ends, and taxes are tops on the agenda. But it was clear today that lawmakers also have to reckon with the issue of sexual misdeeds. Lisa desjardins begins our coverage. I am tremendously sorry. Desjardins for minnesota democratic senator al franken, a public step, a news conference, his first since being accused of groping and Sexual Misconduct by four different women. This has been a shock and extremely humbling. I am embarrassed, i feel ashamed. What im going to do is im going to start my job, go back to work, work as hard as i can for the people of minnesota. Desjardins that, one day after news in the house. Michigan representative john conyers temporarily stepped down yesterday as the top democrat on the judiciary committee. The 27term congressman faces allegations he harassed and pushed for sexual favors from multiple female staffers. He used taxpayer funds to settle one of those complaints. Conyers remained defiant. I deny these allegations, he said in a statement. I very much look forward to vindicating myself and my family before the House Committee on ethics. Earlier sunday, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi pointedly withheld judgment in his case. We are strengthened by due process. Just because someone is accused, and was it one accusation . Is it two . I think there has to be john conyers is an icon in our country. Desjardins later she took a different tone, saying zero tolerance means consequences. Desjardins meantime, regarding someone hoping to be in congress, alabama republican roy moore, accused of molesting teenage girls, has a new opponent in his senate race. Retired marine colonel lee busby announced his bid as a writein independent. Busby used to work for now white house chief of staff john kelly. This as President Trump stressed his support for moore, and criticized moores democratic opponent doug jones. The last thing we need in alabama and the u. S. Senate is a Schumer Pelosi puppet who is weak on crime, weak on the border, he tweeted. In the swirl of all this, Congress Returns to face an extreme todo list for next month funding the government, addressing a number of expiring programs, from Intelligence Surveillance to Flood Insurance to health care for lowincome children. And key on the agenda voting on a tax reform and notching a critical legislative win for the republicanled congress. President trump met with members of the Senate Finance committee today and later voiced optimism. I think the tax bill is doing very well, and i think the republicans are going to be very proud of it. Desjardins republicans can only afford to lose two senators votes, and several remain on the fence. That as a Congressional Budget Office report released yesterday estimated the bill could impact lowincome americans more negatively than previously thought. Senate leaders plan to vote on the bill as early as this week. Brangham and lisa is here with me now, to discuss that c. B. O. Analysis, and what else we know about the tax legislation. Hi. Hi. C. B. O. Analysis is out. Id like to go through with what this means for different segments of the american population. What does this do for the poorest americans . In the past, william, weve seen analysis for how you do with the tax cuts portion of this, and in the senate bill in particular, a lot of americans would see a tax increase at the very end of this bill. What the c. B. O. Did is different, it didnt just look at the cuts. It looked at the net effect because, william, this bill is so large that it would likely trigger automatic spending cuts in various programs. So the c. B. O. Said, okay, lets look at the combined effect of those two things, how your taxes would change under the bill plus any benefits you get, any Government Programs that you get, any loss you would see from spending cuts, and they found that those two things combined would have a dramatically larger effect on lower classes, people earning under 40,000, many times the effects weve seen in other analyses so far. Brangham meaning they would be i page more. They would be paying more in taxes but lose a lot more in benefits as programs like medicaid and medicare would be hit by cuts. Brangham does the g. O. P. Agree this will hammer the poor in america . None of the republicans responded to my questions about this directly. Usually they do. Theyre busy. But we dont know their word on. This the numbers dont give you the full picture. They say theyre trying to cut taxes for the middle class and for the lower classes, they have the biggest amounts of benefits in the system, so what looks like a big cut to them is something coming off what already the republicans think are benefits that are outsized and a bloated government. Democrats argue against it and say the lower classes are the ones that need the biggest amount of benefits to begin with. Brangham the middle class tax cut, thats been the president s main objective. What does the analysis show about that . The first statistic is from the joint committee on taxation. They found looking at the senate bill, look at anyone making over 40,000, all of the income groups over that, on average, would see their tax cut for the next eight years. Now, thats a big deal. Thats what the republicans want to do. They want to cut everyones taxes, but, william, the average doesnt apply here. You cant look at the tax cuts that way because many millions of americans fall into very broad groups whose deductions will be taken away. One big one, the medical expenses deduction. If you have a very large amount of medical expenses, anything more than 10 of your income, you can deduct that on your taxes. Say someone is facing a cancer diagnosis and they dont have strong insurance, theyre paying 100,000 out of pocket, they can deduct that from their tax now. The senate and house bill would wipe that away. Brangham a huge tax increase. A huge punch in the gut. State and local taxes, almost a quarter or maybe more than a quarter of americans take state and local taxes off their federal tax. This affects mostly hightax states, new jersey gets brought up a lot, new york, but also maryland, california, virginia. A quarter of million american taxpayers would lose that deduction, most or all of it. If you say on average the middle class would see a tax cut, well, really, everyone is unique and you see a lot of unique situations where the taxes might go up. Brangham the criticism bytimes and some economists is this is a massive giveaway to the wealthiest americans and corporations. How true is that . I looked at the data including c. B. O. s yesterday and compared it, looking at the benefit, losses, combining spending, cakes tuts tax cuts, e loweslowest income levels woulde ththe smallest cuts, then the hiring would see the biggest benefit in percentage of their income. Brangham lisa desjardins, thank you so much, as always. Sure. Brangham in the days other news, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened for business with dueling appointees. Leandra english was named acting director on friday night by the bureaus outgoing chief. But President Trump immediately appointed white house budget chief Mick Mulvaney to the same job. Now, the issue has gone to the federal courts. Well have a full report after the news summary. In pakistan, islamists celebrated today after the countrys law minister stepped down. Hardliners have blamed zahid hamid for deleting what they argue is a vital religious oath in a bill governing election law. Hamid blamed a clerical error. In islamabad, protesters gathered at their camp today, to end three weeks of marches and rallies that culminated with weekend clashes that left at least seven dead. A volcano in indonesia has now forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes on the island of bali. Authorities expanded the Evacuation Order as clouds of thick smoke and ash spewed from mount agung, and volcanic mud flowed down the slopes. This eruption also forced the International Airport to close, stranding thousands of visitors. We have got no information because the gates, the checkins have been closed, indefinitely, so we dont know whats the plan, most likely we have to stay overnight. Were now waiting to, i guess, to go home. We have to now find a hotel and spend more of our money, that theyre not going to cover us for when we get home. Brangham the volcanos last major eruption was in 1963 and killed about 1,100 people. Back in this country, the magazine publisher and broadcaster Meredith Corporation is buying Time Incorporated for 1. 8 billion. Meredith already owns 17 tv stations and Better Homes Gardens and Family Circle magazines. To make the deal happen, meredith got 650 Million Dollars in financial backing from the conservative Koch Brothers conglomerate. President trump today honored the code talkers of world war ii, but also took a shot at a political foe. He welcomed a trio of elderly navajo men, who used their unique language to help relay american radio messages. And, he tossed in a reference to democratic senator Elizabeth Warren of massachusetts. Youre very, very special people. You were here long before any of us were here. Although we have a representative in congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her pocahontas, but you know what, i like you. Brangham the president has repeatedly mocked warren for claiming American Indian ancestry, without hard evidence. Today, she accused mr. Trump of using a racial slur. The white house denied that was his intent. Well talk to senator warren, later in the program. This was cybermonday, and it could become the Biggest Online shopping day ever, in the United States. Adobe analytics reports that by midmorning, spending was up 17 over a year ago. But, wall street struggled to keep up. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 22 points to close at 23,580. The nasdaq fell 10 points, and the s p 500 slipped one point. And congratulations are in order for britains prince harry and american actress meghan markle. They announced their engagement today after months of speculation. Harry is fifth in line to the throne. Markle is best known for her role in the tv legal drama suits. The wedding is set for next spring. Still to come on the newshour a fight over the future of the financial watchdog agency. The popes delicate mission to myanmar. Tour the first museum of modern art in africa, and much more. Brangham at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today, a simple question whos the boss . The answer, it turns out, is not so simple. Protesters opposing President Trump, and supporting the c. F. P. B. Turned out this morning, and so did both people who say theyre the rightful interim director. The president s choice, white house budget chief Mick Mulvaney, brought donuts. His rival, Leandra English, emailed thanksgiving wishes. On friday, outgoing director Richard Cordray tapped english, his chief of staff, to temporarily fill his shoes. But within hours, the president tapped mulvaney. Who, today, directed employees to disregard any further instructions from english. Im learning about the powers as acting director i have. Theyd frighten most of you. Theyd worry you to know how little oversight congress has over me. Brangham but english maintains she has the Legal Authority to lead under the doddfrank act, the law that created the bureau. She filed a federal lawsuit sunday night seeking to bar mulvaney from assuming the post. The white house cites the federal vacancies reform act which allows the president to fill openings. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders i think that the legal outline shows very clearly who is in charge of that agency and both he and the white house as well as the general counsel for c. F. P. B. Who was appointed by condray said that he has the legal standing to be there and serve as the director. Brangham the c. F. P. B. Was formed in 2011 as part of the response to the 2008 financial crisis. Its mission is to oversee financial institutions, to encourage them to make less risky decisions, and to safeguard consumers from financial fraud. Big banks and conservatives have long maligned the c. F. P. B. For being too powerful and lacking oversight. On saturday, the president tweeted the c. F. P. B. has been a total disaster. Financial institutions have been devastated and unable to properly serve the public. Mulvaney himself has echoed those criticisms, as he did in this 2014 interview when he was a South Carolina congressman. It turns up being a joke, and thats what the c. F. P. B. Really has been, in a sick, sad kind of way, because youve got an institution that has tremendous authority over what you all do for a living. Brangham democrats insist the bureau is essential to avoid another financial crisis and subsequent recession. It was originally proposed by nowdemocratic senator Elizabeth Warren of massachusetts, who helped organize the bureau, under the obama administration. We asked Mick Mulvaney for an interview, but did not get a response. I spoke with senator warren earlier today about the c. F. P. B. s Current Power struggle and i started by asking her who should be running the bureau. Well, congress said, in the language that was signed into law, that when the director is unavailable that would be rich cordry who has just resigned the deputy director, Leandra English, becomes the acting director. No gap, no appoint, it just happens by virtue of the law that congress wrote, and thats it. So Leandra English is acting director. Thats how the statute reads. Brangham i know you say the language is crystal clear, but the lawyers at the c. F. P. B. Said know that the president has the authority and thus Mick Mulvaney ought to be the acting director. Why do you think the lawyers who are not trump appointees have it wrong . So the alternative is to use the vacancies act, thats what it is that the Trump Administration is using, and the vacancies act says that the president can appoint temporarily for these vacancies. But there are two problems with that. The first is the vacancies act itself says it was passed decades ago, it applies only to agencies that were already set up at the time the law was passed and, going forward, it applies, in effect, as a default. That is, if congress doesnt otherwise provide for succession. What happened at the c. F. P. B. Is that congress did provide for succession. In fact, how do we know that . Turns out that in an earlier draft to have the Consumer Agency, it actually said that they would use the vacancies act which means the president would be able to appoint someone, and then congress decided, nah, no, were not going to do it that way because we want more independence from political influence. The only political influence that the president of the United States should have over this agency, according to the law, is to nominate someone to head it. Then the senate has to step up and decide whether or not to confirm that person, otherwise, this agency, like the other banking agencies, is supposed to operate independently. I recognize that there are lawyers all around every part of this, thats why the thing is in court right now. I think the language of doddfrank is pretty clear, so does barney frank who wrote it and Chuck Schumer who also helped write it, but it will go to the courts now. Brangham apart from the fight of who actually runs it, seems your biggest disagreement is Mick Mulvaney and the Trump Administration wants to change the essential function of the agency. Yeah. Well, this agency was put in place after the 2008 crash, and all of us remember what led up to that crash. All of the mortgage lenders and giant banks that had pumped out the terrible mortgages that were in effect like grenades with the pins pulled out, and those grenades blew up families all across this country. Millions of people lost their homes, their jobs, millions of people lost their savings and their pensions, and when we hit that crash, we said never again. Big wall street banks may figure out other ways to blow up the economy, but theyre never going to do it one family at a time the way they did leading up to the crisis of 2008. So congress put in place the Consumer Agency to say you guys have to follow the laws, and it cannot be the case that you can get out there and sell mortgages to people that you know are going to cost t