Hurray! Congress Hurriedly Passes Dangerous Laws in Time for Holidays

It turns out that the 113th Session of US Congress wasn't really as divisive and work-shy as may first appear. Before closing up for the holidays, Congress passed laws approving domestic spying, bank deregulation, and a couple dangerous laws against Russia over Ukraine.

MOSCOW, December 23 (Sputnik) — Congress seems to have a bit of snow on the brain, or perhaps it's an issue of someone dipping their cups into the eggnog a bit early this year. What else could explain this month's hurried passing of a series of laws okaying domestic spying, offering the banks behind the 2008 financial crisis $300 trillion in derivatives protection, and a series of saber-rattling bills aimed at Russia?

The holiday cheer started December 4 with the passage of the non-binding Resolution 758 through the US House of Representatives, condemning Russia for its alleged misdeeds and accusing it of invading Ukraine.

The bill, which Former Republican Congressman Ron Paul called a "stunt", was still "a dangerous stunt because it conveys opinion." Paul noted that the bill was probably "one of the worst pieces of legislation" he'd ever seen, "provoking a war with Russia that could result in total destruction!" Paul noted that the bill represented 16 pages of war propaganda and hypocrisy, accusing Russia of invading Ukraine without providing any proof, and calling any elections which "did not produce the result the United States wanted…'illegal'."

"As to Russia's violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, why isn't it a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty for the US to participate in the overthrow of that country's elected government as it did in February?" the former Congressman noted.

Paul stated that most of the congressmen and women that voted for the bill probably hadn't read it. "If they read it and still voted for it, there's something wrong with them," he noted.

Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher also condemned the bill, noting that it was "gratuitous, needlessly provocative, and shortsighted," and "tantamount to a declaration that Russia is America's enemy."

The party continued last week, with President Barack Obama's signing into law of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act following its passage through Congress. The law, which imposes a new round of economic sanctions on Russia and authorizes the provision of lethal military aid to Ukraine, seems "designed to escalate tensions with Russia," said Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity Director Daniel McAdams. The bill "directly [arms] the US-backed government in Kiev," and seems to tell "the president, 'go ahead and escalate if you want to, whenever you feel like it'," McAdams said.

McAdams explained that with regard to the sources where they get their information, most members of Congress are confined to the mainstream press. “There is literally no counter-weight within Congress that argues against the anti-Russia propaganda. A handful of Members who question the wisdom of the increasingly confrontational US policy toward Russia are easily ignored,” McAdams said.

A Present for Wall Street…

The Legislative Branch's holiday madness wasn't limited to Congressionally-approved verbal attacks on Russia. For the home front Congress attached a Wall Street deregulation proposal drafted by Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase to a last-minute omnibus spending bill, rolling back regulation measures passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. This effectively put American taxpayers 'on the hook' for up to $303 trillion in derivative-related risk via the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who could not whip her party into shape to reject the provision placed into the must-pass spending bill, noted that "this provision, allowing big banks to gamble with money insured by the FDIC, opens the door to another taxpayer-funded bailout of big banks – forcing middle-class families to bear the burden of Wall Street’s mistakes," International Business Times quoted her as saying. Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, noted that repealing the regulation via the bill is "outrageous," and serves as "a giveaway to a tiny handful of the biggest Wall Street banks that puts the country's financial and economic stability at risk," IBT added. Forbes spiritedly called the bill "A Christmas Present for the Banks From the Ombnibus Bill."

And One for the Intelligence Community…

Not forgetting the US intelligence community this holiday season, Congress quietly passed the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2015. Republican Congressman Justin Amash, outraged over the bill's passage, noted on his Facebook page that the bill, which "grants the executive branch virtually unlimited access to the communications of every American," contained "one of the most egregious sections of law I've encountered during my time as a representative." Amash noted that the bill was quickly and quietly rushed to the floor of a mostly empty House, and expected to be passed "with little debate and only a voice vote." The congressman quickly drafted a letter to his fellow members, attempting to explain that section 309 of the bill authorizes "the acquisition, retention, and dissemination" of private communications, "including those to and from US persons." This information, "obtained without a court order," could "be transferred to domestic law enforcement for criminal investigations." Amash could not convince enough members in time, the bill passing 325-100. The Congressman lamented that if only he had "more time to spread the word, we would have stopped this bill."

And so it turns out that the 113th Congress wasn’t really a divisive, 'do-nothing' Congress after all! It set the country on a dangerous international course, secured the wealth of the banks that caused the 2008 financial crisis, and officially authorized domestic spying. Now, who said that Santa Clause doesn't exist?