Warren slams Tillerson as GOP moves to gut needed regulations
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is speaking out against Hill Republicans’ plan to deregulate crooked deals between corporate states and nation states disclosure of deals between energy companies and foreign governments, slamming Tillerson in particular for
past lobbying efforts to exclude Exxon Mobil from a rule that would require it to disclose payments to foreign governments.
“[A] handful of powerful oil and gas companies have been after this requirement from the start — and Exxon is at the top of that list,” Warren said on the Senate floor, as she spoke in opposition of the GOP effort to repeal Securities and Exchange Commission’s extraction rule.
“In fact, Rex Tillerson, the CEO of Exxon at the time, personally lobbied against the requirement in 2010. His reason? The foreign payments rule would undermine Exxon’s ability to do business in Russia,” she said.
Tillerson’s business connections with Russia have been a challenging obstacle for the former Exxon chief executive during his contentious confirmation fight in the Senate. He was confirmed Thursday.
Multiple high-ranking Democrats have questioned Tillerson’s integrity, and expressed doubt about his abilities to genuinely represent the interests of the United States on the world stage in light of his business record. He received three confirmation votes from Democrats: Sens. Mark Warner (Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.).
“Listen to that again: If Exxon has to tell the world about the millions of dollars it hands over to the Russian government, Exxon won’t be able to do as much business in Russia,” Warren continued.
“So now the Republican Congress wants to rush in to help out poor Exxon so they can keep the secret money flowing to Russian officials,” she charged.
In her speech, the lawmaker also slammed Republicans for their legislative effort, accusing the GOP of caring more about corporations than their own constituents.
“This Exxon giveaway shows just how bankrupt the Republican agenda is. They don’t have any ideas for helping working families. It’s just one corporate giveaway after another — making their big business donors happy and keeping the campaign contributions flowing for the next election,” she argued.
Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2017 Liberaland
By: dave-dr-gonzo
David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.
* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.
15 responses to Warren slams Tillerson as GOP moves to gut needed regulations
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
mea_mark February 3rd, 2017 at 11:16
Creating an environment favorable for corruption will cause the stock market to lose over half it’s value. If you look at price to earnings ratios and stock prices, the only thing keeping stocks high in America is the regulations and faith that everything is fair. Take that away and we will be like Russia, their stocks value in at less than one third US stocks do. Are we prepared to take this route? If the bears in the market think things might collapse because corruption is becoming legalized by the tRump administration, look for a huge crash in the market coming soon.
Buford2k11 February 3rd, 2017 at 11:37
one would think the opposite would happen…the corporation have won…they have what they want with Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell in charge of the corruption by the corporations…the Koch brothers are going to be rewarded handsomely for their dark and hidden efforts…Wall Street is just chomping at the bit for this next heist…they are now going to manipulate the market to expand on their profits right up to were the economy collapses, and we, the taxpayers foot the bill, again..I don’t know how the Russians do it, but we have seen this before with wall street…
mea_mark February 3rd, 2017 at 12:08
It could be the big money players are hoping for a collapse. If they sell fast enough at the beginning of the collapse, they can make a huge amount of money buying back in after the collapse when the market starts going back up. This is what Glass Steagall was designed to prevent. Now that those regulations are gone, the big rip off game is back on. What the big corporations have won, is an opportunity to fleece average Americans who have funds in the market that they can’t take out on a moment’s notice.
mea_mark February 3rd, 2017 at 12:12
Should also add, tRumps said he sold all his stock before becoming president. Was it part of his plan to crash the market from the beginning so he could buy back in later after he is ousted from the presidency? It would be one huge scam. Looking at the way he does things, it does seem plausible. It’s all about him.
fahvel February 3rd, 2017 at 13:04
that MM is really unnerving!!!!!!
dborah February 5th, 2017 at 13:11
I keep trying to figure out what the hell they are doing. First all this talk of mega pipelines everywhere and to nowhere in an Oil Economy where suppply currently far exceeds demand, US Oil Companies operating at a loss because of that excess, and Exxon planning to open up mega drilling in Russia and Viet Nam. I kept thinking the Tillerson/ Trump threats against China in relation Viet Nam and the South China Seas was one way to start a War and increase Oil Demands but the consequences of offending American Farmers two biggest export buyers in the billions, Mexico and China, seems a non existent concern to Trump. Could that be part of their perfect storm stadegy to crash out American Farmers and pick up their land cheap so multinational corporations can grab farming profits on both sides of a border in the future and have freee reign for drilling and mining?
mea_mark February 5th, 2017 at 14:47
Something like that. The .001% want it all and they want the masses to be a lot less and more controlled. War eliminates population and chaos allows those with capital to buy up everything. It is the dystopian future that the ultra elite want, with themselves on top and ruling from their sheltered modern day castles. It is what we must resist.
burqa February 5th, 2017 at 14:54
Yeah, raking the wealth into big ag means more, bigger campaign contributions than what they got from individual rural voters.
dborah February 5th, 2017 at 16:39
I agree! Resist and educate!
burqa February 5th, 2017 at 14:51
They been doing that stuff to farmers since the New Deal.
I have an interest in farmers and farming. We’ve been farmers here since 1619.
Farmers and people in small towns are a natural constituency for the Democrats, but the party leadership doesn’t seem that interested in appealing to them. I don’t like that we’re mostly urban and have our majorities on the edges of the country.
It used to be that the Democratic Party was strong among rural voters. The New Deal and Great Society had many programs that did a lot to make rural Americans’ lives better.
Somewhere along the line we dropped the ball.
dborah February 5th, 2017 at 16:38
It is worrisome burga! About 2/3’s…..I Am guessing went for Trump in my rural area….even some that went for Obama previously went for Trump this time. Is it they did not know they were voting against their own interests or didn’t care? I don’t know. Some people are simply gullible enough to vote against their own interests. When I confronted one person, she said they could not vote for Hillary because Hillary was a murderer. I asked her why she thought that after all the investigations failed to find her guilty. She said Hillary was rich so paid people off. I asked her why she did not hold the Republicans accountable them for receiving Hillary’s money to purchase her innocence after spending nearly 100 million of tax payer money to investigate Clinton. This woman suddenly got that deer in the headlight look and said she was just too busy with work and children to follow the details. She did not even have a clue that Trump’s offensive and unprofessional manner in communications with other countries, threats and insults might well affect her family farm! Of course one of our States leading agricultural export buyer, Mexico, is currently looking for other shippers and I can well imagine China following suit if Trump keeps behaving in such an unprofessional and offensive manner.
Buford2k11 February 3rd, 2017 at 12:44
that’s what happened last time…it looks like they are setting this scam up again…this is how money is made, big time…and the allure to this kind of wealth is bringing in all the elite criminals…a few folks who saw the last collapse about to happen, shorted their portfolios, and made a lot of money..
RandyBastard February 4th, 2017 at 15:29
It’s the lure of easy money
It’s got a very strong appeal
– Glenn Frey
burqa February 5th, 2017 at 14:44
Yah, an I can remember back in the early to mid 1970s when they began passing some of these regulations. Corporations were howling when we banned them from bribing foreign officials. My memory is a bit vague, but ITT and Dita Beard come to mind. I can’t pull just what the scandal was.
Some regulations seem unneeded, but the thing to do is go back and see why it was passed. Usually there were cases where someone did something outrageously stupid or venal and there was a loophole in the law and that’s why that particular regulation was passed.
burqa February 5th, 2017 at 14:57
I sure do like Elizabeth Warren. It is regrettable that she has not been more in the public eye and been in public office the last 30 years or so. Same with Bernie. I wish both had been more out front. We need to find us some young Warrens and Bernies…