This is a hint that U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D. MD) needs to throw down the gauntlet :
Congress is poised to roll back a measure on Friday long championed by Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin that requires oil and gas companies to disclose how much they pay to foreign governments -- a once bipartisan effort intended to reduce bribery and corruption.
The underlying law, which Cardin sponsored with former Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, a Republican, is intended to provide transparency so citizens in mineral-rich countries can hold their governments accountable large payments made by international companies for mining rights.
But the law, approved as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank overhaul of Wall Street regulations, has faced criticism from oil and gas companies because of compliance costs. The energy industry has also said it puts U.S. companies at a disadvantage when they must compete with state-run firms that don't have to comply with the requirement.
The Senate was expected to vote as early as Friday to roll back not the law itself, but the regulations approved last year by the Securities and Exchange Commission to implement the law. It is one of several regulations congressional Republicans are halting this week -- fulfilling campaign promises made by President Donald Trump.
Senators approved a procedural motion on a 52-48 vote late Thursday to roll back the regulations and were expected to take a final vote early Friday. The House of Representatives approved the same measure Wednesday. "We're sending a message to corrupt leaders around the world that the United States does not care about corruption, that we will not hold them accountable," said Cardin, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Cardin is also starting to emerge as a top critic of Trump’s foreign policy and he sounds so he has a lot of reasons to resist. But in this particular fight, he needs to stop dragging his feet:
Sen. Ben Cardin said he's prepared to make sure Judge Neil Gorsuch is right for the Supreme Court. Gorsuch was nominated Tuesday night by President Donald Trump
"I am going to drill down on this nominee," he told Bryan Nehman on WBAL News Now. "I want to take the opportunity of the confirmation to understand his views, to read his opinions, to listen to his responses to questions during the confirmation process and to reach a judgement."
Cardin said he sees two signs of trouble with Gorsuch in regards to corporations having rights usually associated with individuals and religious protections. He said he will be taking a close look at them.
Senator, you don’t need time to look at Gorsuch’s record. You need to Resist, plain and simple. Click here to tell Cardin to reject Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
