Trump-free Friday politics roundup: September 22

Healthcare legislation is back, North Korea’s still mad, Germany’s got an election coming up and more in this week’s politics roundup.

Department of Education stops working with loan watchdog

This one is a little complicated, but it’s worth the effort to understand what’s happening. So, a little politics background: after the 2007-2008 mortgage crisis, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act. Dodd-Frank essentially made regulation of the financial industry the government’s problem.

In turn, the Dodd-Frank Act established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in 2011. The CFPB enforces consumer financial protections and collects consumer complaints about financial issues such as loans and mortgages.

The CFPB has already proven to be a major force in the world of student loan debt. In some cases, the bureau has been able to provide debt forgiveness and combat predatory lending practices. In one instance, students of the for-profit Corinthian College were granted $480 million in debt forgiveness. The CFPB also oversees and confronts student loan collectors where necessary.

Previously, the Department of Education worked with the CFPB, as per two “memorandums of understanding”. This allowed both agencies to collaborate and share information without burdensome paperwork requirements. However, the Department of Education has recently cut ties with the CFPB.

In a letter released by the Department, officials called the CFPB “an overreaching and unaccountable agency” that had made Title IV enforcement and resolution of complaints difficult.

ACA repeal is like Jason Voorhees

Which is to say, it never dies. You can cut it up into a million pieces, light it on fire, or send it into space and then watch it seemingly burn upon reentry into our planet’s atmosphere (even while you know, deep down in your heart, that it’s never really gone).  Nothing you can do will keep this specter from rising again and again. We are on the third ACA repeal attempt in less than a year.

Part of the problems that have plagued ACA repeal have been the many different ways that it fails to garner appeal. For some, such as Senator Ted Cruz, it simply doesn’t go far enough.

Others worry about the effects of loosened regulations on individuals and communities. This current attempt could take away $180 billion from states that have invested in Medicaid expansion. Even insurance companies have spoken out against the Cassidy-Graham Act. They claim that this legislation would induce chaos and uncertainty into an already contentious market.

The Cassidy-Graham Act

The Cassidy-Graham Act, as this repeal attempt is called, is a fairly complex piece of proposed legislation. Here’s a good breakdown of where we are currently and where the Cassidy-Graham act could take us. If you’d prefer a less snarky version, check out CNN’s take.

Under this legislation, some states would see a modest increase in funding, mostly via block grants. Conveniently enough, a majority of those states that would benefit also leaned right in the recent presidential election.

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is again expected to cast a key swing vote. Other Republican Senators face a difficult choice — do they stick with the current law, this angering donors and their fellow officials? Or, do they vote in favor of the Cassidy-Graham Act and risk endangering both their constituents and their chances at reelection?

Update (1:54 p.m. ET, Friday, Sept. 22): Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) has also announced that he “cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal“.

Checking in with Mueller

Robert S. Mueller III, special counsel appointed to lead the Russia investigation, is still working. The most recent update is that his investigation’s recently taken an interest in White House documents.

Oh, and former campaign manager Paul Manafort is in a real tight spot. He was wiretapped by the U.S. government during and after the presidential election. He also offered to provide “private briefings” on the election to a Russian billionaire. This is so spectacularly questionable that you may begin to doubt the very nature of reality. At any rate, whenever you feel particularly angst-ridden, remember that you can’t be in as deep of a mess as Manafort probably is.

North Korea facing new sanctions

On Thursday, the president ordered new economic sanctions against North Korea. Specifically, these sanctions affect any financial institutions or companies that do business with the DPRK. Chinese President Xi Jinping has also directed Chinese banks to cease business with North Korean entities.

These moves are meant to put further pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the country’s burgeoning nuclear program. That program has been especially active as of late, with two missiles fired over Japan, threats to target the U.S. territory of Guam, and lots of attendant bluster.

Will this be a decisive step in making the aggressive Kim regime step down? Will it lead to more conflict? How much more do we have to hear two world leaders compare their rivals’ speeches to the barking of dogs? Only time will tell.

Oh, also, Kim said that he would “tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.”

Germany’s election

Between all of the yelling about nuclear weapons and the bubbling mess of the American healthcare system, you may have forgotten that Germany is holding an election this Sunday. Since German parties rarely win a single majority in parliament, they form coalitions. These coalitions ultimately elect the leader of the country.

Current German chancellor Angela Merkel is predicted to win re-election and begin her fourth term. This is a big deal for Merkel, considering that the long-serving chancellor will lead one of Europe’s biggest economies.

Like with the National Front political party in France, Germany is dealing with the rise of its own far-right, populist movement: Alternative for Germany. In fact, the anti-immigrant AfD has gained enough ground that it’s likely going to enter the German parliament for the first time. Overall, analysts expect that Merkel will take office with a reduced majority and increasing discord.

Oh, and if you thought results would be made clear fairly quickly, don’t hold your breath. While official results do appear the next day, it generally takes months for coalitions to negotiate. During Germany’s 2013 election, it took until December for everyone to get their act together and actually start a working government. At least it doesn’t appear that Russia’s interfered with the German elections.

And, finally, your palate cleanser

I think it’s fair to say that Tim Curry speaks for all of us. Don’t you want to escape to space, too?

Oh, and that isn’t all the Tim Curry in this game. If you’re really dying to delve into ridiculous scripts and Tim Curry trying his hardest not to break character, here’s a supercut of all his moments in Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3.

Next: Trump-free Friday politics roundup: September 15

In fact, this 2008 strategy game has a surprising number of good actors involved. J.K. Simmons plays the bombastic President Ackerman. Jonathan Pryce classed up the joint, as always. Also, George Takei tells us all that “you are made of stupid”, so that’s great.