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richard blumenthal
Federal Prosecutors Recommend Criminal Charges for Boeing
"Apparently, you have to kill hundreds of people before they even start to think about consequences," said one observer.
Jun 24, 2024
Federal prosecutors have recommended that the U.S. Department of Justice criminally charge Boeing for violating a 2021 settlement over two fatal crashes of the aerospace giant's troubled 737 MAX jetliners.
As Reutersreported Monday:
In May, officials determined the company breached a 2021 agreement that had shielded Boeing from a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud arising from two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving the 737 MAX jet. Under the 2021 deal, the Justice Department agreed not to prosecute Boeing over allegations it defrauded the Federal Aviation Administration so long as the company overhauled its compliance practices and submitted regular reports. Boeing also agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle the investigation.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Boeing violated the settlement by "failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations."
Boeing declined to comment on the Reuters report. Referring to the settlement, the company said last month that "we believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement."
The DOJ has until July 7 to decide whether to prosecute Boeing officials.
News of the prosecutors' recommendation came days after The New York Timesreported that the DOJ is considering letting Boeing avoid prosecution for violating the terms of the 2021 settlement. According to the Times, the department is weighing a negotiated resolution under which the company takes a plea deal or deferred prosecution agreement (DPA)—which would impose monitoring and compliance terms—in lieu of a trial fraught with uncertainties.
Boeing entered into a DPA after 737 MAX jets crashed, killing hundreds of people. On October 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight JT610, a nearly new 737 MAX 8, crashed into the Java Sea shortly after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board. Indonesian investigators subsequently concluded that a faulty sensor caused the plane's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) to continually tilt the aircraft downward.
On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, also a MAX 8, crashed into a field six minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia en route to Nairobi, Kenya. All 157 people aboard were killed. Boeing acknowledged that a MCAS-related software error caused the crash and vowed to "prevent erroneous data from causing MCAS activation."
As Boeing whistleblowers—who claim they've been retaliated against—and outside aviation safety experts revealed what consumer safety advocate Ralph Nader described as "serial criminal negligence" in the company's handling of the crisis, public pressure urging the government to ground all 737 MAX planes increased. Then-Republican U.S. President Donald Trump finally did so on March 13, 2019 amid a worldwide wave of groundings that lasted until December 2020 in the United States and longer in some countries.
Yet problems persisted. Earlier this year, a door plug flew off a 737 MAX 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight, injuring passengers and forcing an emergency landing. The incident also prompted a temporary MAX 9 grounding and a DOJ criminal probe. The FAA found "multiple instances" in which Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems—a parts supplier—"allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements." The agency also noted "noncompliance issues in Boeing's manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control."
Last week, relatives of the 737 MAX 8 crash victims urged federal prosecutors to file criminal charges against Boeing and fine the company $25 billion.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)—a former federal prosecutor and state attorney general—said last week at a hearing on Boeing's broken safety culture that "the evidence is near-overwhelming to justify" DOJ prosecution.
"Boeing needs to stop thinking about the next earnings call and start thinking about the next generation," Blumenthal said, echoing allegations that the company prioritizes profit over safety.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said at the hearing that he is "proud of every action" his company has taken in response to the 737 MAX safety crisis. Calhoun announced in March that he would step down as CEO at the end of the year—a move critics called insufficient if there is no criminal accountability.
Monday's reporting followed news that two NASA astronauts who left Earth aboard Boeing's
Starliner are stranded on the International Space Station after engineers found numerous problems with the reusable capsule. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were scheduled to return to Earth on June 13 after a week aboard the ISS. This is the third time their return home has been delayed. The Starliner is docked to the ISS' Harmony module and has just 45 days of docking time left before the window for a safe return closes.
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Senate Dems Reintroduce Bill to 'Restore Critical Safeguards' of Voting Rights Act
One advocate said the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is "critically important for Congress to pass at a moment in our history when the freedom to vote is under attack in our nation."
Feb 29, 2024
Civil and voting rights advocates on Thursday cheered the reintroduction of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation its sponsors say will "update and restore critical safeguards of the original Voting Rights Act."
Introduced by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), S.B. 4—a companion to H.R. 14, introduced last September—is named in honor of John Lewis, a late civil rights icon and longtime Georgia congressman. Republicans filibustered the previous iteration of the bill.
"In our nation, there's no freedom more fundamental than the right to vote," said Durbin. "But over the past several years, there has been a sustained effort to chip away at the protections guaranteed to every American under the Voting Rights Act. That's why we've joined together today to reintroduce a bill that would not only restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act, but strengthen it."
We just re-introduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. I’m joined by @SenSchumer, @SenatorWarnock, and civil rights group leaders now.
Our message it’s clear: we must ensure that democracy works for all of us. https://t.co/SH7ujaLfjw
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) February 29, 2024
Warnock said: "I was Congressman Lewis' pastor, but he was my mentor and hero because he believed voting is a sacred undertaking that's about more than a person's voice, it's about their humanity. That's why this legislation is more important than ever, because the fight to protect voting rights and voting access for every eligible American remains unfinished and even worse, so much of the progress Congressman Lewis fought for is being rolled back."
NAACP Legal Defense Fund president Janai Nelson called the bill "a vital piece of legislation that will safeguard the fundamental right to vote by strengthening and restoring the Voting Rights Act, one of the most impactful civil rights laws in our nation's history."
"It is fitting that this critical legislation is put forward as we approach the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when Black Americans—including civil rights hero John Lewis—endured brutal state-sponsored violence while marching for basic rights, which led to the enactment of the Voting Rights Act."
"The fight to protect voting rights and voting access for every eligible American remains unfinished and even worse, so much of the progress Congressman Lewis fought for is being rolled back."
The landmark VRA was meant to ensure that state and local governments could not "deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color."
However, the VRA has been eroded in recent decades by Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country, including with restrictions on voter registration, reduction in early voting options, and voter identification laws. These measures disproportionately disenfranchise minority voters, and some GOP officials have admitted that they are intended to give Republican candidates an electoral edge.
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to the VRA in Shelby County v. Holder, which eviscerated a key section of the law that required jurisdictions with a history of racist disenfranchisement to obtain federal approval prior to altering voting rules. In 2021, the nation's high court voted 5-4 in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committeeto uphold Arizona's voting restrictions—even as Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged that they disproportionately affect minorities.
"Since Shelby and more recently Brnovich v. DNC made it even harder to challenge discriminatory voting laws, states have continued to limit access to the ballot and use the redistricting process to dilute Black voters' voices," Nelson asserted. "States that were formerly protected—including Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas—are all places where LDF has been forced to bring recent litigation to challenge unlawful racial discrimination in voting."
Common Cause president Virginia Kase Solomón asserted that the protections proposed in the new bill "are critically important for Congress to pass at a moment in our history when the freedom to vote is under attack in our nation."
"A bedrock of our democracy, the freedom to vote has been under sustained assault since the 2020 election with dozens of anti-voter laws passed in states all across the country to make it harder for Americans—particularly in Black and brown communities—to have a say in choosing their elected leaders," she added.
Arturo Vargas, CEO of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, said in a statement that "in the Shelby decision, the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged that there is still discrimination in our nation's electoral process—and this bill would provide strong and robust safeguards to combat it."
"We urge Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and help make our democracy more responsive to all of our nation's voices," he added.
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DeLauro Pours Cold Water on Child Credit Boost in Exchange for Corporate Tax Giveaway
"At a time when a majority of American voters believe tax on big corporations should be increased, there is no reason we should be providing corporations a tax cut while only giving families pennies," said the lawmaker.
Jan 30, 2024
Some economic justice groups this week are pushing for the passage of a $78 billion bipartisan tax package that includes an expansion of the child tax credit—but one lawmaker who has made the credit one of her signature issues for years said Monday that the legislation does not go far enough to support families in need, especially considering the corporate tax breaks it includes.
As U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the bill is expected to come to the House floor this week under "suspension of the rules," an expedited maneuver requiring the approval of two-thirds of members for passage, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said the bill "fails on equity" and leaves out too many struggling American families.
DeLauro released a fact sheet showing how the bill, negotiated by Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), "falls far short of comparing to the gains made under the American Rescue Plan (ARP)," which in 2021 helped slash childhood poverty by about 30% with its inclusion of an enhanced child tax credit (CTC).
With Republicans insisting on work and minimum income requirements for the version of the CTC included in the tax package—to "safeguard" against undocumented immigrants and "ineligible persons" benefiting from the bill, according to the House Ways and Means Committee—"families with little-to-no income are left behind from the full child tax credit, while allowing a single parent making $200,000 or a married couple making $400,000 to receive the full $2,000 credit," notes DeLauro's fact sheet.
The ARP included all but the highest earners in the enhanced CTC, which increased the maximum credit amount to $3,000-$3,600 per child depending on the child's age and issued half of the credit on a monthly basis, enabling families to use the money for everyday necessities.
Falling short of the credit amount included in the ARP, the Wyden-Smith plan would afford families a maximum of $2,100 per child and would not provide payments to families on a monthly basis.
The tax deal is estimated to lift "up to 400,000 kids" out of poverty, said DeLauro, while "93% of kids in the lowest quintile (the poorest 1/5th of children in the country) will continue to be left behind—meaning they will not receive the full credit."
Last week DeLauro called on her fellow Democrats to "fight to ensure our families aren't sold out for profits" and told The Connecticut Mirror the bill has "serious room for improvement."
While falling short on providing economic support for families paying for groceries, childcare, healthcare, and other essentials, the Wyden-Smith deal "locks in $600 billion in tax cuts for businesses," according to Smith.
The GOP aims to make those cuts permanent, making the three-year cost "four times higher than the child tax credit," DeLauro noted.
"This is not parity," said the congresswoman, adding that a research and development tax credit for corporations will be made retroactive "under the guise of incentivizing R&D."
"It is virtually impossible to incentivize action for anything retroactively," said DeLauro. "While the CTC phases-in, corporations will get their tax cuts on the first dollar. Families will not be getting any additional child tax credit retroactively to 2022, like the corporations are."
The tax deal "delivers huge tax cuts for giant corporations while denying middle-class families the economic security they had under the expanded, monthly child tax credit," said DeLauro. "It also leaves the poorest families behind because of a policy choice. At a time when a majority of American voters believe tax on big corporations should be increased, there is no reason we should be providing corporations a tax cut while only giving families pennies."
The Pew Research Center found last year that 61% of Americans feel corporations don't pay their fair share. Nearly two-thirds said tax rates on large corporations should be raised; 39% said by "a lot," while 26% said by "a little" and just 14% said they should be lowered.
Some of DeLauro's colleagues have suggested any expansion of the CTC should be passed, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) tellingThe Mirror he was "less than ecstatic" that the credit is not completely expanded but that he would "rather see this provision enacted than none at all."
Another Connecticut Democrat, Sen. Chris Murphy, said he would consult "the mother of the child tax credit"—DeLauro.
"I'm going to continue to work to improve this legislation before it's considered on the House floor because I believe that families and children need a strong child tax credit," DeLauro told the outlet. "I'm opposed to this bill in its current form. Corporations get everything they asked for and children got pennies."
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