Examiner Editorial: With nation distracted, Congress robs taxpayers twice

[Geee]

Washington Times:

While the nation was distracted with the Supreme Court's Obamacare ruling last week, Congress passed a $96 billion double-bailout that only guarantees future bailouts in the years to come.

On Friday afternoon, within half an hour of one another, both the House and Senate voted to reauthorize the nation's federal transportation funding programs. They then immediately fled town, which is understandable because the legislation is atrocious.

For starters, the bill spends $6 billion bailing out college students by extending the artificially low 3.4 percent interest rate on some subsidized college student loans. The change will save the average student only $7 per month, and the rates will do nothing to drive down the cost of college.

The bill also reauthorizes the Highway Trust Fund, but at higher levels of spending than the related gas tax that is supposed to fund it. To pay the difference, members of Congress did not raise the gas tax -- instead, they chose to raid private pensions and flood insurance policies.

Here is how it works: First, they reduced the minimum amount that private corporations must invest in their employees' defined-benefit pension plans. These contributions are tax deductible, so lower pension contributions will lead to higher corporate profits, which in turn translate to more government revenue. It also means more of a chance that the federal government is going to have to bail these companies out when they cannot meet their pension obligations down the road.