July 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – No appropriations package should move forward if it contains poison pill policy riders that harm the public, 118 groups in the Clean Budget Coalition told Congress today. Spending bills drafted by House Republicans and passed out of committee contain close to 300 new poison pills and more than two dozen harmful legacy riders that must be removed.

Not only do these measures attack abortion rights, LGBTQ+ Americans, people of color, immigrants, students of all ages, consumers, numerous endangered species, public health, and our environment; they fuel climate destruction, smoking, corporate megamergers, political and financial corruption, gun massacres, disinformation, and right-wing conspiracy theories.

Bills with so many toxic and outrageous measures are not a serious basis for negotiations, the coalition maintains.

“[T]he House majority has drafted FY24 budget bills that include draconian cuts to non-defense discretionary spending as well as hundreds of poison pill riders. At this pivotal moment in the appropriations process, we again ask that you prioritize both appropriate funding levels and keeping new poison pill policy riders out of the bills. We also ask that you work to remove legacy riders that were embedded in previous cycles,” the coalition told lawmakers.

“Congress must pass clean spending bills that place the focus of the federal budget and appropriations process back where it belongs: on providing ample funding and advancing the public interest.”

###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At least 74 new poison pill policy riders were added to or spotted in appropriations bills drafted in the U.S. House over the past week, according to the Clean Budget Coalition, which is tracking them, bringing the total number of new poison pill riders to at least 291.

Coalition members are calling on lawmakers to remove all of them and oppose passage of any legislation that includes these unpopular and controversial special favors for big corporations and ideological extremists. Below is a list of new poison pills added or found in the past week:

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

• The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
• The Packers and Stockyards Act Report Rider would falsely claim that the act requires farmers to meet the impossible burden of proving that harms they experienced from meatpackers or poultry companies also harmed competition in the entire industry. 
• The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.

Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies

• The “Politically Sensitive Investigations” Rider would block funding for any politically sensitive investigation until the U.S. Department of Justice establishes a policy requiring non-partisan career staff to oversee such investigations. The potential targets of such investigations would include elected officials or their family members, political candidates or their family members, political organizations, religious organizations, and members of the media.
• The Merger Guidelines Rider would block funding for revising the Merger Guidelines issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department. The previous guidelines allowed unprecedented monopolization, creating massive corporations at the expense of small businesses, startups, and consumers. The agencies issued updated merger guidelines aimed at strengthening enforcement against illegal mergers on July 19, 2023.
• The EU Digital Markets Rider would block funding for any action that supports the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which aims to ensure a higher degree of competition in European digital markets by preventing large companies from abusing their market power and allowing new players to enter the market.
• The Antitrust Employees Rider would block the Justice Department from using funds to add new employees to its Antitrust Division. This rider would ensure that the department is even more outmatched by enormous corporations willing to spend princely sums for lawyers to protect their monopoly positions.
• The COVID Vaccine Rider would block funding to enforce any COVID-19 vaccine mandates or passports. 
• The China Coordination Rider would block the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Space Council from coordinating in any way with China or any Chinese-owned company without explicit authorization by law or by the FBI.
• The Guantanamo Bay Rider would block the transfer or release of any prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay since June 2009 or setting up alternative detention facilities.
• The Red Snapper Rider would delay urgently needed fisheries management measures in the South Atlantic potentially for years. South Atlantic red snapper is overfished and needs new management measures to rebuild fish stocks.
• The Firearms Registry Rider would block funding for a federal firearms registry.
• The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
• The Solar Imports Rider would block funding to implement a two-year delay on imposing anti-dumping and other countervailing duties on solar panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• The Iran Rider would ban funding for any formal or informal negotiations with the government or representatives of Iran.
• The Transgender Lawsuits Rider would block funding for suing a state or local government over transgender laws.
• The Student Religious Beliefs Rider would block funding to discriminate against or denigrate the religious or moral beliefs of students who participate in programs for which financial assistance is provided or the parents or legal guardians of such students. 

Defense

• The Guantanamo Bay Rider would block the transfer or release of any prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay since June 2009 or setting up alternative detention facilities.
• The Guantanamo Bay Closure Rider would block the closure or realignment of Guantanamo Bay.
• The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
• The Armed Forces Anti-Extremism Rider would block funding for the appointment of a deputy inspector general in the U.S. Department of Defense whose job is to prevent and respond to supremacist, extremist, and criminal gang activities by members of the Armed Forces.
• The Defense Contractor Climate Emissions Rider would block funding for a rule to require federal defense contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks and set science-based targets to reduce their emissions.
• The Pride Flag Rider would restrict which flags can be flown over federal facilities – and notably excludes pride flags.

Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies

• The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Rider would require the U.S. Energy Secretary to sell one million barrels of refined petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and then permanently close the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve. The Northeast Reserve protects consumers by having a federal backstop available to be released into the northeast market to combat high prices or provide supply in an event of a disruption. 
• The Energy Loan Guarantee Rider would through funding cuts effectively shut down the U.S. Energy Department’s Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program – a critical tool for accelerating deployment of clean energy and decarbonization technologies.

Financial Services and General Government

• The Outbound Investment Review Rider would prohibit funds for the U.S. Treasury Department outbound investment review program until a briefing is provided.
• The Standalone Authority Rider would prevent the Federal Trade Commission from abandoning its guidance on “standalone” Section 5 authority.
• The Prior Approval Rider would prohibit funds to implement, administer, or enforce the Federal Trade Commission’s “Use of Prior Approval Provisions in Merge Orders,” which would negatively impact the mergers process.
• The D.C. Policing Rider would prohibit the District of Columbia from implementing its policing bill, the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022.
• The Out-of-State Gun Permits Rider would allow an individual with a valid weapons carry permit from any state or territory to possess and carry a concealed handgun in areas governed by the District of Columbia and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
• The Retail Investor Information Rider would prohibit funds for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to collect retail investor personal information even when there is evidence of wrongdoing and would require that an analysis of privacy concerns be submitted to Congress. The SEC collects this information for tax purposes.
• The Small Business Rules Rider would direct the U.S. Small Business Administration to issue an economic impact report on small business concerns stemming from rules issued by the agency during the last two fiscal years.
• The Cocaine Discovery Rider would require the White House to submit a report on the investigative materials associated with the cocaine discovery on July 2, 2023.
• The IRS Guns Rider would prevent the IRS from purchasing firearms or ammunition above the levels in the agency’s possession as of July 13, 2023. This rider stems from the right-wing conspiracy theory that the IRS is stockpiling firearms to initiate an assault against Americans and to prevent Americans from accessing ammunition during an ammo shortage. 

Homeland Security

• The COVID Vaccine Rider would block funding for any requirement that employees of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) receive COVID-19 vaccines.
• The COVID Travel Rider would block funding for any rules current or future that advance safer travel to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• The Guantanamo Bay Rider would block the transfer or release of any prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay since June 2009 or setting up alternative detention facilities.
• The ICE Prosecutorial Discretion Rider would block funds for implementing the Biden administration’s “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law’’ that the U.S. Supreme Court approved as lawful on June 23, 2023.
• The Border Wall Rider would prohibit any funds being used or transferred to any other federal agency, board, or commission to dismantle existing parts of the current border wall.
• The CBP One Application Rider would block funds being used for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One Application or any successor application to parole immigrants into the U.S. 
• The ICE Detention Rider would direct DHS to prioritize detention of immigrants and ensure that the average daily population of detainees is maintained at full capacity throughout the year. It also specifies that immigrants in the Alternative to Detention program have mandatory ankle monitoring throughout the duration of all immigration proceedings.
• The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.

Interior, Environment and Related Agencies

• The Glacier National Park Reservation Rider would prohibit the park from implementing a reservation system to address overcrowding.
• The Bison Rider would prohibit the U.S. Department of the Interior from establishing a working group to help restore bison populations.
• The Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS) Rule Rider would block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing and implementing its new rule to reduce mercury and other toxic air pollution, including lead, chromium, arsenic, and soot from coal- and oil-fired power plants.
• The Lead Ammunition and Tackle Rider would prevent agencies charged with wildlife protection from banning toxic lead in ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands unless an impossible set of criteria are met.
• The Carbon Pollution Rule Rider would block the EPA from finalizing and implementing new carbon pollution limits for coal- and gas-fired power plants.
• The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.
• The Smithsonian Rider would prevent the museum from partnering with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices
• The Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Rider would prohibit listing the animal under the Endangered Species Act. 
• The Ethylene Oxide Emissions Rider would block the EPA from enforcing its proposed rule to limit the hazardous air pollutant.
• The Rat Poison Rider would block the EPA from restricting rodenticides that pose health risks to humans and other mammals and birds.
• The Tailpipe Emissions Rider would block the EPA from implementing its proposed rules to reduce harmful air pollutants from light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
• The Conservation Land Use Rider would prohibit the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from implementing the Conservation and Landscape Health rule, which allows the agency to better prioritize conservation of public lands.
• The Grizzly Bear Rider would delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem  population of Grizzly Bears under the Endangered Species Act.
• The Pride Flag Rider would restrict which flags can be flown over federal facilities – and notably excludes pride flags.
• The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies

• The Independent Contractor Rider would require that no funds be used to block a Trump-era rule published in the final days of his administration that made it easier for employers to misclassify workers as independent contractors, removing them from minimum wage and other labor protections. This would include blocking a rule currently still being finalized by the U.S. Department of Labor that would replace the previous one with clearer protections from misclassification for workers.
• The Federal Employee Benefits ESG Investing Rider would block implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s ESG investing rule for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, which has been the subject of failed Congressional Review Act attempts.
• The H-2A Visas Rider would block implementation of the Labor Department’s rule on H-2A visas to strengthen protections and wage calculations for temporary foreign workers. This rule is facing a Congressional Review Act challenge. Overturning it would take away an estimated $38 million wage increase from impacted H-2A farmworkers.
• The Gun Control Rider would block any funding for the advocacy or promotion of gun control.
• The EcoHealth Rider would block funding for the EcoHealth Alliance, which leads scientific research into the connections between human, animal, and environmental health and develops solutions to prevent pandemics and promote conservation.
• The Medicare and Medicaid Vaccines Rider would block funding for a rule requiring Medicare and Medicaid providers to ensure COVID-19 vaccination of their staff and offer vaccines and educational information to patients, clients, residents, and staff.
• The ACA Discrimination Rider would block funding for a rule that bans discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs and activities under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
• The School Prayer Rider would block funding to prevent the implementation of voluntary prayer and meditation programs in public schools.
• The Embryo Research Rider would ban research on human embryos.
• The Drug Legalization Rider would ban funding to promote the legalization of any Schedule I controlled substance, including marijuana, except in cases when there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic benefit or federally funded clinical trials are underway.
• The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela or any gain-of-function research involving a potential pandemic pathogen in these countries.

Legislative Branch

• The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.

Military, Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies

• The Gender Affirming Care Rider would prohibit funds for surgical procedures or hormone therapies for the purposes of gender affirming care.
• The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.

State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs

• The Pride Flag Rider would restrict which flags can be flown over federal facilities – and notably excludes pride flags.

Transportation, Housing, Urban Development and Related Agencies

• The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.
• The Pride Flag Rider would restrict which flags can be flown over federal facilities – and notably excludes pride flags.

Please reach out to speak with an expert on the Clean Budget Coalition’s work or specific riders listed here.

###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At least 104 new poison pill policy riders were added to appropriations bills drafted in the U.S. House over the past week, according to the Clean Budget Coalition, which is tracking them.

Prior to the July 4th recess, it took two months for House Republican appropriators to add more than 100 new poison pills to draft spending bills marked up in committee. In the past week alone, the previous total has DOUBLED to more than 217.

“The sheer volume of dangerous riders being included in these draft bills is an overreach and an emergency,” said Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen and co-chair of the Clean Budget Coalition. “We cannot allow policy that harms regular people, threatens our rights, hurts the environment, and does any number of other terrible things to ride-along with the appropriations package. We must put out this five-alarm fire by rejecting the inclusion of poison pills.”

Coalition members are calling on lawmakers to remove all of them and oppose passage of any legislation that includes these unpopular and controversial special favors for big corporations and ideological extremists. Below is a list of all the new poison pills added or found in the past week:

Transportation, Housing, Urban Development, and Related Agencies

• The Truck Speed Limit Rider would prohibit funds from being used by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for any rulemaking requiring eighteen-wheeler trucks used in interstate commerce to be equipped with speed limiting devices.
• The Inward Facing Cameras Rider would prohibit funds from being used to require the use of inward facing cameras, a key safety measure, as a condition for the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program, authorized by the bipartisan infrastructure bill. This program is intended to expand the pool of motor carrier drivers and operators by recruiting, training, and certifying drivers under age 21.
• The RAISE Rider would cap funding at 5% for infrastructure investments targeted to historically disadvantaged communities and areas of persistent poverty.
• The Transportation Emissions Rider would block implementation of DOT’s proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rule, which would require state DOTs and metropolitan planning organizations to establish carbon dioxide reduction targets and a method for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation.
• The Equity Rider would prohibit compliance with DOT’s equity action plan in any grant program as directed by Executive Order 13985.
• The Housing Discrimination Rider would bar the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from using funds for the proposed Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, published in January to fulfill the requirements of the Fair Housing Act. The rule requires HUD grantees to affirm that they will not discriminate against protected classes, including race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, and disability.
• The CRT Rider would prohibit funding for education, training, or professional development that uses, promotes, or teaches Critical Race Theory.
• The 2016 Flood Relief Rider would block HUD from enforcing income thresholds for families impacted by and recovering from major flooding events that occurred in 2016, harming low-income families and those who need assistance the most.
• The California High-Speed Rail Rider would block funds from being used for a high-speed rail corridor development project in California. This project already has shovels in the ground and workers on site. No one project should be singled out in this way.
• The Cuban Air Travel Rider would block funds for scheduled air transportation to, or passing through, property confiscated by the Cuban government, threatening to halt air travel for already scheduled, lawful flights.

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

• The Social Cost of Carbon Rider would prohibit use of the social cost of carbon in any agency action. 
• The California Waiver Rider would stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from approving waivers of the Clean Air Act for California.
• The Good Neighbor Rule Rider would block the EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which requires emissions reduction technologies to cut cross-state smog pollution from power plants and other industrial sources.
• The Power Plant Wastewater Rule Rider would stop the EPA from finalizing a proposed rule to reduce wastewater pollution from steam electric power plants, particularly coal-fired power plants.
• The Pesticide Labeling Rider would block the EPA from taking action on certain pesticide labeling.
• The Waters of the U.S. Rider would prevent the Waters of the United States rule from taking effect.
• The Idaho Wind Rider would prohibit pre-leasing, leasing, or the conveyance of leases for wind energy activity in Idaho until a study is completed on potential adverse impacts. This study would be entirely duplicative of existing ones and is simply meant to slow the deployment of wind energy in Idaho.
• The Offshore Drilling Rider would create a new mandate that each five-year leasing program include at least two offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico every year. This requirement would remove authority from the agency to decide the amount of lease sales needed to “best meet our national energy needs,” a requirement of existing law. It furthers the interests of the oil and gas industry at the expense of local communities and the climate. 
• The Florida Offshore Wind Rider would prohibit pre-leasing, leasing, or the conveyance of leases for offshore wind energy in Florida until a study is completed on potential adverse impacts. This study would be entirely duplicative of existing ones and is meant to slow deployment of offshore wind in Florida.
• The Regional Lease Sales Rider would create a new requirement that at least two lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and two lease sales in Alaska are held every year to ensure that offshore oil and gas leasing occurs yearly, regardless of the status of the five-year program.
• The Quarterly Lease Sales Rider would direct the Secretary of the Interior to resume quarterly onshore oil and gas leasing sales and specifies the numbers of sales in listed states.
• The Boundary Waters Mining Rider would overturn the Biden administration’s recently finalized withdrawal of around 225,000 acres of National Forest System lands in northeastern Minnesota, opening the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to toxic mine pollution.
• The Boundary Waters Hardrock Lease Rider would require the Secretary of the Interior to reinstate two canceled hardrock mineral leases in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
• The Ancillary Use Mining Rider would give mining claimants the right to permanently occupy federal public lands, construct massive toxic waste dumps, and build roads and pipelines across those lands – an unprecedented giveaway of America’s cherished public lands to mining corporations, reversing over one hundred years of legal precedent.
• The Caldwell Canyon Mining Rider would require the Secretary of the Interior to issue a new Record of Decision for Caldwell Canyon Mine project, imposing arbitrary timelines to shortcut compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations. The Caldwell Canyon phosphorus-phosphate mine would be built on irreplaceable habitat, leading to decades of additional water pollution.
• The Expanded Sage Grouse Rider would expand the ban on protecting the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act – a legacy rider – to include the separate population of bi-state sage grouse.
• The Bison Rider would prohibit funds to allow the introduction of bison into the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana.
• The Endangered Species Consultation Rider would codify climate denialism into law by exempting the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management from updating their land management plans when new information – often new knowledge about the increasingly severe impacts of climate change – shows that endangered species are being harmed or killed on public lands.
• The Lesser Prairie Chicken Rider would prohibit the Interior Department from implementing or enforcing a rule that protects the Lesser Prairie Chicken under the Endangered Species Act.
• The Grizzly Bear Habitat Rider would block funds for the North Cascades Grizzly Bear Ecosystem Restoration Plan.
• The Northern Long-Eared Bats Rider would prohibit the Interior Department from implementing or enforcing a final rule that protects the northern long-eared bat under the Endangered Species Act. 
• The Gray Wolf Rider would direct the Secretary of the Interior to reissue a rule prematurely removing endangered species protections for the Gray Wolf.
• The Water Rights Rider would prohibit funds to require transfer or relinquishment of water rights as a permitting condition.
• The Special Recreation Permits Rider would exempt special recreation permits from certain cost recovery fees.
• The Coastal Barriers Rider would amend the Coastal Barriers Resources Act.
• The Grand Staircase-Escalante Rider would prohibit funds for management of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah except in compliance with the Record of Decision and the February 2020 Resource Management Plan.
• The Consent Decrees Rider would force the Secretary of the Interior to reissue Order No. 3368, which imposed burdensome and redundant reporting requirements on the department’s consent decrees and settlement agreements.
• The DEIA Rider would block funds for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
• The CRT Rider would prohibit funds for Critical Race Theory.
• The Latino Museums Rider would block funding for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino and operation of the Molina Family Latino Gallery.
• The Employee Counseling Rider would prohibit the Interior Department from providing counseling sessions for employees on certain topics.

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

• The Fetal Tissue Rider would prohibit the National Institutes of Health from using fetal tissue obtained from an elective abortion in medical research.
• The Planned Parenthood Rider would prevent the health care provider from participating in health programs funded through the annual Labor-HHS bill. Planned Parenthood plays a critical role in providing quality health care to more than two million people each year. “Defunding” Planned Parenthood means blocking people from accessing critical preventive services like STI testing, breast and cervical cancer screenings, contraception, and sex education at Planned Parenthood health centers.
• The Title X Rider would eliminate funding for and further undermine the Title X family planning program.
• The Teen Pregnancy Rider would eliminate funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, while funding abstinence-only programs.
• The Weldon Expansion Rider would prohibit Medicaid from covering abortion, expanding the harmful Weldon Amendment.
• The Abortion Location Rider would prohibit funding for any “abortion hotline” or website run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that provides information on where to obtain an abortion.
• The Post-Dobbs Rider would stop implementation of various Biden administration executive orders intended to increase access to abortion care for people impacted by state bans in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision. 
• The Abortion Referral Rider would disallow HHS from requiring any grantee to refer for abortions or to act in contravention of any state law restricting referral for or performance of abortions.
• The LGBTQ Discrimination Rider would prohibit implementation of the Biden administration’s executive order on gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination, which prevents and combats discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, and fully enforces Title VII and other laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.
• The Gender Affirming Care Rider would prohibit funds for surgical procedures or hormone therapies for the purposes of gender affirming care. 
• The Student Sex Discrimination Rider would block the U.S. Department of Education from issuing a final rule to prevent sex discrimination and sex-based harassment at schools and a final rule to clarify how all students can participate in athletics.
• The Religious Student Groups Rider would deny funding to public colleges and universities that have taken action against religious student groups that discriminate or engage in other unlawful conduct based on their religious beliefs.
• The Student Debt Cancellation Rider would prohibit any broad-based student debt cancellation.
• The Income-Driven Repayment Rider would stop the Biden administration from moving forward with its income-driven repayment plan for student loans, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan. 
• The Scam Colleges Rider would stop any relief for student loan borrowers who were scammed by their colleges, under the borrower defense rule.
• The Joint Employer Rider would prevent the National Labor Relations Board from implementing a rule on joint employer status.
• The CRT Rider would block funding related to Critical Race Theory.
• The DEIA Rider would block policies or programs intended to promote diversity, equity, or inclusion stemming from Executive Orders 13985, 14035, and 14091.
• The Marriage Equality Rider would block funding to take action against a person who opposes marriage equality.
• The Pride Flag Rider would restrict which flags can be flown over federal facilities – and notably excludes pride flags.

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies

• The Multiple Firearms Reporting Rider would eliminate requirements for licensed firearm dealers to report to the U.S. Department of Justice on the sale of multiple rifles or shotguns to the same individual.
• The Ghost Guns Rider would forbid implementation, enforcement, and legal defense of a rule to regulate ghost guns, a weapon of choice for criminals.
• The Stabilizing Brace Definition Rider would forbid implementation, enforcement, and legal defense of a rule that clarifies which factors are considered by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) when evaluating firearms equipped with a purported stabilizing brace or other rearward attachment. Those factors determine whether the weapons are subject to regulation.
• The Gun Violence EO Rider would block administration and enforcement of President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14092 on reducing gun violence.
• The Recent Gun Rules Rider would block implementation of any measure, regulation, or guidance issued or finalized by ATF after January 21, 2021, effectively blocking many of the Biden administration’s current and future efforts to reduce gun violence.
• The Gun Buyback Rider would block funds for gun buyback and relinquishment.
• The Red Flag Rider would block implementation of red flag laws or extreme risk protection orders that keep guns out of the hands of those prone to violence.
• The Demand 2 Rider would block the Demand 2 program unless reporting thresholds are modified. That program is designed to increase oversight of federal firearm licensees with a high number of sales of guns used in crimes within three years of their purchase
• The Gun Confiscation Rider would require notification and hearing opportunities for gun owners prior to the confiscation of a firearm – putting law enforcement officers at risk.
• The New Gun Rules Rider would prohibit the study of, preparation for, or proposal of any future administrative or executive actions that would be interpreted as a restriction on the production, purchase, sale, or transfer of any firearm unless expressly authorized by Congress.
• The ATF Civil Actions Rider would eliminate funds to advise, promote, or support any civil actions to which ATF is not a named party against any person purported to be subject to the regulation and oversight of the agency.
• The Stabilizing Brace Tracking Rider would block the ATF’s ability to classify, tax, or register any firearm with an attached stabilizing brace, like the one used in the mass shooting at Christian Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee in March 2023.
• The Asylum Adjudication Rider would prohibit funds for a rule that allows asylum officers to adjudicate asylum claims for individuals subject to expedited removal – an effort intended to help alleviate the immigration court backlog.
• The Asylum Rules Rider would block funding for any new rules related to asylum law and process or the administrative closure of cases in immigration court.
• The Immigration Case Dismissal Rider would prohibit using funds to close or dismiss immigration cases without adjudicating the merits of the case.
• The Immigration Case Metrics Rider would require the Executive Office for Immigration Review to implement case performance metrics linked to the performance review for immigration judges.
• The Census Rider would prohibit the use of funds to include undocumented immigrants in the Decennial Census apportionment determinations.
• The Immigration Settlements Rider would block funds to pay any settlements related to civil actions brought by undocumented immigrants against the U.S.
• The School Threats Rider would prohibit funds for the U.S. Attorney General’s school boards memo, blocking Justice Department efforts to address the rise in violent threats against school administrators, school board members, teachers, and staff.
• The DEI Rider would block funds for various offices, programs and training related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• The CRT Rider would prohibit funds for diversity, equity, inclusion, critical race theory, implicit bias, unconscious bias, or culturally relevant teachings for federal employees, including outside organizations that train federal employees.
• The Sex Discrimination Rider would prohibit denial of funding to individuals who define sex to mean biological sex as determined by the type of gamete an individual produces.
• The Affirmative Action Hiring Rider would prohibit funds to hire a person based on their race, national origin, sex, or religion.
• The Gender Affirming Care Rider would prohibit funding for sex-altering surgeries.
• The Same-Sex Marriage Rider would prohibit denial of funds to anyone with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage should be a union of one man and one woman.
• The Misinformation Rider would bar funds from being used to classify or facilitate classification of any communications by a U.S. person as misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation, or to partner with any entity to censor lawful and constitutionally protected speech.
• The Private Detention Facilities Rider would prohibit funds to enforce Executive Order 14006, which bars the use of private detention facilities.
• The Policing Rider would prohibit funds to implement section 19 and section 20 of Executive Order 14074 to improve policing.
• The Gerrymandering Lawsuits Rider would prohibit funds to sue a state or local government over its redistricting plans.
• The Restitution Rider would prohibit funds for legal settlements that require the defendants to donate or contribute funds to an organization or individual.
• The NIST Center Climate Rider would block funds for the NIST Center of Excellence in Climate Change, which researches climate and energy efficiency.
• The Climate Fisheries Rider would block funds for climate change fisheries research, which would harm fisheries management, ecosystems, and fishermen.
• The Climate Science Rider would block funds at the National Science Foundation for the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the Clean Energy Technology Program.
• The Climate Crisis Rider would block funds to enforce Executive Order 14008, which puts the climate crisis at the center of U.S. foreign policy and national security strategy and calls for a whole-of-government response.
• The Vessel Strike Reduction Rule Rider would prevent the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from finalizing its proposed North Atlantic right whale vessel strike reduction rule until a “near real-time monitoring and mitigation program” to track threatened or endangered whales has been deployed. This would slow down an urgently needed rule to protect the survival of this species. 
• The Forest Protection Rider would block funds for implementation of Executive Order 14072, which protects forests in federal regulatory decision making.
• The ESG Rider would prohibit funding for the promotion of and any contributions to Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) investments.
• The Environmental Justice Rider would block funding for a proposed Office of Environmental Justice.
• The Reproductive Rights Task Force Rider would block funding for the Justice Department’s Reproductive Rights Task Force.
• The Abortion Lawsuits Rider would block funding for suing a state or local government over abortion laws.
• The Free Federal Research Rider would block funding to implement or enforce the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy’s memo on ensuring free, immediate, and equitable access to federally funded research.
• The Federal Employee Union Rider would prohibit funds from being used for federal employee union activities.
• The Lechter Prison NEPA Exemption Rider would force the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to reissue a final environmental impact statement from 2017 and the record of decision from 2018 – abruptly ending the National Environmental Policy Act process without the opportunity for public comment. The provision also would bar all agency actions in building the prison from being subject to judicial review.

Please reach out to speak with an expert on the Clean Budget Coalition’s work or specific riders listed here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Appropriations Republicans have loaded up majority-drafted annual spending bills with at least 113 poison pill policy riders so far, many of which are ridiculous, outrageous, and absurd.

“Many of the most ridiculous riders touch on the latest right-wing bugaboos like gas stoves, Hunter Biden, and government efforts to combat potentially dangerous disinformation. Others are special favors for notorious bad actors, such as Big Tobacco, sleazy car dealers, and crypto bros,” said Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen and co-chair of the Clean Budget Coalition, which is tracking them and has repeatedly called on Congress to remove all of them. “Our annual spending bills are no place for any of this.”

Here are the 15 most ridiculous riders so far:

• The IRS Free Filing Prohibition Rider would prohibit the IRS from developing free tax filing software without prior approval from key financial committees in both chambers of Congress that would allow any taxpayer to file their taxes for free.
• The Nicotine Rider would stop the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from proposing a rule to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes to make them less addictive.
• The Gas Stoves Rider would prohibit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission from using funds to stop the use or sale of gas-powered stoves, cooktops, ranges, or ovens in the U.S., even if the product is proven to cause harm.
• The Hunter Biden Rider would ban security clearances for any signatory to the “Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails” dated October 19, 2020 – limiting the free speech of those expressing ideas the majority opposes.
• The Dollar Bill Rider would block the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing from redesigning the $1 bill.
• The Crypto Rider would block the Treasury Department from issuing its own legitimate digital currency that might compete with scammy, privately issued cryptocurrencies. It also would block any hypothetical attempt to end the use of paper currency as legal tender in the U.S., which no one is trying to do.
• The Sleazy Car Dealers Rider would block the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule, which prohibits car and truck dealers from making certain misrepresentations while selling, leasing, or arranging financing for motor vehicles. The rule would require accurate pricing disclosures in dealers’ ads and sales discussions, require them to obtain consumers’ express and informed consent for charges, prohibit the sale of any add-on product or service that confers no benefit to the consumer, and require dealers to keep records of ads and customer transactions.
• The Defrauded Consumers Rider would add additional obstacles to an FTC rule that challenges bogus money-making claims used to lure consumers, workers, and prospective entrepreneurs into risky business ventures that often turn into dead-end debt traps. The rule allows the agency to recover redress for defrauded consumers and seek steep penalties against the multilevel marketers, for-profit colleges, gig economy platforms, and other bad actors who prey on people’s hopes for economic advancement.
• The “Business Opportunity” Rider would add additional obstacles to an FTC rule that requires business opportunity sellers to give prospective buyers specific information to help them evaluate a business opportunity, ensuring that the prospective purchasers have the information they need to assess the risks of a work-at-home program or any other business opportunity.
• The Food Marketed to Children Rider would add obstacles thwarting the completion of an interagency report on how food is marketed to children. The report is aimed at developing a range of voluntary, self-regulatory principles that industry can embrace to improve children’s health and nutrition.
• The CISA Disinformation Rider: Limits the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s ability to counter disinformation efforts by domestic extremists and other adversaries who seek to harm critical infrastructure and our communities.
• The Special Advisors Rider would prohibit funds from being used for envoys or special advisors unless they have been authorized by Congress or confirmed by the Senate.
• The Federal Telework Rider would prohibit funding for federal agencies until they return to specified telework policies, practices, and levels.
• The Congressional Control Rider would mean the District of Columbia cannot spend its own local funds without approval from Congress.
• The D.C. Stoplight Rider would prohibit funds from being used to enact or carry out any law that prohibits motorists from making right turns on red.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Appropriations Republicans have loaded up the majority-drafted annual spending bills with at least 17 poison pill policy riders that fuel the climate crisis, block clean energy measures, and undermine clean water. The Clean Budget Coalition, which is tracking the poison pills added to federal spending bills, has repeatedly called on Congress to remove all of these harmful measures. They include:

Climate Poison Pills

• The Electric Vehicles Rider would block procurement of electric vehicles, electric vehicle batteries, electric vehicle charging stations, or related infrastructure.
• The Anti-Greening Rider would stop implementation of Section 205 of Executive Order 14008, which calls for federal agencies to achieve net-zero emissions across their portfolio of buildings, campuses, and installations by 2045 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2032 by prioritizing improvement of energy efficiency and eliminating onsite fossil fuel use.
• The Green Climate Rider would block all funding for the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries achieve their emissions and climate-resilience goals under the Paris Agreement.
• The Climate Damage Rider would prohibit funding and international disaster relief for any loss or damage attributed to climate change.
• The Clean Technology Rider would block all funding for the Clean Technology Fund, when helps developing countries with their clean energy transformation. It provides resources to scale up low-carbon technologies including renewable energy, energy efficiency (of buildings, agriculture, and industry), and clean transport.
• The SBA Climate Rider would prohibit the U.S. Small Business Administration from funding climate change initiatives from its Salaries and Expenses account.
• The Climate Disclosure Rider would prohibit the use of funds to finalize or enforce the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed climate disclosure rule or any similar rule. That rule would require climate-related disclosures in corporate registration statements, periodic reports, and audited financial statements –including information about climate-related risks that are likely to have a material impact on their business, results of operations, or financial condition. This also would include disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions.
• The ESG Retirement Investing Rider would block the Thrift Savings Plan – a retirement savings and investment plan for federal employees and uniformed service members similar to a 401(k) in the private sector – from investing in mutual funds that consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.
• The Climate Attribution Rider would prevent democracy, security, gender, agriculture, water, sanitation, and hygiene programs from being linked or attributed to climate goals.
• The Multilateral Development Banks Anti-Greening Rider would block implementation of Executive Order 14008 on tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad and U.S. Treasury Department guidance on fossil fuel energy at multilateral development banks.
• The Power Africa Rider would prohibit funding under the Power Africa program from being used for renewable energy unless matched by other sources of energy.

Clean and Efficient Energy Poison Pills

• The Justice40 Rider would prohibit funding related to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Justice40 initiative, which directs 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to flow to disadvantaged communities. These investments include clean energy, energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and clean water infrastructure development.
• The Enbridge Pipeline Rider would overturn a federal court ruling that shut down a segment of the Canadian Enbridge Line 5 pipeline that crosses tribal land in Wisconsin.
• The Grid Transformers Rider would prohibit funding to stop the energy efficiency standard for electric grid distribution transformers.
• The Gas Stoves Rider would prohibit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission from using funds to stop the use or sale of gas-powered stoves, cooktops, ranges, or ovens in the U.S., even if the product is proven to cause harm.

Clean Water Poison Pills

• The California Water Management Rider would mandate the use of environmentally harmful water management plans and advances controversial California dam proposals.
• The Waters of the U.S. Rider would block the January 2023 revised definition of “Waters of the United States.”

“These disgraceful poison pill riders are nothing short of corporate giveaways to the corrupt fossil fuel industry,” said Deanna Noël, climate campaigns director for Public Citizen. “House Appropriations Republicans are abusing the appropriations process to impose a cycle of environmental injustice – sacrificing communities of color and low-income communities who are disproportionately bearing the impacts of the climate crisis. Poison pills that stall the shift to zero-emissions transportation, block our ability to invest responsibility, and stifle climate progress at home and abroad have no place in Congress’ annual spending bills.”

“The climate poison pills Republican budget leaders proposed are unsound, and they show that GOP leadership is not serious about working with Democrats to pass a budget and prevent a government shutdown,” said Elizabeth Gore, senior vice president for political affairs at Environmental Defense Fund. “Their proposed budget, because of these poison pills and cuts to critical clean energy programs, would harm public health and raise energy costs for families and businesses. This is not a starting point for any reasonable negotiations.”

“House Republicans continue using the same tired playbook: They’re hijacking must-pass bills with harmful poison pill riders that neither the public nor Congress support but benefit their polluter donors,” said David Shadburn, senior government affairs advocate at the League of Conservation Voters. “Just as Republican leaders held the full faith and credit of the United States hostage to make it easier to pollute, now they are proposing riders to greenlight pipelines, block clean air and water regulations, stall clean energy deployment, and prohibit the federal government from addressing long-standing inequities through programs like the Justice40 initiative and the Green Climate Fund. These must-pass spending bills are already loaded down with harmful poison pill riders that need to be removed – the last thing Congress should do is add more.”

Please reach out to any of the contacts listed below to speak with an expert.

Contact: David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org
Austin Matheny-Kawesch, amatheny@edf.org
Kyra Madunich-Arevalo, kmadunich@lcv.org

###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Appropriations Republicans have loaded up the majority-drafted annual spending bills with dozens of poison pill policy riders that attack women, people of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ Americans – opening a new front in their escalating culture war. The Clean Budget Coalition, which is tracking the poison pills added to federal spending bills, has repeatedly called on Congress to remove all of these harmful measures. They include:

• Fourteen new poison pills targeting abortion rights, contraception, and women’s health. This is in addition to the Hyde Amendment barring federal funding for abortion and six other Hyde-like legacy poison pills that have been carried over from past budget cycles;
• Seven new poison pills that block diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts;
• Four new poison pills that attack immigrants detained by ICE;
• Two new poison pills that ban funding for drag queens;
• Two new poison pills that ban pride flags at covered facilities;
• Six new poison pills that ban Critical Race Theory;
• Five new poison pills that prohibit gender-affirming health care; and
• Three new poison pills that require continued federal funding for contractors and other organizations that discriminate against or oppose same-sex marriages.

“Why are MAGA Republicans attacking drag queens in the federal budget? Why are they even mentioning Critical Race Theory? Why are they blocking contraception and gender-affirming health care? The answer is simple: to appease their increasingly radical authoritarian base,” said Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen and co-chair of the Clean Budget Coalition. “Instead of drafting spending bills that ensure people are safe, healthy, and housed, Republicans are attempting to use them to criminalize peoples’ identities. They’re trying to roll back more than 60 years of progress toward freedom and equality for everyone.”

Please reach out to the contact listed above to speak with an expert.