Trump Signs Order Making Big Oil Corruption So Much Easier (VIDEO)

In his first act of signed legislation, President Donald Trump has eliminated anti-corruption rules for energy companies. Trump repealed regulations that were placed on oil and gas companies by President Barack Obama back in 2010.

Repealing Corruption Reform

In an effort to increase transparency for energy companies, Obama included a resolution in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act – better known as Dodd-Frank – which helped to reform the financial sector following the Great Recession. This resolution required energy companies to disclose any payments made to a foreign government or the federal government in an annual report.

On Tuesday, President Trump signed legislation to repeal these regulations. Press Secretary Sean Spicer elaborated:

“Misguided federal regulations such as the SEC rule addressed by H.J.R. 41 inflict real cost on the American people and put our businesses, especially small businesses, at a significant disadvantage.”

Earlier this month, lawmakers had employed a legislative tactic called the Congressional Review Act, which overturned the rule. This move was preceded by aggressive lobbying from oil and gas companies, such as Exxon Mobil, or as Sean Spicer would call them “small businesses.”

Bowing To Big Business

Critics of the Obama administration’s regulations had said that this resolution was an unnecessary intrusion into the financial dealings of private companies, limiting their ability to perform business. In other words, these regulations would shed light on any sketchy dealings or illegal bribes made with foreign governments. Thus, lawmakers were too scared of the companies who finance their campaigns to support any legislation that requires even a bare minimum of oversight.

After rolling back these anti-corruption rules, Trump eloquently stated:

“This is a big signing, very important signing. We’re bringing back jobs big league.”

No, that’s not a joke. The President of the United States of America actually said that after signing legislation to make corruption even easier for oil and gas companies. Although this quote perfectly captures Trump’s extremely limited vernacular, it doesn’t tell the truth about the impact of this legislation.

What he should have said is:

“This is a bad signing, very disastrous signing. We’re bringing back corruption big league.”

There we go. That sounds a lot more accurate.

Watch the video below to hear the quote for yourself:

Featured image credit: Screengrab from Twitter.

Currently a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. Has experience in diabetes and cancer research, as well as a background in marine biology. Writes science and health blogs on his website at http://dochogblog.weebly.com/blog