Americans Gather for First-Ever National Rally against Fracking
Jul 27, 2012 by Sofia Plagakis
Americans from across the country – tired of waiting for state or federal protections – have been arriving in the nation’s capital this week to participate in the first-ever national anti-fracking rally on July 28. More than 3,000 people are expected to attend.
read in full
The Disconnect Between American Voters and Members of Congress
Jul 25, 2012 by Katherine McFate
This afternoon, the Senate voted 51-48 to restore reasonable tax rates on the top two percent of Americans. Ending the Bush tax cuts for households making more than $250,000 would generate almost a trillion dollars in revenue over the next ten years. This revenue could be used to pay down the deficit and build a platform for future growth by investing in education, infrastructure, research, clean energy, and more. With this vote, a majority of senators acknowledged the need for more revenue and for a fairer tax system.
read in full
Updated: House Majority Trying to Shut Down Safeguards – Again
Jul 20, 2012 by Jessica Randall
The highlight of next week's legislative calendar in the House is likely to be a vote on H.R. 4078, the misleadingly named "Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act." With this vote, the House majority is set to launch yet another attack to shut down the safeguards that protect Americans against health, safety, and economic disasters.
read in full
Treasury Department: We’re Going to Show You the Money
Jul 18, 2012 by Craig Jennings
Testifying before a Senate hearing on federal spending transparency, Richard L. Gregg, the Treasury Department's Fiscal Assistant Secretary, announced a major advancement in federal spending transparency: starting in 2013, the public will be able to see Treasury data on agency expenses and payments to recipients of federal contracts, grants, and loans.
read in full
Coal Dust Is Still Killing Miners
Jul 17, 2012 by Randy Rabinowitz
A new report from the Center for Public Integrity finds that, after decades of decline, the incidence of black lung disease – a progressive, debilitating, scarring of the lungs that makes breathing difficult for its victims – is rising, particularly among young miners and those in central Appalachia.
read in full
National Transportation Safety Board: Pipeline Regulations Need Teeth
Jul 13, 2012 by Jessica Randall
On July 10, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced its report on the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill in Michigan. The report is a scathing indictment of Enbridge Energy, the company responsible for the safety of the pipeline involved in the spill, but also blames inadequate federal regulation.
read in full
Partial Reform of Water Quality Reports Fails in Senate
Jul 5, 2012 by Sophia Zeng*
An effort to partially reform public water quality reports failed in the Senate late last month. The proposed amendment to the Farm Bill, offered by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), would have allowed Consumer Confidence Reports to be available online instead of through the mail, but it would not have made the complex reports any easier to understand.
read in full
The Land of the Free and the Home of Overdue Food Safety Rules
Jul 5, 2012 by Jessica Randall
The 390 Americans who recently got sick from Salmonella in seafood probably missed out on yesterday's holiday celebrations. But they weren't the only ones who weren't celebrating: food safety advocates were also bemoaning yet another missed Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) deadline.
read in full
