EPA Cut Corners in TRI Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came under tough scrutiny at an Oct. 4 hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials for reducing the reporting standards of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in December 2006.

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Wiretapping Law the Focus of House Hearings

The House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence held several hearings the week of Sept. 17 on the implications of the Protect America Act (PAA) and its revisions to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Mike McConnell argued that the changes need to be made permanent, while others argued that PAA unnecessarily violates civil liberties.

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Don't Go into the Water: It's Not the Jellyfish, It's the Sewage

Jellyfish aren't the reason U.S. beaches are being closed — it's sewage, and legislation in the Senate and House seeks to ensure that people know when sewage is in their water.

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Parts of Patriot Act Ruled Unconstitutional

On Sept. 6, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that a controversial section of the USA PATRIOT Act is unconstitutional. In John Doe v. Gonzales, Judge Victor Morrerro ruled that the National Security Letter (NSL) provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act are in violation of the separation of powers doctrine and the First Amendment's protection of free speech.

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Federal Agencies Knew of Diacetyl Dangers and Kept Silent

Federal regulatory agencies have known for years the dangers that diacetyl exposure creates among workers in factories where bags of microwave popcorn are tested. The only agency to have taken any action, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has kept its study of the chemical's impact on consumers secret except for sharing it with the popcorn industry. Now the first case of potential consumer illness from exposure to diacetyl has been documented.

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Senate Passes FOIA Reform

On Aug. 3, the Senate passed the OPEN Government Act of 2007 (S. 849) by unanimous consent. The House passed similar legislation in March.

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House Committee Holds Hearing on Abuse of Information

A July 31 House Natural Resources Committee hearing continued to investigate reports of science manipulation within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Much of the hearing focused on the 2002 Klamath salmon die-off and former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald's interference in Endangered Species Act (ESA) findings.

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Surgeon General Warning: Manipulated Science

At a July 10 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, former Bush administration Surgeon General Richard Carmona joined a growing list of officials to disclose the executive branch's political manipulation of science. Carmona's claims that agency science is being distorted for political purposes echoes charges leveled by recent whistleblowers from the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Vice President Avoids Oversight, Claims Office not Part of Executive Branch

On June 21, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

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Kyl Unveiled as FOIA Foiler

Shortly after supporters of the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in Our National (OPEN) Government Act began aggressive online and telephone campaigns to discover the senator who had placed an anonymous hold on the bill, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) acknowledged that he was blocking the legislation. Kyl explained that the move was at the behest of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which he explained had "uncharacteristically strong objections to the bill."

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