Security and Secrecy

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

read in full

Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

read in full

Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

read in full

Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

read in full

more news

Groups Tell Congress to Reject Measure Placing DHS Above All Law

Citizens for Sensible Safeguards sent the House of Representatives a letter signed by 15 member organizations opposing language in the pending immigration bill that would empower the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive any and all law, without limits.

read in full

Groups Tell Congress to Reject Measure Placing DHS Above All Law

Citizens for Sensible Safeguards sent the House of Representatives a letter opposing section 102 of H.R. 418, the "REAL ID Act of 2005." The measure would empower the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive any and all law, without limits. It is a dangerous provision that would put a government official above the law. Download the PDF here.

read in full

Bill Would Place Homeland Security Above All Law

Media Advisory: A bill moving to a floor vote this week in the House of Representatives contains controversial language that would empower the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive any and all law -- federal and state, civil and criminal -- in the course of securing the borders.

read in full

Bill Would Place Homeland Security Above All Law

A bill to establish national identification card standards and restrict asylum claims also contains a controversial provision to empower the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive any and all laws in the course of securing the borders from illegal immigration. The provision also includes an exemption from judicial review that not only shields the waiver decisions from court scrutiny but also strips courts of any power to order remedies for anyone harmed by the consequences of such decisions. Background

read in full

D.C. Council Passes Bill to Reroute Hazardous Materials

Last week, the City Council of Washington, DC, voted 10–1, with one abstention, to enact emergency legislation requiring rail companies to reroute hazardous cargo around the city. This legislation, “Terrorism Prevention in Hazardous Materials Transportation Emergency Act of 2005,” will make Washington the first city in the nation requiring companies to route hazardous cargo shipments away from population centers. The bill now only needs D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams’ signature.

read in full

Text of H.R. 418

Text of H.R. 418, the "REAL ID Act of 2005"

read in full

CRS Backgrounder

CRS Analysis of Border Fencing Issues

read in full

NRC Censors Environmental Impact Statement

The public will not have access to health and safety data about a proposed uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico, despite a legal requirement that the public have ample access to such information.

read in full

DHS Cancels Nondisclosure Agreements for Unclassified Information

The Homeland Security Department (DHS), under pressure from congressional offices, federal employee unions and the media modified it policies for “Sensitive But Unclassified” (SBU) information and stopped requiring nondisclosure agreements.

read in full

Reclamation Officials Withhold Dam Safety Information

The Bureau of Reclamation refuses to disclose safety details about the Jackson Lake Dam to a county official trying to verify his county is out of harm’s way. The Teton County Commissioner, Bill Paddleford, wants the information as part of the area’s emergency planning, which includes the city of Jackson.

read in full