Industry Influence and Interference

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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MSHA Failed to Watchdog Deviant Mine Company

May 19, 2011 by Matthew Madia

Today, the Governor’s Independent Investigation Panel submitted to the governor of West Virginia its report on the Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine disaster that killed 29 men in April 2010. Liz Borkowski at The Pump Handle blog has a detailed summary. Be sure to read it, especially if you’re going to bypass the 126-page report.

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EPA Delays Life-Saving Rule, Cites White House Order

May 17, 2011 by Matthew Madia

In response to pressure from industry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is backing off of new clean air standards for industrial boilers. The standards, as finalized in February, would prevent “2,600 premature deaths, 4,100 heart attacks, and 42,000 asthma attacks” if implemented, according to EPA.

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Obama Administration Weighing Rules to Keep or Repeal

On May 18, the Obama administration is expected to take the next step in its process for reviewing federal regulations. Agencies and the White House sit at an important crossroads: will they defend existing regulatory safeguards or weaken rules in an attempt to appease special interests?

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House Gets Amnesia, Passes Bill to Rush Oil Drilling

May 11, 2011 by Matthew Madia

The House of Representatives today passed a bill that sets ridiculous and dangerous deadlines for the approval of oil drilling permits. According to Earthjustice, “Sponsored by Doc Hastings (R-WA), H.R. 1229 requires the Department of Interior to decide whether to approve a drilling permit within 30 days after receiving an application and allows only two 15-day extensions of this deadline.”

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Push to Cut Oversight of Businesses Roils Senate

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) is pushing legislation that would make it more difficult for government agencies to set health, safety, environmental, and economic standards that protect the American people. Snowe is using the debate over her bill to reinforce untrue stereotypes about regulation's impact on the economy.

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Reducing Influence Peddling in Government Contracting

Published April 27, 2011—In this piece, Gary Therkildsen and Gary D. Bass of OMB Watch argue that the federal government, namely the executive branch, must get serious about making public the information on any and all lobbying related to the federal procurement process. The authors use the Boeing tanker contract scandal as an illustration of the need for reform. This piece appeared as part of the "Solutions: Making Government Work" column on Truthout.

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Issa Feigns Sympathy for Oil Spill’s Victims

Apr 20, 2011 by Matthew Madia

Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is using the one-year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster as an opportunity to criticize the Obama administration for exercising more caution when issuing offshore drilling permits. After the spill, “the Administration’s subsequent assault on off-shore drilling has [damaged] economically vulnerable communities,” Issa says.

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Administration Moves to Shine Light on Contractors' Political Contributions

Apr 20, 2011 by Gary Bass*

A draft executive order on disclosure of political contributions from government contractors is circulating among federal agencies and has caught the attention of a few media outlets. What the order will mean for contractors and the general public will need to be hashed out should the draft become official.

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One Year Later, Massey Still Puts Miners at Risk

One year after an explosion killed 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) continues to cite the mine's owner, Massey Energy, for significant safety and health hazards at the company's other mines.

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EPA Again Refuses to Prevent Massive Fish Kills

Mar 30, 2011 by Matthew Madia

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week proposed standards for facilities that use natural waters to cool equipment, but the proposal does not require technology that would prevent millions of fish from being sucked in with the water.

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