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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more news

Bush judge picks are tied to energy/mining corporations

Nov 7, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The Center for Investigative Reporting has compiled a comprehensive database of disclosure forms and background information of Bush's nominees to federal appeals courts. The results reveal significant ties to big corporations, in particular the mining and energy industries:

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Coming attack on tire pressure monitoring rule?

Nov 4, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Remember the tire pressure monitoring rule? NHTSA was forced by law to require automakers to implement systems that alert drivers when air pressure in their tires becomes dangerously low. There was unnecessary brouhaha (and lives were needlessly lost) because White House regulatory czar John Graham forced the agency to select a less effective alternative.

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FDA secrecy continues to harm us: Vioxx, again

Nov 4, 2004 by Guest Blogger

FDA has already been in the news recently for suppressing the scientific evidence observing an increased risk of suicidality in youth using antidepressants and, more recently, for suppressing internal agency documents that may detail FDA's bungling of the flu vaccine supply. Now the NY Times is reporting that internal FDA emails suggest FDA actually delayed the study showing deadly problems with Merck's COX-2 inhibitor drug Vioxx:

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Audits for the mouthy, not the wealthy

Nov 3, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Conflict within a conflict: the IRS is going soft on industry; new evidence from TRAC reveals that IRS audits of corporations have declined below last year's record-low levels. In the wake of Enron and insert-your-own-favorite-corporate-scandal, the IRS actually promised to step up the pace.

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Interior Gives Exclusive Appeal Rights to Industry

A proposed rule from the Department of Interior would grant those in the hydroelectric industry the exclusive right to appeal rulings about how dams are licensed and operated. The rule could save the hydroelectric industry hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements while effectively cutting Indian tribes, states, federal agencies and environmental groups out of the appeals process.

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Foxes in the henhouse: National security edition

Oct 29, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Another new report on this administration letting foxes guard the henhouse? You betcha. This time, the World Policy Institute is reporting on excessive influence from the weapons industry, which, coincidentally, favors the Bush campaign coffers generously. From the press release:

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Another call for clean science

Oct 28, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Once again, the National Academy of Sciences has been called to task for stacking an advisory panel with industry-backed players, setting up a serious conflict of interests. This time around, the problematic NAS panel is the Committee to Study Mine Placement of Coal Combustion Wastes, which is charged with addressing the environmental consequences of dumping toxic wastes in mines. Here's an excerpt of a letter to NAS challenging the composition of the panel: Whether CCW disposal in mines is destructive to the environment is a politically

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Danger and inaction in the nation's capital

Oct 26, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The local government here in Washington, D.C. is poised to act if the Bush administration continues to fail to act. The problem: "Ninety-ton rail cars that regularly pass within four blocks of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC, contain enough chlorine to kill 100,000 people within 30 minutes and could endanger 2.4 million people," according to a recent report.

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Chemical manufacturers' "gift"

Oct 26, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The Washington Post also reports today that the chemical manufacturers' trade association is giving $2 million to the EPA to conduct a comprehensive study of childhood exposure to chemicals. Carol Henry, vice president for science and research at the American Chemistry Council, said her industry wanted to promote a better understanding of the risks associated with chemical exposure. Teaming up with a preexisting federal study gives her group financial leverage, she said. . . .

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Make mine a Valium-Prozac cocktail, please

Oct 20, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Ever hear of the "New Freedom Commission on Mental Health"? The public health community and a member of Congress are criticizing an administration plan for mandatory universal mental health screenings as a boon for the pharmaceutical industry. Here's a glimpse at Inter Press Service's coverage: The plan highlights the importance of "state-of-the art medications," though a scandal has erupted recently regarding the safety and effectiveness of the main types of drugs in question, particularly antidepressants. Deadly side effects of these drugs have already claimed numerous lives.

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