Political 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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Food Safety Agency Left Untended; Nomination Forestalled by Lobbying Order

Jun 5, 2009 by Matthew Madia

President Obama has yet to nominate an individual to lead the Food Safety and Inspection Service, leaving the agency headless at a time when food safety consistently shows up on the national radar.

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Waiting for Guidance on Stimulus Lobbying Restrictions

Jun 3, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

After the White House announced on Friday evening changes to rules on communications between registered lobbyists and officials about stimulus projects, several questions remain until any further guidance is released. First, the ban on oral communications regarding specific stimulus matters will be extended to include everyone, not only federally registered lobbyists.

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Questions Unanswered on White House Role in EPA IRIS Process

Jun 3, 2009 by Matthew Madia

As I blogged a couple weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to streamline its process for assessing the health effects of chemicals under its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).

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Obama Backtracks on Mountaintop Mining

Jun 2, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Coal industry lobbyists appear to have valuable access to White House officials, and they’re using it to expand mountaintop mining in the Appalachians, according to an article in The Los Angeles Times.

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MSHA Provides Test of Obama's FOIA Policies

Despite the Obama administration's consistent theme of creating a new, more open government, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has yet to prove it will comply with the administration's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) policies. In its response to a 2008 FOIA request, MSHA refused to release information that has been consistently released in the past. An appeal of that response provides a test of the administration's approach to implementing its openness policies.

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EPA Regains Control of Toxic Chemical Studies

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is changing the way it studies the health effects of industrial chemicals in an attempt to quicken the pace at which new assessments are completed and to limit political interference in the scientific process.

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Agencies Reporting Communications with Federally Registered Lobbyists

Updated April 20, 2010

President Barack Obama's March 20 memo restricts communications between federally registered lobbyists and executive branch employees on use of Recovery Act funds and requires disclosure of written communications. A closer examination of the summaries of lobbyist contacts with federal agencies shows that there are few online postings of those communications; some agencies have not posted any contacts at all.

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EPA Regains Control over Chemical Assessments

May 21, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it would take back the reins of its program for assessing the risks of industrial chemicals after the process had become corrupted by political forces.

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Obama Issues Memo on Preemption Practices

May 21, 2009 by Rick Melberth*

President Obama issued a memorandum May 20 to the heads of executive departments and agencies that should limit some of the worst preemption practices used by the Bush administration.

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Senate Panel Clears Sunstein for OIRA

May 20, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the nomination of Cass Sunstein to be administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The nomination will now head to the full Senate for a vote.

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