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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OMB To Expand EPA Guidance Reviews

Sep 23, 2005 by Guest Blogger

According to InsideEPA (subscription only), OMB is planning an unprecedented expansion of its review authority that will include reviews of almost all agency guidance documents, further stymieing agency efforts to implement new protections. From the article:

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Recent OIRA Meetings

Sep 23, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On Sept 14, OIRA met with representatives from the computer and electronics industry, including Panasonic, Hewlett Packard and Intel, to discuss a final rule regarding cathode ray tubes.
On Sept. 15, OIRA met with Environmental Defense regarding the prevention of significant deterioration of nitrogen oxide.
On Sept. 21, OIRA met with the family member of a TWA Flight 800 victim over a proposed Federal Aviation Administration rule on fuel tank flammability.

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Don't Mess With Texas (Unless You're Homeland Security)

Sep 22, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The Department of Homeland Security's ">decision to waive all law in order to expedite construction of border area fencing near San Diego now has some landowners in Texas worried that their private property rights are endangered. Read more.

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White House Finds in Katrina Recovery 'Opportunity' to Waive Needed Protections

Though most government agencies have worked diligently to alleviate the untold burdens on Hurricane Katrina's victims and to expedite recovery in a safe and effective manner, several agencies have taken the opportunity to waive needed protections, thus possibly putting recovery workers and others at greater risk.

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Homeland Security Waives Law for Border Fence Construction

Apparently taking advantage of media focus on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is exercising its newly acquired power to waive apparently all law in order to expedite construction of border fencing near San Diego.

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Bush Decision to Waive Wage Protections Could Be Illegal

Sep 16, 2005 by Guest Blogger

As many surely know by now, the White House decision to suspend its obligations under the Davis-Bacon Act to require a fair minimum wage for contractors working on the reconstruction and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will have a direct and drastically negative impact on many of the very victims of the hurricane. Some have noted the irony of this decision given that the hurricane's devastation was compounded by years of poverty and low-wages throughout the Gulf region.

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OMB and the Price of Gas

Sep 14, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Astronomically high gas prices and possible post-Katrina price gouging are all over the news these days. So what does OMB have to do with the price of gas? Well, OMB has for some time been living in a fantasy land with regard to what we're paying at the pump. OMB puts out an annual report on the costs and benefits of regulations, and for the last several years the office has been using a low-ball estimate for the price per gallon of gas when calculating cost and benefit estimates. This year and last, OMB used an estimate of -- get this -- $1.10 to $1.30.

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Did Politics Warp FEMA Priorities?

Sep 13, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Under the provocative headline "Did FEMA 'Buy' Votes for Bush?," IPS asks if political considerations influenced FEMA's priorities -- in particular, the disparity between FEMA's response in Florida (politically valuable) and Louisiana (not). Here's an excerpt: As Michael Brown resigned his post as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Monday following a relentless beating in the press for his mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina relief and rescue efforts, details on FEMA's past missteps began emerging.

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Data Quality, Uncertainty, Precaution

Sep 12, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The latest issue of Rachel's Environment & Health News reviews the Data Quality Act and concludes with this sharp observation:

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Bush Suspends Minimum Pay for Contract Workers

Sep 8, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The White House announced that it is suspending its obligations under the Davis-Bacon Act to require a fair minimum wage for contractors working on the reconstruction and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

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