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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Listeria: How the food industry gets away with murder

Jan 4, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Be sure to check out the latest report from the Consumer Federation of America: “Not ‘Ready to Eat’: How the Meat and Poultry Industry Weakened Efforts to Reduce Listeria Food-Poisoning.” It’s the harrowing story of the Bush administration reversing course from the Clinton administration and weakening efforts to protect the public from Listeria, a deadly foodborne pathogen, in order to serve its friends in the food industry.

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Congress's Revolving Door

Dec 16, 2004 by Guest Blogger

In case there was any doubt as to who is benefiting from the Medicare Modernization Act, the bill's chief architect, Rep. Billy Tauzin, has left Congress to become a lobbyist for brand name drug companies. Read the story in the New York Times.

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Rocket Fuel Ingredient Ignites Controversy

Perchlorate, a key ingredient in rocket fuel that is associated with developmental delays, can be found in lettuce from Florida, bottled water from California, and organic milk from Maryland, according to initial data from the Food and Drug Administration. Although it is too soon to determine whether perchlorate contamination of food and water is truly widespread, the FDA’s early results are nonetheless the latest chapter in a dispute pitting environmental and public health against industry influence over science and the prerogatives of the Department of Defense.

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FCC Rigs Cost-Benefit Report to Side With Industry on Cable A La Carte

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sided with the cable and big media industries against regulation mandating à la carte cable service, justifying its position with a cost-benefit analysis rigged against à la carte options. The vision of cable à la carte is that cable customers could pick and pay for only the channels they want. Most American consumers can only purchase cable service in large tiered packages, like “basic” and “expanded” service packages, which require them to pay for channels they never watch in order to receive the channels they do want.

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Superfund Lacks Funds to Cleanup Toxic Waste Sites

Facing an increasing backlog of sites with the same meager budget, the Superfund program administrator thinks he’s found a new way to tackle the country’s most severe hazardous waste problems: Stop addressing them. Superfund Program Looking for New Solutions

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Hit and run: Reg policy news briefs

Dec 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

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Industry to write its rules -- again

Dec 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

A blistering report recently identified a number of significant gaps in homeland security, among them the lack of real security for the nation's water supply. Gaps in homeland security just happened to correspond with Bush-Cheney campaign donors: the industries that should be required to do more to protect the nation from terrorist attack by securing the water supply, hazardous material transport, nuclear facilities, and more were being let off the hook -- and, surprise, surprise, those industries were big donors to the Bush-Cheney campaigns.

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Regs Around the Web

Dec 8, 2004 by Guest Blogger

A coalition of conservation and outdoor industry groups has formally asked the Forest Service to withdraw plans to lease over 20,000 acres for oil and gas drilling in Utah's Uinta National Forest. The leasing would allow industrial development in roadless areas along the Wasatch Front that provide valuable opportunities for hiking, fishing, and hunting, as well as habitat for wildlife such as the Bonneville cutthroat trout and northern goshawk.

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Nominee for Attorney General, An Opponent to Civil Rights

The resounding sentiment about Alberto Gonzales, Bush's nomination for Attorney General, is that "he's better than Ashcroft," but Gonzales' pending appointment still has some human rights advocates on edge. During his tenure as White House chief counsel, Gonzales has helped to craft administrative doctrine that has justified the use of torture and usurped civil rights for detainees, as well as justifying government secrecy.

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Second-Term Appointments

The following is a compilation of second term political appointments. Data was gathered using the Library of Congress legislative tracking service, Thomas, and various news sources. This is not a complete list of appointments. To search for a specific appointment, try the Thomas Presidential Nomination search engine. Department of Agriculture Confirmed by Senate Mike Johanns, to be Secretary of Agriculture, replacing Ann Veneman, resigned. Michael J. Harrison, of Connecticut, to be an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, replacing Lou Gallegos, resigned.

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