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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Some Hiccups in Implementing New Ethics Law

Jul 16, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A National Journal ($$) column titled, "Just The Beginning The Implementation Of Congress' New Ethics Law Has Hit A Number Of Snags," covers some of the various remaining issues of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA).

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Lawmakers Probe on Occupational Risk Rulemaking

Jul 14, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Two lawmakers are attempting to shed light on a mysterious Department of Labor rule that may change the way the federal government looks at occupational health risks. As of now, all we know of the rule is its title: "Requirements for DOL Agencies' Assessment of Occupational Health Risks."

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Bush Administration Will Ignore Its Own Notice on CO2 Emissions

Jul 14, 2008 by Matthew Madia

On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency finally released its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking asking for public comment on the issue of greenhouse gas emission regulation. The notice — which is not a formal policy proposal but merely a suggested framework for future action — is accompanied by statements from senior officials from across the Bush administration that disavow the document's substance.

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New Lobbying Disclosure Rules Cause Confusion

Jul 10, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Legal counsel that represents labor and nonprofit organizations that register under the Lobby Disclosure Act (LDA) have written to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House regarding the LD-203 Contributions Reporting System and the new LDA guidance. They are concerned that the new guidance "misinterprets" the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA), and are concerned that it will "chill ordinary interaction and association with Members of Congress and impose undue and unreasonable recordkeeping and reporting burdens on registrants and their employed lobbyists."

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Pentagon Refuses EPA's Pollution Cleanup Orders

The nation's worst polluter, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), is refusing to sign enforcement agreements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that require DOD to clean up polluted sites nationwide. The military bases covered by EPA's enforcement orders may endanger public drinking water supplies as a result of the military dumping toxic pollutants at the sites.

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White House Blocks Effort to Clean Up Pesticide Containers

Jul 7, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has rejected an Environmental Protection Agency proposed rule that would encourage the recycling of pesticide containers. EPA has been mulling the proposal for at least a few years.

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Forms and Instructions for LD-203 Released

Jul 1, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that forms and instructions for the new lobbying disclosure form, LD-203, have been released. Lobbyists and their organizations, as mandated under the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, will have to detail the amount of campaign contributions and other payments linked to lawmakers. The new disclosure form will have to be filed twice a year, first filing deadline is July 30, 2008. The forms that lobbyists and lobbying organizations must fill out have menus calling for reporting of four types of contributions or payments:

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OMB Shutting Out EPA on CO2 Regulation

Jun 30, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is close to finalizing its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on greenhouse gas emission regulation. The ANPRM is an indication that EPA may someday consider taking a look at possibly addressing global warming through some sort of undefined future action…perhaps. Even still, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is all over the document like stink on a monkey.

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Bush Regulatory Gatekeepers on House Chopping Block

Jun 30, 2008 by Matthew Madia

A House panel voted last week to tie the hands of agency regulatory policy officers (RPOs). The move comes in response to continued concern about President Bush's 2007 executive order that expanded the powers of RPOs. President Bush's E.O. 13422 — which amended E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review — dramatically expands the power of the RPO. E.O. 13422 states, "no rulemaking shall commence" without the RPO's approval. Conveniently, E.O. 13422 does not define when a rulemaking commences, thus providing the RPO with wide latitude in exercising this new authority.

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Lobbyists Opposing FDA Changes

Jun 25, 2008 by Rick Melberth*

Congress is attempting to formulate and pass legislation to address problems that have become apparent at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). After increasing questions in recent years about the safety of prescription drugs and imported food, we've learned about the limited ability of FDA to regulate effectively some of the products.

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