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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

more news

Administration Moves to Shine Light on Contractors' Political Contributions

Apr 20, 2011 by Gary Bass*

A draft executive order on disclosure of political contributions from government contractors is circulating among federal agencies and has caught the attention of a few media outlets. What the order will mean for contractors and the general public will need to be hashed out should the draft become official.

read in full

Snowe Bill Threatens Small Business Programs, and the Entire Regulatory Safety Net

Apr 19, 2011 by Matthew Madia

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) had a bit of a kerfuffle over a regulatory reform bill Snowe is pushing that would burden regulatory agencies with more paperwork and make it more difficult for them to protect the public. Snowe is trying to attach her bill as an amendment to a small business aid bill.

read in full

Regulations Do Not Hinder U.S. Job Market, Paper Finds

Regulations designed to protect consumers, workers, and the environment do not have a negative impact on the job market and, in some cases, actually spur job creation, according to new research from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The EPI paper, Regulation, Employment, and the Economy: Fears of job loss are overblown, shows that recent criticism surrounding regulations' impact on jobs is misguided and not reflective of economic data.

read in full

Regulations Benefit Job Market, Report Shows

Apr 12, 2011 by Matthew Madia

Contrary to the claims of congressional Republicans, regulations are not job-killers. According to a research paper released today by the Economic Policy Institute, regulations do not cause a significant negative impact on the labor market. In fact, for some industries, regulations actually result in job growth.

read in full

Bill Burdening EPA Would Derail Public Health and the Economy

Apr 7, 2011 by Matthew Madia

Today, a House energy panel will hold a hearing on the TRAIN Act. The TRAIN Act has nothing to do with locomotives. It is actually the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act of 2011.

read in full

Fight Over Policy Riders May Shut Down Government

Apr 6, 2011 by Matthew Madia

The battle over a handful of conservative policy priorities has pushed the federal government to the precipice of a shut down.

read in full

Net Neutrality Vote a Political Stunt

Apr 5, 2011 by Matthew Madia

Anti-government House members are trying to use the Congressional Review Act – an obscure law that allows Congress to overturn agency rules through an expedited process – to reject a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule meant to preserve a fair and open Internet structure. But the Congressional Review Act is a complicated law, and, in this case, it simply won’t work.

read in full

One Year Later, Massey Still Puts Miners at Risk

One year after an explosion killed 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) continues to cite the mine's owner, Massey Energy, for significant safety and health hazards at the company's other mines.

read in full

Basically Everyone Opposes Budget Riders

Apr 1, 2011 by Matthew Madia

A broad coalition of organizations representing millions of Americans is urging the U.S. Senate and the White House to oppose any spending bill that contains policy riders. The riders, which are not budgetary per se, are being pushed by congressional Republicans, but recent news stories indicate that President Obama and Senate Democrats may be willing to play ball during negotiations on a spending deal that will fund the U.S.

read in full

EPA Again Refuses to Prevent Massive Fish Kills

Mar 30, 2011 by Matthew Madia

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week proposed standards for facilities that use natural waters to cool equipment, but the proposal does not require technology that would prevent millions of fish from being sucked in with the water.

read in full