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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EPA Releases OMB Comments on Chemical Studies

Oct 15, 2009 by Matthew Madia

As promised, the Environmental Protection Agency is releasing White House comments on EPA assessments of potentially toxic chemicals. Yesterday, EPA released the first batch of comments on four ongoing risk assessments.

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Fractured Nomination Process Leaves Regulatory Posts Vacant

Senate Republicans are blocking several of President Obama's nominees – often for reasons unrelated to the position – resulting in vacancies at the Department of Labor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Justice, and elsewhere. In addition, the Democratic leadership has not often combated Republican tactics, as nominations have slipped down the list of Senate priorities.

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Lobbyists Removed from Industry Trade Advisory Committees

Oct 7, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

Last week we noted the paradoxical new policy limiting the role of lobbyists on federal advisory committees. Reportedly, the Commerce Department and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative took this request very seriously and contacted companies and organizations with representatives serving on Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITAC). With an Oct. 30 deadline, participants must certify they are not lobbyists, or a replacement must be found before their term is complete. About 132 people on ITACs are registered lobbyists.

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First Comes Law, Then Comes Regulation

Oct 7, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, speaking at the Environmental Law Institute, Judge David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reminded federal agencies that they need to follow the law when writing regulations. BNA news service (subscription) recorded some of the comments.

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Lack of E. Coli Regulation Imperils Consumers

Oct 5, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Sunday New York Times’ exposé on ground beef and E. coli is a must read for anyone concerned about food safety. There is too much good information in the story – which begins by recounting the tale of a young woman who became frighteningly ill after eating a frozen hamburger – to recount here.

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EPA Authority a Bargaining Chip in Senate Climate Bill

Oct 2, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Unlike its House counterpart, a climate change bill introduced in the Senate this week would not prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from writing greenhouse gas emissions regulations.

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Lobbyists Serving on Advisory Committees – Where’s the Problem?

Sep 30, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The new White House policy aimed at ridding federal advisory committees of lobbyists raises more questions than answers, as OMB Watch discusses in an article released yesterday.

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Business and Anti-Regulatory Lobbyists Divided over Climate Policy

Sep 29, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Increasingly, businesses are severing their ties to industry lobbying groups that oppose climate change legislation, according to an article in today’s New York Times by reporters Clifford Krauss and Kate Galbraith.

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White House Moves to Limit Lobbyists on Federal Advisory Committees

The White House announced Sept. 23 that it informed executive branch agencies and departments that federally registered lobbyists are not to be appointed to federal agency advisory boards and commissions. This is the latest attempt at removing the influence of federally registered lobbyists within the executive branch.

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