During the past week, leaders of the House and Senate announced the members of the debt ceiling deal's Super Committee. Now, all eyes are turning to the committee's co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), to see if they will institute basic transparency standards that many within and outside government are calling for. With so much decision making power concentrated in the hands of just 12 members of Congress, the country deserves the maximum possible level of transparency in the committee's operations.
The Obama administration's efforts to protect scientific integrity moved forward recently with the submission of five finalized agency policies and 14 draft policies, but progress has been slow and haphazard. The administration recognizes that sound, uncensored science is critically important to protecting public health and the environment. The administration also understands that agencies should foster a culture of scientific integrity that includes effective policies and oversight to protect science from political manipulation and research misconduct. However, it has yet to undo the damage wrought by the previous administration.
On Aug. 4, 17 federal agencies signed a memorandum of understanding that aims to address and reduce the disproportionate harm from environmental degradation that affects indigenous, low-income, and minority communities. The "
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has drafted several new rules designed to reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants and improve public health, but some of the standards still await final approval. Environmental and public health advocates have applauded the tougher standards, and a number of industry groups have said they are well positioned to comply with the new rules. The rules will provide businesses with the regulatory certainty that firms say they need to invest in modern pollution-control technologies. Moreover, major power and energy companies 
Three recently published studies discuss the relationship between regulations and economic development. One study focuses on the job-creation potential of an individual environmental rule, and another touts the economic benefits of clean energy investments. The third study debunks a widely quoted but inaccurate report on the economic costs of regulations. All three reinforce an argument that public interest advocates have made for decades: government standards and public investments in clean energy protect health and safety and encourage job creation.
In July, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released two reports that evaluated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) performance on protecting America’s drinking water. The reports highlight EPA’s long-standing problems with collecting accurate data on violations and identifying and regulating dangerous contaminants. Should EPA fail to address these issues, Americans' health could be in jeopardy.