Regs Talk: The CSS Blog
Blogs are authored by CSS members and policy experts, and have been reprinted with permission.
Sea Level Rise, Growing Flood Risks, and the Need for a Strong Federal Flood Risk Standard
By Rachel Cleetus, Senior Climate Economist, Union of Concerned Scientists On January 30, 2015, President Obama issued an executive order to strengthen the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) and create an extensive stakeholder process for implementing it. Tomorrow is the comment deadline for the implementation guidelines proposed by FEMA and UCS has weighed in […]
Another Step Toward Fair Pay: Reforming Overtime Pay Protections
By Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security, National Women’s Law Center Today, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez announced that the Department of Labor has drafted a rule to reform overtime pay protections. Along with raising the minimum wage—which would rise to $12 an hour by 2020 under the Raise the Wage Act which […]
The State of the Air is…Depressing
By Brian Willis, Media Team Member, Sierra Club American Lung Association 2015 State of the Air Report – Key Findings Nearly 138.5 million people—almost 44 percent of the nation—STILL live where pollution levels too often make the air too dangerous to breathe, but thanks to stronger standards for pollutants, the United States has seen continued […]
Your Handy Guide to Attacks on How the Endangered Species Act Uses Science
By Michael Halpern, Program Manager, Center for Science and Democracy, Union of Concerned Scientists Gut the science. That’s how this Congress intends to undermine our nation’s environmental and public health laws. Most of the action over the past few years has been in the House, but tomorrow, a Senate committee will consider eight bills that would hack away at the […]
Thoughtful Take on Government Regulation vs. Consumer Choice
By Scott Michelman, Attorney, Public Citizen A thought-provoking op-ed in The Hill argues that a perspective is missing from the debate about whether government regulation and informed consumer choice is the more appropriate means of addressing public health issues such as obesity. The problem with the debate is the uncritical acceptance of the premise that […]
New Report Shows Great Potential for Green Chemicals
By BlueGreen Alliance Whether at work or at home, America’s outdated and toothless toxic substances laws means many of the chemicals Americans come into contact every day may be harmful to them. The growing field of green chemistry offers an alternative to those substances and the potential to make our homes and workplaces considerably safer […]
Want to Save Thousands of American Lives Each Year? Cut Power Plant Pollution
By David Doniger, Director, Climate and Clean Air Program, Natural Resources Defense Council A new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change today, calculates that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan will save thousands of lives every year. The study, by researchers at Harvard, Syracuse, and Boston Universities and Resources for the Future, […]
No to Fast Track, Yes to Fair Trade
By Clyde Weiss, AFSCME Union members and allies raised their voices in loud protest Thursday to oppose so-called “fast track” authority to pass a multi-nation trade agreement that would ship good-paying American jobs to Asia, Central America and other low-wage regions, pushing down wages of U.S. workers. “We’re going to stop fast track in its […]
Canada’s Tar Sands Regulations: Uncovered Documents Cast Doubt on Effectiveness, Enforcement
By Jennifer Skene, Ford Fellow, Natural Resources Defense Council The strength of Canada’s tar sands environmental regulatory regime is facing more scrutiny as a result of documents Greenpeace Canada obtained from the Alberta government’s energy regulator. The documents cast light on the Alberta government’s response to the death of birds that landed on tar sands […]
Skepticism About Trade Deals is Warranted
By Ross Eisenbrey, Vice President, Economic Policy Institute In 1993, it seemed obvious to me that NAFTA was about one main thing: providing a huge new (and much cheaper) labor force to U.S. manufacturers by making it safe for them to build factories in Mexico without fear of expropriation or profit-limiting regulation. But the Clinton […]
Procter & Gamble Receives an “F” in Chemical Transparency
By Amanda Frank, Policy Analyst, Center for Effective Government “Eco-friendly.” “Healthy.” “Responsible.” These are just a few of the labels used on household cleaning products to make them appear safe for consumers. But no one oversees how these terms are used or what they really mean for consumers. This becomes readily apparent when you scrutinize […]
If You Thought Corporate Personhood Was Bad, Wait Until You See Corporate Nationhood in the New Trade Treaty
By Scott Klinger, Director of Revenue and Spending Policies, Center for Effective Government The government of El Salvador was so concerned that its water was so fouled by mining companies that it passed a moratorium on new mines in 2008. Oceana Gold, an Australian corporation, didn’t like the law, so it sued El Salvador for […]
150 Workers Will Die Today
By Mike Hall, AFL-CIO Despite significant advancements in workplace health and safety in the 44 years since the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) become law, today and every day 150 people will be killed on the job or die from job-related illnesses and diseases. That and other sobering statistics about the preventable deaths […]
Senate Committee Fails to Fix Flawed Chemical Bill
By Katie Weatherford, Regulatory Policy Analyst, Center for Effective Government On April 28, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works reviewed proposed legislation from Sens. David Vitter (R-LA) and Tom Udall (D-NM) to revise the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), our nation’s primary chemical safety law. Despite numerous attempts to constructively amend the flawed […]
5 Ways Policy Helps Business Innovation
By Richard Eidlin, Co-founder & Vice President of Policy and Campaigns, American Sustainable Business Council It’s gospel among American politicians and business leaders: innovation is key to the success of individual companies and entire industries. And yet, many of these same people contend that to optimize innovation, government needs to stay out of the way. We […]
Good News! CPSC Proposes to Ban Hazardous Phthalate Chemicals in Toys and Child Care Products
By Jennifer Sass, Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has proposed banning some of the most toxic phthalates (pronounced ˈtha-lāt) from toys and child care products, and NRDC submitted comments supporting CPSC’s proposal, but also asking them to go further. Phthalates are a family of chemicals used mostly as […]
Workers Memorial Day: We Need Strong Workplace Safety and Health Protections
By Ross Eisenbrey, Vice President, Economic Policy Institute Here are a few recent reports about the grim toll of industrial fatalities and the hazards workers are exposed to every day, from the Cal-OSHA Reporter and other sources. Hopefully, they will remind you why we need a strong federal enforcement effort and much better programs of […]
This Workers Memorial Day: Blow the Whistle on Unsafe Working Conditions
By Keith Wrightson, Worker Health and Safety Advocate, Public Citizen Today, we remember the victims of fatal workplace hazards and observe Workers Memorial Day. We have all encountered a hazard in the workplace at one time or another. Whether it was a slippery floor, unguarded machinery, blocked emergency exits or a frayed electrical cord, hazards […]
Honor Working People by Making Work Safer
By Michael DiMuzio, Center for Effective Government They build our homes, make the products we buy, and package our online orders for delivery. Working men and women built America, and they keep our economic engine running. Today, we honor and remember all of the people who have lost their lives, have been injured at work, […]
The Words of Dead Workers
By Leo Gerard, President, USW International To give voice to 35 workers killed on the job over the past 35 years at a massive refinery in Texas City, hundreds of surviving family members, co-workers and friends gathered there last month to erect white crosses marked with their names. They conducted the ceremony on the 10th […]