Regs Talk: The CSS Blog
Blogs are authored by CSS members and policy experts, and have been reprinted with permission.
Greater Transparency Needed for Regulatory Review Meetings
By Seth Moulton, Project on Government Oversight The government recently asked the public what a federal office that sits at the epicenter of major regulations should disclose about meetings it has with outside parties. This pivotal office reviews and changes regulations before they ever get seen by the public. And a lot of the outside […]
SNAP Rule Change Would Disproportionately Affect Trump Country
By Sarah Reinhardt, Union of Concerned Scientists USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue has signaled he may be having second thoughts about a proposed rule that could force 755,000 work-ready adults off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The rule, which would restrict states’ ability to waive benefit time limits for adults struggling to find work, has faced substantial backlash since it […]
The Growing Threat of Leveraged Loans
By Better Markets Much like the subprime bubble that sparked the 2008 financial crisis, there is a growing number of people who see the same thing happening with high-risk, low quality leverage loans. With increasingly poor underwriting standards, rapid unregulated growth, and increased risk-taking in the leveraged loan market, it’s tough not to see the […]
CPR Scholars and Staff Call on EPA to Abandon Proposed Attack on Mercury Rule
By James Goodwin, Center for Progressive Reform One of the most successful environmental regulations in U.S. history is under attack from the Trump EPA – and its demise might be accomplished by shady bookkeeping. That is the conclusion of comments filed by Center for Progressive Reform Member Scholars and staff on April 17. Since it was issued […]
Trump Administration Killing Financial Consumer Protection Today and Other Federal Government Protections Tomorrow
By Better Markets It’s easy to get distracted by the outrage-of-the-day coming from the Trump White House. But a must-read article posted by the New York Times ahead of its publication in this Sunday’s magazine really reinforces the importance of looking beyond the latest Tweet to see the serious and potentially lasting damage being done. […]
New Guide: Securing a Nontoxic Work Environment
By Katie Tracy, Center for Progressive Reform Workers should be able to earn a paycheck without putting their lives or their health and well-being on the line. Yet every day, an estimated 137 U.S. workers succumb to diseases caused by on-the-job exposure to toxic chemicals and other hazardous substances, and hundreds of thousands more suffer from nonfatal […]
OMB Leveraging the CRA to Add to Its Oversight of Independent Regulatory Agencies
By Bill Funk, Center for Progressive Reform Last week, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum to all agencies regarding compliance with the Congressional Review Act (CRA). This memo supersedes one issued in 1999 and pulls independent regulatory agencies – specifically designed by Congress to be less prone to political […]
Federal Appeals Court Orders EPA to Strengthen Rule on Toxic Wastewater From Power Plants
By Waterkeeper Alliance Siding with environmentalists, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday issued a decision directing the EPA to strengthen limits on toxic wastewater from power plants. The Court’s ruling requires EPA to reevaluate modern wastewater treatment technology to greatly reduce the amount of toxic pollution that power plants are permitted to […]
Judge Halts the Trump Administration’s Fossil Fuels Giveaway
By Bobby McEnaney, Natural Resources Defense Council Another court has denied the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to adopt flawed regulatory policies that run contrary to federal law. This time, a federal court on Friday issued a judgment blocking an attempt by the Department of Interior (DOI) to adopt a series of regulations that were fundamentally designed to enrich […]
CPR Member Scholars to EPA: Clean Water Rule Rollback Based on Bad Law, Weak Science
By Matt Schudtz, Center for Progressive Reform The federal Clean Water Act has been a resounding success as a tool for restoring our nation’s waterways and preserving wetlands and other vital components of our ecosystems. But that success depends, in part, on restricting development in ecologically sensitive areas. That’s why the Trump administration has proposed […]
Dusky Sharks Win as Courts Tire of Trump Antics
By Jessica Knoblauch, Earthjustice Silencing scientists. Barring the public from the legal process. Even lying to the court. These shenanigans wouldn’t seem out of place as plot points in a John Grisham paperback. But the Trump administration’s determination to favor corporate polluters over the people means these narrative twists and turns have jumped off the […]
FDA General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel Meeting on Breast Implant Safety
By Tessa Ruff, National Women’s Health Network On March 26 and 27, the FDA convened a meeting of the General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel to investigate the safety of breast implants following a reported link between textured implants and lymphoma, as well as a range of reported systemic autoimmune symptoms following implantation, collectively known as breast […]
What to Expect When You’re Expecting the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines
By Genna Reed, Union of Concerned Scientists Pregnancy Advice: Caffeine’s ok. Some caffeine is ok. No caffeine. Breastfeeding Advice: Start solids at 4 months. Start solids at 6 months. Exclusively breastfeed for one year. First Foods Advice: Homemade baby food. Store-bought baby food. Spoon feeding. Baby-led weaning. My experience of being pregnant and having a […]
Food Standards on the Menu at U.S.-EU Talks
By Sharon Anglin Treat, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy With the endorsement on April 15 by a majority of the heads of government of its member states, the European Union has finally taken the formal step needed to move ahead with trade negotiations with the United States. The talks may yet blow up over automobile tariffs, airplane subsidies […]
The T-Rex in the Room at the DC Auto Show
By Andrew Linhardt, Sierra Club As the Washington Auto Show kicked off in early April, the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign — alongside our partners at Public Citizen, Interfaith Power and Light, and the Safe Climate Campaign — took the opportunity to address the huge T-Rex in the room: The Trump administration is […]
Net Neutrality Won in the House. Now It’s on to the Senate.
By Free Press AMAZING NEWS: In a 232–190 vote, the House of Representatives passed the Save the Internet Act, with one Republican crossing party lines and joining Democrats in voting for this crucial bill. Wednesday’s victory is a huge step forward in the fight for digital civil rights in the United States and was possible because […]
Uncharted Territory: The EPA’s Science Advisors Just Called Out Administrator Wheeler
By Gretchen Goldman, Union of Concerned Scientists Yesterday the EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) published a letter to Administrator Andrew Wheeler making recommendations on the agency’s approach to updating the ambient air pollution standard for particulate matter (PM). Chiefly, the science advisors have now acknowledged the group has inadequate expertise to conduct the review. We […]
Sound Science, Objective Facts, and the Rule of Law
By Mitchell Bernard, Natural Resources Defense Council A recent courtroom win for our ocean waters has affirmed part of the majesty of American democracy: No one, not even the president, is above the law. That’s especially important now. President Trump is waging the worst administrative assault in history on our environment and health. But he’s not above […]
Cancer Risks From Monsanto’s Weedkiller Deserve Further Scrutiny, Government Agency Says
By Alexis Temkin and Olga Naidenko, Environmental Working Group A new analysis of Monsanto’s signature herbicide, glyphosate, released by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gives weight to studies connecting glyphosate and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and recommends monitoring children’s exposure to this toxic weed killer. Although EPA has maintained its […]
Prodded by Coal Industry, the EPA Decides Mercury Is Fine, Just Fine. Remind Them: It’s Not.
By Julie McNamara, Union of Concerned Scientists From the gaping maw of coal baron greed slithers another brazen ploy. This time: guiding our nation’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to arrive at the stunning discovery that mercury spewed from coal plants is actually A-Okay. That’s right. Under the direction of (former Murray Energy coal lobbyist) Administrator […]