Regs Talk: The CSS Blog
Blogs are authored by CSS members and policy experts, and have been reprinted with permission.
Public Citizen and Allies: ‘FEC Must Prevent Foreign Meddling in U.S. Elections’
By Craig Sandler, Public Citizen Last week, Public Citizen, along with Free Speech For People and thousands of citizens across the nation submitted comments to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in response to the Commission’s proposed rulemaking on disclosure of online political advertising. The proposed rulemaking, entitled “Internet Communication Disclaimers and Definition of ‘Public Communication,’” seeks to create guidelines […]
Public Citizen Finds Widespread Support for Regulating Big Tech Companies and Protecting Data Privacy
By David Rosen, Public Citizen A growing number of voices are calling for greater regulation of technology companies, increased privacy and security protections for online personal data, as well as measures to protect the integrity of our elections in the digital age. Here’s what people are saying. THE PUBLIC “Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed would […]
EPA Extends Comment Deadline, Schedules Hearing on Science Proposal After Pretty Much Everyone Complains
By Michael Halpern, Union of Concerned Scientists The EPA today extended the comment deadline to August 16 on its proposal to restrict the types of science that can be used in EPA decisions after pretty much everyone—from the American Home Builders Association to the American Geophysical Union—complained that a thirty-day comment period was grossly insufficient for a […]
Pruitt Pop Quiz
By Liz Perera, Sierra Club Q: When is embattled climate-denying Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt willing to say that reducing carbon emissions is a good thing? A: Only when he’s granting a favor to a powerful industry (and their Pruitt-pals-turned-lobbyists), harming public health and the environment, and contradicting science. On April 23, EPA administrator […]
FERC Takes a Step Backward on Environmental Impacts
By Gillian Giannetti, Natural Resources Defense Council A 3-2 majority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unveiled a new policy last Friday that limits FERC’s analysis and disclosure of the environmental impacts of natural gas pipeline projects. The decision is a step backward for FERC, right when it is soliciting public comment on how to improve its […]
13 Ways Pruitt’s EPA Has Made Your Life More Toxic
By Melanie Benesh, Environmental Working Group Today is the first day of an Environmental Protection Agency summit on perfluorinated substances, or PFAS. The group of chemicals is linked to a host of health issues, including cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity and other health issues. Perfluorooctanic acid, or PFOA, was used to make Teflon and is […]
Did EPA Consult With the Chemical Industry While Working to Suppress a Scientific Study on PFAS?
By Yogin Kothari, Union of Concerned Scientists Today, members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent a letter to EPA requesting more information about a meeting with an industry trade group, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), attended by Richard Yamada, the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development. The letter and subsequent reporting (paywalled) is […]
Pruitt’s To Do (or Not To Do) List for Toxic PFAS Chemicals
By Daniel Rosenberg, Natural Resources Defense Council EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has a big problem on his hands, and it isn’t that people are saying mean things to him on airplanes. The problem is that a class of toxic chemicals commonly linked (by EPA) to cancer, low birth weight, immune system problems, and other harms […]
Jeb Hensarling, the Financial Choice Act, and Wells Fargo
By Jeff Sovern, St. John’s University School of Law When the Bureau fined Wells Fargo $1 billion, it did so using its power to prohibit unfair practices in 12 USC 5531(c), 5536(a)(1)(B). (see pages 9 and 12 of the consent order). House Financial Services Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling’s Financial Choice Act, passed by the House, would eliminate that […]
Now Is the Time to Halt the EPA’s Restrictions on Science
By Andrew Rosenberg, Union of Concerned Scientists If you have been following the news, I am sure you know by now that the EPA is proposing to restrict the science it will consider when developing new or revised health and safety protections. It may seem like a Washington game, but this proposed rule has huge implications for […]
Five Things You Should Know About EPA’s Proposed Giant Step Backward on the Safety of Chemical Facilities
By Andrew Rosenberg, Union of Concerned Scientists As one of his first acts in office, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt decided to put on hold the implementation of new regulations to improve the safety of chemical facilities around the country. Those regulations, finalized in 2017, called for consideration of safer technologies, better information for communities and first responders that are on […]
How Two Court Decisions Could Mean Gig Is Up for Many Companies That Call Their Workers Independent Contractors
By Rebecca Smith, National Employment Law Project In the past two weeks, two separate court decisions have presented two pathways for states to establish labor standards and a voice at work for workers classified by their employers as “independent contractors.” First, the CA Supreme Court, in Dynamex v. Superior Court of Los Angeles adopted the so-called ABC […]
On Consumer Lobby Day, Public Citizen Partners With Citizen Advocates to Press Congress for Consumer Protections
By Caroline Ristaino, Public Citizen Last week on May 9, more than 110 consumer advocates from 36 states around the nation gathered on Capitol Hill for the second annual Consumer Lobby Day coordinated by Public Citizen, Consumer Federation of America, Americans for Financial Reform, Consumer Action, Consumers Union, The Institute for College Access & Success, […]
Sonny Perdue’s USDA Is in Bed with Big Pork. That’s Really Bad for Everyone Else.
By Karen Perry Stillerman, Union of Concerned Scientists In his first year running the US Department of Agriculture, Secretary Sonny Perdue has displayed a curious tendency to say things he really shouldn’t. The most recent example is his striking off-the-cuff comment about a big court judgment won by neighbors of a massive hog farm and its stinking cesspools […]
Accounting for Avarice
By Bartlett Naylor, Public Citizen Since perverse pay incentives led to reckless, fraudulent banking that caused the 2008 financial crash, Congress approved a package of compensation reforms as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. One of these requires corporations to disclose the ratio of the CEO’s pay to that […]
Bipartisan Outrage as EPA, White House Try to Cover Up Chemical Health Assessment
By Michael Halpern, Union of Concerned Scientists Citing a potential “public relations nightmare,” the Trump administration successfully stopped the publication of a study measuring the health effects of a group of hazardous chemicals found in drinking water and household products throughout the United States. Many of the contaminated sites are on military bases across the country and […]
The U.S. Must Ban Asbestos – With No Exemption
By Linda Reinstein, Environmental Working Group Fifty-five nations have banned all uses of asbestos. Shockingly, the U.S. isn’t one of them. The nation’s new toxics law gives the Environmental Protection Agency the power to completely ban the notorious killer, but the chemical industry is pushing for continued exemptions for some uses. The EPA is expected […]
Public Citizen Urges the Senate to Vote Against Corporate Lawyer to Join Product Safety Agency
By Bret Thompson, Public Citizen It may seem counterintuitive to appoint an individual to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) who was spent her professional career defending corporations against consumer safety complaints. Yet, this is exactly what President Donald Trump has done by nominating Dana Baiocco to the CPSC. The mission of the CPSC […]
Turnabout Is Fair Play on the Net Neutrality CRA
By Amit Narang, Public Citizen This Congress has embodied Mick Mulvaney’s frank admission to Wall Street lobbyists that “pay to play” still is the name of the game on Capitol Hill, and the Republicans’ use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) has played a big role. Republican use of this once obscure law has been unprecedented, reckless, irresponsible and […]
Back to Bad Air: The Trump EPA’s Attack on Science and Our Health
By Gretchen Goldman, Union of Concerned Scientists Most Americans wake up and breathe comfortably every day because we’ve enjoyed decades of strong science-based clean air policies. These policies limit the emissions from cities, cars, factories and more to keep the air clean and free from most harmful air pollutants. When he was first appointed, EPA […]