Prominent Republicans Push for Carbon Tax
Well-known conservative members of the Climate Leadership Council have issued a short paper urging Congress and the White House to develop a tax on industry carbon emissions.
Tag: Trump Administration
White House Orders on Clean Water Rule: Repeal or Revise
The Clean Water Rule (CWR, June 29, 2015, Federal Register), one of the two signature environmental actions of the Obama Administration, has been officially placed on President Trump’s chopping block. In an Executive Order (EO), the president directed the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the two agencies that wrote the CWR, to rescind […]
White House Issues Second EO on Regulatory Reform
President Trump has followed up on his January 31, 2017, Executive Order (EO) regarding offsetting the number and cost of new regulations with a second EO that implements and enforces the first EO, as well as regulatory-reform EOs issued by previous administrations.
Will Pruitt Lift EPA’s Restriction on the Use of E15?
Five Republican senators from ethanol-producing states are hoping Scott Pruitt, EPA’s new administrator, will lift the current Agency restriction on the use of E15 (fuel that is 85 percent gasoline and 15 percent ethanol) from June 1 to September 15. The restriction is intended to lower evaporative emissions during the summer months to control the […]
Congress Trying to Amend Ballast Program
Legislation to amend the current regime of state and federal rules to control vessel ballast discharges has been reintroduced in both houses of Congress. The Senate version of the bill—the Commercial Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (S.168)—was first introduced in 2014 by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mark Begich, the former Democratic senator for Alaska. The […]
Stream Protection Rule Is History
With remarkable efficiency, less than 1 month after inauguration, Congress and President Trump came together to nullify the Stream Protection Rule (SPR, December 20, 2016, Federal Register), a major regulatory action 6 years in the making at the Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
Pruitt Clears Senate to Become EPA Administrator
On Friday, February 17, the Senate voted 52-46 to approve President Trump’s nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the EPA. Upon being sworn in, Pruitt will take the helm of an Agency he sued at least 12 times as AG, primarily alleging that the EPA issued rules that exceeded the Agency’s […]
Science, Politics, and the EPA
News media have reported that President Trump will issue a new executive order to further limit some as yet unnamed additional aspect of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) powers. The president has already frozen the effective dates of dozens of EPA rules and also silenced most of the social networking of EPA staff.
Calling Future Safety Pros
Are you looking for a career in workplace safety? If you are not, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is trying to persuade you to turn your career aspirations toward safety. Armed with numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the DOL is painting a compelling picture. Let’s take a look.
Labor Nominee Withdraws; Trump Names New Pick
Andrew Puzder, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, withdrew his name from consideration for the position. In his place, Trump has nominated R. Alexander Acosta, dean of the law school at Florida International University. Puzder released the following statement: “After careful consideration and discussions with my family, I am withdrawing my nomination for Secretary […]