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September 10, 2024

Toni Aguilar Rosenthal

Blog Post Independent AgenciesProject 2025

Independent Agency Spotlight Update September 2024

Since our last update on May 23, 2024, we have seen an encouraging amount of new nominees emerging from the White House. Many of these nominations, thankfully, address long standing expirations, vacancies, and partisan gridlocks that have long defined the 40 independent agencies that we track. That said, few confirmations emerged from the Senate this summer, and we continue to advocate for simple, common sense, Senate rule changes to hasten the confirmation process and to aid in the staffing and fuel basic functionality of the federal government.

September 06, 2024 | The American Prospect

Toni Aguilar Rosenthal

Op-Ed

Climate and EnvironmentIndustry Influence

Corporate Polluters Still Want to Kill California’s Clean Air Regulations

The Clean Air Act (CAA) has been fiercely opposed by polluters and their allies since its passage in 1970. Industry has never quite stopped fighting to prevent the government from protecting American lives and communities at the expense of even a bit of their profits. But over the past few years, opposition to the law has reached new feverish heights. Multiple cases seeking to gut the CAA have been filed by (or with the support of) oil and gas organizations, their dark-money front groups, and their political allies since 2022. 

September 03, 2024

Hannah Story Brown

Blog Post

Climate and EnvironmentEthics in GovernmentRevolving Door

Political Appointees Need A Bright Line Ethics Rule: No Individual Stocks

The Revolving Door Project has previously proposed that the Biden administration pass an executive order enshrining a strongest-ever ethics commitment for executive branch political appointees. Among other things, this commitment would include a pledge not to own individual stocks while in public office. A new Inspector General report on the ethical minefield of a high-level EPA appointee who owns dozens of individual companies’ stocks demonstrates why this sort of simple, clear ethics rule is essential for increasing trust in government.

September 03, 2024

Toni Aguilar Rosenthal

Newsletter

Climate and EnvironmentIndustry Influence

Newsletter 227: How The Auto Lobby Spent Eight Figures Crying Wolf About Regulations

If Shondaland is ever looking to do a “How To Get Away With Murder” spin-off, we would humbly propose a remake about the lobbyists pushing to preserve lead pipes and forever chemicals in our water, to keep fracking near homes and schools, to keep power plants burning coal and gas, to keep car tailpipes polluting, and so on.