The Revolving Door Project is fighting for an executive branch whose every corner is working tirelessly to advance the broad public interest and not to further entrench corporate power. That means scrutinizing the federal government’s highest ranks and applying pressure to keep them free of undue corporate influence. It also means interrogating whether the institutions those political leaders steer have the provisions they need to fulfill their missions.
One-by-one, Revolving Door Project has been considering that question across a wide variety of agencies. Overwhelmingly, it has found that agencies do not have the resources, including the staff, they need to carry out their responsibilities thanks to chronic disinvestment that spans decades. That disinvestment is no accident. Corporate America benefits tremendously when its regulators and enforcers are overburdened and overwhelmed. At every turn, it has pushed for the government to be starved of the resources it needs to combat corporate greed and provide robust public goods.
It’s time for those who believe in the federal government’s power to advance the public interest to fight back. The severe consequences of these shortfalls are evident in everything from climate policy and workplace safety to shipping and taxation. Moreover, as long as they continue, they will threaten the success of bold, new programs. As political leaders advance proposals to reinvigorate existing authorities or create new ones, it is critical that they also act to address this problem.
Read our work on capacity at the following agencies:
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- Department of the Interior (DOI)
- Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division
- Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division
- Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
- Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Food and Drug Administration
- Internal Revenue Service
- National Labor Relations Board
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- In a report and op-ed, Climate Science Capacity at the…
- Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Department of the Interior (DOI)
- National Park Service (NPS)
- United States Geological Service (USGS)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Department of Energy (DOE)
In addition, we have examined capacity and infrastructural issues at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the effects of vacancies in political roles at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and a range of independent agencies.
We will continue to add to this list over the coming months. If there’s a particular agency that you would like to see highlighted, please reach out at [email protected].
Header image: “Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C. 2012” by AuthorBeliever is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0