public protections


A shell game
Photo: emilykbecker/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (Flickr)

Competitive Enterprise Institute Counts Costs But Not Benefits of Safeguards—and Hopes You Won’t Notice

, Washington representative, Center for Science and Democracy

April 19, 2018 8:02 AM EDT

Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released another misleading “study” about the “costs” of regulation (read: science-based safeguards, public protections) while virtually ignoring the benefits. They do this every year because some reporters fall for it and it confirms what some elected officials and editorial boards want to believe. Policymakers and the public would be best served by ignoring the latest edition of this report that is nothing more than propaganda to promote the rolling back of science-based safeguards that protect public health, safety, and environment. Read more >

Photo: emilykbecker/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (Flickr)
Bookmark and Share

The Regulatory Accountability Act Subverts Science and Must Be Stopped

, Deputy director, Center for Science & Democracy

April 26, 2017 11:04 AM EDT

Today, just four days after hundreds of thousands of people marched for science, the Senate introduced a bill that would substitute politics for scientific judgment in every decision the government makes about public health and the environment. If enacted, the legislation would cripple the government’s ability to effectively carry out laws that protect us, putting everyone at more risk, especially communities of color and low-income communities that are more exposed to threats. Read more >

Bookmark and Share

Why Senator Lankford’s “BEST Act” Is Really the Worst for Federal Science

, Washington representative, Center for Science and Democracy

April 3, 2017 5:22 PM EDT

A few weeks ago, Sen. James Lankford (OK) introduced legislation called the “Better Evaluation of Science and Technology Act,” or “BEST Act” for short. The proposal takes the scientific standards language from the recently updated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and applies it to the Administrative Procedures Act (which governs all federal rulemaking). Sen. Lankford claims the BEST Act would guarantee that federal agencies use the best available science to protect public health, safety, the environment, and more.

Nice sound bite, right? Read more >

Bookmark and Share

Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury, “Galileo before the Holy Office” (1847)
Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury, “Galileo before the Holy Office” (1847)

The Inquisition Congress, Abetted by Trump, Has Begun

, Deputy director, Center for Science & Democracy

January 6, 2017 3:54 PM EDT

The increasingly reckless House of Representatives, caught up in a public mutiny, may have walked back its abandonment of congressional ethics. But it simultaneously took several other steps that will enable corruption and greatly expand political influence over the work of experts at NASA, NOAA, EPA, and other science agencies, compromising their ability to serve the public interest. Read more >

Bookmark and Share

Photo: USCapitol/Flickr

Attacking Science in Week One: How Congress is Trying to Dismantle Public Protections

, Washington representative, Center for Science and Democracy

January 3, 2017 3:15 PM EDT

You may have heard that Congress is back in session this week. The House of Representatives started off by trying to eviscerate their own independent ethics watchdog behind closed doors on a national holiday. The public noticed, raised hell, and forced the chamber to reverse course. But the absurdity in the House continues. Read more >

Bookmark and Share