This administration is focused on using any means available to invalidate public health protections that took years to develop. Read more >

President Trump is About to Give a Speech That Directly Undermines Science
September 29, 2017 1:09 PM EDT

Who Not to Pick for the EPA’s Science Advisory Board
September 26, 2017 3:27 PM EDT
In its effort to fill fifteen positions on the Science Advisory Board, the EPA has posted a list of 132 nominees to be a part of the esteemed EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB is a group of over forty scientists, experts in a range of disciplines, who provide peer review and expert advice on EPA issue areas.
While many of the nominees are highly qualified and distinguished in their fields, there are a handful of individuals that are extremely concerning due to their direct financial conflicts, their lack of experience and/or their historical opposition to the work of the EPA in advancing its mission to protect public health and the environment.
One of Many Risks of the Regulatory Accountability Act: Flawed Risk Assessment Guidelines
May 16, 2017 4:50 PM EDT
Tomorrow, the Senate will begin marking up Senator Rob Portman’s version of the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), which my colleague Yogin wrote a primer about last week. This bill is an attempt to impose excessive burdens on every federal agency to freeze the regulatory process or otherwise tie up important science-based rules in years of judicial review. Read more >

5 Reasons Why the Regulatory Accountability Act is Bad for Science
May 9, 2017 5:47 PM EDT
Last week, Senator Rob Portman introduced his version of the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), a bill that would significantly disrupt our science-based rulemaking process. A version of this inherently flawed, impractical proposal has been floating around Washington for nearly seven years now, and the latest, S. 951, is just as troubling as previous iterations. Read more >
Why Senator Lankford’s “BEST Act” Is Really the Worst for Federal Science
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 >