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Will Biden’s scientific integrity memo help whistleblowers?

by E&E News | February 12, 2021
“When President Biden last month issued a memo meant to fortify scientific integrity, science groups and environmentalists rejoiced over the beginning of a new era: Government scientists would no longer be punished for doing their jobs. But one Seattle-based microbiologist was not ...

Endangered Florida panther’s fight for survival takes a big hit

by The News-Press | February 10, 2021
“It turns out the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service accepted money for staffing costs from a private entity — the Eastern Collier Property Owners – which, as many readers may know, has a permit application the federal agency is currently reviewing. The arrangement was first reported ...

Environmentalists Praise EPA Decision To Freeze Trump PFAS Proposal

by Inside EPA | February 10, 2021
“Environmentalists are hailing EPA’s decision to freeze and review an 11th-hour proposal by the Trump EPA that dropped a prior commitment to designate two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law and instead said the agency ...

Bricks thrown at police, tear gas shopping lists: What a lawsuit reveals about Lafayette Square protests

by WUSA9 | February 5, 2021
“Since June 2020, WUSA9 has been tracking which federal police agency fired tear gas canisters at Lafayette Park protesters. Emails obtained in a public records lawsuit filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) highlight previously unknown details of the U.S. ...

Democrats Reintroduce Bill to Protect Employees Who Blow the Whistle on COVID Funds Misuse

by Government Executive | February 5, 2021
“House and Senate Democrats reintroduced legislation on Thursday to bolster whistleblower protections for employees of business and entities that received federal coronavirus relief funds. The American Civil Liberties Union, ACORN 8 (a watchdog organization), Government ...

Legislation Introduced to Protect Whistleblowers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

by East County Today | February 5, 2021
“Today, Representatives Jackie Speier (CA-14) and Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced H.R. 846, The COVID-19 Whistleblower Protection Act to establish strong whistleblower protections for the employees of entities that receive federal COVID-19 relief ...

Labor and Environmental Groups Optimistic Biden’s EPA Pick Can Rebuild Trust

by Government Executive | February 4, 2021
“Environmental groups and the largest union representing Environmental Protection Agency employees expressed optimism following a confirmation hearing Wednesday that President Biden’s pick to lead the EPA will bring back scientific integrity and trust at the agency. If confirmed, ...

Biden shores up scientific integrity across US agencies

by Research Professional News | February 4, 2021
“US president Joe Biden has ordered a wide-ranging review of scientific integrity across government agencies, including looking for evidence of “improper political interference” in research. But the Biden administration has already come under scrutiny for its commitment to ...

US Forest Service mismanaged Tongass timber sales, report says

by Alaska Public Radio | February 3, 2021
“An internal audit by the U.S. Forest Service said the federal agency mismanaged two Southeast Alaska timber sales, costing taxpayers around $2 million, failing to outline environmental restoration work, and potentially violating conflict-of-interest rules, among other findings. The ...

Timber audit highlights problems on two Tongass sales

by KFSK | February 2, 2021
“An internal audit by the U.S. Forest Service says the federal agency mismanaged two timber sales. The report blames pressure to meet timber harvest targets. The result was it cost taxpayers around $2 million, failed to outline planned restoration work and potentially violated ...

Vilsack faces senators this week and a new political reality

by E&E News | February 1, 2021
“For Tom Vilsack, being confirmed as the Biden administration’s agriculture secretary may prove the easiest part of the job ahead. One group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said Vilsack’s record on scientific integrity isn’t encouraging, a ...

Audit finds mismanaged Tongass timber contracts

by E&E News | February 1, 2021
“Pressure to meet timber sales goals contributed to mismanaged contracts on Alaska’s Tongass National Forest and a $700,000 refund to a timber sale purchaser, a Forest Service audit found. The environmental groups Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the ...

Audit reveals Tongass timber sales mismanaged

by KINY Radio | February 1, 2021
“That’s according to a release from the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council which says the audit was obtained via a lawsuit filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and a Freedom of Information request it filed. Sally Schlichting is a policy analyst for ...

Biden environmental challenge: Filling vacant scientist jobs

by Star Tribune | January 30, 2021
“The ranks of scientists who carry out environmental research, enforcement and other jobs fell in several agencies — sharply in some — under former President Donald Trump, federal data shows. Veteran staffers say many retired, quit or moved to other agencies amid pressure from an ...

Amid Broader Concerns Over Biden USDA Nominee, Watchdog Flags ‘Disturbing Suppression’ of Science by Vilsack

by Common Dreams | January 29, 2021
“On top of concerns about his close industry ties, corporate-friendly policy record, and alarming civil rights history, President Joe Biden’s Agriculture Secretary nominee Tom Vilsack is also facing scrutiny over what one watchdog organization on Friday characterized as “ ...

Cornyn, Booker Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Help Prevent Future Pandemics

by Texas GOP Vote | January 27, 2021
“U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and I along with Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Tom Carper (D-DE) today reintroduced our Preventing Future Pandemics Act, a bipartisan bill that would direct the State Department to work with international partners to shut down commercial wildlife ...

Money and Politics Could Doom the Florida Panther — and the Endangered Species Act

by The Intercept | January 24, 2021
“Florida’s Collier County is a place of conflict and contradiction. Its southeastern flank features sprawling public landscapes like Big Cypress National Preserve, that wild redoubt of rare orchids and alligator wallows. Its western edge is home to some of the state’s most ...

Sanctions in Lawsuit Over PCBs in California Schools Vacated

by Bloomberg Law | January 22, 2021
“Sanctions imposed on organizations that tested caulk taken from California schools without permission for chemicals known as PCBs should be reconsidered, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday. There are “insufficient grounds” for finding that the testing was done in bad faith, even if ...

Bipartisan coalition reintroducing House legislation to prevent insider trading

by Augusta Free Press | January 22, 2021
“Seventh District Democrat Abigail Spanberger is reintroducing legislation to prevent insider trading by members of Congress. The bipartisan TRUST in Congress Act has been endorsed by many key advocacy and government accountability organizations, including the Project on Government ...

Legislators plan to introduce PFAS bills in both houses

by The Cordova Times | January 21, 2021
“Sen. Jesse Kiehl and Rep. Sara Hannan, both D-Juneau, say they plan to introduce bills during the current legislative session to protect Alaskans from adverse health impacts of unregulated toxin substances. On Friday, Jan. 15, the EPA acknowledged that the agency has found toxic ...
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