FOIA is under fire. And for journalists who rely on open records to do their work, the coming year may prove a crucial test of policies at key federal agencies on the beat. This special WatchDog TipSheet takes a deep dive on looming FOIA controversies at Interior and EPA, flagging potential flashpoints for 2020.
"A historic graveyard in Texas lies within the barrier’s 150ft ‘enforcement zone’ the government has said it plans to raze".
"The EPA would get $9.06 billion in the current fiscal year ending next September under a spending bill that Congress will vote on this week.
The agency would receive $208 million more in fiscal 2020 than the current $8.8 billion budget. That’s nearly $3 billion more than President Donald Trump’s budget request, but less than the $9.53 billion offered in the House bill that passed the chamber in June. It’s similar to the levels in the Senate-passed bill."
"When it comes to testing toilets, it turns out the appropriate substitute for human feces is miso paste. That's what EPA uses to ensure that commodes earning its WaterSense efficiency label flush effectively."
"White House hopeful Michael Bloomberg on Friday unveiled his plan to combat climate change, setting a series of deadlines he would meet to curb emissions."
"New documents reveal that the Trump administration has let a mining company take on a major role in writing the environmental report that is key to getting its Idaho gold mine project government approval, the Idaho Statesman reports."
"Days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced her support for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade, nine environmental groups wrote to lawmakers urging them to vote against its passage."
"In what was widely denounced as one of the worst outcomes in a quarter-century of climate negotiations, United Nations talks ended early Sunday morning with the United States and other big polluters blocking even a nonbinding measure that would have encouraged countries to adopt more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions next year.
"The 16-year-old climate activist changed her Twitter biography to read, “a teenager working on her anger management problem,” after the president tossed that accusation at her."
"The Senate today [Thursday] confirmed Aurelia Skipwith as director of the Fish and Wildlife Service on a mostly party-line vote of 52 to 39."
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