Laws & Regulations

"Joshua Tree National Park will remain open during the government shutdown after officials moved to use park fees to avert the planned closure."

"Fiat Chrysler Automobiles agreed Thursday to a settlement with U.S. regulators and other plaintiffs that could cost the automaker roughly $800 million to resolve allegations that it cheated on emissions tests."

"In a rare rebuke, the United Nations has instructed Canada to suspend construction of the Site C dam on B.C.’s Peace River until the project obtains the “free, prior and informed consent” of Indigenous peoples."

"The Food and Drug Administration has stopped routine food safety inspections of seafood, fruits, vegetables and many other foods at high risk of contamination because of the federal government’s shutdown, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the agency’s commissioner, said on Wednesday."

"U.S. President Donald Trump cannot withhold disaster relief once an emergency has been declared, federal statutes show, despite the Republican’s tweet on Wednesday that he had ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cease helping victims of last year’s California wildfires."

"Big-box retailers such as Lowe’s and Home Depot have already dropped it amid a public outcry over fatalities".

"The two-week-old shutdown has halted one of the federal government’s most important public health activities, the inspections of chemical factories, power plants, oil refineries, water treatment plants, and thousands of other industrial sites for pollution violations."

"At the spot where a rugged chain of islands breaks away from the Alaska Peninsula, a secluded national refuge protects millions of seabirds, grizzly bears and caribou."

"The last time Democrats were in charge of the House, the first iPad had just been released and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was fresh on everyone's minds.

Since then, there has been significant turnover, not the least of which was the 40-seat blue wave that propelled Democrats into the majority this Congress.

New chairmen and chairwomen are taking the gavels controlling the legislative and oversight agendas for the next two years, at least."

"The House passed a bill to extend an expiring chemical facility security program, with Democrats and Republicans hoping to buy time for negotiations on its future."