[ [link removed] ]Stop Trump's EPA from hiding information from the public
The petition to the Senate reads:
"Support the Open and Responsive Government Act of 2019 to ensure that the
public can access information in the way the Freedom of Information Act
intended."
Add your name:
[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition ►
Dear John,
[ [link removed] ]Stop Trump's EPA from
hiding information from
the public
If a new rule by Donald Trump's industry-friendly EPA stays in effect, the
public's ability to shine a light on the Trump administration's backdoor
dealings with Big Oil and polluters could remain in the dark.
The climate deniers and industry insiders packed into the EPA are fighting
to keep public records secret in order to gut environmental protections
and enrich the industries that are destroying communities and exacerbating
the climate crisis.
New bipartisan legislation in the Senate called the Open and Responsive
Government Act of 2019 would safeguard Freedom of Information Act requests
and ensure the public’s right to information. We must build public support
for this legislation to protect our right to know and expose the
corruption in the Trump administration.
[ [link removed] ]Tell the Senate: Support the Open and Responsive Government Act of 2019
now. Click here to sign the petition.
Thanks in part to intrepid journalists and public interest organizations
armed with FOIA requests, we know that Trump has packed his administration
with climate deniers and oil lobbyists, handed public lands over to
extractive industries, scrubbed climate information from public websites
and is waging a war on science. In fact, FOIA requests played a
significant role in the downfall of former disgraced EPA administrator
Scott Pruitt.^1
But Trump's new rule, signed by Andrew Wheeler, current EPA Administrator
and former coal lobbyist, without any public input, would allow a wide
range of political appointees at the agency – many of whom are industry
insiders – to deny requests for public information. The rule would let
them keep their secret deals with the fossil fuel industry away from
public scrutiny.
The rule comes on the heels of a Supreme Court decision that overturned
more than 40 years of FOIA precedent to rule in favor of corporate secrecy
over the public’s right to know. This legislation seeks to undo that
decision as well.^2
With industry and corporate shills filling the Trump administration and
Supreme Court, the Open and Responsive Government Act will start to put
the public's interest ahead of corporate interests. As Meg Townsend, open
government attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, put it, "We
have a right to know what EPA is trying to hide and which Trump appointee
is trying to hide it."^3
Join us and demand that the Senate defends our right to know what the
Trump administration is up to and pass this critical legislation. Click
the link below to sign the petition:
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
Thank you for speaking out,
Heidi Hess, Co-Director
[ [link removed] ]CREDO Action from Working Assets
Add your name:
[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition ►
References:
1. Government Accountability Project, "[ [link removed] ]Whistleblowing, FOIA, and the
Fall of Scott Pruitt," July 16, 2018.
2. Miranda Green, "[ [link removed] ]Bipartisan senators introduce bill to challenge new
EPA policy and Supreme Court ruling on FOIA," The Hill, July 23, 2019.
3. Andrea Germanos, "[ [link removed] ]Challenging EPA's New FOIA Rule, Suit Seeks to
Stop Trump's 'Shameful Attempt to Keep Americans in the Dark,'" Common
Dreams, July 24, 2019.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ [link removed] ]FB [ [link removed] ]Share on Facebook
Post to your wall
[ [link removed] ]Tw [ [link removed] ]Tweet this
Post to Twitter
[1]CREDO action
© 2019 CREDO. All rights reserved.
This email was sent to
[email protected].
To change your email or mailing address, please click here: [link removed]
To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: [link removed]
