Trump Legislation helps Big Energy while Destroying the Environment
Undoubtedly, people have seen the many executive orders signed by President Trump, but what legislation has he signed? The complete list of signed legislation can be found here on the White House website. (1) The list is surprisingly short. As of March 14, 2017, there are only 5 signed pieces of legislation.
H.R.609 - To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs health care center in Center Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, as the "Abie Abraham VA Clinic". The name change is meant to honor a World War II veteran and war hero. He passed away in 2012 and was certainly deserving of the name change. (2) Moving on…
H.J.Res.38 - Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule. This joint resolution nullifies the Stream Protection Rule finalized by the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on December 20, 2016. The rule addresses the impacts of surface coal mining operations on surface water, groundwater, and the productivity of mining operation sites. (3)
The Department of the Interior’s Stream Protection Rule was one of the last pieces of legislation to be approved during President Obama’s term and was meant to protect our water supply from industrial pollution. Naturally, one of the first actions taken by the Trump administration was to nullify this protection. After all, no one likes clean drinking water. H.J.Res.38 follows a dangerous, yet common, way of thinking about industrial regulation within the Republican Party. Republicans deem industry regulations written to protect the environment as too restrictive, costly to industries and job killers. A regulation that increases the operating costs of an industry that is polluting our environment is a positive step towards protecting our environment and health. By observing and setting limits to the levels of pollution an industry produces, it forces them to find cleaner, more sustainable methods of production. As jobs shrink in industries that create large quantities of pollutants, those workers should work towards acquiring new skills that are marketable in a changing economy. If companies don’t evolve with a changing market, they go bankrupt. Likewise, workers that do not develop skills that are marketable in an ever-changing economy will be jobless and possibly bankrupt. Regulation is not the enemy of progress, and progress does not need to be the enemy of the environment. Stricter environmental regulations combined with tax incentives for industries and technologies that are sustainable and environmentally friendly are sound economic policy.
H.J.Res.41 - Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to "Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers." Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to ``Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers'' (published at 81 Fed. Reg. 49359 (July 27, 2016)), and such rule shall have no force or effect. (4) Here is a brief description of the rule that was nullified by H.J.Res.41, according the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website:
Washington D.C., June 27, 2016—
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced it adopted rules to require resource extraction issuers to disclose payments made to governments for the commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals. The rules, mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, are intended to further the statutory objective to advance U.S. foreign policy interests by promoting greater transparency about payments related to resource extraction.
The final rules require an issuer to disclose payments made to the U.S. federal government or a foreign government if the issuer engages in the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals and is required to file annual reports with the Commission under the Securities Exchange Act. The issuer must also disclose payments made by a subsidiary or entity controlled by the issuer. (5)
H.J.Res.41 nullifies the 2016 SEC regulation which was designed to “promote transparency about payments related to resource extraction,” including payments made to the US government and payments made to foreign governments. By nullifying this SEC regulation, the Trump administration clears the way for foreign money and influence to roll unchecked into the United States energy market. It also allows US dollars to be paid to foreign governments to invest in resource extraction in other countries, but companies are no longer required to report how much money was paid or to what country it was paid. Essentially, energy companies may do business with anyone, including our enemies, and are not required to report that business. They are able to sell our resources to anyone, including our enemies and are not required to report that business. This will increase global environmental damage by continuing to promote the extraction of fossil fuels worldwide. It will undoubtedly increase corruption by reducing transparency and allowing money from corrupt, enemy states to flow through our economy. This is another example of the Trump philosophy: Industry before environment, and Money over ethics.
H.R.72 - GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2017. According to www.govtrack.us, this law gives the Government Accountability Office increased ability to “analyze and investigate federal expenditures.” It increases transparency and makes it easier for the GAO to “file a civil action in court to obtain the records or documents.” The website continues, “The bill passed in the House only a day after it was introduced, by a voice vote where individual votes aren’t recorded. While we don’t know the individual House votes, a version of the legislation passed the previous House by a unanimous 404–0, though it never received a vote in the Senate at the time. This year’s version passed the Senate unanimously 99–0, after attracting 18 cosponsors: 12 Republicans and six Democrats.” (6)
At first glance, this seems like a good idea. Our government wastes an incredible amount of money through bureaucracy, redundancy, corruption, special interests, incompetence, and a list of offenses that is too long to put here. However, if we consider the stated intentions of the Trump administration to rollback regulations and abolish the Environmental Protection Agency, it becomes apparent that he will use the GAO to justify his destruction of the EPA for the sake of big business. Trump has put a climate-change denier, Scott Pruitt, in charge of the agency. As reported in a January 27, 2017 Time Magazine article, “The EPA has been roiled by turmoil during its first week under Trump, as members of the transition team issued what is has described as a temporary freeze on all contract approvals and grant awards,” effectively stopping the EPA’s work in its tracks. Myron Ebell, the former head of the Trump transition team at the EPA stated that Trump is likely to seek “significant reductions to the agency’s workforce.” Ebell recommended Trump cut the 15,000-person EPA workforce by half. (7) Trump will use the GAO selectively to target agencies like the EPA. He will cut their budget and workforce rendering them ineffective. While the EPA is lying on the mat, major industries will increase pollution to our environment unchecked and unpunished, while experiencing record-breaking profits.
S.84 - A bill to provide for an exception to a limitation against appointment of persons as Secretary of Defense within seven years of relief from active duty as a regular commissioned officer of the Armed Forces. (8) The seven year limitation is used to maintain civilian leadership of the military and is meant to be a check against military power within the government. If the civilian leadership of a nation holds less power than the military, then military coups become a real possibility, or more likely a rabidly hawkish agenda that embroils the United States in an ever-growing and never-ending series of military conflicts which increasingly produce no tangible results. The Trump administration has appointed many military personnel to important posts, including the Secretary of Defense, General James N. Mattis (the reason for S.84), Secretary of Homeland Security, General John F. Kelly, and National Security Advisor, General Michael T. Flynn who was forced to resign and was replaced by General H.R. McMaster. Be prepared for multiple spending bills to finance increased military actions around the world.
7- http://time.com/4651407/trump-wants-to-slash-the-epas-workforce-and-budget-transition-official-says/
