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No Cake (or Clean Water, Air, Environment) for Wildlife!
Don’t let Congress “celebrate” EPA’s founding by taking away its gifts.
Don't let the Regulatory Accountability Act spoil the fun as the Environmental Protection Agency turns 47. Sea otter photo by Jim Pfeiffenberger/NPS.
On the campaign trail and even since his election, President Donald Trump claimed to want to preserve “clean air and crystal clean water” for all Americans. But apparently his transition team’s briefing papers didn’t clue him in that the agency charged with protecting clean air and water (among providing many other vital environmental and public health safeguards that benefit people and wildlife) is the Environmental Protection Agency, about to celebrate its 47th year.
Scarily enough, Trump put the fox in charge of the hen house by appointing Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt at the helm. Pruitt hasn’t met an environmental protection measure he likes, therefore it is of utmost urgency that the U.S. Senate reject a bill that would give Pruitt and the special interests he answers to all the tools they need to ensure a dismantling of the nation’s agency in charge of your safe drinking water, breathable air and fishable waters.
The Regulatory Accountability Act: A Trojan Horse
A deceivingly named and sneakily marketed bill, The Regulatory Accountability Act, claims to be a “moderate” bill that “shines light” on the regulatory process. This Trojan horse bill actually creates layers upon layers of bureaucracy that put profit over people, a slowing of the brakes in getting the rules and regulations on the books that are needed to protect wildlife and public health, while making it harder for the public at large to weigh in, especially on any measures that might result in “economic hardship” for industry.
Take Action Contact your members of Congress to tell them to OPPOSE the Regulatory Accountability Act.
We understand the frustration with what can feel like burdensome bureaucracy, but this bill is bureaucrazy. Instead of making it easier to ensure America never again experiences a water crisis like Flint, Michigan, instead of making it easier to finally ban cancer-causing products such as asbestos, instead of making it easier to protect fish, wildlife and the habitats they rely on, the Regulatory Accountability Act first guts a framework meant to keep us safe and then puts economics before public health.
Science Out; Politics In
The Regulatory Accountability Act takes the science out of decisions and puts the politics in. And the politics don’t have a good track record of putting wildlife and people first. At a time when the earth is already in peril, rolling back the few safeguards Americans have to fight back is unacceptable. Here are three reasons to oppose the bill:
If you like to hunt, fish or enjoy the outdoors, the bill will impose 53 new rulemaking requirements.
If you like not thinking too hard about whether the water you drink is safe, the bill will put science on trial by requiring federal agencies to hold adversarial hearings where corporate interests cross-examine scientists.
If you are concerned about code red air quality days, the bill will prioritize business profits over public health.
On the eve of the Environmental Protection Agency’s birthday, don’t let Congress blow out the agency’s – and wildlife’s – candles.
For more details on the Regulatory Accountability Act, read our factsheet.
