{"id":15504,"date":"2016-12-19T10:22:10","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T15:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=15504"},"modified":"2016-12-19T10:22:10","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T15:22:10","slug":"congressman-gives-trump-a-plan-to-erase-health-safety-and-environment-safeguards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2016\/12\/19\/congressman-gives-trump-a-plan-to-erase-health-safety-and-environment-safeguards\/","title":{"rendered":"Congressman Gives Trump a Plan to Erase Health, Safety, And Environment Safeguards"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Risk: The Air We Breathe, Water We Drink, and Food We Eat<\/strong><\/p>\n

The conservative House Freedom Caucus has provided President-Elect Trump a \u201crecommended list of regulations to remove.\u201d Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC), chair of the all-Republican Freedom Caucus, identified 228 federal rules they hope Trump will help eliminate.<\/p>\n

Thirty-two of the proposals would roll back safety, health and environmental standards that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and our nation\u2019s infrastructure (from pipelines to airports). By rolling back these regulations, the plan would essentially prevent the agencies responsible for protecting us from doing their job.<\/p>\n

Another 43 proposals are aimed at undermining America\u2019s progress on clean energy and climate change, pushing us away from energy efficiency and renewable energy sources toward more reliance on fossil fuels. This includes eliminating two dozen Department of Energy energy efficiency standards that save families money on energy bills, reduce energy waste, and prevent pollution.<\/p>\n

Environmental Defense Fund has posted a copy<\/a> of the Freedom Caucus document online (first obtained by the Washington Post<\/a>) and added highlights to show the 75 health, safety, environment, and energy rollbacks.<\/p>\n

The leading targets for these attacks are the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy, but other agencies targeted include the Federal Aviation Administration, the State Department, the Department of Interior and others.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s Pick to Lead EPA Is An Added Threat<\/strong><\/p>\n

The danger of this regulatory \u2018kill list\u2019 is compounded by Donald Trump\u2019s picks for key cabinet positions that would traditionally be the first to defend their agencies from political interference. Many of the recommendations are favorites of the fossil fuel lobby, which will have unprecedented power<\/a> in Trump\u2019s cabinet.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s decision to entrust Scott Pruitt<\/a> with running the Environmental Protection Agency is especially dangerous. EPA is responsible for protecting our families from air and water pollution as well as toxic chemicals. Pruitt, however, has repeatedly and systematically teamed up with fossil fuel companies to sue the Environmental Protection Agency to prevent EPA action on regulating toxic mercury, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. In a 2014 investigative report, the New York Times exposed<\/a> Pruitt\u2019s \u201csecretive alliance\u201d with oil and gas companies while Attorney General of Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

Breaking Down the Regulations at Risk<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is a summary of some of the most alarming Freedom Caucus proposals that Pruitt and others in Trump\u2019s cabinet will be looking over. The Freedom Caucus list has inaccuracies, and it seems to be based on the premise that Trump can erase rules with a stroke of the pen in the first 100 days. For most of these, he cannot, because the agencies have responsibilities to implement laws and are subject to oversight by the courts. But that does not mean that these regulations are safe from diversion of funds, lack of enforcement, legislative attacks, and other efforts to weaken them.<\/p>\n

In the following list, the numbers in parentheses match the numbers in the House Freedom Caucus plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n