Threshold for harmful chemicals in drinking water lower than thought, study shows

A government study found that chemicals found in drinking water around the country could pose risks to human health at lower levels than the government currently recognizes, potentially opening the door for more states to begin cleaning up or regulating the chemical. The report released Wednesday by a branch of Health and Human Services examined a category of chemicals commonly called PFAS that have been used to make non-stick products, firefighting foam and water-repellant coatings.

White House pitches merging education and labor as part of streamlining, drawing skepticism

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, flanked by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, gives a presentation on proposals to consolidate executive agencies as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington Thursday. The Trump administration proposed a major reorganization of the federal government on Thursday, calling for merging the education and labor departments, moving the federal food stamp program to the Department of Health and Human Services and renaming that agency.

SCOTUS Punts Partisan Gerrymanders; Outrage Grows Over Trump…

THE BRAD BLOG IS STILL FREE FOR ALL! HELP US KEEP IT THAT WAY IN OUR 15TH YEAR! Just a glimpse of what happened over the past week via the eyes of the world's political cartoonists, as one of them lost his job this week for being too critical of Donald J. Trump... GOPers turning on Pruitt; Antarctica's ice melting 3x times faster; DNC bans fossil fuel donations; Flooding doubled over last 30 yrs; PLUS: Energy Dept: E-cars cheapest to drive... Trump's G7 debacle over climate; CA electric co. faulted for deadly fires; EPA overhauls cost-benefit analyses; PLUS : Growing movement to ban single-use plastics... Also: SCOTUS approves radical OH vote purge scheme; L.A. won't rule out hacking in 'print error' that left 118k off rolls; Callers ring in... 'PDiddie' features several recent toons by award-winning staff cartoonist Rob Rogers which were, remarkably enough, spiked by the paper's new RW ... (more)

The Unsinkable Scott Pruitt?

Conservatives crave sticking their middle fingers in the faces of their real or perceived ideological adversaries. To that end, one can't help wondering if the reason Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt-surely among the top five names on any list of the most corrupt Cabinet members in United States history-still has a job is because Trump knows that Pruitt's continued presence in his position serves as a constant irritant to progressives.

Farmers in Trump country protest Pruitt’s ethanol policies

Deep in the heart of Trump country, Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt is being met with protests by farmers and ethanol producers concerned that he is undermining the industry with his strong support of oil and gas. Their unhappiness is being broadcast on billboards, at rallies and in meetings the EPA chief is holding during a tour of heartland states, and comes as Pruitt battles a series of allegations of ethical misconduct back in Washington.

Ex-EPA aides: Old queries had priority

Three former aides to Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt confirmed to congressional investigators that the EPA delayed producing emails and other government documents sought by members of the public through open-records requests by choosing to first respond to old petitions made during the Barack Obama administration. The "first in, first out" tactic for requests made through the Freedom of Information Act is seen as yet another example of the EPA restricting what records make their way into the public eye since Pruitt has taken office.

OSHA to provide grace period for good-faith silica rule compliance

General industry and maritime employers making good-faith efforts to comply with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's silica regulation could avoid citations during the first 30 days after the agency begins enforcing the rule. The Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica rule reduces the permissible exposure limit for crystalline silica over an eight-hour shift to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for the construction industry, one-fifth of the previous maximum, as well as for general industry and the maritime industry at half of the previous maximum.

Criminal probe of Pruitt sought

House Democrats on Friday formally requested that the Justice Department investigate Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt for potential criminal conduct. In a letter to FBI Director Chris Wray and Justice criminal division chief John Cronan, six Democratic lawmakers with oversight of Pruitt's agency allege that he repeatedly violated federal anti-corruption laws by seeking to leverage his government position for personal gain.

House Democrats seek criminal corruption probe of EPA’s Pruitt

House Democrats on Friday formally requested that the Justice Department investigate Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt for potential criminal conduct. In a letter to FBI Director Chris Wray and Justice criminal division chief John Cronan, six Democratic lawmakers with oversight of Pruitt's agency allege he repeatedly violated federal anti-corruption laws by seeking to leverage his government position for personal gain.

Ted Cruz Says Imperiled Biofuel Overhaul Plan Not Dead

A day after a tentative agreement to overhaul U.S. biofuel policy appeared to collapse amid farm-state concerns, EPA chief Scott Pruitt met to discuss the issue with the lead senator pushing for the changes: Ted Cruz. Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, declined to comment on the June 6 meeting, but Cruz said it included discussion about the Renewable Fuel Standard and had been planned well before reports June 4 that a White House-brokered accord was unraveling.

Pruitt aide resigns after she describes personal errands

Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt laughed off questions about whether he used his office to try to help his wife get a "business opportunity" with Chick-fil-A, while a close aide abruptly resigned amid new ethics allegations against her boss. Pruitt said in a statement Wednesday that his scheduling director, Millan Hupp, 26, had resigned.

EPA head laughs off Chick-fil-A questions; senior aide quits

Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt laughed off questions Wednesday about whether he used his office to try to help his wife get a "business opportunity" with Chick-fil-A, while a close aide abruptly resigned amid new ethics allegations against her boss. Pruitt said in a statement that his scheduling director, Millan Hupp, 26, had resigned.

Vowing to ‘Padlock Revolving Door’ in DC, Warren Teases New Anti-Corruption Legislation

"Change is coming," Sen. Elizabeth Warren declared Tuesday at a War on Regulations symposium hosted by the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards and Georgetown University Law School. In her live-streamed speech, Warren revealed plans to introduce anti-corruption legislation to protect the American public from the Trump administration's corporate-friendly deregulatory agenda.

Scott Pruitt asked his government aide to help with wife’s bid

'He was a scumbag': Arizona 'serial killer' slammed the Jon-Benet Ramsey psychiatrist for helping his ex-wife's divorce case against him and criticized the criminal justice system in bizarre YouTube rants Dark side of life on a superyacht: It's the dream of countless young people to see the world working on the boats of the rich but the reality can be slave conditions and even mysterious deaths for which no one is held responsible Scott Pruitt used his government aide to ask the boss of Chick-Fil-A to meet his wife because she wanted to run a franchise location EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt sought to buy a used version of a mattress that retails for a $1,399 for a Queen size and $1,750 for king-sized version She told investigators she also booked personal flights for Pruitt and searched for a D.C. apartment for him, at times during government hours Pruitt is under investigation for ... (more)

EPA staffer ran errands for Pruitt, looked into buying mattress from Trump hotel

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before a Senate Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget estimates and justification for FY2019 for the Environmental Protection Agency on Capitol Hill last month.

Aide: EPA’s Pruitt sought used Trump-hotel mattress Source: AP

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Aide: EPA’s Pruitt sought used Trump hotel mattress

In this file photo, Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, left, and President Donald Trump are shown in the Rose Garden of the White House on June 1, 2017, when Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate pact. less In this file photo, Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, left, and President Donald Trump are shown in the Rose Garden of the White House on June 1, 2017, when Trump announced the ... more In this Nov. 14, 2017 file photo, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., questions Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Let’s Get Rid of The Ethanol Mandate, Not Reform It

In recent months, a number of proposals have been put forward to reduce the cost and complexity of complying with the Renewable Fuels Standard that requires American oil refiners and importers to blend biofuels, mainly corn ethanol, into gasoline and diesel fuel. Established more than a decade ago as part of two pieces of energy legislation, the RFS mandates that the Environmental Protection Agency set a blending target for ethanol each year.

Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research to “Hold”

According to Zacks, "Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. is engaged in providing management and technology consulting services to the U.S. government in the defense, intelligence and civil markets. Technological services offered by the Company include Cyber technologies, SE&I, Systems development and Strategic technology and innovation.