Deregulation Behind the Scenes

Considering all the attention being paid to President Trump's tweets, much of the real damage being done by his administration, in regards to deregulation of long-standing consumer safeguards, has received little notice.

Take, for instance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The New York Times recently reported that Dr. Nancy Beck, the new director of the EPA's toxic chemical unit has been hard at work pushing to deregulate the use of several toxic chemicals known to inflict significant damage on humans. Dr. Beck joined the EPA after spending five years as an executive at the American Chemical Council - the main chemical trade association in the US. 

Beck's marching orders came from the top down. Scott Pruitt, the EPA's new chief, has already overridden several bans on use of toxic chemicals. Ahead of Pruitt's appointment, Time Magazine ran a blistering take on his past anti-environment stance - which includes lobbying against national mercury standards and limits on ground-level ozone (smog).

The EPA, under the Trump administration, has reversed a proposed ban on outdoor use of chlorphyrifos, a nerve gas pesticide, manufactured by Dow. This same chemical has already been banned for indoor use for 17 years. Nicholas Kristof's op-ed piece offers more details. "So Dow’s Nerve Gas Pesticide will still be used on golf courses, road medians and crops that end up on our plate," Kristoff writes.  "Kids are told to eat fruits and vegetables, but E.P.A. scientists found levels of this pesticide on such foods at up to 140 times the limits deemed safe.

"Remember the brain-damaging lead that was ignored in drinking water in Flint, Mich.? What’s happening under the Trump administration is a nationwide echo of what was permitted in Flint."

The New York Times quoted Dr. Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, the former top EPA official overseeing pesticides and toxic chemical regulations. "It was extremely disturbing to me," she said of Pruitt's actions. "The industry met with EPA political appointees. And then I was asked to change the agency's stand."

Dr. Hamnett, who had spent her entire 38 year career at the EPA, resigned in September, noting, "I had become irrelevant."

The current administration continues to push for more coal mining on public land. According to the Times, the Trump administration reversed a temporary ban on new coal mining leases on public lands and is moving on ways to "rapidly expand" oil and gas drilling in the west.

The head of the Interior Department is Ryan Zinke, who seems to be pro-mining and drilling on public lands. The Times reported that a lobbyist for the coal industry noted "coal will suffer the same fate as cigarettes, unless the industry stood its ground."

All of this stands to reason considering the administration's stance on global warming, as evidenced by pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement. In September, the Trump administration restated its position, adding it is not interested in the Agreement unless it can be re-negotiated.

Even the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may be under fire. The Times has reported that the Justice Department, Treasury Department and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have all issued public statements giving the CFPB the "cold shoulder" Richard Cordray, the current director, will see his term expired in July, 2018. Meanwhile, lobbyists for the financial industry are working to dismantle some of the CFPB's premiere initiatives.

All of this activity goes back to the president's campaign promise to "drain the swamp," and open wide the doors to deregulation.

In February the president signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to form deregulation teams. The Times has been reporting on these efforts, and has stated that "the process is being conducted in large part out of public view often by political appointees with deep industry ties and potential conflicts."

In fact, most government agencies declined to disclose information about their deregulation teams, including who is on them and their past affiliations. So the Times had to use the Freedom of Information Act to request such information.

Long-time consumer advocate Ralph Nader penned an opinion piece summarizing a plethora of problems directly linked to deregulation. Nader began his article by making the point that, "[Trump] has declared war on regulatory programs protecting the health, safety and economic rights of consumers. He has done so in disregard of evidence that such protections help the economy and financial well-being of the working-class voters he claims to champion." Nader went on to conclude: "Preventing casualties and protecting consumers are, in fact, good for the economy."

The Washington Post has been keeping track of administration actions in regards to deregulation. Here's a few of them:
. INTERIOR DEPT. is preparing to set aside ban on development in federally protected wilderness areas, green-lighting a proposal to build a nearly 12-mile long road through a wildlife refuge in Alaska;
. HEALTH CARE President Trump wants to halt payments to insurers that help millions of lower-income Americans afford coverage under the Affordable Care Act, which could wreak the insurance marketplace;
. EPA chief Scott Pruitt has issued a proposal that would repeal sweeping legislation aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions from existing US power plants;
. TREASURY DEPT. recommended rolling back key parts of Wall Street regulations that include disclosing pay gaps between CEOs and their employees.

Senator Elizabeth Warren once succinctly stated that "what we need isn't less government, but smarter government."

Given its track record so far it's easy to see that the current administration is not on the road towards that end. 

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