Abuse of power

Expert Panel had provided “overwhelming scientific evidence” that ozone exposure leads to adverse health effects; recommended stricter air pollution standard

March 14, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today called on EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to explain why he overruled the recommendation of scientific advisors, and decided to issue a weaker standard for air pollution. Senator Feinstein chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies.    » read more »

Additionally, agency needs more funding for, and oversight of its libraries, says AFGE

March 13, 2008 -- WASHINGTON—American Federation of Government Employees Council of EPA Local #238 Charles Orzehoskie today told Congress that in his 37 years of service with the Environmental Protection Agency, he had never experienced such an unprecedented level of political consideration in the performance of EPA’s mission.    » read more »

March 13, 2008 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) released the following statement after review of the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) report on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) use of National Security Letters (NSL) and 215 orders in 2006, as well as subsequent corrective actions taken last year.

The reports are linked below.    » read more »

Justice Department Report on Use of National Security Letters Shows Continued Problems

March 13, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, the Department of Justice released its review of the FBI’s use of National Security Letters. Following the report’s release, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, sponsor of the National Security Letter Reform Act, released the following statement:    » read more »

Text of the full complaint is attached

March 10, 2008 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives General Counsel filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee to enforce subpoenas issued by the committee seeking information on the U.S. Attorney firings.    » read more »

12 February 2008 -- The U.S. Senate Tuesday voted to renew a controversial surveillance law set to expire at the end of the week. Lawmakers left intact a provision to shield telephone companies from lawsuits for their role in the Bush administration's wiretap program, despite opposition from many Democrats.

The Senate voted to extend a law which authorizes U.S. intelligence agencies to monitor - without warrants - telephone calls and emails between Americans and suspected terrorists overseas.    » read more »

In 2005, the Army Reportedly Suppressed RAND's Postwar Iraq Study from Congress

February 11, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today sent the following letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, calling on him to immediately release an unclassified study of the postwar planning for Iraq prepared by the RAND Corporation in 2005. According to press accounts, the Army suppressed the RAND study after it concluded that the Bush Administration failed to address the enormity of Iraq's reconstruction challenges.    » read more »

Conservation groups file suit to force disclosure

Juneau, AK (January 28, 2008) -- Today conservationists moved to force the Bush administration to disclose thousands of pages of documents related to oil and gas development plans in prime polar bear habitat. The documents all relate to government plans to lease nearly 30 million acres of the Arctic Ocean for oil and gas drilling. Advocates asked the government for these documents for several months before resorting to a lawsuit.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, DC- In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) discussed the one-year anniversary of the so-called “surge” and our current policy in Iraq. Senator Casey also addressed President Bush’s signing statement accompanying the Defense Authorization bill in which the President made clear his intent to ignore significant sections of the bill dealing with the war in Iraq as well as a commission to review abuses in wartime contracting.    » read more »

January 31, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement on the President’s signing statement asserting that he is not bound by the provision in the 2008 Defense Authorization Act that bars the use of appropriated funds in this Act for the construction of permanent American military bases and U. S. control over Iraqi oil resources:    » read more »

11 January 2008 -- The human rights group Amnesty International staged protests around the world Friday to mark the sixth anniversary of the first arrival of detainees at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The group is demanding the prison be shut down. Meanwhile, a U.S. appeals court in Washington has ruled against four British men who allege they were tortured during their detention at Guantanamo.    » read more »

December 10, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the Center for American Progress issued a reporting revealing the political agenda of the Department of Labor’s subdivision that oversees labor union financial reporting. The report also documents how the Bush Administration, in a concerted effort to undermine unions, has used union reporting regulations to impose costly burdens on unions and ordinary union members.    » read more »

November 26, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on the Inspector General of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand an investigation of federal contracting practices to investigate the practice of award fees by DHS, especially when it comes to no-bid contracts.    » read more »

November 16, 2007 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, today called on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents to provide further explanation regarding allegations that political pressure influenced the content of a recent exhibit on the Arctic.    » read more »

Administration’s Lack Of Oversight Cooperation Overshadowed Mukasey Confirmation Proceedings

WASHINGTON (Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007) – In a letter sent Wednesday to White House Counsel Fred Fielding, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) again requested legal memoranda outlining the White House’s justifications and policies on torture and interrogation. Such documents have long been requested but not provided.    » read more »