"House Democrats are sweeping into power this week on a campaign promise of improving government for ordinary Americans. But first, they’ll have to get government reopened from the partial shutdown."
SEJournal looks ahead to key issues in the coming year with this "2019 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment" special report. Stay tuned as we continue to add elements to the report up through and beyond its formal launch Jan. 25 at an annual roundtable, organized by the Society of Environmental Journalists with the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.
"Some lawmakers and environmental activists say the state of Vermont needs to act faster to test water in schools for the presence of lead."
"The American Farm Bureau lobbies to protect the status quo, and its own interests".
"California's Joshua Tree National Park on Wednesday will become the latest casualty of the federal government's partial shutdown, closing campgrounds amid health and safety concerns over near-capacity pit toilets."
"House Democrats signaled their readiness for 2019 combat with President Trump with the New Year's Eve release of an omnibus spending bill aimed at reopening the government."
The new year will likely mean subpoenas on EPA’s FOIA response policies, as a Democrat takes the chair in the House Oversight Committee amid charges the agency is choking off politically sensitive record requests. And are new laws in a dozen states making coverage of pipeline protests a felony? That, plus air emission exemptions for animal feedlot operators and data on illegal fishing. All in the latest issue of the WatchDog.
"House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed Rep. Kathy Castor on Friday to lead a select committee on climate change when Democrats retake the majority in the new year."
"Set to run out of carryover funds tonight [Friday], EPA will soon close and send thousands of employees home without pay."
"Trump administration officials took steps on Friday to crack down on transparency at one of the largest US federal agencies, proposing a slew of changes that could make it harder for the public and media to obtain records of agency dealings."
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