The good news: government for the first time is centralizing data about contractors at all federal agencies who were terminated, disbarred or suspended from a federal contract or grant. The bad news: taxpayers (and investigative reporters!) are not allowed to see it.
In the face of public outrage (and press coverage), the legislature partially backed down — but kept a requirement that the law clinic report to the legislature on whom it represented.
A bill to protect journalists and citizens against "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation" suits has been introduced in Congress but is unlikely to go far unless more members get behind it.
A proposed bill would give the public better access to information about members' personal financial information, travel and gift reports, funding earmarks, committee work and reports, recorded floor votes, lobbyist registration and disclosure, and political contributions.
As this issue of the
WatchDogwent to press, major environmental agencies had not yet posted their plans online. Find links to look for them here.
"By trading oil for batteries, the struggling U.S. Postal Service could transform its fleet vehicles into overnight moneymakers that deliver much more than the daily mail. The cash-strapped agency has the potential to earn millions by storing and stabilizing some of the nation’s grid energy in mail trucks during off-peak hours."
"Chemicals found in food cans, nail varnish and shampoos could be triggering early puberty in girls, putting them at greater risk of cancer and diabetes, scientists believe."
"An O'Malley administration proposal to ease Maryland's stringent new storm-water pollution rules won legislative approval [Monday] night, capping a fierce debate over whether the Chesapeake Bay would suffer from giving developers more time and leeway in having to clamp down on rainfall washing off their building projects."
"The Chinese coal ship that ran onto the Great Barrier Reef was one of dozens of freighters to have taken a legal short cut between dangerous shoals this year, satellite images show."
"Environmentalist Jeff Spoelstra says an 80-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River that runs through toxin-laced land in southwestern Michigan was on its way to becoming safe again. ...Then, in January 2009, Lyondell Chemical Co. filed for bankruptcy protection. The Houston-based petrochemical giant argued in court that as it reorganized, it could avoid what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said were about $2.5 billion in cleanup costs...."
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