Speak out! The Regulatory Accountability Act stalls public health regulations making them impossible to enforce.

Want these guys making decisions on what public health protections to enforce? 

Many in Congress make no secret of their nearly single-minded focus on gutting commonsense public health protections. But on May 17 they’re set to kick their efforts into overdrive—and we can’t let them succeed.

On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will take up a half-dozen bills attacking the very way all federal safeguards and regulations are created. The most dangerous of these is the so-called “Regulatory Accountability Act”—an innocuous-sounding bill that’s really a giant gift to corporate polluters and an enormous threat to public health and safety.

This bill is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, designed to do one thing: bury agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency in endless red tape and cripple their ability to enact safeguards to protect our communities and environment.

This isn’t some abstract debate—this is about the safety of the cars we drive, the water we drink, the toys our kids play with, and the places where we work. This bill would make it extremely difficult—if not downright impossible in some cases—to adequately protect public health and safety. It would stack the deck in favor of polluters and big corporations,both in the rule-making process and in the courtroom.

Major public protections might not have happened had the “Regulatory Accountability Act” been law, such as a 2011 EPA rule that created the first national standards to protect American families from power plant emissions of mercury and toxic air pollution such as arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium and cyanide. That rule is estimated to save 11,000 lives a year and prevent 130,000 cases of childhood asthma.

We will be fighting this bill and the rest of the “dirty bundle” every step of the way—but we need you at our side.

Time to stand up and speak out: Tell your senator on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to oppose the dangerous Regulatory Accountability Act and bills like it, and share a personal story about why environmental protections and fighting this bill are important to you, your family and your community.

- Brielle Green. Associate Legislative Counsel, Earth Justice


TAKE ACTION! Stop gutting public health protections

Regulatory Accountability Act - creates MORE red tape for our safety watchdogs

Senators are taking up a bill early next week that would hamstring agencies that are supposed to protect us from emergencies. The so-called “Regulatory Accountability Act” says that our safety watchdogs and other government agencies can’t act to address a fast-moving crisis until they work through a long process to evaluate how much it’ll cost private companies.

But if there’s a crisis in our country, we can’t afford to wait for action.

For example, if chemical plants are spewing gallons of toxic waste into our drinking water, we need government responders to move quickly. With lives on the line, we can’t have key agencies handcuffed by a slow-moving Congress.

Tell Congress we expect our government to act quickly when there are major emergencies that put people at risk. We can’t afford this new red tape — oppose this dangerous bill.

Take action »

If Congress passes this bill, it could make it impossible for government to act quickly, or even at all, in the face of major emergencies. We need as many people to speak out against this bill as possible. After you take action, forward this email to friends and family to get them involved.

Petition wording. (It's even better if you personalize it!)

I'm writing to urge you to vote against the so-called "Regulatory Accountability Act" which would create more red tape and bureaucracy and slow down government's ability to respond to emergencies.

The RAA would make it virtually impossible for federal agencies to protect people like me. It would rig the system, forcing agencies to care mostly about companies' costs, and far less about my health, safety, and financial well-being.

The RAA is dangerous and would do severe damage to the ability of federal watchdogs to protect the public, especially from a fast-moving crisis. I strongly urge you to oppose S. 951.

- Liz Foley, Consumers Union, Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

Stop Corporate Power Grab in Congress

Republicans in Congress are aiding and abetting a corporate power grab that would allow corporate interests to take hold of our democracy at the expense of everyday people.

The package of three dangerous bills has already passed the House and is on its way to the Senate. If the Senate approves, Donald Trump will certainly sign them — preventing key agencies from fulfilling their crucial missions to protect Americans, and rolling back vital health protections. We need you to stop this from happening.

Sign the petition: Stop the corporate power grab in Congress»

Urge your senators to reject the "Regulatory Accountability" Act, the REINS Act, and the "Midnight Rules Relief" Act.

The so-called "Regulatory Accountability" Act would block crucial protections Americans rely on for their health and safety: rules to protect our air and water from corporate polluters, workplace safety requirements, food safety measures, and sensible Wall Street regulations that protect middle-class families from the irresponsible behavior that caused the last recession.

The REINS Act would prevent federal agencies from putting in place life-saving standards that keep Americans safe. Critical, commonsense updates to everything from clean air standards to overtime rules could be completely tied up in red tape — indefinitely.

Finally, with the "Midnight Rules Relief" Act, Congress could kill vital safeguards that President Obama provided in his final year as President. This includes actions like providing school breakfast to children, implementing life-saving ozone pollution standards, and limiting methane pollution from oil and gas wells on public lands.

President Trump and Republicans in Congress want to diminish our voices and prevent us from truly having a say in our own democracy, which is why we’re working with our partners including Daily Kos, NextGen Climate, and SumofUs to stop them. We need you to speak out NOW against this power grab and support democracy for all Americans.

Join us and sign the petition against the corporate power grab in Congress TODAY»

Thank you for being such a strong activist against corporate interests interfering in politics.

-- Katie O'Connell, People for the American Way