January, 02 2017, 11:00pm EDT
Republicans Scrap Proposal to Undermine Ethics Watchdog
The following statement can be attributed to Daniel Schuman, policy director of grassroots activist organization Demand Progress:
"Today House Republicans backed down from a dangerous proposal to undermine its independent ethics watchdog -- a proposal that was secretly adopted by House Republicans last night with no public scrutiny whatsoever. The Office of Congressional Ethics was created in the wake of a series of scandals that shook Washington, and its near demise is a scandal of its own.
WASHINGTON
The following statement can be attributed to Daniel Schuman, policy director of grassroots activist organization Demand Progress:
"Today House Republicans backed down from a dangerous proposal to undermine its independent ethics watchdog -- a proposal that was secretly adopted by House Republicans last night with no public scrutiny whatsoever. The Office of Congressional Ethics was created in the wake of a series of scandals that shook Washington, and its near demise is a scandal of its own.
"While we are appreciative that House Republicans backtracked, this is a reminder that ethics and accountability are under assault in this Congress. It also tells us that Congress works best when it follows the principles of fair play: an opportunity to see legislation well before it is voted on and providing opportunities for amendments to correct errors.
"This is not the last bad idea to be offered this Congress. The American people will not stand for business as usual. We will be watching."
For more, see Schuman's blog post: Effort Underway to Undermine the House's Ethics Watchdog
Demand Progress amplifies the voice of the people -- and wields it to make government accountable and contest concentrated corporate power. Our mission is to protect the democratic character of the internet -- and wield it to contest concentrated corporate power and hold government accountable.
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Critics Blast 'Reckless and Impossible' Bid to Start Operating Mountain Valley Pipeline
"The time to build more dirty and dangerous pipelines is over," said one environmental campaigner.
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Environmental defenders on Tuesday ripped the company behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline for asking the federal government—on Earth Day—for permission to start sending methane gas through the 303-mile conduit despite a worsening climate emergency caused largely by burning fossil fuels.
Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC sent a letter Monday to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Secretary Debbie-Anne Reese seeking final permission to begin operation on the MVP next month, even while acknowledging that much of the Virginia portion of the pipeline route remains unfinished and developers have yet to fully comply with safety requirements.
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"MVP brazenly asks for this authorization while simultaneously notifying FERC that the company has completed less than two-thirds of the project to final restoration and with the mere promise that it will notify the commission when it fully complies with the requirements of a consent decree it entered into with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration last fall," she continued.
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Russell Chisholm, co-director of the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) Coalition—which called MVP's request "reckless and impossible"—said in a statement that "we are watching our worst nightmare unfold in real-time: The reckless MVP is barreling towards completion."
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POWHR and activists representing frontline communities affected by the pipeline are set to take part in a May 8 demonstration outside project financier Bank of America's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Appalachian Voices noted that MVP's request comes days before pipeline developer Equitrans Midstream is set to release its 2024 first-quarter earnings information on April 30.
MVP is set to traverse much of Virginia and West Virginia, with the Southgate extension running into North Carolina. Outgoing U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and other pipeline proponents fought to include expedited construction of the project in the debt ceiling deal negotiated between President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans last year.
On Monday, climate and environmental defenders also petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging FERC's approval of the MVP's planned Southgate extension, contending that the project is so different from original plans that the government's previous assent is now irrelevant.
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David Sligh, conservation director at Wild Virginia, said: "Approving the Southgate project is irresponsible. This project will pose the same kinds of threats of damage to the environment and the people along its path as we have seen caused by the Mountain Valley Pipeline during the last six years."
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Others renewed warnings about the dangers MVP poses to wildlife.
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U.S. workers' rights advocates and groups celebrated on Tuesday after the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to approve a ban on most noncompete clauses, which Democratic FTC Chair Lina Khansaid "keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism."
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