Posted March 22, 2012 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
The 2nd session of the 112th Congress convened on 1/17. During negotiations concerning extensions of the payroll tax cut and transportation programs, Republican lawmakers repeatedly pressed to include unrelated anti-environment provisions, such as approving the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline...continued→
Posted January 9, 2012 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
In early December the House approved, largely by party-line votes, three bills that would significantly alter the entire regulatory system in ways that would make it much harder to issue new rules to protect health and the environment; the Obama...continued→
Posted November 30, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
During the past two weeks, Congress finally passed and sent to President Obama the first three spending bills for the fiscal year that began October 1, even as the Supercommittee's efforts to come up with a long-range budget fell apart....continued→
Posted November 8, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
The House of Representatives continues to push forward with its anti-environment agenda, passing several bills that would lead to more pollution and preparing other bills that would make it difficult to enact any regulations in the future. Meanwhile, the Senate...continued→
Posted October 19, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
The House of Representatives has been voting virtually every week on proposals to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from strengthening health standards, and is likely to continue this trend throughout the fall. The Senate is beginning to consider spending bills...continued→
Posted September 15, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
Congress returned from its August recess on 9/6, inaugurating a season of high-stakes debates on environmental protection, jobs and spending. The House is scheduled to vote all fall on proposals to block actions by the Environmental Protection Agency. With the...continued→
Posted August 16, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
Congress, particularly the House of Representatives, cast many major environmental votes during July. Most significantly, spending bills have become vehicles for an unprecedented number of anti-environment policy riders -- provisions that block environmental protections without reducing federal spending at all....continued→
Posted June 28, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
June was a busy month for environmental issues in Congress, with July looking to be even busier as more spending bills are taken up by the House. The House continued to press its efforts to weaken environmental protections, while the...continued→
Posted May 25, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
Since returning from recess on 5/2 the House and Senate have spent much of their time on legislation prompted by the public's concern with gasoline prices. Appropriations On 5/11 the House Appropriations Committee took its first official step in setting...continued→
Posted April 27, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
Between returning from its last recess on 3/29 and recessing again on 4/15, Congress voted on several major environmental issues. After negotiations that went to the brink of shutting down the government, Congress passed a bill to fund the government...continued→
Posted March 22, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
On 2/28 Congress returned from recess and continued its work on the budget for FY 2011, which began 10/1/10. No long-term compromise could be reached, so temporary funding bills are keeping the government running until 4/8. Additionally, several pieces of...continued→
Posted February 28, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
On 2/19, the House or Representatives passed a Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1) to keep the government funded through the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends 9/30. The bill would make deep cuts in environmental programs, targets climate-related programs and...continued→
Posted February 4, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
The 112th Congress convened on 1/5. Although the Senate was out of session most of the month, members in both chambers introduced a number of bills to block environmental regulations. In February, attention will shift to the budget, with the...continued→
Posted January 5, 2011 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
Several pieces of legislation with environmental implications were passed during the surprisingly productive “lame duck” session that marked the end of the 111th Congress. Despite progress on some environmental issues, Congress adjourned without passing most of the spending bills for...continued→
Posted October 7, 2010 by Legislative Watch in U.S. Law and Policy
Last week the House and Senate passed a continuing resolution to fund federal agencies from the beginning of the new fiscal year through 12/3, and then recessed until 11/15, when they are scheduled to return for a lame duck session....continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
