I am NRDC's legislative director. I work with NRDC staff to develop strategies for advancing environmental legislation and lobby Congress on behalf of the organization. Before joining NRDC, I was Vice-President of Government Affairs of the Environmental Technology Council representing companies that recycle, destroy, and dispose of regulated hazardous waste. Previously, I worked for the Senate Budget Committee on energy and environment issues and as the environmental aide to Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) when Lautenberg chaired the Subcommittee on Superfund and Hazardous Waste. I served as a counsel to the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and worked at the Environmental Protection Agency drafting some of the original regulations under the Clean Water Act. I have a B.A. in Political Science and a law degree from the State University at Buffalo.
Posted May 2, 2013 by Scott Slesinger in Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
As the Senate continues the actions of the infrastructure committees to weaken public participation and environmental reviews of federal projects, there is another way communities can protect themselves from the heavy hand of bulldozers and narrowly focused federal bureaucrats. In...continued→
Posted March 4, 2013 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, U.S. Law and Policy
A report from a broad group of environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, describes the adverse impacts of the budget cuts already instituted and the expected impacts of the sequester on key programs intended to protect the environment...continued→
Posted February 21, 2013 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Washington is buzzing now with talk of sequester, the across-the-board automatic spending cuts Congress approved in 2011 on the premise that they would be so bad Congress wouldn’t actually let them occur, except it’s about to. Instead of allowing the...continued→
Posted January 17, 2013 by Scott Slesinger in Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
The budget process has been exasperating and appears to be never-ending. Although we like to think we avoided the cliff at the end of the year, the cliff was just relocated down the road. Now the sequester cliff falls on...continued→
Posted January 15, 2013 by Scott Slesinger in Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
The Congress is considering today (January 15, 2013) the Sandy Relief bill. NRDC wrote the Congress to support the bill and oppose the amendments intended to tie the hands of local officials and reduce the effectiveness of smart rebulding...continued→
Posted October 18, 2012 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
When Congress comes back from its “recess” the major issues on their plate will be taxes and spending. Without further action, i.e. Congress doing nothing, the Bush tax cuts for all Americans ends on December 31, 2012. On January 2, 2013,...continued→
Posted June 22, 2012 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
As the House of Representatives continues its onslaught on our nation’s environmental standards, the House Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment passed a funding bill for the Departments of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and related agencies that would derail...continued→
Posted May 1, 2012 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, U.S. Law and Policy
For the past two years, the Tea Party-dominated U.S. House has been passing bills that set a new low in the history of environmental policy – bills that undermine foundational environmental laws and principles (although their sponsors often try to...continued→
Posted April 20, 2012 by Scott Slesinger in The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Job-killing regulations. In this political climate, is there any other adjective for regulations? Generally, the Tea Party, with the encouragement of the Wall Street Journal have led the drumbeat that the economy and the world would be great if there...continued→
Posted April 9, 2012 by Scott Slesinger in U.S. Law and Policy
I had the opportunity to attend the Joan Osborne concert at one of the Washington areas better music venues, the Birchmere in Arlington. Her sound has changed; she is doing a lot of rhythm and blues, music of Muddy Waters,...continued→
Posted March 22, 2012 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
The Radical Ryan budget is a proposal that proudly leads to a government that cannot do even basic services. Fact: The government has spent at least 3% of GNP for defense every year since World War II.[i] Fact: the U.S....continued→
Posted February 14, 2012 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
The President’s FY13 budget for the Environmental Protection Agency is essentially the same level as last year but there are increases in the budget for truly high priority activities that should be applauded. Overall, the EPA budget is $8.3 billion,...continued→
Posted December 12, 2011 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
In their `Pledge to America’’ after taking over the U.S. House of Representatives last year, Republicans vowed to end the practice (at page 33) of packing unpopular bills with must-pass legislation. So guess what they’re doing? Under pressure from tea...continued→
Posted November 22, 2011 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
This sounds like environmental group hyperbole. Unfortunately, it is not. Many Republicans in Congress have co-sponsored the Regulatory Accountability Act, (RAA), H.R. 3010 in the House; S.1606 in the Senate – a bill that could make it impossible, yes,...continued→
Posted November 17, 2011 by Scott Slesinger in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, The Media and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
The Senate has set aside work on a spending bill for energy and water programs for now, but earlier this week the possibility that it could come up prompted Senate Republicans to offer a cornucopia of counter-productive ideas. Even though...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.
