Green groups worry White House is throwing EPA under the bus

The EPA’s inspector general said the agency was within bounds when it withdrew an emergency order protecting residents from contaminated drinking water in Parker County, Texas, but said that “issues remain,” noting that the “overall risk faced by current and future area residents has not been determined.”

That, combined with the EPA walking away from two other high-profile water pollution cases, has left some green groups believing that President Obama is quashing probes to achieve other policy goals, such as climate change and manufacturing, that depend on abundant natural gas from fracking.

“I think [the EPA has] been bludgeoned with a sledgehammer. The EPA, by all indications, wanted to do their job,” said Sharon Wilson, a Texas-based activist with Earthworks, an environmental group.

The dissatisfaction of environmental groups underscores a complicated relationship with the Obama administration. Although largely supportive of Obama’s climate change goals, some organizations reject the president’s reliance on switching from coal to natural gas to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

“It seems that Obama has been eager to support natural gas without having all the questions answered first,” Wilson said.

Environmentalists are concerned about the effect that leaks of potent, heat-trapping methane from fracking has on global warming. Fracking is a drilling method that involves injecting a cocktail of water, sand and chemicals into tight rock formations to access hard-to-reach hydrocarbons. The oil and gas industry says it’s safe, but environmental and public health groups fear it contaminates groundwater.

Amy Mall, senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the EPA’s behavior amounted to an unsettling “pattern.”

“If the staff in the region, career staff, thinks these are cases that warrant investigations and the EPA is pulling back, I think the question needs to be asked” about whether the White House is pushing aside investigations, she said.

EPA spokeswoman Alisha Johnson noted that the report concluded that both the issuance of the emergency order and its withdrawal were valid.

“The report also finds that EPA’s exercise of discretion to resolve the matter — including an agreement that Range conduct sampling in the area — was consistent with all applicable rules and policies,” she said.

Some Republicans say the report didn’t go far enough because it didn’t assess the conduct of EPA staff who handled the Parker County case. A Senate GOP aide said the EPA watchdog should have investigated whether “ideologues” were pulling the strings at regional offices.

— Zack Colman, Energy & Environment Writer

 

QUESTIONS REMAIN BEHIND OBAMACARE NUMBERS

The Obama administration is touting more than 2 million enrollments in the federally run insurance exchanges, but won’t disclose how many consumers actually paid for coverage.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that 2.1 million people “enrolled in a private insurance plan” by a key deadline to receive coverage at the start of 2014, but emphasized that enrollments wouldn’t be completed until individuals paid their first month’s premiums.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokeswoman Julie Bataille, though, repeatedly declined to reveal how many consumers have actually paid for coverage during a call with reporters.

“At this time, we don’t have that detailed information,” said Bataille, who added that officials had “reminded consumers that that is a step that they need to take to confirm enrollment and access their coverage.”

Asked if she was confident that a “very high percentage” had paid, Bataille said only that the administration is “confident that those consumers have selected a plan and know what the next steps are for them in terms of securing coverage.”

Reports suggest that the number of consumers who have actually paid for health plans could be low. America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry lobbying group, said insurers will allow individuals until Jan. 10 to pay premiums on policies that took effect on Jan. 1.

Administration officials also declined to provide a demographic breakdown of those who have selected a plan so far or say how many of those signing up were previously uninsured.

Demographic information is important because it is vital for the exchanges to attract a critical mass of young and healthy enrollees to offset the costs of covering older and sicker participants.

Millions of Americans could also be dropped from their current plans because of new Obamacare regulations, leading analysts to question if the health law has resulted in a net gain of private insurance coverage.

The administration’s figures are well behind their enrollment projection of 3.3 million signups by the end of December. The Congressional Budget Office projected 7 million enrollments by March 31 — the end of the open enrollment period.

— Philip Klein, Senior Writer

 

DEMS SEE POLITICAL ADVANTAGE IN DEBATE OVER MINIMUM WAGE

Raising the minimum wage might be good policy for Democrats, but it’s even better politics.

President Obama has pushed the proposal to counter rising income inequality, which he called “the defining challenge of our time.”

Obama has signaled support for a bill from Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., that would raise the rate from $7.25 to $10.10. The Democratic leadership also has picked up the charge, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., promising a vote on the issue in early 2014.

These efforts have taken place against a backdrop of successful state-level minimum wage initiatives and nationwide efforts by liberal and union-backed groups to push increases.

Whether raising the minimum wage would significantly reduce income inequality is an open question. Although the minimum wage is low, in real terms, by historical standards, it actually has been rising over the past 20 years for most Americans, during the same period that inequality has also been taking off.

Nevertheless, Democrats see political advantage in an election year.

Raising the minimum wage is broadly popular. A December poll by the Wall Street Journal-NBC News found that 63 percent of Americans favor raising the rate, with Democrats and independents strongly in favor and Republicans and Tea Party members evenly divided.

Democrats also hope to play up one of their advantages, namely the perception that they are more concerned with lower- or middle-class workers than Republicans.

House Republicans rejected a plan to raise the minimum wage in 2013, warning that a hike could worsen unemployment.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel of New York has vowed to focus on the issue in the upcoming midterms.

Highlighting GOP opposition to raising the wage would be “a reminder to suburban independent voters that House Republicans are extreme, and out of touch,” Israel told the Washington Post in 2013.

That “empathy gap” proved to be one of Barack Obama’s assets in the 2012 presidential campaign, boosting him over Mitt Romney even though voters believed the GOP nominee was the better candidate on economic issues.

— Joseph Lawler, Economics Writer

 

OFFICIAL IN CHARGE OF OBAMACARE WEBSITE ROLLOUT STEPS DOWN

The official responsible for overseeing the problem-plagued healthcare.gov website retired, one of the few architects of the botched Obamacare rollout to leave the administration.

The departure of Michelle Snyder — the chief operating officer and second-highest-ranking official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — was announced by CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, who praised Snyder’s “41 years of outstanding public service.”

“While we celebrate her distinguished career, we are also sadly saying farewell to a good friend and a key member of the agency’s leadership team,” said Tavenner in an agency email. “Michelle’s intelligence, experience and formidable work ethic have been indispensable to me and to many of you during her tenure.”

Administration officials insisted that Snyder’s exit had nothing to do with the dismal healthcare.gov performance, saying she had planned to leave at the end of 2012.

Still, allies of the White House said the personnel move sent a strong message.

“If anyone had to go,” conceded one House Democratic aide, “it was probably [Snyder].”

President Obama has been criticized for not firing any of the officials tasked with overseeing the online marketplaces, which launched with numerous technical problems. Throughout his presidency, Obama has been reluctant to hand high-ranking officials pinks slips for poor performance.

Tony Trenkle, the CMS chief information officer, left the administration for a private sector job in November. Like Snyder, administration officials claimed Trenkle’s move had nothing to do with the performance of the healthcare.gov website.

Snyder was a major target of the administration’s critics during contentious Obamacare hearings on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., called her the “one responsible for this debacle.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius came to Snyder’s defense, telling lawmakers to “hold me accountable for the debacle.”

After hearing of her retirement, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Snyder should shoulder blame for putting Americans’ personal information at risk.

“Documents and interviews indicate Michelle Snyder’s involvement in bypassing the recommendation of CMS’ top security expert who recommended delaying the launch of healthcare.gov after independent testers raised concern about serious vulnerabilities from a lack of adequate security testing,” Issa said.

— Brian Hughes, White House Correspondent

 

ENERGY DEPARTMENT REJECTS ‘SOCIAL COST OF CARBON’ CHALLENGE

The Department of Energy will not revisit a new rule based on its revised “social cost of carbon” estimate, setting the table for a potential legal challenge from industry groups who say the Obama administration has put too high a monetary value on benefits from reducing carbon pollution.

The update to the social cost of carbon — a monetization of savings from reducing carbon pollution — is used in cost-benefit analyses when crafting new rules. Industry groups contend the higher estimate the administration uses makes it easier to justify more aggressive regulations.

The DOE denied a petition from the Landmark Legal Foundation, a conservative group, to reconsider a new standard for microwave ovens. The new carbon-cost estimate was first revealed in new federal microwave standards. The DOE’s move establishes a right to challenge the decision in court.

A court battle is unlikely until the Environmental Protection Agency floats its forthcoming greenhouse gas emission rules for power plants because, at the moment, industry groups petitioning the DOE lack legal standing on the microwave rule.

Regardless, industry organizations will face an uphill battle, said Cary Coglianese, director of the Penn Program on Regulation at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

“Is there enough there to go into court? Sure,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that they will win. The courts happen to be deferential to federal agencies.”

Critics want to know more about the inputs and models used to arrive at the new figure, which raises the estimated benefits of reducing carbon pollution by 60 percent.

Industry groups also say that although the agencies involved in updating the carbon figure are known — they include executive White House offices, the EPA and Treasury Department — the representatives are not.

“This sort of raised people’s attention. There was no rule-making around this. This wasn’t a public process,” said Greg Bertelsen, director of energy and natural resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers.

Industry groups have filed a petition asking the DOE to withdraw the estimate. The White House Office of Management and Budget is reviewing comments, but it’s unlikely the administration will backpedal.

— Zack Colman, Staff Writer

 

REPUBLICAN BELIEF IN EVOLUTION DECLINES, POLL FINDS

Less than half of all Republicans believe in human evolution, a significantly smaller percentage than in 2009, according to a new study.

Democratic belief in evolution, meanwhile, has increased slightly during the same period, the Pew Research Center analysis shows.

Forty-three percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Democrats now say “humans and other living things have evolved over time,” a difference of 24 percentage points, Pew says. In 2009, 54 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of Democrats said humans evolved over time, a 10-point gap.

Overall, 60 percent of Americans believe in evolution, but 33 percent reject the idea, saying that “humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time,” the poll finds. The share of the general public who say that humans have evolved over time is about the same as it was in 2009, when Pew Research last asked the question.

About half of those who express a belief in human evolution say that it’s “due to natural processes such as natural selection.” But 24 percent of Americans believing in evolution say that God or a supreme being played a role in evolution.

Evolution beliefs differ strongly by religious group. A majority of white evangelical Protestants — 64 percent — and 50 percent of black Protestants say that humans have existed in their present form since the beginning of time. But in other large religious groups, a minority hold this view, with 78 percent of mainstream Protestants and 68 percent of white non-Hispanic Catholics saying that humans and other living things have evolved. Seventy-six percent of the religiously unaffiliated say the same.

Fifty-three percent of Hispanic Catholics say humans have evolved, and 31 percent reject the idea.

— Sean Lengell, Congressional Correspondent

 

US RELEASES FINAL UIGHUR DETAINEES FROM GITMO

The Obama administration transferred the last three Uighur Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay to Slovakia.

The three men were cleared by a federal judge for transfer in 2008 but languished in prison as the administration tried to find a country to accept them.

The U.S. government feared the trio would face harsh treatment if returned to their native China, so the administration negotiated a deal to resettle them in Slovakia, a location the detainees found agreeable.

The Pentagon hailed the transfer as a “significant milestone” in President Obama’s five-year attempt to close the Guantanamo Bay facility.

“The transfer and resettlement constitutes a significant milestone in our effort to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay,” said Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby.

Obama has reaffirmed his commitment to shutter the prison and since August has transferred eight other detainees, including two Saudis and two Algerians who were repatriated to their countries in December.

Another 155 detainees are left at Guantanamo, a majority of whom are Yemeni. Although the transfer of the Uighurs is relatively uncontroversial, the prospect of repatriating the Yemeni detainees has sparked concern on Capitol Hill because their country is a hotbed for al Qaeda.

Kirby said the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a “comprehensive review” of the Uighurs’ cases, including security issues, and all six agencies on the task force unanimously agreed to designate them for transfer.

“The United States coordinated with the government of Slovakia to ensure the transfer took place in accordance with appropriate security and human treatment measures,” he said.

Human rights groups applauded the transfer, with the Center for Constitutional Rights saying that the Uighur detainees “came to symbolize the tragedy of Guantanamo.”

The 2014 defense authorization bill provided Obama with expanded authority to transfer Gitmo detainees, but blocked spending to improve facilities at the prison or prepare other U.S. bases to hold terror suspects.

In a statement after signing the defense bill, Obama urged Congress to “eliminate all of the unwarranted limitations on foreign transfers.”

— Susan Crabtree, White House Correspondent

 

WIND CREDIT FLOATS AWAY — BUT LIKELY NOT FOR LONG

A key wind energy tax credit expired at the end of 2013, but the industry’s main lobby group isn’t worried, in part because a retroactive extension could be in the offing.

The American Wind Energy Association believes the expiration of the 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour wind production tax credit will be less significant than in past years, noting language that allows turbines that are “under construction” by Jan. 1 to start receiving the credit.

That change has compelled some big-name companies to announce expensive projects.

Still, momentum exists to extend the credit early in 2014. Senate Democrats moved to extend a suite of expiring tax provisions, including the wind incentive, just before the upper chamber skipped town at the end of the year.

Many Republicans want to let the 21-year-old credit die, saying that it has become too expensive. The Congressional Budget Office puts its 10-year price tag at about $12 billion. Nine GOP senators, as well as Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., criticized the credit because it “picks winners and losers.”

Democratic staff on the Senate Finance Committee have suggested approving the wind credit until 2017, when it and a slew of other provisions would be whittled down to two separate tax carve-outs. But with Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., tapped to be the next ambassador to China, plans for a tax code overhaul are in limbo.

Supporters insist there is space for a short-term extension of the credit, and Baucus’ potential replacement as Finance chairman, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who currently heads the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is a fan of renewable energy.

Uncertainty over the tax credit’s future has led to a downturn in wind installations this year, AWEA noted — just 69.6 megawatts of wind power went online in the first three quarters of the year, compared with a record 13.1 gigawatts of capacity the previous year.

The credit’s new language, however, make that situation less dire. Rob Gramlich, senior vice president of public policy with AWEA, though, cautioned, “This can’t drag out for too long or else disruptions will occur again.”

— Zack Colman, Staff Writer

 

AMERICANS SAY HEALTH CARE IS TOP CONCERN

Americans think that health care is the number one problem the government should focus on — but they aren’t confident that Washington can address the issue.

In an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey, more than 50 percent of respondents picked health care reform as the top issue needing attention from the government, more than named unemployment, the economy or the debt, the next top three problems.

Americans have little faith in the government to address their concerns. Nearly 70 percent lack confidence that Washington can make progress in fixing health care.

The findings reflect the stream of negative coverage following the botched rocky of Obamacare’s insurance exchanges in October.

Similarly, respondents were pessimistic that the government would successfully address unemployment and the weak economy. More than 80 percent lacked faith in the government to lower the federal debt or deficit, despite the fact that the federal deficit declined in 2013.

Respondents were not particularly worried about income inequality, which President Obama has called the “defining challenge of our time.”

Just five percent said that inequality was a major problem needing attention. And nearly all — 93 percent — of those who listed it as a problem said they were not at all or only slightly confident that the government could make real progress in addressing inequality in 2014.

— Joseph Lawler, Economics Writer

 

FEDS USE ‘GAME OF THRONES’ TO WARN ABOUT WINTER WEATHER

The U.S. government is using a popular slogan from HBO’s “Game of Thrones” to prepare Americans for extreme winter weather.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created an e-card reading “Winter is coming” — a slogan from the hit show — to encourage Americans to share tips with their friends about dealing with snow.

“Share our ‘Game Of Thrones’ eCards to help protect the realm from winter weather,” said the CDC on its emergency Twitter account.

The card advises recipients to store food, water, blankets and snow shovels in advance of winter weather and to make a “Family Communications Plan.” It also reminds drivers to minimize travel, stay on main roads and keep their gas tanks full.

There was no mention of whether Americans should fear “White Walkers” — undead creatures from the show.

— Charlie Spiering, Commentary Writer

 

KERRY: ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS MUST MAKE ‘TOUGH DECISIONS’

Secretary of State John Kerry returned to Jerusalem for his tenth visit in under a year, telling Israeli and Palestinian leaders that they would need to make “tough decisions” to salvage the peace process.

“We know what the issues are. We know the parameters and possibilities for peace,” he said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The time is soon arriving when leaders will have to make tough decisions. In the weeks ahead, both sides will have to make tough choices.”

Kerry’s latest trip is aimed at producing a “framework agreement” between Israel and the Palestinians that will lay the groundwork for a more permanent peace accord.

Critics, though, say that for all of Kerry’s shuttle diplomacy, the two sides are still far apart on key issues.

Netanyahu expressed pessimism over the prospects for Mideast peace, saying that he had serious doubts about Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ intentions toward Israel.

“Given the actions and words of Palestinian leaders, we have doubts in Israel that they are committed to peace,” Netanyahu said.

Citing a laundry list of criticisms, Netanyahu said Abbas had failed to condemn recent terror attacks against Israeli citizens, at least one of which involved an officer from the Palestinian security forces.

“A few days ago in Ramallah, President Abbas embraced terrorists as heroes,” Netanyahu said. “How can he say that he stands against terrorism when he embraces the perpetrators of terrorism and glorifies them as heroes? He can’t stand against terrorists and stand with the terrorists.”

Kerry, acknowledging the distrust, said he had come to the region with “no illusions” about the tough road ahead.

“My role is not to impose U.S. ideas but to facilitate the ideas of both parties,” said the secretary of state. “We are five months into the peace talks. It’s a long process, but it is not mission impossible.”

— Susan Crabtree, White House Correspondent

 

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS CALLS FOR MORE MONEY FOR COURTS

Chief Justice John Roberts called on Congress to increase the budgets of the federal judiciary, saying a shortage of money “remains the single most important issue facing the courts.”

“I would like to choose a fresher topic, but duty calls,” said Roberts, who has regularly warned lawmakers that budget cuts are hurting the bench, in his annual year-end report.

Roberts said failing to adequately fund the federal judiciary “undermines the public’s confidence in all three branches of government.”

Although the court system is an independent branch of the federal government, it relies on funding from Congress. Court officials on Dec. 5 asked Congress to allocate $7.04 billion for the judiciary for the rest of the 2014 fiscal year, which runs through September. That is less less than two-tenths of 1 percent of total federal outlays. The request includes $5.05 billion for salaries and expenses for court operations nationwide.

The American Bar Association says the federal judiciary’s budget for fiscal 2013 was $6.62 billion — a $350 million reduction from the previous year due to federal sequestration cuts.

Roberts said the courts were hurt more by the sequestration cuts than others in government because “virtually all of [the judiciary’s] core functions are constitutionally and statutorily required.”

The cuts mean the courts now have fewer clerks, probation and pretrial officers and public defenders, and less funding for security guards, he said.

“The nation needs a balanced financial ledger to remain strong at home and abroad,” Roberts said. “We do not consider ourselves immune from the fiscal constraints that affect every department of government. But … the independent judicial branch consumes only the tiniest sliver of federal revenues.”

Roberts said the courts have been cutting costs for a decade.

“Court administrators squeeze as much as they can from every dollar,” he said. We “recognize our obligations and are committed to doing our part in reducing federal expenditures.”

Congress in December approved an overall federal budget for the rest of fiscal year 2014, but congressional appropriators are still working to specify exactly how the money will be spent.

— Sean Lengell, Congressional Correspondent

 

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON CALLS FOR OVERHAUL OF FEDERAL SECURITY

The District of Columbia’s delegate to Congress has plans to overhaul the agency tasked with protecting federal buildings in the wake of the 2013 Navy Yard shooting.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton wants major changes for the Federal Protective Service, which is responsible for guarding more than 9,600 General Services Administration facilities across the country.

Her bill is still being worked out, but initial details reveal the legislation would define the authority of the FPS and the legal authority of its contract guards, clarify how the FPS is monitored and require new transparency measures.

“The FPS is a hybrid police force whose duties and responsibilities are so unclear as to render them toothless in an emergency,” Norton said in a statement.

FPS is responsible for 1,000 law enforcement officers and 13,500 contract guards, all tasked with protecting federal buildings.

The September shooting at the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard left 12 dead.

FPS security officers who guard facilities such as the Navy Yard are contracted employees whose main job responsibilities include screening people entering federal buildings and assisting in evacuations — however, those officers have glaring constraints.

“If, in fact, they are approached or come in contact with a shooter, they are trained to engage,” FPS chief Eric Patterson said at a hearing before Congress in December. “What they are not trained in is to go find the shooter and take action.”

— Steve Doty, Video Journalist

 

WHITE HOUSE OFFERS RUSSIA HELP WITH OLYMPIC SECURITY

The White House condemned two suicide bombings in Russia that killed dozens and offered “closer cooperation” between Washington and Moscow to prevent terror attacks during the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi.

“The United States condemns the terrorist attacks that struck the Russian city of Volgograd and sends deepest condolences to the families of the victims with hopes for the rapid healing of those wounded,” said National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden. “The United States stands in solidarity with the Russian people against terrorism.

“The U.S. government has offered our full support to the Russian government in security preparations for the Sochi Olympic games, and we would welcome the opportunity for closer cooperation for the safety of the athletes, spectators and other participants,” she added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered tighter security across Russia after two separate suicide bombings in Volgograd. Russia is set to host the Winter Games in February, raising fears that terrorists could strike during the event.

Russia has long faced violence in its Caucasus region from violent Islamic groups seeking greater autonomy from Moscow. In 2010, suicide bombers targeted the Moscow Metro, killing dozens in the capital.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing, is believed to have met with radical Islamic groups during a visit to the Russian region of Dagestan months before the deadly terror attack.

President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and other top administration officials will not be attending the games, a decision that was seen as a snub to Putin after Russian lawmakers passed new anti-gay rights legislation.

— Meghashyam Mali, Assistant Managing Editor