Washington
GOP Controlling Washington Means It’s Christmas for Lobbyists | Opinion
About 13,000 registered lobbyists plied their trade in Washington last year, at a total cost of more than $4.2 billion. Most represent industry groups ranging from the Chamber of Commerce to Big Pharma to Big Tech to oil, gas, and chemical producers. This holiday season, they have a golden opportunity to score big gifts for their clients and themselves through an obscure law only known to Washington insiders.
The Congressional Review Act allows a new lineup in the House, Senate, and Oval Office to repeal regulations issued during the last few months of the previous presidential administration with a simple majority vote (no filibuster) and a maximum of ten hours of floor debate (often much less). Historically, it has only really worked when Republicans take over the presidency, the House, and the Senate, and decide to destroy the work of a Democratic administration. The last time Donald Trump was president, Republican lawmakers eliminated 15 rules with little fuss and not much publicity.
The process is designed to allow Republican lawmakers, with almost no effort, to eliminate protections that took years to write. Prominent law firms and consultants are already working to sell lobbying campaigns to their clients. The law only applies to rules issued during the final 60 days that Congress is in session, and we don’t know when the House and Senate will adjourn. But this uncertainty is not stopping lobbyists from drumming up lucrative work.
This year’s list of rules to kill is chilling, targeting everything from pay increases for teachers at Head Start to limits on teenage smoking to drinking water purification. President-elect Donald Trump’s highly successful efforts to dominate the national news has so far masked these potentially destructive lobbying efforts.
Head Start provides early education for children from low-income families and focuses on their cognitive, social, and emotional development. Research shows that the program has produced great benefits for the children who are enrolled, preparing them for primary school where they would otherwise flounder. The program costs are modest, with funding of $12 billion last year.
The rule under attack was issued in August and would raise the salaries of Head Start teachers and improve their working conditions. Like Trump’s threatened Medicaid cuts, cancelling this rule would hurt people who need government help the most. Notably, the complete elimination of Head Start was among the radical proposals contained in the far-right Project 2025. Unknown industry players support this radical change to curry favor with the incoming administration.
Next up in the fight to shrink government is the age limit on buying cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The targeted rule raises the age from 18 to 21. The Food and Drug Administration’s apparent sin here was following congressional instructions set out in a 2019 law.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
If this rule experiences a rapid death, many members may not realize the significance of reversing a decision they made a mere five years ago. Because manufacturers deliberately add addictive nicotine to cigarettes, people who start smoking in adolescence most often do not quit. Smoking during childhood causes severe health problems, including the onset of respiratory disease, decreased physical fitness, and problems with lung growth.
Other regulations under scrutiny include an Environmental Protection Agency rule that would require the replacement of an estimated 9.2 million lead water pipes serving older housing and distribution systems across the country. The CDC advises that no safe level of lead is known for children under six, who can suffer brain and kidney damage when exposed to even minute amounts of lead.
Methane is released into the air from a variety of sources including facilities that produce oil and natural gas. It is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide in causing climate change and causes one-third of the warming produced by human emissions of greenhouse gases. A rule being targeted by oil and gas producers would impose a fee for excessive emissions, as required by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. In our hearts, most Americans have a sense that something is very wrong with the climate, as we watch drought, floods, and wildfires overcome communities across the country. If this rule is swept from the books and we take no further action to reduce emissions, conditions will grow intolerable.
Of course, one response to this prediction of doom and gloom is that when a majority of Americans become disgusted enough, they’ll elect different politicians who will resurrect the rules. But the Congressional Review Act has a wrinkle that is even more destructive than sweeping the rules into the garbage with no debate. It is commonly referred to inside the Washington Beltway as “salting the earth.”
Once a rule is killed, an agency is forever barred from writing a new rule that is “in substantially the same form” as the vetoed rule. The first rule killed under the act was an effort under the Clinton administration to prevent ergonomic injuries in a variety of jobs, from meatpacking to manufacturing to health care. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 30 percent of injuries that caused employees to miss work were ergonomic injuries.
Ever since, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been too intimidated to try regulating this serious harm. Today we run the risk of other agencies being similarly deterred from making common-sense rules. Head Start may not get support for its teachers and other staff; teen smoking may increase; lead may remain in drinking water; and climate change may reach a breaking point unless and until Congress comes to its senses.
Rena Steinzor is professor emerita at the University of Maryland Carey Law School. James Goodwin is the policy director at the Center for Progressive Reform.
The views expressed in this article are the writers’ own.
Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.
The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.
Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.
According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.
Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.
A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.
Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.
The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.
Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.
Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.
Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.
The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.
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Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.
Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.
Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.
“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”
RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions
House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.
Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.
The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.
“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”
Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.
The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.
Washington Wizards (16-55, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-51, 14th in the Western Conference)
Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Washington heads into the matchup with Utah after losing 16 in a row.
The Jazz have gone 13-24 in home games. Utah ranks second in the Western Conference with 16.6 fast break points per game led by Lauri Markkanen averaging 3.3.
The Wizards are 5-29 in road games. Washington is 9-10 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 15.3 turnovers per game.
The Jazz score 117.4 points per game, 6.7 fewer points than the 124.1 the Wizards give up. The Wizards’ 46.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.9 percentage points lower than the Jazz have allowed to their opponents (49.0%).
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Jazz won the last meeting 122-112 on March 6, with Ace Bailey scoring 32 points in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Jazz. Brice Sensabaugh is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games.
Alex Sarr is averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and two blocks for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 14.4 points over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 3-7, averaging 116.4 points, 43.3 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.7 points per game.
Wizards: 0-10, averaging 114.3 points, 37.4 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 130.6 points.
INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Cody Williams: out (shoulder), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).
Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Tristan Vukcevic: day to day (back), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Tre Johnson: day to day (foot), Kyshawn George: out (elbow), D’Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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