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.

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.

WASHINGTON (25News Now) – A new tradition was born in the Town of Washington Thursday night, on top of one that’s already been going for 11 years.

The city’s fire department used its annual Santa parade as an opportunity to collect food donations for ‘Washington Helps Its People,’ more commonly known as WHIP.

Fire Captain Jakob Spitzer said the department started its annual Santa parade in 2013 after the tornado tore through town. It was a way to reconnect with neighbors after the tragedy.

As the number of spectators grows each year, the acts of service have started to follow.

“It’s a perfect opportunity for families to come together, to donate, and to give during this Christmas season,” Spitzer said.

WHIP hosts a food pantry twice a month, serving nearly 200 families. However, one volunteer, Sharla Davis, says the number of people in need has recently grown, making community involvement more important.

“Our demand is greater, so our community is really just stepping up. This is a great way that people can just donate from right out of their house; they don’t have to drive the donation to us, they don’t have to send us a check, they can just walk out their door, say hi to Santa, and be able to put food on the truck,” said Davis.

This year marks the first time the firefighters have added the WHIP Collection to the tradition, and they said they’ll continue it from here on out.

During Thursday’s 11-mile parade route, WHIP leaders estimate people donated over 3,000 pounds of food, including canned vegetables, cereal, and crackers.

People interested in donating but missed the collection or the fire trucks didn’t drive down their street can drop off nonperishable items at either the fire department or WHIP off Peoria Street.

You can watch 25News – any newscast, anywhere – streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app, and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn more about how you can get connected to 25News streaming live news here.

Copyright 2024 WEEK. All rights reserved.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes start a three-game road trip in the nation’s capital on Friday night against the Washington Capitals.

–

When: Friday, December 20

Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. ET

Watch: FanDuel Sports Network South, FanDuel Sports Network App | Learn More

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App

Odds at Time of Publishing, via Fanatics Sportsbook: Canes -140

–

Canes Record: 20-10-1 (41 Points, 3rd – Metropolitan Division)

Canes Last Game: 4-0 Win over the New York Islanders on Friday, December 17

–

Capitals Record: 21-8-2 (44 Points, 2nd – Metropolitan Division)

Capitals Last Game: 3-2 Loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, December 17