Wednesday, February 08, 2017

Public Citizen sues Trump over de-regulation



From Robert Weissman, President, Public Citizen

Moments ago, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit against President Trump.

Here’s what you need to know about the case, Public Citizen v. Donald J. Trump:


  • In a unilateral directive issued in just his second week in office, Trump essentially ordered the government to stop issuing new health and safety, financial, environmental, workplace and other vital public protections.
  • Trump’s executive order will allow Big Business to exploit workers, Wall Street to rip off consumers, Dirty Energy companies to pollute, Big Pharma to continue price gouging, auto makers to sell dangerous cars, and on and on.
  • It will be nearly impossible for the government to carry out its duties under popular and effective laws like the Clean Air Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, to name a few.
  • Even after the Wall Street crash, the BP oil disaster and other failures that resulted from letting corporations “regulate” themselves, the American people will be forced to suffer still MORE corporate recklessness and greed.
  • The executive order requires that for every new regulation adopted, two must be eliminated — a nonsensical standard with absolutely no basis in law.
  • Especially insidious is an edict that regulations be evaluated only by inflating estimates of their cost to businesses while completely ignoring their substantially greater — and real — benefits to society.
  • This executive order will mean more contaminated food, an accelerated rush to climate catastrophe, more dangerous cars and trucks, more workplace injuries and deaths, slashed consumer rights, more oil spills, more human misery. All unnecessary. All preventable.
Our lawsuit takes direct aim at Trump’s plot to put corporate profits before people’s lives and the public good.

If you can, please chip in today to help us prevent Trump’s wild lawlessness, preserve lifesaving regulatory protections and stand up to these stunning abuses of power.

Donate now.

Thank you for anything you can contribute!

Onward,

Robert Weissman
President, Public Citizen

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