In an effort to help boost the fortunes of the oil and gas industry, the Trump administration in August rolled back an Obama-era rule on methane emissions, spurring mixed reactions from within the industry as well as strong opposition from environmentalists. The administration’s rule would remove the requirement for oil and gas companies to install technology to monitor and limit methane leaks from new wells, storage facilities and pipelines. Methane is one of the main components of natural gas, and it is also a potent greenhouse gas that plays a major role in global warming when released during natural gas…

Amid the dismissal of several inspectors general (IGs) by President Donald Trump this past spring, lawmakers of both parties introduced legislation to protect the independence of these agency watchdogs. Congress initially passed legislation in 1978 to establish oversight within federal agencies via the independent inspectors general positions. The law, which was updated in 2008, requires the president to notify Congress at least 30 days prior to removing an IG from office and to provide a reason for the removal. In just a few weeks in spring 2020, President Trump removed two IGs and replaced three acting IGs. In May, he…

In June, the Trump administration issued regulation reversing an Obama-era rule that established nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ patients under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Under the new rule, the government interprets sex discrimination based on the plain meaning of “sex” as male or female and as determined by biology, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency argued that the new rule restores the civil rights provision in the ACA to not go beyond the “plain meaning of the law.” Under the Obama administration’s rule, “sex discrimination” was broadened to include discrimination…

National parks, wildlife refuges and recreational areas in the U.S. received a boost in funding this August when President Donald Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act (P.L. 116-152) into law on Aug. 4. The law will provide $9.5 billion over five years to help maintain and expand parks and natural areas throughout the country. It also provides $900 million a year to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which provides grants to local, state and federal governments to preserve and acquire land and water areas. The revenue from energy development and oil and gas exploration will fund these conservation…