In a recent article from in Vanity Fair titled “Texas Chainsaw Management ," Robert F. Kennedy examines this Administration's frightening habit of giving away environmental protection jobs within all departments of the government to business insiders from the industries they have been tasked to regulate. Citing many examples, including what he calls “the top 12,” which are listed below, Kennedy paints a harrowing picture of an executive branch more concerned with advocating business interests than fulfilling its fundamental job of protecting the citizenry and a civil service which has “entered government not to serve the public interest but rather to subvert the very laws they are charged with enforcing.”
It seems not even mother earth is safe from this administration’s agenda of using government for private gain, and it may be our children who may pay the price.
-- Caleb Rowe
The Top 12
1. Ann Klee (2001–6), general counsel, E.P.A.; counselor to Interior secretary Gale Norton Prior to her government appointments, Klee was a partner at Preston Gates & Ellis, where she worked for clients from the transportation, mining, timber, and waste-management industries on cases involving the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and Superfund.
2. J. Steven Griles (2001–4), deputy secretary, Department of the Interior While employed at Interior, Griles, a former lobbyist for coal, oil, and gas interests, negotiated payments of over $1 million from National Environmental Strategies, a lobbying firm in which he had had a principal interest. Griles's tenure was described by an inspector general as an "ethical quagmire."
3. Lynn Scarlett (2001–present), assistant secretary, then deputy secretary, Department of the Interior Scarlett was previously president of the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank. In a 1997 article she wrote, "Environmentalism is a coherent ideology that rivals Marxism in its challenge to the classical liberal view of government as protector of individual rights."
4. Gale Norton (2001–6), secretary, Department of the Interior Norton served two terms as Colorado attorney general before joining a Denver law firm, where she represented numerous developers and lobbied for NL Industries, a paint manufacturer which has been the target of a dozen lawsuits alleging lead poisoning and has been a defendant in lawsuits involving 75 toxic-waste sites.
5. Richard Stickler (2006–present), assistant secretary, Mine Safety and Health Administration As reported by The Charleston Gazette, Stickler "worked for BethEnergy Mines of Pennsylvania for 30 years, worked briefly for Massey and then headed Pennsylvania's Bureau of Deep Mine Safety from 1997 to 2003, when he retired. Stickler's mines had accident rates twice the national average."
6. William Wehrum (2005–present), acting assistant administrator, E.P.A. Wehrum is a former Latham & Watkins lobbyist specializing in Clean Air Act issues. He was involved in crafting lenient rules for power-plant mercury pollution in which a dozen paragraphs were taken from a Latham & Watkins memo.
7. James Connaughton (2001–present), chairman, Council on Environmental Quality Previously a partner at Sidley & Austin, Connaughton represented General Electric and arco in their Superfund toxic-waste fights with the E.P.A.
8. Jeffrey D. Jarrett (2006–7), assistant secretary, Department of Energy Prior to his work in government, Jarrett spent 13 years in the coal-mining industry. In March, he returned to the private sector when the Coal Based Generation Stakeholders Group hired him as its executive director.
9. Francis S. Blake (2001–2), deputy secretary, Department of Energy Blake played a key role in formulating Bush's controversial Clear Skies legislation, meeting with dozens of energy-industry lobbyists in closed-door sessions. Blake has since been named chairman and C.E.O. of Home Depot.
10. William Gerry Myers III (2001–3), solicitor, Department of the Interior Myers has compared federal land-use regulation to "the tyrannical actions of King George." After leaving Interior, Myers rejoined Holland & Hart, where he represents several extractive-industries clients.
11. Rebecca W. Watson (2001–5), assistant secretary, Department of the Interior Watson had a lengthy legal career helping mining- and timber-industry clients. She has ties to the anti-environmental groups Defenders of Property Rights and the Mountain States Legal Foundation.
12. Thomas Sansonetti (2001–5), assistant attorney general, Department of Justice In previous stints at Interior, Sansonetti was involved in the Exxon Valdez settlement and the infamous spotted-owl litigation. He has worked as a lobbyist on behalf of mining and energy interests.
There is some logic to the FBI proposal. It is generally in line with the recordkeeping requirements that are imposed on the public by agencies. For example, the recordkeeping requirement for importers by Customs & Border Protection Regulations is five years. It is the same for tax records and export records under the Export Administration Regulations. Six years retention on closed records by the FBI does not sound unreasonable unless some specific activity indicates a longer period is needed. We have paranoia about "the government" keeping records forever on the public--this is the flip side of the coin.
Posted by: Ron Edelstein | Apr 30, 2007 at 12:36 PM