Holding Trump Accountable

There’s no doubt that with the COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives and consumed a lot of our attention. That is very understandable.

But unfortunately, the Trump administration and their allies across the nation have used this crisis as cover to rollback safeguards, suspend enforcement of environmental laws, and give sweetheart deals to oil and gas companies leasing public lands for drilling — and broadcast and cable news aren’t holding them accountable.

Media Matters conducted an investigation that found there were seven separate areas where Donald Trump and his allies have been quietly pushing policies with negative consequences for our climate, environment, and health — while the broadcast media is looking the other way.

  1. Companies given a free pass to pollute with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suspending enforcement of environmental laws and protections during COVID.
  2. Limiting the role of science in creating environmental policy by pushing the “secret-science” rule that restricts the use of confidential human health data.
  3. Pro-polluter changes in the Department of Interior (DOI), like moving forward with plans to ease protections found in the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act, preparing for a ConocoPhillips oil and gas project in the Alaska wilderness, and selling oil and drilling rights on public lands for pennies.
  4. Advancement of the contentious Keystone XL pipeline, which could also strain local communities’ medical resources, since workers could potentially spread COVID-19 as they venture to rural areas for construction.
  5. Legislation criminalizing pipeline protests has gained momentum in states under the guise of “protecting infrastructure.”
  6. Keeping the oil and gas valve wide open by approving new controversial offshore drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico and Coos Bay, Oregon.
  7. Rolling back vehicle emission standards by replacing the Obama Administration standards with weaker, less ambitious requirements.

Media Matters’ investigation is right, television media hasn’t been covering all these developments — but SEEC PAC has. We’ll always work to keep you in the loop every step of the way, and our members in Congress have been taking decisive action.

In response to Trump’s weakened vehicle emission standards, SEEC Co-Chair Rep. Doris Matsui introduced legislation to protect Obama-era clean car standards indefinitely in  statute. And SEEC Member Rep. Katie Porter led 90 of her colleagues in Congress in calling on the Trump EPA to reverse their decision to suspend environmental enforcement during the pandemic.

Will you help SEEC PAC keep up the fight by pitching in a grassroots contribution, {{FirstName or ‘team’}}? Your contribution will go to support the Members of Congress who are a part of this coalition — Members who are fighting against Trump’s rollbacks and for clean energy solutions and a safe environment for all. We can’t do it without you!

Thank you,

SEEC PAC