DISAPPEARING DATA

February 16, 2017 -
Text Describing Federal Fracking Rule Disappears From Interior Department Website. Intercept  

February 16, 2017 -

Website On Disabilities Act That Tripped Up Betsy DeVos Disappears. ... The new education chief sounded unfamiliar with the federal civil rights law during her confirmation hearings.
Huffington   and Daily News  

February 14, 2017 -
Animal Rights Groups Sue Over Unprecedented USDA Website Blackout (Re: animal abusers). 'The government should not be in the business of hiding animal abusers and lawbreakers from public scrutiny'. Guardian And, USA Today  
   Follow up: This blog is republishing all the animal welfare
   records the USDA deleted. Motherboard.vice

SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATION CHANGES

March 5, 2017 -
Leashes Come Off Wall Street, Gun Sellers, Miners and More. ... Telecommunications giants like Verizon and AT&T will not have to take “reasonable measures” to ensure that their customers’ Social Security numbers, web browsing history and other personal information are not stolen or accidentally released. ... Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase will not be punished, at least for now, for not collecting extra money from customers to cover potential losses from certain kinds of high-risk trades that helped unleash the 2008 financial crisis. ... And Social Security Administration data will no longer be used to try to block individuals with disabling mental health issues from buying handguns, nor will hunters be banned from using lead-based bullets, which can accidentally poison wildlife, on 150 million acres of federal lands.
NY Times

EPA Will No Longer Ask Oil Companies About Methane Emissions. ... Oil and gas companies will no longer have to provide the EPA with information concerning their methane gas emissions, ... EPA administrator scrapped an agency information request this week at the urging of 11 Republican politicians in predominantly southern states.
Ring of Fire  

February 23, 2017 -
The U.S. Justice Department has reversed an order by the Obama administration to phase out the use of private contractors to run federal prisons. ... In a memo made public on Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the Obama policy impaired the government's ability to meet the future needs of the federal prison system. Reuters  

February 21, 2017 -
Trump to roll back protections for transgender students: report. The Hill   Also: Departments of Education and Justice roll back transgender student protections. ... In a "Dear Colleague" letter, the Trump administration rolled back protections for transgender students who sought to use public school bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity. Washington Post 
Related: 2016 -
DoJ and Education Release Joint Guidance to Help Schools Ensure the Civil Rights of Transgender Students

February 2017 -
DHHS - Administration Moves to Block Access to Health Insurance - They can’t repeal Obamacare, so the Trump White House wants to make it much harder for you to get insurance with it. DCReport   Related Document: DHHS  45 CFR Parts 147, 155, and 156 CMS-9929-P

An executive order suspending the US conflict minerals law would be a ‘gift to warlords and corrupt businesses’
Global Witness.

H. R. 717 - Listing Reform Act - aka Amend the Endangered Species Act of 2017
Shown Here: Introduced in House (01/27/2017)... Listing Reform Act ,,, This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to allow the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, to prioritize the consideration of petitions to list a species as endangered or threatened other than in the order in which the petitions are received. The appropriate department may not give general priority to petitions to add species to the list of endangered or threatened species over petitions to remove a species from the list.   HR 717 Summary

HJ Res 41: "It's OK to Bribe Foreign Governments and Officials Act" -- and Not Disclose The Fact ... H.J.Res.41 - Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to "Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers". This joint resolution nullifies the "Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers" rule finalized by the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 27, 2016. (The rule, mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, requires resource extraction issuers to disclose payments made to governments for the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals.)  H.J.Res.41  
Tracker: This bill has the status: Became Law

January 2017 - H.J.Res.38 - Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule.
02/16/2017 Became Public Law No: 115-5. (All Actions)
Passed Senate without amendment (02/02/2017)
ID: OSM-2010-0018-10631
This joint resolution nullifies the Stream Protection Rule finalized by the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on December 20, 2016. The rule addresses the impacts of surface coal mining operations on surface water, groundwater, and the productivity of mining operation sites. H.J.Res.38 Final Rule
Original 2016 Rule  

Executive Order 13774 (Wiki) -
Preventing Violence Against Federal, State, Tribal, and Local Law Enforcement Officers - In a country where police chiefs consider resisting arrest a hate crime punishable by ten years in prison and where state legislatures are considering immunity for those who run over protesters, the Trump administration has signaled that, actually, we are not tough enough on protesters and activists. As bad as this may be, however, it is this part of the executive order that is the most chilling: