Joe Biden ran on a promise that he would return to the devastating and economy-killing “climate change” policies of the Obama-era. Not coincidentally, policies that would give China a tremendous manufacturing advantage in the world economy since they are not beholden to the same unreachable emission reduction “goals” as the U.S. and other Western countries.
It didn’t take Biden long once he swooped into the White House to begin undoing President Trump’s Energy Dominance agenda. Labeling climate change a “maximum threat,” in just the first week alone, the far-left leader ended the U.S. permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline – something likely done illegally – as well as commit the U.S. once again to the anti-American Paris Climate Treaty. He also “moved to discard more than 100 ‘harmful’ environmental proclamations, memoranda or permits signed by the Trump administration,” according to Newsweek. Finally, he’s laid out an extensive agenda for not only eliminating steps towards creating an energy-independent America but for adopting the Green New Deal.
During the Obama Administration, E&E Legal emerged as a leading watchdog regarding energy and environmental issues. The group became a national leader in strategic free-market environmental litigation. For example, we exposed widespread corruption between EPA officials and green lobbyists in the drafting of the Clean Power Plan, received international coverage for a multi-state Attorneys General effort to shake down Exxon using a contrived smear campaign bankrolled by the Rockefeller Foundation, and we brought several federal suits over the renewable energy standards using the Dormant Commerce Clause.
After four years of the Trump Administration, where free-market environmentalism was on offense, E&E Legal is once again called upon to become a loyal opposition to policies that will devastate the economy and create unthinkable pain and misery. As seen recently in Dallas and Houston, it’s no longer a question of when this will occur, now it’s what the level of destruction will be.
On March 8, the Energy & Environment Legal Institute (E&E Legal) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), concerning the new Administration’s recently formed Task Force on Scientific Integrity. Specifically, the group is concerned with the new Administration’s focus on “equality,” which is a buzzword used across many of the highly controversial efforts already instituted by Biden since taking office. It’s also found in Biden’s January 27, 2021, Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking.
In addition to seeking such information as the Task Force’s members, the date appointed, and charters or mandates governing the group, the FOIA also seeks definitions of several terms found in the January 27, 2021 memorandum. These include the Administration’s promise of “improper political interference,” “suppression or distortion of scientific or technological findings, data, information, conclusions, or technical results,” and a definition of “all genders, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.”
“I spent thirty-three years at the EPA, and I have litigated numerous highly complex environmental law cases both for the government and as a plaintiff against it,” said David Schnare, E&E Legal’s Founder and Chairman Emeritus. “What I see coming out of the blocks is the new Administration seeking to codify new ‘legal’ terms – without proper due process or legislative discourse – based on a particular political philosophy that runs counter to basic legal tenets of the country.”
Schnare pointed specifically to a clause from the January 27th Memorandum that promises “the equitable delivery of the Federal Government’s programs.” “What does ‘equitable’ mean, and more concerning when you consider a government as large as this one, how will this be achieved? Will there be a new ‘Equitable Czar’ who will be in charge of making unilateral decisions based on an undefined sense of fairness?! This is what we’re trying to determine through our FOIA request,” he added.
It’s clear the Biden Administration will use task forces meeting in secret to conduct much of his “climate” policies. Backroom dealing without using normal legislative and regulatory processes is how business is conducted in China, not the U.S. We anticipate a very busy four years shining light on an Administration that’s determined to kill jobs, destroy the economy, and end the quality of life we once enjoyed in America.
