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Ponder the following existential question: Who does their job less effectively? Members of Congress, or employees of federal agencies? Let’s examine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees versus those responsible for legislating environmental laws. Congress has not been able to reauthorize environmental statutes for years, with some (most) needing significant attention. EPA relies on 1990 Clean Air Act amendments to sort out air pollution issues and address climate change...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has long navigated the complex intersection of science, law, policy, and public trust. Under the Trump Administration, EPA faces renewed scrutiny. The Administration seeks regulatory rollbacks and is pursuing a broader deregulatory strategy that many believe risks sacrificing hard won environmental protections in the name of economic growth. While early promises to reduce bureaucratic red tape struck a chord with a number in industry, implementation...

There are a variety of accounts on the progress and success of the first days of the Trump Administration. Some put special significance on a new administration’s first 100 days, but is this the first 100 days or four years + 100 days? In particular, appearing April 21, 2025, in The Washington Post, there is a report tracing what has happened to the “Five Things” mandate coming from Elon Musk and the DOGE (Department of...

Recent press reports tell of rumors of impactful (some fear catastrophic) budget cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Politically, priority on reducing EPA’s climate programs, along with budget and personnel cuts, are not surprising given the election results. Recent rumors include chatter that the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) might be eliminated and/or its staff redistributed, with a specific target on the back of ORD’s Integrated Risk Information System...

On March 19, 2025, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson were featured in Chemical & Engineering News’ article regarding delays by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on hazardous substance restrictions. The EPA and industry both want certainty regarding the agency’s legal positions, say lawyers who work closely with chemical companies. “Industry would like predictability and certainty so it can plan accordingly,” says Lynn Bergeson, managing partner at the Washington,...

Current news on the government efficiency and reform front concerns the near-miss of a government shutdown last week (the budget would have lapsed at midnight on March 14, 2025). One reason some cited against allowing a shutdown to occur is how it might encourage or otherwise aid in attempts to eliminate positions if they were deemed “essential” or not. As one who has gone through the “who is essential” exercise in a senior management position...

Headlines this weekend refer to “renewed chaos” over e-mails sent to federal employees at most (some? all?) agencies of the government — asking employees to list their five accomplishments for the week. In our February 24, 2025, blog item, we explored how employees might answer such vague requests in the absence of more guidance about who is asking and what is to be reported. The larger issue is that the current turmoil and confused information...

It was reported this weekend that all federal employees received an e-mail from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) telling employees to report “five bullets about what you did last week.” The e-mail also states that failure to do so would be interpreted to mean that the employee is offering their resignation. This is reported as part of the drive to shake up or reform, review, or rebuke the federal workforce. Whatever one speculates about...

Download transcript. This week I discuss with my colleague, Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group, our consulting affiliate, what to expect in 2024 regarding TSCA developments. Rich is a leading voice on all things TSCA, especially new chemicals, and a widely sought after thought leader on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg), Congress’ 2016...

On March 16, 2022, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy will hold a hearing on “Bioenergy Research and Development for the Fuels and Chemicals of Tomorrow.” According to the hearing charter, the purpose of the hearing is to examine the status of bioenergy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities carried out by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The hearing will also consider advancements in bioenergy research and the potential role...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On March 16, 2022, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy will hold a hearing on “Bioenergy Research and Development for the Fuels and Chemicals of Tomorrow.” According to the hearing charter, the purpose of the hearing is to examine the status of bioenergy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities carried out by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The hearing will also consider...

By  Lynn L. Bergeson On May 28, 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration submitted President Joseph Biden’s budget for fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022) to Congress. According to EPA’s May 28, 2021, press release, the budget request advances “key EPA priorities, including tackling climate change, advancing environmental justice, protecting public health, improving infrastructure, creating jobs, and supporting and rebuilding the EPA workforce.” The President’s FY 2022...

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a fully remote hearing on March 10, 2021, on “The Path Forward:  Restoring the Vital Mission of EPA.”  According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s March 3, 2021, press release, the hearing will examine the “critical need to restore the mission” of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and how EPA “can address climate change and other urgent challenges to the nation’s...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 3, 2021, the co-chairs of the House Biofuels Caucus, U.S. Representatives Cindy Axne (D-IA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL), introduced the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Investment and Market Expansion Act, which would expand access to higher biofuel blends. Building off the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Higher Blends Infrastructure Inventive Program, this bill intends to provide consistent federal investment...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 5, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Procurement and Property Management published a final rule that will amend the Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement (Guidelines) to add 30 sections designating the product categories within which biobased products would be afforded procurement preference by federal agencies and their contractors. These 30 product categories contain finished products that are made, in large...

By Lynn L. Bergeson An Executive Order (EO) issued by President Trump on June 14, 2019, would require all federal agencies and departments to evaluate the need for their current advisory committees established under Section 9(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).    Entitled “Executive Order on Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees,” the EO also would require each federal agency to terminate at least one-third of its current...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 15, 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a bill originally introduced in early 2017 by Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) titled the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (2019 Appropriations Act). Of interest to stakeholders in the biobased sector is Section 428, which covers policies relating to biomass energy.  In this section, responsibilities assigned to the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Agriculture, and EPA Administrator are...

Ethanol Producer, “Ernst Questions CEQ Nominee on RFS, Year-Round E15 Sales” BusinessGreen, “Circular Car? Dutch Team Unveil Recyclable, Bio-Based Electric Vehicle” Attis Industries, “Attis Industries to Purchase Site for First Commercial Biorefinery” Tempo, “Govt to Expand the Use of Biodiesel 20” Georgia Tech News Center, “Material Formed from Crab Shells and Trees Could Replace Flexible Plastic Packaging”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson Representative Scott Peters (D-CA) recently introduced the Algae Agriculture Act of 2018 (H.R. 5373) to the House of Representatives. The bill, sponsored by Representatives Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), and Darin LaHood (R-IL), would provide similar advantages to algae cultivators and harvesters as those that exist for traditional crop farmers under U.S. agricultural policy. These advantages include: updating the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)...

On February 21, 2017, USDA announced in the Federal Register that the comment period for the Designation of Product Categories for Federal Procurement proposed rule had been extended.  The proposed rule aims to amend the Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement to add 12 product categories composed of intermediate ingredient and feedstock materials and to propose a minimum biobased content for each category.  In addition to the product categories and...