November, 03 2010, 11:13am EDT
Congressional Sea Change Needn't Swamp Environmental Progress
National Audubon Society President & CEO David Yarnold Urges Bipartisan Cooperation to Protect the Environment
"Americans may have voted for change in Congress, but no one voted to increase pollution.
WASHINGTON
National Audubon Society President & CEO David Yarnold Urges Bipartisan Cooperation to Protect the Environment
"Americans may have voted for change in Congress, but no one voted to increase pollution.
"Senators should use their lame duck session to dedicate Clean Water
Act fines paid by BP to the immediate restoration of America's Gulf
Coast. After reporting a 1.8 billion dollar profit for the last
quarter, BP cannot be allowed to stick taxpayers with the bill for its
disaster. Senators can also ensure that the Land and Water
Conservation Fund receives full funding. These vital steps will
demonstrate bipartisan cooperation at a time when it is needed more than
ever.
"The new Congress can also realistically defend America from the
risk of diminished air quality by opposing efforts to block EPA
enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
"Passage of a nationwide renewable energy standard can still fuel
new cooperation after the new Congress convenes in January. Other
climate legislation may face a tough road ahead, but a nationwide
renewable energy standard that puts us on a clean energy path can still
make a dent in our energy use and climate-altering emissions.
"Audubon stands ready to respond by focusing conservation and
environmental protection efforts at the state, community and individual
level. The election of 2010 brought a sea change to Congress, but our
grassroots supporters are committed to ensuring it doesn't swamp the
chances for progress toward a healthy planet for birds, wildlife and
people everywhere."
Now in its second century, Audubon connects people with birds, nature and the environment that supports us all. Our national network of community-based nature centers, chapters, scientific, education, and advocacy programs engages millions of people from all walks of life in conservation action to protect and restore the natural world.
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Watchdog Urges FEC to Investigate Trump Campaign Over Scheme for Legal Fees
"By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much."
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A campaign finance watchdog on Wednesday filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, affiliated political groups, and an accounting firm of violating U.S. law in a scheme "seemingly designed to obscure the true recipients of a noteworthy portion of Trump's legal bills."
The Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center (CLC) said that "evidence appears to show an illegal arrangement between several Trump-affiliated committees and a compliance firm named Red Curve Solutions that is designed to obscure the identities of those providing legal services and how much they are being paid."
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CLC alleges that the Trump campaign, Trump's political action committee (PAC) Save America, and three affiliated organizations "violated federal reporting requirements based on a scheme in which the committees reportedly paid over $7.2 million—described as 'reimbursement for legal' costs or expenses"—to Red Curve.
The watchdog also said that Red Curve appears to be "making or facilitating illegal contributions that violate either federal contribution limits or the prohibition on corporate contributions."
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Red Curve is a domestic limited liability company that offers compliance and FEC reporting services but does not appear to offer any legal services. It is managed by Bradley Crate, who also serves as the treasurer for each of the five Trump-affiliated committees concerned in this complaint, as well as over 200 other federal committees.
According to filings with the FEC, Red Curve appears to have been fronting legal costs for Trump since at least December 2022, with Trump-affiliated committees repaying the company later. This arrangement appears to violate FEC rules that require campaigns to disclose not only the entity being reimbursed (here, Red Curve) but also the underlying vendor. By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much they are being paid—through this arrangement.
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Trump—who is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee—faces 91 federal and state felony charges related to his role in the January 6 insurrection and his organization's business practices. He is currently on trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election cycle. The twice-impeached former president has been open about his use of campaign donations to pay his legal costs.
The new CLC filing comes a day after the watchdog filed separate FEC complaints urging investigations into a pair of Trump-affiliated "scam PACs," which "pretend to fundraise for major candidates or issues while secretly diverting almost all of their donors' money back into fundraising or the fraudsters' own pockets."
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Three Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday joined with Democrats to advance legislation that would repeal an 1864 ban on abortion—a development rights advocates welcomed while stressing that the fight is far from over.
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Florez noted that "even with the repeal of the Civil War-era ban, the state will still have a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that denies people access to critical care. And lawmakers continue to attack Arizonans' ability to access reproductive healthcare. Our right to control our bodies and lives is hanging on by a thread."
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Two journalists on Tuesday questioned Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, about the administration's response to the hundreds of bodies found at Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis as well as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk's call for an independent investigation.
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