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For Immediate Release
May, 06 2021, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Andrea Carta, Greenpeace EU legal strategist, andrea.carta@greenpeace.org
Greenpeace EU press desk, pressdesk.eu@greenpeace.org
EU Court of Justice Rejects Bayer Attempt to Overturn Bee-Killing Pesticide Ban
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled today that the European Commission was right to ban the use of three bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides - imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam.
WASHINGTON
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled today that the European Commission was right to ban the use of three bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides - imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam. The court rejected Bayer's final attempt to overturn the ban and undermine the EU's 'precautionary principle' for the protection of the environment and human health, said Greenpeace.
The Court confirmed the ruling of the EU General Court of 17 May 2018, once again highlighting the importance of the precautionary principle. Greenpeace presented arguments to the court in defence of the ban, along with Pesticides Action Network Europe, Beelife and Buglife.
Greenpeace EU legal strategist Andrea Carta said: "The Court of Justice has reaffirmed that protecting nature and people's health takes precedence over the narrow economic interests of powerful multinationals and that the precautionary principle is a cornerstone of EU law. This means the EU has a responsibility and the power to ensure the safety of all pesticides, chemicals, GM crops and other dangerous products and substances."
However, this landmark decision does not mean an end to threats to bees and other pollinators in the EU. Several governments have circumvented the 2013 neonicotinoid ban by repeatedly granting temporary exemptions that allow the use of these banned pesticides. Research also indicates that several other pesticides currently used in the EU are a threat to bees and other pollinating insects, including four more neonicotinoids not covered by the 2013 ban.
Governments have also failed to reach an agreement on new testing guidelines for pesticides, in order to ensure that they do not harm bees, as required by EU laws on pesticides.
Andrea Carta added:"EU courts have again ruled that bees and other essential insects should be protected from dangerous pesticides, but governments continue to dish out exemptions and hold up attempts to put in place effective safety testing. This ruling shows they must adopt rigorous testing rules without further delay.
The Court also ruled that Bayer should pay legal costs incurred by environmental groups and the European Commission.
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
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'A Huge Scandal': Internal Doc Exposes Trump-Musk Hunt for Social Security Fraud as a Sham
A newly reported document shows that "anti-fraud checks" implemented at the Social Security agency found virtually no improper benefit claims—while slowing payments substantially.
May 16, 2025
An internal Trump administration document reportedly shows that anti-fraud checks recently installed at the Social Security agency have found just two cases of potentially improper benefit claims out of more than 110,000—a rate of 0.0018%.
The documents, first reported Thursday by Nextgov/FCW, further undercut President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's narrative that Social Security is brimming with fraud. Musk falsely claimed in March that "40% of the calls into Social Security were fraudulent."
The anti-fraud checks for Social Security have been applied only to benefit claims made over the phone. According to the internal document, "No significant fraud has been detected from the flagged cases." Earlier this year, amid widespread outrage, the Social Security Administration (SSA) walked back a proposal to scrap many of its phone-based benefit claim services.
Nextgov/FCW noted Thursday that the Trump administration's deployment of the anti-fraud tools beginning last month "did cause delays, as SSA changed its phone procedures to add the checks on the backend."
"The lags stem from the three-day hold placed on telephone claims in order to run the anti-fraud [checks], a move that 'delays payments and benefits to customers, despite an extremely low risk of fraud,'" Nextgov/FCW reported, citing the internal document.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in a statement that "the Trump-Musk Social Security takeover has only meant more chaos and confusion for Americans."
"Every one of DOGE's so-called 'mistakes' is a backdoor cut to people's benefits," said Warren. "There's nothing efficient about making it harder for people to access the checks they’ve earned and are owed."
On social media, Warren called the revelations in the internal administration document "a HUGE scandal."
This is a HUGE scandal. Elon Musk, JD Vance, and Trump are lying about Social Security fraud. Internal documents show DOGE found "no significant fraud"—but did slow retirement claim processing by 25%. Nothing efficient about making it harder for people to get their benefits.
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— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) May 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
It's long been clear that Social Security fraud is minuscule, with an inspector general report published last year estimating that just 0.84% of Social Security benefits paid out between 2015 and 2022 were dispensed improperly—and even those improper payments were not necessarily fraudulent.
The new reporting out Thursday bolstered warnings that the Trump administration's hunt for fraud is a mere pretext for slashing Social Security benefits and weakening the program.
"Turns out there ISN'T rampant Social Security fraud, but Elon's witch hunt, driven by his insane conspiracy theories, IS keeping seniors from getting their benefits as quickly as they should be," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) wrote on social media. "THIS is Republican governing: hunting for nonexistent fraud while breaking Social Security."
Frank Bisignano, the newly confirmed SSA administrator, has close ties to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and has defended the president's false claim that tens of millions of "dead" people are receiving Social Security benefits.
CNNreported earlier this week that as SSA combs "through its databases to check whether beneficiaries are alive or dead" at Trump and Musk's behest, agency staffers are "seeing more people coming in to be resurrected" after being falsely deemed deceased.
"I've been saying it all along," former SSA chief Martin O'Malley wrote Thursday. "Elon Musk is the biggest fraud, not Social Security."
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Trump-GOP Tax Bill a Gift to 'Predatory Landlords' That Will Worsen Already Dire Housing Crisis
"Housing programs are among the important public services being targeted for significant cuts to fund tax giveaways for billionaires and their wealthy donors," warned one group.
May 15, 2025
House Republicans' proposed budget reconciliation package will make mortgages expensive and harder to obtain, a progressive tax policy group warned Thursday, while over 30 advocacy groups sounded the alarm over the Trump administration's gutting of federal agencies and programs, moves that are exacerbating the U.S. housing crisis.
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) said that the proposed permanent extension of expiring portions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term would grant massive tax breaks to big corporations and the ultrawealthy, "wasting trillions of dollars that could help solve our country's affordable housing crisis."
"The deficit-financed tax cuts would also increase interest rates, making housing less affordable," ATF added. "To the extent the tax cuts are not added to the deficit, housing programs are among the important public services being targeted for significant cuts to fund tax giveaways for billionaires and their wealthy donors."
"They are paving the way for more predatory landlords to jack up rent."
ATF's assertion is supported by a report published in February by the Economic Policy Institute finding that "large, deficit-financed tax cuts would put upward pressure on inflation and interest rates, slowing growth and causing pain to households," including by making borrowing for a home more expensive.
ATF noted that extending the TCJA's weakened low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) could result in 235,000 fewer affordable housing units over 10 years.
"Trump's tax scam reduced the financial incentive for corporations—the largest LIHTC investors—to make equity investments in the tax credits by slashing the corporate tax rate to 21%, and adopting a stingier measure of inflation," the group said.
"One of the most regressive provisions in the 2017 Trump-GOP tax law is the so-called 'opportunity zone' tax break," ATF contended. "While proponents claimed it would encourage investment in low-income neighborhoods, it has instead been ruthlessly exploited by wealthy real estate investors."
"In fact, this program has failed to deliver the promised economic opportunity to underserved communities, instead turning many of these neighborhoods into what can more accurately be described as exploitation zones," the group added.
The Lever's Luke Goldstein and Katya Schwenk reported Tuesday that the reconciliation package's proposed restrictions on state governments passing new regulations on artificial intelligence technology "could kill crackdowns on real estate management company RealPage for raising rents and contributing to the country's housing crisis."
RealPage is accused of price gouging renters via AI-powered surveillance pricing and automated insurance denials and management systems.
"Not only are House Republicans giving their billionaire donors and large corporations a massive tax handout, they are giving RealPage and bad actors like them a free pass to rip off working families," Lindsay Owens, executive director of the economic justice group Groundwork Collaborative, said Wednesday.
"They are paving the way for more predatory landlords to jack up rent, more apps to drive down gig worker wages, and more retailers to hike prices on consumers," Owens added. "The GOP tax bill tells you everything you need to know about the Republican Party's priorities and how unserious they are about lowering costs for working families."
More than a dozen states have joined a class action lawsuit accusing RealPage of using AI to artificially inflate housing prices across the nation.
Also on Thursday, more than 30 housing, consumer, and civil rights groups warned that the Trump administration's deep cuts to federal agencies and programs—spearheaded by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency—"are worsening the nation's housing crisis."
"Our families, neighbors, and communities deserve better than these untenable and unconscionable proposals."
"The Trump administration promised to address the high cost of housing, but so far has proposed policies that will increase the cost of rent, shred the nation's housing safety net, and push more people into homelessness," National Low Income Housing Coalition interim president and CEO Renee Willis said in a statement.
"At a time when more people than ever are struggling to afford the cost of rent and a record number of people are experiencing homelessness, rolling back fair housing protections and cutting funding for rental assistance, homelessness services, and affordable housing development—and gutting the workforce responsible for administering these programs—will only create more hardship," Willis added. "Our families, neighbors, and communities deserve better than these untenable and unconscionable proposals."
In a wider critique of Trump's policy proposals, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday on social media: "Wages are stagnant. Housing costs are soaring."
"Many young people will never be able to afford their own homes, but Trump wants to increase the bloated military budget by $150 billion," Sanders added. "WRONG. That money should go toward building the affordable housing that we desperately need."
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As Supreme Court Hears Birthright Citizenship Case, Trump Ripped for Attack on Core Constitutional Right
"Any effort to narrow or lift the nationwide injunction on this case would lead to chaos, allowing birthright citizenship to be denied in some states but not others," one campaigner warned.
May 15, 2025
As President Donald Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship got a "frosty" reception at the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, opponents of the Republican's executive order renewed criticism of both that and his broader anti-migrant agenda.
"The Constitution is crystal clear: All persons born in the United States are citizens of the United States. As was reaffirmed in court this morning, birthright citizenship is a foundational American principle that has strengthened our communities, our families, and our whole country for generations," FWD.us president Todd Schulte said in a statement after oral arguments.
"Any effort to narrow or lift the nationwide injunction on this case would lead to chaos, allowing birthright citizenship to be denied in some states but not others," he continued. "If the Supreme Court sides with the government, the country will be split in half, with some states granting citizenship to newborn babies and the others denying it. The human cost of siding with the government cannot be overstated."
Schulte warned that "children born in the United States could be denied healthcare, nutrition, Social Security numbers, and other essential services that Congress has made available to all citizens. Children could be subject to deportation even though their parents (for example, someone with a lawful work visa) could not be legally deported."
"It is not a stretch to believe that an administration that is paying other countries to indefinitely detain immigrants will leverage the threats to deport this new undocumented class of children to force whole families here legally to leave the U.S.," he added. "The Supreme Court should be as clear as the Constitution, and rule that ending birthright citizenship, even partially or temporarily, is wrong, unlawful, and should not be allowed."
According toPolitico:
Trump's executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship found no traction Thursday at the Supreme Court, but the justices sounded inclined to rein in a legal remedy judges have used to halt many of Trump's early policy moves, from restricting immigration to cutting federal spending to ending anti-diversity initiatives.
Three district judges have deployed that tool—known as a nationwide injunction—to block Trump from implementing his birthright citizenship order. None of the justices spoke up in defense of the order's legality during more than two hours of oral arguments, and several suggested that the order is almost surely unconstitutional.
The Associated Pressreported that Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices Thursday that judges have issued 40 nationwide injunctions since Trump returned to office for a second term in January.
The high court—which has a right-wing supermajority that includes three Trump appointees—is expected to rule by June. A decision limiting the power of federal judges could impact various other ongoing cases.
As the ACLU said on social media: "Today, the Supreme Court considered judges' power to block unlawful actions by the Trump administration. While this wasn't our case, we're united in mission to protect our civil liberties."
If the President is arguing to strip federal judges of the power to stop him from flagrantly violating the 14th Amendment citizenship rights of Americans - literally rendering some children stateless persons - that context is germane to argument about the legitimate use of the federal court’s power.
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— Sherrilyn Ifill (@sifill.bsky.social) May 15, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), a daughter of immigrants and citizen by birthright, responded to Trump's order by introducing federal legislation on Thursday that would block his attack on the core constitutional right: the Born in the USA Act.
"Trump has posed the question of who gets to be an American. The fact is that every citizen not naturalized in this country is a citizen by birthright. And it is important to remember that our nation's history would not be complete without the children of immigrants who, like me, are citizens by birthright and pride themselves on being AMERICANS," Ramirez said in a statement.
"I am both a daughter of immigrants and the daughter of America; a proud Chapina and an American by birthright," she highlighted. "It is my honor to lead 109 members of Congress to ensure not a single dollar goes to Trump's illegal, unconstitutional attempt to undermine our Constitution, our rights, our liberties, and the soul of our nation."
Although Ramirez's bill is unlikely to advance, given that Republicans control not only the White House but also both chambers of Congress, its supporters include Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
The companion bill, introduced by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) in February, has support from 14 other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus. The legislation is also backed by several local and national groups, including the ACLU, National Immigration Law Center, FWD.us, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Immigration Hub, UndocuBlack, and more.
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