The Company Paid $1 Million for the Inauguration
Poisons for kids. Dow Chemical wants the Trump administration to “set aside” government studies
that found some widely used pesticides are harmful to about 1,800 threatened or endangered species. Dow Chemical wrote a $1 million check to help underwrite Trump’s inaugural festivities, and its chairman and CEO, Andrew Liveris, heads a White House manufacturing working group. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced last month he was reversing an Obama-era effort to bar the use of Dow’s chlorpyrifos pesticide on food after recent peer-reviewed studies found that even tiny levels of exposure could hinder the development of children’s brains. Dow is currently engaged in a $120 billion-plus merger with DuPont, which is expected to close this summer.
On the March. Thousands of activists and scientists are expected to descend on Washington Saturday to rally for environmental causes and government policies rooted in scientific research as part of the Earth Day and March for Science rallies. More than 600 related satellite marches and rallies are scheduled around the world. The demonstrations come a week after the Tax March and a week before the People’s Climate March.
Trumpcare 2.0. Republicans are trying to put together another deal to repeal the Affordable Care Act that has helped provide health insurance to 20 million more people in our country. This Republican version of their plan would allow states to ask for waivers to ax a rule that prohibits insurers from charging more to people in our country who have pre-existing conditions. States would also be able to ask to eliminate essential health benefits such as emergency care and care for women who are pregnant and their newborns.
Pension cuts. Four more pension plans are seeking federal approval to cut benefits to retired workers. Underfunded union pension plans are cutting benefits under the Kline-Miller Act.
