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Recent Projects

Viewing recent projects in Consumer and Healthcare Protection
  • Comments to SEC on Shareholder Proposal Regulations

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule that would limit investors’ ability to propose shareholder resolutions for a vote by fellow shareholders. The rule would raise requirements on the amount of stock required to be owned, impose requirements for the length of time the stock must have been held, and make it harder to resubmit resolutions that had failed to reach majority support in prior years. We submitted comments critiquing the rule, which will limit shareholder monitoring and likely have an outsized impact on shareholders’ role in environmental oversight.

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  • Comments on Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation

    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule that would likely reduce Medicaid funding, provider payments, and beneficiaries’ access to care. We submitted comments explaining serious flaws in the agency’s analysis, which fails to quantify funding reductions and assess the health impacts of reduced care.

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  • Amicus Brief on Dust-Lead Hazard Standards

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule revising standards for lead found in dust on floors, window sills, and in soil. Our amicus brief critiques the rule, which forgoes net beneficial options in favor of weaker standards that will cause significant harms to public health.

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  • Amicus Briefs on Homeland Security’s “Public Charge” Rule

    In August, the Department of Homeland Security finalized the “public charge” rule, which seeks to deny lawful permanent residency to immigrants who have participated in public assistance programs like Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Section 8 housing voucher program. Multiple federal district courts have since enjoined the rule from taking effect and Policy Integrity filed amicus briefs supporting those injunctions on appeal. Our briefs explain how the Department failed to meaningfully assess many of the substantial social costs of the large-scale disenrollment from public assistance programs that will result from the rule, and also failed to identify any significant social benefits from the rule.

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  • Look Before You Lease Cover

    Look Before You Lease

    Reducing Fossil Fuel Dominance on Public Lands by Accounting for Option Value

    While the Trump administration’s goal of “energy dominance” has increased the public lands available for oil and gas development, no effort has been made to modernize the leasing system, even in the face of climate change. Our report explains how option value—which accounts for the informational value gained by delaying leasing decisions—can and should be factored into the Bureau of Land Management’s land use planning processes. Accounting for option value at multiple stages of the land use planning process would significantly improve BLM’s public lands stewardship, better protect the environment, and regain some of the economic and strategic advantages it has ceded to private developers. The report also describes case studies where BLM’s failure to consider option value has led to costly litigation and missed opportunities.

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  • Comments on HHS Changes to Grant Recipient Regulations

    The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing to change regulations governing grant recipients, such as foster-care and adoption programs. The rule would allow discrimination on the basis of non-merit factors including sexual orientation or gender identity, likely leading to more denials of service to qualified LGBT individuals and same-sex couples. We submitted comments detailing how HHS fails to provide any analysis of the proposed rule’s costs.

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  • Comments to the Department of Labor on Tip Pooling

    The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) is proposing to implement new tip regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. We submitted comments asking DOL to provide a more detailed explanation of the proposed rule and improve its underlying analysis.

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  • Comments to EPA on TSCA Chemicals Regulation

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to regulate four chemicals that have serious environmental and health risks. We submitted comments supporting EPA and suggesting ways the agency can strengthen its proposal and, additionally, urging EPA to reexamine its decision not to regulate a fifth chemical.

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  • Comments on Duty Length Regulations for Commercial Vehicle Drivers

    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is proposing to revise duty length regulations for drivers of commercial motor vehicles. We submitted comments focusing on how FMCSA can improve its analysis of costs and benefits to social welfare and driver health.

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  • Comments to FDA on Health Warning Labels for Cigarettes

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to place new, more effective health warning labels on cigarette packages and advertisements. We submitted comments supporting the proposal and suggesting ways the agency can strengthen its assessment of the new labels’ costs and benefits.

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