Former Doj Officials Urge Major Rethink On Defending Key Epa Rules

摘要

Former high-ranking Justice Department (DOJ) officials are urging its environment division to reconsider their ongoing defense of contentious EPA rules once the next administration takes office, though some sources warn that any change in course by DOJ on existing high profile issues could unnecessarily politicize the department. The presidential transition team should focus on restoring the credibility of DOJ, the former officials say, claiming that the department's reputation has been damaged under the Bush administration by having to defend several rules that were struck down by federal courts with scathing opinions attacking the rules' legality. The officials also say that morale at DOJ's environment department is hurt when staff have to defend EPA rules made on a weak legal basis, and say that DOJ should reconsider its defense of these rules. At the same time, the officials lay out a host of other recommendations for new efforts DOJ should undertake once the next president takes office, including the establishment of a Global Climate Change Initiative within the department's environment division to assess pending climate cases. Lois Schiffer, a senior official at the department under the Clinton Administration, and Richard Lazarus, who worked in the department during the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush outlined their advice for the transition team for the next administration in a recent article in the Harvard Law & Policy Review. The article is available on InsideEPA.com. See page 2 for details.