PEER

06/17/2026

We're suing the Department of the Interior for hiding how it's implementing an order to rewrite American history on our public lands.

For more than nine months, Interior has refused to release a single record showing how it's carrying out Secretarial Order 3431, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" — an order to scrub "disparaging" American history content from national parks, monuments, and other public lands.

PEER filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking basic information last September: which sites were reviewed, what content got flagged, who made the calls, and what was changed or removed. Under FOIA, Interior had 30 working days to respond. That deadline passed in October.

“The public has a right to know who inside this administration is deciding what version of American history gets told at our national parks and other public lands, and on what basis,” said Tony Irish, PEER senior counsel. “Instead, the Office of the Secretary has spent nearly a year stonewalling a simple records request on how decisions were being made by the Secretary.”

06/16/2026

Today, PEER filed comments with the Office of Personnel Management urging the agency to withdraw its proposed government-wide nondisclosure agreement (NDA) for federal employees, warning that it is illegal, deceptive, and a threat to democracy.

Under the plan, federal employees would be prohibited from discussing almost everything that happens inside an agency before a policy or work product is finalized or information is made public by the agency. The NDAs would last for five years after the employee has left federal service.

“This proposal is not a routine confidentiality measure – it’s a gag order,” said PEER's Executive Director Tim Whitehouse. “It is vague enough to frighten employees into silence, broad enough to cover almost any internal government discussion, and structured to ensure that the people who sign it have almost nowhere to turn if they witness wrongdoing. We are calling on OPM to withdraw it entirely.”

06/12/2026

In a midterm election year, congressional oversight is an important way for lawmakers to influence policy and shine a light on important issues.

Through hearings, document requests, and independent investigations, congressional committees can investigate misconduct, root out conflicts of interest, and review whether agencies are faithfully executing the law.

With national elections just around the corner, we are stepping up our efforts to push for congressional oversight on:
🔍 Corruption and self-dealing
👥 Federal workforce protections
🌿 Environmental rollbacks

PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse breaks down the actions Congress must take to ensure our country remains a nation of laws that values the environment and respects a merit-based civil service.

We are determined to help make that happen.

https://ow.ly/M3UJ50Zb7om

With national elections just around the corner, PEER is stepping up its efforts to engage in congressional oversight activities.

06/11/2026

📣 We're excited to welcome Michele Boyd to PEER's Board of Directors!

Michele has more than 20 years of experience in energy and environmental issues across the government, non-profit, and for-profit sectors. She is currently a Senior Resident Fellow at the Solar and Storage Industries Institute.

Previously, she served in leadership at the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, where she managed a team focused on reducing barriers to equitable solar energy and storage deployment.

Prior to her federal service, Michele worked at a solar company, advancing financing and transmission policies to enable clean energy development. During her 12 years in the non-profit sector, she spearheaded government watchdog and advocacy campaigns on energy and environmental policies.

Michele's deep expertise will be a tremendous asset as PEER continues its work to protect the environment. We look forward to her leadership.

06/10/2026

North Atlantic right whales need our protection. We are sharing our thoughts with you about these whales and why we strongly oppose a Trump administration to remove boat speed limits -- a proposal that would further endanger these whales.
There are only ~380 of these magnificent animals left — and just around 70 breeding females capable of rebuilding the population. Every single individual matters.
Vessel strikes are one of the leading causes of death for right whales, and boat speed limits in key migration corridors are one of the simplest, most effective tools we have to prevent them. There is no documented case of an adult North Atlantic right whale living long enough to die of natural causes in the modern era — they are being killed by us, and we can choose to stop.
But this isn't just about numbers and policy. Right whales are intelligent, sentient beings. They form lasting bonds with their calves, communicate with one another through complex vocalizations, and experience the world in ways science is only beginning to understand. They feel. They grieve. A mother right whale will stay with her injured or dying calf for days — that is not instinct alone, that is devotion. These are not resources to be managed; they are lives to be respected.
Whales have also been called ecosystem engineers. We don't like that term, but it is true. They nourish the phytoplankton that produce at least 50% of our ocean's oxygen and sequestering vast amounts of carbon — protecting them is important for ecological reasons
Removing boat speed limits would be a reckless, irreversible step toward extinction for a species already on the edge. We submitted comments opposing NOAA-NMFS 2026-0364. These speed limits must stay. The link to our comments are in the comment. What do you think?

06/08/2026

In a training video obtained by PEER, EPA staff scientists are counseled to short-circuit statutorily required scientific examinations of hazards posed to the environment and public health.

The video shows a senior EPA scientist training some 80 staff members on how to conduct risk assessments for existing chemicals. She instructs them to keep studying a chemical "until the answer is affirmative" — and that "when it passes, stop."

She then asks: "For those areas of the risk assessment that do not 'pass,' where are the most efficient areas to refine?" In other words, scientists are instructed to keep working on the risk assessment until they can find a way to allow the chemical to continue to be used with little or no restriction.

“This video explains how protections of the Toxic Substances Control Act are circumvented to benefit chemical companies,” stated PEER Science Policy Director Dr. Kyla Bennett, a scientist and attorney formerly with EPA. “EPA conducts its reviews to ensure that every chemical passes, like a safety net in reverse.”

https://ow.ly/MfTb50Z8RAA

EPA Staff Coached on Getting to “Yes” to Dismiss Unreasonable Health Risks

06/03/2026

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is losing staff at an unprecedented rate.

Full-time staffing is projected to fall 40% between the end of FY2025 and the beginning of FY2027. 8 of 9 state director positions are currently unfilled. And the agency's new national director, former Congressman Steven Pearce, takes office with no hands-on land management experience.

All of this is happening as the agency faces growing responsibilities from expanded energy and mineral extraction, wildfire threats, and rising recreation.

“If ever an agency was asked to do a lot more with a lot less, it is today’s BLM,” added PEER Western Lands and Rocky Mountain Advocate Chandra Rosenthal, pointing out that this diminished capacity will make BLM decisions more vulnerable to legal challenge. “Unfortunately, BLM is fast becoming an absentee landlord for America’s public lands.”

https://ow.ly/AcMC50Z7aNP

40% Staffing Cut Since 2024; All but One State Director Post Vacant

06/01/2026

Listen in as PEER Science Policy Director Dr. Kyla Bennett discusses the risks facing critical Environmental Protection U.S. Environmental Protection Agency programs designed to protect human health and the environment, and the real-world impacts of the loss of EPA scientists and policy experts.

The Trump administration is doing everything in its power to break the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. Will the agency survive? This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug talk about the rise of anti-bacterial due to , and the EPA’s latest attempt to weaken drinking standards for PFAS chemicals. Then former EPA scientist Dr. Kyla Bennett, senior scientist at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility [PEER], discusses how the critical EPA programs that were designed to protect and the are at risk under the current administration and how the loss of EPA scientists and policy experts could spell real trouble for us now and in the future.

Today at 2PM ET on WBAI 99.5 FM New York, Mondays at 2PM PT on KPFA Radio, Greenstreetnews on YouTube and always at Greenstreetnews.org

05/27/2026

🚨 The Trump administration just proposed government-wide non-disclosure agreements that could cover all 2 million federal employees.

The draft proposal would bar workers from sharing “non-public, confidential, or proprietary information” or “any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available” — broad enough to cover internal discussions, draft policies, and interagency debates. Violations could carry civil AND criminal penalties.

The problem isn't confidentiality. Governments have legitimate secrets. Federal employees would already face criminal sanctions for releasing national security or confidential business information.

The problem is scope and intent.

Democracy depends on an informed public — and that requires civil servants who can, when necessary, tell us what's happening inside our government. When "confidential" is broad enough to cover any internal discussion or action, it becomes a tool to suppress accountability, not protect national secrets.

Whistleblower protections would technically remain in place. But if signing a broad and poorly worded NDA becomes a condition of employment, and refusing gets you fired, the chilling effect is real.

05/22/2026

Today is International Day for Biological Diversity — a day to recognize the species worth fighting for, and the work that still lies ahead.

Biodiversity is critical for ecosystem health and human survival. It doesn't disappear overnight. It disappears as protections are stripped away and laws are dismantled, while the agencies meant to safeguard it stay silent, or lead the charge.

PEER exists to support the public employees who refuse to look the other way.

With their help over the years, we've filed suit to restore protections to the Louisiana black bear. We've called out the National Park Service for dismantling its globally renowned Sea Turtle Science and Recovery Program at Padre Island. We've fought to prevent the ship strikes killing North Atlantic right whales. And we've exposed the failure of officials to save the Florida panther from what biologists agree is likely extinction in the absence of protections.

On this day, we're grateful for the public employees who speak out, and we remain committed to the fights still ahead.