The May 7, 2014, Lab seminar was presented by Edmond J. Safra Lab Fellow and investigative journalist, Sheila Kaplan. Kaplan is currently producing a 4-part documentary series, titled: “America: COMPROMISED.” The documentary, which is scheduled to debut on PBS in the fall of 2015, will probe cases of institutional corruption as they arise in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, food corporations, and the financial sector. For the first part of the Lab seminar, Kaplan screened a short trailer for the film and solicited comments and feedback from Lab participants. For the second part of her Lab presentation, Kaplan updated participants of the Lab on her project examining the impact of institutional corruption in the EPA and its effect on public health and the environment. She concluded her Lab seminar by discussing potential solutions to preventing and reducing instances of institutional corruption at the EPA.
Kaplan began her Lab presentation by giving participants of the Lab an overview of the 4-part documentary series she’s been producing during her fellowship year. The series, entitled, “America: COMPROMISED,” will cover the work of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics Lab in its effort to identify, research, and develop remedies for institutional corruption. Through compelling first hand accounts of institutional corruption in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, food industry, and the financial sector, the series will reveal the problem to a wider audience and demonstrate how institutional corruption affects ordinary citizens. At this point in the seminar, she gave a screening of the preliminary trailer and solicited feedback from member of the seminar. Participants of the Lab were impressed by the quality of the trailer and also eager to offer comments on content related aspects of the production.
Moving on to discuss her continued efforts to investigate institutional corruption at the EPA, Kaplan gave a presentation entitled, “The Economy of Influence Shaping the Environment and Public Health: Institutional Corruption at the Environmental Protection Agency.” The presentation began with a brief summary of the history of the EPA and its mission. She explained that despite a breadth of laws enacted by Congress, which vest the EPA with the power to protect human health and the environment through regulation, reports released by the GAO and EPA’s Inspectors General over the past 20 years show evidence of mission failure. So why does the EPA fall short on its mission so often? Kaplan explained that this failure could mostly be attributed to industry exerting its influence on the EPA by directly writing members of Congress to lobby against certain regulations. Further, Kaplan also pointed to a pervasive and corrosive revolving door culture that has developed at the EPA. On this note, she went on to discuss her efforts to develop a list of over 200 revolving door cases. Not surprisingly, in the numerous interviews she’s conducted surrounding the project, many members of the EPA expressed concern regarding revolving door practices, commenting that it “creates a culture of distrust” within the agency.
In closing, Kaplan offered some potential remedies that she believes would eliminate this type of corruption at the EPA. Among these remedies, Kaplan believes that the agency should impose a five-year restriction on former EPA staffers from communicating with or appearing before the agency, as well as bar former congressional staff from interacting with Congress. Finally, she also argued that EPA should change the practices of advisory review boards. Currently, industry representatives provide input on complex pieces of regulation, which she believes invites institutional corruption.
-Summary composed by Joseph Hollow