Overnight Energy: EPA nominees begin work before they are confirmed | Wheeler promises ‘change in tone’ at EPA | GOP group pushes vote on anti-carbon tax bill

View in your browser     EPA NOMINEES START WORKING BEFORE CONFIRMATION: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has hired two officials nominated for senior positions to work at the agency before the Senate has had a chance to vote on them. Peter Wright and Chad McIntosh both started work Monday as "special counsels" to acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, according to an EPA staff-wide email that Wheeler's chief of staff Ryan Jackson sent Friday. The email was obtained by The Hill. The hirings come as both Wright and McIntosh have nominations pending before the Senate to lead the Office of Land and Emergency Management and the Office of International and Tribal Affairs, respectively. The top Senate Democrat overseeing the EPA says the hirings are concerning and an attempt to avoid the confirmation process. Jackson said in his email that both men will advise Wheeler on matters related to the offices for which they have been nominated. Those offices are currently being led by career employees. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which is responsible for vetting Wright and McIntosh for their positions, held a confirmation hearing for them less than three weeks ago and has not voted on whether to advance the nominations to the full Senate. Sen. Tom Carper (Del.), the top Democrat on the committee, said the news of their hiring is "troubling," and a bad start for Wheeler's tenure at the EPA's helm. "I just wrote to Mr. Wheeler today urging him to restore the public's trust in the EPA," Carper said in a statement. "To announce that EPA will bring on Mr. Wright and Mr. McIntosh on the day that Administrator Pruitt departs -- before they have even responded to Senators' post-hearing questions and without notifying the Environment and Public Works Committee, the committee that has jurisdiction over the agency -- not only breaks with past norm and precedents, but shows incredibly poor judgment, especially when we should be turning over a new leaf." The EPA said Wright's and McIntosh's positions are in line with the law and legal decisions regarding what candidates can do while their nominations are pending. "Neither will be performing any duties that are reserved for the position for which they have been nominated," an agency spokesman said. Kevin Minoli, the EPA's top ethics official, said in his own statement that the agency "will ensure we are in compliance with the law at all times" regarding Wright and McIntosh's work. Why it matters: At least twice before under the Trump administration, EPA has hired people as advisers while their nominations are pending: Susan Bodine, the current head of the enforcement office; and Michael Dourson, who withdrew his nomination to lead the chemical office amid mounting Senate opposition. In both of those cases, the nominees had been voted favorably out of committee. But in this case, the committee hasn't voted. The hearing was less than three weeks ago, and the nominees' answers to written questions aren't even due until the end of the day Monday. Read more.   Happy Monday! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill's roundup of the latest energy and environment news. A hearty welcome to Twitter is in order for new acting EPA head Andrew Wheeler who officially started today. On Friday former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's account was deactivated to make way for Wheeler's. The new account--@EPAAWheeler--so far only has one tweet. Check it out here. Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com, and Miranda Green, mgreen@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @mirandacgreen, @thehill.   NEW EPA CHIEF PROMISES 'CHANGE IN TONE': The acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promising to improve how the agency communicates with the public and the media, with a new focus on agency transparency. John Konkus, the top spokesman for acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, said in a statement that Wheeler is bringing a "change of tone" regarding communications. Wheeler, the deputy administrator, had his first day as acting head Monday. But Pruitt was often criticized for his fraught relationship with the press and for measures like not disclosing his travel beforehand and only releasing his calendars after being sued to force his hand. "Acting Administrator Wheeler has already stated that he puts a premium on transparency and that transparency helps the Agency so people know and understand what we are doing," Konkus said. "I think you can take that mindset and apply it across the board when it comes to how EPA will be communicating with the media and the public going forward." What's notable here: The statement did not mention former EPA head Scott Pruitt, who resigned last week amid numerous scandals. Read the story here.   REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR HOUSE VOTE ON ANTI-CARBON TAX MEASURE: Conservative groups are pushing GOP House leaders to allow a vote on a non-binding resolution to condemn carbon taxes. Eighteen organizations, including Americans for Tax Reform, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and FreedomWorks, say it is important for House Republicans to vocally denounce potential taxes on carbon dioxide emissions, even as some push for conservatives to endorse the idea. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R) introduced the resolution in April. It states that it is Congress's opinion that "a carbon tax would be detrimental to American families and businesses, and is not in the best interest of the United States." A similar measure passed the House in 2016, with all Republicans and some Democrats supporting it. Scalise hails from Louisiana, whose economy is dependent on offshore oil and natural gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The use of fossil fuels like oil and gas contributes to the carbon dioxide emissions that warm the Earth. The conservative groups cheered Scalise's resolution and pushed for quick consideration of it. "A carbon tax is a policy with one definable goal: to raise the cost of traditional, reliable, affordable sources of energy. This includes the domestically produced gasoline, diesel, coal, and natural gas that fuel our cars and trucks, power our homes and keep our economy going strong every day," they wrote. Read more here.   OTHER NEWS: Washington, D.C. announced it will use its VW settlement in part to buy electric buses, WAMU reports. Appalachia's 'Alcohol Alley,' says a pipeline is threatening their industry, Belt Magazine reports.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out stories from Monday and the weekend ... -Acting EPA chief promises 'change in tone,' new emphasis on transparency -Conservative groups push for House vote on anti-carbon-tax measure -2 EPA nominees start working at agency before Senate confirmation votes -Starbucks to eliminate plastic straws in all stores by 2020         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Energy Newsletters     Forward Energy Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Hillicon Valley: Lawmakers press Apple, Google on data collection | 21M affected by Timehop breach | Zuckerberg passes Buffett on rich list | Latest on Twitter's bot crackdown

View in Browser     Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill's newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Welcome! Follow the cyber team, Olivia Beavers (@olivia_beavers) and Morgan Chalfant (@mchalfant16), and the tech team, Harper Neidig (@hneidig) and Ali Breland (@alibreland).   LAWMAKERS PRESS APPLE, GOOGLE ON SMARTPHONE DATA COLLECTION: Lawmakers are pressing tech giants Apple and Google for more information on their data collection practices, wondering whether their smartphones collect location or audio data on unsuspecting consumers. Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to executives at both companies on Monday for more information about the data collection capabilities of Apple's iPhone and Google's Android, raising potential privacy concerns. The lawmakers, led by committee Chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.), cited a November 2017 report in Quartz alleging that Android devices collect location data on users even if location services and other network capabilities are disabled -- information that is ultimately sent back to Google. Consumers, they wrote in both letters, "have a reasonable expectation of privacy when taking active steps to prevent being tracked by their device." "Considering that many consumers likely believe that a phone that lacks a SIM card, or one for which they have affirmatively disabled location services, WiFi, or Bluetooth – such as through turning on 'Airplane Mode' – is not actively tracking them, this alleged behavior is troubling," the lawmakers wrote. Read more on their questions here. The bottom line: The letters represent the latest effort by lawmakers in Washington to scrutinize how tech companies collect, use and share data on their consumers, months after the controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica and the Facebook user data it obtained. One thing is clear: Lawmakers aren't satisfied with the answers they are getting.   FTC DEM HIRES TECH CRITIC: Federal Trade Commission Democratic Commissioner Rohit Chopra is bringing a prominent critic of the technology industry's massive and ever growing power. Chopra announced on Monday that he is hiring Lina Khan as a legal fellow in his office. Khan previously worked at Open Markets, a Washington, D.C. think-tank known for its critical positions of the sheer size and power of companies like Amazon and Google. Khan herself authored a well-received paper arguing that Amazon is a monopoly. Her paper, titled  "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox," makes the case that while Amazon doesn't trigger normal antitrust considerations, it instead is an example of a new type of monopoly. In the paper, she proposes potentially breaking up Amazon or regulating it like a public utility. Read more here.   ANOTHER DATA BREACH: Timehop, the application that resurfaces old photos and posts on Facebook, on Sunday revealed that hackers had compromised the personal data of millions of its users. The attackers, according to a preliminary investigation of the breach, stole roughly 21 million email addresses and names from Timehop during an attack last Wednesday, which took place on the Fourth of July. From those affected users, the hackers also gained access to roughly 4.7 million phone numbers, the company wrote in a Sunday blog post. The hackers' access to phone numbers adds an additional risk to those affected -- phone numbers are increasingly used in "two-factor authentication" to boost security in a number of instances, from resetting passwords to authenticating account logins. Aggressive hackers could potentially use a phone number to get around security firewalls and continue to cause more harm. Despite this, the company says it has no evidence that "any accounts were accessed without authorization." "It is recommended that you take additional security precautions with your cellular provider to ensure that your number cannot be ported," the company adds. Timehop also says while none of the "memories," or photos from social media, were taken, nor were private messages and financial data, "access tokens" could've been compromised -- meaning hackers may be able to view users' Facebook posts on their own walls. To read more, click here.   WHAT YOU WATCH IS CONSIDERED DATA: A new top executive at HBO says they want to encourage more hours of engagement because they aggregate more data that way, The New York Times reports. "I want more hours of engagement. Why are more hours of engagement important? Because you get more data and information about a customer that then allows you to do things like monetize through alternate models of advertising as well as subscriptions, which I think is very important to play in tomorrow's world," John Stankey, who now oversees HBO in his new role as Warner Media's chief executive, said during a recent town hall with some of the company's employees.   SCOTUS PICK COMING MONDAY NIGHT: President Trump is poised to announced his choice to succeed retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court Monday night. At least one of the finalists, Brett Kavanaugh, is being scrutinized for his past opinions regarding data privacy. Notably, Kavanaugh in 2015 defended the NSA's now-defunct warrantless bulk phone metadata collection program exposed by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden's leaks. At the time, Kavanaugh argued that the warrantless collection was consistent with the Fourth Amendment. As the Washington Examiner reports, the opinion has triggered criticism from civil liberties advocates. Keep up with The Hill's full coverage of Trump's announcement here.   ZUCK PASSES BUFFETT ON RICH LIST: Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has surpassed Warren Buffett to become the third-richest person in the world, according to an index of billionaires. Zuckerberg, with $81.6 billion, jumped ahead of Buffett, $81.2 billion, as Facebook shares rose by 2.4 percent, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on Friday. Why it's notable: It is the first time that the three wealthiest people on the list have come from the technology sector, with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates topping the list at $142 billion and $94.2 billion, respectively. While Facebook stock hit an eight-month low of $152.22 in late March after massive scrutiny over the company's handling of user data, its shares closed Friday at $203.23, a record. Buffett has slid in the rankings due to his charitable giving, which he kicked off in 2006, while Zuckerberg has promised to donate 99 percent of his Facebook shares to charity in his lifetime. More here.   TWITTER'S CRACKDOWN: Twitter has sharply increased the number of suspensions it's dolling out amid criticism over harassment and fake accounts. Twitter suspended over 70 million accounts in May and June, and has booted profiles at a similar pace so far this month, according to data obtained by The Washington Post that was published on Friday. The rate of suspensions has doubled since October when Twitter began to receive heightened scrutiny after reports on the extent to which its platform was manipulated by Russian trolls seeking to intervene in the 2016 election. But Twitter has long been criticized over its use by terrorists and their sympathizers, as well as for abuse and harassment against users. Some have speculated that Twitter has been reluctant to kick users, even fake ones off, out of concern of hurting its user growth numbers, which would likely impact its bottom line and stock value. Read more.   … AND TRUMP WEIGHS IN: President Trump on Saturday floated the idea of Twitter dumping major national news publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post as the social media platform removes "fake" accounts. "Twitter is getting rid of fake accounts at a record pace. Will that include the Failing New York Times and propaganda machine for Amazon, the Washington Post, who constantly quote anonymous sources that, in my opinion, don't exist," Trump tweeted. "They will both be out of business in 7 years!"   ON TAP THIS WEEK:   Verified Voting and the Brennan Center for Justice are hosting a congressional briefing on election security in the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon. And speaking of election security ... the Senate Rules Committee will hold a hearing on the topic Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m., which will feature two panels of federal officials and private sector representatives. ... and the House Homeland Security Committee is holding a hearing on the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to secure elections at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.   A LIGHTER TWITTER CLICK: Duck, duck, duck… you're it!   AN OP-ED TO CHEW ON: Surely we can find, and stop, high-tech spies. (The Hill)   NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: Washington's Metro subway system is vulnerable to cyberattacks. (The Washington Post) Two individuals were convicted in New York for illegally trading on hacked corporate press releases. (Reuters) A fitness app leaked location data on military personnel. (ZDNet) A Chinese company is handed a hefty fine for stealing trade secrets from a U.S. tech company. (Associated Press) Macy's alerts customers to 'suspicious' cyber activity. (Detroit Free Press) Israeli firm Cellebrite wants to crack open IoT devices. (CyberScoop)         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Technology Newsletters     Forward Technology Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Breaking News: Ocasio-Cortez to visit Capitol Hill next week

View in your browser     Ocasio-Cortez to visit Capitol Hill next week New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) will meet with a handful of her early supporters in Washington, D.C., next week, making her first trek to Capitol Hill since her stunning primary victory over Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.). Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Breaking News     Forward Breaking News     You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.