Special Interests v. Public Interest

Special Interests v. Public Interest:

Subtopics

Industry Influence

Corporate special interests often have special access to exert undue influence over regulatory policy.

Small Business

Small business -- which is not so "small" after all -- is an increasingly powerful tool for forcing regulatory protections to bend in industry's favor.

Industry-Funded Think Tanks

Industry-funded think tanks are the voice of corporate special interests, from the halls of academe to the corridors of Congress.

Citizens for Sensible Safeguards (CSS)

Citizens for Sensible Safeguards is a coalition of public interest groups concerned with protecting the ability of the federal government to use regulatory policy in fashioning national solutions for nationwide problems.

The Real Deal

Business groups and the think tanks they fund have spent millions to promote ideas and misinformation designed to warp the regulatory process. Get the real deal here.

News

White House Interferes with Smog Rule 03/18/2008
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced March 12 its revision to the national air quality standard for ozone, or smog. While the new standard is an improvement, EPA did not go as far as its own scientists had recommended. Last-minute changes orchestrated by the White House have also mired the rule change in controversy. In addition to the new standard, EPA proposed legislative changes to the Clean Air Act, which environmentalists and lawmakers immediately criticized. Read More

Environmental, Worker Safety Rules Targeted by Industry Groups 03/04/2008
The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy has finalized a list of ten rules it will encourage federal agencies to modify. The Office of Advocacy compiled the list after receiving recommendations from small businesses and industry lobbyists. Read More

High Court Expands Federal Preemption in Medical Cases 03/04/2008
The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up a series of cases that addresses the issue of whether federal agency approval of medical devices and drugs shields manufacturers of those products from liability under state laws. In a case decided Feb. 20, the Court held that federal law preempts state liability claims if certain medical devices received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The Court also considered if that same protection should be extended to drug manufacturers. Read More

Bush Administration to Alter Employee Leave Protections 03/04/2008
The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a proposed rule that would alter federal protections for workers who need to take leave to care for themselves or their families. DOL chose to pursue the rule changes after hearing complaints from industry lobbyists. Read More

A Year for Failure: Regulatory Policy News in 2007 12/18/2007
In 2007, new regulatory policies and the inability of federal agencies to protect the public made headlines more so than at any time in recent memory. Four themes dominated regulatory policy this year: an increase in White House influence over agency rulemaking activity and discretion, which added a perception of more political manipulation; the inability of the federal government to protect the public by ensuring the safety of imported goods; the voice of some industry groups calling for regulation; and the Bush administration's refusal to regulate in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, as in the case of climate change. At best, government has attempted to respond to crises instead of getting ahead of the curve. This has left the public uncertain about whether we can count on our government to provide adequate safeguards. Read More

More of the Same: Import Safety Panel Leaves Business in Charge 11/20/2007
The Bush administration's cabinet-level Interagency Working Group on Import Safety released its final report Nov. 6 on ways to improve the safety of food and consumer products imported into the U.S. The report calls for limited increases in some federal agencies' responsibilities but does little to change the current voluntary regulatory scheme that governs some $2 trillion worth of products, 800,000 importers and more than 300 ports-of-entry. Read More

Senate Reviews Agencies' Attempts to Preempt Congress and the States 09/25/2007
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Sept. 12 about federal agencies' practice of inserting into regulations language that removes consumers' ability to sue under state tort law those corporations whose products cause harm. In addition, the use of this preemption language limits the ability of state and local governments to protect the health, safety and welfare of their citizens. Federal preemption removes the targeted policy area from state and local jurisdiction and makes it almost exclusively a federal policy issue. Read More

Congress Expands FDA User Fee Program, Reforms Drug Safety Process 09/25/2007
Congress has passed legislation which will reauthorize a program allowing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect fees from pharmaceutical companies in order to conduct drug approvals. The bill will also dramatically expand FDA's regulatory authority in response to recent controversy. President George W. Bush is expected to sign the bill into law soon. Read More

Bush's Anti-Regulatory Ideology under Increasing Scrutiny 09/11/2007
The public and the media are paying more attention to and showing increasing frustration with the anti-regulatory ideology of President George W. Bush. A new report by the Center for American Progress traces several recent failures of the federal government to the anti-government views of Bush and senior administration officials. Separately, increasing concern over the federal product safety net is causing many to question Bush's seriousness about using government resources to protect American consumers. Read More

It's Industry vs. Consumers and Health Specialists in National Ozone Hearings 09/11/2007
Recent field hearings in five major U.S. cities highlighted the debate over the need to write a more stringent air quality standard for ozone. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under court order to issue an updated standard by March 2008. Industry representatives used two familiar arguments to urge EPA to leave the existing ten-year old ozone standard untouched, while public health experts and citizens argued the health impacts under the current standard are potentially devastating. Read More

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