Regulatory Policy - RegWatch

RegWatch:

News & Analysis | REG•WATCH Blog | Press Room

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Congress and White House Stuck in the Mud on Fuel Economy

Rep. John Dingell has written an interesting piece in today's issue of The Hill. Dingell discusses the virtue of CAFE standards (the minimum miles per gallon requirements automakers must meet) and the need to combat global climate change.

However, the article reflects the Michigan Democrat's tension between progressive environmental policy and appeasing his automaker constituents. Dingell touts the success of the CAFE program (which he helped create) but offers more questions than solutions in regulating carbon emissions:

Are CAFE standards in their current form still the most effective way to achieve their stated objective? Further still, has the objective changed?

Can a regulatory structure created in the 1970s evolve in such a way as to combat a 21st century challenge with 21st century technologies?

He then goes on to warn Congress against rushing into any climate change legislation, and points out that his Energy and Commerce Committee will hold nine hearings in the month of March on energy independence and climate change.

The article comes the same day as an Energy and Air Quality subcommittee hearing on President Bush's CAFE reform proposal. According to Reuters, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed concern over the cap-and-trade approach which would avoid actually raising fuel efficiency standards.

Congressional wonkery aside, the reality is improved CAFE standards would mitigate carbon emissions and save drivers money. With measures of American fuel economy in decline, it is past time Congress get its act together and improve federal fuel economy standards.

Posted by Matt Madia, 04:57:55 PM

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows ... Then Enjoys a Smoke

Roll Call (subscription) ran an article this morning discussing the lobbying efforts aimed at the tobacco regulation bills currently in both chambers of Congress. In addition to the tobacco industry, the Petroleum Marketing Association of America and three advertising industry coalitions oppose the bill, according to the article.

Why would seemingly disinterested parties oppose a common sense bill to regulate tobacco products? Because gas station owners make big money by selling cigarettes, and advertising companies make big money by promoting them. As if Big Tobacco is not enough of a force in Washington, now it's lining up its friends.

Nonetheless, the bill moves forward. One of the Senate sponsors, Ted Kennedy, chairs a committee hearing on the bill today. As the Roll Call article points out, no industry representatives are scheduled to testify. Stay tuned to Reg Watch for more.

Posted by Matt Madia, 10:36:38 AM

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Latest Watcher

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time:

Congress Holds Hearings on Bush's Changes to Regulatory Process

FDA Drug Approval Process under Scrutiny

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Growing Furor over CPSC Vacancy

As Reg Watch blogged last week, a commissioner vacancy has weakened the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) has introduced legislation to fix the problem, and a recent Washington Post column and New Standard article are drawing more attention to the issue. Public interest groups are going on the record and the public is realizing America needs a fully-functioning CPSC to protect citizens from hazardous products.

When will President Bush respond by making the commissioner appointment and ending the manipulation of this independent agency?

Posted by Matt Madia, 04:19:43 PM

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Bipartisan Tobacco Regulation Bills Introduced

As promised, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), along with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), last week introduced legislation that would dramatically improve the regulation of tobacco products. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA) introduced a companion bill in the House.

Among other provisions the legislation would:

Place tobacco regulation under the purview of the FDA;
Crack down on tobacco advertising targeted at youths;
Increase the size of warning labels;
Prohibit the use of the terms "light," "low," and "mild;" and
Prohibit the sale of "cigarettes characterized by strawberry, cinnamon, grape, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, mint and other flavors" (presumably menthols).

Currently, tobacco is one of the few industries that is largely unregulated. A recent Harvard study found tobacco levels in cigarettes are steadily rising, thus proving America needs government regulators to step in. The bills are a common sense approach to solving some serious problems, and already enjoy bipartisan support. This legislation should quickly move through Congress and immediately be signed by President Bush.

Posted by Matt Madia, 10:31:14 AM

Thursday, February 15, 2007

White House Disregard for Product Safety

We have become used to President Bush appointing friends and others of like-minded ideology to important agency posts. Now it seems as though the White House has made a new friend — vacancy.

As BNA news service (subscription) reports this morning, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — an independent agency charged with protecting the American public from dangerous products — can no longer promulgate new regulations. CPSC has been dealing with a commissioner vacancy since July 2006 and, under agency rules, no longer possesses the voting quorum necessary to regulate on behalf of public safety. President Bush hasn't nominated a new commissioner, severely diminishing CPSC's power.

This lapse, combined with proposed budget cuts to CPSC, tells the American people that product safety is not a priority of this administration. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) is pushing for legislation to allow CPSC to operate without a quorum for another six months, but this will only be a temporary fix. The White House ought to be ashamed of its underhanded attempts to delay product safety regulation.

Posted by Matt Madia, 12:09:30 PM

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Congressional Democrats Push for Better Food Safety

Today, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Safe Food Act. Among other things, the legislation would create a new agency in charge of food safety and labeling. According to the Center for Science and the Public Interest, "Currently, food safety monitoring, inspection, and labeling functions are spread across 12 federal agencies." The bill would also improve the ability of regulators to trace back food borne illnesses to their source.

Posted by Matt Madia, 06:02:19 PM

Two House Committees Examine Bush Regulatory Amendments

Yesterday, two House subcommittees held back-to-back oversight hearings investigating President Bush's recent amendments to Executive Order 12866 — Regulatory Planning and Review.

The first hearing, held by the House Science and Technology Committee subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, delved into the specific impacts of the amendments.

OMB Watch's own Rick Melberth framed the amendments as the next step in a disturbing trend where the White House has adopted tools to delay regulation.
Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) wondered how the marketplace incentivized certain protections.
Witness and former OIRA administrator Sally Katzen criticized the administration for exerting influence over agency guidance documents.
And subcommittee Chair Brad Miller (D-NC) chastised the influence of the Presidential appointees who will serve as Regulatory Policy Officers:

If an RPO makes the wrong decision for the wrong reason, we're not going to know about it.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the ranking member on the subcommittee, exhibited a lack of understanding of the issue at large. He claimed the amendments do not require "additional hurdles to be overcome" and he muddled the separate issues of market failures and cost-benefit analyses. He left abruptly in the middle of the hearing.

The second hearing, held by the House Judiciary Committee subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, focused on action Congress could take. Committee Chair John Conyers (D-MI) and subcommittee Chair Linda Sanchez (D-CA) both asked witnesses what Congress could do. While Columbia University law professor Peter Strauss admitted Congress's options are limited, Curtis Copeland from the Congressional Research Service pointed out that Congress may declare that Executive Orders not hold any legal sway. Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) is ready to "wage war" on the "institutional combat" against the legislative branch.

Read more from The Pump Handle here.

Posted by Matt Madia, 12:52:21 PM

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Watch the hearing live!
OMBW's Rick Melberth has already given his testimony, and now Subcommittee Chair Brad Miller is questioning the panel. Tune in now here. Katzen on OMB's guidance document provisions: "The idea that this is business as usual...couldn't be further from the truth."

Posted by Genevieve Smith, 01:18:51 PM

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Waxman's Time to Shine
The New York Times had a great write-up yesterday on House Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA). Over the years when Waxman served as minority ranking member for the committee, we've watched him take both industry and agencies to task over everything from misleading drug advertisements to manipulation of science. Let's hope he brings that same underdog spirit to his new post. Already he's held hearings on waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq contacting and on political interference in government climate science, and more oversight hearings are planned for the coming months.

Read OMBW's latest issued of the Watcher for more on congressional oversight in the new Congress.

Posted by Genevieve Smith, 06:27:29 PM

Latest Watcher

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time:

Media, Congress Begin to Examine Bush's Executive Order on Regulatory Process

Congress Steps Up Oversight of Executive Branch

Thursday, February 01, 2007

The Bush Assault on Climate Science

On Tuesday, the House Government and Oversight Committee, captained by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), held an oversight hearing investigating the Bush administration's meddling in climate science. The hearing featured the release of a joint report by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Government Accountability Project. The good people over at Think Progress have summarized the report, in which about half of the scientists interviewed report some kind of interference. There are 435 instances of manipulation reported. Try to pick your favorite.

Waxman was provoked into holding the hearing when the Bush administration repeatedly refused to allow Congress to review certain documents related to global climate change. At the hearing, Waxman announced he will be re-requesting those documents. Hopefully, with the issue gaining more media attention, the administration will not continue to misinform the public on global warming.

The Bush Assault on "Global Warming"

On a similar note, the Bush administration appears to be waging war on "global warming." No, not the environmental crisis, just the phrase.

At the hearing, Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) revealed that Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte is prohibited from using the phrase "global warming." Read more on that here.

In another effort, rumors are flying on the blogosphere that the White House website search function turns up only one result when users search for “global warming.” Keep your eye out for more on this lame attempt to censor legitimate science.

Posted by Matt Madia, 04:20:09 PM

Latest Entries by Theme

Cost-Benefit Analysis