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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Little Chance for Vote on Vitter Amendment
The Vitter amendment appears to be dead. This afternoon, the Senate overwhelmingly voted to end debate on the minimum wage bill. (A final vote on minimum wage is expected later this week.) Only ten senators opposed the motion to end debate including, you guessed it, David Vitter. Thanks to those who contacted their Senators. Your voice may have prevented the Senate from moving forward on this vote.

Posted by Matt Madia, 05:58:50 PM

NY Times and Washington Post Cover Bush Regulatory Amendments

Almost two weeks ago, President Bush amended the federal regulatory process in an attempt to delay regulations and take power out of Congress's hands. Now, the mainstream media has picked up the scent. A front page story in today's New York Times and a column in today's Washington Post both cover the story.

Posted by Matt Madia, 09:42:05 AM

Friday, January 26, 2007

EPA's Risky Business

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is close to finishing a revision on how EPA assesses risk for toxic substances, according to Inside EPA(subscription). The new framework would affect EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. For years, IRIS has been a tool for regulators to determine the "human health effects that may result from exposure to various substances found in the environment."

Now, EPA is bowing to pressure from the White House and the Pentagon by allowing other agencies to meddle in the risk assessment process. Under the new framework, some agencies would have the opportunity to voice concern before data is included in IRIS. If the substance in question is deemed “mission critical” the agency would be allowed to submit alternate data, and ”potentially alter the final risk number,” according to Inside EPA.

Good grief! If this plan comes into fruition, it will likely have catastrophic effects on the quality and quantity of exposure information the public can access through IRIS. Agencies will be able to fiddle with data they don't like. Stay tuned to Reg Watch for more.

Posted by Matt Madia, 12:41:09 PM

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Tell Your Senators to Vote "No" on the Vitter Amendment

Call Your Senators Now
Senator David Vitter (R-LA) has proposed a damaging amendment to the minimum wage bill. The Vitter amendment would create new incentives for corporate special interests to refuse to provide the information needed to protect the public. This could threaten the ability of federal agencies to protect our health, safety, and environment. A coalition of public interest groups has sent a letter to all 100 senators urging them to vote against this amendment. Call your senators to voice your concern.
Read more here.

Posted by Matt Madia, 07:27:38 PM

Friday, January 19, 2007

Oversight of Tobacco Will Be Pushed by Kennedy

The New York Times and Washington Post report today that Sen. Ted Kennedy will reintroduce legislation calling for regulation of the tobacco industry. Kennedy first introduced the bill in 2004 when it was passed by the Senate but stalled in the House.

The bill proposes to place tobacco industry — which for years has been largely unregulated — within the regulatory view of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA would be able to have a say in advertising, packaging, and content, according to the Washington Post. The rise in attention to this issue comes in response to a Harvard study concluding nicotine levels have been steadily rising in cigarettes.

This bill is a common sense approach to regulating a dangerous product; and should be considered reasonable by all parties, even tobacco farmers, who will be offered hefty compensation. It is a measure that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle should ardently support.

Posted by Matt Madia, 10:23:25 AM

Thursday, January 18, 2007

President Bush's Changes to Rulemaking Process Undermine Public Protections

Read OMB Watch's preliminary analysis here.

Posted by Matt Madia, 07:35:49 PM

President Bush Amends Rulemaking Process

This afternoon, President Bush announced amendments to Executive Order 12866 on Regulatory Planning and Review. EO 12866, originally issued by President Clinton, places the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) squarely in the middle of agencies' rulemaking process.

President Bush's amendments go even further in allowing the White House to force its own agenda on agencies. The most notable of the new amendments:

Impose a market failure criterion where agencies had previously been able to regulate based upon identification of threats to public welfare.
Force agencies to install presidential appointees as their intra-agency regulatory heads.
Force agency "guidance documents" (recommendations that clarify provisions in regulations) to go through the same OMB-micromanaged process as regulations do.

Ultimately, these amendments establish President Bush's anti-regulatory agenda, and make it more difficult for agencies to fulfill their role as protectors of the public.

Posted by Matt Madia, 05:40:08 PM

Monday, January 15, 2007

New Research Backs Claim of Mercury Hot Spots
A new study by the American Institute for Biological Sciences has found further evidence that the cap-and-trade approach to limiting mercury emissions backed by EPA could create mercury "hot spots," areas with dangerously higher concentrations of mercury. A US and Canadian research team identified five hot spots in New England, New York and Nova Scotia.

EPA has proposed to limit mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants through a "cap-and-trade" method, which would control pollution emissions by setting an emission standard for polluters and then allowing polluters to trade emissions up to a certain cap. While reducing the overall level of mercury emissions, the cap-and-trade method could actually increase mercury emissions in some areas. According to AIBS, "[g]reater deposition of mercury near areas that are highly sensitive to the element or that are already affected by it could raise the risk to people and wildlife that consume fish. There is reason to believe, however, that lowering emissions can reduce risk."

In early December, EPA failed to limit mercury emissions from existing cement kilns, one of the greatest sources of mercury pollution.

High levels of mercury exposure has been linked to neurological and developmental problems and is particularly harmful to pregnant women and children.

Posted by Genevieve Smith, 11:28:02 PM

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Dudley Renominated to be Regulatory Czar

Last night, President Bush renominated Susan Dudley to the position of administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) — the powerful regulatory arm of the White House.

Has President Bush been reading Reg Watch? In two Monday blogs (here and here), Reg Watch chided the Bush administration for considering naming the controversial nominee, who failed to win confirmation last year, an OIRA senior advisor.

Though more responsible than an advisor appointment — which would have circumvented the Constitutional nomination process — Dudley’s renomination is a colossal mistake. If Dudley’s record and comments are any indication, she would likely roll back decades of worker and public health protections and halt any future regulatory progress.

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee in the Republican-controlled 109th Congress did not think enough of Dudley to bring her to the floor for a vote. Prospects in the 110th are hopeful, as new chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) was not warm to Ms. Dudley during last year’s confirmation hearing. The new Senate should serve its Constitutional power and disallow President Bush from installing this anti-regulatory zealot. And although the senior advisor appointment is still a possibility, the Bush administration should abandon that ill-conceived idea.

Posted by Matt Madia, 04:28:05 PM

Latest Watcher

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

OIRA Back Door Open to Dudley?

EPA: Home for the Holidays

Posted by Matt Madia, 09:52:47 AM

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

EPA Takes Positive Action on Pressure-treated Lumber

Monday, EPA rejected calls from industry to allow the use of a chromium based substance in pressure-treated lumber. The chemical, acid copper chromate (ACC), contains a known carcinogen, hexavalent chromium. This decision is a continuation of a positive trend EPA began in 2004 when the agency banned arsenic from pressure-treated lumber.

Kudos to citizens and public interest groups such as Environmental Working Group who called for the ban on ACC; and thanks to EPA for preserving the safety of a product so common in our everyday lives.

Read Washington Post coverage of the issue here.

Posted by Matt Madia, 03:19:31 PM

Monday, January 08, 2007

President May Chill Bipartisan Climate with Dudley Appointment

As Reg Watch blogged earlier today, the White House is considering naming anti-regulatory zealot Susan Dudley an OIRA senior advisor, once again prioritizing big business above public welfare.

However, there is something else to note. With the new Congress less than a week old, President Bush is already rejecting his bipartisan commitments and showing his contempt for the Democratic Party and the entire legislative branch. Instead of pressing on with the nomination process, or offering a new nominee, President Bush is considering circumventing the new Democratic controlled Congress and installing an extremist without the advice or consent of the people's branch of government. It is a shame the President is already following his old pattern: thumbing his nose at the democratic process any time he doesn't get his way.

Posted by Matt Madia, 03:33:37 PM

Dudley May Occupy OIRA Office

BNA news service (subscription required) reports today that controversial OIRA administrator nominee Susan Dudley may be named a senior OIRA advisor. This move by the White House would end Dudley's official nomination, yet allow her to have an active role in policy making within the highly influential OIRA office. Dudley's nomination stalled last year when the then Republican controlled Senate failed to schedule a vote.

If the White House names Dudley a senior advisor, she will be able to impose her anti-regulatory agenda from behind the scenes — acting as a kind of regulatory puppet master. As OMB Watch has pointed out on many occasions (here, here, and here), Dudley's record indicates contempt for government regulation and a general disdain for public health and welfare. Stay tuned to see if the White House follows through on this potential mistake.

Posted by Matt Madia, 10:41:25 AM