The Bush Record - OMB Watch

The Bush Record:

Lead in Toys — A Regulatory Failure

The dangers of lead have been known for years, but America's product safety regulator, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has neither the resources nor the authority to keep lead out of children's toys. Here are the statistics for children's product recalls for lead contamination in 2007:

106 recalls
17,126,810 individual products
95% made in China
500% increase in products recalled from 2006

See these links for recent news:
— First Signs of Teeth in CPSC Enforcement

— CPSC Reform Efforts Progress as Agency Woes Continue

— Congress Hears Pleas for Expanded Authority and Resources at CPSC

— Bush's Anti-Regulatory Ideology under Increasing Scrutiny

Visit CPSC's recall page for details. We will continue to update these statistics as news develops.

Last updated 01/09/2008

Special Interest Takeover

Special Interest Takeover: The Bush Administration and the Dismantling of Public Safeguards is a comprehensive look at the Bush administration's regulatory record, produced by OMB Watch and the Center for American Progress on behalf of the coalition Citizens for Sensible Safeguards.

Subtopics

Regulatory Record: The First Term

Regulatory Record: A Pattern of Failure

Special Interest Takeover

Background of Bush Officials

The Record on Unsound Science

News

Bush Changes to Employee Leave among First Midnight Rules 11/18/2008
The Department of Labor has finalized a new rule that will affect the way workers take medical and family leave. It is among the first of many rules the Bush administration is expected to cement in the coming weeks. Read More

Midnight at the White House: Bush Using Rules to Cement Legacy 11/04/2008
The Bush administration is working on a spate of rules it hopes to finalize before its time in power expires. The last-minute rules cover a broad range of policy, but many share a common trait: relaxing existing requirements on businesses. The Bush administration appears to be pushing to deregulate in areas like environmental protection, worker leave, and auto safety. Many of the controversial rules are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. The administration is pushing to finalize rules in November, not January, in order to assure they cannot be undone by the next president. Read More

Commentary: Bush's Last-Minute Rush to Dismantle Public Protections 09/09/2008
by Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch Executive Director

Those who keep an eye on the federal government know the Bush administration is not friendly toward regulation — particularly health, safety, environmental, civil rights, and consumer protections. When they have been forced to regulate, Bush officials have advanced policies that mostly let the market control the game, while the idea of strong government intervention has been left to gather dust. However, even outside the recent regulatory takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, events show the administration is starting to kick things into high gear on regulations, trying to lock the next administration into a Bush legacy. Read More

Bush Administration Pushing Last-Minute Rollbacks 08/19/2008
The Bush administration is trying to finalize several new rules, covering a range of policy issues, before a new administration takes over and despite its own policy directive. The new rules would relax the standards and enforcement of longstanding federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Read More

White House Climate Change Policy -- Delay, Delete, and Deny 07/22/2008
The Bush administration continues its strong efforts to censor climate change information that reaches the public and Congress. Recent reports indicate that the White House pressured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make changes to its regulatory process regarding climate change and that Vice President Dick Cheney's office was responsible for suppressing key sections of the congressional testimony of a high-level official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Read More

Pentagon Refuses EPA's Pollution Cleanup Orders 07/08/2008
The nation's worst polluter, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), is refusing to sign enforcement agreements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that require DOD to clean up polluted sites nationwide. The military bases covered by EPA's enforcement orders may endanger public drinking water supplies as a result of the military dumping toxic pollutants at the sites. Read More

White House Involved in EPA's California Waiver Decision 05/28/2008
A report released May 19 by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform concluded the White House improperly intervened in a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny California's request for a waiver under the Clean Air Act. The waiver would have allowed the state to set standards for greenhouse gas emissions from new vehicles. In denying the waiver, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson went against the recommendation of EPA staff, who concluded there was no legal or scientific basis to deny the waiver. Read More

For Bush-Era Regulations, the Clock Is Ticking 05/28/2008
In a memorandum to regulatory agencies, White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten has set a Nov. 1 deadline for any new regulations agencies wish to finalize by the end of the Bush administration. The memo will shape the work of White House officials and federal agency heads as they consider which regulations to push through in the coming months, with an eye toward securing an administrative legacy for President Bush. Read More

Criminal Investigation of Utah Mine Officials Urged 05/13/2008
On May 8, Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the results of a nine-month committee investigation into the collapse of the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah. In the memorandum summarizing the investigation, Miller reveals that he sent a letter of criminal referral to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recommending the agency investigate the mine's general manager. Read More

Plastics Chemical Poses Health Risk, Businesses Respond 04/29/2008
The findings of a U.S. government science panel and actions by the Canadian government are prompting major retailers and manufacturers to reconsider selling products containing bisphenol-A, a chemical commonly found in hard plastics and food containers. Read More

Fuel Economy Proposal: Higher Mileage, State Preemption 04/29/2008
The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Mary E. Peters, announced April 22 a proposed new rule to raise fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks. In December 2007, Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act, which required revisions to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The new rule, if implemented, would be the first significant improvement in fuel efficiency standards since the CAFE program's inception in 1975. Read More

Reports Highlight MSHA's Failures at Crandall Canyon Mine 04/15/2008
Two recent reports highlight the failures of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in approving the retreat mining plans at Crandall Canyon mine in Utah that resulted in nine deaths after a mine collapse in August 2007. A third report criticizes MSHA's approval and implementation of emergency response plans required by legislation passed by Congress in the wake of mining disasters across the country in 2006. 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

OMB Reports $508 Million in E-Gov Savings; Congress Remains Doubtful 02/20/2008
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a report to Congress Feb. 14 that calculates the benefits of President Bush's 24 E-Government (E-Gov) Initiatives at approximately $508 million in Fiscal Year 2007, based on agencies' estimates. Congressional skepticism of the Initiatives, and subsequent reluctance to fund them, led OMB to develop a questionable funding mechanism using agency contributions from their annual budgets. Read More

2008 Executive Branch Regulatory Agenda: Building an Administrative Legacy 02/05/2008
In 2007, President Bush used administrative decrees — such as issuing a new regulatory executive order and giving new powers to executive branch offices — to impact the regulatory process. The administration is likely to continue pursuing administratively what it cannot accomplish legislatively or does not wish to do in the light of day. Read More

Workers Threatened by Decline in OSHA Budget, Enforcement Activity 01/23/2008
The consolidated appropriations bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in December 2007 cuts the budget of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for Fiscal Year 2008. OSHA, like many other federal agencies, already faces budget constraints that make it more difficult for the agency to achieve its mission. Over the past three decades, OSHA's budget, staffing levels, and inspection activity have dropped while the American workforce has grown and new hazards have emerged. Read More

Miner Safety Bill Clears House, Bush Veto Looms 01/23/2008
The House passed the Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (S-MINER) on Jan. 16. The bill aims to improve mine safety and the responsiveness of the federal government's chief mine regulator, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), in response to the Crandall Canyon mine collapse and other recent disasters. White House officials have indicated President Bush will veto the bill. 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

Snowmobile Plan for Yellowstone Ignores Environmental Impacts 12/04/2007
For at least a decade, the limit on snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park has been the subject of a pitched battle between conservationists and snowmobile advocates. The National Park Service (NPS) has announced a limit on snowmobile use in Yellowstone. As expected, NPS will allow 540 snowmobiles per day, an amount close to double the daily average from the previous winter. 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

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