Blog: The Fine Print / posts by Katie Greenhaw
UPDATED: Three Reasons the REINS Act Must Be Stopped (Again)
May 22, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
If passed, the REINS Act would require congressional approval of all major rules, potentially endangering the most important safeguards to our health, safety, environment, and economy.
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Sen. Blumenthal Urges New OMB Director to Release Needed Rules and Improve Transparency
May 10, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
On May 7, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) urging the agency to end excessive delays in reviewing crucial health and safety protections. Echoing the concerns of public interest and safety advocates, Blumenthal wrote "that there are human costs to delay" and asked newly appointed OMB Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell to immediately complete reviews of several proposed agency actions.
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Court Says FDA Failed to Comply with Food Safety Rule Deadlines
Apr 26, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
This week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California concluded that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by failing to comply with specific deadlines for food safety rules, which were set out in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). For a number of major food safety regulation areas, FDA failed to meet the dates set for completion. Although some of the rules were proposed in January, many remain under review at FDA or the White House.
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President Obama’s Budget Proposal Assumes Flawed Poultry Inspection Rule Will Be Finalized
Apr 11, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
Yesterday, the president released the proposed budget for funding the federal government in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. The budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) assumes savings from finalizing a controversial proposed rule to change the way chickens and other poultry are inspected in processing plants.
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EPA Reaches Clean Air Settlement with Tyson Foods
Apr 5, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice announced a settlement with Tyson Foods, Inc., along with several of its affiliates, over violations of the Clean Air Act that occurred between 2006 and 2010. These violations included the accidental release of toxic anhydrous ammonia in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri that resulted in property damage, multiple injuries to workers, and one death.
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President Obama Nominates Former Clean Air Director to Lead EPA
Mar 5, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
Yesterday, President Obama nominated Gina McCarthy to head the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). McCarthy served as an assistant administrator leading EPA's air and radiation programs during Obama's first term. Environmental groups applauded the choice, though McCarthy's historically strong stance on clean air standards could make her a target during confirmation proceedings.
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Stronger Standards for Hazardous Chemicals Benefit the Public and Spur Innovation
Feb 21, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
Stronger standards for hazardous chemicals not only protect human health and the environment, but can also spur innovation and benefit the economy. A recent report, Driving Innovation: How stronger laws help bring safer chemicals to market, examined the impact of laws governing hazardous chemicals and found that the prospect of stricter laws on toxic chemicals sparked the invention, development, and adoption of alternatives. The demand for these alternatives is growing globally.
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New Web Tool Provides Easy Tracking of Rulemaking Comments
Feb 6, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
A new online tool allows users to better follow the rulemaking process and monitor the public comments agencies receive on proposed rules. Docket Wrench, launched by the Sunlight Foundation, provides access to more than 3.5 million regulatory documents. The tool is intended to help the public follow the influence of special interests in the rulemaking process by tracking and grouping their comments.
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CEO of Alcoa Embraces Regulations as Good for Business, the Economy
Jan 18, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
The fact that public protections can increase productivity, spur innovation, and encourage creation of new markets is not news to us – or, apparently, to business leaders. New standards can create incentives to improve technologies and manufacturing processes
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One Step Closer to Safer Food
Jan 9, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw
Two years after Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally proposed rules that will give the law life and allow the agency to enforce standards to thwart foodborne illnesses. The new safeguards will allow the FDA to do more than just react after people get sick; it will require producers to develop plans to actively preventcontaminated food from getting to grocery store shelves.
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