The House version of the FY 2009 omnibus appropriations bill, passed on Feb. 25, contains a provision that could reverse a Bush-era rule that weakened the Endangered Species Act. The regulation, published jointly Dec. 16 by the departments of Interior and Commerce and effective as of Jan. 15, was pilloried by environmentalists who say it will cut experts out of the process for listing species as endangered.
President Obama's new ethics platform has already sprung some serious leaks. In spite of an executive order aimed to stem the influence of lobbyists in the Obama administration, former lobbyists are finding their way into top posts, 