Recess Appointment Puts Food Safety Agency Back on Track
Aug 20, 2010 by Matthew Madia
Yesterday, President Obama recess appointed Elisabeth Hagen to serve as the USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety. Hagen was nominated by Obama in January 2010, but has had difficulty getting the Senate’s attention.
Hagen had been the chief medical officer at the USDA. Now, as undersecretary, she will head the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the regulator of meat and poultry products.
read in fullAnother Shameful Attack on Our Public Protections
Jul 21, 2010 by Gary Bass*
There they go again. Amid some of the most spectacular market failures the country has ever seen, business lobbyists and their friends in Congress want to reinvigorate their discredited deregulatory agenda.
read in fullObama Asks for Improved Safety Conditions for Government Workers
Jul 20, 2010 by Matthew Madia
President Obama is asking his administration to make federal workplaces safer. In a memo yesterday, Obama announced his Protecting Our Workers and Ensuring Reemployment (POWER) Initiative, a four-year effort aimed at reducing on-the-job illnesses and injuries among government employees.
read in fullAt the White House, Business Finds an Audience for Anti-Regulatory Message
Jul 16, 2010 by Matthew Madia
The Business Roundtable, a coalition of top corporate executives, has submitted to the White House a list of laws, regulations, taxes, and other policies it believes are hurting businesses and would like to see rolled back – a roadmap for a dangerous, deregulatory future.
read in fullObama Faltering on Pledge to Restore the Role of Science
Jul 9, 2010 by Matthew Madia
One year after the White House was supposed to chart a new course for the role of scientists and the integrity of scientific information in government, federal employees and the public continue to await reform.
read in fullObama Presses Senate on Food Safety Bill
Jul 8, 2010 by Matthew Madia
President Obama yesterday gently reminded the U.S. Senate that food safety reform is still on their agenda, and that Senators may want to pass legislation in order to expand protections for the food supply.
read in fullObama Blocks Lobbyists from Government Panels
Jun 18, 2010 by Matthew Madia
Today, President Obama issued a memo barring registered lobbyists from serving on federal advisory committees, boards, and commissions.
read in fullObama Addresses Food Safety Concerns in the Gulf
Jun 15, 2010 by Matthew Madia
The Obama administration is attempting to reassure Americans that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat amid the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. President Obama discussed food safety yesterday during a trip to the Gulf. "Let me be clear: Seafood from the Gulf today is safe to eat," Obama said.
read in fullWill USDA’s Food Safety Agency Ever Have a Leader?
Jun 3, 2010 by Matthew Madia
Food Safety News reports today that there is no timetable for moving the nomination of Elisabeth Hagen to the Senate floor. Hagen, currently the chief medical officer at USDA, is the nominee to lead the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the USDA agency responsible for ensuring the safety of meat and poultry products.
read in fullOIRA Looks to Improve Online Access to Rulemaking Material
Jun 1, 2010 by Matthew Madia
White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator Cass Sunstein issued a memo Friday that could expand public access to rulemaking documents. The memo encourages agencies to align their paper rulemaking dockets, housed in agency offices and difficult for most citizens to access, with their online dockets on Regulations.gov.
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