Scores of Public Interest Organizations Oppose Congressional Effort to Halt Crucial Safeguards
Feb 14, 2011
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2011—Seventy-two labor, environmental, consumer advocacy, health care, and other public interest organizations have called on lawmakers to oppose a fast-moving bill designed to halt the most important new public protections that agencies are developing to safeguard the American people.
read in fullAnti-regulatory Forces Launch Full Assault on Public Protections
Feb 8, 2011
Corporate lobbyists and their allies in Congress have launched a systematic, coordinated effort to attack the federal government's efforts to boost innovation and protect public health, worker safety, and environmental quality. The attacks appear to have the Obama administration backpedalling on its agenda to provide meaningful health and safety standards to the American people.
Drinking Chrome – New Studies Expose Threats to Tap Water
Feb 8, 2011
A new health study found drinking water in 31 out of 35 U.S. cities contaminated by a dangerous form of chromium known as hexavalent chromium. Another study found that hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen when inhaled and a suspected carcinogen when ingested, often contaminates water leaching from coal ash impoundments. The revelations expose the need for greater monitoring of public drinking water and stronger protections against contamination.
Obama Continues Post-Spill Reforms to Better Police Drilling
Jan 25, 2011
The Obama administration continued revamping offshore oil drilling regulation by recently announcing the next step in its plans to reorganize the Department of the Interior – creating a new agency to oversee drilling safety.
Report Shows Obama Administration Stepping Up Enforcement of Labor, Consumer Protection, Environmental Laws
Dec 8, 2010
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2010—In a new report released today, OMB Watch examines the regulatory enforcement actions of the Obama administration at its midterm point. The report, The Obama Approach to Public Protection: Enforcement, illustrates that executive branch agencies under Obama have stepped up enforcement of a number of important labor, consumer protection, and environmental laws and regulations. The report is the second in a series of three publications on the Obama administration's approach to public protections and the federal regulatory process.
OMB Watch Criticizes U.S. Chamber of Commerce over Irresponsible Attack on Public Protections
Nov 17, 2010
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2010—OMB Watch today criticized the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for an irresponsible attack on government regulation, a key mechanism for providing public safeguards. The rebuke was in response to news that the Chamber will target environmental and worker protections and health care and financial reform regulations in the coming months.
EPA and Transportation Lay Out Long-term Fuel Efficiency Plans
Oct 13, 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have begun the process for setting fuel efficiency standards for light-duty vehicles (cars and light-duty trucks) for model years 2017 through 2025. The regulatory initiative comes at a time in which the EPA is under bipartisan attack for addressing climate change issues in the absence of congressional action.
New Report Examines Agency Rulemaking Activity at Mid-term Point of Obama Administration
Sep 20, 2010
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2010—Some agencies under the Obama administration have energetically laid out a clear rulemaking agenda, while others have been stymied by a variety of factors, according to a new OMB Watch report. The report, The Obama Approach to Public Protection: Rulemaking, was released today and evaluates the regulatory activity of several environmental, worker safety, and consumer protection agencies within the federal government.
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Reports Start Flowing on BP's Gulf Oil Disaster
Sep 14, 2010
New reports on BP's April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster detail problems with oil drilling operations and regulation, including environmental reviews, agency approvals, and industry oversight.
read in fullPublic Supports Consumer and Environmental Protections, Polls Show
Aug 17, 2010
Americans overwhelmingly support government protection of the environment and consumers, a series of new polls shows. The findings come as efforts to enforce and expand regulation face increasingly hostile rhetoric from conservatives and industry representatives in Washington.
