Corporate Money Fuels Attack on Public Protections
Mar 22, 2011
An ongoing attack on the nation's regulatory safety net is being led by lawmakers with deep financial ties to the corporations and lobbying groups that often complain about federal standards, campaign finance data show.
Consumer Products Reporting Database Under Attack
Mar 8, 2011
Corporations and their political allies are targeting a public database that allows consumers to file complaints about unsafe products with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Republicans in the House are trying to prevent the agency from spending money to implement the reporting site by blocking approximately $3 million in funding.
Environmental and Public Health Safeguards Under Siege in House Spending Bill
Feb 23, 2011
The House-passed fiscal year 2011 spending bill would stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from limiting greenhouse gases from certain sources, halt standards for air and water pollution, and set other conditions on the agency that will complicate its efforts to protect the environment and public health. Other health and safety agencies are also targeted in the bill.
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.
Obama's Regulatory Reforms Protect the Status Quo
Jan 25, 2011
On Jan. 18, President Obama issued a long-awaited executive order on the regulatory process and two related presidential memoranda. The order and the memos are aimed at reaffirming the existing regulatory process rather than significantly reforming it. The most impactful of the three documents is likely to be the memo on regulatory compliance, which stems from the administration's commitment to greater government accountability.
OMB Watch Comments on Obama Regulatory Reform Package
Jan 18, 2011
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2011—The Obama administration today released three documents aimed at reforming some aspects of the regulatory process. Two of the actions, an executive order and a memorandum on small businesses and job creation, reaffirm existing approaches that have been in place for decades. Another memorandum seeks greater government accountability by directing agencies to disclose more regulatory compliance information. OMB Watch believes that while the reform package ushers in some positive policy measures, it also contains some problematic language and reinforces false notions regarding job creation and strong public protections.
read in fullProtecting the Public or Big Business? Battle Lines are Drawn
Jan 11, 2011
As the 112th Congress convenes, a renewed battle over the role of government in protecting the public is being waged. The battle reflects the decades-old myth that regulations are "job-killers" and that government must either sacrifice jobs to provide public safety or sacrifice lives, health, and environmental quality to protect jobs.
Rules to Watch for in 2011
Jan 11, 2011
Federal agencies have released their rulemaking agendas for 2011, providing the public with a roadmap of the health, safety, and environmental safeguards it can anticipate in the new year.
Report Finds Regulatory Process Changes Stalled at Midterm Point of Obama Administration
Jan 6, 2011
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2011—Today, OMB Watch released the third and final report in a series on public protections and the Obama administration. The new report, The Obama Approach to Public Protection: The Regulatory Process, finds that although the Obama administration's overall regulatory philosophy is strikingly different from that of the previous administration, promised changes to the federal regulatory process have stalled out.
