Press Room
Coalition for Sensible Safeguards: REINS Act Would Undermine Crucial Public Protections
Mar 8, 2011
WASHINGTON, March 8, 2011—The House Judiciary Committee moved one step closer today to approving the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 10), a bill that would undermine the public protections most crucial to our health, safety, environment and economy. The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS) strongly opposes the REINS Act and its attempts to radically alter the balance of power in government and jeopardize the public interest.
read in fullScores 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 fullThe Wrong Approach to the Deficit Could Imperil More than Just the Recovery
Jan 24, 2011
by Craig Jennings, OMB Watch, Jan. 24, 2011
When President Obama delivers the State of the Union address Tuesday, one topic he will likely devote many words to will be the nation’s finances. For months, we’ve heard calls from all sides to “rein in the deficit” – a deficit so massive that, if some politicians are to be believed, it may plunge the nation into another Dark Ages. If Obama echoes these unceasing cries coming from inside the Beltway and sets forth a budget plan designed to meet the needs of Washington politics and not the nation, he could imperil the nascent economic recovery and future growth while stifling public protections, the effectiveness of the federal workforce, and the economic well being of millions of families.
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 fullReport 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.
Obama and Open Government: Turning Vision into Reality
Jan 5, 2011
By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Jan. 5, 2011 in the Huffington Post
On his first full day in office, President Obama promised an administration premised on transparency, participation, and collaboration. If Obama is successful in transforming government in this way, what does that mean for you?
Obama's Regulatory Enforcement Shows That Government Can Play a Positive Role
Dec 20, 2010
By Matthew Madia, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Dec. 20, 2010 in the Huffington Post
In its first two years, the Obama administration stepped up the enforcement of rules meant to protect the environment, workers, and consumers, according to a new OMB Watch report. This activity is a welcome development after years of regulatory negligence that likely played a part in the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history and the most fatal coal mine disaster in 40 years.
OMB Watch Sees White House Science Memo as a Step Forward
Dec 17, 2010
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2010—The White House today took another step toward securing the independence of federal scientists and ensuring the integrity of scientific information used in government decision making. President Obama's top science advisor, John Holdren, issued a memo to executive branch agencies outlining the administration's position on key scientific integrity issues and instructing agencies to implement reforms.
read in fullOMB Watch Criticizes House Vote on Estate Tax Amendment
Dec 17, 2010
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2010—OMB Watch today criticized the House's Dec. 16 failure to adopt Rep. Earl Pomeroy's (D-ND) estate tax amendment to the Bush tax cut compromise reached by President Obama and congressional Republicans. The vote against the Pomeroy amendment indicates that the nation's fiscal priorities have been cast aside in favor of the estate planning needs of the wealthiest 0.3 percent of Americans.
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.
