The Bush administration will likely spend its last year in power trying to accomplish through regulation what it cannot accomplish legislatively. Associated Press reporter Matthew Daly (via GovExec.com) portends another of these 11th hour administrative changes: Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said Friday that his department will review gun laws on lands administered by the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Officials will draw up new rules by April 30 for public comment, Kempthorne said in a letter to 50 senators who requested the review.

Toys "R" Us has announced plans to enforce a voluntary standard for lead in toys tighter than the mandatory federal standard. According to the retailer's press release, "We have instructed all manufacturers who produce items for Toys "R" Us, Inc. that products shipped to the company on or after March 1, 2008 must comply with strict new standards, which include…applying a more stringent standard of 90 ppm for lead in surface coatings versus the current federal standard of 600 ppm for all products manufactured exclusively for Toys "R" Us, Inc."

Today, a rule that would protect the North Atlantic right whale celebrates its one year anniversary of being stuck in the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Under Executive Order 12866, OIRA has 90 days to review regulations before they are finalized. In consultation with the issuing agency (in this case, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) OIRA may extend the review period by 30 days. NOAA submitted the whale protection rule on Feb. 20, 2007. Therefore, OIRA has exceeded the review period by about eight months, and there is no end in sight.

FDA's inability to ensure the safety of imported products is in the news again today. According to The New York Times, a plant in China, uninspected by FDA, is responsible for a contaminated ingredient in Heparin, a blood-thinning drug common in dialysis, heart surgeries and chronic care hospitals. At least four people have already died from using the drug.