Blog: The Fine Print / Citizen Health & Safety

EPA Staff Advised Johnson Against Denying California

Jan 24, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, Reg•Watch blogged about EPA's refusal to release background documents on its decision to deny California's attempt to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. EPA rattled off several lame excuses for withholding the information from the public. Details of those documents are beginning to surface. As expected, they show that EPA staff advised Administrator Stephen Johnson to grant California's request and instructed him that, if EPA blocked California from enacting its own regulations, the agency would likely lose in litigation.

read in full

Industry Pushing for Drug Marketing Loophole

Jan 23, 2008 by Matthew Madia

In November, Reg•Watch blogged about an FDA proposal that would allow drug companies to market drugs for unapproved uses by passing out journal articles and other studies. In a letter to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, Rep. Henry Waxman — whose committee had discovered the proposal — complained that, by creating the loophole, drug companies could promote their drugs using studies they fund themselves, free from FDA oversight.

read in full

Americans Is Too Dumb to Understand Enviromint

Jan 23, 2008 by Matthew Madia

On Jan. 10, overcome by optimism and naiveté, Reg•Watch declared that Americans may get answers about who was responsible for EPA's decision to deny California's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

read in full

The Price of Regulatory Delay

Jan 18, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The nonprofit group Environmental Defense has released a new analysis showing that a one-year delay in the implementation of a diesel emissions reduction rule could result in 1,400 premature deaths, 3,000 heart attacks, and 24,000 asthma attacks. The regulatory process is often slowed to a halt under the weight of analytical burdens and political pressure from top agency officials or the White House. Environmental Defense's analysis proves regulatory delay is not just a government management issue — it's a public health issue.

read in full

The Bush Administration's Attacks on State Law

Jan 17, 2008 by Matthew Madia

In a new article written for the American Constitution Society, Georgetown law professor David Vladeck examines a toubling yet underreported tactic the Bush administration has been using to undermine public health and safety protections: federal preemption of state tort claims.

read in full

Scientists Gather to Speak Out on Political Manipulation

Jan 16, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Two dozen scientists came from around the country to Washington this week to protest political meddling in decisions on endangered species protections, according to The Washington Post: The scientists say political appointees at [the Department of] Interior, or those who report to them, have been altering their reports recommending "critical habitat" preservation to favor industries whose interests conflict with the findings.

read in full

FDA Backs Meat and Milk from Clones; Where's USDA?

Jan 15, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Washington Post has obtained a copy of an FDA risk assessment that endorses the safety of food from cloned cattle, pigs, and goats. The assessment, long expected, comes on the heels of a European Union draft scientific opinion which came to similar conclusions. The Post has a summary of and excerpts from the risk assessment and background on the issue in an article published today.

read in full

Hong Kong's Equitable Approach to Pollution Control

Jan 11, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, The New York Times published an article on new electricity producer regulations in Hong Kong which would tie electricity prices to a producer's emission levels: The 10-year agreement reached this week between the Hong Kong government and the territory's two companies — Hong Kong Electric and CLP — authorizes the companies to charge electricity rates that will give them a 9.99 percent return on assets.

read in full

Questions for the Year Ahead: Regulatory Policy Outlook for 2008

Jan 11, 2008 by Matthew Madia

As Reg•Watch mentioned last week, in 2007, new regulatory policies and the inability of federal agencies to protect the public made headlines more so than at any time in recent memory. Newspapers continually ran stories on White House interference, unsafe imports, and new hazards being ignored by government despite scientific evidence imploring regulation.

read in full

First Signs of Teeth in CPSC Enforcement

Jan 9, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Nancy Nord, head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, will use the agency's newly-boosted budget to station product inspectors at the nation's busiest ports, according to an article in Congress Daily (via GovExec.com).

read in full

Pages

Subscribe to The Fine Print: blog posts from Center for Effective Government
  • ©2025 Project On Government Oversight
  • All Rights Reserved.
  • This an archive site of the materials produced by the Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) and is maintained by the Project On Government Oversight.