Blog: The Fine Print / Citizen Health & Safety

New Rule Likely to Cut Health Care for the Poor

Nov 10, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

The Bush administration is continuing its push to finalize hundreds of new regulations in an effort to cement its legacy before the new administration takes power on Jan. 20 next year. Also called "midnight regulations," these rules tend to get rammed through the regulatory review process before the lights go out on an administration, regardless of process violations or self-imposed cutoffs.

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For High Court, High Stakes Case on Preemption

Nov 5, 2008 by Matthew Madia

A case argued before the Supreme Court Monday could affect the way consumers seek redress from companies when harmed by faulty drugs. In Wyeth v. Levine, a woman claims Wyeth pharmaceuticals did not provide adequate warning of side effects for one of its drugs. Complications from the drug, phenergan, led to amputation of her arm.

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Watching out for Midnight Regulations

Nov 3, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Reg•Watch has been following the phenomenon known as "midnight regulation" where an administration finalizes lots of rules in its waning days of power. Below is a list of many of the more controversial rules worth watching. Reg•Watch will provide regular updates to this list.

Click here for updated information on all midnight regulations finalized during the Bush administration.
 

CIVIL LIBERTIES

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FDA Experts Fought Rule to Protect Drug Makers

Oct 30, 2008 by Matthew Madia

FDA higher-ups pushed forward with a controversial rule that makes it harder for patients to learn of drugs' side effects despite objections from its own experts, a new report shows. The rule also removes patients' ability to sue pharmaceutical manufacturers when harmed by a drug.

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Science Advisors Chide FDA on Plastics Chemical

Oct 29, 2008 by Matthew Madia

FDA's panel of independent science advisors charged with reviewing the agency's work on bisphenol-A, a chemical commonly found in hard plastics and the lining of food cans, criticized FDA's current policy on the substance. The panel has "significant concerns" with the draft scientific assessment FDA released in August.

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For Controversial Rules, Bush Officials Give Mixed Signals

Oct 28, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Under a deadline imposed by White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, federal agencies were to propose any regulation they wished to finalize under President Bush's watch by June 1 or wait for a new president to take the reigns of government. But several controversial rules that missed the June 1 deadline appeared destined for completion nonetheless.

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To Gut Species Protection, Interior Calls "All Hands on Deck"

Oct 22, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Bush administration is moving at warp speed to finalize a rule that will allow government-approved projects to intrude on the habitats of endangered species. The Department of the Interior received about 300,000 public comments, mostly negative, on its proposal after it was unveiled in August. According to an internal email obtained by the Associated Press, Interior wants to review all the public comments in just four days:

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EPA Doesn't Tell the Whole Tale of Enforcement

Oct 21, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Environmental Protection Agency exaggerates its penalties on polluters according to a new GAO report to be released later today, AP reports. GAO charges that EPA overstates its total penalty amounts by including fines that are never actually collected. From AP: The levied fines in 2004, 2005 and 2006 included a total of $227.2 million in so-called default judgments. The agency admitted these hard-to-collect fines were larger in those years; GAO said they are unlikely to be collected.

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Right Whale Protection Rule Finally Here

Oct 9, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has finalized a long-awaited rule that will protect the North Atlantic right whale, one of the planet's most critically endangered marine species. Fewer than 400 right whales are left, according to NOAA.

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Bush Taking Credit for Whale Rule He Delayed

Oct 2, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The long-awaited rule to protect the North Atlantic right whale is coming soon, according to President Bush himself. Speaking at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History on Friday, Bush briefly discussed the rule: "There are fewer than 400 North Atlantic Right Whales left in the world… And there are going to be new regulations that will be coming to be shortly that require ships to slow down as they approach seaports where these whales are likely to be."

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