U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Feb. 20 that a food labeling rule finalized in the last days of the Bush administration will go into effect as scheduled. The rule has been under review at USDA in accordance with a Jan. 20 memo from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, which placed a moratorium on all final rules not in effect at the time President Barack Obama took office. However, Vilsack is asking food producers to follow additional voluntary country-of-origin labeling practices that could close loopholes left by the Bush rule.

Effective Feb. 10, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will begin enforcing new standards for children's products containing lead and phthalates. The standards take effect just days after a federal court voided a Bush administration effort to legalize the sale of products not meeting the standards if the products had been manufactured before Feb. 10. CPSC is enforcing the regulations in response to a 2008 law that gives the agency new powers and responsibilities to protect the public from potentially dangerous consumer products.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its latest report to Congress Jan. 22 highlighting the wide range of high-risk areas in government that it urges the new Congress and administration to address. The report updates the areas already on GAO's list and adds three new high-risk areas: the outdated financial regulatory system, medical product oversight and regulation, and toxic chemical assessment.