Protecting Consumers

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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more news

Legislative Blunder May Spoil Food Safety Bill

Dec 2, 2010 by Matthew Madia

As The Fine Print covered on Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill that would expand the powers of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and better protect Americans from unsafe food. Or did they?

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Check Sky for Pigs, Senate Passes Food Safety Bill

Nov 30, 2010 by Matthew Madia

After a long and frustrating journey, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act cleared the Senate today in a bipartisan 73-25 vote.

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Public Database of Product Safety Complaints Coming Next Year

Nov 24, 2010 by Gavin Baker

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted today to create a public database of product safety complaints. The database, which will be located at SaferProducts.gov, is scheduled to launch in March 2011.

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Food Safety Bill Starts, Stalls in First Week of Lame-Duck Session

The U.S. Senate, hampered by politics and process, recently failed yet again to pass food safety reform legislation. The Senate is in the process of considering both related and unrelated amendments to the bill during the lame-duck session.

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Senate Closing in on Food Safety Reform

Nov 17, 2010 by Matthew Madia

The Senate moved one step closer today to passing S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. The bill would expand the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by giving the agency the power to order recalls of contaminated foods, among other powers.

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OMB Watch Criticizes U.S. Chamber of Commerce over Irresponsible Attack on Public Protections

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2010—OMB Watch today criticized the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for an irresponsible attack on government regulation, a key mechanism for providing public safeguards. The rebuke was in response to news that the Chamber will target environmental and worker protections and health care and financial reform regulations in the coming months.

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One Year Later, Catfish Safety Rule Still at OIRA

Nov 16, 2010 by Matthew Madia

The advocacy group Food & Water Watch is blasting the Obama administration over the delay in the creation of a program to conduct mandatory safety inspections of catfish. Over a year ago, Nov. 13, 2009, the UDSA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) submitted to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) a draft proposed rule laying out the details of the program. The White House has yet to approve the proposal.

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Time for FDA to Target Troubled Egg Producer

Nov 9, 2010 by Matthew Madia

On the heels of this summer’s massive egg recall, another recall was announced yesterday covering almost 300,000 eggs contaminated with salmonella. The eggs were recalled by Cal-Maine Foods Inc., a distributor, but were actually supplied by Ohio Fresh Eggs. No illnesses have been linked to the current recall.

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Post-Election View on Food Safety Legislation

Nov 3, 2010 by Matthew Madia

Food Safety News today published two articles analyzing the prospects of food safety legislation in the upcoming lame-duck period and in the 112th Congress.

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Chinese Drywall Manufacturer Agrees to Help Rebuild Homes

One of the Chinese companies that manufactured drywall used to rebuild homes around the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina has agreed to help pay for the repair of 300 homes. The legal agreement, which establishes a pilot program in four states, results from claims that the drywall emitted substances that corroded and destroyed pipes, wiring, and alarm systems.

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