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

Rhyme Time: EPA to Take on BPA

Mar 31, 2010 by Matthew Madia

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled an action plan for addressing bisphenol-A (BPA), a common chemical found in a variety of hard plastics and the lining of food can containers.

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USDA to Require Warnings for Meat and Poultry Contamination

Mar 26, 2010 by Matthew Madia

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed requiring companies to alert the government if contaminated or mislabeled meat or poultry products escape into the market. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking yesterday. The proposal is open for public comment until May 24.

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Auto Safety Regulator under Scrutiny after Toyota Fiasco

Incidents of sudden acceleration that led to the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles have sparked a debate over whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal agency in charge of auto safety, needs enhanced powers and resources.

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Regulatory Lapses Inflate Health Care Costs, Reports Find

A new report has found that foodborne illnesses take a $152 billion toll on the American economy each year. Other hazards that regulators keep tabs on, such as air pollution, can increase medical costs if the public is not adequately protected.

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On Food Additive Safety, FDA Just Watches the GRAS Grow

Mar 5, 2010 by Matthew Madia

A February Government Accountability Office report released today chides the Food and Drug Administration for failing to ensure the safety of common food additives. By law, manufacturers may assign additives a "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS, designation, a process that the FDA neither monitors nor verifies in most cases, according to the GAO.

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Food Safety’s Bipartisan Flavor Can Spice up Government’s Image

Feb 26, 2010 by Matthew Madia

All the pieces are in place for Senate passage of major food safety legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration new powers to police both home grown and imported foods.

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Toyota and Regulators Friendly on Lots of Safety Issues, Document Says

Feb 23, 2010 by Matthew Madia

Toyota’s cozy relationship with regulators extends beyond the sudden acceleration issue that has forced the automaker to recall millions of cars.

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FDA Announces New Approach to Inspections of Imported Products

On Feb. 4, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new approach to regulating imported products – including food and medical devices – to enhance the agency's ability to respond to the increased globalization of commerce. The new risk-based approach to inspections and product tracking will be in place nationally in 2010.

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A Look at Regulatory Agencies in Obama’s Frugal Budget

Feb 3, 2010 by Matthew Madia

The Office of Management and Budget unveiled President Obama’s FY 2011 budget request on Monday. Obama has decided to propose a spending freeze for discretionary, non-defense budget items. (See OMB Watch’s statement here.) Because Obama has proposed an overall freeze and not a line-item-by-line-item freeze, spending could be transferred to other areas to reflect administration priorities.

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Obama Nominates Key Food Safety Official

Jan 27, 2010 by Matthew Madia

President Obama finally announced on Monday his nominee for undersecretary of food safety at the USDA, a.k.a. the head of the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). The nominee, Elisabeth Hagen, is currently the Chief Medical Officer at the USDA, and before that she was a senior executive at FSIS.

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