On Jan. 23 Thomas Sullivan, chief counsel for advocacy with The Small Business Administration (SBA), contacted OMB Watch in response to "Is Industry Pulling EPA's Strings?", an article recently published in The Watcher that describes a troubling pattern of close cooperation and extensive communication between the SBA and the Environmental Protection Agency around reducing chemical reporting under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), in order cut down on governmental paperwork for companies. Sullivan asked that OMB Watch clarify that the 1997 investigation by SBA's Inspector General into possible unethical actions around the TRI by SBA lawyer Kevin Bromberg, who has previously advocated for an industry coalition on TRI, found no evidence of inappropriate action. During his conversation with OMB Watch, Sullivan acknowledged that all of the facts cited in the article about recent interactions between EPA and SBA are correct. The article has been updated to reflect SBA's request.

More than 70,000 citizens voiced opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposals to cut chemical reporting under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), during the agency's public comment period that ended Jan. 13. Those speaking out against EPA's proposals included state agencies, health professionals, scientists, environmentalists, labor, Attorneys General, and even Congress, all of whom raised substantive concerns with the plan.