The federal government's ability — and sometimes inability — to protect the public drew national attention throughout 2008. President Bush's and senior administration officials' aversion to regulation and their penchant for allowing the market to operate unchecked appeared more and more outmoded in the face of the collapse of the financial market, the rising tide of dangerous imported products, and persistent examples of environmental degradation.

The Bush administration is working on a spate of rules it hopes to finalize before its time in power expires. The last-minute rules cover a broad range of policy, but many share a common trait: relaxing existing requirements on businesses. The Bush administration appears to be pushing to deregulate in areas like environmental protection, worker leave, and auto safety. Many of the controversial rules are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. The administration is pushing to finalize rules in November, not January, in order to assure they cannot be undone by the next president.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently finalized changes to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) rules that increase the agency's ability to gather information on citizens without having prior suspicion of wrongdoing. The new rules cover the FBI's powers over criminal, national security, and foreign intelligence surveillance and have been criticized by civil liberties advocates and privacy groups.

by Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch Executive Director
Those who keep an eye on the federal government know the Bush administration is not friendly toward regulation — particularly health, safety, environmental, civil rights, and consumer protections. When they have been forced to regulate, Bush officials have advanced policies that mostly let the market control the game, while the idea of strong government intervention has been left to gather dust. However, even outside the recent regulatory takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, events show the administration is starting to kick things into high gear on regulations, trying to lock the next administration into a Bush legacy.