Setting and Enforcing Regulations

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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EPA May Be Next for Power to Waive Law

The push to establish an Imperial Presidency kicked into overdrive when Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced a bill that would give the Environmental Protection Agency the power to waive or weaken the law for matters related to Hurricane Katrina.

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Katrina trumps No Child Left Behind

Sep 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The Washington Post is reporting on the Dep't of Education's decision to ease NCLB regs for schools affected by Katrina: 'No Child' Rules to Be Eased for a Year Under pressure from hurricane-stressed states, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced yesterday that the agency will for one year relax academic accountability standards under the administration's signature education initiative, allowing schools affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita to... [Via washingtonpost.com - washingtonpost.com - US government, national security, science and national news and headlines.]

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Government 'Reform' Threatens Public Protections, OMB Watch's Robert Shull Testifies Today

Washington -- Sep 27, 2005 -- Government reorganization cannot come at the expense of public protections, according to testimony by Robert Shull, OMB Watch's regulatory policy director, to be delivered today before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce and Agency Organization.

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Testimony on H.R. 3276 and H.R. 3277, Sunset/Reorganization Bills

Testimony on the House bills implementing the White House's proposal for government shutdown powers via automatic sunsets and for reorganization authority. Download the testimony from the Sep. 27, 2005 hearing before the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce and Agency Organization of the House Committee on Government Reform.

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Labor: Limited Waiver of Affirmative Action in Fed Contracts

Sep 22, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The Homeland Security website has what it calls the List of Government Waivers and Dispensations Authorized for Hurricane Katrina Response, but don't rely on it as a comnprehensive list of all regulatory protections waived or weakened in the name of Katrina. For example -- layers under layers deep in the Dep't of Labor website is a notice that DOL is waiving some affirmative action requirements for federal contracts, including requirements for job postings targeted to reach veterans and the disabled. The waiver lasts for three months, but it is also subject to extension.

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White House Finds in Katrina Recovery 'Opportunity' to Waive Needed Protections

Though most government agencies have worked diligently to alleviate the untold burdens on Hurricane Katrina's victims and to expedite recovery in a safe and effective manner, several agencies have taken the opportunity to waive needed protections, thus possibly putting recovery workers and others at greater risk.

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Analysts Split on Meaning of Mercury Vote

Commentators disagree whether a recent vote on a Senate measure to reject part of the Bush administration's mercury rule should be viewed as a sign of strength or weakness for progressives in environmental fights to come. The vote in question was on ">S. J. Res. 20, a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act to reject part of the Environmental Protection Agency's mercury rule.

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Homeland Security Waives Law for Border Fence Construction

Apparently taking advantage of media focus on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is exercising its newly acquired power to waive apparently all law in order to expedite construction of border fencing near San Diego.

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Bush Decision to Waive Wage Protections Could Be Illegal

Sep 16, 2005 by Guest Blogger

As many surely know by now, the White House decision to suspend its obligations under the Davis-Bacon Act to require a fair minimum wage for contractors working on the reconstruction and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will have a direct and drastically negative impact on many of the very victims of the hurricane. Some have noted the irony of this decision given that the hurricane's devastation was compounded by years of poverty and low-wages throughout the Gulf region.

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OMB and the Price of Gas

Sep 14, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Astronomically high gas prices and possible post-Katrina price gouging are all over the news these days. So what does OMB have to do with the price of gas? Well, OMB has for some time been living in a fantasy land with regard to what we're paying at the pump. OMB puts out an annual report on the costs and benefits of regulations, and for the last several years the office has been using a low-ball estimate for the price per gallon of gas when calculating cost and benefit estimates. This year and last, OMB used an estimate of -- get this -- $1.10 to $1.30.

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more resources

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

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

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

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

EPA May Be Next for Power to Waive Law

Katrina trumps No Child Left Behind

Sep 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Government 'Reform' Threatens Public Protections, OMB Watch's Robert Shull Testifies Today

Testimony on H.R. 3276 and H.R. 3277, Sunset/Reorganization Bills

Labor: Limited Waiver of Affirmative Action in Fed Contracts

Sep 22, 2005 by Guest Blogger

White House Finds in Katrina Recovery 'Opportunity' to Waive Needed Protections

Analysts Split on Meaning of Mercury Vote

Homeland Security Waives Law for Border Fence Construction

Bush Decision to Waive Wage Protections Could Be Illegal

Sep 16, 2005 by Guest Blogger

OMB and the Price of Gas

Sep 14, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Pages

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

Citizen Health & Safety Topics

Recent Reports

Living in the Shadow of Danger: State Scorecards

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us