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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Obama Revokes Controversial Bush E.O.

Feb 4, 2009 by Matthew Madia

In today's Federal Register, President Barack Obama officially revoked Executive Order 13,422 which was signed by President Bush in January 2007. As you may recall, OMB Watch opposed the changes Bush was trying to advance through E.O. 13,422.

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OMB Watch Applauds Obama's Revocation of Bush-Era Executive Order on Regulatory Review

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2009—OMB Watch applauds President Barack Obama’s decision to undo one of former President George W. Bush’s attempts to paralyze the regulatory process. In an executive order published in today's issue of the Federal Register, Obama revokes Executive Order 13422 and all implementing guidelines and documents.

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Obama Asks for Recommendations on Regulatory Process, OIRA

Feb 3, 2009 by Matthew Madia

President Barack Obama is asking federal agencies to reform the process for writing new regulations. In a Jan. 30 memo, published in today's Federal Register, Obama instructs Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag, in consultation with agency officials, to formulate a set of recommendations for transforming the government's rule-writing process. Obama wants the recommendations within 100 days.

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Action on Midnight Rules Switches to Agencies

Jan 29, 2009 by Matthew Madia

One of the first tasks on the to-do list for new Obama administration agency heads will be dealing with the midnight regulations left by the Bush administration. The White House has likely said all its going to say on the issue (more here), but the majority of Bush's regulations are still unaddressed.

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What is the Obama Agenda for Bush-Era Regulations?

Just hours after President Barack Obama took the oath of office on Jan. 20, new White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel issued a memo setting out the Obama administration's policy for dealing with some regulations left by the administration of President George W. Bush. The Emanuel memo puts a freeze on all regulations still in the pipeline and gives agencies leeway to deal with those Bush-era regulations already finalized but not yet being implemented. However, the memo does not address most of the controversial regulations finalized by the Bush administration in its last days; these rules are already in effect and impacting the nation.

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Bush to Leave Damaging Legacy, New Report Shows

Jan 16, 2009 by Matthew Madia

OMB Watch released a report Jan. 14 cataloguing and explaining the damage done by eight years of George W. Bush's presidency.

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Department of Energy Proposes Eliminating 20-Year-Old Disclosure Test

On Dec. 9, 2008, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a proposed rule that would revise its official Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations to remove a 20-year-old requirement for weighing the public interest in records disclosure decisions. In the same rulemaking, DOE also proposed to raise FOIA copying fees from five cents to 20 cents a page.

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Bush's Midnight Rule Campaign Comes to a Close

President George W. Bush and senior administration officials appear to have concluded their midnight regulations campaign, leaving the incoming Obama administration with a host of new rules it may not agree with. In the past two months, the Bush administration has finalized at least 20 controversial midnight regulations affecting everything from the environment to health care and worker rights.

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Transition at OIRA: What Kind of Change?

Change is coming to the leadership position at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Two news reports during the week of Jan. 5 highlighted the outgoing and (potentially) incoming administrators of the office that reviews federal agencies' proposals for providing public health, safety, consumer, and environmental protections.

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Changes at OIRA; Obama Nominee Announced

Jan 9, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Wednesday, Reg•Watch blogged about President Bush's decision to appoint Susan Dudley as the acting administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — the White House office in charge of clearing federal regulations. Dudley has been the administrator since 2007, but her recess appointment expired, forcing Bush to give her "acting" status.

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