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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more news

278 Groups Tell Congress to Stop Sunset Commission Proposals

National, state and local organizations from across the country sent a letter to both the House and the Senate opposing legislation to create a sunset commission. Download the letters in PDF format:

Letter to the House of Representatives (6/19/2006)
Letter to the Senate (6/19/2006)

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States Losing Ability to Protect Public Due to Federal Preemptions

Despite the party's repeated use in recent years of states' rights rhetoric, the GOP-dominated Congress and Bush White House have been assiduously working to eliminate the ability of state governments to protect the public.

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Sunset Commissions Update: Take Action

Reports coming from GOP leadership about the timing of sunset commission legislation are conflicting, with one report suggesting that a bill could be considered in the House as early as next week, but agree all the same that some vehicle will move this summer. In the past few days, rumors have circulated that House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was leading efforts to combine differing sunset commission bills, with the Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) bill (H.R. 2470) the centerpiece bill to be supplemented by language from the other leading bills.

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Legislative Update: Plain Language and GAO Reg Review

The House Government Reform Committee reported out two bills relevant to regulatory policy: one to facilitate compliance by encouraging agencies to draft regulations in plain language, and another to bring the Government Accountability Office into the process of regulatory reviews.

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Latest Watcher

Jun 1, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time: Return of the Senior Death Discount?: Heinzerling v. Mannix

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Return of the Senior Death Discount?: Heinzerling Takes On Mannix

Is the senior death discount back? It may be, if a recent speech by an Environmental Protection Agency official is any indication.

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Organizations Speak Out Against Sunsets

A compilation of some of the letters that organizations are sending to Congress to express their opposition to the "sunset commission" chopping block. To be added as they are published. Organization Letters Coalition Sign-On Environment Letter National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities Leadership Council of Aging Organizations Services to People in Need Groups concerned about Medicaid and Medicare National Low Income Housing Coalition Education American Association of University Women - May 18, 2006 National Association of State Directors of Special Education

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Sunset Commissions are NOT Good Government

Sunset commissions are not the solution to cutting waste... in fact, they're just not good government solutions at all. Learn more with these fact sheets: Sunset Commissions Are NOT Good Government: "Good government" rationales for sunset commissions don't hold water. We tell you why. 20 Bites at the Apple: We just don't need sunset commissions; there are already 20 bites at the apple -- or more -- to keep programs in line.

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Materials

Fact sheets and other materials, updated to reflect the new bills now racing to the House floor. About the Proposals Side-by-side analysis of leading bills Sunset Issue Brief" One-pager: Tiahrt Bill (H.R. 5766) Sunset Commissions: Myth v. Reality Counter-Arguments Not Good Government No Need for Sunsets: 20 Bites at the Apple In the News Selected news articles and op-eds Dayton News editorial (from Mr.

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Update: Boehner Makes Sunset Commission Proposal Legislative Priority

House of Representatives Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has begun work behind the scenes to draft new sunset commission legislation and has signaled to his party that the sunset commission will be a legislative priority.

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