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

Dietary guidelines and something called Data "Quality"

Sep 23, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The other day we mentioned new, weakened dietary guidelines that seem to promote industry interests over the public interest. In case you missed it: the weakening of the dietary guidelines can be traced back to a Data Quality Act challenge filed by industry-funded think tank Center for Regulatory Effectiveness. Check out this article from the OMB Watch Information and Access team, which also links you to information you'll need if you want to share your thoughts on the guidelines (deadline 9/27). Learn more about the Data Quality Act here.

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Say bye-bye to the bull trout...

Sep 23, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Remember the bull trout? The administration pulled some chicanery a while back and produced a cost-benefit analysis of plans to save the bull trout's habitat... but eliminated all references to benefits from the final report. Well, surprise, surprise: the new recovery plan "would sharply reduce the amount of federally designated critical habitat for the threatened bull trout in three Western states and eliminate federal requirements for such habitat in Montana," according to the AP. Adds the (Bend) Bulletin:

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Oceans in peril, and Bush admin. wants to make things worse

Sep 21, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Don't miss the latest analysis from U.S. PIRG: "Bush Receives Final Report from U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy: Administration Ignoring Science and Undercutting Ocean Protections." Here's an excerpt: The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, a panel appointed by President Bush, today issued its final report stating that the oceans are in peril and overfishing is a primary factor contributing to the collapse of entire ocean ecosystems. Today's report comes even as the Bush administration is actively seeking to weaken federal standards that protect fish populations from overfishing.

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Congress Defies White House, Saves Overtime for Millions

Both the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House of Representatives have defied a White House veto threat and voted to save overtime rights for millions of workers. Full story.

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Nuclear Commission Avoids Accountability in Secret Rule Change

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission illegally issued new orders, without opportunity for public participation, that secretly change terrorism preparedness requirements for nuclear facilities, according to a challenge filed by two citizen groups and recently argued in a federal appeals court.

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NHTSA Finally Issues Long-Delayed Tire Pressure Rule

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a proposed rule Sept. 16 for requiring tire pressure monitoring systems. The ruling came a full year after its first attempt at a rule was overturned by a federal court, and two months after Public Citizen returned to that same court seeking an order compelling NHTSA to stop delaying and issue a rule.

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OSHA Sets Ergonomics Guidelines for Poultry Workers

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released their voluntary ergonomics guidelines for the poultry industry without fanfare on Sept. 2. The guidelines are part of OSHA's "four-pronged" method for reducing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This is the third set of ergonomics guidelines released by OSHA.

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House Committee, Journals Call for More Clinical Trial Data

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee blasted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week for urging drug companies to withhold information on the efficacy of antidepressants used on children. The controversy comes just as patient advocacy groups, the American Medical Association, and a dozen medical journal editors are calling on pharmaceutical companies to register their clinical trials in order to meet increasing public demand for information on the effectiveness and safety of drugs. Lack of Information on Clinical Trials Leads to Use of Ineffective Drugs

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OMB Watch Launches Regulatory Weblog

OMB Watch is pleased to announce the launch of RegWatch, its new blog (short for "weblog") to track regulatory issues. Bookmark it at www.ombwatch.org/regwatch.

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Report Discovers 'Pattern of Failure' to Serve Public

OMB Watch's new report, The Bush Regulatory Record: A Pattern of Failure, analyzes the last year of federal regulatory activity for four key agencies charged with serving the public interest and places its findings in a broader four-year context. The agencies studied are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

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