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

OIRA's Role in the Obama Administration Examined

A panel of regulatory policy experts discussed how the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has been functioning during the Obama administration and how reforms could benefit the public. The discussion came as the White House prepares to issue a new executive order that could alter the way regulations are written.

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Not All Economic Data are Created Equal

Jun 12, 2009 by Jocelyn Yin*

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released an issue brief that outlined some of the data it used to estimate the effect of the 2008 tax rebates. Given the debate over the true effect of these rebates, the CBO clearly felt that it needed to provide some detail about its methodology.

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OMB Watch Comments on Greenhouse Gas Reporting

Jun 10, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*

OMB Watch has submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) registry. Our comments focused on ensuring that information about emissions is made available to the public in a comprehensive, timely, and useful manner. Without sufficient transparency, the GHG registry could end up sabotaging our nascent climate policies.

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More Transparency Needed in White House Review of Regulations

Jun 8, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is asking the White House to improve transparency during its review of agency regulations.

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Obama Backtracks on Mountaintop Mining

Jun 2, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Coal industry lobbyists appear to have valuable access to White House officials, and they’re using it to expand mountaintop mining in the Appalachians, according to an article in The Los Angeles Times.

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Protections for Farmworkers Temporarily Reinstated

May 28, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Department of Labor is officially suspending a Bush administration regulation that stripped agricultural workers of certain housing and wage protections. The rule, one of President Bush’s midnight regulations, was finalized Dec. 18 and went into effect Jan. 17.

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Obama Administration Accepting Ideas for Regulations.gov

May 26, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Obama administration has launched a website to prompt a discussion of the federal government’s online portal for viewing and commenting on agency regulations – Regulations.gov. The new website, Regulations.gov/exchange, includes ideas for improving Regulations.gov and allows users to comment on the ideas.

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EPA Regains Control over Chemical Assessments

May 21, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it would take back the reins of its program for assessing the risks of industrial chemicals after the process had become corrupted by political forces.

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Obama Issues Memo on Preemption Practices

May 21, 2009 by Rick Melberth*

President Obama issued a memorandum May 20 to the heads of executive departments and agencies that should limit some of the worst preemption practices used by the Bush administration.

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Senate Panel Clears Sunstein for OIRA

May 20, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the nomination of Cass Sunstein to be administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The nomination will now head to the full Senate for a vote.

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