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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White House Role in Rulemaking Could Improve, Report Says

The White House is a major player in agency rulemakings, affecting both the content of regulations and the length of time needed to complete them, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The report comes as advisors to President Barack Obama consider reforms to the regulatory process.

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OIRA Nominee Sunstein Promises Law and Pragmatism Will Guide Decisions

During his May 12 confirmation hearing, President Barack Obama's choice for regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein, portrayed himself as a pragmatist, one who will not use economic analysis as a straitjacket for regulations. In pledging to look to the law first for regulatory guidance, Sunstein tried to distance himself from past regulatory czars who strongly supported economic analysis to judge the adequacy of health, safety, and environmental rules.

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Climate Change Memo Controversy: Lessons Learned

May 14, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is the source of some controversial language in a climate change memo sent from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to the EPA, according to news reports.

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OMB Watch Calls on Obama Administration to Improve Scientific Integrity

May 13, 2009 by Matthew Madia

On May 13, OMB Watch submitted to the White House recommendations for improving scientific integrity in the federal government. From the comments:

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OIRA Looms Large over Rules, GAO Says

May 13, 2009 by Matthew Madia

This week, the Government Accountability Office released a report on the rulemaking process. GAO had been asked by Congress in 2007 to assess agency rulemaking practices and to pay particular attention to the role of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) – the Executive Branch gatekeeper for all things regulatory.

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OMB Watch Statement on Cass Sunstein Confirmation Hearing

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2009—On May 12, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Cass Sunstein to be administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). A highly respected academic, Professor Sunstein has authored a number of provocative writings on regulation and the regulatory process. His hearing was the first opportunity to hear how he would implement President Barack Obama's regulatory agenda.

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Questions for OIRA’s Cass Sunstein

May 6, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee has scheduled a hearing on the nomination of Cass Sunstein to be the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12 at 10:00am, and it looks like it will be webcast.

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Under Obama, Sun Setting on Bush Midnight Rules

The Obama administration continues to reverse policies left by the Bush administration, including many controversial regulations finalized near the end of President Bush's term. Administration officials are employing different strategies with the goal of overturning or significantly altering some of the Bush administration's so-called midnight regulations.

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Good News/Bad News on New Roof Strength Rule

May 1, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced its long-awaited new rule requiring stronger roofs in vehicles in an attempt to better protect passengers in rollover crashes.

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Obama Administration to Withdraw Bush Rule on Endangered Species

Apr 28, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Obama administration will withdraw a Bush-era regulation designed to undermine the Endangered Species Act, specifically, the role of science in protecting species. The departments of Commerce and the Interior, the agencies responsible for issuing the regulation in December 2008, announced the withdrawal today in a press release.

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