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 Increasing Pressure over Invalid Rules

Mar 18, 2010 by Matthew Madia

Federal rulemaking agencies continue to fail to submit new regulations to Congress, potentially invalidating them, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

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Rulemaking and the Open Government Agenda

Mar 17, 2010 by Matthew Madia

It’s Sunshine Week, which means it’s as good a time as any to talk about rulemaking transparency.

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Regulatory Process Oversight Hearing Postponed

Mar 16, 2010 by Rick Melberth*

A hearing entitled Federal Rulemaking and the Regulatory Process that was scheduled for today was postponed because one of the witnesses is ill. The House Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law had scheduled the hearing, the first congressional hearing to focus on regulatory process issues in the Obama administration. OMB Watch's executive director, Gary Bass, was scheduled to testify among others.

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Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Rule Sent to White House for Final Review

Mar 11, 2010 by Matthew Madia

The Obama administration is nearing completion of a major federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions for the first time in U.S. history. The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation will jointly issue a rule regulating vehicle emissions by mandating increases in fuel efficiency over the coming years.

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What Happened to Obama’s Commitment to Scientific Integrity?

Mar 9, 2010 by Matthew Madia

Today, March 9, is the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s scientific integrity memo which instructed his staff to produce within 120 days recommendations for ensuring independence of federal scientists and limiting political interference in their work. 365 days later, we’re still waiting.

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ACUS Chairman Confirmed

Mar 9, 2010 by Matthew Madia

On March 3, the Senate confirmed Paul Verkuil to serve as chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS). The confirmation was approved by unanimous consent. The term for ACUS chairman lasts five years.

Most recently, Verkuil worked for the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. Click here for a bio.

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Regulatory Lapses Inflate Health Care Costs, Reports Find

A new report has found that foodborne illnesses take a $152 billion toll on the American economy each year. Other hazards that regulators keep tabs on, such as air pollution, can increase medical costs if the public is not adequately protected.

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Senate Bill Threatens Greenhouse Gas Limits

Mar 4, 2010 by Matthew Madia

Congress’s push to kneecap greenhouse gas regulation got a little stronger today when Sen. John Rockefeller (D- ~~coal~~ WV) introduced a bill that would delay for two additional years any EPA regulation of stationary sources like power plants and oil refineries.

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Making the Case for Coal Ash Regulation

Feb 25, 2010 by Matthew Madia

A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice uncovers dozens of cases where ponds of toxic coal combustion waste have leaked into nearby wetlands, streams, and groundwater supplies.

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Patchwork Improvements Continue for E-Rulemaking

Several federal government websites have recently incorporated changes that better highlight regulatory issues and expand online access to rulemaking information. However, the changes appear independent of one another, not parts of a conscious effort by the Obama administration to transform the government's beleaguered e-rulemaking systems.

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