Yesterday, OMB Director Robert Portman issued a memo sternly warning agencies not to obligate FY 2007 funds "on the basis of earmarks contained in Congressional reports or documents, or other written or oral communications regarding earmarks," suggesting zero tolerance this year for traditional Congressional approaches to funding for favored projects. For years, administration agencies have relied on committee reports -- where the vast majority of earmarks are spelled out -- for guidance on Congress' will in executing spending laws.

We have become used to President Bush appointing friends and others of like-minded ideology to important agency posts. Now it seems as though the White House has made a new friend — vacancy. As BNA news service (subscription) reports this morning, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — an independent agency charged with protecting the American public from dangerous products — can no longer promulgate new regulations. CPSC has been dealing with a commissioner vacancy since July 2006 and, under agency rules, no longer possesses the voting quorum necessary to regulate on behalf of public safety. President Bush hasn't nominated a new commissioner, severely diminishing CPSC's power. This lapse, combined with proposed budget cuts to CPSC, tells the American people that product safety is not a priority of this administration. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) is pushing for legislation to allow CPSC to operate without a quorum for another six months, but this will only be a temporary fix. The White House ought to be ashamed of its underhanded attempts to delay product safety regulation.

We did not have a lot of good things to say about the president's FY 2008 budget last week (see here, here, here, and here), but there was one thing that was worthy of praise.