White House Influence and Interference

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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Open-Gov Questions Candidates are Afraid We'll Ask

Jan 29, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Elections are the time when politicians pay the most attention to people and issues, and therefore the best time to ask them questions about how they plan to govern. OMB Watch wants your help in figuring out the best questions on government transparency that can be put to the candidates. Take just a few minutes to answer our survey and vote on your five favorite questions on the issue of government transparency and openness. We will then share the top questions with the news media and other organizations that have direct contact with candidates. Government openness affects every issue from budget and taxes, to the regulatory process, to non-profit advocacy. The range of questions tries to reflect this breadth so check them and see which are most important to you. Take the Open Government: What We Need To Know Survey today.

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Questions for the Year Ahead: Regulatory Policy Outlook for 2008

Jan 11, 2008 by Matthew Madia

As Reg•Watch mentioned last week, in 2007, new regulatory policies and the inability of federal agencies to protect the public made headlines more so than at any time in recent memory. Newspapers continually ran stories on White House interference, unsafe imports, and new hazards being ignored by government despite scientific evidence imploring regulation.

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AG Wants Answers: Was the White House Involved in the California Waiver Denial?

Jan 10, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Today, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), in her role as chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, held a field hearing in Los Angeles on EPA's recent decision to block state action on greenhouse gas emissions. At least 17 states are seeking to adopt vehicle emission regulations to reduce emissions.

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EPA Denies State Efforts to Curb Global Warming

The Bush administration rejected an attempt by California and several other states to combat global warming by placing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Stephen Johnson, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced the decision Dec. 19, 2007. Environmental advocates and members of Congress have sharply criticized the decision, and several states have already filed suit in federal court hoping to overturn it.

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A Year for Failure: Regulatory Policy News in 2007

Jan 2, 2008 by Matthew Madia

In 2007, new regulatory policies and the inability of federal agencies to protect the public made headlines more so than at any time in recent memory. Four themes dominated regulatory policy in 2007: White House influence over agency rulemaking activity and discretion; the inability of the federal government to ensure the safety of imported goods; the influence of industry groups; and the Bush administration's refusal to regulate in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence. Click on these links for a recap of 2007's highlights and lowlights:

White House Interventions

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Update on Bush Changes to the Regulatory Process

Dec 20, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Here's an OMB Watch update on President Bush's recent changes to the regulatory process and Congress's efforts to stop them: Congress Fails to Mitigate Executive Order's Damaging Impacts In January, President Bush made significant changes to the regulatory process by issuing Executive Order 13422. ( href="http://ga6.org/ct/H1A2jo41vc9H/">Click here for background.) Since then, OMB Watch has voiced its opposition to E.O. 13422 for three primary reasons:

It requires agency regulatory policy officers to be presidential appointees and gives them new power to start and

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A Year for Failure: Regulatory Policy News in 2007

In 2007, new regulatory policies and the inability of federal agencies to protect the public made headlines more so than at any time in recent memory. Four themes dominated regulatory policy this year: an increase in White House influence over agency rulemaking activity and discretion, which added a perception of more political manipulation; the inability of the federal government to protect the public by ensuring the safety of imported goods; the voice of some industry groups calling for regulation; and the Bush administration's refusal to regulate in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, as in the case of climate change. At best, government has attempted to respond to crises instead of getting ahead of the curve. This has left the public uncertain about whether we can count on our government to provide adequate safeguards.

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Agencies' Regulatory Plans Available Online

Dec 12, 2007 by Matthew Madia

On Monday, federal agencies released their semiannual Unified Agenda of regulatory and deregulatory actions. The fall version of the Unified Agenda also includes agencies' annual Regulatory Plan. The Unified Agenda lists all of the rules an agency is in the process of considering. It also lists regulatory actions completed since the last Unified Agenda and potential long-term actions.

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Congressmen Press EPA on Transparency

Dec 10, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Friday, Reps. John Dingell and Bart Stupak wrote to EPA administrator Stephen Johnson asking about the agency's transparency policies. The congressmen point out that previous EPA administrators have issued memos outlining proper transparency measures for agency activity but that Johnson has not. Dingell and Stupak do not identify any specific points of opacity or examples of EPA cover-ups; but one issue piqued Reg•Watch's interest. In their final question to Johnson (to which they request responses by Dec. 17), the congressmen ask the following:

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The Flaws of Cost-Benefit Analysis: A Case Example

Dec 5, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Reg•Watch often complains about the flaws of cost-benefit analysis and the overemphasis policy makers place on it as a tool in decision making. However, when discussing cost-benefit analysis in the abstract, it is difficult to show the practical problems associated with its use.

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