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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White House Abuse Continues to Endanger Whale Species

Aug 14, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Bloomberg News columnist Cindy Skrzycki today writes about the White House delay of a rule that would protect the North Atlantic right whale. Under Executive Order 12866, OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has 90 days to review regulations before they are finalized. In consultation with the issuing agency (in this case, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) OIRA may extend the review period by 30 days.

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Latest Watcher

Aug 8, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Regulatory policy articles this time: Toy Recalls Bring Attention to Commission's Inadequacies OMB Manipulates Science in Cost-Benefit Analysis for Ozone Rule Size Matters: Nanotechnologies Present New Challenges

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OMB Manipulates Science in Cost-Benefit Analysis for Ozone Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a cost-benefit analysis for a proposed rule aiming to tighten the federal standard for human exposure to ground-level ozone, also known as smog. Before its release, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) edited scientific language in the analysis in order to downplay the economic benefits of the proposed rule.

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White House Attacks Benefits of Smog Reduction

Aug 2, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Frank O'Donnell at the Blog for Clean Air has posted on the latest in a series of White House efforts to undermine EPA smog regulations. This time, it's the rule's cost-benefit analysis, wherein the White House Office of Management and Budget tries to underplay the benefits of the rule by attacking the scientific consensus that smog reduction saves lives. Read the post from the Blog for Clean Air here: White House Tampers with EPA Smog Plan

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Questions Remain on Bush Changes to the Regulatory Process

Jul 30, 2007 by Matthew Madia

As of July 24, agencies are to be in full compliance with President Bush's recent changes to the regulatory process. But the American people remain in the dark in knowing how these changes will influence the way our government operates. A new analysis by OMB Watch reiterates our concerns with the changes, identifies the many questions that remain, and describes Congress's efforts to mitigate their impact through oversight hearings and proposed legislation. Read the analysis: E.O. 13422: Unanswered and Unaccountable

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Surgeon General Warning: Manipulated Science

At a July 10 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, former Bush administration Surgeon General Richard Carmona joined a growing list of officials to disclose the executive branch's political manipulation of science. Carmona's claims that agency science is being distorted for political purposes echoes charges leveled by recent whistleblowers from the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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White House Delays Whale Protection Rule

The White House is currently delaying the completion of a final rule intended to protect a critically endangered whale species. Critics are concerned the Bush administration is giving special access to business interests and overemphasizing economic considerations in its review of the rule. The delay of the whale protection rule is indicative of a larger problem in the White House regulatory review process.

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Bush's Regulatory Changes Set to Go into Effect

As of today, July 24, federal agencies are to be in full compliance with all the provisions of Executive Order 13422 (E.O. 13422), which amends the regulatory process for agencies, and the Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices. Both documents were issued Jan. 18 and work in concert to bring significant changes to the way agencies develop and enforce public protections.

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OMB Watch Analysis Raises Questions about Changes to Regulatory Process that Go into Effect Today

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2007—On Jan. 18, 2007, President Bush issued Executive Order 13422, which amends Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review. The same day, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued its Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices. The two executive directives work in concert to alter the ways federal agencies develop and enforce regulations. As of today, agencies are to be in full compliance with the provisions of the executive order and the Final Bulletin.

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Agency Regulatory Policy Officers

Jul 20, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released the names of each federal agency's regulatory policy officer (RPO). RPOs are not stand alone offices. For example, the RPO at EPA doubles as the Deputy Administrator. OMB had previously only disclosed the office, not the individual name.

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