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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Public Protection Standards Have Dropped under Bush

Mar 31, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Some investigative journalism at the Federal Times shows just how little rulemaking federal agencies have engaged in during the Bush administration: Many regulatory agencies have submitted fewer rules during the current Bush administration's two terms than during Bill Clinton's tenure, or even during George H.W. Bush's single term.

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EPA Delays Greenhouse Gas Regulations

Mar 28, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have put the freeze on the agency's budding efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. As Reg•Watch recently reported, EPA staff had drafted preliminary documents describing the dangers associated with greenhouse gas emissions. This so-called endangerment finding would set in motion a series of regulatory actions.

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EPA Wants to Tinker with the Clean Air Act

Mar 20, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Partially lost in all the mishagas surrounding OMB and President Bush's intervention into EPA's efforts to tighten the national standard for smog has been a new policy proposal the agency floated alongside the new rule. In a surprise move, EPA Administrator Johnson also announced his intent to seek legislative changes to the Clean Air Act.

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White House Interferes with Smog Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced March 12 its revision to the national air quality standard for ozone, or smog. While the new standard is an improvement, EPA did not go as far as its own scientists had recommended. Last-minute changes orchestrated by the White House have also mired the rule change in controversy. In addition to the new standard, EPA proposed legislative changes to the Clean Air Act, which environmentalists and lawmakers immediately criticized.

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Dudley Uses Ozone Rule to Advance Industry Interests and Anti-Regulatory Ideology

Mar 14, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The White House's interference in EPA's revision to the national standard for ozone, a.k.a. smog, which the agency announced Wednesday, ignores public health and welfare. OIRA Administrator Susan Dudley, with President Bush in her corner, pushed forward with her industry friendly, anti-regulatory ideology in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence and in violation of the law.

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Bush, Cheney, and OMB Leave Fingerprints on Smog Standard

Mar 13, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday evening, EPA announced its long-awaited decision on the national standard for ozone, a.k.a. smog. As expected, EPA chose to tighten the primary standard to 0.075 parts per million (ppm) from its current level of 0.084 ppm. The secondary standard for ozone will remain identical to the primary standard.

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Bush Administration Continues to Ignore CO2 Emissions -- and the Law

Mar 12, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The White House has stopped EPA efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, according to an investigation of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released today. After the Bush administration had refused for six years to acknowledge global warming, the Supreme Court last April prodded EPA to consider regulating greenhouse gases (Massachusetts v. EPA). In a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) outlines how we got to where we are today:

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Regulations to Watch for as Bush Clock Runs Out

Mar 11, 2008 by Matthew Madia

In "Rush Is On to Cement Regulations," Wall Street Journal reporter Elizabeth Williamson previews some regulations the Bush administration may finalize in its waning days of power: Industries from agriculture to power are pressing for the Bush administration to act on a slew of pending regulations, betting they will do worse no matter who wins the White House in the fall. Among the rules the article mentions:

Changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act;
Reduced limits on emissions from power plants near national parks; and

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Countdown to the Disappointment: The Final Days of Ozone Lobbying

Mar 6, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Groups representing both industry and the public are making final efforts to lobby EPA on its upcoming revision to the national standard for ozone, a.k.a. smog. EPA is under a court deadline to finalize the new standard by March 12. EPA's scientific advisory panel on clean air has recommended EPA tighten the standard (currently 84 parts per billion) to between 60 and 70 parts per billion — a recommendation most environmentalists and public health advocates endorse. Many industry groups, as well as some governors and some in Congress, would like the standard to remain the same.

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Environmental, Worker Safety Rules Targeted by Industry Groups

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy has finalized a list of ten rules it will encourage federal agencies to modify. The Office of Advocacy compiled the list after receiving recommendations from small businesses and industry lobbyists.

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