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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Guidance v. Blindness: Another Example

Dec 19, 2005 by Guest Blogger

BNA's Daily Report for Executives is reporting on two OSHA standards interpretations just posted this month that address employer responsibilities for asbestos and bloodborne pathogens: Peggy Teeling of Clifton Park, N.Y., asked OSHA what an employer's obligation is to an asbestos worker who quits and moves to another job. Teeling wanted to know if the employee is entitled to the "actual full report" of the examination conducted under the medical surveillance program for asbestos, or whether a clearance or summary report would be acceptable.

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Guidance: It, well, GUIDES us

Dec 15, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The SEC told reporters that it is working on new guidance to clarify its thinking on some enforcement matters, according to BNA's Daily Report for Executives: Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said Dec. 14 that the commission intends to issue formal guidance that "more clearly explain[s] objective criteria for imposing ... penalties" in enforcement actions.

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White House on FOIA: A Big Nothing?

Dec 14, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The President signed an executive order this afternoon dealing with FOIA. The transcript of the White House press briefing makes it sound like a big nothing: among other things, it appears the EO does not undo the Ashcroft memo that presumes secrecy under FOIA when there is any question about access to the records. Stay tuned: once we obtain the EO, we'll have more to say.

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White House Report Spins Bush Reg Failures

In a debate with high stakes for a public that is largely unaware of it, the White House released a report on Dec. 7 spinning its anti-regulatory record as a success.

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Regulatory Year in Review: 2005

A round-up of the key developments in regulatory policy we have covered in 2005. In Congress | In the White House | Other Major Developments In Congress

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Hit List Updates

Dec 9, 2005 by Guest Blogger

For those who have been following the White House's anti-regulatory hit lists: OIRA's annual report on the costs and benefits of regulations includes an appendix that reports on the current status of the hit list items. Click here to download just the appendix.

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2005 Update on Progress of Hit List

OIRA's 2005 annual report on the costs and benefits of regulation included an appendix detailing the current status of hit list items. Download that appendix here.

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Nobel Scientists Criticize Bush Anti-Science Trend

Dec 8, 2005 by Guest Blogger

USA Today is reporting on criticisms of Bush administration policy at the Nobel Prize events: Two American Nobel Prize winners said Thursday they are worried about President Bush's attitude toward science and accused his administration of ignoring important research findings.

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OIRA Report Available

Dec 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The OIRA web page still hasn't been updated, but the final reg accounting report is available for download. We're making it available here.

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OMB Report Out Soon

Dec 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

OIRA's annual report on the costs and benefits of regulations is apparently coming out today, according to an OMB press release. (The OIRA web page hasn't yet been updated to include the report, but that will presumably happen soon.) OMB Watch filed comments on the report when it was released in draft form in March. It will be interesting in particular to find out if OIRA finally addressed the recurring errors that made their way into this year's draft. Stay tuned....

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