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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

more news

White House Risk Assessment Memo

Sep 19, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the Office of Science and Technology Policy have issued a new memo on federal agency risk assessment practices. In 2006, the offices proposed a more detailed "bulletin" which public interest groups, lawmakers, and scientists roundly criticized. Today's memo acknowledges that bulletin has been withdrawn, and instead sets out broad principles. Stay tuned to Reg•Watch for a fuller account of the memo later today. Reg•Watch update: "White House Expands Micromanagement of Agency Activity"

read in full

For Better or Worse, Industry Pushes for Regulation

Sep 17, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The Sunday New York Times featured an article on the efforts of U.S. industry groups to push for federal regulation. As the article points out, this represents a marked shift in the traditional conception of industry's views on regulation. Historically, industry representatives often see regulation as costly and vexing. A graphic in the article briefly summarizes 14 examples of new federal regulations supported by manufacturers or industry lobbyists.

read in full

Latest Watcher

Sep 12, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Regulatory policy articles this time: Federal Agencies Knew of Diacetyl Dangers and Kept Silent Bush's Anti-Regulatory Ideology under Increasing Scrutiny It's Industry vs. Consumers and Health Specialists in National Ozone Hearings

read in full

New Small Business Program Will Influence Agency Regulatory Reviews

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy has launched a new program that may expand SBA's influence into agency regulatory activity. The Office of Advocacy acts as a liaison between the business community and the federal government, particularly the executive branch.

read in full

The Other Surge: Regulatory Activity at the End of a Presidency

Sep 10, 2007 by Matthew Madia

An article in yesterday's New York Times describes how President Bush has started a flurry of 11th hour regulatory activity. Every president since John Adams has used the waning days of his presidency to issue executive edicts and final regulations in order to ensure his policy beliefs outlast his days in the White House. The article mentions the environmentally damaging mountaintop mining rule the administration proposed last month (click here for details) as a precursor of things to come.

read in full

Senate to Vote on Nussle for OMB Director

Sep 4, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The Senate is debating the nomination of Jim Nussle to be the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. (Watch the debate on C-SPAN here.) OMB Watch has issued a statement on Jim Nussle. Among other things, OMB Watch urges Nussle to "work toward ensuring greater transparency within the agencies and the White House and to stimulate public participation in the rulemaking process" and to "lead an OMB respectful of agencies' scientific and technical expertise and to focus on providing adequate resources rather than additional analytical burdens."

read in full

New Report Examines the Decline in Public Safeguards under Bush

Aug 27, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Last week, the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, released a report titled, "Safeguarding the American People: The Progressive Vision vs. the Bush Record."

read in full

Court to Bush: Pay Attention to Climate Change!

Aug 22, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, a U.S. district court ruled the White House has violated federal law by not preparing and releasing a statutorily-mandated report on climate change. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires presidential administrations to assess the latest research and the potential impact of climate change "On a periodic basis (not less frequently than every 4 years)." The last report was released by the Clinton administration in 2000.

read in full

New Report Examines Agency Review of Regulations

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a new report on the process by which federal regulatory agencies review regulations after they take effect. Agencies conduct reviews to comply with existing law, as a matter of agency policy, and in response to White House requests. The report finds the quality of reviews varies widely and determines the major barriers to more useful reviews are gaps in available data and problems with public participation.

read in full

Bush to Agencies: Make Hunting a Top Priority

Aug 17, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Is President Bush becoming a conservationist? Today, Bush issued an executive order titled "Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation." The order instructs federal agencies to, among other things, "Manage wildlife and wildlife habitats on public lands in a manner that expands and enhances hunting opportunities, including through the use of hunting in wildlife management planning." Reg•Watch wonders what issue or problem this order is trying to address. Perhaps Bush was just inspired in the midst of his extended vacation in Crawford.

read in full