Political 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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New Disclosure Reports Provides Some Insight

Aug 6, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 requires lobbyists and all lobbying organizations to file forms to the Senate and House by July 30 and Jan. 30 reporting contributions to political action committees, federal campaigns, and expenditures for events that honor officials covered by the law. A Wall Street Journal article describes some new understanding into lobbyists' contributions and other activity because of the new lobbying disclosure report, LD-203.

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Will New FDA Guidelines Really Reduce Conflicts of Interest?

Aug 6, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Food and Drug Administration has finalized guidelines it contends will improve the independence of the expert panels it uses to receive advice on pending decisions for both food and drug policy. But the final guidelines are weaker than the proposed version first unveiled in March 2007.

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Secret Risk Assessment Rule Aims to Halt Worker Safety Protections

The Bush administration is trying to rush through a Department of Labor (DOL) draft rule to require new worker safety standards to be based on a new risk assessment process that would potentially tie the hands of future administrations. The new rule was sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review in secret, violating the process OIRA has insisted agencies use for rulemaking.

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Crane Rule Held Back by Bush Administration Ideology

Aug 4, 2008 by Matthew Madia

A Saturday New York Times editorial criticized the Bush administration for its lack of progress on a much-needed new standard for crane and derrick safety:

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Salmonella Source Found

Jul 30, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The FDA and the CDC have identified a source of the salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 1,000 since April, according to The Washington Post: Investigators discovered the Salmonella saintpaul strain in irrigation water and serrano peppers on a farm in Mexico, where jalapeno peppers are also grown… The Food and Drug Administration, which earlier issued a warning about jalapeno peppers, is now warning consumers also to avoid raw serrano peppers grown and packed in Mexico.

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Occupational Risk Assessment Rule Revealed

Jul 25, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Washington Post has obtained a copy of the mysterious Department of Labor risk assessment rule that has been the subject of much speculation over the past couple weeks (see this post for more). The rule would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration to conduct their risk assessments for occupational health hazards in certain ways. Based on an initial reading, Reg•Watch sees four main problems:

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For Mysterious Occupational Risk Rule, Shenanigans Abound

Jul 23, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Details about a mysterious Department of Labor (DOL) rule on occupational health risks are beginning to surface. In today's Washington Post, reporter Carol Leonnig sheds new light on the situation. The Post obtained an early draft of the rule which Reg•Watch and others have been speculating about for the past couple weeks. The Post's account gives credence to some of the suspicion:

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White House Climate Change Policy -- Delay, Delete, and Deny

The Bush administration continues its strong efforts to censor climate change information that reaches the public and Congress. Recent reports indicate that the White House pressured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make changes to its regulatory process regarding climate change and that Vice President Dick Cheney's office was responsible for suppressing key sections of the congressional testimony of a high-level official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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House and Senate Release Updated Lobbying Disclosure Guidance

On July 16, the House Clerk and Secretary of the Senate released updated guidance that applies to any organization that registers as a lobbyist under the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), as updated by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA). House and Senate leaders directed the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House to rewrite the guidelines in response to complaints about the original guidance.

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New LDA Guidance, Again

Jul 17, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

After some clamor, on July 16, 2008 the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House issued updated Guidance for the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA). Changes were made to the section on Form LD-203, the semiannual filing which individual lobbyists and their employers disclose contributions and other politically related expenditures. The form also has a certification that the filer has read, understands, and has not violated the gift and travel rules. This report is due July 30. The updated Guidance can be found here.

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