New Posts

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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Commentary: Bush's Last-Minute Rush to Dismantle Public Protections

by Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch Executive Director
Those who keep an eye on the federal government know the Bush administration is not friendly toward regulation — particularly health, safety, environmental, civil rights, and consumer protections. When they have been forced to regulate, Bush officials have advanced policies that mostly let the market control the game, while the idea of strong government intervention has been left to gather dust. However, even outside the recent regulatory takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, events show the administration is starting to kick things into high gear on regulations, trying to lock the next administration into a Bush legacy.

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Mine Agency Proposes Mandatory Drug Testing

The Bush administration has proposed yet another rule that may be in violation of the controversial Bolten memo. On May 9, White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten instructed federal agencies to propose by June 1 any rule they wished to finalize by the end of the Bush administration. However, a number of agencies are rushing through controversial rules that defy Bolten's deadline, and the White House seems to have no objections.

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Occupational Risk Rule Clears White House

The White House has approved a controversial rule that would change the way occupational health agencies calculate on-the-job risks. The rule cleared the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs yesterday. According to OIRA's website, the office approved the rule "consistent with change." That's the most common designation OIRA uses to summarize its review of agency regulations. Basically, consistent with change means OIRA has done some meddling with and editing of the rule, but the big picture remains the same.

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Convention Parties Unaltered by Ethics Rules?

Press coverage of the Democratic National Convention spotlights the convention parties in light of the new lobbying and ethics law, and it will likely be the same during the Republican convention. Many are quick to criticize and declare that in regards to the conventions, the new ethics rules were a failed attempt to weaken the connection between lawmakers and lobbyists, and were merely superficial changes.

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With Concessions to Industry, Right Whale Rule May Be Moving

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may be making long-overdue progress on a rule to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. A draft of the final rule has been stuck at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — the White House office that must approve major agency actions — since February 2007.

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In Rare Move, White House Rubber Stamped Abortion Proposal

In case there is any question as to whether the Bush administration is trying to hurry a new rule that could potentially limit access to reproductive health services, Reg•Watch offers the following nugget of information. The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which acts as the administration's clearinghouse for proposed and final regulations, reviewed the rule in less than one day. The Department of Health and Human Services sent the rule to OIRA on Thursday, August 21 and OIRA sent it back "consistent with change" later that day.

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One Year Later, Only Blame about Crandall Canyon Disaster

One year after the deaths at the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah, little has been accomplished at the federal level to help prevent further mine collapse disasters. Although the House passed legislation addressing safety issues raised by this collapse and a series of other mine accidents in recent years, the Senate has not acted. Reports about the causes of the Utah mine collapse vary in assigning responsibility, which has led to different allegations about who bears the burden for the nine deaths at Crandall Canyon.

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Bush Signs Consumer Product Safety Bill

Today, as promised, President Bush signed into law the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (H.R. 4040). You can read a summary of the bill's major provisions here. Kudos to the president and to Congress for creating far-reaching reforms that are protective of consumers and will empower the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adequately police the marketplace.

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New Congressional Database on Lobbying Contributions

BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports on some findings from the new database of lobbyist campaign contributions as required by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. "Lobbyists and the organizations they work for have disclosed nearly 100,000 contributions and other payments linked to members of Congress and other top officials under a new reporting system required by last year's lobbying and ethics reform law."

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For EPA Staff Trying to Protect the Planet, "Disappointment is Profound"

Last week, a group of EPA staffers wrote to administrator Stephen Johnson chiding him for the agency's recent decision to delay federal action on greenhouse gas emissions and the damaging climatic effects they cause. In July, EPA issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (a relatively minor step in the rulemaking process) that solicits public comment on various regulatory options for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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