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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Bush Administration Proposes to Gut Forest Protection Rule

Two days before Thanksgiving the Bush administration quietly approved a proposal that would gut current forest protection regulations by removing requirements to protect forest wildlife and ecology, and by eliminating the requirement of an analysis that serves as the key mechanism for informing the public of the environmental impacts of forest management plans, among other de-regulatory changes to the rule. USDA will be accepting comments on the proposed rule for 90 days. You can send comments opposing the rollback of this rule, through OMB Watch's Activist Central service.

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EPA Rolls Back Clean Air Protections

The Bush administration announced on November 22 that it is rolling back protections to limit air pollution from factories, refineries and power plants as part of a long-expected overhaul of EPA’s New Source Review program. Specifically, EPA issued a final rule that:

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Report Documents Steep Decline in Environmental Enforcement

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appears to be relaxing its enforcement efforts, with civil penalties declining by half over the Bush administration’s first full fiscal year, according to a new report by the Rockefeller Family Fund's Environmental Integrity Project.

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OMB Builds Record of Rollbacks

Under the leadership of John Graham, OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is increasingly using its regulatory review authority to weaken or block health, safety, and environmental standards.

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OMB Weakens Hazardous Waste Rule

Using its regulatory review authority, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) blocked an EPA effort to protect soil and drinking water from excessive levels of manganese -- an industrial by-product linked to numerous health problems, including respiratory problems, sexual dysfunction, nervous system issues, mental and emotional disturbances, as well as manganism, a disease with symptoms similar to Parkinson's.

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OMB Guts Marine Diesel Rule

Using its regulatory review authority, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently gutted an EPA proposal to limit diesel emissions from large ships and tankers, which are a growing -- and still unregulated -- source of air pollution around coastal cities and ports, emitting about 273,000 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx) per year.

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Administration Gives Panel on Childhood Lead Poisoning an Industry Tilt

The Bush administration is packing an advisory committee on childhood lead poisoning with those friendly to industry and predisposed against new regulation, according to a new report released by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA).

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Administration Mixes Politics with Science

The Bush administration is overhauling scientific advisory committees that were reaching conclusions contrary to its political objectives, according to a recent article in the Washington Post. Findings by these committees, which are made up by private experts and are found at virtually every agency, frequently form the foundation for regulatory action, which the administration seems determined to avoid at all costs. Not surprisingly, the administration is moving to stack the deck in favor of its predetermined views. Specifically:

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Correction and New Information on EPA's Children's Health Report

In the September 3, 2002, issue of the Watcher, we reported that OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) requested to review an EPA report on children’s health prior to publication. Further conversation with EPA staff clarified that although OIRA participated in the review, it was OMB budget staff that made the request. We have revised our original article to reflect this new understanding.

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Report Links Environmental Rollbacks to Industry Contributions

Earthjustice and Public Campaign recently released a joint report that links recent Bush rollbacks of environmental protections to industry campaign contributions. Specifically:

The administration revoked protections against hard rock mining -- allowing increased dumping in streams, rivers and wetlands -- as mining interests forked over a total of $3.1 million to the Bush-Cheney campaign and the Republican National Committee during the 2000-2002 election cycles;

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