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 Seeks FOIA Exemption in Homeland Security Bill

President Bush, yesterday (6/18), submitted to Congress his proposal for the creation of a new Homeland Security Department. The detailed 35-page bill would transfer about 100 federal entities into a single cabinet agency with an annual budget of more than $ 37 billion and about 170,000 employees -- reportedly the biggest government reshuffling since 1947. Yet buried within this bill (in Section 204) is a single sentence that could create the largest single loophole in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), our safety net for right-to-know:

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OSHA a Monster?

To hear industry lobbyists tell it, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an out-of-control monster, constantly spewing out oppressive regulations and handing out fines at the slightest violation. The Bush administration, for its part, has responded obligingly to this critique, proposing to cut OSHA’s budget, shifting enforcement resources to “compliance assistance” programs, and rolling back worker health and safety protections. At long last, the monster is dead. OSHA’s Major Rules Since 1996

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NHTSA Issues Weakened Tire Pressure Monitoring Rule

On June 5, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a watered down standard to guard against under-inflated tires -- which are linked to numerous deaths each year -- after its first attempt was rejected by OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which must approve all major regulatory actions.

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Comments on 2002 Draft Regulatory Accounting Report

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In Rejecting NHTSA Rule, Graham Shows True Colors

If one of your tires is under-inflated, you may be in trouble. You are more likely to lose control of your vehicle. Your ability to steer and stop will be diminished. And it’s possible, especially if you drive an SUV, that your vehicle could roll over. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that hundreds of people die each year as a result of under-inflated tires.

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Administration Moves to Clear Way for Dumping, Mountaintop Mining

The Bush administration is moving forward with a new rule that would allow mining companies to dump dirt and rock waste into rivers and streams, potentially clearing the way for new “mountaintop mining” -- a controversial practice that involves the removal of mountaintops to access lucrative low-sulfur coal, according to the Washington Post, and other sources.

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Industry Targets EPA Data Quality

Government agencies are busy working on their data quality guidelines in order to release drafts for public comment by May 1, as they move toward the implementation deadline of Oct. 1, set by the Office of Management and Budget in January.

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Small Business Not So Small

Evoking images of the corner grocery store and main street America, small business frequently resonates as a reason for easing off regulation. Yet the legal definition of “small” -- which is what really matters -- is actually quite big: for instance, it includes a general contractor with as much as $17 million in annual revenue, a chemical company with as many as 1,000 employees, and a petroleum refinery with as many as 1,500 employees -- not exactly mom and pop. OIRA Rejects SBA Rule Expanding "Small Business"

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Administration Lags on New Health, Safety, and Environmental Protections

Since President Bush took office last January, a host of Clinton-era health, safety, and environmental protections have been changed, rescinded, or delayed, as documented in OMB Watch’s Bush Regulatory Report.

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Bush Administration Peddles Ergonomics Smokescreen

Over a year after Congress voted to repeal Clinton-era ergonomics standards at the urging of President Bush, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced on April 5 the release of its replacement "plan" that is nothing more than a smokescreen to mask the administration's unwillingness to seriously address injuries caused by repetitive motion -- the most pressing health and safety issue confronting the workplace today.

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