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 Files Anti-regulatory Brief

Oct 27, 2006 by Guest Blogger

On Tuesday, the Bush administration filed a brief defending the EPA’s refusal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, proving once again the administration is stuck in a Stone Age of environmental science.

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Ballot Initiatives Threaten Regulatory Protections

November ballot initiatives in six states would force state governments to provide compensation for lost property value as a result of regulation or be forced to waive the regulatory protection.

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Opposition to Dudley as Regulatory Czar Mounts

A Senate committee recently announced a hearing for Nov. 13 to consider the nomination of Susan Dudley to be the head of the White House's regulatory office. The Dudley nomination has created a firestorm of protest from organizations representing workers, environmental issues, consumer protections, and other public interest concerns.

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Dudley Hearing Scheduled for Nov. 13

Oct 23, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Homeland Security and Goverment Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the White House's nomination of Susan Dudley to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Nov. 13. During her time as head of regulatory policy for the Mercatus Center, Dudley racked up a pretty extensive anti-regulatory record, opposing regulations to get arsenic out of drinking water, reduce smog levels and make cars more fuel efficient.

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Recess Appointment for MSHA Head

Oct 22, 2006 by Guest Blogger

As predicted, Bush appointed Richard Stickler to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration during recess. Stickler's nomination had been blocked by Sen. Robert Byrd from West Virginia, a state which saw several mining tragedies this year. The bad news is that for the time being, we have yet another fox in the henhouse. The good news is that a recess appointment ends with the next congressional session, unless the Senate chooses to take up the nomination.

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Stop Susan Dudley Now!

Oct 21, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Bush administration is on the attack -- again. This time, it's with the nomination of Susan Dudley as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). OIRA is an important regulatory agency that reviews everything from auto safety standards to limits on industrial chemicals and air and water pollutants. Susan Dudley would cripple OIRA. As director of regulatory studies at the industry-funded Mercatus Center, she opposed countless environmental, health and safety rules, including:

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Scientists Resign in Protest of Advisory Panel

Oct 10, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Three scientists resigned from an EPA advisory committee panel reviewing the management of chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

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Possible Recess Appointment for Mine Safety Head

Oct 5, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Senate has now failed to act on the nomination of industry-man Richard Stickler to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) twice. As we reported in February, Stickler is an industry man with a poor track record when it comes to health and safety. According to the United Mine Workers, mines run by Stickler had accident rates double that of the national average for six of eight years, including two fatal accidents at a mine Stickler managed for five years.

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A Hybrid Car, An Environmentalist Does Not Make

Sep 19, 2006 by Guest Blogger

In her latest column, Cindy Skrzycki of The Washington Post summarizes the opposing view points of OMB Watch and the Mercatus Center over the nomination of former Mercatus Regulatory Program Director Susan Dudley to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs: OMB Watch and Public Citizen . . . released a 68-page report last week using Dudley's writings to attack her. It chastised her for ties to corporate donors and for what it called "Dudleynomics," an emphasis on free-market solutions to health and safety issues at the public's expense.

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Looking Beyond Sunsets

Sep 15, 2006 by Guest Blogger

With appropriators blocking sunset commission legislation in House, there's a good chance we won't see the legislation again this year. The legislative battle, however, does leave us with some interesting questions about how to make government more responsive to public need. Eliminating federal programs with limited congressional debate is obviously not the answer, but what is? New York University professor Paul C. Light offers one possible solution in an Op-Ed for the Christian Science Monitor.

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