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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

more news

COX-2 Advisory Panel Stacked

Feb 25, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Confused by the FDA advisory panel's support of potentially deadly COX-2 inhibitors? Well you won't be after you read this: Ten members of the Food and Drug Administration advisory panel who voted that a group of powerful pain killers should continue to be sold had ties to the drug makers, a new analysis shows. A study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest indicates that 10 of the 32 panel members had ties to either Pfizer Inc., or Merck & Co., ranging from consulting fees and speaking honoraria to receiving research support from the companies. --from the Washington Post

read in full

OIRA Meeting on Hazmat Transport

Feb 25, 2005 by Guest Blogger

OIRA met with chemical industry and small business representatives as well as the DOJ and DOT on Feb.18 regarding “Applicability of the Hazardous Materials to Loading, Unloading, and Storage.”

read in full

Emperor Bush?

How the White House and Congress Are Establishing an Imperial Presidency Analyses of pending and expected antiregulatory proposals have revealed the usual themes from years past ï¿½ net benefits, regulatory budgeting, sunsets, and so on. An unexpected theme has also been emerging, which is worth noting for anyone committed to a progressive vision of an open, accountable government responsive to public needs: a trend in favor of concentrating power in the White House free of democratic accountability. In short, the creation of an imperial presidency. Imperial Presidency Proposals

read in full

Budget Slashes Enforcement at FDA, EPA

The White Houseï¿½s fiscal year 2006 budget submission will mean big cuts in food and drug safety inspection as well as state enforcement of environmental protections. FDA Amidst mounting concern over the safety of our food supply from threats such as mad cow disease and bioterrorism and after a storm of criticism about FDAï¿½s botched inspection of British flu vaccine facilities, which led to a vaccine shortage this winter, FDAï¿½s budget proposes cuts to nearly all of its inspection programs.

read in full

FDA Announces Drug Safety Oversight Board

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to initiate an independent oversight board to handle drug safety issues, but some lawmakers and consumer groups say the new panel lacks teeth. Michael Leavitt, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced Feb. 15 that FDA will create an independent drug safety oversight board. The board will be responsible for overseeing drug safety policies and resolving internal disputes over drug risks as well as approving information and content for a new government website on drug safety information.

read in full

Another glimpse at results and sunsets

Feb 11, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The budget document finally released today (late Friday, but of course) detailing the programs to be eliminated or cut includes some additional language reflecting the White House's anti-regulatory proposals we discussed before. Here's the new text: Results Commissions

read in full

Budget Includes Anti-Regulatory Proposals

As expected, the White House included several threats of new anti-regulatory initiatives in today’s budget release to Congress. As OMB Watch reported earlier, the White House used the occasion of the budget release to announce two proposals for creating unelected commissions with far-reaching powers to weaken protections of the public health, safety, civil rights, and environment:

read in full

IG Report Finds Bias in EPA Mercury Rule

Feb 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

A report by EPAï¿½s Inspector General Nikki Tinsley has confirmed what public interest groups have been saying all along; EPAï¿½s mercury rule is biased towards industry and fails to serve the public interest. From the Washington Post: The Environmental Protection Agency ignored scientific evidence and agency protocols in order to set limits on mercury pollution that would line up with the Bush administration's free-market approaches to power plant pollution, according to a report released yesterday by the agency's inspector general.

read in full

White House, Congress Gearing Up For Attack On Public Safeguards

The White House is poised to roll back 30 years of progress on the nation’s health, safety and environmental protections. Upcoming White House proposals, expected this month, threaten to dramatically overhaul – and possibly destroy – these federal safeguards in a give-away to corporate special interests, camouflaged under the Orwellian guise of “regulatory reform.”

read in full

State of the union: Small biz, blah blah blah

Feb 2, 2005 by Guest Blogger

This text is expected in the State of the Union address: To make our economy stronger and more competitive, America must reward, not punish, the efforts and dreams of entrepreneurs. Small business is the path of advancement, especially for women and minorities, so we must free small businesses from needless regulation and protect honest job-creators from junk lawsuits.

read in full