More Indication that Polluters are Being Let Off the Hook

Nov 12, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The Environmental Integrity Project recently released a report showing that civil penalties against polluters are at a 15-year low, with penalties dropping to $56.8 million in 2004 compared to $96 million in 2003. Enforcement of major environmental legislation has declined sharply in the past three years, contributing to the steep decline in civil penalties. Whereas the Department of Justice filed 152 lawsuits in federal courts against polluters in the last three year of the Clinton administration, in the first three years of the Bush administration only 36 such lawsuits were filed.

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TAKE ACTION: Stop the punitive audit of the NAACP

Nov 12, 2004 by Guest Blogger

IRS 'Examination' of NAACP Exempt Status Based on Criticism of Bush Policies

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What Bush means for the environment

Nov 12, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Be sure to check out this excellent report on the prospect of further Bush administration rollbacks of the environment. Unlike most press coverage, this story goes the extra step and addresses how the Bush administration can have far-reaching consequences not just through rollbacks of individual rules but also through broadly applicable technical policies, such as cost-benefit analysis.

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EPA rollback is killing children

Nov 11, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Tens of thousands of children are poisoned every year from accidentally ingesting rat poison. EPA responded in 1998 with a rule that added a bitter taste to the poison and a dye to make it more obvious that a child has ingested rat poison. The Bush administration promptly reversed course in 2001 and repealed these requirements, even though they do not make rat poisons any less effective at killing rats.

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FAA not doing enough for runway safety

Nov 11, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The Federal Aviation Administration was told by the National Transportation Safety Board that it is not doing enough to prevent airplanes from colliding into each other on the runway. From the N.Y. Times:

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So where are the anti-regulatory zealots now?

Nov 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Funny how the critics of regulation only seem to care about regulations of the environment, public health, consumer protection -- the areas that hit business in the pocketbook -- but they don't scream their anti-regulatory screeds when the FCC goes on crusades to protect us all from such ghastly offenses as the baring of Janet Jackson's nipple. Now comes word that some local ABC affiliates are declining to participate in the network's Veterans Day airing of Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg's over-praised mix of treacle and WWII battlefield realism.

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Costs outweighing benefits of cost-benefit analysis

Nov 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Interesting tidbit in Cindy Skrzycki's Washington Post column about OHSA. Charged with protecting the men and women of America who work for a living, OSHA has become, during the Bush administration, the black hole of government: nothing comes out of it, certainly not light. As we found in a recent report, the Bush OSHA has failed to produce a single economically significant protection of workplace health or safety.

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OMB Watch's Thousand Cuts II Detailed in Chronicle

Nov 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch's latest report, Death by a Thousand Cuts II, was the subject of an article today in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. For the full article, click here. To read Death by a Thousand Cuts II, click here.

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ACLU and Diverse Coalition of National Nonprofits Challenge Misguided Government Watch List Policy

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2004 -- The American Civil Liberties Union today joined forces with 12 national nonprofit organizations in challenging the Office of Personnel Management's Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) requirement that all participating charities check their employees and expenditures against several government watch lists for "terrorist activities."

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Islamic charity seeks release of some frozen assets

Nov 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

An Islamic charity, shut down by the Treasury Department earlier last month, is requesting the release of frozen assets to pay their mounting legal bills. The charity, IARA-USA, is claiming innocence - and no formal charges have been filed. Unfortunately, it seems to be another instance of the Treasury Department shutting down a Muslim charity and providing no formal charges or ability to examine the search warrant. For more, check out the Columbia Tribune article

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