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Lawsuit Frees OSHA Toxic Exposure Data

A June 29 U.S. District Court decision ordered the Department of Labor (DOL) to disclose its Worker Exposure to Toxic Substances Database, the largest known compilation of workplace toxic chemical sampling data.

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GAO Issues Report on EPA Mishandling of Katrina

On the heels of a congressional hearing blasting the handling of public information about air quality after 9/11, a June 25 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report indicates the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) similarly failed the public post-Katrina.

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EPA Holds off Industry Attack on Health, Safety and Environmental Data

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rejected the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Data Quality Act (DQA) challenge and appeal of supposed inconsistencies across several EPA databases. While agreeing to make a few changes, the agency refused the Chamber's demands that all variations between the EPA databases on chemicals be eliminated, stating that they were not errors but acceptable differences based on different scientific models.

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States Failing to Implement National Voter Registration Act

In its biennial report to Congress on the status of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) provided data showing that states have failed to fully implement the 1993 law.

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Aftermath of Supreme Court's Ruling Exempting Grassroots Lobbying from Campaign Finance Restrictions

Reactions to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL) include dire predictions of massive amounts of soft money spent on sham issue ads before the 2008 elections, and even the end of the entire campaign finance regulatory regime. But the actual impact of the decision, which exempts grassroots lobbying broadcasts from the "electioneering communications" ban on corporate funded broadcasts that refer to federal candidates within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary, is likely to be much more limited. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) must decide whether or not it will establish a rule implementing the decision, while a similar case has been sent back to a lower court for a ruling consistent with the Supreme Court's opinion.

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Love That Market- Education Edition

Jul 10, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Prof. Martin Carnoy, who does research on school vouchers, on how experience in education policy has not borne out the theoretical superiority of the market:

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House Misses Opportunity to End IRS Private Tax Collection Program

On June 28, the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) private tax debt collection program survived an effort by the House to bring it to a halt. House legislators struck language in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act (H.R. 2829) that would have put a tight cap on how much funding could have been used to administer the program.

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Don't Forget about a CPSC Commissioner

Jul 10, 2007 by Matthew Madia

This is a Reg•Watch friendly reminder to President Bush that he has not yet announced a suitable nominee to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC is an independent regulatory agency responsible for ensuring product safety by promulgating rules and negotiating or forcing recalls. In May, consumer advocates rightly heralded the withdrawal of the nomination of former industry lobbyist Michael Baroody. But a month-and-a-half later, Bush has not announced a new nominee.

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CBO Director Emphasizes Role of Health Care Costs in Long-Term Fiscal Imbalance

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Peter R. Orszag is the latest policy thinker to highlight the underlying cause of the long-term fiscal imbalance. Testifying before the Senate Budget Committee on June 21, Orszag emphasized the centrality of health care costs in long-term fiscal imbalances, the reasons for the exploding cost of health care and health care policies that could restrain those costs. (click image to enlarge)

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EPA Suspends Fish Kill Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended a fish protection rule in response to a January court decision. The decision vacated parts of the rule, which White House officials had edited and weakened. EPA will now have to begin a new round of rulemaking in order to address the ecological problem.

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Jul 10, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Jul 10, 2007 by Matthew Madia

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