Links will take you to pages from our old website. Index: Oppose the Regulatory Improvement Act of 1997 (S. 981) Regulatory Notebook (12/19/97) Updates on "takings" legislation, OSHA overhaul, and unfunded mandates reform. EPA Forms Advisory Panel for Endocrine Disruptor Screening Process (11/97) The EPA under provisions within the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) has developed an advisory panel that will assist the agency in developing a screening and testing process for endocrine disruptors. OMB Completes Regulatory Cost-Benefit Report (11/01/97) OMB recently completed its long-awaited study on the cumulative costs and benefits of federal regulation on the U.S. economy. And while many will undoubtedly focus on the final dollar estimates (OMB found $298 billion in benefits and $279 billion in costs for 1997), it's more useful to look at these figures in context, something the report does quite nicely. Regulatory Notebook (10/10/97) Statement by Todd Robins, Staff Attorney at US PIRG, on H.R. 1704 & H.R. 1036 (09/25/97) These bills not only provide nothing to make the regulatory process work better for the American people, but would make it significantly worse. "Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act" (08/14/97) Sen. John Glenn (D-OH) has prepared draft legislation dealing with changes in the management of federal grants, contracts, and loans, particularly as it relates to applications and reporting requirements. Statement of Gary Bass on HR 1074 (07/10/97) Testimony by Gary Bass, Executive Director, OMB Watch, Against the Congressional Office of Regulatory Analysis Creation Act Summary of "Congressional Office of Regulatory Analysis Creation Act" (HR 1704) (07/03/97) The "Congressional Office of Regulatory Analysis Creation Act," introduced by Reps. Kelly (R-NY) and Talent (R-MO), proposes the creation of a new office that will conduct its own regulatory impact analysis on all "major" rules, as well as on nonmajor rules when requested to do so by a committee or member of the House or Senate. Hoyer Pushes Local Flexibility Bill (06/20/97) Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) recently introduced legislation (H.R. 1480) aimed at creating more flexibility for service providers at the state and local levels. The bill, entitled the "Family Services Improvement Act," is somewhat reminiscent of the local flexibility bills that were pushed last year by Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) and former Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-OR). Oppose the S. 1954 Takings Bill Hatch Introduces Takings Bill S. 1954 (06/12/97) Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is pushing a property-rights bill (S. 781) that would expand the definition of a government "taking" beyond what is laid out by the Constitution, and in the process endanger a myriad of environmental, workplace, and consumer protections. Summaries of three related bills are included. Regulatory Notebook (06/09/97) Summary of regulatory activity and "reform" efforts during the 105th Congress. WTO Overturns European Law; Could the U.S. Be Next? (05/29/97) How would you like it if an organization in Geneva began vetoing American health and safety laws? It could happen, and sooner than you think. EPA's Rulemaking on Ozone and Particulate Matter (05/27/97) Rather than debate EPA's clean air proposal on its health and environmental merits, some conservatives have been focusing on procedural requirements which, they claim, EPA has illegally dodged. These attacks distort the real issue at hand -- protecting our children -- and further, they are wrong. TB Standard Clears OMB, But After SBREFA Delay (05/19/97) Because of the recently-enacted Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), a proposed OSHA standard on tuberculosis in the workplace spent nearly seven months at OMB before gaining final approval -- more than three times the average review period -- confirming some of the public interest community's worst suspicions about the new law. A Breath of Fresh Air?: Ozone and Particulate Matter (05/01/97) A proposed rule from EPA that would tighten standards on ozone (smog) and particulate matter (soot) and save thousands of lives in the process is receiving strong opposition from industry and congressional conservatives. Industries Spend Millions Fighting Clean Air (05/01/97) The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is leading the Air Quality Standards Coalition, a group of more than 500 companies affected by EPA's proposal to tighten emissions standards on smog and soot (Includes chart on campaign contributions and lobby disclosure figures). McIntosh Charges EPA Engaged in Illegal Rulemaking (04/24/97) David McIntosh (R-IN) and other conservatives contend that EPA violated regulatory procedure in formulating its rule on ozone and particulate matter. Clinton Issues E.O. on Children's Health (04/21/97) Protection Of Children From Environmental Health Risks And Safety Risks. Congressional Review Emerges as Focus of Anti-Regulatory Agenda (04/19/97) Conservatives appear poised to use their new congressional review authority, which gives Congress the power to reject agency rules, to fight any regulation the business community objects to. At the top of the hit-list are EPA's proposed clean air rule tightening emissions standards on ozone and particulate matter and OSHA's rule restricting workplace use of the cancer-causing substance methylene chloride. SBREFA Regulatory Fairness Boards (04/04/97) At first, it was unclear what role, if any, the public interest community would be allowed to play in the SBREFA process. But during a recent meeting with CSS members, the SBA ombudsman encouraged public interest representatives to attend fairness-board meetings and provide input. The Government Performance and Results Act (04/04/97) Starting this year, under the recently enacted Government Performance and Results Act, agencies will be setting results-oriented goals and performance measures to track their effectiveness. AFL-CIO Job Safety Update (04/01/97) After a quiet winter, three bills have been introduced which could have an adverse impact on job safety. Condit, Abraham Push Private-Sector Mandates Reform (03/20/97) Rep. Gary Condit (D-CA) and Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-MI) recently introduced twin bills (H.R. 1010 & S. 389) aimed at extending provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (which created congressional procedures requiring a vote when imposing new intergovernmental mandates) to include private-sector mandates. Right-to-Know Improvements in Limbo at White House (03/13/97) The Administration's own proposal to add industries to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) is tied up inside the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Congressional Responsibility Act of 1997 (03/12/97) Rep. John Hayworth (R-AZ) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) are pushing a bill, called the Congressional Responsibility Act, that would prohibit a regulation from taking effect until legislation is passed containing the text of the regulation. Summary of Hearing on Congressional Review Act (03/07/97) The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held an oversight hearing on the Congressional Review Act (CRA) on Thursday, March 6. This article provides a summary of the hearing, along with a description of the CRA and prospects for the 105th Congress. TRI Rule Still Not Official (03/07/97) EPA’s new Toxic Release Inventory standard, which expands toxic reporting to seven different types of industry, is still being held up at OMB -- after the Feb. 27 deadline for completion of the agency's regulatory review has passed. SBREFA Delays TB Rule (03/07/97) A proposed OSHA rule that imposes tougher standards on tuberculosis (TB) in the workplace might have been on the books by now if not for the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA). OIRA Reviews Fewer Rules as Result of Executive Order (02/15/96) The amount of time it takes OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to review individual rules has gradually increased over the last three years while the number of rules it reviews has decreased. This is no accident, according to a recent OIRA report that chronicles the past three years of regulatory review. It was the strategy put in place as a result of Executive Order 12866, which established a process to ensure that OMB’s review priorities are consistent with the president’s regulatory philosophy.