Political Interference | Center for Effective Government

OIRA Final 2004 Report: Releasing Hit List

<p>Click here to download the final version of the 2004 annual report on regulatory costs and benefits, in which OIRA released the industry hit list, the White House hit list, and the White House fast-track list.

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OIRA Draft 2004 Report: Vehicle for Soliciting Hit List

<p>Click here to download the draft 2004 cost-benefit report, which was used to solicit industry nominations for the 2004-05 manufacturing sector hit list of regulatory protections to be rolled back.

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Bush's Cabinet: A Guide to the Nominees

MovinIdeas.com has created this great resource for information on Bush's second-term cabinet nominees. The site includes background, nomination status and links to analysis and articles on each of Bush's nine nominees.

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Rocket Fuel Ingredient Ignites Controversy

Perchlorate, a key ingredient in rocket fuel that is associated with developmental delays, can be found in lettuce from Florida, bottled water from California, and organic milk from Maryland, according to initial data from the Food and Drug Administration. Although it is too soon to determine whether perchlorate contamination of food and water is truly widespread, the FDA’s early results are nonetheless the latest chapter in a dispute pitting environmental and public health against industry influence over science and the prerogatives of the Department of Defense.

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FCC Rigs Cost-Benefit Report to Side With Industry on Cable A La Carte

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sided with the cable and big media industries against regulation mandating à la carte cable service, justifying its position with a cost-benefit analysis rigged against à la carte options. The vision of cable à la carte is that cable customers could pick and pay for only the channels they want. Most American consumers can only purchase cable service in large tiered packages, like “basic” and “expanded” service packages, which require them to pay for channels they never watch in order to receive the channels they do want.

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Superfund Lacks Funds to Cleanup Toxic Waste Sites

Facing an increasing backlog of sites with the same meager budget, the Superfund program administrator thinks he’s found a new way to tackle the country’s most severe hazardous waste problems: Stop addressing them. Superfund Program Looking for New Solutions

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Nominee for Attorney General, An Opponent to Civil Rights

The resounding sentiment about Alberto Gonzales, Bush's nomination for Attorney General, is that "he's better than Ashcroft," but Gonzales' pending appointment still has some human rights advocates on edge. During his tenure as White House chief counsel, Gonzales has helped to craft administrative doctrine that has justified the use of torture and usurped civil rights for detainees, as well as justifying government secrecy.

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Second-Term Appointments

The following is a compilation of second term political appointments. Data was gathered using the Library of Congress legislative tracking service, Thomas, and various news sources. This is not a complete list of appointments. To search for a specific appointment, try the Thomas Presidential Nomination search engine. Department of Agriculture Confirmed by Senate Mike Johanns, to be Secretary of Agriculture, replacing Ann Veneman, resigned. Michael J. Harrison, of Connecticut, to be an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, replacing Lou Gallegos, resigned.

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Critics Diagnose Systemic Maladies of FDA

A Senate Finance Committee hearing on Vioxx and a series of studies by a leading medical journal reveal systematic breakdowns in FDA's evaluation of drug safety, prompting advocates to call for an independent agency to review drug safety. Drug Researcher Testifies: The System is 'Broken'

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Graham Defiant in Hearing, Dems Probe Mercury Rule

The last regulatory policy hearing of a House Government Reform subcommittee was split into two disconnected halves, as committee Republicans considered the White House's policy of inviting industry to suggest rollbacks of regulatory protections while Democrats assailed the Environmental Protection Agency's pending rulemaking for mercury pollution.

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