Evoking images of the corner grocery store and main street America, small business frequently resonates as a reason for easing off regulation. Yet the legal definition of “small” -- which is what really matters -- is actually quite big: for instance, it includes a general contractor with as much as $17 million in annual revenue, a chemical company with as many as 1,000 employees, and a petroleum refinery with as many as 1,500 employees -- not exactly mom and pop. OIRA Rejects SBA Rule Expanding "Small Business"

Over a year after Congress voted to repeal Clinton-era ergonomics standards at the urging of President Bush, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced on April 5 the release of its replacement "plan" that is nothing more than a smokescreen to mask the administration's unwillingness to seriously address injuries caused by repetitive motion -- the most pressing health and safety issue confronting the workplace today.

In a move hailed by the health care industry, the Bush administration announced on March 27 that it would roll back medical privacy standards put in place at the end of the Clinton administration.

The Bush administration is in the process of weakening or abandoning a number of protections, including forest protection, clean air and water standards, and wetlands protections. OMB Watch provides a list of safeguards in limbo. Clean Air Protections for Aging Power Plants. EPA issued a proposed rule on Nov. 22, 2002, that would expand the definition of “routine maintenance” -- which is exempt from NSR -- allowing older facilities to make more extensive upgrades without having to install new anti-pollution equipment required of a “new source.”