Citizen Health & Safety

Pressure Flushes CDC Report Out of Hiding

In response to allegations of suppression of science, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a draft report that the agency will continue to modify due to CDC concerns that the report too closely links environmental pollution with adverse health effects in the Great Lakes region.

read in full

EPA Blasted for Library Closings

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was blasted in both judicial and congressional forums for closing seven of its libraries over the past several years. In a Feb. 15 ruling, a federal arbitrator found EPA guilty of unfair labor practices with respect to the closings. One month later, Congress heard testimony from several sources, including the Government Accountability Office (GAO), that EPA's library restructuring plan was poorly conceived, planned, and implemented.

read in full

White House Interferes with Smog Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced March 12 its revision to the national air quality standard for ozone, or smog. While the new standard is an improvement, EPA did not go as far as its own scientists had recommended. Last-minute changes orchestrated by the White House have also mired the rule change in controversy. In addition to the new standard, EPA proposed legislative changes to the Clean Air Act, which environmentalists and lawmakers immediately criticized.

read in full

Bipartisan Consensus Forming on CPSC Reform

Although differences between the House and Senate still exist, Congress is moving toward a bipartisan agreement on major reforms to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Bills from each chamber need to be reconciled, but if Congress can agree on a single proposal, it will set up a showdown with the Bush administration over new provisions intended to expand consumer protections by revitalizing the CPSC.

read in full

Regulations to Watch for as Bush Clock Runs Out

Mar 11, 2008 by Matthew Madia

In "Rush Is On to Cement Regulations," Wall Street Journal reporter Elizabeth Williamson previews some regulations the Bush administration may finalize in its waning days of power: Industries from agriculture to power are pressing for the Bush administration to act on a slew of pending regulations, betting they will do worse no matter who wins the White House in the fall. Among the rules the article mentions:
  • Changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act;
  • Reduced limits on emissions from power plants near national parks; and

read in full

Polar Bear Indecision Will Be Investigated

Mar 10, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Department of Interior's inspector general is conducting a preliminary investigation into the Department's continuing delay of a decision to protect the polar bear, according to the Associated Press. Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) missed a January deadline to decide whether to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.

read in full

Senate Moves to Boost CPSC Budget and Authority

Mar 7, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, the Senate passed in a 79-13 vote (roll call) legislation (S. 2663) to provide more funding and more authority to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The bill will now need to be reconciled with a House version (H.R. 4040) passed in December. The bill takes positive steps on several issues Reg•Watch has been blogging about: Budget and Staff

read in full

Bush Administration to Alter Employee Leave Protections

Mar 7, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a proposed rule that would alter federal protections for workers who need to take leave to care for themselves or their families. DOL chose to pursue the rule changes after hearing complaints from industry lobbyists. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period without risking their pay, benefits, or position. According to DOL, employees can apply for FMLA leave "for the birth of a child; for the placement of a child for adoption or foster care; to care for a newborn or newly-placed child; to care for a spouse, parent, son or daughter with a serious health condition; or when the employee is unable to work due to the employee's own serious health condition." According the National Partnership for Women and Families, a nonprofit organization that works on workplace fairness issues and has expertise on FMLA, several provisions in the proposed rule would make it more difficult for workers to take FMLA leave.

read in full

Federal Meat Inspectors Spread Thin as Recalls Rise

Mar 5, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The federal regulator of meat, poultry, and egg products, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), faces resource limitations that make it more difficult for the agency to ensure the safety of the food supply. Although the agency's budget has risen since it was created, staffing levels have dropped steadily, according to a new article by OMB Watch. Widespread vacancies in the agency have spread FSIS's inspection force too thin. Meanwhile, the number of meat, poultry, and egg product recalls has risen, and a recent recall of 143 million pounds of beef is the largest in the nation's history.

read in full

EPA Releases 2006 TRI Data

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the 2006 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data on Feb. 21. This is the fastest data release in the history of the program, although it still constitutes more than a year of lag time from the period the data refers to, and it still takes four months longer than Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory. The 2006 data, which marks the first year that facilities are allowed to stop detailed reporting on chemical waste of less than 5,000 pounds, indicates that nationwide, 4.25 billion pounds of toxic pollution were released, which was a two percent decrease from 2005.

read in full

Pages

  • ©2025 Project On Government Oversight
  • All Rights Reserved.
  • This an archive site of the materials produced by the Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) and is maintained by the Project On Government Oversight.