Citizen Health & Safety

White House, Congress Gearing Up For Attack On Public Safeguards

The White House is poised to roll back 30 years of progress on the nation’s health, safety and environmental protections. Upcoming White House proposals, expected this month, threaten to dramatically overhaul – and possibly destroy – these federal safeguards in a give-away to corporate special interests, camouflaged under the Orwellian guise of “regulatory reform.”

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State of the union: Small biz, blah blah blah

Feb 2, 2005 by Guest Blogger

This text is expected in the State of the Union address: To make our economy stronger and more competitive, America must reward, not punish, the efforts and dreams of entrepreneurs. Small business is the path of advancement, especially for women and minorities, so we must free small businesses from needless regulation and protect honest job-creators from junk lawsuits.

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White House wants to cut government at the knees

Jan 27, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The White House announced that the FY 2006 budget will include two proposals for dramatic overhauls of government oversight that would become the Gatling gun for destroying federal programs that protect the public health, safety, civil rights, and environment.
  • One proposal would create a Sunset Commission to review program performance. As a Congress Daily AM article elaborates, the proposal would also force all government programs to cease serving the public after ten years, unless Congress affirmatively votes to keep the program alive.

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Industry Challenge Prompts Removal of EPA Database

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has removed one database from its public website and slightly altered another due to a Data Quality Act (DQA) challenge submitted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber submitted the request May 26, 2004, asserting that physical and chemical property information in several EPA databases was erroneous because the data was inconsistent and contradictory between the different databases. The differing information leads to vastly different cleanup cost estimates for contaminated sites, according to the Chamber.

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DQA Stalls Superfund Cleanup

In another case of how the DQA delays and derails important health, safety and environmental actions, EPA announced it will delay the listing decision of a National Priority Listing (NPL) site because of a data quality request submitted by Greenberg Traurig LLP on behalf of NPC Services Inc. Greenberg Traurig is the same law firm that filed the appeal on behalf of the Salt Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in the salt challenge.

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Would you feed your kids glow-in-the-dark food?

Jan 25, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The FDA has announced that it will increase the amount of radiation that can be used to zap food products before they reach the table. Here's some insight from Public Citizen: A recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision to increase by 50 percent the maximum radiation dose that can be used to irradiate food raises questions about the health effects of consuming such food and should be reconsidered, Public Citizen told the agency today in a letter. Public Citizen believes the rule should be revoked and is requesting a public hearing.

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Agribiz's dirty little (government-protected) secret

Jan 25, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Agribusiness is relying more and more on illegal immigrant labor, and the government may be moving to make sure we know less about the problems of migrant farmworkers. From the AP: The Labor Department has decided to quit collecting data on migrant farm workers even as its reports showed the share of illegal immigrants holding those jobs grew from 7 percent to more than 50 percent in just a decade.

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Data Quality Update: Court Decision Appealed

In a Jan. 14 news release, the Salt Institute announced that it would appeal the dismissal of its data quality case against the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The Salt Institute along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce had filed suit against NHLBI claiming that statements made by the agency about health benefits from lower sodium diets did not comply with the Data Quality Act.

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House Bill Calls for Agency Performance Ratings

A controversial bill that would require yet more burdensome analysis of regulatory and other government programs has resurfaced after passing the House but stalling in the Senate during the 108th Congress.

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EPA Assessment Finds Potential Risk to Humans in Teflon

While an Environmental Protection Agency draft risk assessment for a chemical compound used in the production of Teflon did find that exposure could lead to adverse health effects, EPA fell far short of condemning the chemical or its makers.

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