Citizen Health & Safety

Public Wants More Info on Food Labels

A national poll shows strong consumer support for improved food labeling and more frequent inspections of food-processing facilities. According to food safety advocates, Americans want labels that identify use of genetically engineered or cloned ingredients, as well as expanded country-of-origin labeling. Labels are one of the most effective means to inform the public about the health, safety, origins, and environmental impact of a product.

read in full

Bush Changes to Employee Leave among First Midnight Rules

The Department of Labor has finalized a new rule that will affect the way workers take medical and family leave. It is among the first of many rules the Bush administration is expected to cement in the coming weeks.

read in full

Panel Sends Regulatory Recommendations to Obama, Congress

On Nov. 14, a panel of regulatory experts released a report calling for significant changes to the federal regulatory process. The recommendations are directed to President-elect Obama and the new Congress and are designed to achieve a more effective, efficient, and timely process that is now burdened with excessive requirements and assessments.

read in full

Last-Minute Rule Allows More Dirty Oil Production

Nov 17, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Interior Department today announced a final rule that will open almost 2 million acres of land in Western states to oil shale development. Environmentalists say oil shale development, which involves extracting liquid oil from solid rock by heating it, increases greenhouse gas emissions and requires intensive water use. Interior's Bureau of Land Management fast-tracked the rule when it realized a ban on oil shale development was set to expire. Congress failed to renew the ban which expired Oct. 1.

read in full

Advancing the Public Interest Through Regulatory Reform

To develop a set of critical regulatory reform recommendations for the president and Congress, OMB Watch convened a steering committee of regulatory experts from the public interest, labor, small business, and other communities. The steering committee worked to put forth a consensus document that reflects what it sees as the most important regulatory process issues for the president-elect and Congress. Ideas raised with President Obama and congressional leaders fall into a number of categories: Improving the quality of regulations; protecting scientific integrity within agencies; ensuring agency accountability; effective implementation and enforcement of regulations; bringing more transparency to the regulatory process; and increasing public participation in federal rulemaking. The steering committee also highlighted those items that should be addressed during Obama's first 100 days in the White House and the first 100 days of the 111th Congress.

read in full

Bush Handing over Wilderness to Oil and Gas Industry

Nov 12, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Bush administration is making a last minute push to open up huge tracts of lands near national parks to oil and gas exploration. According to The New York Times, the Bureau of Land Management published new maps Nov. 4 outlining areas that will be up for auction on Dec. 19 — just 32 days before Bush leaves office.

read in full

New Rule Likely to Cut Health Care for the Poor

Nov 10, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

The Bush administration is continuing its push to finalize hundreds of new regulations in an effort to cement its legacy before the new administration takes power on Jan. 20 next year. Also called "midnight regulations," these rules tend to get rammed through the regulatory review process before the lights go out on an administration, regardless of process violations or self-imposed cutoffs.

read in full

For High Court, High Stakes Case on Preemption

Nov 5, 2008 by Matthew Madia

A case argued before the Supreme Court Monday could affect the way consumers seek redress from companies when harmed by faulty drugs. In Wyeth v. Levine, a woman claims Wyeth pharmaceuticals did not provide adequate warning of side effects for one of its drugs. Complications from the drug, phenergan, led to amputation of her arm.

read in full

Climate Change Disclosure Becomes an Investor Thing

Recent actions by investors and the New York State Attorney General are pressuring companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and the risks they face from climate change. Many regard such information as essential to investors' right to know about the potential liabilities facing thousands of industries as the climate warms and new emissions regulations become a near certainty.

read in full

Midnight at the White House: Bush Using Rules to Cement Legacy

The Bush administration is working on a spate of rules it hopes to finalize before its time in power expires. The last-minute rules cover a broad range of policy, but many share a common trait: relaxing existing requirements on businesses. The Bush administration appears to be pushing to deregulate in areas like environmental protection, worker leave, and auto safety. Many of the controversial rules are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. The administration is pushing to finalize rules in November, not January, in order to assure they cannot be undone by the next president.

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.