Citizen Health & Safety

Regulatory Proposals from Industry Don't Address Underlying Problems

By Gary D. Bass and Rick Melberth, OMB Watch
Published on ombwatch.org
October 31, 2007
In light of stories of tainted lettuce, lead paint on toys, disease-causing flavorings in microwave popcorn, safety concerns with cough medicine, and other hazards, many industries and business associations are proposing new regulations they hope will restore consumer confidence. Many of these proposals call for new quality assurance programs and stronger regulation of foreign imports. Some of the approaches even call for strengthening federal agencies' regulatory powers or increasing their budgets, many of which have been cut to the bone during the Bush administration's business-friendly flurry of dismantling public protections. But most of these industry-led efforts are palliatives and do not solve the underlying problems.

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Senate Panel Moves CPSC Reform Act; Focus Should Remain on Solving Problems

Oct 31, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, Reg•Watch blogged about how Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats are calling for the resignation of the acting-chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Nancy Nord. Without Nord, CPSC would be unable to conduct formal business likely making consumer product problems worse for Americans, at least in the short term.

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Politicking between Democrats and Nord Threatens CPSC

Oct 30, 2007 by Matthew Madia

As Reg•Watch blogged this morning, CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord is lobbying against a CPSC reform bill that would strengthen the agency's authority and increase its budget. In light of Nord's lobbying, congressional Democrats, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, are calling for Nord's resignation, according to the Associated Press.

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CPSC's Nord Bites the Hand That Feeds

Oct 30, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The current head of the CPSC is lobbying against legislation that would strengthen her agency, The New York Times reports: On the eve of an important Senate committee meeting to consider the legislation, Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency's authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff.

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White House Already Involved in EPA Plans to Regulate GHG Emissions

Oct 29, 2007 by Matthew Madia

As OMB Watch recently reported, EPA is preparing to announce the regulatory scheme it will pursue for regulating greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Supreme Court's April decision which said greenhouse gases could be considered a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.

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Latest Analyses from OMB Watch

Oct 24, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Every two weeks, in OMB Watch's e-newsletter The Watcher, we analyze a few recent issues in regulatory policy. Here are the articles from the October 23 issue: While Feds Dither, States Move to Regulate Greenhouse Gases Kansas has rejected an air permit for proposed power plants due to the threat of the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. The decision makes Kansas the latest state to take proactive steps to stem greenhouse gas emissions while federal agencies and Congress delay action. Read more... Bush Administration Tries to Reverse Old-Growth Forest Protection Plan

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California Restores TRI Reporting for the State

When California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed the California Toxic Release Inventory Act of 2007 (Assembly Bill 833) into law on Oct. 13, California became the first state to pass legislation to undo the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) December 2006 weakening of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The new state law establishes the threshold for detailed reporting at 500 pounds of a listed toxic chemical, which was the original threshold for the TRI program before EPA changed the regulations to reduce the reporting burden on companies.

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While Feds Dither, States Move to Regulate Greenhouse Gases

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has rejected an air permit for proposed power plants due to the threat of the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. The decision makes Kansas the latest state to take proactive steps to stem greenhouse gas emissions while federal agencies and Congress delay action and White House officials continue to question climate science.

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Bush Administration Tries to Reverse Old-Growth Forest Protection Plan

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is trying to dismantle a 1994 landmark management plan that balances logging, endangered species and old-growth forest protections. BLM wants to revise the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) to allow logging on nearly one million acres of old-growth forest area included in the plan that protect habitats for species such as the northern spotted owl, salmon and other old-growth-dependent species. The proposed revisions ignore scientific recommendations, and the process appears to have been manipulated by Bush administration officials in Washington.

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Report Finds Extensive Noncompliance with Clean Water Act Rules

A new report has found thousands of facilities are out of compliance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act. The report blames declining support for environmental enforcement during the Bush administration as a major cause of the regulatory violations. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), a nonprofit organization working on environmental policy and public outreach, published the report titled Troubled Waters: An Analysis of 2005 Clean Water Act Compliance.

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