Citizen Health & Safety

Congress Finally Finishes FDA Reform Legislation

Sep 21, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The House and Senate have both passed the final version of the PDUFA reauthorization/FDA reform bill. The bill now goes to the White House where the president is sure to sign it. The Pump Handle blog has all the details on the final version: "Congress's FDA Bill Includes Reforms"

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OMB Risk Analysis Memorandum Continues Bush Administration Policy of Less Regulation

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2007—The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) today released a risk analysis memorandum, "Updated Principles for Risk Analysis," outlining principles that federal agencies must follow for risk assessment, management and communication. The memorandum reiterates a policy that has been in place since 1995. But that policy, taken in the context of other regulatory changes made by the Bush administration, continues a policy of less regulation even as the public demands more protections of our food, consumer products, environment and workplace.

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White House Expands Micromanagement of Agency Activity

Sep 19, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Today, the White House issued a memo to the heads of federal agencies regarding risk assessments — a process by which agencies identify and evaluate risks such as toxic exposure or structural failure. Susan Dudley, head of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and Sharon Hays, a senior official in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, issued the memo. The memo takes existing principles from a 1995 White House memo and includes additional text in order to place the Bush White House spin on each item.

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New Food-Borne Illness Database

Sep 18, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has launched a new database providing information on food-borne illness outbreaks that occurred in the U.S. from 1990-2004. (CSPI defines outbreaks as "events where two or more people become ill from eating the same food.") The database, "Outbreak Alert!," breaks down over 5,000 outbreaks by food type, pathogen and location. It also lists the number of cases resulting from each outbreak. Check it out here.

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For Better or Worse, Industry Pushes for Regulation

Sep 17, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The Sunday New York Times featured an article on the efforts of U.S. industry groups to push for federal regulation. As the article points out, this represents a marked shift in the traditional conception of industry's views on regulation. Historically, industry representatives often see regulation as costly and vexing. A graphic in the article briefly summarizes 14 examples of new federal regulations supported by manufacturers or industry lobbyists.

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Toy Safety Hearing Leaves Questions Unanswered

Sep 13, 2007 by Matthew Madia

In today's Washington Post, columnist Dana Milbank reports on yesterday's Senate hearing on toy safety and the Consumer Product Safety Commission's role in assuring it. The hearing, held by an appropriations subcommittee responsible for approving CPSC's budget, featured testimony from Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the commission.

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Senators Press Federal Agencies on Diacetyl

Sep 12, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) have written to the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expressing their concern over diacetyl exposure and asking the agencies to take action. (More from the Pump Handle blog here.) The federal government, the popcorn industry and public and occupational health advocates have known for some time that exposure to diacetyl — a chemical used to give microwave popcorn its buttery flavor — can cause severe lung problems for workers in the popcorn manufacturing industry.

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Latest Watcher

Sep 12, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Regulatory policy articles this time: Federal Agencies Knew of Diacetyl Dangers and Kept Silent Bush's Anti-Regulatory Ideology under Increasing Scrutiny It's Industry vs. Consumers and Health Specialists in National Ozone Hearings

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OMB Watch Releases 'An Attack on Cancer Research'

OMB Watch released a report in late August that further documents industry's attempt to restrict access to health and safety information produced by the National Toxicology Program (NTP). The report comes just as Congress is investigating allegations of mismanagement, industry influence, and suppression of whistleblowers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the NTP.

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EPA's Second Round of 9/11 Testing Falls Short

According to a Sept. 5 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) second program to test and clean building interiors contaminated by toxins from the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse was a virtual failure. The program's problems stemmed from EPA's inadequate public notification and refusal to listen to its own science experts. The GAO report also indicated that EPA was reluctant to accept cleanup responsibility according to expert recommendations. The result was a limited program grossly underutilized by the public.

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