Citizen Health & Safety

Latest Watcher: What Spinach Tells Us About Food Safety

Sep 27, 2006 by Guest Blogger

In the latest issue of the Watcher, we take a look at the lessons learned from the recent E.Coli outbreak. FDA has confirmed 183 cases as of yesterday with 29 cases of kidney failure.

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E. Coli Outbreak Is Reason to Better Protect Food Supply

Though federal agencies responded relatively quickly to the recent outbreak of E.Coli in bagged spinach, the case highlights the need to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply and to have adequate tracking systems in place to do so.

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GAO Fails to Adequately Assess the Data Quality Act

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report on how well major federal agencies are implementing and overseeing compliance with the Data Quality Act (DQA). The report is an excellent overview of DQA's use, but it fails to make recommendations necessary to improving the management of DQA impacts on the federal government, in particular to minimizing its potential abuse.

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Judge Reinstates Roadless Rules

Sep 25, 2006 by Guest Blogger

A California judge overturned a 2005 regulation that would have allowed state governors to petition the Forest Service to develop land protected under the Clinton-era roadless rule. The Clinton rule sought to protect 60 million acres of national forests from development. But the Bush administration has repeatedly attempted to undermine the regulations.

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A Hybrid Car, An Environmentalist Does Not Make

Sep 19, 2006 by Guest Blogger

In her latest column, Cindy Skrzycki of The Washington Post summarizes the opposing view points of OMB Watch and the Mercatus Center over the nomination of former Mercatus Regulatory Program Director Susan Dudley to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs: OMB Watch and Public Citizen . . . released a 68-page report last week using Dudley's writings to attack her. It chastised her for ties to corporate donors and for what it called "Dudleynomics," an emphasis on free-market solutions to health and safety issues at the public's expense.

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Looking Beyond Sunsets

Sep 15, 2006 by Guest Blogger

With appropriators blocking sunset commission legislation in House, there's a good chance we won't see the legislation again this year. The legislative battle, however, does leave us with some interesting questions about how to make government more responsive to public need. Eliminating federal programs with limited congressional debate is obviously not the answer, but what is? New York University professor Paul C. Light offers one possible solution in an Op-Ed for the Christian Science Monitor.

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Latest Watcher

Sep 13, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time: Criticism of Draft Risk Assessment Bulletin May Delay Implementation Report Finds Dudley Unfit to Serve

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The Cost is Too High

Sep 13, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Read OMB Watch and Public Citizen's new report on the White House's radical nominee for OIRA, Susan Dudley.

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States Group Resolved Against EPA's Plans to Cut Toxics Reporting

On Aug. 29 the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) passed a resolution urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw its proposals to reduce reporting under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). The resolution, by a national association of state and territorial environmental agency leaders, underscores the fact that states are firmly opposed to the EPA's plans to cut the national pollution reporting program.

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Criticism of Draft Risk Assessment Bulletin May Delay Implementation

InsideEPA, a Washington trade publication, reports that criticism from federal agency officials could prevent the Office of Management and Budget from finalizing a bulletin on risk assessments.

On Jan. 9, 2006, the OMB released a draft bulletin governing how agencies perform risk assessments. If enacted, the new standards would create a one-size-fits-all standard, requiring more information and analysis before agencies could act to protect the public.

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