Citizen Health & Safety

White House Reviews Smog Standard

May 29, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is reviewing under Executive Order 12866 a revised air pollutant rule. The rule is the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone, a.k.a. smog. Over the past several months, Reg•Watch has been tracking the growing support for tightening this critical air pollution standard. Scientists and medical professionals have been lining up to voice their support, but EPA has been cautious in expressing its opinion on more protective smog regulation.

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Governors Tell EPA to Get Out of the Way

May 21, 2007 by Rick Melberth*

Two governors let loose on the Bush administration in an editorial in the Washington Post today. California's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Connecticut's Jodi Rell called for Bush and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to get out of the way and let states put programs in place if the federal government doesn't want to act on global warming.

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Presidential Mulligan: Bush Nominates Dudley yet Again

May 17, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Last night, President Bush nominated Susan Dudley to the position of administrator of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). No, you have not traveled back in time. The White House has nominated Dudley to the position in which she currently serves. Bush recess appointed Dudley in April.

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Latest Watcher

May 16, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Regulatory policy articles this time: House Hearing Asks Interior: Entangled in Politics, or Enlightened by Science? Cost-Benefit Provision Latches onto Fuel Economy Standard Senate Passes FDA Reform Bill, Expands User Fees

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Move along, Nothing to See Here

May 15, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, President Bush made comments in the Rose Garden concerning greenhouse gases and global warming. In his speech, one may have expected the President to announce a new landscaping project turning the Rose Garden into the Orchid Garden due to quickly rising global temperatures. Instead, Bush announced a new Executive Order which requires collaboration among EPA, the Departments of Energy, Transportation and Agriculture, OMB, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality in pursuing new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.

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EPA Increases Information on Dioxin

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule on May 10 to increase reporting of dioxin compounds, some of the most potent carcinogens, under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program.

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Senate Passes FDA Reform Bill, Expands User Fees

On May 9, the Senate ended weeks of debate and passed S. 1082, the Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act. The two primary aims of the bill are to renew the Prescription Drug User Fee Act and to generally strengthen the regulatory authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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Cost-Benefit Provision Latches onto Fuel Economy Standard

A Senate panel has approved a bill reforming the federal standard for passenger vehicle fuel economy. The bill aims to increase vehicle fuel efficiency over the next 25 years, but a proposal to mandate cost-benefit analysis could undermine meaningful regulation. The bill raises questions as to the limits of cost-benefit analysis in the federal regulatory process.

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House Hearing Asks Interior: Entangled in Politics, or Enlightened by Science?

In a May 9 hearing, the House Committee on Natural Resources heard witnesses discuss the extent to which Interior Department officials have manipulated scientific assessments when implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The hearing came on the heels of the resignation of a top-ranking official and the release of a departmental investigation that found rules violations and intimidation of agency scientists.

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Cost-Benefit Language Inserted in Fuel Economy Bill

May 10, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Monday, the Senate Commerce Committee sent a vehicle fuel economy reform bill to the floor. The bill would do some good by providing more information on fuel efficiency to car buyers and increasing funding for our national fuel economy program — the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, the bill would also mark a shift in the legislative view of vehicle fuel economy — from protecting the environment and strengthening national security to making economic factors a paramount consideration.

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