Citizen Health & Safety

On Phthalates, Congress Taking Safety-First Approach

Jul 28, 2008 by Matthew Madia

After a protracted House/Senate negotiating period, Democratic and Republican leaders came to an agreement on several controversial provisions in a bill to improve consumer product safety. Early reports indicate that negotiators came down on the side of public health on most or all of the issues that had proved difficult to hash out. CQ.com reports:

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White House Climate Change Policy -- Delay, Delete, and Deny

The Bush administration continues its strong efforts to censor climate change information that reaches the public and Congress. Recent reports indicate that the White House pressured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make changes to its regulatory process regarding climate change and that Vice President Dick Cheney's office was responsible for suppressing key sections of the congressional testimony of a high-level official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Congress Votes to Reauthorize Administrative Conference of the United States

The House voted July 14 to reauthorize the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) by accepting an earlier Senate-passed bill. The bill now moves to the White House, where President Bush is expected to sign the legislation. ACUS was a small government agency, abolished in 1995, that advised Congress on reforms to administrative and regulatory processes and saved the government millions of dollars over its life.

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Life's Value Shrinks at EPA

An Associated Press (AP) investigation released July 10 showed that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been devaluing human life when it prepares cost-benefit analyses for new regulations. Federal agencies such as EPA use the life value, an inaccurate statistic, to help them determine whether a proposal's benefits will outweigh compliance costs to industry.

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Find out How Much You're Worth. Take our Trip around the Beltway.

Jul 21, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Last week, Reg•Watch blogged about a recent Associated Press investigation that shows the Environmental Protection Agency has been using new statistics to assign monetary values to the lives potential regulations will save. AP found EPA's most recent value, $6.9 million, is about $1 million lower than it was five years ago. The figure in question is called a Value of a Statistical Life (VSL), which is a number that attempts to place a dollar figure on individuals by studying market data. EPA isn't the only agency that uses a VSL. Lots of public health and safety agencies go through the ridiculous process of valuing human life in order to comply with White House requirements on cost-benefit analysis. But agencies don't necessarily use the same VSL. Some agencies even use a different VSL for different rules. If you're wondering how much different sectors of the federal government think your life is worth, take our journey around the beltway, complete with an interactive map.

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On Consumer Product Bill, More Work Remains

Jul 18, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, Reg•Watch asked the question, "Will Congress Wrap Up Consumer Safety Bill?" The answer turned out to be "no," as lawmakers' talks stalled during a meeting intended to finalize a version of a bill to reform the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Lawmakers did agree to set up a publicly searchable consumer product complaint database which was one of the controversial provisions that needed to be worked out.

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Will Congress Wrap Up Consumer Safety Bill?

Jul 17, 2008 by Matthew Madia

In a few minutes, members of the House and Senate are set to meet to work on sorting out differences between their respective versions of consumer product safety legislation. Both versions of the bill would expand the budget and authority of the beleaguered Consumer Product Safety Commission, but other provisions have proved contentious. Congress Daily (subscription) reports: The House passed its CPSC reauthorization in December and the Senate approved its version in March. Conferees first met last month, when they agreed on 21 items. They left the more troublesome measures for today.

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Bush Administration Says Americans Are Worth Less

Jul 15, 2008 by Matthew Madia

A recent Associated Press investigation shows the Environmental Protection Agency has been using new statistics to assign monetary values to the lives potential regulations will save. "The 'value of a statistical life' is $6.9 million, the Environmental Protection Agency reckoned in May – a drop of nearly $1 million from just five years ago," according to AP.

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On Food Tracking, FDA Says "Not Our Responsibility"

Jul 10, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The New York Times has an article this morning further underscoring the problems the FDA has tracking the sources of food-borne illness outbreaks. The toll of the current salmonella outbreak has exceeded 1,000 victims "in what officials said Wednesday was the largest food-borne outbreak in the last decade."

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America's Wetlands Sullied by Supreme Court Decision

Jul 9, 2008 by Matthew Madia

A 2006 Supreme Court decision has seriously hindered EPA's ability to enforce the Clean Water Act, according to new documents released by two House Committee chairmen. The decision in the case, which pertained to enforcement of the act in non-navigable wetlands, made a real mess of things. According to The Washington Post, "That 5 to 4 decision, known as Rapanos v. United States, held that the Army Corps of Engineers had exceeded its authority when it denied two Michigan developers permits to build on wetlands…"

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