OMB Watch has created a new web center to be the one-stop source for news and developments on President Bush's recent amendments to Executive Order 12866. The web center will be frequently updated with fresh insights, news from Capitol Hill, and links to media coverage.

Rep. John Dingell has written an interesting piece in today's issue of The Hill. Dingell discusses the virtue of CAFE standards (the minimum miles per gallon requirements automakers must meet) and the need to combat global climate change. However, the article reflects the Michigan Democrat's tension between progressive environmental policy and appeasing his automaker constituents. Dingell touts the success of the CAFE program (which he helped create) but offers more questions than solutions in regulating carbon emissions: Are CAFE standards in their current form still the most effective way to achieve their stated objective? Further still, has the objective changed? Can a regulatory structure created in the 1970s evolve in such a way as to combat a 21st century challenge with 21st century technologies? He then goes on to warn Congress against rushing into any climate change legislation, and points out that his Energy and Commerce Committee will hold nine hearings in the month of March on energy independence and climate change. The article comes the same day as an Energy and Air Quality subcommittee hearing on President Bush's CAFE reform proposal. According to Reuters, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed concern over the cap-and-trade approach which would avoid actually raising fuel efficiency standards. Congressional wonkery aside, the reality is improved CAFE standards would mitigate carbon emissions and save drivers money. With measures of American fuel economy in decline, it is past time Congress get its act together and improve federal fuel economy standards.

Amid high profile food safety crises such as the spinach contamination of 2006 and recent salmonella tainted peanut butter, the FDA has been reducing its commitment to food safety, according to an Associated Press article.

• There are 12 percent fewer FDA employees in field offices who concentrate on food issues.
• Safety tests for U.S.-produced food have dropped nearly 75 percent, from 9,748 in 2003 to 2,455 last year, according to the agency's own statistics.

The article also reminds us food safety is a legitimate homeland security concern: After the Sept. 11 attacks, the FDA, at the urging of Congress, increased the number of food inspectors and inspections amid fears that the nation's food system was vulnerable to terrorists. Inspectors and inspections spiked in 2003, but now both have fallen enough to erase the gains. One wonders if the pullout of FDA employees has emboldened the enemy.

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time: Congress Holds Hearings on Bush's Changes to Regulatory Process FDA Drug Approval Process under Scrutiny