Blog: The Fine Print / posts by Katie Weatherford

Shelanski Lays Out Top Priorities if Confirmed as Next OIRA Administrator

Jun 12, 2013 by Katie Weatherford

At his Senate confirmation hearing this morning, Howard Shelanski, nominated to serve as the next administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), laid out his top priorities for the office.  Among them are addressing long-standing delays of crucial standards and safeguards and the lack of transparency in OIRA's rule review process. 

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Obama Nominates Howard Shelanski to Lead Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Jun 10, 2013 by Katie Weatherford

On April 25, President Obama nominated Howard Shelanski as administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). If confirmed, Shelanski would replace Cass Sunstein, who resigned from the position last August, leaving behind a record of lengthy delays.

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Industry Interests Testify in Support of Bill Targeting Public’s Right to Hold Government Accountable

Jun 7, 2013 by Katie Weatherford

The House Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, held a hearing Wednesday on proposed legislation that would limit the rights of citizens to enforce legal deadlines and hold government agencies accountable when they fail to perform the tasks assigned to them by Congress. Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced identical versions of the bill, entitled the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act, in the House and Senate back in May. 

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Sanders and Boxer Take Lead on Climate Change

Feb 15, 2013 by Katie Weatherford

At a press conference on Feb. 14, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) revealed new legislation to address climate change by reducing carbon emissions from the nation’s top polluting sectors: power plants, industry, and transportation. The new legislation comes after President Obama asked Congress to move forward on climate change during his State of the Union Address on Feb.

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Two New Reports Reveal How the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration Has Worked to Block Public Safeguards

Feb 5, 2013 by Katie Weatherford

Last Tuesday, the Center for Effective Government and the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) released separate reports on the activities of a little-known, but powerful, office within the Small Business Administration—the Office of Advocacy. The reports uncovered how the Office of Advocacy actively works to delay and block public safeguards and the release of important information that has serious implications for Americans' health and well-being.

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Chemical Industry Spending Millions to Hide Danger of Cancer-Causing Products

Oct 12, 2012 by Katie Weatherford

Earlier this week, Nicholas D. Kristof published an article entitled “The Cancer Lobby” in The New York Times, in which he criticized the chemical industry for its intense lobbying efforts to prevent dangerous chemicals from being listed as known cancer-causing agents in the Report on Carcinogens (RoC). The RoC is a biennial report prepared by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), part of the National Institutes of Health.  The RoC lists chemicals that are either “known carcinogens” or are “reasonably anticipated to be carcinogens.”  Congress required publication of the RoC in the Public Health Service Act of 1978 because of growing concerns among Americans about potential cancer-causing substances in their environment.

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