The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled 6-3 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can weigh costs against benefits under parts of the Clean Water Act. The court said EPA was not required to impose the most environmentally protective requirements on power plants that inadvertently kill millions of fish.

President Barack Obama and Congress recently began efforts aimed at shoring up the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency battered by recent consumer safety problems and declining resources. In a March 14 address, Obama named two officials he wants to lead the agency and announced the creation of a working group to propose food safety reforms. Congress is once again trying to craft legislation aimed at providing greater consumer protections and restoring resources to the agency.