Setting and Enforcing Regulations | Center for Effective Government

Congress Passes Clean Waterboarding Act

You're reading the special April Fools' Day, 2008, edition of The Watcher.

The Bush administration and congressional leaders agreed to begin negotiations over the Clean Waterboarding Act of 2008 that Congress passed April 1. The key sticking point is the administration's objections to leaving the responsibility for implementing the act to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to Congress, EPA is the agency that sets U.S. water quality standards and is therefore the most appropriate agency to ensure that, if domestic sources are used for waterboarding, the water is "clean." The administration wants the Justice Department (DOJ) to have the authority to implement the act because DOJ has the legal responsibility for justifying other torture tactics, and the agency can oversee the use of waterboarding in international settings. Since President Bush has stopped short of threatening a veto, an agreement with Congress is expected soon.

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White House Interferes with Smog Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced March 12 its revision to the national air quality standard for ozone, or smog. While the new standard is an improvement, EPA did not go as far as its own scientists had recommended. Last-minute changes orchestrated by the White House have also mired the rule change in controversy. In addition to the new standard, EPA proposed legislative changes to the Clean Air Act, which environmentalists and lawmakers immediately criticized.

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High Court Expands Federal Preemption in Medical Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up a series of cases that addresses the issue of whether federal agency approval of medical devices and drugs shields manufacturers of those products from liability under state laws. In a case decided Feb. 20, the Court held that federal law preempts state liability claims if certain medical devices received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The Court also considered if that same protection should be extended to drug manufacturers.

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Bush Administration to Alter Employee Leave Protections

The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a proposed rule that would alter federal protections for workers who need to take leave to care for themselves or their families. DOL chose to pursue the rule changes after hearing complaints from industry lobbyists.

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Environmental, Worker Safety Rules Targeted by Industry Groups

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy has finalized a list of ten rules it will encourage federal agencies to modify. The Office of Advocacy compiled the list after receiving recommendations from small businesses and industry lobbyists.

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OMB Reports $508 Million in E-Gov Savings; Congress Remains Doubtful

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a report to Congress Feb. 14 that calculates the benefits of President Bush's 24 E-Government (E-Gov) Initiatives at approximately $508 million in Fiscal Year 2007, based on agencies' estimates. Congressional skepticism of the Initiatives, and subsequent reluctance to fund them, led OMB to develop a questionable funding mechanism using agency contributions from their annual budgets.

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EPA Denies State Efforts to Curb Global Warming

The Bush administration rejected an attempt by California and several other states to combat global warming by placing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Stephen Johnson, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced the decision Dec. 19, 2007. Environmental advocates and members of Congress have sharply criticized the decision, and several states have already filed suit in federal court hoping to overturn it.

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A Year for Failure: Regulatory Policy News in 2007

In 2007, new regulatory policies and the inability of federal agencies to protect the public made headlines more so than at any time in recent memory. Four themes dominated regulatory policy this year: an increase in White House influence over agency rulemaking activity and discretion, which added a perception of more political manipulation; the inability of the federal government to protect the public by ensuring the safety of imported goods; the voice of some industry groups calling for regulation; and the Bush administration's refusal to regulate in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, as in the case of climate change. At best, government has attempted to respond to crises instead of getting ahead of the curve. This has left the public uncertain about whether we can count on our government to provide adequate safeguards.

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Polluted Logic: How EPA's ozone standard illustrates the flaws of cost-benefit analysis

This analysis tracks EPA's recent revision of the national standard for ozone and uses it as a case example of the problems of cost-benefit analysis in regulatory decision making.

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Sunset Commission Legislation in the 110th Congress

This analysis describes the problems with sunset commissions and compares three sunset commission proposals that have emerged in the 110th Congress.

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