The White House is currently delaying the completion of a final rule intended to protect a critically endangered whale species. Critics are concerned the Bush administration is giving special access to business interests and overemphasizing economic considerations in its review of the rule. The delay of the whale protection rule is indicative of a larger problem in the White House regulatory review process.

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2007—On Jan. 18, 2007, President Bush issued Executive Order 13422, which amends Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review. The same day, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued its Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices. The two executive directives work in concert to alter the ways federal agencies develop and enforce regulations. As of today, agencies are to be in full compliance with the provisions of the executive order and the Final Bulletin.

The House passed an appropriations bill June 28 that prevents parts of the executive branch from spending Fiscal Year 2008 funds on the implementation of President George W. Bush's controversial executive order amending the regulatory process. The Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, FY 2008, (H.R. 2829) was amended by voice vote late on the night of June 27 and was passed the next day. The bill provides funding for everything from the Treasury Department and the Executive Office of the President to the Federal Election Commission and the U.S. Tax Court.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced proposed changes to the national standard for ground-level ozone, also known as smog. Scientific consensus supports a limit substantially lower than the current standard. EPA's proposal has drawn criticism for being too weak to fully protect the public from the adverse health effects of ozone. A lack of transparency in the rulemaking process has left the public in the dark as to whether EPA, the White House or industry lobbyists may be to blame.