Cost-Benefit Provision Latches onto Fuel Economy Standard

A Senate panel has approved a bill reforming the federal standard for passenger vehicle fuel economy. The bill aims to increase vehicle fuel efficiency over the next 25 years, but a proposal to mandate cost-benefit analysis could undermine meaningful regulation. The bill raises questions as to the limits of cost-benefit analysis in the federal regulatory process.

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OSHA's Lack of Standard Setting under Fire

This year's Workers Memorial Day, April 28, included criticism of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) — the federal regulatory body charged with ensuring worker and workplace safety. On Capitol Hill and in the media, critics chided OSHA for not fulfilling its mission and falling behind in promulgating new standards to protect the American workforce.

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White House Tightens Grip on Regulatory Power Grab

The White House has released a memo instructing agencies on how to implement President George W. Bush's recent changes to the regulatory process. OMB Watch had anticipated the release of such a memo due to the need for clarification of certain controversial provisions within Bush's executive order. However, the memo offers little new information and further confounds issues in some areas.

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House Subcommittee Steps Up Oversight on Regulatory Changes

A House subcommittee held a second hearing April 26 on the regulatory changes President George W. Bush issued in January. Subcommittee Chairman Brad Miller (D-NC) hoped to discover the reasons that the White House issued the changes, but the hearing turned stormy as Miller's inquiries were repeatedly rebuffed by an administration official. After tense exchanges with the official, Miller promised to seek additional documents from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and to hold additional hearings on regulatory changes "that affect the lives of millions of Americans."

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Recess Appointment Makes Dudley Head of White House Regulatory Policy Office

On April 4, President George W. Bush used a recess appointment to make Susan Dudley the head of the White House's regulatory policy office. Dudley's new position will afford her great power over the federal regulatory process. The appointment comes despite strident opposition from public interest groups concerned about her views on regulation. The recess appointment of Dudley, along with that of other controversial officials, has also provoked anger in the Senate and raised questions about the constitutionality of the method.

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Courts Rebuke Bush Administration's Forest Actions

On April 6, the Bush administration appealed the first of two recent federal district court decisions that held the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act when it overturned the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule and rewrote forest management plans.

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Freedom of Information Act

5 U.S.C. § 552 As Amended in 2002 § 552.

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Leaders of Finance Committee Respond to IRS Outsourcing Program

Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance, sent letters to IRS officials March 15 questioning an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) pilot program allowing outside experts to draft guidance documents for the IRS. The letters follow the controversy raised by a March 9 New York Times story [subscription] detailing the project, which allows tax lawyers and accountants to draft the documents rather than IRS officials.

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In Congress, No Shortage of Fuel Economy Proposals

In Washington, legislators and White House officials continue to debate reform of the federal standard for vehicle fuel efficiency. Democrats and Republicans have questioned Bush administration officials on the president's proposal to alter the fuel economy standard for passenger vehicles. Members in both chambers of Congress have also proposed bills that would change the standard.

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Congress Holds Hearings on Bush's Changes to Regulatory Process

Congress held back-to-back hearings Feb. 13 on President George W. Bush's Executive Order that amended the federal regulatory process. The first hearing primarily addressed the content of the amendments and the Good Guidance Practices Bulletin, both issued Jan. 18. The second hearing focused more on the legal and institutional challenges Bush's amendments raise.

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