House, Senate Pass E-Government Act

On November 15, the House and Senate unanimously passed a modified version of the E-Government Act, which President Bush is expected to sign. While the bill remained mostly intact as it moved through the House and Senate, there were a few significant changes from the original Senate version, which the Senate passed on June 27:
  • The Office of E-Government within the Office of Management and Budget will be run by an administrator appointed by the president, but will not require Senate confirmation, as in the original Senate version of the bill. (Title I)

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OMB to Launch Centralized Online Rulemaking Portal

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is planning to launch a web site on December 18 that will allow users to view and submit comments on any federal regulation.

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Report Documents Steep Decline in Environmental Enforcement

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appears to be relaxing its enforcement efforts, with civil penalties declining by half over the Bush administration’s first full fiscal year, according to a new report by the Rockefeller Family Fund's Environmental Integrity Project.

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FDA Commissioner Finally Confirmed

Almost two years after President Bush took office, Mark B. McClellan -- a top health policy adviser to the president and brother of White House spokesman Scott McClellan -- has been confirmed to serve as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Unlike many Bush appointees who are now responsible for regulating former employers, McClellan has never worked for the pharmaceutical industry. This helped secure the support of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), chair of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the nomination, who reportedly insisted on independence.

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Ideology Trumps Science at HHS, Letter Charges

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is suppressing scientific information on contraception and abortion, and apparently increasing audits of nonprofit grantees that disagree with the administration’s “abstinence-only” program, according to a recent letter from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and a group of House Democrats to Tommy Thompson, secretary of HHS. “A growing number of cases provide evidence that actions directly affecting the public health are being driven by ideology rather than science,” the letter charges, referencing

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Anti-Regulatory Studies Found Deceptive

A series of influential studies purporting to show that federal regulation is broadly irrational are based on data that is highly misleading and frequently manufactured to fit a preconceived point of view, according to an investigation by Richard Parker, a law professor at the University of Connecticut, who presented his findings October 17 during a conference of the American Bar Association.

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Report Shows Bush Administration "Hostile" to Regulation

The Bush administration showed a "pre-determined hostility" toward regulation in reviewing, and in some cases weakening, environmental protections adopted under President Clinton, according to a new report, entitled "Rewriting the Rules," released by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee.

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Rahall, Dingell Express Concern with Bush Environmental Rollbacks

A letter to President Bush from leading congressional Democrats blasts the administration for undermining and dismantling the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), considered the Magna Carta of environmental law. Signed by President Nixon in 1969, NEPA requires agencies to assess the social, economic, and environmental impacts of proposed federal actions by writing a detailed statement called an Environmental Impact Analysis. This statement must also present alternatives to actions that might harm the environment and be subjected to public scrutiny and input.

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Administration Gives Panel on Childhood Lead Poisoning an Industry Tilt

The Bush administration is packing an advisory committee on childhood lead poisoning with those friendly to industry and predisposed against new regulation, according to a new report released by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA).

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Administration Mixes Politics with Science

The Bush administration is overhauling scientific advisory committees that were reaching conclusions contrary to its political objectives, according to a recent article in the Washington Post. Findings by these committees, which are made up by private experts and are found at virtually every agency, frequently form the foundation for regulatory action, which the administration seems determined to avoid at all costs. Not surprisingly, the administration is moving to stack the deck in favor of its predetermined views. Specifically:

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