Regs News

Feds: Chevron fire sign of weak oversight (4/16/13)

The fire that destroyed part of Chevron's Richmond refinery happened because weak state regulations allowed the company to monitor rather than simply fix potential problems, federal investigators said Monday. Read more...

FDA tries to quell public uproar over new milk labels (4/16/13)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is defending new regulations for artificially sweetened milk after receiving a torrent of public criticism. In February, the FDA released regulations that would end a requirement that milk producers prominently label their products “low calorie” or “reduced calorie” when they contain artificial sweeteners. Regulators... Read more...

Game Plan Against Generics (4/16/13)

For decades, pharmaceutical companies have deployed an array of tactics aimed at preventing low-cost copies of their drugs from entering the marketplace. But federal regulators contend the latest strategy — which relies on a creative interpretation of drug safety laws — is illegal. Read more...

Health groups want menthol cigarettes banned (4/16/13)

The American Lung Association and other health groups are asking federal regulators to ban menthol in cigarettes. The groups says the minty taste is just as effective at getting smokers hooked as other flavorings that were banned under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. Read more...

USDA’s proposals scrapping junk food in schools draw controversy (4/15/13)

Candy, soda, some chips could be banned under new school snack rules, but some say it isn’t enough. Read more...

Think Those Chemicals Have Been Tested? (4/15/13)

Unlike pharmaceuticals or pesticides, industrial chemicals do not have to be tested before they are put on the market. Under the law regulating chemicals, producers are only rarely required to provide the federal government with the information necessary to assess safety. Regulators, doctors, environmentalists and the chemical industry agree that... Read more...

EPA delays climate rule for new power plants (4/15/13)

The EPA will not meet its deadline to impose the first-ever greenhouse gas limits on new power plants. The agency’s spokeswoman said it is still reviewing more than 2 million comments on the proposal. Read more...

Proposal could drag political funding into the light (4/15/13)

A proposed federal regulation that would undo some of the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling has been languishing at the Securities and Exchange Commission for a year and a half, but there are signs the commission may be making a decision on it relatively soon. Read more...

Elizabeth Warren Tears Into Federal Regulators For Shielding Big Banks (4/12/13)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) embarrassed government regulators during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Thursday morning as she demanded to know why they won’t reveal how frequently big banks illegally foreclosed on homeowners. Read more...

Advocates, parents decry delay in car rear camera rule (4/12/13)

Automakers have put rearview cameras as standard equipment into more than half of all new cars, but federal regulators have delayed making cameras a requirement four times in the past five years. Parents of young victims of backover crashes came to Washington on Thursday to pressure the National Highway Traffic... Read more...

Fracking rule is ‘imminent’ (4/12/13)

The Interior Department is on the cusp of releasing a controversial, heavily lobbied proposal to regulate oil-and-gas “fracking” on public lands. Outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told a House subcommittee Thursday that the draft regulations will surface soon. Read more...

U.S. Efforts to Regulate Consultants Face Big Obstacles (4/11/13)

Federal regulators are under pressure to rein in a multibillion-dollar consulting industry after the firms stumbled during a recent review of foreclosure abuses. But the efforts may be stymied, by the regulators’ cozy ties to the consultants and limited legal authority to penalize them. Read more...

Budget proposal signals action on contentious poultry inspection rule (4/11/13)

A set of spending cuts outlined in President’ Obama’s 2014 budget proposal signal his administration’s intention to move forward with a contentious plan to overhaul the country’s poultry inspection program. The proposal would shrink by $2.1 million the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) budget for inspections of meat, poultry... Read more...

Twenty-nine senators sign onto bill expanding EPA authority (4/11/13)

More than two dozen senators are pushing a measure that would increase the government's ability to impose regulations on toxic chemicals. Read more...

Seeking Relief, Banks Shift Risk to Murkier Corners (4/11/13)

Banks have been shedding risky assets to show regulators that they are not as vulnerable as they were during the financial crisis. In some cases, however, the assets don’t actually move — the bank just shifts the risk to another institution. Read more...

Reactor blackout fears spark post-Fukushima regulatory push (4/10/13)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is moving forward with a proposed rule designed to avert a disaster akin to the devastating 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. Read more...

Ex-Regulators Find Home With a Powerful Firm (4/10/13)

Promontory Financial is a consulting firm stocked with former government officials and paid billions by banks to help it navigate an onslaught of new regulations. Read more...

Unions, watchdogs press Obama pick to end secrecy on regulations (4/10/13)

A coalition that includes unions and watchdog groups is pressing President Obama’s budget nominee to bring more transparency to the review process for regulations. The Coalition of Sensible Safeguards says Sylvia Burwell needs to shake things up at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) if she is confirmed as... Read more...

Protesters demonstrate at FDA aganst GMOs (4/9/13)

Looking for more labels on the food we eat, Monday morning dozens gathered outside the Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety. Kathy Engle-Dulac says genetically modified foods, or GMO's, raise the biggest concerns. Like others gathered Monday, she's asking the FDA to change their policies so when consumers... Read more...

Megabus meets with White House over seatbelt rule (4/9/13)

A regulation to require busses and motor coaches to install seatbelts for each passenger brought a transportation conglomerate to the White House. Read more...

Ex-Regulator Says Reactors Are Flawed (4/9/13)

All 104 nuclear power reactors now in operation in the United States have a safety problem that cannot be fixed and should be replaced with newer technology, a former regulator said. Read more...

Study: EPA rules will fuel shift away from coal (4/8/13)

A new study finds that Environmental Protection Agency pollution rules could increasingly prompt power companies to abandon coal and turn to natural gas — even if gas prices soar above their currently low levels. Read more...

Regulation fails to keep pace with surge in bus riders (4/8/13)

Ankur Singh and about 10 other Greyhound bus passengers huddled outside a locked terminal at 4 a.m. in Des Moines, Iowa. The wind chill was -17 degrees Fahrenheit, and their connection wouldn't arrive for five hours. The Des Moines incident nonetheless showed intercity bus passengers aren't covered by federal consumer-protection... Read more...

Interior expands offshore drilling safety rule (4/8/13)

The Interior Department issued rules Thursday that expand workplace safety requirements for offshore oil-and-gas drillers, the latest of several mandates that have followed BP’s big 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Read more...

US proposal to move fracking wastewater by barge stirs debate (4/5/13)

The Obama administration is inching ahead with a plan that would allow wastewater from fracking to be shipped on barges, fueling a debate whether it is safer than other transportation modes or risks polluting drinking water. Read more...

Oil industry, health advocates battle over EPA gasoline rules (4/5/13)

A major oil industry trade group and the American Lung Association are out with dueling reports about planned federal rules that will force refiners to cut the sulfur content of gasoline. Read more...

Bill to toughen review of independent agencies makes former regulator wary (4/5/13)

Former administration officials on Thursday weighed in on legislation that would make major rules by independent federal agencies subject to White House review. Read more...

Regulators closer to supervising nonbank financial companies (4/4/13)

The Federal Reserve approved a final rule Wednesday that brings the government closer to placing large nonbank companies that were at the heart of the financial crisis under stricter supervision. The rule leaves a strikingly wide swath of companies on the table as potentially falling under tougher oversight, including private-equity... Read more...

California lawmakers look to regulate, attract drone industry (4/4/13)

A technology long deployed on the battlefield could be coming to a farm, newspaper or police station near you. An expected boom in the use of nonmilitary "unmanned aerial vehicles," commonly known as drones, has California looking to regain some of its old aviation industry swagger. Read more...

USDA Doing More “Species Testing” on Imported Beef (4/4/13)

USDA’s ramped-up testing is occurring as the targeted European counties continue to investigate how so much horsemeat has been passed off as beef in both fresh and processed products. Read more...

Government Watchdog Faults Regulators Over Foreclosure Review (4/4/13)

Federal authorities plan to issue a stinging critique of how banking regulators responded to wide-ranging foreclosure abuses, blaming officials for a bureaucratic maze that delayed relief to homeowners. Read more...

BPA may be labeled 'toxicant' by California (4/3/13)

By now, many environmentally conscious consumers are wary of bisphenol A, a chemical in food containers, plastic bottles and other household items. A California state agency is wary, too, and will soon decide whether to call the compound a reproductive toxicant and place restrictions on it. Read more...

EPA's clean gas plan could help automakers hit MPG goals (4/3/13)

Automakers have welcomed the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules, announced last week, that could cut the sulfur level in gasoline by more than 60%. The oil and gas industry, meanwhile, said the proposal eventually would cause gas prices to increase up to 9 cents per gallon and cost billions. Read more...

Why Do G.M.O.’s Need Protection? (4/3/13)

Genetic engineering in agriculture has disappointed many people who once had hopes for it. Excluding, of course, those who’ve made money from it, appropriately represented in the public’s mind by Monsanto. That corporation, or at least its friends, recently managed to have an outrageous rider slipped into the 587-page funding... Read more...

U.S. Overdraft Fees Jump To $32 Billion As New Rules Prove Ineffective (4/2/13)

Financially struggling Americans paid an increasing amount of money in overdraft fees last year, in spite of a 2010 rule designed to prevent abusive overdraft charges, analysts say a new report reveals. Read more...

Poll: Nearly half say government too lax on environment (4/2/13)

In a Gallup survey released Monday, 47 percent said the government was doing too little to protect the environment. Sixteen percent believe the government is doing too much, with 35 percent saying Washington is doing the right amount on the issue. Read more...

Monsanto provision tucked in spending bill draws critics (4/2/13)

A plan to let farmers grow genetically modified crops developed by Monsanto Co. during legal appeals has drawn criticism from food-safety advocates and backers of open government over how the proposal became law. Read more...

Liberal groups push for bank prosecutions (4/2/13)

Liberal groups are putting pressure on the Obama administration to crack down on "too big to jail" banks. A coalition of left-leaning groups, including MoveOn.org, is sending more than 300,000 petition signatures to the Justice Department, calling on the executive branch either to break up the nation's biggest banks and... Read more...

OIG: Beef Headed for Burgers, Tenderized Steaks Not Being Tested Adequately (4/1/13)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service should re-evaluate its E. coli testing for boxed beef that may be processed into ground beef of tenderized-steaks, according to a new USDA Inspector General report. Read more...

Pesticide lobby spends millions to defend chemicals tied to bee deaths (4/1/13)

The chemical pesticide lobby is waging a multi-million dollar battle to prevent regulation of chemicals linked to the dramatic escalation in the deaths of pollinating bees over the past year. Read more...

Long-Term Risks Fester as OSHA Focuses on Safety (4/1/13)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the agency that many Americans love to hate and industry calls overzealous, has largely ignored the slow, silent killers that claim the most lives. Read more...

Obama administration moves ahead with sweeping rules requiring cleaner gasoline (3/29/13)

The Environmental Protection Agency will move ahead Friday with rules requiring cleaner gasoline and cars nationwide, despite fierce protests from the oil industry and some conservative Democrats, according to several individuals briefed on the matter. Read more...

Court: EPA Can Stop Some Power Plant Modifications (3/29/13)

A federal appeals court says government regulators can try to halt construction projects at power plants if they think the companies didn't properly calculate whether the changes would increase air pollution. Read more...

Money, drugs and the Supreme Court (3/29/13)

Pharmaceuticals routinely pay generic competitors to hold off on entering markets. The Federal Trade Commission thinks that's illegal. It's up to the Supreme Court to decide who is right. Read more...

Bill aims to strengthen OSHA workplace enforcement (3/29/13)

Targeting a law critics chide as dated and weak, Sen. Patty Murray has introduced legislation that would strengthen the 1970 law governing workplace safety. The bill, called the Protecting America’s Workers Act, addresses regulatory gaps that The Center for Public Integrity has Read more...

Indiana, Arkansas Among States Close to Votes on “Ag-gag” Bills (3/28/13)

Bills to protect animal agriculture facilities from outsiders seeking to document what goes on in these establishments were killed by legislatures in New Hampshire, Wyoming and New Mexico, but remain very much alive in a half dozen other states. Read more...

Cities win wastewater rules lawsuit against EPA (3/28/13)

A federal appeals court has sided with a group of Iowa cities challenging Environmental Protection Agency wastewater treatment rules that would have forced cities across the country to spend billions of dollars if the court had upheld them. Read more...

Chemical Industry Clout Delays EPA Regulation of Hexavalent Chromium (3/28/13)

The hit 2000 film Erin Brockovich, which tells the story of how a novice legal clerk holds a huge corporation liable for contaminating a town's drinking water with the carcinogenic chemical hexavalent chromium, or chromium (VI), ends in justice for those harmed. But as it turns out, Hinkley, California, the... Read more...

Study: Two-thirds of pesticides got flawed EPA approval (3/28/13)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency used a regulatory loophole to approve 65% of 16,000 pesticides that pose a potential threat to public health, according to the two-year investigation by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Read more...

Federal Reserve Faults Citigroup Over Money Laundering Controls (3/27/13)

The Federal Reserve hit Citigroup with an enforcement action on Tuesday over breakdowns in money laundering controls that threatened to allow tainted money to move through the United States. Read more...