Regs Talk: The CSS Blog
Blogs are authored by CSS members and policy experts, and have been reprinted with permission.
At $250B, Costs of Occupational Injury and Illness Exceed Costs of Cancer
The following post is from J. Paul Leigh at Working Economics, the Economic Policy Institute’s weblog Occupational injuries and illnesses are overlooked contributors to the overall national costs of all diseases, injuries, and deaths. My recent study published in the Milbank Quarterly, “Economic Burden of Occupational Injury and Illness in the United States,” estimates these costs […]
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson Leaves a Legacy of Cleaner Air, Safer Water, and More Stable Climate
The following post is from Frances Beinecke at Switchboard , the NRDC weblog Lisa Jackson recently announced she will be resigning from her post as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Her dedicated leadership will be missed, but she leaves behind an extraordinary legacy that will improve the lives of millions of Americans. City dwellers across […]
BP Fine is Record, Still Just a Slap on the Wrist
The following post is from Mijin Cha at Policy Shop, the Demos weblog British Petroleum announced that it had reached a resolution with the Department of Justice over the Deepwater Horizon disaster that released nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. BP will pay $4 billion over 5 years in fines […]
Starving the Watchdog: How Budget Cuts Undermine Financial Regulation
The following post is from David Callahan at Policy Shop, the Demos weblog There are basically two ways to thwart regulatory oversight of Wall Street: One, block new rules or weaken existing rules; and, two, make sure that whatever rules exist are not fully enforced. The finance industry and its allies in Congress are pursuing […]
Reforming the 401(k)
The following post is from Robert Hiltonsmith at Policy Shop, the Demos weblog One of the many parts of the financial sector that the crisis exposed as desperately in need of reform was the 401(k) industry. In 2008 alone, the securities industry lost over $2 trillion in workers’ hard-earned 401(k) and IRA savings. This loss […]
The Price of Speculation Makes the Case for Regulation
The following post is from Mijin Cha at Policy Shop, the Demos weblog One of the most visible signs of climate change was last summer’s prolonged extreme drought. Over eighty percent of the corn and soybean crops were impacted. Not surprisingly, we saw record food prices globally. Price increases due to drought are easy to […]
“Celebration” at the US Chamber Protests Dark Money
The following post is from Kelly Ngo at Citizen Vox Birthday cake, party hats, boxes of presents, and protest signs calling for an end to the corporate takeover of our elections. These, along with scores of activists who gathered to deliver birthday messages urging disclosure and accountability to one of the nation’s biggest dark money […]
It Happened Four Years Ago this Weekend, and Congress Has Already Forgotten
The following blog post is from Ed Mierzwinski,Consumer Program Director at U.S. PIRG. Let’s join Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman to go back just a short four years in their Way Back Machine. Four years ago this week, on Sunday, September 14, 2008, the Lehman Brothers investment bank announced it would declare bankruptcy while […]
One of the Worst Ideas from Congress in Decades
The following blog post is from Better Markets: The New York Times today has an article with a dramatically understated title: “Lawmakers Push to Increase White House Oversight of Financial Regulators.” It’s a good article, but is mislabeled because the bill discussed would actually result in Congress subjecting ALL independent agencies (not just the financial […]
New Law Turns 4 This Week — Got The Lead Out of Kid’s Toys
The following blog post is from Nasima Hossain, Public Health Advocate for U.S. PIRG. Less Lead in Toys Thanks to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Happy 4th Birthday! The unprecedented recall of 45 million toys and other children’s products in 2007 and continued recalls in 2008 led to the creation and passage of a bipartisan […]
EPA’s Regulations Would Not Be a Burden on the Natural Gas Industry, Says Bloomberg Government
Vignesh Gowrishankar’s Blog – Posted: August 1, 2012 Bloomberg Government (BGov) recently released a report [subscription required for full report] that assesses the business implications of the EPA’s regulations to control air pollution from the natural gas industry. While NRDC does not agree with some of the report’s specific cost estimates, NRDC does echo some of […]
Ever Seen a Freudian Slip Written Into Law?
The following blog post is from Michael Williams, Senior Legislative and Policy Advocate for the BlueGreen Alliance. Well, if H.R. 4078 passes the full House, then that parapraxis becomes more likely. (Though still highly unlikely, given the White House’s veto threat and sincere opposition in the Senate. Thankfully.) H.R. 4078, the “Red Tape Reduction and […]
Reckless House Legislation Would Impose Moratorium on Clean Air and Health Protections
John Walke, NRDC The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote next week on the “Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act” (H.R. 4078) – a bill that, among other things, imposes a moratorium on issuing virtually any new regulations as long as unemployment remains above 6%, regardless of the value of such […]
White House Messes with Air Pollution Science AGAIN
Michael Halpern, Program manager, Scientific Integrity, Union of Concerned Scientists The Washington Post is reporting that the White House—again—is interfering with the EPA’s ability to set scientific air pollution standards. Last time, it was the president who prevented the EPA from strengthening the air quality standard for ozone, despite the unanimous advice of the agency’s independent scientific advisory committee. […]
Searching for a Regulatory “Tsunami” in Calm Seas
From OMB Watch Has the Obama administration unleashed a regulatory “tsunami” as House and Senate Republicans charge? Has this administration issued more significant final rules than past administrations? Contrary to the rhetoric of the business community and its allies on Capitol Hill, hard research shows the answer is an unambiguous no. To put Obama’s regulatory […]
Challenges of Modernizing Hallmark Food Safety Laws
National Consumers League Earlier this week, we wished a happy 106th birthday to the Pure Food and Drugs Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act, both of which were signed into law on June 30, 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. While commemorating the history of these laws is important, so is looking ahead and thinking about […]
Why Are We Still Waiting for Food Safety Rules?
Nasima Hossein, US PIRG Recently we have all seen or heard about the food scares that have transpired from eating egg salad, spinach and cantaloupe. In fact, the cantaloupe foodborne illness outbreak was one of the worst the U.S. has seen in over 25 years. This Listeria outbreak linked to Colorado grown cantaloupes led to […]
The Land of the Free and the Home of Overdue Safety Rules
Jessica Randall, OMB Watch The 390 Americans who recently got sick from Salmonella in seafood probably missed out on yesterday’s holiday celebrations. But they weren’t the only ones who weren’t celebrating: food safety advocates were also bemoaning yet another missed Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) deadline. Yesterday was the statutory deadline for the Food and Drug Administration to enact […]
A Return to “The Jungle”
Keith Wrightson Public Citizen Workplace Safety Expert During the Progressive Era, President Theodore Roosevelt sent a team of inspectors to Chicago’s meatpacking industry in response to Upton Sinclair’s graphic novel The Jungle.Sinclair’s famous account depicted the gruesome conditions inside of meatpacking facilitates. After the inspectors reported deplorable conditions, Congress passed the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) which […]
Happy 106th Birthday to Two Landmark Food Safety Laws!
From the National Consumers League This week marks the 106th anniversary of the passage of the Pure Food and Drugs Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act, two landmark pieces of consumer based legislation which established the modern food protection system as we know it. Without these two important pieces of legislation, our food system in […]