Regulatory News 2016
Click here to see the latest regulatory news.
Lawsuits: VW Employees Tried to Cover Up Emissions Cheating
Did Your College Mislead You About Job Prospects? It Might Become Far Easier to Have Your Loans Forgiven
99 Percent of Coal Dust Samples Within Newest Federal Limits
U.S. Considers Expanding Automated-Driving Technology Oversight
The Secret History of Glass-Steagall
Groups Agree on Existence, Not Quality, of Midnight Rules
Survey: Voters Want More, Not Less, Financial Regulation
Regulators Defend Obama Administration’s Fuel-Economy StandardsZ
FDA Rule Allows Vitamin D to Be Added to Soy Milk
Feds Probe Fiat Chrysler Over Alleged False Sales Reports
FDA: Electroshock Has Risks But Is Useful to Combat Severe Depression
GOP Platform Calls for Revival of Glass-Steagall
Regulatory System Is ‘Rigged,’ Public Interest Group Says
Exercise in Futility: There Is No Way Obama Will Sign the EPA Budget the House Wants
New Oil Train Rules Would Force Railroad Companies to Plan for the Worst
Road Seems Dark to You? New Tests Blame Your Headlights
Newly Passed Air Travel Legislation Is ‘An Amazing Win for Consumers’
House Passes Bill Curbing Agency Powers | New GOP Effort Against Financial Adviser Rule
Upgrades to Unsafe Tank Cars Could Take 15 years, Board Says
Slow Progress Seen on Faulty Rail Cars
Do the Oil and Railroad Lobbies Have Too Much Influence on Oil Train Regulations?
With Competition in Tatters, the Rip of Inequality Widens
Ryan Backs Bill to Curb Agency Power
Could Obama’s Signature Fuel Efficiency Standards Stall?
White House Threatens to Veto EPA, Interior Spending Bill
Warren’s No-Bankers Push Makes It Into Dem Platform
Dems Want Gender Identity Included in Federal Surveys
U.S. Regulator Flags Auto-Lending Risks
Conservatives Will Probably Lose the Legal Fight for Small Government. Here’s Why.
The Supreme Court’s 2015 Regulatory Term
Food Labels Like ‘Organic’ and ‘Whole Grain,’ Meant to Clarify, Often Confuse
Federal Nondiscrimination Regulation Imposes Key Requirements on Pharmacies
Head of SEC Whistleblower Office to Leave This Month
Obama Toughens Arctic Drilling Rules
Groups Sue EPA Over Air Pollution Standards
EPA Urges States to Publish Individual Lead Water Samples
Underwater Oil-Well Bolts Are Failing, Causing Alarm
The Joke’s on Us: FDA Fails to Police Food Additives
House Hearing on EPA Rule Turns Ugly as Rep Calls Regulations ‘Un-American’
US Tops Other Wealthy Countries in Traffic Death Rate
Regulatory Official Grilled on Consequences of ‘Midnight’ Rules
Obama Administration Proposes New Rules for K-12 Standardized Testing
Belt Clip? How the U.S. Tests Cellphones for Safety
Lack of Regulation Is as Big a Problem as Costs for Carbon Capture
A Resource List on Regulatory Capture and Reform
Citing Takata Air Bags, Regulators Tell Some Honda and Acura Owners Not to Drive
Labor Department Increases Fines for Labor Law Violations
A Call for Action on Toxic Chemicals
Hundreds of Safety Incidents with Bioterror Germs Reported by Secretive Labs
Lawmakers Urge the EPA to Reduce Its Standard for Lead in Drinking Water
Fed Signs Off on Most Banks’ Capital Plans
Dodd-Frank Backers Heap Praise on GE Capital Decision
Dems Push Court for Workplace LGBT Protections
Regulators Close ‘Loophole’ in Fees for Fossil Fuel Extraction
The EPA Could Have Protected These People From Breathing Coal Dust Every Day. So Why Didn’t It?
FDA Warns Against Eating Raw Dough Amid E. Coli Fears
Warren Demands Stronger Worker Protections | Compensating Volkswagen’s Victims | More Than 5,300 U.S. Water Systems Violated Lead-Testing Rules Last Year | 5 Things to Watch in the Fed’s Stress Test Results | Hensarling’s Wrecking Ball to Financial Regulation | Old and New Capture | Government Accountability Office Expands Regulatory Capture Probe Beyond Fed
Obama Set to Sign Bipartisan Update of 1976 Toxic Substance Law
Obama-Appointed Judge Strikes Down Federal Fracking Rule
What to Watch for in Fed’s Stress Tests of Big Banks
For-Profit-College Fiasco: Why a Watchdog Needs a Watchdog
Trader Joe’s Settles with Feds Over Alleged Air Pollution Violations
Taking a Hard Look at a Campaign Critical of a Fiduciary Rule
In U.S. Drinking Water, Many Chemicals Are Regulated — But Many Aren’t
More Americans Are Dying Each Year by Accident
It’s Worth Asking Questions When Your Doctor Prescribes a Drug Off Label
Appeals Court Upholds Labor Union Election Rule
Harvard Study Finds $38 Billion Economic Benefit From EPA’s Carbon Rule
Obama Vetoes GOP Attempt to Rollback Financial Adviser Rule
Bill to Curb Agency Power Advances in House
Investigator: FDA Still Taking Months to Recall Tainted Food
Oil Train Rules Move to White House Review
Consumers Should Know If Faulty Air Bags Are in New Vehicles, U.S. Transportation Secretary Says
Finra Arbitration Case Offers a Peek Into a Murky World
Oregon Derailment Likely to Reignite Oil-By-Rail Safety Concerns
EPA Finds Widely-Used Weed Killer Could Threaten Animals
Will Ohio’s Lake Erie Strategy Work? Answers Won’t Come Soon
Metro’s SafeTrack Program Has Started. Here’s What to Expect with Surge #1
Consumer Agency Unveils Payday Loan Rules
Automakers Still Selling Cars With Defective Takata Airbags
Why the World Is Drawing Battle Lines Against American Tech Giants
CDC Investigating Multistate E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Flour
US Adopts Near Total Ban on African Elephant Ivory Sales
Metro’s Proposed Safety Board Shouldn’t Be Working in Secrecy
Wall Street Crime: 7 Years, 156 Cases and Few Convictions
DuPont, Dow Getting What They Asked For: Tougher EPA Oversight
Rules Proposed for School Accountability
White House to Push Companies for More Disclosure on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Lawmakers Blast Poultry, Meat Industries Over Worker Injuries
Obama ‘Strongly Supports’ Chemical Overhaul Bill
Bayer’s $62 Billion Proposed Takeover of Monsanto Would Create World’s Largest Agribusiness
Tech Groups Want Public Probe of Zero-Rating Plans
U.S. Banks’ Loophole on Swaps Set to Close
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx Appoints Special Adviser for Metro Oversight
Michelle Obama Gets Her Way on Nutrition Labels
Frozen Food Recall Covers Hundreds of Items from Many Stores
Fed’s Tarullo Outlines Rules for Big U.S. Insurers
EPA Issues Tighter Limits for Industrial Chemical in Water
The Simple Labeling Update that Could Prevent Millions of Tons of Food from Going in the Trash
‘Preventable Errors’ Led to 2015 California Oil Spill, Regulators Say
The Next Step in the Fight to Protect Consumers
Train in Deadly 2015 Amtrak Derailment Had Safety Equipment That Could Have Prevented It
Supreme Court Declines to Reconsider Deference to Agency Interpretations of Agency Regulations
Court Showdown Over Obama’s Climate Rule Delayed Until the Fall
DOJ Files Lawsuit Against North Carolina Over Bathroom Law
Report: 73 Percent of Consumers Misled by ‘Natural’ Labels
FDA to Re-evaluate Definition of ‘Healthy’
Big Banks Want to Take the Sting Out of Payday Loans. Predatory Lenders Are Not Happy About It.
Feds Try to Make College More Accessible for Ex-Convicts
The E-Cigarette Industry Desperately Needed F.D.A. Oversight
Will a Corporate Carve-Out Derail Criminal Justice Reform?
Confessions of an Ex-Regulator: Farzad Mostashari on How Government Should Work
Bank Customers Get a Fighting Chance
Metro’s Mishaps Raise Scrutiny on Safety Agencies
Ending Tax Break for Ultrawealthy May Not Take Act of Congress
Appropriations Trickery in Congress
The Misguided Manifesto of Regulatory Reform
States Ask EPA for Help on Climate Rule Plans
FDA Reconsiders Training Requirements for Painkillers
In Light of Mitsubishi’s Fuel Economy Fibs, EPA Orders New Tests
Study: US Oil Field Source of Global Uptick in Air Pollution
U.S. to Curb Queries on Criminal Histories of Government Job Seekers
New U.S. Rules for Standardized Testing Have Been Drafted. Here’s What They Mean for Kids.
SEC Cracks Down on Novel Earnings Measures That Boost Profits
Republicans Shoot Down Rule That Bans Financial Advisers From Scamming Retirees
White House Threatens to Veto Bill Blocking Financial Adviser Rule
Mayors Push Obama to Write Methane Regulations
AFL-CIO: 150 Workers Killed Per Day
Obama to Visit Flint to Discuss Water Crisis
States Still Thinking About CO2 Cuts Regardless of Rule Status
NRC Staff Push Agency to Address Escalating Safety Concerns
3 Pesticides Are Putting Nearly All U.S. Endangered Species at Risk
US Regulators Seek More Fuel Tests from Mitsubishi
EPA Weighs Tougher Pollution Rules at National Parks
EPA Advances State Incentives Despite Hold on Climate Rule
Tenneco Says it Will Benefit From Increased Regulation on Auto Makers
SEC to Withdraw Order Granting Steven Rattner’s Return to Wall Street
Source: VW to Pay $1B to Diesel Owners, Buy Back Some Cars
Federal Fracking Rule in Hands of Federal Judge in Wyoming
Are We Repeating History by Letting Our Financial Sector Get Too Big?
Regulators Line Up to Consider New Executive Compensation Proposal
‘Everyone Has the Right to Breathe’: The Most- and Least-Polluted U.S. Cities
Three State and City Officials Facing Criminal Charges in Flint Water Crisis
Can Fresh Air Blow Away the Case Against Obama’s Climate Policy?
VW Owners Seek Trial If There’s No Fix in Emissions Case
Obama Rule Helping Workers Unionize More Quickly: Study
Obama Warns GOP Against Blocking Water Rule
U.S. Issues New Rules on Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling
Some Deadly Takata Air Bags May Need to Be Replaced Twice to Ensure Safety
Kids Are Strangling on Blind Cords When We’ve Known for Years They’re Dangerous
Fracking’s Total Environmental Impact Is Staggering, Report Finds
Obama to Help Push for Open Market for Cable Set-Top Boxes
A Court Is About to Make One of the Most Important Decisions in the History of the Internet
Banks Still Too Big to Regulate
Are We Enforcing the Regulations We Have, or Not?
Air Bag Danger: US Counts 85M Unrecalled Takata Inflators
Watchdogs Praise Fed’s ‘Living Wills’ Decision as Wall Street Fumes
Agency: New Rules Needed to Make Offshore Drilling Safer
Court Orders SEC Response to Political Spending Petition
SEC Nominee Caught in Crossfire Over Corporate Political Spending
Study: Women Lose $500B a Year From Unequal Pay
Feds Push Stronger Cyber Protections at Nuclear Sites
Financial Reform and MetLife: The Judge Got it (Mostly) Wrong
Judgment Day for Reckless Executives
Ruling Behind MetLife’s ‘Too Big to Fail’ Reprieve Unsealed
SEC Picks in Jeopardy as Some Democrats Revolt
CFPB Head Defends Record to Republicans
Feds Propose New Standards for Animals Certified as ‘Organic’
While Lobbying Against Safety Regulations, Exxon Admits to Potential for Stranded Assets
A Corporate Tax Dodge Gets Harder
6 Years After Coal Blast Killed 29, Former Coal Baron Heads to Jail for Workplace Safety Convictions
Clinton: New Retirement Rules Stop Wall Street from ‘Ripping Off’ Americans
New Death from Faulty Takata Airbag Confirmed
Amtrak Crash Probe Indicates Basic Safety Measure Wasn’t Deployed
Stricter Rules Unveiled for Brokers Giving Retirement Advice
How SEC Lost the Race to Regulate Retirement Advice
Pfizer and Allergan Call Off Their $160 Billion Merger After U.S. Move to Block Inversions
Consequences of Gas Leak Could Lead to California Blackouts
The DEA Will Decide Whether to Change Course on Marijuana by July
MetLife and the Threat to Dodd-Frank
Can Coal Companies Afford to Clean up Coal Country?
Obama’s Latest Food Crackdown: Salt
Over 200 Current, Former Lawmakers Back Obama in Climate Case
FDA Proposes New Arsenic Limit in Infant Cereal
Treasury’s Game of Whac-A-Mole: Keeping Corporate Taxes in the USA
TSA Ramps Up Security, Warns Against Lone Actors After Brussels
FDA Sets New Requirements to Address Opioid-Abuse Concerns
Coalition of Unions, Consumer Groups Press Regulators on Bank ‘Living Wills’
Union ‘Persuader’ Rule to Be Unveiled
U.S. Aims to Complete New Rule on Retirement Investment Advice in Early April
Beyond Flint: Excessive Lead Levels Found in Almost 2,000 Water Systems Across All 50 States
Report of 10,000 Severe Workplace Injuries Might Be Only Half the Problem
Automakers Agree to Put Automatic Braking in Cars by 2022
Observers: Judge Garland Typically Deferential to EPA
Labor Chief Pushing White House Over Overtime, Silica Protections
Commuter Chaos Looms as Metro Shuts Down Wednesday
Democrats Push SEC Nominees on Corporate Political Spending
CDC Warns Doctors About the Dangers of Prescribing Opioid Painkillers
Senators, Google Urge National U.S. Self-Driving Regulations
Supreme Court Ruling on Clean Power Plan Doesn’t Halt EPA Action or Change Timeline
The White House’s Common-Sense Idea to Protect Retirement Savings
White House Close to Finalizing New Overtime Rules
Ex-Worker Says VW Destroyed Documents, Obstructed Justice
Obama Administration to Withdraw Atlantic Oil and Gas Drilling Proposal
Labor Chief Defends Financial Adviser Rule
Nestlé Recalls DiGiorno, Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s Products
Protecting the Privacy of Internet Users
CFTC Commissioner Withdraws Controversial Report on Position Limits
Environmental Policies Are Good for Business and Innovation, Study Says
How Toothless Regulation Makes Raising Secret Campaign Money Easier
Trudeau, Obama to Unveil Measures for Safeguarding Arctic
Volkswagen’s Top US Executive Out Amid Emissions Scandal
White House Throws Weight Behind FCC Internet Subsidy Plan
FAA Proposes Rule to Overhaul Small Plane Safety Standards
DOT Eyeing Sleepy Truck Drivers
Growth of Financial Tech Industry Requires Unified Regulation
Republicans Want It Both Ways on Agency Independence
Political Sleaze Hurting Financial Regulation
SEC’s White Says Stock-Market Overhaul Won’t Happen This Year
FCC to Offer Internet Subsidies to Poor
New School Lunch Standards Are Working. So Why Does Congress Want to Knock Them Down?
F.C.C. Fine-Tunes Plan to Subsidize Internet Access
Verizon Settles With F.C.C. Over Hidden Tracking Via ‘Supercookies’
The FEC Just Made It Easier for Super PAC Donors to Hide Their Identities
Class Action Suit Filed by Residents Over Flint Water Crisis
Education Department Under Fire Over Military Student Borrowers
Fed to Unveil New Rules Aimed at Corralling Banks’ Risk
EPA Largely Prefers Senate’s Chemical Safety Bill
Consumer Group Calls for Action Against Comcast Streaming Video
Group Asks Lawmakers to Push for Updated Fire Safety Regulations
This Is How Unethical Financial Advisers Can Get Away With It
Obama’s Energy Efficiency Rules Will Last, Moniz Says
A New Electric Grid Calls for New Reliability Rules
Democrats Press SEC Chief Mary Jo White on Diversity Initiative
The RushCard Fiasco Exposed the Danger of Unregulated Banking
Dems Push Feds on Overtime Rule
EPA Wants States to Double-Check Drinking Water Procedures
New, Stronger FDA Warning for Essure Birth Control Implant
EPA Asks Mercedes for Information on Diesel Emissions
DuPont Rakes in Federal Dollars Despite History of Hazards
Nail Salon Sweeps in New York Reveal Abuses and Regulatory Challenges
A Lesson From Scalia: Regulatory Reform Is Obstruction
Kids in Danger Far Beyond Flint, Too
Dem Senators Push Takata to Expand Air Bag Recall
New FDA Head Robert Califf Vows to Use ‘Bully Pulpit,’ Better Explain Agency Decisions
Labor Department Proposes Sick Day Rule
Greens’ Vote Scorecard Slams ‘Relentless Attacks’ on Environment in 2015
Gas Facility That Had Blowout Will Have to Play by New Rules
Scientists Find Cause of Takata Air Bag Explosions
Dems Accuse Takata of ‘Widespread Manipulation’ of Airbag Tests
Citibank Settles with Regulators Over Debt Collection Practices
Environmental Groups Are Pushing to Overhaul the Way the U.S. and Canada Review Pipelines
Takata Airbag Troubles Continue: 90 Million More Vehicles May Be Recalled
After the Stay: Where All 50 States Stand
Regulators Ban Lithium Ion Battery Air Shipments
Drone Users Face Jail Time, Fines If They Don’t Register
Health Officials Petition FDA for Warning Labels on Painkillers
The IRS Gives Up on Fighting ‘Dark Money’
Obama’s Reg Czar Heads to Congress
AP-NORC Poll: Democrats Big on Market Regulation, Inequality
Consumer Watchdog Tries to Play Nice with Financial Technology Firms
Water Runs Black in Texas Town Already Wracked by Corruption Arrests
California’s Gas Gusher is Stanched, But Where are Tougher U.S. Rules on Leaks?
Federal Reserve’s Risky Decision to Loosen Bank Capital Rules
Fannie, Freddie Regulator Warns of Risks of Shrinking Capital
America Is on the Cusp of the Biggest Fight Against Toxic Chemicals in Decades
It’s Time for Congress to Stand Up for Air Travelers
Here’s How California Could Be Missing Pesticides’ Cancer Risk
Moderate Democrats Helped Wall Street Avoid Regulation in the ’90s. They’re Doing It Again.
Group Pushes Feds to Declare Flint a Disaster Area
Methane Leaks Erase Climate Benefit of Fracked Gas, Countless Studies Find
Across the Country, People Are Breathing Unhealthy Levels of a Major Pollutant
FCC Approves Proposal to Boost TV Set-Top Box Competition
The Mercury Rule Will Save Even More Money Than the EPA Thought
Scalia’s Death Boosts Legal Chances for Obama’s Climate Plan
GM Recalls 200,000 Cars for Takata Air Bag Trouble
Federal Reserve’s Kashkari Says Banks ‘Still Too Big to Fail’
USDA Rules Would Increase Food Stamp Access to Healthy Foods
Federal Contractors with History of OSHA Violations Battle New Safety Rules
The Supreme Court Just Gave the Finger to Obama’s Plan to Slow Climate Change
A Surprise Player Emerges in the Government’s Historic Auction of Airwaves
Obama Administration to Tweak Proposed Offshore Drilling Rule
Monsanto Pays $80 Million to Settle Accounting Charges
Dems Push for Greater Labor Protections for TSA Workers
Government Will Consider Google Computer to be Car’s Driver
Third-Party Cable Boxes Won’t be Allowed to Spy on You (Too Much), Regulators Vow
Public Interest Groups Stir Budget Fight
What Last Year’s Budget Battle Says About Obama’s Final Spending Showdown
Obama Looks to Double Funding for Wall Street Regulators
Lead in the Water, Way Beyond Flint
Meet the ‘Rented White Coats’ Who Defend Toxic Chemicals
This Meat Company Dumps More Pollution into Waterways Each Year than ExxonMobil
Why Cass Sunstein Is Wrong on Regulatory Reform
Big Freight Railroads Won’t Meet Safety Technology Deadline
Takata Panel Finds Problems With Its Quality Processes
CFPB Asks Banks to Make Low-Cost Accounts Available to Consumers
Toyota Unit Enters $21.9 Million Settlement Over Alleged Auto Loan Racial Bias
The Environment’s Top Lobbyist: Selling Carpets and Fighting Republicans
Flint Evokes the Public Health Racism of Years Past
Regulators Hit ‘Dark Pools’ with More Than $150 Million in Penalties
Is “Fragrance” Making Us Sick?
EPA Fracking Study Faulted by Science Panel Citing Failed Wells
Group Pressures Dems to Oppose Reg Reform Package
Elizabeth Warren: One Way to Rebuild Our Institutions
White House Announces Actions to Advance Equal Pay
Obama Signs Child-Proof Packaging Standards for E-Cigs
Labor Department’s Tougher Retirement Advice Rule Nears Completion
The Supreme Court Rules for Common Sense in Electricity Case
Senate Dems Pitch $400 Million Fix for Lead Pipes in Flint
SBA Changes the Definition of What It Means to Be a Small Wholesaler
Federal Trade Commission Sues DeVry University for Deceptive Advertising
Dozens of Dangerous Texas Plants Operate Near Public Centers
A Power Congress Grabbed, Then Rarely Used
Democrat Mark Warner Teams Up with Republicans to Weaken Consumer Protection, Other Financial Reform
The Price of Requiring Regulators to Do More Cost-Benefit Analysis
Lead Pipes Lurk in Older Neighborhoods Across the Nation
California Gas Leak Spotlights Shoddy Regulation of Aging Storage Wells
Takata Airbag Flaw Linked to 10th Death; 5 Million More Vehicles Recalled
U.S. Auto Recalls Last Year Set Record at 51 Million
Feds Promise ‘Muscular’ Auto Enforcement After Recalls
California Gas Leak Spotlights Shoddy Regulation of Aging Storage Wells
Obama’s Carbon Rule Victory Is More Important Than You Think
Proposed Legislation Would Add Scrutiny of Wall Street Regulators
Obama’s Justice Department Likes Criminally Prosecuting People, But Not Corporations
Just How Much Does Koch Industries Pollute?
Toxic Reality Facing the Poor, Americans of Color
Gov’t to Announce New Safety Relationship with Automakers
In U.S., Trial Begins in General Motors Ignition Switch Case
U.S. and California Reject VW’s Proposed Fix to Cheating Scandal
Obama Emphasizes Need to Protect Workers’ Retirement Savings
Greens Ask the EPA to Take Over Pollution Enforcement in Texas
Financial Crisis Still Divides GOP, Democrats
Massive Gas Leak Spurs Legislation to Avert Future Disasters
Toxic “Reform” Law Will Gut State Rules on Dangerous Chemicals
Feds Promise Daily DC Metro Safety Inspections
This Energy Company Wants to Legally Dump Coal Ash Waste Into Virginia Rivers
House Passes Regulatory Reform Bills
Dems Push Obama to Tighten Campaign Spending Rules
Want Killer Financial Regulation? Just Combine Bernie Sanders’ Plan with Hillary Clinton’s.
How New Regulations Saved Consumers Billions in Credit Card Fees
EPA Chief: Obama Administration Will Seek to Lock in Climate Gains in 2016
White House Threatens to Veto GOP Reg Reform Bills
The Obama Administration Could Repeat Its Biggest Mistake of the Financial Crisis
Racing to Cement a Wall Street Legacy
The U.S. EPA Called Fracking Safe. Now Its Scientists Disagree
New Obama Guidelines: Lean Meat Has Role in Healthy Diet
Governor of California Declares a State of Emergency Over Massive Methane Leak
Volkswagen Slapped with Federal Lawsuit in Emissions-Cheating Scandal
Sanders Vowing to Break Up Banks During First Year in Office
Feds Blow Past Deadline for Dietary Guidelines
GAO Faults Corporate Boards on Diversity
Oklahoma Oil, Gas Regulators Order Changes After Earthquakes