White House Makes Final Push To Deregulate

Washington Post: Bush Administration Seeks To Weaken Government Rules Aimed At Protecting Consumers And The Environment

(Washington Post)  This story was written by R. Jeffrey Smith.

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The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January.

The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms.

Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining.

Once such rules take effect, they typically can be undone only through a laborious new regulatory proceeding, including lengthy periods of public comment, drafting and mandated reanalysis.

"They want these rules to continue to have an impact long after they leave office," said Matthew Madia, a regulatory expert at OMB Watch, a nonprofit group critical of what it calls the Bush administration's penchant for deregulating in areas where industry wants more freedom. He called the coming deluge "a last-minute assault on the public . . . happening on multiple fronts."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said: "This administration has taken extraordinary measures to avoid rushing regulations at the end of the term. And yes, we'd prefer our regulations stand for a very long time -- they're well reasoned and are being considered with the best interests of the nation in mind."

As many as 90 new regulations are in the works, and at least nine of them are considered "economically significant" because they impose costs or promote societal benefits that exceed $100 million annually. They include new rules governing employees who take family- and medical-related leaves, new standards for preventing or containing oil spills, and a simplified process for settling real estate transactions.

While it remains unclear how much the administration will be able to accomplish in the coming weeks, the last-minute rush appears to involve fewer regulations than Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton, approved at the end of his tenure.

In some cases, Bush's regulations reflect new interpretations of language in federal laws. In other cases, such as several new counterterrorism initiatives, they reflect new executive branch decisions in areas where Congress -- now out of session and focused on the elections -- left the president considerable discretion.

The burst of activity has made this a busy period for lobbyists who fear that industry views will hold less sway after the elections. The doors at the New Executive Office Building have been whirling with corporate officials and advisers pleading for relief or, in many cases, for hastened decision making.

According to the Office of Management and Budget's regulatory calendar, the commercial scallop-fishing industry came in two weeks ago to urge that proposed catch limits be eased, nearly bumping into National Mining Association officials making the case for easing rules meant to keep coal slurry waste out of Appalachian streams. A few days earlier, lawyers for kidney dialysis and biotechnology companies registered their complaints at the OMB about new Medicare reimbursement rules. Lobbyists for customs brokers complained about proposed counterterrorism rules that require the advance reporting of shipping data.

Bush's aides are acutely aware of the political risks of completing their regulatory work too late. On the afternoon of Bush's inauguration, Jan. 20, 2001, his chief of staff issued a government-wide memo that blocked the completion or implementation of regulations drafted in the waning days of the Clinton administration that had not yet taken legal effect.

"Through the end of the Clinton administration, we were working like crazy to get as many regulations out as possible," said Donald R. Arbuckle, who retired in 2006 after 25 years as an OMB official. "Then on Sunday, the day after the inauguration, OMB Director Mitch Daniels called me in and said, 'Let's pull back as many of these as we can.'"

[nuffera]

Please shut him up and don''t let him touch anything else! He still has 70 some days to really finish what he and his henchmen started..the gutting of this country financially with the help of Wall Street, the subprime loans to people who only wanted to have the "american dream" which is a total myth.
The ceos of these companies are stealing the middle class and the poor blind, while this idiot lets them.
Please lock him a closet until Jan!!!

[arthurcl1]

Even after deregulating the Banks, now he wants to Deregulate everything else. What a lousy Bush President who knows nothing but helping his Business Buddies get richer and the taxpayer poorer.

[asuzzoo]

I have two questions: 1. How do we let Americans KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON without it seeming to have political undertones? This is a gross violation of the America many of us put first. 2. HOW DO WE STOP IT?

If you''re in Texas, writing your Congressman is about as useful as spitting at a hurricane. I have sent as many people as I can this article, but can CBS News please let us know what actions we can take to stop this raping and pillaging?

[missingamerica]

It is obvious to me that the very first thing the next President needs to do is declare a certain ranch in Crawford County, Texas a nature reserve offlimits to all human activity pending further review.

[hroams]

Bush is a drugstore cowboy, all hat and no cattle. He only bought that place in Crawford for his presidential run and I guarantee you he will not be on a ranch 6 months from now. If there is any justice left in this world he will be in courtroom at The Hague. The Republicans know full well the consequences of putting his regime on trial in this country.
Posted by mavnomore at 08:43 AM : Nov 01, 2008

W is abosolutely as drugstore cowboy, he''s not from Texas at all and actually has lived far less than half of his life here.Is so much into being what Texas after the Civil war called carpetbaggers and he fits the description exactly.

W may have to do what the former president of Mexico Carlos de Gortari did in the 1990''s move to a county that doesn''t have an extradition treaty with the US. The former Mexican president and his family stole over $500,000,000 from Mexico and bribes and hauled out. W may do the same!!

[hroams]

Wait until you see W''s pardons list that will come outat 11:59 P.M. on 1/19/09. I understand that it is ten (10) pages of single spaced lines and starts with
"W", I pardon myself, then Darth, Al, Trent, Petraeus, Rummy, Paulson, Bernanke, Hastert, Delay, Renzi, Craig, Foley, Crist, Keating, McCain, Scooter, Palin, Mecam, Rove, Bartlett, Gates, Franks, Brownie, Tenet, Powell, etc.

[abbe91]

"Bush''s team was able to withdraw 254 regulations that covered such matters as drug and airline safety, ..."

and then came 9/11.

[mavnomore]

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: The House just passed President Bush''s bill to redefine the treatment of detainees, and the Senate''s expected to do the same thing tomorrow. Buried deep inside this legislation is a provision that will pardon President Bush and all the members of his administration of any possible crimes connected with the torture and mistreatment of detainees dated all the way back to September 11, 2001.

At least President Nixon had Gerald Ford to do his dirty work. President Bush is trying to pardon himself.

Here''s the deal.

Under the War Crimes Act, violations of the Geneva Conventions are felonies. In some cases, punishable by death.

When the Supreme Court ruled the Geneva Conventions applied to al Qaeda and Taliban detainees, President Bush and his boys were suddenly in big trouble. They had been working these prisoners over pretty good.

In an effort to avoid possible prosecution, they''re trying to cram this bill through Congress before the end of the week when Congress adjourns. The reason there''s such a rush to do this, if the Democrats get control of the House in November, well, this kind of legislation probably wouldn''t pass.

You want to know the real disgrace of what these people are about to do or are in the process of doing? Senator Bill Frist and Congressman Dennis Hastert and their Republican stooges apparently don''t see anything wrong with this.

I really do wonder sometimes what we''re becoming in this country.

[mavnomore]

The Cowardly Cowboy has no concience and therefore, no shame! He will be remembered as the worst President in history!

Posted by excoachken

Bush is a drugstore cowboy, all hat and no cattle. He only bought that place in Crawford for his presidential run and I guarantee you he will not be on a ranch 6 months from now. If there is any justice left in this world he will be in courtroom at The Hague. The Republicans know full well the consequences of putting his regime on trial in this country.

And for those Bush Dead Enders that still defend him to this day, you''ve got to wonder why he is trying so hard to shield himself from potential prosecution if he has done nothing wrong.

[excoachken]

The Cowardly Cowboy has no concience and therefore, no shame! He will be remembered as the worst President in history!