Washington Post: Bush Administration Seeks To Weaken Government Rules Aimed At Protecting Consumers And The Environment
I think this is a real, genuine WTF. You know, if they didn't have time to do it in the 8 years they were in office, and it's their last few months in the WH, they shouldn't be attempting to ram through regulatory changes at the last minute. Whether I thought some of them were good or not, I didn't agree with Clinton trying to push a bunch of last minute shit through (Bush was able to pull back most of it) and I think it's bullshit Bush is now trying to do the same thing.
In our current environment, whoever takes office has enough shit to deal with, enough damage to repair - that they do not need to have last minute bullshit they need to spend valuable time and focus - on undoing.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/ ... 0169.shtml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 49_pf.html
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2 ... f_chan.php
So I'm a bit boggled, why leave your legacy even more tainted than it already is?
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."
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.
