to 'business interests'. They have one more year to finish us off.
One of the most high-profile of the clashes came last month, when the EPA said it would block California from becoming the first state to regulate cars' carbon-dioxide emissions.
In rejecting California's plan, the EPA effectively stopped more than a dozen states that have passed similar laws or signaled an intention to do so.
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The FDA's new effort isn't directly related to the federal-state issues, but lawyers say it has important implications. On Jan. 16, the agency proposed a new rule that laid out relatively narrow conditions under which a drug company can make changes to a medication's label without the FDA's explicit approval. Plaintiffs and pharmaceutical-industry lawyers say the move would bolster drug-company defenses claiming the agency's label decisions pre-empt further obligations that might be imposed by states.
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The Federal Railroad Administration has proposed a rule that would strengthen safety standards for commuter trains that includes language saying it would pre-empt efforts by states. Advocates in California have pressed for a state law that would go beyond the FRA's proposal. Democratic Reps. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the respective chairmen of the House transportation and homeland security committees, have objected to the FRA's pre-emption language.
An NHTSA(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) spokesman declined to comment. An FRA spokesman suggested that California might be able achieve its ends through other means, such as withholding state funds from commuter rail agencies that don't comply with stricter requirements.