White House Order Changes How Government Agencies Write Rules

The White House has quietly changed the way federal agencies write government regulations, a move that is infuriating environmentalists and public advocacy groups, but drawing praise from big business.

An executive order released with little fanfare earlier this month would significantly alter the federal rulemaking process by forcing the roughly 400 government agencies to provide more justifications for the rules they write. The order also would make it harder for agencies to issue the informal guidance documents that are frequently treated like official rules.

The thousands of regulations crafted each year by federal agencies like the Enivronmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration have a big impact on industry, and business groups say the requirements of the executive order will rein in an out-of-control regulatory process and provide more clarity to the tangle of government rules.

Watchdog groups like Public Citizen and OMB Watch disagree. They characterize the changes as an administration power grab that will damage the government's ability to safeguard public health and allow the White House to bypass Congress.

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stops it cold.

But we do, and any move is suspect. Ay-ai-ay. Hope this gets scrutiny, however overdue.

Not a good sign.

to de-Bushitize the government once he's gone. How the heck do these people find the time to think of all the ways to screw the people?