CommonDreams: Bush Executive Order Will Make It Harder to Protect the Public

Published on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 by CommonDreams.org
Bush Executive Order Will Make It Harder to Protect the Public
by Gary D. Bass and Rick Melberth

President Bush last month issued revisions to an executive order that further centralizes regulatory power within the White House budget office. His actions, nearly unnoticed at the time, set in motion changes that could further delay or hinder public health, safety, environmental, and civil rights protections.

Over the past 30 years, we have made significant progress through strong public safeguards. Our air and water are cleaner; our food, workplaces, and roads are safer; and civil rights protections have improved. These protections have saved many thousands of lives and improved the quality of life for all Americans – without hobbling industry or the economy.

Yet significant problems remain. Every year, more than 40,000 people die on our nation’s highways. Foodborne illnesses kill an estimated 5,000 and sicken 76 million. Nearly 6,000 workers die as a result of injury on the job, with an additional 50,000 to 60,000 killed by occupational disease. And asthma – linked to air pollution – is rising dramatically, afflicting 17 million, including six million children.

Instead of working to proactively protect public health, safety, and the environment with sensible safeguards, the Bush executive order requires all federal agencies to identify "market failures" before proposing a rule and puts the budget office in the catbird seat of assessing these analyses. In other words, if the White House budget office feels the agency has not demonstrated a market failure, it can decide that a rule is not needed. This flies in the face of Congressional mandates and common sense, and it could seriously impact the effectiveness of agency regulations.

The order will also extend the White House budget office's review to agencies' guidance documents – generally interpretive statements used to clarify regulatory obligations to industry or explain technical matters – for the first time. This can only further delay implementing health, safety and environmental protections. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0227-34.htm