Richard Tafoya
Jan 23rd, 2009, 08:14 PM
Bloomberg:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090121/pl_bloomberg/a7jjkjwj6lm0_1
Bush administration proposals to ease emission requirements for factories and require some foods to carry country-of-origin labels are among pending regulations that President Barack Obama blocked on his first day in office.
...
New presidents have often sought to stop proposals made in the last days of the previous chief executive. President George W. Bush froze publication of rules in the Federal Register when he took office, blocking regulations offered by President Bill Clinton. This year, the Bush administration sought to make about two dozen rules effective before he left office yesterday so that changing them would require congressional action or a lengthy administrative process.
Emanuel’s memo directs agencies not to move any pending rule through the process that makes it final and asks agency officials to extend for 60 days their effectives dates.
“This memo represents the Obama administration’s first step in reversing the regulatory policies of the Bush administration,” said Reece Rushing, director of regulatory policy at the Center for American Progress. “It provides time for the new political leadership to review last-minute Bush actions and decide what to throw out or revise.”
One proposed rule frozen by Obama would make it easier for industrial plants and refineries to expand operations without applying for new pollution permits under the Clean Air Act. Environmentalists have said the rule could let factory owners avoid investing in emission-control equipment.
The freeze also halts an Agriculture Department rule that sets requirements for country-of-origin labeling on meat and other perishable food items. Opponents of the measure said the Bush rule would let meat produced in a domestic facility that also processes animals from abroad carry a multicountry designation, blurring the distinctions between U.S. and imported meats.
“The Emanuel memo would give USDA an opportunity to tighten up the rule,” said Matt Madia, a regulatory policy analyst for OMB Watch, a Washington-based government watchdog group.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090121/pl_bloomberg/a7jjkjwj6lm0_1
Bush administration proposals to ease emission requirements for factories and require some foods to carry country-of-origin labels are among pending regulations that President Barack Obama blocked on his first day in office.
...
New presidents have often sought to stop proposals made in the last days of the previous chief executive. President George W. Bush froze publication of rules in the Federal Register when he took office, blocking regulations offered by President Bill Clinton. This year, the Bush administration sought to make about two dozen rules effective before he left office yesterday so that changing them would require congressional action or a lengthy administrative process.
Emanuel’s memo directs agencies not to move any pending rule through the process that makes it final and asks agency officials to extend for 60 days their effectives dates.
“This memo represents the Obama administration’s first step in reversing the regulatory policies of the Bush administration,” said Reece Rushing, director of regulatory policy at the Center for American Progress. “It provides time for the new political leadership to review last-minute Bush actions and decide what to throw out or revise.”
One proposed rule frozen by Obama would make it easier for industrial plants and refineries to expand operations without applying for new pollution permits under the Clean Air Act. Environmentalists have said the rule could let factory owners avoid investing in emission-control equipment.
The freeze also halts an Agriculture Department rule that sets requirements for country-of-origin labeling on meat and other perishable food items. Opponents of the measure said the Bush rule would let meat produced in a domestic facility that also processes animals from abroad carry a multicountry designation, blurring the distinctions between U.S. and imported meats.
“The Emanuel memo would give USDA an opportunity to tighten up the rule,” said Matt Madia, a regulatory policy analyst for OMB Watch, a Washington-based government watchdog group.