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Showing 2,910 results

James Goodwin | June 13, 2013

Some Observations from the Howard Shelanski Confirmation Hearing

Yesterday’s confirmation hearing for Dr. Howard Shelanski—President Barack Obama’s nominee to serve as the next “Regulatory Czar,” or Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)—may have been the “most important hearing in Washington this week,” but it did not produce much in the way of bombshells or drama.  Rather, it […]

Lisa Heinzerling | June 11, 2013

The Obama Administration’s Plan B for Plan B: Compliance, or Defiance?

The Obama Administration’s announcement that it will comply with a district court’s order that it make emergency contraceptives available to all women and girls without a prescription comes as a welcome development in a long-running administrative-law fiasco. But the Administration’s specific suggestions as to how it will set things right, set forth in letters sent yesterday […]

Lisa Heinzerling | June 11, 2013

EPA’s Formaldehyde Rule: The Mystery of the Shrinking Benefits

Why does the White House take so long to review rules from the regulatory agencies?  As I have documented elsewhere, many rules have been stuck at the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for years.  Some of these remain there to this day.  What is the White House doing for the months […]

Sidney A. Shapiro | June 11, 2013

What We Will Be Listening for at the Howard Shelanski Confirmation Hearing

The confirmation hearing for Howard Shelanski, President Obama’s pick to serve as the Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is set to take place Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.  If confirmed, Shelanski would become the Administration’s new “Regulatory Czar,” a description that indicates the […]

Erin Kesler | June 10, 2013

CPR Scholar Frank Ackerman on Secret Climate Cost Calculations: the Sequel

Three years later, it was time for a new episode.  Back in 2010, Congress listened to some climate-denial rants, counted votes, and decided to do absolutely nothing about climate change; this year on Capitol Hill, the magic continues.   Also in 2010, the Obama administration released an estimate of “the social cost of carbon”` (SCC) […]

Frank Ackerman | June 10, 2013

CPR Scholar Frank Ackerman on Secret Climate Cost Calculations: the Sequel

Three years later, it was time for a new episode.  Back in 2010, Congress listened to some climate-denial rants, counted votes, and decided to do absolutely nothing about climate change; this year on Capitol Hill, the magic continues. Also in 2010, the Obama administration released an estimate of “the social cost of carbon”` (SCC) – […]

Robert Verchick | June 6, 2013

Robert Verchick Reacts to Congressional Letter on OIRA Delays

Late Tuesday afternoon, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representatives Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to White House Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Burwell urging her to take “prompt action” to implement rules and regulations held up at […]

Matthew Freeman | June 6, 2013

Robert Verchick Reacts to Congressional Letter on OIRA Delays

Late Tuesday afternoon, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representatives Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to White House Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Burwell urging her to take “prompt action” to implement rules and regulations held up at […]

Sidney A. Shapiro | June 5, 2013

Talking Through Their Hats: The Opposition to President Obama’s D.C. Circuit Court Nominees

In the old television series, “Cheers,” barfly and braggart Cliff Clavin was a guy who was forever “talking through his hat,” offering up an endless supply of ridiculous factoids and explanations. Cliff made for good television, but the same cannot be said for the Senate Republicans who seem to be borrowing his approach. That’s what’s […]