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Showing 164 results

Ben Somberg

Media Manager

Ben Somberg | June 15, 2012

EPA Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee Nominees and Conflict of Interest Concerns

CPR President Rena Steinzor and Senior Policy Analyst Matthew Shudtz sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson this morning concerning the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). From the letter: We are concerned that the recent establishment of the SAB Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee (CAAC) institutionalizes yet another opportunity for potentially regulated parties to […]

Ben Somberg | June 12, 2012

Conservatives Blast Obama Administration for Its Environmental Actions in 2007

Rep. Joe Barton, speaking at a hearing last week, stuck it to President Obama’s EPA (at 39:00): In Idaho, just recently, the Obama Administration went against a family called the Sacketts on a wetlands issue. Again, Mr. Chairman, the Congress sets the rules, and the Administration enforces them. This Obama Administration, in the case of […]

Ben Somberg | June 6, 2012

CPR Member Scholar Joel Mintz Testifying at House Hearing on EPA Enforcement

The House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power holds a hearing today on “EPA Enforcement Priorities and Practices.” CPR Member Scholar Joel Mintz, Professor at Nova Southeastern University Law Center, will be testifying. From his testimony: .. during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration, the civil penalties assessed against […]

Ben Somberg | May 9, 2012

Administration’s Decision to Throw Young Agricultural Workers Under the Bus Fails To Sway Some Critics

When the Administration withdrew a rule last month prohibiting young agricultural workers from performing some particularly dangerous tasks, the Department of Labor’s statement didnt’t just say it was tabling the proposal, or reconsidering it, or even starting over from scratch. It went an extra step, adding: “To be clear, this regulation will not be pursued […]

Ben Somberg | April 30, 2012

Administrative Conference of the United States Teams Up with Chamber of Commerce on Regulations

In its own words, the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) is “an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures.” On Tuesday afternoon, ACUS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are jointly sponsoring an event at […]

Ben Somberg | April 19, 2012

Mitt Romney Struggles to Find an Actual Example of Obama Administration Regulatory Overreach

On March 19, in a major economic policy address, Mitt Romney painted a portrait of a real-life “victim” of the Obama Administration’s supposed overregulation: This administration’s burdensome regulations are even invading the freedom of everyday Americans.  Mike and Chantell Sackett run a small business in Idaho.  They saved enough money to buy a piece of […]

Ben Somberg | April 2, 2012

Member Scholars Write to EPA Concerning Slow Consideration of Citizen Environmental Complaints in NAFTA Countries

When the United States signed NAFTA, it also signed the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), which allows, among other things, for citizens to submit complaints to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) with claims that their own governments are failing to enforce environmental laws. That key provision is in danger, a group of […]

Ben Somberg | March 6, 2012

Greenhouse Gas Rule Now Stalled at White House Beyond Time Limit of Executive Order

On November 7 of last year, EPA sent the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) a rather important proposed rule – one that will, in some way, limit greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants.  The Greenhouse Gas New Source Performance Standard for Electric Generating Units for New Sources has now been […]

Ben Somberg | December 22, 2011

American Chemistry Council Doesn’t Get What it Wants in Omnibus; Pretends to EPA That it Does

On Tuesday, the American Chemistry Council sent EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson a letter about the provisions regarding IRIS toxic chemical assessments in the omnibus spending bill. The ACC said: H.R. 2055 also directs EPA to include documentation describing how the NAS Chapter 7 recommendations have been implemented or addressed in all IRIS assessments released in […]