Bush Exerts More Control

The New York TImes reports on a new Bush executive order that requires every federal agency to "have a regulatory policy office run by a political appointee, to supervise the development of rules and documents providing guidance to regulated industries. The White House will thus have a gatekeeper in each agency to analyze the costs and the benefits of new rules and to make sure the agencies carry out the president’s priorities."

At first this sounded strange to me. If the agencies are in the executive branch, don't they already do what Bush wants? The EPA is doing nothing about global warming, scientists are being stiffled, Apparently not entirely:

"Typically, agencies issue regulations under authority granted to them in laws enacted by Congress. In many cases, the statute does not say precisely what agencies should do, giving them considerable latitude in interpreting the law and developing regulations." Now to issue a regulation they must show “the specific market failure” or problem that justifies government intervention. Also they have to estimate “the combined aggregate costs and benefits of all its regulations” each year.

Apparently the order will also reign in so-called guidance documents. "Under the new White House policy, any guidance document expected to have an economic effect of $100 million a year or more must be posted on the Internet, and agencies must invite public comment, except in emergencies in which the White House grants an exemption." And they can't create new mandatory requirements.

The Times managed to find some people with impressive sounding titles to give really damning commentary:

Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California and chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said: “The executive order allows the political staff at the White House to dictate decisions on health and safety issues, even if the government’s own impartial experts disagree. This is a terrible way to govern, but great news for special interests.”

Wesley P. Warren, program director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who worked at the White House for seven years under President Bill Clinton, said, “The executive order is a backdoor attempt to prevent E.P.A. from being able to enforce environmental safeguards that keep cancer-causing chemicals and other pollutants out of the air and water.”