The Bush Administration's 11th Hour Rush to Pass A Regulation that Obama Opposes

by Teh Nutroots | The Midnight De-regulator strikes again!  As expected, Bush's minions are busy trying to inflict as much damage as they can before they're out of power.  This is of a piece with Paulson's handing out all the remaining money to his pals on Wall Street, so I guess no one will be very surprised.  20 "highly contentious" rules are currently in preparation.  (NYT)

Interestingly, this rush appears to be contrary to a memorandum from the White House chief of staff, Josh Bolten, which stated (this was back in May):  “Except in extraordinary circumstances,” Mr. Bolten wrote, “regulations to be finalized in this administration should be proposed no later than June 1, 2008, and final regulations should be issued no later than Nov. 1, 2008.”"(NYT)  But never mind that now.  

Here's one example of what these busy bees are up to:

The Labor Department is racing to complete a new rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect Barack Obama, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.

The rule, which has strong support from business groups, says that in assessing the risk from a particular substance, federal agencies should gather and analyze “industry-by-industry evidence” of employees’ exposure to it during their working lives. The proposal would, in many cases, add a step to the lengthy process of developing standards to protect workers’ health.

Public health officials and labor unions said the rule would delay needed protections for workers, resulting in additional deaths and illnesses....

The Labor Department regulates occupational health hazards posed by a wide variety of substances like asbestos, benzene, cotton dust, formaldehyde, lead, vinyl chloride and blood-borne pathogens, including the virus that causes AIDS.

The department is constantly considering whether to take steps to protect workers against hazardous substances. Currently, it is assessing substances like silica, beryllium and diacetyl, a chemical that adds the buttery flavor to some types of microwave popcorn. (NYT)

What is the Labor Department for, if not to protect industry from those interfering public health officials, always whinging on about the public's health?

The rule in question was quite actively opposed by Senator Obama before he became president-elect.

In September, Mr. Obama and four other senators introduced a bill that would prohibit the Labor Department from issuing the rule it is now rushing to complete. He also signed a letter urging the department to scrap the proposal, saying it would “create serious obstacles to protecting workers from health hazards on the job.”

Administration officials said such concerns were based on a misunderstanding of the proposal (NYT).

I am sure they did say this.  But their detractors disagree.

“This rule is being pushed through by an administration that, for the last seven and a half years, has failed to set any new OSHA health rules to protect workers, except for one issued pursuant to a court order,” said Margaret M. Seminario, director of occupational safety and health for the A.F.L.-C.I.O. (NYT).

All we can hope is that Obama really will be able to hit the ground running on reversing Bush's toxic policies, including these last minute ones. 

Discussion at memeorandum.

RELATED BUCK NAKED POLITICS POSTINGS

Bush Lies Low While His Administration Quietly Prepares to Inflict Even More Damage  (11-1-08)

Obama Gearing Up to Hit the Ground Running on Reversing Toxic Bush Administration Policies  (11-9-08)

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