While the eight-year Bush administration has been devastating for consumers and the environment, it's extremely discouraging that Bush and his agency heads are working furiously to further weaken federal laws before they leave office.
These new anti-consumer and anti-environment regulations could be difficult to undo, R. Jeffry Smith reports in the article, "Bush Administration Seeks Last-Minute Regulations."
About 90 new regulations are being developed. Among them are rules that would:
- Ease or lift existing restrictions on private industry, including power plants, mines, and farms.
- Allow increased emissions from oil refineries, chemical factories, and other plants with complex manufacturing operations.
- Change rules governing employees who take family- and medical-related leaves.
- Weaken standards for preventing or containing oil spills.
- Remove consumer safeguards in the process for settling real estate transactions.
- Allow natural gas pipelines to operate at higher pressures.
- Lift a requirement that environmental impact statements be prepared for certain fisheries-management decisions and give review authority to regional councils dominated by commercial and recreational fishing interests.
Many Americans are suffering economically from the financial deregulation successes that Republicans have thrust upon us. Now Bush and his cronies are dashing to gut as many regulations as possible to benefit business and industry before Bush leaves office.
It's discouraging that Bush and his advisers are unable and unwilling to act even now in the public interest after the terrible financial havoc they're created.
