[BITList] Fwd: [From: Mike Feltham] Bush sneaks through host of laws to undermine Obama

[Michael Feltham]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "guardian.co.uk" <noreply at guardian.co.uk>
Date: 14 December 2008 00:40:34 GMT
To: mj.feltham at madasafish.com
Subject: [From: Mike Feltham] Bush sneaks through host of laws to  
undermine Obama

Mike Feltham spotted this on the guardian.co.uk site and thought you  
should see it.

To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site,  
go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/14/george-bush-midnight-regulations

Bush sneaks through host of laws to undermine Obama
The lame-duck Republican team is rushing through radical measures,  
from coal waste dumping to power stations in national parks, that will  
take months to overturn, reports Paul Harris in New York
Paul Harris
Sunday December 14 2008
The Observer


After spending eight years at the helm of one of the most  
ideologically driven administrations in American history, George W.  
Bush is ending his presidency in characteristically aggressive  
fashion, with a swath of controversial measures designed to reward  
supporters and enrage opponents.

By the time he vacates the White House, he will have issued a record  
number of so-called 'midnight regulations' - so called because of the  
stealthy way they appear on the rule books - to undermine the  
administration of Barack Obama, many of which could take years to undo.

Dozens of new rules have already been introduced which critics say  
will diminish worker safety, pollute the environment, promote gun use  
and curtail abortion rights. Many rules promote the interests of large  
industries, such as coal mining or energy, which have energetically  
supported Bush during his two terms as president. More are expected  
this week.

America's attention is focused on the fate of the beleaguered car  
industry, still seeking backing in Washington for a multi-billion- 
dollar bail-out. But behind the scenes, the 'midnight' rules are being  
rushed through with little fanfare and minimal media attention. None  
of them would be likely to appeal to the incoming Obama team.

The regulations cover a vast policy area, ranging from healthcare to  
car safety to civil liberties. Many are focused on the environment and  
seek to ease regulations that limit pollution or restrict harmful  
industrial practices, such as dumping strip-mining waste.

The Bush moves have outraged many watchdog groups. 'The regulations we  
have seen so far have been pretty bad,' said Matt Madia, a regulatory  
policy analyst at OMB Watch. 'The effects of all this are going to be  
severe.'

Bush can pass the rules because of a loophole in US law allowing him  
to put last-minute regulations into the Code of Federal Regulations,  
rules that have the same force as law. He can carry out many of his  
political aims without needing to force new laws through Congress.  
Outgoing presidents often use the loophole in their last weeks in  
office, but Bush has done this far more than Bill Clinton or his  
father, George Bush sr. He is on track to issue more 'midnight  
regulations' than any other previous president.

Many of these are radical and appear to pay off big business allies of  
the Republican party. One rule will make it easier for coal companies  
to dump debris from strip mining into valleys and streams. The process  
is part of an environmentally damaging technique known as 'mountain- 
top removal mining'. It involves literally removing the top of a  
mountain to excavate a coal seam and pouring the debris into a valley,  
which is then filled up with rock. The new rule will make that dumping  
easier.

Another midnight regulation will allow power companies to build coal- 
fired power stations nearer to national parks. Yet another regulation  
will allow coal-fired stations to increase their emissions without  
installing new anti-pollution equipment.

The Environmental Defence Fund has called the moves a 'fire sale of  
epic size for coal'. Other environmental groups agree. 'The only  
motivation for some of these rules is to benefit the business  
interests that the Bush administration has served,' said Ed Hopkins, a  
director of environmental quality at the Sierra Club. A case in point  
would seem to be a rule that opens up millions of acres of land to oil  
shale extraction, which environmental groups say is highly pollutant.

There is a long list of other new regulations that have gone onto the  
books. One lengthens the number of hours that truck drivers can drive  
without rest. Another surrenders government control of rerouting the  
rail transport of hazardous materials around densely populated areas  
and gives it to the rail companies.

One more chips away at the protection of endangered species. Gun  
control is also weakened by allowing loaded and concealed guns to be  
carried in national parks. Abortion rights are hit by allowing  
healthcare workers to cite religious or moral grounds for opting out  
of carrying out certain medical procedures.

A common theme is shifting regulation of industry from government to  
the industries themselves, essentially promoting self-regulation. One  
rule transfers assessment of the impact of ocean-fishing away from  
federal inspectors to advisory groups linked to the fishing industry.  
Another allows factory farms to self-regulate disposal of pollutant  
run-off.

The White House denies it is sabotaging the new administration. It  
says many of the moves have been openly flagged for months. The spate  
of rules is going to be hard for Obama to quickly overcome. By issuing  
them early in the 'lame duck' period of office, the Bush  
administration has mostly dodged 30- or 60-day time limits that would  
have made undoing them relatively straightforward.

Obama's team will have to go through a more lengthy process of  
reversing them, as it is forced to open them to a period of public  
consulting. That means that undoing the damage could take months or  
even years, especially if corporations go to the courts to prevent  
changes.

At the same time, the Obama team will have a huge agenda on its plate  
as it inherits the economic crisis. Nevertheless, anti-midnight  
regulation groups are lobbying Obama's transition team to make sure  
Bush's new rules are changed as soon as possible. 'They are aware of  
this. The transition team has a list of things they want to undo,'  
said Madia.Final reckoning

Bush's midnight regulations will:

? Make it easier for coal companies to dump waste from strip-mining  
into valleys and streams.

? Ease the building of coal-fired power stations nearer to national  
parks.

? Allow people to carry loaded and concealed weapons in national parks.

? Open up millions of acres to mining  for oil shale.

? Allow healthcare workers to opt out of giving treatment for  
religious or moral reasons, thus weakening abortion rights.

? Hurt road safety by allowing truck drivers to stay at the wheel for  
11 consecutive hours.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008

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