rules and regulations
"In an executive order published last week in the Federal Register, Mr. Bush said that each agency must 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.
This strengthens the hand of the White House in shaping rules that have, in the past, often been generated by civil servants and scientific experts. It suggests that the administration still has ways to exert its power after the takeover of Congress by the Democrats.
The White House said the executive order was not meant to rein in any one agency. But business executives and consumer advocates said the administration was particularly concerned about rules and guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration."
(from the New York Times)
In a time when scientists at NOAA and other government agencies are being told that they must not discuss climate change, I cannot help but be concerned about the notion of a "regulated policy office". It sounds very big-government... though more than anything it makes me think of the Soviat zampolit, "political officer".
This strengthens the hand of the White House in shaping rules that have, in the past, often been generated by civil servants and scientific experts. It suggests that the administration still has ways to exert its power after the takeover of Congress by the Democrats.
The White House said the executive order was not meant to rein in any one agency. But business executives and consumer advocates said the administration was particularly concerned about rules and guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration."
(from the New York Times)
In a time when scientists at NOAA and other government agencies are being told that they must not discuss climate change, I cannot help but be concerned about the notion of a "regulated policy office". It sounds very big-government... though more than anything it makes me think of the Soviat zampolit, "political officer".