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.
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