A political moment — sadly, more annoying than surprising.
Bush’s Midnight Regulations Value Profits More Than People
By Leo W. Gerard, writing in the Huffington Post.
…The legacy of George W. Bush’s final days in office will be degradation of the environment, endangered species and the safety of working people.
The Bush administration is rushing to finalize dozens of new regulations, many without normal hearings or comment periods. Such last minute presidential policy-mucking is so common that the rules have a name — "midnight regulations." This set reveals Bush’s values.
They show he’s willing to sicken and kill working man and beast to accommodate profit, to further enrich his business buddies, the chamber of commerce, the wealthiest of wealthy to whom he gave that big tax break in the earliest days of his administration.
Killed could be those who drive on roadways with truckers — any of us — as well as the truckers themselves. One new rule will enable employers to schedule truck drivers for a grueling 77 hours in a seven-day period, give them just 34 hours off, then work them another 77 hours over seven days..
Sickened could be those who work in and live around power plants. Now, when utilities build or renovate plants, they’re required to install the latest pollution control devices. The new rule will allow them to circumvent that Clean Air Act requirement. The Bush administration estimates that its evasion-regulation will put an additional 70 million tons of carbon dioxide — the greenhouse gas that’s warming the planet — into the atmosphere each year. That does not even address the particulates and acid rain that result from power generation pollution.
Also sickened could be those who work with toxic substances and hazardous chemicals. Among the most outrageous of the regulations is one that will make it more difficult for the federal government to limit workers’ exposure to these substances.
The rule will add an extra step to the already lengthy process of creating standards to protect exposed workers…
What makes Bush’s decision to move forward with this regulation particularly egregious is that President-elect Barack Obama clearly stated his objection to it. In September, candidate Obama urged the Labor Department to abandon this proposed regulation, and he and four other senators introduced a bill that would have prohibited the Department from issuing it. The letter says the regulation would "create serious obstacles to protecting workers from health hazards on the job."
This pile of new rules is the insult to eight years of Bush regulatory injury. For example, for seven and a half years, the Bush Labor Department did not voluntarily issue a single health directive. Only under court order did it finally implement one health regulation. Not only that, it failed to write rules when it should have, for example, on beryllium exposure. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration backed off updating half-century-old standards for exposure to dust and fumes from the metal which can cause debilitating lung disease if inhaled even in tiny amounts. The Bush administration eliminated 22 of OSHA’s proposed health and safety rules. In addition, it gutted OSHA’s budget and staff…
