President Obama issued an order on Jan 30 signaling his desire to improve the manner in which the Office of Management and Budget reviews federal agencies’ regulatory initiatives. In his Memorandum to Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, the President noted: “For well over two decades, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at […]
Legal scholars with the Center for Progressive Reform issued today “The Choices Facing Cass Sunstein,” an assessment of the writings of President Obama’s nominee for the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The authors reviewed Prof. Sunstein’s writing and report specifically on his staunch support for cost-benefit analysis and the “centralization of […]
by Ellen Smith A supervisor was hurt in a roof fall December 10, 2008 at a six-employee anthracite mine that owes more than $100,000 in delinquent civil penalties, MSHA records showed. The foreman at S & M Coal Co.’s Buck Mountain Slope in Dauphin County, Pa., met loose roof while he was working alone in a heading, according […]
Last week The Pump Handle featured an article by Carole Bass entitled Why is Black Lung back? In response, a former coal miner offers his views on why coal miners in the U.S. continue to develop and suffer from this occupational lung disease that is 100% preventable. He writes: Thank you for your article on […]
The Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward reports: “Less than a week before leaving office, the Bush administration is preparing to issue an emergency health advisory for drinking water polluted with the toxic chemical C8. …EPA plans to recommend reducing consumption of water that contains more than 0.4 parts per billion of C8, according to a draft […]
Yesterday, I was pressed for time when I wrote “OSHA revises its field ops manual.”  I didn’t have time to comb through the new 322-page manual , let alone spend much time writing the blog post itself. A funny thing happens sometimes when I rush to put together a blog post—like a magnet, I’m pulled back to the topic, […]
OSHA released on Friday, Jan 9, a new Field Operations Manual (FOM) for OSHA compliance officers and their supervisors who work in OSHA’s area and regional offices. The 322-page manual is the procedural how-to guide for scheduling and conducting inspections, documenting violations of workplace safety and health standards, and proposing penalties. In the news release announcing the new manual for […]
The Washington Post reported yesterday that President-elect Obama wants Harvard law professor Cass R. Sunstein to serve as the head of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs ( OIRA).  I’m not prepared at this point to tangle intellectually with a  magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, who was a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and a law […]
Senator Edward Kennedy’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP Committee) held a hearing today to consider the nomination of Hilda Solis to be the nation’s 25 Secretary of Labor. A webcast replay of the proceedings is available (here), as is a copy of Ms. Solis’ written testimony. Here are a few highlights from her written remarks: “The Labor Department just […]
Mr. Martimiano Torres, 37, was finishing up his 12-hour shift at about 5:30 am at the  Hallett Materials aggregate operation on Oct 1, 2008, when his pick-up truck curved off the road into a dredge pond. He drowned. The surface mine is located in Porter, Texas, outside of Houston, and owned by the multi-national corporation CRH.   MSHA released […]