Agencies Postpone Issuing New Rules Until After Election

[Khephra]

After a case of mad cow disease surfaced in Washington State late last year, federal regulators vowed to move swiftly to adopt rules to reduce the risks of further problems and restore confidence in the nation's meat industry.

Some rules were adopted this year. But a few weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration, after heavy lobbying from the beef and feed industries, took steps to delay - and to the concern of food safety groups, possibly kill - completion of the most controversial and perhaps most expensive proposal for cattle companies.

That proposal would sharply restrict what could be included in animal feed. Shortly after the administration slowed its consideration of the rule, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association broke its nonpartisan tradition and endorsed President Bush for re-election.

The F.D.A. decision was part of a broader pattern.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/27/business/27regs.html

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Do Not Open Before the Presidential Election

Among the proposed rules that have been postponed until after Election Day are:

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE A proposal made by William H. Donaldson, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to give shareholders a say in removing the directors of troubled companies.

Mr. Donaldson embraced an agency report on the issue in the summer of 2003 and vowed to adopt new rules quickly. But the commission and the administration were lobbied heavily by the Business Roundtable, an organization of the chief executives of the nation's largest companies, and Mr. Donaldson has wavered. Agency officials now say there is virtually no chance they will complete the rules before the election.

more...............

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/27/business/27rules.html

[Eye and Monkey]

1. Anyone know the Bushism for "fuck you"?

It's..."Trust Me".

[bluedeminredstate]

2. And yet the Swifties

occupied weeks of talk and print - mostly innuendo, some of which had been discredited previously, and then also the media whores failed to point of the absolute lack of credibility that many of these men had...

Mad Cow Disease is a PUBLIC SAFETY issue - especially what goes into the feed for these animals since it is believed to be passed along that way if the feed has beef byproducts from sick animals. And of course there is no reliable tracking system for this because feed can be made from byproducts of many, many animals.

But I suppose we should be thankful that it's mentioned in passing in the NYT which is better than nothing, but I can almost guarantee that it won't be discussed on TV where they have 24 hours on three cable networks to fill with important issues like this. If only they could stop obssessing about Laci Peterson, Kobe Bryant and how John Kerry showed such gall by going windsurfing in a sissy bathingsuit I might be able to stand it for more than 15 minute stretches. I must admit, I do watch Crossfire because I don't want to miss it if Tucker Carlson's head really does explode someday!
:eyes:

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Absolutely frightening -- nt

[JPZenger]

4. Environmental Fire Sale

Thanks for posting that. Here is another excerpt of the New York Times article that is linked above.

"In recent weeks, federal agencies across the vast Washington bureaucracy have delayed completion of a range of proposed regulations from food safety and the environment to corporate governance and telecommunications policy until after Election Day, when regulatory action may be more politically palatable.

... regulations that would make it easier for miners and timber companies to develop forests, while others have been advocating wholesale telephone rate rules that could significantly increase prices to consumers.... Officials have decided to wait until after Election Day to respond to an appeals court decision that struck down rules that would make it easier for the largest media conglomerates to grow larger..."

"There could be a fire sale such as we've never seen post-election,'' said Marty Hayden, legislative director for Earthjustice, one of several environmental groups that is opposing a proposal to make it easier to build roads in millions of acres of forests..."