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Dr. Adam Finkel Gives Congresional Testimony on Regulations
Policy Integrity advisor Dr. Adam Finkel recently answered questions from Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) on regulations and their effect on jobs and businesses as part of testimony given during a House Committee on Small Business hearing.
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Long Overdue: EPA and Nitric Acid Plant Regulation
Nitric acid plants emit dangerous air pollutants that cause illness and alter the climate. This report finds EPA long overdue on a regulatory revision and at risk of allowing major costs to be imposed on the American public.
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Letter to HUD on Proposed Homeownership Education Counseling Standards
Policy Integrity submitted a letter today to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on its proposal to adopt the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education Counseling as mandatory, industry-wide requirements. The new regulations would primarily function as a government-certified labeling program, comparable in some respects to the USDA’s National Organic Program or EPA’s Energy Star program. The standards represent a significant effort on part of the homeownership counseling industry to ensure quality and consistency nationwide and, by using them as a template, HUD has a head start on crafting regulations that could provide significant benefits to individuals and families looking to navigate the complex process of buying and financing a home.
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Dr. Adam Finkel Gives Congressional Testimony on Regulation and Jobs
Policy Integrity advisor Dr. Adam Finkel recently answered questions from Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) on regulations and their effect on jobs and businesses as part of testimony given during a House Commitee on Small Business hearing.
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Obama Administration’s Retrospective Review Plan
Yesterday, the Obama Administration announced the plans from thirty agencies to conduct retrospective review of regulations—a step towards following up on a presidential executive order issued in January.
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Update on Letter-Grade Fuel Efficiency Labels
Today, the EPA and DOT announced new fuel-efficiency labels for cars. The new stickers will give shoppers detail on the environmental elements of vehicles—miles per gallon, greenhouse gas ratings and smog emissions.
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Petition to BOEMRE on Option Value
This morning, Policy Integrity petitioned the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) to reconsider its leasing policies, which may encourage over-drilling. The topic is the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act’s (OCSLA) requirement of the Secretary of the Interior to develop five-year schedules that specify the timing for offshore leasing activity.
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NYC to phase out most-polluting heating oils
Mayor Bloomberg recently announced that the city will phase out the use of unrefined oil sludge and the most-polluting grades of heating oil, to be completed by 2030. The new rules target the airborne fine particulate matter from two grades of heating oil that when burned by buildings create more than 85% of the city’s heating oil soot emissions. It’s expected that 10,000 buildings will be affected, as the black smoke billowing from smokestacks that the city says is responsible for killing 3,000 residents each year is eliminated.
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The BP Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Option Value and the Offshore Drilling Debate
One year after crude oil began gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, little action has been taken to prevent a similar disaster. A report authored by Gaia Larsen and Michael A. Livermore finds that overly simplistic economic analysis by the government may have helped lead to the accident.
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Public Comments on Proposed PREA Standards
Today, Policy Integrity submitted comments to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”)on its notice of proposed national standards to detect, prevent, and reduce the incidence of sexual abuse in the nation’s prisons. The proposal implements the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (“PREA”), which created the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission to study of the impacts of sexual assault in the United States; standards ultimately suggested by the Commission inform much of the DOJ’s proposed rule.