Public PolicyRSS

  • February 4, 2010

    Volcker Rules Face Fire From Dodd, Bank Execs

    Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., expressed doubts Thursday that his fellow legislators could write “ironclad” rules to limit proprietary trading and speculative activities in commercial banks, while executives from major financial institutions opposed the plan.

  • February 4, 2010

    Bipartisan Bill Would Amend Clean Air Act

    Having watched the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's air pollution rules get repeatedly shot down in court, a bipartisan group of senators took matters into its own hands Thursday, introducing legislation that would slash sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants.

  • February 4, 2010

    House Dems Look To Bolster Buy American Act

    Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have proposed an amendment to the Buy American Act that would require more transparency from government agencies when they seek exemptions from spending on domestic goods.

  • February 4, 2010

    SD Legislature Says No To Federal Health Care Bills

    The South Dakota Legislature has passed a resolution indicating opposition to health care reform proposals passed in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, saying it “strongly urges” Congress not to adopt either measure or institute any new federal review, oversight or preemption of state health insurance laws.

  • February 4, 2010

    Ohio Bill Would Mandate Notice For Mass Layoffs

    Ohio corporations would have to give at least 90 days notice before engaging in mass layoffs under a new bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.

  • February 4, 2010

    FTC Seeks More Leeway To Fight Financial Fraud

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz asked members of the U.S. Senate on Thursday to streamline the agency's rulemaking and enforcement authorities in order to help officials move more quickly to address and act on a swath of financial fraud complaints from consumers.

  • February 4, 2010

    McCain Proposal Would Increase Supplement Oversight

    Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has announced that he will introduce legislation to increase government scrutiny of the dietary supplement industry.

  • February 4, 2010

    Republicans Skewer SEC's Climate Change Guidance

    Rep. Spencer T. Bachus III, R-Ala., has become the latest Republican lawmaker to express concern with interpretive guidance the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued on climate change disclosure, saying the guidance went beyond the agency's expertise and will impose potentially significant compliance costs on issuers with little benefit to investors.

  • February 4, 2010

    Mandatory Energy Benchmarking Coming Into Vogue

    As climate change legislation takes center stage, benchmarking is gaining traction among lawmakers, environmentalists and landlords as a viable first step toward systematically reducing energy use in buildings.

  • February 4, 2010

    US To Step Up Funding, Advocacy For Exports

    The U.S. will spend more money advocating for the export of American products abroad and create an Export Promotion Cabinet as part of an effort to double U.S. exports in the next five years.

  • February 4, 2010

    Obama Reveals New Clean Energy Initiatives

    President Barack Obama has announced three key initiatives to boost biofuel production and reduce the U.S.' dependence on foreign oil, including two new federal regulations and a new task force.

  • February 4, 2010

    FTC Warns Wal-Mart, Gap, Others Over 'Bamboo' Ads

    The Federal Trade Commission has alerted 78 U.S. retailers — including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Kmart Corp., Amazon.com, J.C. Penney Corp. Inc. and Gap Inc. — that they may be breaking the law by advertising manufactured rayon products as natural bamboo.

  • February 4, 2010

    Senate Confirms Smith As DOL Solicitor

    The U.S. Senate voted 60-37 on Thursday to confirm President Barack Obama's nomination of M. Patricia Smith to serve as solicitor of the U.S. Department of Labor, ending a partisan tiff over the controversial candidate that delayed a final vote for four months.

  • February 4, 2010

    Senate Bill Seeks Ban On Cadmium In Kids' Jewelry

    Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and six other Democrats have introduced legislation to ban cadmium and other unsafe metals from children's jewelry, following a report that some Chinese-made charm bracelets and pendants for kids contain potentially toxic heavy metals.

  • February 4, 2010

    Senate Panel Advances Labor Atty Becker For NLRB

    The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday reported out the nomination of labor attorney Craig Becker for the National Labor Relations Board, but threats of a Republican filibuster on the Senate floor remain.

  • February 4, 2010

    Australia Looks To Reauthorize Qantas, BA Pact

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has tentatively decided to let Qantas Airways Ltd. and British Airways PLC continue their 14-year-old joint service agreement for another five years, saying that it isn't likely to harm competition.

  • February 3, 2010

    Labor Secretary Backs EFCA, Strong Enforcement

    Signaling the Obama administration's commitment to increasing enforcement of labor laws in 2010, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on Wednesday gave strong support to the Employee Free Choice Act and said her department is particularly committed to enforcing worker pay and workplace safety regulations.

  • February 3, 2010

    FDA Seeks Info On Candylike Smokeless Tobacco

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Star Scientific Inc. to turn over information about how their flavored, dissolvable tobacco products may appeal to children.

  • February 3, 2010

    UK Regulators Want To Examine T-Mobile, Orange Deal

    The U.K.'s competition and consumer watchdog has asked to review a proposed joint venture between the British units of Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom SA, saying that the proposed deal “threatens significantly” competition in the country's cell phone market.

  • February 3, 2010

    USTR Bashes Japan's Cash For Clunkers Rules

    U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk criticized Japan's version of the Cash for Clunkers program Wednesday, after Japanese officials released a limited list of the types of U.S. automobiles that qualify.