While all eyes are on the election that will select his successor, the current president is quietly rushing to enact as many as 90 new rules, many of which would weaken current government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before leaving office in January. Once such rules take effect, reversing them requires a lengthy and difficult new regulatory proceeding.
Rules that have already been issued include allowing natural gas pipelines to operate at higher pressures, a new Homeland Security rule that shifts passenger security screen responsibilities from airlines to the federal government, and a new limit on airborne emissions of lead.
A rule now under final review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would lift a requirement that environmental impact statements be prepared for certain fishery management decisions and would give review authority to councils dominated by fishing industry interests.
Two other rules close to finalization would ease limits on pollution from power plants, chemical factories, and other industrial plants. At least one of these rules is facing some opposition from the Environmental Protection Agency, which says that it would allow millions of tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually.
These so-called “midnight regulations” are typical of outgoing presidents. In fact, many of the deregulations President Bush seeks would reverse the regulations his predecessor, President Clinton, put in place at the end of his second term. However, the early push to create these new rules is a lesson learned from a Clinton failure – rules don’t go into effect until 30-60 days after they are finalized. If they are not in effect when the next president takes office, that president can decline to put them into practice, which is what Bush did with many of Clinton’s “midnight regulations.” Among those Clinton rules were laws covering drug and airline safety, immigration, and indoor air pollutants. But many of the proposals were dumped completely or modified to reflect Republican policy.
Every president wants to make his mark in history, which is understandable. But it would be nice if they also lived by the National Parks mantra: “leave it better than you found it.”
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