Oversight

• HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE: (04/30/07) — Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) wrote to Susan Dudley, the director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs [OIRA], urging the White House to move on new regulations to protect right whales in the North Atlantic.

“The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most critically endangered species on Earth, with only 300 individual whales alive today. Yet for over a year, the [OIRA] has blocked the National Marine Fisheries Service from issuing a rule to protect these whales from being killed by ships,” Waxman wrote.

{mosads}Waxman is requesting that Dudley provide the committee with an explanation for the delay and copies of communications regarding the right whale rule between the White House and agency officials, and with individuals who are not employed in the executive branch.

• HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE: (04/28/07) — Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) are requesting additional information relating to the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), which is used in a variety of consumer products but may pose a risk of cancer.

The committee has asked the Food and Drug Administration to provide information relating to its review of BPA. This week, Dingell and Rush requested information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

“Were products such as teething rings, pacifiers, and childrenís flatware to contain BPA, they could pose risks of cancer and neurological disorders to infants and young children,” Dingell and Rush wrote. The duo asked CPSC acting Chairman Nancy Nord if the commission conducted any investigation or studies to determine if BPA is present in childrenís products or other consumer products within its jurisdiction.

• SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: (04/29/07) — Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) released a report by the Government Accountability Office that criticized the Bush administration for altering the process for weighing the risks of toxic chemicals.

“A close look at the EPAís [Environmental Protection Agencyís] toxic chemical policies makes clear that improvement is necessary if we are to ensure that dangerous chemicals are properly regulated,” Boxer said at a hearing this week.