Lead story in Sunday's New York Times:
It's a lobbyist feeding frenzy in the waning days of the Bush administration.
Note, story is not on their Web site yet
WASHINGTON -- Business lobbyists, nervously anticipating Democratic gains in next year's elections, are racing to secure final approval for a wide range of health, safety, labor and economic rules, in the belief that they can get better deals from the Bush administration than from its successor.
Trucking rules, air pollution rules, consumer product safety -- it's all up for grabs.
And the stakes are HUGE!
http://www.nytimes.com/...
As corporate lobbyists see it increasingly likely they will have to face BOTH a Democratic Congress and White House in 2009, they are out to ram thru as many rules favorable to their clients as possible:
More from the NY Times:
At the Transportation Department, trucking companies are trying to get final approval for a rule increasing the maximum number of hours commercial truck drivers can work. And automakers are trying to persuade officials to set new standards for the strength of car roofs -- standards far less stringent than what consumer advocates say is needed to protect riders in a rollover.
At the Interior Department, coal companies are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys. A coalition of environmental groups has condemned the proposed rule, saying it would accelerate "the destruction of mountains, forests and streams throughout Appalachia."
A priority for many employers in 2008 is to secure changes in the rules for family and medical leave. The National Association of Manufacturers said the law had been widely abused and had caused "a staggering loss of work hours" as employees took unscheduled, intermittent time off for health conditions that could not be verified. ...
This kind of serves as an answer for cynics who say there is no material difference between Democrats and Republicans