« EU GROUP DEVELOPING CRASH MONITORING CRITERIA | Main | ROBERTSON REFUTES REGULATORY FAILURE CLAIMS »
July 13, 2006
FEDERAL WEAKENING OF STATE HEALTH PROTECTION CHARGED
A University of Michigan law professor has charged, in a New York Times op-ed, that recent actions by Congress and the White House have seriously weakened the states efforts to protect health and the environment. In Bullies Along the Potomac, Nina Mendelson described Bush Administration actions to block California vehicle-emissions limits, overrule state food safety regulations, and prohibit tough state labeling rules for prescription drugs, and also cites a report from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) showing that since 2001 Congress has enacted 27 laws that pre-empt state authority in areas from air pollution to consumer protection.
“Federal environmental and health rules have historically provided a floor of minimum protection. States, for their part, have led the way on countless matters, from requiring health insurers to cover mammograms to stringently regulating mercury emissions from power plants, she noted. So why is the federal government suddenly trying to block state efforts to protect public health -- through bureaucratic actions largely outside the public view? The unfortunate result is that big businesses' revenues are being shielded, while protections for consumers and the environment are being stripped away,” she writes.
Safety advocates have charged that NHTSA’s current proposal to limit vehicle roof-crush injury lawsuits against manufacturers meeting the agency's proposed roof-crush regulation, FMVSS 216, is an example of the problem described by Prof. Mendelson. (Visit Current Development archives for stories related to the roof-crush proposal.)
Posted by MVHAP at July 13, 2006 03:19 PM