CPR's Shapiro Joins ACUS Forum on Regulatory Capture Today
CPR Vice President Sid Shapiro is among the many distinguished panelists participating this monring in a forum called "Regulatory Capture in the 21st Century." The forum is hosted by the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), an independent federal agency that works to provide Congress with advice on improving the administrative system. The event will feature remarks from Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Mike Lee (R-UT).
Professor Shapiro will participate in a panel that looks at regulatory capture in the federal rulemaking process. Hehas written extensively on regulatory capture, and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the subject in 2010. A second panel will look at how regulatory capture impacts agency enforcement actions.
The forum runs from 9:30 am to 12:00 noon in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The mysterious deaths of 13 bald eagles on Maryland's Eastern Shore last month captured headlines around the country. While a tragic story, it was also a reminder of just how far bald eagle populations and those of other birds of prey have recovered over the last several decades. From a population of fewer than 1,000 in 1963, almost as many bald eagles now soar in the skies over Maryland alone. The iconic bird's recovery is a case study in the value of regulating toxics in our environment.
The story of the bald eagle's decline and subsequent recovery highlights both our previous failure to understand the acute toxicity in the air and water of industrialized nations and the subsequent success of environmental regulation. In fact, the use of the pesticide DDT and its impact on one of our most cherished national symbols almost singled-handedly galvanized the environmental …
Yesterday, the Republican members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC)—the Senate committee with primary oversight jurisdiction over the regulatory system—published a report detailing their shock and dismay over a Wall Street Journal story alleging that the White House "may have inappropriately influenced" the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) so-called "net neutrality" rule. In releasing the report, Committee Chairman Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) could barely contain his contempt: "It is concerning that an independent agency like the FCC could be so unduly influenced by the White House, particularly on an issue that touches the lives of so many Americans and has such a significant impact on a critical sector of the United States economy."
Among other things, the Senate HSGAC report complains about what it describes as secret communications between White House staff and FCC staff about how the rule should be …
