Healthy Housing Groups Issue Letter of Concern on Randall Lutter
Ben Somberg
Jan. 4, 2010
A group of organizations who work to eliminate health hazards in housing have sent a letter to OMB chief Peter Orszag expressing concern over the "detailing" of Randall Lutter to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The letter focuses on Lutter's writings on the economics of lead poisoning:
Mr. Lutter's statement, "...the children who would benefit from reduced lead hazards are living in the care of their parents, and their parents have control of such hazards" profoundly ignores the realities of the housing market and the extent to which families are able to identify and select housing that is free from hazards.
...
Although Mr. Lutter's contributions to the literature appropriately belong in an academic discussion of cost-benefit and regulatory analysis, we cannot understand why the Administration, given its public commitment to pursuing many of the very goals and policies viewed as ill-advised by Mr. Lutter, would choose to elevate him to the role of a regulatory gatekeeper at OIRA.
The letter was signed by the Alliance For Healthy Homes, the National Center for Healthy Housing, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and a number of other groups.
See our previous: "Sunstein Watch: Randall Lutter to OIRA?" and "Sunstein Watch: Randall Lutter on Loan, Says OMB -- Yet WashPost Reports He's Actively Involved"
