Plans to reform national telecom strategy, battery plant closure in China, climate remediation, and more.
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski announced his plan to ask the Commission to reform the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation rules to improve access to broadband services.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed amending a rule issued in July to relax emissions requirements on power plants in some states.
- The White House stated it will veto bills that would keep the EPA from moving forward on other clean air rules.
- A U.S.-owned battery plant in China will remain closed until the end of the year over concerns by the Chinese government that the plant may have contributed to lead poisoning in local children.
- The Bipartisan Policy Center released a report urging the federal government to fund research on climate remediation — or geoengineering — to combat the effects of global warming.
- The House of Representatives passed a bill that would postpone EPA regulation of emissions from cement manufacturing plants.
- The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the District of Columbia’s ban on assault rifles and large-capacity magazines.
- The Office of the Comptroller (OCC) prepared a plan to review home foreclosures from 2009 and 2010, offering the chance for restitution if a homeowner’s foreclosure process was flawed.
- President Obama said that banks are using new financial regulations as an “excuse” to charge their customers more.
