Week in Review

Obama issues executive order on retrospective regulatory reviews, Fed approves first Chinese takeover of US bank, FDA urges lower radiation levels for child medical scans, and more.

  • President Obama signed an executive order compelling agencies to report regularly on their efforts to scrutinize their current regulations. See related The Regulatory Review essay.
  • The Obama Administration announced that federal agencies this week altered or removed five regulations yielding cost-savings of an estimated $6 billion.
  • President Obama announced in an interview that he believes same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, marking the first time a U.S. president had publicly expressed support for gay marriage.
  • The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) extended the comment period to rewrite eagle permit regulations. A draft regulation would allow businesses to apply for 30-year permits allowing them to kill bald eagles in the course of other legal activities.
  • A federal district court judge heard arguments over whether to dismiss climate change lawsuit filed by California teenagers.
  • An Atlantic article appeared that argues lenient pet food safety regulations can have adverse consequences for pet owners.
  • Officials at Lufthansa criticized European and German politicians, saying that the continent’s aviation industry is considerably squeezed by regulations and levies.