Week in Review

IN THE NEWS

• U.S. Senators Rob Portman, Susan Collins, and Mark Warner introduced legislation which would require that independent agencies conduct a cost-benefit analysis of new regulations and that these agencies focus on minimizing economic burdens new rules would impose.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a final determination to remove partially hydrogenated oils – a major source of artificial trans fat – in processed foods, an action which will require that food manufacturers remove these oils from their products within three years.

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule introducing new requirements for Form ADV, the registration form used by investment advisers, including that advisers submit information about separately managed accounts, and their social media use.

• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that AT&T will be fined $100 million for allegedly impairing the data speeds for customers with unlimited data plans, without providing them with adequate prior notice.

• U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal addressed a letter to Assistant Attorney General William J. Baer, encouraging that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division begin an investigation of what he asserts are airlines’ anti-competitive practices.

• Animal protection groups are lobbying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for new labeling regulations of pet food products.

• The American Heart Association (AHA) launched a change.org petition seeking congressional re-authorization of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act – a law which authorizes funding for child nutrition programs and requires that schools serve lunches meeting certain nutritional standards.

• Seven U.S. Senators introduced the Safe Skies Act, which would require the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) regulations to prevent pilot fatigue, currently imposed on passenger airplane pilots, to also apply to cargo pilots.