By David Michaels
The Bush Administration has been unsuccessful in convincing Congress to pass legislation rolling back public health and environmental protection, even when both the Senate and the House were controlled by Republicans. Some notable examples: attempts to gut the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act failed miserably.
With the Democrats in control of Congress, and less then two years left in office, the Bush Administration has evidently decided to end run Congress and use executive power to handcuff the public health and environmental agencies. Thatâs not just my opinion. Itâs the prediction of Fred Barnes, editor of the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard, according to Howard Kurtzâs Media Notes blog at the Washington Post.
The new White House regulatory policy President Bush signed in January (covered here a week before it was even noticed in the leading newspapers) was clearly just the beginning. Hold on to your hats â if youâre a fan of the environment or public health the next 23½ months may get pretty rocky.
David Michaels heads the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP) and is Professor and Associate Chairman in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.
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