Subject: transition-related articles
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Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:32:59 -0500

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/30/AR200810
3004749_pf.html

WASHINGTON POST

A Last Push To Deregulate

White House to Ease Many Rules

By R. Jeffrey Smith

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, October 31, 2008; A01

The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations,
many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting
consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in
January.

The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps
of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some
would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power
plants, mines and farms.

Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some
commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of
pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water
standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining.

Once such rules take effect, they typically can be undone only through a
laborious new regulatory proceeding, including lengthy periods of public
comment, drafting and mandated reanalysis.

"They want these rules to continue to have an impact long after they
leave office," said Matthew Madia, a regulatory expert at OMB Watch, a
nonprofit group critical of what it calls the Bush administration's
penchant for deregulating in areas where industry wants more freedom. He
called the coming deluge "a last-minute assault on the public . . .
happening on multiple fronts."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said: "This administration has taken
extraordinary measures to avoid rushing regulations at the end of the
term. And yes, we'd prefer our regulations stand for a very long time --
they're well reasoned and are being considered with the best interests
of the nation in mind."

As many as 90 new regulations are in the works, and at least nine of
them are considered "economically significant" because they impose costs
or promote societal benefits that exceed $100 million annually. They
include new rules governing employees who take family- and
medical-related leaves, new standards for preventing or containing oil
spills, and a simplified process for settling real estate transactions.

While it remains unclear how much the administration will be able to
accomplish in the coming weeks, the last-minute rush appears to involve
fewer regulations than Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton, approved at the
end of his tenure.

In some cases, Bush's regulations reflect new interpretations of
language in federal laws. In other cases, such as several new
counterterrorism initiatives, they reflect new executive branch
decisions in areas where Congress -- now out of session and focused on
the elections -- left the president considerable discretion.

The burst of activity has made this a busy period for lobbyists who fear
that industry views will hold less sway after the elections. The doors
at the New Executive Office Building have been whirling with corporate
officials and advisers pleading for relief or, in many cases, for
hastened decision making.

According to the Office of Management and Budget's regulatory calendar,
the commercial scallop-fishing industry came in two weeks ago to urge
that proposed catch limits be eased, nearly bumping into National Mining
Association officials making the case for easing rules meant to keep
coal slurry waste out of Appalachian streams. A few days earlier,
lawyers for kidney dialysis and biotechnology companies registered their
complaints at the OMB about new Medicare reimbursement rules. Lobbyists
for customs brokers complained about proposed counterterrorism rules
that require the advance reporting of shipping data.

Bush's aides are acutely aware of the political risks of completing
their regulatory work too late. On the afternoon of Bush's inauguration,
Jan. 20, 2001, his chief of staff issued a government-wide memo that
blocked the completion or implementation of regulations drafted in the
waning days of the Clinton administration that had not yet taken legal
effect.

"Through the end of the Clinton administration, we were working like
crazy to get as many regulations out as possible," said Donald R.
Arbuckle, who retired in 2006 after 25 years as an OMB official. "Then
on Sunday, the day after the inauguration, OMB Director Mitch Daniels
called me in and said, 'Let's pull back as many of these as we can.' "

Clinton's appointees wound up paying a heavy price for procrastination.
Bush's team was able to withdraw 254 regulations that covered such
matters as drug and airline safety, immigration and indoor air
pollutants. After further review, many of the proposals were modified to
reflect Republican policy ideals or scrapped altogether.

Seeking to avoid falling victim to such partisan tactics, White House
Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten in May imposed a Nov. 1 government-wide
deadline to finish major new regulations, "except in extraordinary
circumstances."

That gives officials just a few more weeks to meet an effective Nov. 20
deadline for the publication of economically significant rules, which
take legal effect only after a 60-day congressional comment period. Less
important rules take effect after a 30-day period, creating a second
deadline of Dec. 20.

OMB spokeswoman Jane Lee said that Bolten's memo was meant to emphasize
the importance of "due diligence" in ensuring that late-term regulations
are sound. "We will continue to embrace the thorough and high standards
of the regulatory review process," she said.

As the deadlines near, the administration has begun to issue regulations
of great interest to industry, including, in recent days, a rule that
allows natural gas pipelines to operate at higher pressures and new
Homeland Security rules that shift passenger security screening
responsibilities from airlines to the federal government. The OMB also
approved a new limit on airborne emissions of lead this month, acting
under a court-imposed deadline.

Many of the rules that could be issued over the next few weeks would
ease environmental regulations, according to sources familiar with
administration deliberations.

A rule put forward by the National Marine Fisheries Service and now
under final review by the OMB would lift a requirement that
environmental impact statements be prepared for certain
fisheries-management decisions and would give review authority to
regional councils dominated by commercial and recreational fishing
interests.

An Alaska commercial fishing source, granted anonymity so he could speak
candidly about private conversations, said that senior administration
officials promised to "get the rule done by the end of this month" and
that the outcome would be a big improvement.

Lee Crockett of the Pew Charitable Trusts' Environment Group said the
administration has received 194,000 public comments on the rule and
protests from 80 members of Congress as well as 160 conservation groups.
"This thing is fatally flawed" as well as "wildly unpopular," Crockett
said.

Two other rules nearing completion would ease limits on pollution from
power plants, a major energy industry goal for the past eight years that
is strenuously opposed by Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups.

One rule, being pursued over some opposition within the Environmental
Protection Agency, would allow current emissions at a power plant to
match the highest levels produced by that plant, overturning a rule that
more strictly limits such emission increases. According to the EPA's
estimate, it would allow millions of tons of additional carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere annually, worsening global warming.

A related regulation would ease limits on emissions from coal-fired
power plants near national parks.

A third rule would allow increased emissions from oil refineries,
chemical factories and other industrial plants with complex
manufacturing operations.

These rules "will force Americans to choke on dirtier air for years to
come, unless Congress or the new administration reverses these
eleventh-hour abuses," said lawyer John Walke of the Natural Resources
Defense Council.

But Scott H. Segal, a Washington lawyer and chief spokesman for the
Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, said that "bringing common
sense to the Clean Air Act is the best way to enhance energy efficiency
and pollution control." He said he is optimistic that the new rule will
help keep citizens' lawsuits from obstructing new technologies.

Jonathan Shradar, an EPA spokesman, said that he could not discuss
specifics but added that "we strive to protect human health and the
environment." Any rule the agency completes, he said, "is more stringent
than the previous one."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/10/30/2008-10-30_barack_ob
ama_to_have_white_house_team_re.html?print=1&page=all

New York Daily News - Barack Obama to have White House team ready fast

By THOMAS M. DeFRANK and KENNETH R. BAZINET

DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Updated Thursday, October 30th 2008, 11:24 PM

WASHINGTON - Expect a turbocharged transition if Barack Obama wins, with
a Treasury secretary and White House chief of staff named days after his
election, Democratic sources told the Daily News Thursday.

"They would like to make Treasury the first appointment as a symbol and
have the other big ones done in the first week," said one source close
to the Obama transition team.

Confronting the economic crisis is the prime reason for the urgency.

"People will have a good idea where we're going with this very early,"
added an Obama adviser.

The list of candidates for Treasury secretary includes former Clinton
administration Treasury chief Larry Summers; Timothy Geithner, president
of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and ex-Fed Chairman Paul
Volcker, among others, said sources familiar with candidates who have
been recommended to Obama.

Obama is also well along in deciding on his picks for State, Defense and
Justice, sources said.

As another indicator of the importance Obama attaches to getting his
economic brain trust in place, his transition team already has scores of
prospective appointees undergoing FBI background checks for top
administration slots.

RELATED: HINCKLEY: 'REALITY' SHOW AIMS AT UNDECIDED VOTERS

While the candidates have hammered each other for months, transition
planning for either an Obama or John McCain win has been quietly
underway at all levels of the federal government.

"There's action all over town," said presidential scholar Martha Kumar.
"The White House is active. Congress is active. The campaigns are
active."

The chief of staff's job may come down to former Senate Democratic
leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota or Chicago Rep. Rahm Emanuel. But
multiple sources believe Emanuel is more interested in staying on the
fast-track in the House leadership.

RELATED: IN HARLEM, MANY STILL WORRY OVER RACE

"Rahm wants to be Speaker of the House one day," said a senior
congressional source.

William Timmons, a Washington lobbyist who worked in the Ford and Reagan
administrations, is heading McCain's transition team. Several sources
said that effort is not as ambitious or as far along as Obama's.

Cloaked in Vatican-like secrecy, the Obama operation headed by Bill
Clinton's ex-chief of staff John Podesta is a taboo topic for Obama's
campaign aides. Staffers have been warned that if they get caught
discussing the transition they face being fired immediately. Even the
most innocuous inquiries are turned aside.

Team Obama mostly does not want to come off as "measuring the drapes,"
as McCain loves to say on the stump.

Of the nearly 8,000 administration jobs filled by presidential
appointees, 1,177 of them require Senate confirmation.

http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/
seven/10312008/news/politics/rahm_in_bam_plans_136133.htm

NY Post - RAHM IN BAM PLANS

By SALLY GOLDENBERG

October 31, 2008 --

Barack Obama is looking to a fellow Illinois Democrat, US Rep. Rahm
Emanuel, to be his White House chief of staff, officials said yesterday.

Emanuel, who served as a senior advisor to President Bill Clinton,
quickly ascended the political ladder since he joined the House in 2003,
representing Obama's home city of Chicago.

It was not immediately clear when Obama approached Emanuel for the
position, which would make him the top White House aide.

As chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Emanuel is currently the
fourth-most-powerful member of that body.

An Emanuel staffer denied there was a formal offer.

Emanuel, 48, a regular on the campaign trail for Obama, "has not been
contacted to take a job in an administration that does not yet exist,"
said the staffer, Sarah Feinberg.

Other big names that have been floated as possibilities are former
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (SD); real-estate executive Valerie
Jarrett; and former Secretary of Commerce William Daley, the brother of
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Emanuel, a Sarah Lawrence graduate and a three-term congressman, served
as chairman of the Democratic campaign committee two years ago.

His father, Benjamin, was born in Jerusalem. And Rahm Emanuel served as
a civilian volunteer for the Israeli army during the 1991 Gulf War.

Both presidential candidates have authorized their teams to begin
transition operations.

Last night, Obama dodged the question, telling reporters at a campaign
stop in Colombia, Mo., "I'm trying to win an election."

"[Campaign manager] David Plouffe is my chief of staff."

But Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee,
called Emanuel "among the most vitriolic and partisan people in American
politics."

"Reports that Obama wants him to be White House chief of staff undercut
any claims to unity and bipartisanship, and should alarm every voter,"
he said.

Meanwhile, Obama said yesterday that if elected president, he would want
to meet immediately with the heads of the Big Three automakers and the
United Auto Workers. He said such a summit would craft a strategy to
make the US car industry, once king of the world, competitive again.

Obama was riding high yesterday when TV ratings showed his 30-minute
prime-time ad Wednesday night drew nearly 34 million viewers. With Post
Wire Services