"The House on Wednesday failed to pass a bill to make it easier for federal regulators to shut down mines with a history of safety problems, dealing a blow to groups that had sought tougher regulation."
"The Obama administration won't be able to fill a key science position until it testifies about a decision to block areas of the eastern Gulf and Atlantic seaboard from new oil and gas drilling, a Republican senator said Thursday."
The House late Wednesday passed a stopgap omnibus appropriations measure that included $7 billion in new loan guarantee authority for commercial nuclear power plants -- as well as the food safety bill.
"An extension of the major U.S. ethanol subsidy 'is part of the deal at the moment' in negotiations for an omnibus tax bill, but the size and lifespan of the subsidy are not set yet, a trade group said on Wednesday."
"A university scientist and the federal government say they have found persuasive evidence that oil from the massive Gulf of Mexico spill is settling on the ocean floor."
"One day after U.S. EPA asked for more time to issue controversial limits on air pollution from industrial boilers, an influential advocacy group for state and local regulators today urged the agency not to be swayed by 'total hyperbole' from industry."
"The Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday it was again delaying its final rule on smog limits, with the rule now expected by the end of July 2011."
"You might think it would be hard to produce a news article that is simultaneously a puffy profile of an important government official, a credulous conduit for her leading opponents, a feeble explanation of the actual political dynamic, and a lackluster treatment of substantive policy issues. But that’s what The Washington Post delivered last week with its story about Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the industry interests lining up to battle new regulations that the EPA is considering." Greg Marx criticizes the Post story in Remapping Debate December 7, 2010.
"States are taking the lead with studying levels of radon in drinking water and air even as federal regulators lag, as a coincidence of geology and population density leaves some more at risk than others of suffering from the naturally occurring radioactive [contaminant]."
"Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) on Tuesday signaled that he will not mount a challenge to the House GOP Steering Committee’s selection of Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) as chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee next year."
