Congress passes insider trading bill, the White House defends “gas hike trio,” the Supreme Court rules on wetland case, and more.
- The Supreme Court ruled unanimously for an Idaho couple seeking to appear in court to challenge an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) order that stopped construction of their home on a federal wetland. See related The Regulatory Review essay.
- The Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Cass Sunstein, directed agencies to weigh the cumulative effects of business rules in the U.S., and separately he defended the use of cost-benefit analysis for determining the value of regulations.
- The White House countered Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s charge to fire the “gas hike trio,” the administration’s three most senior energy policymakers, and defended his energy strategy in speeches in, among other cities, Boulder City, Nevada and Cushing, Oklahoma.
- In a speech following his victory in the Illinois Republican primary, Mitt Romney criticized government rules as “attacks on economic freedom.”
- The Senate passed a narrower version of an insider trading bill than the chamber had previously adopted, matching action in the House and sending to the President legislation that would impose new curbs on insider trading by members of Congress and senior executive branch officials.
- The House voted to repeal the so-called death panel provision from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which if also wins unlikely approval form the Senate would eliminate the new Medicare cost-savings body called the Independent Payment Advisory Board See related The Regulatory Review essay.
- The Senate passed a bill to help small startup companies raise capital by reducing certain securities regulations.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its much-anticipated final rule revising the agency’s Hazard Communication Standard.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rules to limit new uses of potentially harmful chemicals.
- A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that stopped a Dallas suburb from enforcing a ban on undocumented immigrants from seeking housing.
- The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) considered revising repurchase agreement standards.
- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) advanced a plan to ease rules for DISH broadband network.
