Senate confirms NLRB nominees, FDA proposes auditing of imported foods, and more…
- The Senate confirmed all five of President Obama’s nominees for the National Labor Review Board (NLRB).
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a rule to use third-party auditing of imported foods to prevent food safety issues before food is brought into the U.S.
- President Obama nominated John Koskinen to be the next Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule that will allow electronic reporting of Clear Water Act data and will make more information available to the public.
- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary announced a proposal to eliminate a daily paperwork requirement for professional truck drivers, a change expected to save the industry $1.7 billion.
- President Obama issued an executive order to increase agency collaboration to improve chemical safety.
- The EPA announced changes to the agency’s chemical risk information system to improve scientific evidence and increase transparency.
- The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee unanimously approved a bill that will ask the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create voluntary cybersecurity standards and best practices.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amended its rules to protect customers and enhance unsound business practice monitoring and prevention.
- A New York appeals court affirmed that New York City’s soda ban violates the state constitution’s separation of powers.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied a Texas, Wyoming, and industry group’s challenge to the EPA’s greenhouse gas permitting requirements.
- The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Fed), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) sought comment on guidance for medium-sized firm stress tests performed under the Dodd-Frank Act.
- One of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aviation Rulemaking Committees recommended changes to increase aircraft safety and reduce the costs for certain aircraft.
- The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report looking at the impact of insurance regulation since the financial crisis.
- The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) released its quarterly Freedom of Information Act report.
- The GAO published a report finding that “international regulatory cooperation inform[s] all phases of the rulemaking process.”
- President Obama nominated Michael Connor to be the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
- The Secretary of the Interior convened the first meeting of the White House Council on Native American Affairs under an initiative of President Obama.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law to ban the sale and possession of shark fins. See related The Regulatory Review essay.
