While the media spins its wheels speculating about staffing decisions that Obama probably hasn't even made yet, and picking apart the ones he has made (does Rahm Emmanuel swear too much to be on Team Hope?), Bush has been hard at work.He's rushing to make a slew of last-minute federal regulations-so called "Midnight Regulations"-before he leaves office. Regulations spell out how agencies like the FDA and the EPA actually enforce acts. Unlike legislation, regulations don't go through Congress and they're not voted on-but they can have a huge effect on how legislation is enforced in practice. They're very easy for the executive branch to make and they're a bureaucratic hassle to undo.So what mischief is Bush up to? He's making it harder for people to take medical leave from their jobs, making it easier for industry to challenge workplace safety standards, and making it harder for the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect endangered species.This roundup of Bush's "Midnight Regulations" from the Washington Independent has the details.
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