Businesses are up in arms about a proposed plan from the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay corporate whistleblowers. Employees who provide tips or sound the alarm over corporate abuses could earn 10-30% of the money they help the SEC recover. Depending on the size of the settlement, that could be worth millions of dollars.Read… Read more »
CDC online article identifies top 10 public health achievements of the first decade of the 21st century. Tobacco control makes the list, due to a federal cigarette tax increase; more smoke-free laws; and FDA regulations that ban flavored cigarettes, restrict youth access to tobacco products, and require larger, more graphic warning labels on cigarette packages.Read… Read more »
As 2010 is now officially in the books, one issue that we can expect to continue its trend in 2011 is contract protests. An interesting piece in the November-December 2011 Defense AT&L magazine discussed this issue, and illustrates the realities of the federal contracting environment. Mainly, budgets are tightening, competition for those shrinking dollars isRead… Read more »
As the lame duck session of the 111th Congress comes to a close, some in the acquisition community are left to wonder what lays ahead for the acquisition reform initiatives of the Obama Administration. According to many experts, the shift in political power may not make much difference for the IT and procurement communities. IRead… Read more »
New FDA tobacco regulations regarding “light/low/mild” cigarettes take effect on July 22, 2010. CDC Web page provides a helpful summary of new FDA tobacco regulations and the potential public health impact, particularly for smokers of “light,” “low,” or “mild” cigarettes. The Web page also provides links to a full feature article and other helpful resources.Read… Read more »
I’m going to be submitting this as an op-ed later today. Any comments would be gratefully appreciated! The Off-shore Oil Crisis Demands a Switch to Win-Win Regulation 3.0 Strategy by W. David Stephenson The Obama Administration’s proposal to make the off-shore oil drilling safety program independent of the Minerals Management Service doesn’t address a moreRead… Read more »
In the real world, few Sheriffs police the general populace. Logic would contend that the few could/should be empowered to police the many. An incomplete thought but worth thinking about in light of all the hype the media gives to wayward MoC’s that rarely results in official Congressional sanction by Standards of Conduct. Comments welcomeRead… Read more »
I work at the US Environmental Protection Agency, and we’re trying out some old tools in new ways. Currently, our enforcement office is using two blogs to post concepts and then taking comments from anyone who wants to join in. 1) Setting environmental enforcement priorities 2) Establishing a plan to improve enforcement of the CleanRead… Read more »
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13760587&fsrc=rss The article argues that the biggest barriers to finanical regulatory reform are not entrenched interests, but rather the regulators themselves.
(This post appeared originally in the Huffington Post, Feb. 23, 2009. Reprinted with permission) The Obama Administration created Recovery.gov as a critical stimulus component, taking a “don’t trust us, track us” approach to assure funds are distributed quickly and fairly and “recipients and uses of all recovery funds are transparent.” It will also provide cluesRead… Read more »