"House Republicans and a handful of Democrats recently passed three bills that would radically deregulate corporate America. Under the regulatory process, executive agencies write rules to carry out laws passed by Congress aimed at ensuring cleaner air and water, food safety and many other things vital to all Americans. The Republicans claim they want to reform the rule-making process to make regulators more accountable. But the practical effect of the bills, and their real intention, is to give Congress new power to repeal existing rules and block new ones. In essence, they would attack the protections in bedrock laws like the Clean Air Act, without directly attacking the laws — or incurring the public wrath that would come with a frontal assault. The Senate, which has a stake in the underlying laws, should block these efforts to undermine them, by filibuster if necessary."
At www.nytimes.com
