No Slush Fund for White House to Put Public at Risk!

November 21, 2009 Subject: Dear member: I call on you to say no to President Bush's request for a slush fund that would give the Office of Management and Budget more power to put us at risk -- instead, it's time to cut OMB's power by cutting its budget. The budget request for the Executive Office of the President includes a request for $7 million to fund OMB's regulatory office, with no accountability (like the prohibition on altering agency testimony), and 10% transfer authority that would make the White House offices a slush fund that could be used to give OMB even more power to delay, weaken, and eliminate needed regulatory protections. OMB's record has been terrible. From delaying a warning label on aspirin in the 1980s -- a decision which left thousands of children dead, disabled, or otherwise at risk from Reye's Syndrome -- to weakening auto safety standards which Congress demanded after the Ford-Firestone deaths, OMB's regulatory office has time and time again put wealthy corporate special interests ahead of the public's interest. Instead of a slush fund with no strings attached, it's time to decrease OMB's power to put the public at risk: 1. Cut the budget for OMB's regulatory office in half -- and deny the president's request for power to shift funds around and slip money back into that office. 2. Cut OMB's power to use taxpayer dollars to put the public in danger: prohibit the use of funds for implementing Executive Order 12,866, Executive Order 13,422, the Program Assessment Rating Tool, the Peer Review Guidelines, the Sept. 2007 memo on risk assessment, and the Bulletin on Good Guidance Practices. 3. Don't allow OMB to force more requirements on agencies -- prohibit the use of funds for amending Circular A-4 or issuing any new government-wide policies adding to cost-benefit analysis requirements or scientific assessments. 4. Give OMB so much to do it can't come up with new ways to put us at risk: require the agency to focus on information resource management, such as information security plans to prevent data breaches, in accordance with the law that created OMB's regulatory office in the first place. It's time to stop letting wealthy corporate special interests win out over the public interest -- and it's definitely time for government agencies to be able to get things done to protect the public, without OMB getting in the way. We will add your signature from the information you provide.		First Name* Last Name* Email* Street* Street 2 Street 3 City* State/Province* Select a state Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Armed Forces (the) Americas Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland New Brunswick Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territory Other Zip/Postal Code*