Wham, Bam, No Thank You, Graham

The Bush administration has announced plans to hire more scientists for its regulatory review office, seek more input from citizens and businesses, and adopt cost-benefit analyses for rulemaking. The White House's point person on regulatory reform, John Graham, said the plan reflected the administration's "commitment to science-based quality regulation." Industry reps, who know they have a friend in the White House, found reason to rejoice in the plan, which was released in a 2002 draft report to Congress yesterday. But critics say the cost-benefit framework under consideration would greatly underestimate the value of rules protecting the environment and public health. Lisa Heinzerling, a Georgetown University law professor, called the overhaul of the regulatory process "unprecedented" and "a wholesale shift away from environmental protection."