The Bucks Stop Here

The Bush administration slaps fewer polluters with fines than did the Clinton administration, and those it does nab get far gentler punishments, according to federal records compiled by Eric Schaeffer, the former head of the U.S. EPA's Office of Regulatory Enforcement. In the first 20 months of the Bush administration, civil penalties plunged nearly 56 percent, compared to those levied during the last 28 months of the Clinton administration, a Knight Ridder analysis found. Bush's current budget proposal would axe 112 EPA enforcement positions.