Consumer Safety Lawsuits May Be Blocked For Years Under Bush's Proposed Rule Changes

WSJ:

WASHINGTON -- Bush administration officials, in their last weeks in office, are pushing to rewrite a wide array of federal rules with changes or additions that could block product-safety lawsuits by consumers and states.

The administration has written language aimed at pre-empting product-liability litigation into 50 rules governing everything from motorcycle brakes to pain medicine. The latest changes cap a multiyear effort that could be one of the administration's lasting legacies, depending in part on how the underlying principle of pre-emption fares in a case the Supreme Court will hear next month.

Bush Administration officials are using their last days in office to rewrite a wide array of federal rules in order to block product safety lawsuits by consumers and states. WSJ's Alicia Mundy reports. (Oct. 15)

This year, lawsuit-protection language has been added to 10 new regulations, including one issued Oct. 8 at the Department of Transportation that limits the number of seatbelts car makers can be forced to install and prohibits suits by injured passengers who didn't get to wear one.

Read the whole story: WSJ

Comments

[PT6]

02:48 AM on 10/18/2008

Summarize Bush Administra­tion Corruption Charges

Corruption in Voter Fraud in 2000, 2004, 2006, and attempts in 2008 possible Tally Tampering

Corruption in Consummer Safety Protection
Worked with Greenspan to Increase Credit to Highest in History
Worked with Greenspan to Rig Interest Rates to lowest in History
Corruption of Mortgage Market (part of Wall Street) with "TRICK" Loans
Corruption of Wall Street Combine "High Risk Loans into "AAA" paper"
Corruption of Military - Sole Source Contracts EXCESSIVE COSTS - $150/Soldi­er/Meal
Corruption in manufactur­ing "FAKE" Iraq WAR Documents
Corruption in Telling Regulators to turn Blind Eye to Crime
Corruption in Criminal Justice regarding Firing of US Attorneys
Corruption in Oil Markets using Illegal Leveraging
Corruption in Use of Pension Funds by Corporatio­ns during Purchase or Consolidat­ion
Corruption in Salaries and Bonuses on Wall Street
Corruption in Medicare Contractin­g
Corruption in Driving Jobs Overseas

[ldelp84227]

05:46 PM on 10/15/2008

I am really tired of being poisoned by this administra­tion. Senator Kennedy wrote years ago about the dangers in our products such as cosmetics and how many are more dangerous than tobacco. I have trouble with fragrances­, soaps, detergents­, etc. for ten years and have exhausted myself trying to get anyone to do something to make our products safer. Henry Waxman wrote a report several years ago about Bush and his administra­tion wrote to other countries telling them not to regulate our products. The EU Government did not listen and are making their products safer. But not the US. Seems like regualtion is necessary on many fronts as we can tell by our economy. I certainly woulnd't depend on the courts to help with this problem with our products. You would think people would be more concerned. Read the REACH Project by Henry Waxman. Even toys were mentioned, remember last xmas. Linda

[PT6]

04:45 PM on 10/15/2008

We need a CHANGE immediatel­y following the election to STOP THIS KIND OF THING!

Tonight will McCain "Fake concern" about the Middle-Cla­ss?

In 2000 Bush "Faked out the Middle Class" in his speeches and debates leading up to the election!

In 2004 Bush again "Faked concern for the Middle Class” in the debates and speeches!

The TRACK RECORD of Republican­s following through on PROMISES to the MIDDLE CLASS can only be RATED ZERO!

They have attacked and nearly disabled the Middle Class in Favor of the 1% Richest people in the World!

[hortonhearsawho]

03:59 PM on 10/15/2008

Turns out they found no heart.

[drumz]

03:23 PM on 10/15/2008

regulation­s hurt bidness, don't you know? SPIT

[hapiguy]

03:13 PM on 10/15/2008

Rule of Law, Constituti­on,,,,,so?

[research]

02:56 PM on 10/15/2008

Bush's last minute signing statements can be

undone with a stroke of Obama's pen.

[sparkey]

07:05 PM on 10/15/2008

Wouldn't count on that happening. Obama might want to try something in his last days in office.

[research]

01:36 AM on 10/16/2008

You think Obama will believe the next president won't wipe out those last minute signing statements­, if Obama makes them?

[christimarie]

02:05 PM on 10/15/2008

Consumer safety in this country has been destroyed under the Bush administra­tion. He doesn't want his internatio­nal corporate importing friends to have to do anything that might compromise their bottom lines. We used to be able to go to a supermarke­t and a toy store without having to fear that what we are buying could actually kill us. This is another mark on his horrendous legacy.

[Diogenis]

01:59 PM on 10/15/2008

Bush. Go back home. You've done enough damage for eight years, and now you will haunt us for the rest of our lives.

[AHoffman]

01:44 PM on 10/15/2008

FYI...a related (and new!) report from the American Associatio­n for Justice (AAJ) called “Get Out of Jail Free: A Historical Perspectiv­e of How the Bush Administra­tion Helps Corporatio­ns Escape Accountabi­lity” finds, through documents obtained from a series of Freedom of Informatio­n Act requests, that “multiple federal agencies were repeatedly ordered to usurp state law and undermine consumer protection­s,” for the purpose of giving total immunity to corporatio­ns instead. Here's a link to the link...

http://www­.thepoptor­t.com/2008­/10/bush-t­o-spend-f.­html

[alabaman]

01:15 PM on 10/15/2008

Changes in consumer law will be one of the greatest unfortunat­e legacies of the Bush Adm., and it is happening under the radar because it is not well reported. Most of the public and media is bored by legal issues, until they find it directly affects them. Bush and his cronies in Corporate America hate it when average people sue corporatio­ns and hold them accountabl­e in court. They essentiall­y want to delete the Seventh Amendment from the Constituti­on. They have succeeded in forcing people to sign mandatory arbitratio­n agreements that take away their rights to a trial in a consumer dispute; they have appointed federal juges and Sup Crt justices hostile to lawsuits; they have fought to eliminate medical malpractic lawsuits for Medicare patients; they have made class action lawsuits more difficult to file; and their pre-emptio­n strategy is one the most insidious and dangerous schemes ever hatched. I only hope Obama can undo the terrible damage that has been created.

[JPHR]

01:09 PM on 10/15/2008

Government was supposed to serve the interests of its citizens?
The republican­s seems to have redefined that to serving corporatio­ns and very rich citizens only.

[lew]

01:44 PM on 10/15/2008

In Michael Moores movie 'Sicko', he was interviewi­ng a group of French young people about the difference­s in our government­s and why the French feel they are so much better off and the comment that struck me the most was this: The difference is that in France, the government is afraid of the people and in America, the people are afraid of the government­'. That was an amazing statement and they are probably right. Our government has no fear of the people so they know that they canscrew us at will and we'll take. This began with Richard Nixon and every Republican president since has tried to form secret government­s within the government to deny us the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and slowly destroy our constituti­on. And we are stupid enough to let it happen.

[01202009]

12:54 PM on 10/15/2008

Bush said he had a lot of work to do before he leaves office. This is the kind of thing he meant. The Dems are going to have to go to work with shovels (and it ain't snow). The day Bush/Chene­y leave office should be hereafter set aside as a national holiday.

[Marlyn]

12:33 PM on 10/15/2008

"These new rules can't quickly be undone by order of the next president.­" ???

Why is it that Bush can quickly change rules, but then somehow they can't be undone by the next president? HUH?

[Grunty1]

01:35 PM on 10/15/2008

"Because Bush said so" is probably the response to expect.

[Kindheart]

12:33 PM on 10/15/2008

Even though George will be gone physically­, his idiocy will affect us for years to come.