Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
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	Press Releases September 22, 2003   LIEBERMAN CALLS REVISED COST-BENEFIT GUIDELINES IMMORAL TOOL TO BLOCK TOUGHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS   WASHINGTON - Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Monday condemned the Administration’s revised guidelines for the economic analysis of federal regulations, saying they are biased against environmental protection and, in particular, against protecting the sick and the elderly from harmful air, water and ground pollution. The guidelines are contained within the Office of Management and Budget's Annual Cost-Benefit Report to Congress, issued Monday. Every agency must conduct a cost and benefit analysis of regulations before they are approved by the Administration. The revised guidelines instruct agencies not to use a particular technique for discounting the value of older Americans' lives directly. Instead, they advocate other, more roundabout ways to reach similar results. “It is unconscionable that the Administration continues to push agencies to evaluate pollution-control proposals on the basis of the life-expectancies of the individuals who are protected,” Lieberman said. “Judging people who are less worth protecting based on their age and poor health - and to do so for the benefit of polluters - is not just preposterous. It is immoral.” In a May 20, 2003, letter to Dr. John Graham, director of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Lieberman asked Graham to renounce the repugnant so-called “senior discount” policy, which assigned a discounted value to Americans over 70 in analyzing proposals to control pollution. This Administration faced a firestorm of criticism from angry seniors, and Dr. Graham, who had devised the policy, beat a hasty retreat by telling agencies to stop using that particular senior discount. The new guidelines reinforce the broader bias against the environment inherent in economic cost-benefit analysis, which can give short shrift to unquantifiable values of human health and a strong ecology, while overestimating the economic costs to polluters. “By lowering the calculated economic benefit of protecting the elderly and the frail, these techniques will understate the apparent benefits of environmental protection, because the old and frail are among the most vulnerable to respiratory and other diseases caused by pollution,” Lieberman said. “The intended result will be to block tougher environmental protections.”   ###   Printable Version   « previous Press Release next Press Release »   1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 September 2003 Press Releases August   |  October   --   2002   |  2004     September 30 - GAC Democrats Seek Directive to Prevent Cover-Up in Investigation Surrounding Disclosure of CIA Agent's Identity   September 29 - Lieberman Demands White House Preserve Records and Cooperate Fully with Investigation into Disclosure of CIA Agent's Identity   September 24 - Administration Unwilling to Fight for Homeland Resources   September 24 - Lieberman Seeks White House Contacts Regarding Global Warming Lawsuit   September 23 - Lieberman, Lautenberg Seek Hearings on No Bid Contracts   September 22 current Press Release   September 17 - Lieberman Says Listen to the Mayors: Insufficient Funds are Reaching the Front Lines   September 17 - “US Postal Service: What Can Be Done to Ensure Its Future Viability?”   September 17 - Lieberman Says Homeland Security Will be Forced to Skimp   September 16 - Lieberman Welcomes Terrorist Screening Center Despite Two-Year Delay   September 15 - Lieberman Applauds Overdue Appointment Of Cyber Security Chief   September 12 - Lieberman Calls on Bush To Ensure Fair Bidding on Iraqi Contracts   September 12 - Postal Service Should Assess Security Needs Before Eliminating Security Officers   September 10 - Dodd, Lieberman Announce New London Firefighters to Receive Over $100,000   September 10 - Lieberman Refutes Bush Boast of Greater Homeland Security   September 4 - Lieberman Welcomes DOE Investigation into Spiking Gas Prices   September 4 - Senators Question DHS Decision to Throw Open Vital Immigration Functions to the Lowest Bidder
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