massachusetts Lives at Risk

The Local Impact of Federal “Regulatory Reform” Proposals

The United States Congress is currently considering so-called “regulatory reform” legislation that would add new bureaucratic hurdles to stall and, in some cases, stop the creation of new safeguards and standards that hold corporations accountable and protect the public. According to our analysis, the result would be demonstrable harm for the people of Massachusetts.

Report

MASSPIRG Education Fund

Key Findings

The United States Congress is currently considering so-called “regulatory reform” legislation that would add new bureaucratic hurdles to stall and, in some cases, stop the creation of new safeguards and standards that hold corporations accountable and protect the public. According to our analysis, the result would be demonstrable harm for the people of Massachusetts.

Key “regulatory reform” proposals include:

  • Broad regulatory moratoria proposals such as the Regulatory Time-Out Act of 2011 (S. 1538) and the Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act of 2012 (H.R. 4078)
  • The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 10) (S. 299)
  • The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) (H.R. 3010) (S. 1606)
  • The Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act (RFIA) (H.R. 527) (S. 1938)


In Massachusetts, allowing polluters to delay one year in meeting tougher standards limiting soot in our air will cause as many as:

  • 16,207 days of missed work or school due to air pollution-caused ailments—the equivalent of every Massachusetts State Police officer missing over a week of work protecting the public each year
  • 7,494 asthma attacks among children—similar to one case for every member of the entire freshman classes of UMass Boston, Amherst and Dartmouth combined
  • 145 visits to the hospital and emergency room
  • 16 heart attacks
  • 9 premature deaths

In Massachusetts, allowing food processors to delay one year before using new standards from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for safe handling of produce will cause approximately:

  • 200,000 local cases of foodborne illness—more than the entire city of Worcester