Week in Review

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Regulatory news in review

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  • Congress avoided a federal government shutdown by passing a temporary spending measure after Congressional leaders agreed to cut nearly $38 billion from the federal budget. Congress will probably pass the final budget agreement this week and then shift its focus to the 2012 budget. See related The Regulatory Review essay.
  • The Department of Energy (DOE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Qatar Science and Technology Park to collaborate on developing and advancing clean energy technologies, including advanced cooling technologies, renewable power generation, energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, and water treatment systems. Qatar officials hope that this collaboration will help them meet the clean energy goals laid out in their Vision 2030 plan.
  • Donald Molloy, a U.S. district judge in Missoula, MT, struck down a proposed settlement agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several conservation groups that would have allowed the hunting of gray wolves in Montana and Idaho. The judge found that allowing such hunting would violate the Endangered Species Act, under which gray wolves are protected as an endangered species. Members of Congress have said that they may take gray wolves off the endangered species list because of wolf attacks on farm animals.