President’s budget proposal released, dry cleaning solvent declared a likely carcinogen, robocall rules updated, and more.
- President Obama introduced a $3.8 trillion budget for Fiscal Year 2013, in which he expressed support for the so-called “Buffett rule,” placing a 30% tax floor on incomes greater than $1 million.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that a widely used dry cleaning solvent – tetrachloroethylene – is a “likely human carcinogen,” causing the agency to reconsider standards for drinking water and other sources of exposure to the chemical.
- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updated rules on telemarketers’ robocalls, requiring companies to obtain written consent before placing an automated call to a consumer and to provide consumers with ways to opt out of a robocall upon receiving one.
- Registered lobbyists continued their lawsuit against the Department of Commerce (DOC) and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), claiming the Obama administration’s policy to ban their service on federal advisory boards is unconstitutional.
- The FCC has announced it will take public comment on a proposal to reject permanently LightSquared’s proposal to construct a national high-speed wireless network, following a finding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that the mobile service would interfere with personal-navigation and other GPS devices.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) studied 400 different lipsticks and announced that it found only trace amounts of lead which it deemed not large enough to raise a safety concern.
- The Speaker of the House postponed voting on a $260 billion transportation and energy bill, citing numerous amendments and disagreements over funding sources.
- Washington State enacted a law legalizing same-sex marriage, while a bill to permit gay marriage in Maryland faced a key legislative vote. The New Jersey legislature passed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, but Governor Chris Christie has stated that he will veto it.
- A report on foreclosures in California found that the vast majority of residential foreclosures between 2009 and 2011 involved legal violations or questionable documentation.
- The Department of Transportation (DOT) issued voluntary guidelines encouraging auto manufacturers to lock in-vehicle electronic devices like text messaging systems so they cannot be used by drivers while they are driving.
