LOWERCASEWASHINGTON — Gray wolves might benefit and sellers of investment products might not under President Barack Obama’s first official act — the freezing of all proposed federal rules changes left unfinished by George W. Bush’s administration.
Obama’s order, which took effect as soon as he was sworn in Tuesday, gives his administration a chance to review numerous pending actions affecting the environment, labor relations and other fields, and to decide whether to block them.
For example, the Interior Department under Bush had announced plans to remove gray wolves from Endangered Species protections in much of the northern Rocky Mountains. And the Labor Department was in the process of letting companies that manage employee retirement plans to promote additional investment products to plan participants.
Those proposals, and many others, will be reviewed by Obama appointees who were still finding their desks, computers and light switches Wednesday.
“This is a stay of execution” for gray wolves, said Andrew Wetzler of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He urged conservation groups to lobby the new administration to keep wolves on the protected list.
The pending regulation on investment products cited “an increasing recognition of the importance of investment advice” to workers who decide how to invest their retirement money, as they do in widely used 401(k) plans.
But Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee, says the rule would invite conflicts of interest by allowing companies that administer 401(k) and individual retirement accounts to recommend products with higher fees.
Miller praised Obama for “this immediate action to stop consideration of rules that will roll back vital protections for consumers, workers and the environment.” Obama’s freeze order requires agencies to re-examine pending rules changes not yet published in the Federal Register. For items recently published in the register, the effective date can be postponed for several weeks, the order said.
Other proposals now under review would: — Allow mining deposits to be dumped within 100 feet of flowing streams, according to the environmental group Earthjustice.
— Increase financial reporting requirements for labor unions.
The Bush administration said the change would discourage embezzlement of union funds, but labor groups say it would impose unnecessary burdens.
— Limit overtime pay for some groups of workers.
— Expand the type of jobs available to 14- and 15-year-olds.
— Require mine operators to establish drug-testing programs.
— Allow employers not to disclose some pension plan expenses.
— Create a “roadless rule” for Colorado that critics said would do too little to protect affected lands.
Many Bush administration regulations recently took effect and cannot be undone by Tuesday’s order. They include a rule stripping Congress of its power to prohibit mining, oil and gas development on federal lands in emergency situations, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
——— Associated Press writers Sam Hananel and H. Josef Hebert contributed to this report.
