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Federal
Register Watch by Mike Powers June
16 - 20, 2003
The Federal
Register is the official daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules,
and Notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive
Orders and other Presidential Documents.
This column attempts to summarize the highlights (or lowlights)
of the Federal Register during the preceding week. Instructions
for subscribing to the Federal Register can be found at the end of the
column. JUNE
16, 2003: TREASURY
DEPARTMENT – TERRORISM
RISK INSURANCE ACT OF 2002; STUDY OF INSURANCE RISK FROM POTENTIAL
TERRORIST ACTS Passed
in November 2002, the Act provides for a “sharing” of losses
resulting from certain acts of terrorism between the insurance companies
and the Federal Government (i.e., taxpayers) after satisfaction of an
insurance company deductible. The Act requires the federal government to
reimburse insurers at 90% of any losses beyond the deductible amount.
This
legislation is basically a huge
subsidy for the insurance industry, as it reduces their liability -
in the event of future terrorist attacks - by passing the burden on to
American taxpayers! Naturally,
the insurance industry is a strong supporter of the Act.
Taxpayers lose again. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-15074.htm JUNE
17, 2003: FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE CORPORATION – $3.5 MILLION FOR “UNDERSERVED” FARMERS AND
RANCHERS The
Community Outreach and Partnership Assistance Program will provide
$3.5 million in FY 2003 to for “collaborative outreach and assistance
programs” for women, limited
resource, socially disadvantaged and other traditionally underserved
farmers and ranchers who produce agricultural commodities covered by
the noninsured crop disaster assistance program. Free
money, if you are in the “correct” socioeconomic group.
Another loss for taxpayers. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-15205.htm FISH
AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (FWS) – CRITICAL
HABITAT DESIGNATION FOR 99 PLANT SPECIES The
FWS designates 55,040 acres
of land on the island of Oahu, Hawaii as “critical habitat” for
various species of plants. According
to the draft, the designation will adversely affect
at least a dozen businesses in the Hawaiian cattle industry.
Once
again, the FWS includes an incredible disclaimer in their analysis: Designation
of critical habitat provides little additional protection to species.
Yet, their
destructive policies continue unabated. The
final economic draft analysis by the FWS estimates that, over the next
ten years, this “critical habitat” designation will result in
economic losses that range from $8.3
million to $20.3 million. But
why should the bureaucrats at the FWS care? It’s not their money. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-11156.htm
JUNE
18, 2003: AGRICULTURAL
MARKETING SERVICE – SOYBEAN PROMOTION AND RESEARCH This
rule amends the filing dates for the
federal government’s soybean marketing order, a mandatory
program that the federal government imposes on domestic soybean
producers. The government
assesses a fee of 0.5% to 1.0% of the net market price of soybean sold
by producers in order to fund this marketing program that is designed to
“strengthen the soybean industry’s position in the marketplace
through advertising and research.” How
many of these producers would voluntarily hire the government to market
their soybeans, if they
were not coerced to do so? Probably
not too many. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-15318.htm
LABOR
DEPARTMENT – The
Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor announces the 2003
solicitation for grant applications authorized under the “Women in
Apprenticeship and Non-traditional Occupations Act of 1992.”
The purpose of this program is to “assist
employers and labor unions in the placement and retention of women in
apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations.” Applicants
get greater consideration for the grants if they meet the following
requirements: ·
Private,
non-profit community based organizations (a requirement) ·
Established employer and labor union linkages ·
Women serving as employed
staff or board members of the organization As
is the tradition with every government endeavor, the WANTO program is
funded by other people’s money that was confiscated involuntarily.
Approximately $500,000 to
$1 million of taxpayer funds will be available for the program. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-15344.htm
JUNE
19, 2003: OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY (ONDCP) –
SCHOOL DRUG TESTING PROGRAM SURVEY This
statement informs the public of the ONDCP’s recent “collection
activities.” This request
involves a survey of public and private schools currently operating
school drug testing programs in 25 cities across the United States.
The purpose of the survey is to “identify schools or school
districts that currently conduct student drug testing programs, and to
assess the common characteristics of existing programs.” Is
Big Brother drug testing your kids? http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-15575.htm To
subscribe to the Federal Register Table of Contents LISTSERV electronic
mailing list, go to http://listserv.access.gpo.gov
and select Online mailing list archives, FEDREGTOC-L, Join or leave the
list (or change settings); then follow the instructions.
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