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News Summary: Administration unleashes new rules

By The Associated Press
Published December 13, 2012 6:19pm ET
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News Summary: Administration unleashes new rules
FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2012, file photo, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks against the expansion of the Clean Water Act to authority over wet areas on private land in a pasture owned by Gary Johnson in Waukomis, Okla. While the looming fiscal cliff dominates political conversation in Washington, some Republicans and business groups see signs of a "regulatory cliff" they say could be just as damaging to the economy. President Barack Obama has spent the past year "punting" on a slew of job-killing regulations that will be unleashed in a second term, said Inhofe. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) | Sue Ogrocki

THEY’RE BACK: After taking a break during election season, the Obama administration has quietly reopened the regulations pipeline.

MUSCLE FLEXING: In recent weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rules to update water quality guidelines for beaches and deal with runoff from logging roads. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed regulations requiring auto makers to include “black boxes” in new cars in 2014. Health care officials have come up with a new fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions.

MIXED REVIEWS: Some GOP lawmakers fear it’s “full speed ahead” for federal rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions, requiring cleaner gasoline and putting controls on drilling for oil and natural gas. But environmental groups say fears of a second-term regulatory deluge are overstated.