Regulatory system is ‘rigged,’ public interest group says

The next president should strengthen the “hobbled rulemaking process,” public interest advocates say.

The Center for Progressive Reform released a document Thursday calling on the next president — whether it be Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump — to strengthen health, safety, environment, and financial security protections for Americans during the first 100 days in office.

“Continued political gridlock in Congress – if that’s what the November election yields – will likely defeat timely and effective legislative responses to public threats of harm,” the Center for Progressive Reform wrote. “Instead, if any such protections are to come, the next president will have to achieve them through the regulatory system.”

The Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) complained that the system is “rigged” to shield corporations from responsibility.

“In its current form, the regulatory system is not working as well as it should be,” CPR said. “Rather, it has increasingly become rigged to advance the narrow interests of powerful corporations instead of the broader public interest.”

“For example, trade associations and other industry-funded groups dominate nearly every step of the rulemaking process from beginning to end,” the group added. “As a result, many important safeguards end up delayed, diluted, or completely blocked.” 

CPR argued this presents an opportunity for the next president to “champion” regulatory reforms that would strengthen public protections.