The Obama approach to public protection

Nearly 30 years ago, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed in his first inaugural address, "[G]overnment is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Those words unleashed a sustained agenda of deregulation and relaxation of regulatory enforcement. Increasingly, unscrupulous companies have been able to cut corners when it comes to issues such as environmental protection, worker safety, and consumer safeguards. In 2010, two such events captured national headlines. On April 5, an explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine killed 29 miners, the worst mining accident in 40 years. On April 20, 11 people died and 17 others were injured when BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and spilled at least 185 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, causing extensive damage to marine habitats, as well as the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries. This report assesses whether the Obama administration has made progress in reinvigorating regulatory enforcement at the federal level. It covers health, safety, and environmental enforcement at federal agencies from January 2009 to October 2010.