Push to ease laws hits snags
ENVIRONMENTALISTS BLOCK MUCH OF PRESIDENT'S AGENDA
By Paul Rogers
Mercury News
Saturday was Earth Day, a time every year when Americans celebrate the environment and debate changes in the way to protect it. Yet on Earth Day, 2006, the real news may have been what hasn't changed.
Despite relentless rhetoric from environmentalists and industry that the Bush administration has shifted the balance from tight regulation toward a more business-friendly approach, in reality, the president and his supporters have been unable to significantly rewrite America's landmark environmental laws, even though Republicans have controlled all branches of government for more than five years.
Neither side plays it up. But environmentalists have blocked the president's most far-reaching efforts in the Senate, in court and with public opinion. Green groups can't get anything passed, but not much has gotten past them, experts say.
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