"Midnight" regulations changes by presidents should not be allowed.

[Joe Fields]

It is my understanding that this practice of changing regulations at the last minute by an outgoing president has been going on for a long time. I guess Clinton had over 2,500 pages of changes on all sorts of regulations and legislation.

One thing, in particular that Bush has changed, that concerns me deeply, as well it should concern every other American: He has now made it possible for employers to legally be able to look at an employee's medical history, and also any prospective employee's medical history.

I think that a breach in the privacy of an employee is a serious matter. A breach such as this sends shivers down my spine, as I contemplate the ramifications of such an allowance.

How do you feel about midnight regulations changes, and this particular one that Bush concocted?

[Posteritatis]

1. In general, I'll be totally honest...

It depends on the regulation. If someone midnighted the kind of thing you described in that post, I'd be pissed off, even as the libertarian types would praise it as another glorious aspect of freedom or whatnot.

If a situation like that was reversed in the last days of a presidency, though, I can't say I'd be that outraged, especially since pushing the things through has become standard.

Also, the difficulty involved in reversing any one would factor into my take on them too. If one's set off with a penstroke and can be reversed with another one, that's one thing, but if one's started that way and requires an act of Congress to reverse, that's another. Though that's less a matter of the regulations changes in and of themselves and more an executive/legislative conflict.

So yeah, I'm not sure I can entirely comment one way or another. If I rejected every technique Bush used - and, let's be fair, I do reject a lot of those - I'd also be tossing out things that actual competent presidents could use as well. So until I work that out in my head, the closest I can think is "it depends on the rule."

The particular one you describe, of course, is utterly fucking vile and had better be met with some swift lawsuits.

[Mojorabbit]

2. Do you have a link

for the medical history thing?

[Joe Fields]

5. I don't have a link

I saw it on a report on CNN yesterday afternoon.

[cobalt1999]

3. Didn't Carter create lots of new National Parks during his last few hours in office?

Knowing that Reagan was coming, that was smart.

[Joe Fields]

4. It's true that Carter did that. But I don't think the practice should be allowed.

I can think of two reasons these midnight regulations should not be allowed:

1) It allows an evil s.o.b. like Bush to do a whole lot of nasty little things, before he leaves office.

2) Such actions are designed, in many instances to tie the hands of the next administration, and the actions almost always run counter, in philosophy, than the next administration's philosophy.

[Johonny]

6. Practice ok

Just another reason why you impeach corrupt presidents. It's a fantasy to believe you can some how manage them until there successor comes.