The Obama Administration is expected to step up the regulation of consumer products, workplace safety and the environment.  In a series of letters to the American Federation of Government Employees, a large federal employee union, before his election, Obama vowed to do more than the Bush Administration to support the union’s position on labor issues and to increase the funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies.

Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, the co-chairman of Obama’s election team who may be named to take his seat in the Senate, said she expected Obama’s agenda to be bold and that the transition team was considering a number of activists and advocates to head key agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the EPA and the Department of Labor. Business groups have expressed concerns that the imposition of more regulations could worsen the current problems in the economy.

November 25, 2008