The Bush Legacy
an assault on
public protections
Acknowledgements
Lead Author
Osha Gray Davidson
Contributors
Gary D. Bass, Executive Director
Adam Hughes, Director of Federal Fiscal Policy
Craig Jennings, Federal Fiscal Policy Analyst
Matthew Madia, Regulatory Policy Analyst
Rick Melberth, Director of Regulatory Policy
Editor and Producer
Brian Gumm, Communications Coordinator
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January 2009
Table of Contents
Chapter I: Introduction: Dismantling Government ....................1
Chapter II: Turning Off the Spigot ...................................... 11
Chapter III: Changing the Rules ......................................... 27
Chapter IV: Getting Government Out of the Way .................... 45
Chapter V: Conclusions and Recommendations for Change ....... 55
The Bush Legacy
1
A. Historical Overview
Throughout American history, periods of new government regulations
protecting worker safety, public health, and natural resources (later to be-
come “the environment”) have alternated with eras of dramatic contraction of
government power, during which time these same laws were weakened, sub-
verted, or simply overturned.1 Early