Regulatory Action Center Review - December 6, 2019

Regulatory Action Center proudly updates you with our favorite tidbits from the swamp. We want to smash barriers between bureaucracy and the American people by delivering regulatory news straight to FreedomWorks activists. Check back in two weeks for the next edition.

1) Video of the Week: One of the few politicians left in America who truly believes in the principles of less government and more freedom is Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.). In this weeks video, John Stosell sits down with Sen. Paul on Fox Business to discuss how onerous regulations have consistently been caught in the middle between the state and the federal government.

2) DHS proposes face scans for all travelers leaving or entering US: report: “The Trump administration is proposing a new regulation that would require all travelers leaving or entering the U.S. to be photographed, citing safety concerns. The proposal, which is set to be issued in July by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), aims to use face scans to track travelers — including U.S. citizens — as they come and go in the U.S., Reuters reports. In its regulatory agenda, the Trump administration says the facial scan will address fraudulent U.S. travel documents and help officials identify criminals and suspected terrorists.”

3) Gov. Brad Little: Idaho is now least-regulated state in the country: “Less than one year into his first term as Idaho governor, Brad Little has accomplished what many states and the federal government have been struggling to do for years: regulatory reform. During a news conference Wednesday, Little said Idaho cut or simplified 75% of its regulatory rules this year. Of Idaho’s 72,000 restrictions, Little said 30,936, have been eliminated.”

4) EPA authorizes use of ‘cyanide bombs’ to protect livestock against predators: “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authorized the use of “cyanide bombs” to protect livestock against wild animals on Thursday after adding additional safety requirements in response to backlash from environmental groups. The new requirements call for increased distances between where the M-44 chemical trap devices can be placed. Advocacy groups had raised concerns in August when the previous proposal was announced.”

5) FDA Claims CBD Is Evil, While WHO And NIDA Said It’s All Good: “There is something fishy going on in the United States concerning the government’s negative stance on CBD (cannabidiol). The scientific goons over at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published an updated statement on the non-intoxicating cannabis derivative that was seemingly intended to horrify the average consumer to its core. Considering that Good Morning America ran with the story, it is conceivable that millions of scared people are out there right now tossing their CBD bottles in the trash. But such a drastic reaction might not be necessary.”

6) CBP kills plan to photograph Americans entering and leaving the US: “Customs officials are abandoning a plan to require everyone, including Americans, to submit to a face scan when entering and leaving the country. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, was mandated by Congress to create a biometric entry and exit program or a digital method for tracking people by unique physical traits. A CBP spokesman wrote in an email to the Washington Examiner on Thursday the agency “intends to have the planned regulatory action regarding U.S. citizens removed from the Unified Agenda next time it is published.” The Unified Agenda is a semiannual summary of forthcoming regulations.”

7) NSA to Issue Updated Cloud Security Guidance: “The National Security Agency plans to issue updated guidance to companies on cybersecurity in the cloud, a senior official said, amid a series of attacks that have targeted service providers in recent months. Anne Neuberger, director of the NSA’s Cybersecurity Directorate, said that one of her division’s goals is to produce advisories for businesses and other organizations. The advisories will describe attack methods used by nation-state and advanced hackers and will lay out methods to counter them.”