New rules will stick

WASHINGTON George W. Bush made one campaign pledge to businessesthat he'll find difficult to keep, analysts say. He's unlikely to beable to do much about lifting federal regulations, even the ones theClinton administration imposes in its final weeks.

"He can't take a pen and say never mind," said Baruch Fellner, anattorney at Gibson Dunn and Crutcher. Fellner represents the NationalAssociation of Manufacturers and other business groups suing to blockworkplace-safety rules that they say will cost industry $100 billiona year.

The ergonomics rules made final Nov. 13 are among severalinstances in which President Clinton's administration is issuingcontroversial rules after years of study. And Republicans note thathe still has a month to issue more.

"From pesticides to ergonomics, you're going to continue to seethe president use executive authority to bypass Congress," saidMichael Sommers, a spokesman for Rep. John Boehner. The OhioRepublican has questioned new rules by the National Labor RelationsBoard that govern benefits for temporary workers.

A Supreme Court ruling during former President Ronald Reagan'sadministration requires hearings and a review process that couldgrind on for years before any rules are rescinded.

"A new administration would have to go into 600 pages oflegislation and have to explain why (the standards) are no longervalid," said Randy Johnson, vice president of labor and employeebenefits at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The Clinton administration may issue more rules but says it isn'trushing just to take advantage of Clinton's final days in office,said Linda Ricci, spokeswoman for the White House Office ofManagement and Budget.

"It's the prerogative of any president to use the rule-makingauthority to achieve goals," she said.

Before issuing final regulations, the administration has generallygone through several rounds of proposals, each of which was subjectto public comment and, often, congressional hearings and delays. Theworkplace-safety rules issued by the Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration were in the works for years, and were repeatedlydelayed by Congress. An attempt to delay them again until the nextadministration collapsed just a few days ago.

Other proposals being closely watched by businesses include:

A regulation, known as the "responsibility rule" by supporters andthe "blacklist" provision by opponents, that would require companiesvying for government contracts to show they've not violated tax,labor, employment and other laws.

An Environmental Protection Agency standard to reduce the sulfurcontent of diesel fuel by 2006 and require modifications in truck andbus diesel engines to cut down pollution. The oil industry opposesthe fuel proposal and has come out with its own plan to reduce sulfurcontent.

An EPA standard that would assess the risk of pesticides such asdiazinon as part of food-safety requirements. Chemical manufacturers are against these proposals. On Dec. 5, the EPA announced anagreement with chemical manufacturers Syngenta AG, the world'slargest farm-chemical maker, and Makhteshim-Agan Industries Ltd. tophase out the use of diazinon in home- and garden-care products.