Archive for Regulations
The Detroit Lions had better odds of winning the Super Bowl this year than a Republican winning the Senate seat from Massachusetts, held for almost 50 years by the late Ted Kennedy. But the Republican Scott Brown defeated the Democrat Martha Coakley yesterday by a five-point margin (52 percent vs. 47 percent). This morning, pundits on both sides of the political spectrum are spinning the results. Was this vote… Continue reading
100% Cargo Inspection: A Means to What End?
· CommentsInspecting 100 percent of all ocean cargo for ‘weapons of mass destruction’ or other contraband sounds reasonable, unless you’ve worked in manufacturing and understand that the need for inspections is a symptom of poorly designed and controlled processes.
The call to inspect all inbound ocean containers began shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the requirement was included in the 9/11 Act passed by Congress in 2007. The… Continue reading
Has the recession tossed a wet towel on the green movement? Recent developments suggest this is the case. Last month, for example, the Pew Research Center published the results of its latest survey on this topic (see “Fewer Americans See Solid Evidence of Global Warming”). Here are some excerpts:
The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Sept. 30-Oct… Continue reading
Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the Finance Committee he chairs in the U.S. Senate have been in the spotlight the past few months over healthcare reform. But did you know that he and Senator Chuck Grassley (R‐IA) introduced a bill back in August to facilitate trade processes? The Customs Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act of 2009 aims to rebalance the focus of U.S. Customs and Border Protection… Continue reading
In case you don’t regularly check our News Roundup section on Logistics Viewpoints, here are some important developments that occurred this week:
Hours of Service (HOS) trucking rules are back on the drawing board. After years of legal challenges, the “final” rule was published last November. But earlier this year, Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Truck Safety Coalition, and the International Brotherhood… Continue reading
Barcodes Come to the Farm
· CommentsBarcoding has become ubiquitous in supply chains that start at a manufacturing facility and end at a business or retail customer. Voluntary and regulatory initiatives are now extending barcoding further up the supply chain, to farms that grow fresh fruits and vegetables. The purpose of these initiatives is to support the reverse supply chain—i.e., recalls and traceability. But once farmers start using barcodes, they will likely find other productive uses… Continue reading
Although healthcare reform remains in the spotlight, cap-and-trade legislation is back on the main stage too. Last week, Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Boxer (D-CA) introduced the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.” Instead of making references to cap-and-trade, the bill refers to greenhouse gas trading provisions as “pollution reduction and investment” programs. Republicans call it a “national energy tax.” You say po-TAY-toh, I say po-TAH-toh. Who says words… Continue reading
Fuel Taxes: Let’s Insist on Getting Something Back
Posted on Feb 17 2010 | By Tom Sanderson · Comments (3)There is a growing consensus about the need to spend more on highway repair and construction and the reality of needing additional funding (tax collections) to pay for the improvements. James Oberstar, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure says, “… we need to begin the transition from the gasoline and diesel user fees to a vehicle miles travelled (VMT) fee system that charges users for each mile… Continue reading