Letters/Comments

The political arm of the product review magazine Consumer Reports on Tuesday urged lawmakers and federal regulators to take steps to eliminate antibiotic use in healthy animals.

The group, Consumers Union, says the overuse contributes to antibiotic drug-resistant “superbugs” in humans.

“The declining effectiveness of antibiotics has become a national health crisis,” said Ami Gadhia, the nonprofit organization’s senior policy counsel, said in a statement. “Approximately 80 percent of antibiotics sold in the United States are used in livestock production, often times on healthy animals. The use of antibiotics in livestock needs to be curbed so that consumers aren’t threatened by these superbugs that can’t be treated.”

Meetings from a whole host of agencies will be announced in Friday's Federal Register:

Portions of a Federal Aviation Authority private sector advisory committee are meeting April 9-10, May 8 and May 13-17.

A consumer advocacy group says it’s time for the Obama administration to require that lenders modify student loans borrowers are having trouble paying back.

The National Consumer Law Center praised the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) work to assist the estimated 38 million Americans with outstanding student loans, but said loan modifications won’t be enough to solve the problem.

“Lenders that had no problem saying ‘yes’ to risky loans now have no problem saying ‘no’ when these borrowers need help. The CFPB and other regulators need to step in,” said Arielle Cohen, an attorney with the group.

Thursday's Federal Register will announce a number of meetings and hearings in the next few weeks:

The National Science Board's Committee on Education and Human Resources is holding a teleconference on April 16 to discuss the committee's role in enhancing science, technology, engineering and math education.

Citing safety concerns, former Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) chairman Gregory Jaczko says the nation’s 104 nuclear power reactors should be replaced with newer technology, The New York Times reports.

Jaczco’s remarks come as the current NRC members face scrutiny over the implementation of a series of safety recommendations put forth in the wake of the Fukushima meltdown in Japan.

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a new chief, following the Senate’s unanimous vote to confirm her as the financial regulator’s chairman, The Hill’s On The Money blog reports. 

President Obama's top climate adviser said controversial new power plant emission rules will be issued in the "not too distant future," according to The Hill's E2 Wire blog.

Tree fruit farmers have joined the debate over the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed food safety overhaul, The Washington Post reports.

They are not the only group to find fault with the proposed regulations, which will exempt several fruits and veggies -- along with almost eight in 10 U.S. farms, as reported by RegWatch earlier this year. 

The Republicans say if smartphones are regulated as medical devices, they could be subject to tax.

A bipartisan trio of senators is pressing the Obama administration to revise a mortgage rule they say will hamper home ownership.

Sens. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) urged regulators to quickly revise the qualified residential mortgage (QRM) rule and eliminate the requirement for a 20 percent down payment.

"The QRM rule published over a year ago proposed an overly rigid, narrow standard that will result in many responsible borrowers being denied the opportunity to purchase a home with sustainable terms and pricing they can afford," the senators wrote in a letter to regulators.

"For the U.S. housing market to continue on its path to recovery, consumers, lenders and investors need greater certainty regarding the boundaries of mortgage lending." Read more...

The House Oversight Committee leaders are demanding information about obstacles they say limit government transparency. 

A bipartisan duo from the House is pressuring federal regulators to crack down on prescriptions for the painkiller hydrocodone.

Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) wrote to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg urging her to move painkillers containing hydrocodone, such as Vicodin, from a Schedule III to a Schedule II drug.

“Re-classifying hydrocodone combination drugs would limit how much … a patient can receive in between doctor visits and would require written prescriptions, rather than prescriptions that are faxed or called in by phone,” the two wrote to Hamburg on Monday.

“Prescription drug abuse is wreaking havoc on countless families and communities across our nation,” Buchanan and Markey wrote, adding that the drugs “are now the most widely prescribed painkillers in the country, with more than 131 million prescriptions for hydrocodone written in 2010 alone.”

Prescription drug abuse has soared in the U.S. in the past decade. A study by the Department of Health and Human Services found that the rate of pain-reliever dependence for those aged 12 or older increased from 936,000 to 1.4 million from 2002 to 2010.