A federal appeals court ruled that Obama's appointment of Craig Becker in 2010 was unconstitutional.

The Obama administration wants higher standards for federally funded child care.

A proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services issued on Thursday would strengthen standards for the 1.6 million children who are served by providers that get money from the Child Care and Development Fund, a federal program to aid low-income children under the age of 13.

The administration claims that current regulations resemble a patchwork of regulations for child care centers, with state laws varying on whether providers need background checks or first aid and CPR training. One in 10 children who are served by the program are cared for in totally unregulated facilities, the department asserts in the proposal, which "can leave children in unsafe conditions, even as their care is being funded with public dollars."

Members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) defended their continued activity in the wake of a federal court ruling that declared two members' appointments unconstitutional.

"We owe it to the public to continue to work," board Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce said on Thursday. "Every day the board provides a forum for workers, employees, employers and unions to come forward and to air their issues. This forum ensures that economic security is provided and protected from industrial unrest."

The nominees' opponents said that two members should step down after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in January that President Obama unconstitutionally appointed members to the board.

A top House Republican sought Thursday to tie a contentious corporate disclosure proposal before the Securities and Exchange Commission to the IRS scandal, suggesting both reflect an overtly politicized federal government.

Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling said the IRS’ apparent targeting of conservative groups raises questions about how pervasive “tactics of harassment” have become within the Obama administration, saying the scandal is “right out of the Watergate playbook.”

The Texas Republican, during a budget hearing, warned new SEC chairman Mary Jo White that her agency could similarly be viewed as acting in a partisan manner if it pursues a rule requiring public firms to report their political spending to shareholders.

Hensarling said the proposal “is well known to be part of a partisan political agenda of labor union bosses.”

“Now the American people are horrified at those who would use the strong arm of government for partisan political advantage, but it remains to be seen whether this could ever happen at the SEC,” Hensarling said. Read more...

Various meetings and teleconferences will be announced in Friday's edition of the Federal Register. Here they are:

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission subcommittee on materials and reactor fuels will meet in Rockville, Md., on May 22 to review long-term storage of certain fuel. 

There are a few rules coming up on pesticides, endangered species and ways that the federal and state governments work together to combat Medicaid fraud. Here's what's coming up in Friday's Federal Register:

Healthcare:
The Department of Health and Human Services is amending a provision to allow the federal government to give financial assistance to states' Medicaid fraud units. 

Read more...

Business groups and Republican leaning states are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review an assortment of regulations designed to curb the effects of climate change, Reuters reports.

A battle is looming over the yet unregulated digital currency known as bitcoin, described by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as “an online form of money laundering,” according to The Washington Post.

After weeks of delays, Thomas Perez, President Obama’s nominee to serve as Labor Secretary, will get a vote Thursday in the Senate Heath, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, The Hill’s On The Money blog reports. 

The Security and Exchange Commission recently picked up an attorney who counsels businesses on complying with federal regulations and helped companies like Dunkin’ Brands go public.

Keith F. Higgins, a partner in of Ropes & Gray’s Boston office, will become the director of the SEC’s division of corporation finance next month. He has worked in the private sector for three decades and specializes in corporate securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions and executive compensation.

“The commission has an ambitious rulemaking agenda that will be my first priority, and I look forward to continuing to move that agenda forward,” he said in a statement released by the agency.

The nation's nuclear watchdog wants to issue new rules on transporting radioactive material to bring the United States in line with international standards.

The changes to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) rules would meet 2009 revisions to regulations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global nuclear energy organization, as well as 2011 regulations from the Department of Transportation.