Earmarks & Hazmat

WASHINGTON (CN) - President Bushissued an Executive Order slammingearmarks in the final year of his term.

Earmarks arefunds appropriated to an agency that a member of Congress has dedicated to a certain project. Their usecircumvents the ordinary process of passing appropriations and can be seen as a gift to a high ranking Congress person. Their number hasprofoundly increased over the Bush Sr. and Jr. Administrations. Transportation of hazardous materials regulations have been changed to clarify, relax or update certain requirements on explosives and dry ice, and to add an entry for ethanol. The ethanol entry requires different labeling for gasoline blends with more than 10 percent alcohol, so a Hazmat team would know how to treat such a load in case of an accident. Certain other labeling requirements have been changed either to conform to internationalrules or to require ocean pollutant labeling for relevant items that will travel on water during any part of their trip. Click here for details and other new regulations.

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