I imagine a Trump family meeting goes something like this*:
Donald: "OK kids, what can we do to make your lives better?"
Baron: "Gee Dad, I wouldn't mind being able to leave my shoes all over the foyer when I walk in the door."
Tiffany: "I hate cleaning up after the dog and I really don't mind stepping in dog poop."
Ivanka: "Do we really need to eat off of clean dishes?"
Donald Jr: "The toilets don't really need to be cleaned every week, do they?
Eric: "I thought my bed made itself."
Donald: " Sounds good to me. Awesome meeting. Amazing ideas. Bigly. And if you all don't mind, I'm going to adopt this management strategy as I make America GREAT again."
Just days after taking office, President Trump invited American manufacturers to recommend ways the government could cut regulations and make it easier for companies to get their projects approved.
Industry leaders responded with scores of suggestions that paint the clearest picture yet of the dramatic steps that Trump officials are likely to take in overhauling federal policies, especially those designed to advance environmental protection and safeguard worker rights.
Those clues are embedded in the 168 comments submitted to the government after Trump signed a presidential memorandum Jan. 24 instructing the Commerce Department to figure out how to ease permitting and trim regulations with the aim of boosting domestic manufacturing. The Environmental Protection Agency has emerged as the primary target in these comments, accounting for nearly half, with the Labor Department in second place as the subject of more than one-fifth, according to a Commerce Department analysis.
-
BP wants to make it easier to drill for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico by reducing how often companies must renew theirleases.
-
A trade association representing the pavement industry wants to preclude the U.S. Geological Survey from conducting what the group says is “advocacy research” into the environmental impact of coal tar. The Pavement Coatings Technology Council says this research could limit what it uses to seal parking lots and driveways.
-
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to reduce the amount of time opponents have to challenge federal approval of projects. Challenges would have to be filed within two years, down from six.
-
The Chamber also wants to jettison a requirement that employers report their injury and illness records electronically to the Labor Department so they can be posted “on the internet for anyone to see.”
-
And in its 51-page comment, “Make Federal Agencies Responsible Again,” the Associated General Contractors of America recommended repealing 11 of President Barack Obama’s executive orders and memorandums, including one establishing paid sick leave for government contractors.
*OK, maybe that was a Haab family meeting.
