Obama govt and its foes in race to cross regulations 'finish line'

Washington

THE Obama administration is in a mad rush to draft regulations before the clock runs out and an obscure law makes it easier for foes in Congress to repeal rules they don't like.

The to-do list includes forcing food producers to put "added sugar" on nutrition labels, making oil companies plug methane leaks at wells and limiting how much of the carcinogen silica that workers can safely inhale."Their deadline for finishing anything that will last after them comes really, really soon," said David Goldston, director of government affairs for the Natural Resources Defense Council, a Washington environmental lobby.

Sooner than some might think. The cutoff may be as early as May 17 under a 20-year-old law called the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Pushed through in 1996 as part of the Contract with America, the law allows Congress to toss rules it dislikes within 60 legislative days of enactment on a simple majority vote and without being held hostage by filibusters. The deadline, based on the current congressional calend…