The Obama Administration is taking active steps in three government agencies to promote regulation on issues that affect public safety and work conditions.
New activism is being promoted by the Food and Drug Administration (originated under Theodore Roosevelt); the Consumer Product Safety Commission (begun under Richard Nixon); and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (also originating under Richard Nixon).
This is on top of the effort for new financial regulations, and also the beefing up of the regulatory powers of the Environmental Protection Agency (also initiated under Richard Nixon).
While conservatives will, of course, attack this new emphasis on regulation, I see it as an important step in the return of the nation to the best aspects of the Progressive Era, The New Deal, and The Great Society, as well as the numerous reforms under Republican Richard Nixon, who is seen more than ever as having been quite significant in promoting reform and regulation, despite his many negatives, and involvement in the Watergate scandal.