Government & Policy Roundup

What people do after receiving a bachelor's degree in science and engineering is examined in a new NSF report. Among other things, it says about 60% of those degree holders in the physical sciences go on to earn additional degrees. The full report is available at www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf06324.

EPA has reviewed 99% of the pesticide residue limits required by the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act, the agency said on Aug. 3. But two days earlier, EPA's inspector general reported that the agency's pesticide office has measured its success primarily by adherence to a schedule rather than by actual reductions in risks to children's health.

President Bush has nominated Susan E. Dudley, director of the regulatory studies program at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, to be the White House gatekeeper on regulations. Dudley is viewed as pro-industry, and some environmental activists call her a foe of federal regulations.