The White House Office of Management and Budget has begun its review of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Specifically, the portion of the rule governing the latest volumetric standards are under review and scheduled to be released by the Environmental Protection Agency by November 30th. The volumetric standards have been the subject of intense campaigning in recent weeks with the oil industry and renewable fuels advocates exchanging charges about whether the volumes should be lowered or raised from what EPA has proposed.

This month's food and health edition of the journal Health Affairs is packed with studies that examine all sorts of thorny policy issues - soda taxes, menu labeling, the backstory behind the Food Safety Modernization Act. One may grab the attention of the East Wing and others trying to tackle childhood obesity: A new study suggests that policymakers looking for cost-effective solutions might want to impose a penny-an-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, eliminate the tax deduction for unhealthy food marketing to kids and enact nutrition standards for school food.

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