Rulemaking

 

Webcast Event: Assessing the Obama Administration


Please join us Feb. 4, at 3 p.m. for, The Obama Administration and Public Protections: A First-Year Regulatory Assessment, a panel discussion that will address whether agencies are being proactive on a number of important issues, such as workplace safety, consumer protections, and the environment.

 

Reforming Regulatory Policy in the Obama Administration


OMB Watch continues to work with the Obama administration to develop and implement reforms that better enable federal agencies to protect public health, safety, and the environment through regulation. Click here to learn more.

 

Articles & Analysis

OMB Watch Calls on the Obama Administration to Revise Regulatory Process

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2010—President Barack Obama issued a memorandum to executive department heads and agencies on Jan. 30, 2009, calling for a revision to the principles guiding the federal regulatory process. The memo required agencies to submit within 100 days recommendations for a new executive order. The memo also precipitated a call for public comments by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to gather the public's ideas for reforming the regulatory process. At the one-year mark of his administration, OMB Watch calls on the president to complete this process by issuing a revised executive order.

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FDA Shifts Position on BPA but Says Its Hands are Tied

In its long-awaited decision on the dangers of bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it believes there is some concern about the effects of BPA on children. This is a shift from the agency's recent position that BPA is safe. The agency says its ability to regulate the chemical, however, is limited by FDA's outdated regulatory authority.

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Hundreds of Rules May Be Void after Agencies Miss Procedural Step

Regulatory agencies are routinely violating federal law by not submitting final regulations to Congress, according to a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. Any rule agencies have not submitted to Congress could be susceptible to a lawsuit.

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Improving Implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act

On Oct. 27, 2009, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) opened a public comment process on ways to improve implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The PRA covers a range of information resource management issues and topics, although it is best known for creating OIRA and establishing a paperwork clearance procedure. The law was passed in 1980 and last reauthorized in 1995, well before current technological capabilities that allow for greater public participation and streamlined information collection and reporting.

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Beginning Steps toward a Regulatory Reform Agenda: Regulatory News in 2009

In 2009, the Obama administration took steps toward rebuilding the federal government's ability to protect public health, workplace safety, and environmental quality. President Obama set out key principles to guide the administration's actions on transparency, regulatory reform, and scientific integrity. He appointed well qualified agency heads who reversed or halted many harmful regulations from the prior administration. In doing so, the president has created expectations for a renewal of government's positive role. The most vexing problems, however – changing a dysfunctional regulatory process and restoring badly needed resources to agencies – remain major hurdles.

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New OIRA Staffer Calls Attention to Office’s Role

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the clearinghouse for federal regulations, has brought in a conservative economist, Randall Lutter, to review regulatory proposals from agencies. The move has upset OIRA critics and unnerved those who interpret Lutter's past writings as a sign of his views on public health and environmental regulation. Those working inside government and those who know him argue that the criticisms of Lutter, a civil servant on temporary assignment to OIRA, are unfair.

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MSHA Outlines Policy, Regulatory Agenda

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) began outlining its agenda for protecting workers with the announcement of a comprehensive plan to end black lung disease and the publication of its regulatory plan. MSHA had been headed by acting administrators during the last years of the Bush administration and has been slow to address many safety issues after a series of mine accidents and increased incidence of debilitating disease.

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EPA to Overhaul Air Pollution Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will revise existing standards for six major air pollutants, according to top agency officials. The changes could yield major public health benefits.

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Agencies and Courts Beat Congress to the Punch in Climate Change Fight

Unprecedented regulatory proposals and a paradigm-shifting federal court ruling are converging to put big polluters on the hook for their contributions to global warming. The developments raise the stakes for Congress as it considers whether to curb greenhouse gas emissions and how to do so.

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Sunstein Confirmed as Obama's Regulatory Chief

On Sept. 10, the Senate confirmed Cass Sunstein as the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Sunstein's nomination had been stalled by several senators who were concerned about the nominee's views on such issues as animal rights and citizens' right to bear arms. The Senate confirmed Sunstein by a 57-40 vote.

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