On Aug. 23, federal agencies released their final plans for conducting retrospective reviews of regulations as directed by a January executive order from President Obama. Overall, the final plans closely reflect the preliminary plans released by agencies in May. Agencies stuck to their missions and did not cave to political or industry pressure to undermine their responsibilities to establish and enforce standards to protect the public.

Three recently published studies discuss the relationship between regulations and economic development. One study focuses on the job-creation potential of an individual environmental rule, and another touts the economic benefits of clean energy investments. The third study debunks a widely quoted but inaccurate report on the economic costs of regulations. All three reinforce an argument that public interest advocates have made for decades: government standards and public investments in clean energy protect health and safety and encourage job creation.

A recently released review of the U.S. Army's acquisition process reveals that the service must invest in more acquisition personnel and better training to help address failed weapons programs and their associated costs. Arresting staggering cost increases is an important objective for the Army, but Congress's current obsession with deficit reduction may become the greatest impediment to saving taxpayer dollars.

On June 23, several senators outlined proposals for revamping the regulatory system, a system they blame for the nation's economic problems despite evidence to the contrary. Cass Sunstein, administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), told the senators that the proposals were largely unnecessary and could have harmful unintended consequences.