The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) annual report to Congress on the costs and benefits of federal regulations provides clues to the changes the Obama administration will seek in the regulatory process. While the report includes some important changes to the way agencies might approach calculating the impacts of new rules, it does little to suggest that major changes to the central role OMB plays in the process are likely.

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.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2009—On Sept. 10, the Senate confirmed Cass Sunstein as the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). OIRA is a small but powerful office that reviews regulations and approves government forms and surveys that require the public to divulge information. The Senate confirmed Sunstein by a 57-40 vote.