WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2011—The House today passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY), represents an extreme attack on safeguards that protect our environment, food, children's toys, workplaces, health, civil rights, and economy.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2011—OMB Watch praises President Obama for pushing federal agencies to create new records management systems that take advantage of digital technologies while protecting the public’s right to information about the actions and decisions of federal agencies. A Presidential Memorandum issued today directs agencies to report on their efforts to make better use of digital technologies and to bring government recordkeeping into the 21st century.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2011—The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) (S. 1606/H.R. 3010) is a radical measure that would severely weaken laws that protect our health, safety and the environment. A new paper from the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards, Impacts of the Regulatory Accountability Act: Overturning 65 Years of Law and Leaving Americans Less Protected, reveals how the proposed bill would cripple the federal regulatory process, placing the public in harm’s way.

The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), announced by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Susan Collins (R-ME) and Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) on Sept. 22, is a radical overhaul of the federal rulemaking process that would result in a system that allows powerful special interests to dominate. The bill would cast aside public health, worker safety, and environmental quality goals that are the basis of so many public protections and make estimated costs to businesses and the economy the most important consideration in rulemaking.

On Aug. 23, the Obama administration released a set of “look-back” plans from federal agencies that will reform or jettison outdated or ineffective rules. The 26 plans were drafted in response to a January executive order (E.O. 13563) that created a regulatory review initiative and instructed federal agencies to review existing regulations and revise those that are outdated, redundant, or "unnecessarily burdensome." OMB Watch closely followed the regulatory review initiative and performed an analysis of the changes select agencies plan to make to important health and safety standards and the impact those plans are likely to have on the American people.

Over the past several weeks, it has been hard to avoid the drama of the debt ceiling negotiations. While default was avoided, the Budget Control Act settled the debt ceiling issue by pushing most of the tough decisions to a new joint committee of Congress (the “Super Committee”). The committee is tasked with producing another bill that will further reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion, which will likely result in deep cuts to public programs. Such significant cuts are sure to affect every American and every community. With so much at stake, the public deserves to know what the Super Committee is reading, who they are talking to, and what they are considering. Unfortunately, the debt ceiling legislation did not contain any significant transparency requirements that Americans expect and deserve.

On Aug. 2, OMB Watch's Craig Jennings sat down with CNN's Lisa Sylvester to discuss the ramifications of the recent debt ceiling deal. After Sylvester laid out the potential cuts to government programs and services that affect everyday Americans, Jennings made clear that just about everything is on the table, and Congress will face extremely difficult decisions in the coming months. Click the image above or the "Read More" link below to be taken to the full-size video.

Our Mission

OMB Watch exists to increase government transparency and accountability; to ensure sound, equitable regulatory and budgetary processes and policies; and to protect and promote active citizen participation in our democracy.

Our Vision

OMB Watch envisions a more just and democratic society, one in which an open, responsive government protects people’s health, safety, and well-being, safeguards the environment, honors the public’s right to information, values an engaged and effective citizenry, and adequately invests in the common good.

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2011—The House Financial Services and General Government appropriations subcommittee today approved its fiscal year 2012 spending bill. The legislation would slightly increase funding for critical government transparency projects, but the full ramifications of the subcommittee’s actions are unclear.