CRE's Jim Tozzi Presents Views on OIRA's Authority and Effectiveness under Obama at Penn Seminar
On January 26, Mr. Tozzi, a member of CRE's Advisory Board, participated in a seminar panel convened by the Penn Program on Regulation at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The title of the seminar was "Obama's Regulatory Agenda: A One-Year Retrospective," and the panel was comprised of two other former OIRA officials and two NGO officials. See http://www.law.upenn.edu/blogs/regblog/2010/01/one-year-retrospective-on-obamas-regulatory-record.html.

Mr. Tozzi emphasized the broad Constitutional authority of OIRA as an agent of the President and that its authority is not confined by Executive order or statute. Nevertheless, it appeared that OIRA had been ambivalent during the last year about exerting its policy role and enforcing statutory and Executive order directives in reviewing agency regulations.

He gave two examples -- one in which OIRA had failed to call HHS/CMS to task for ignoring the small business implications of its Medicare durable medical equipment regulations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and a related Executive order, and a later instance in which OIRA had insisted on allowing more flexibility in complying with EPA's "Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program."

Mr. Tozzi tentatively concluded that during the last year OIRA had become more assertive with the agencies despite the lingering lack of express Presidential direction after the President had indicated possible revision of the regulatory review Executive order, E.O. 12866 soon after entering office.