OIRA@2050

From: Regulatory Studies Center/George Washington University

By Susan E. Dudley & Melinda Warren

2015 Regulators’ Budget

Economic Forms of Regulation on the Rise

An Analysis of the U.S. Budget for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015

Executive Summary

This report tracks the portion of the Budget of the United States devoted to developing and enforcing federal regulations.  It presents the President’s requested budget outlays in fiscal year (FY) 2015, as well as estimated outlays for FY 2014 as reported in the Budget of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2015 (Budget).  It also provides data on annual outlays from fiscal year 1960 to the present.  This “regulators’ budget” reflects the on-budget costs of regulation, and does not provide information on regulations’ benefits nor the full costs of regulations to society.  Nevertheless, the time-series data presented here offer useful insights into the growth and changing composition of regulation over the last half-century.

From: McClatchy-Tribune via Mercatus Center/George Mason University

By John D. Graham , James Broughel

In recent weeks, President Barack Obama announced plans to use executive authority to implement immigration reforms in absence of cooperation from Congress. House Speaker John A. Boehner also announced plans to initiate a lawsuit designed to check the president’s power to take unilateral executive actions. Given this tension, it’s a good time to consider how exactly the executive branch is able to implement policy without congressional consent.

From: Competitive Enterprise Institute

By Wayne Crews

This is Part 17 of a series taking a walk through some sections of  Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (2014 Edition)

I tend to think bureaucratic regulation often creates tremendous harm, so it’s interesting when those who disagree decide to hold off on regulation when it suits them.

Editor’s Note:  The authors highlight an essential point about the “precautionary” principle, it creates unwarranted risk.

From: RegBlog/University of Pennsylvania

Regulatory Science and the TTIP

Reeve T. Bull and Adam C. Schlosser

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Editor’s Note: For a discussion of OMB’s role in overseeing one of Director Donovan’s most distinguished accomplishments at HUD, please see here.

From: The Wall Street Journal

Editor’s Note: Madison was right, achieving the public good needs to be a higher priority for government officials than satisfying public curiousity.

From: Bloomberg View via The Salt Lake Tribune

By Cass R. Sunstein

Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and John Cornyn of Texas, leaders of the Judiciary Committee, have long shown an admirable commitment to open government, and their recent bill to amend the Freedom of Information Act is winning a ton of praise. Some of its reforms make sense, but, unfortunately, its key provision is a horrible idea. By reducing the protection now given to deliberations within the executive branch, it would have a chilling effect on those discussions.

From: RegBlog/University of Pennsylvania

Natalie Punchak

When the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proxy access rule in 2011, it cited the agency’s failure to provide a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. Critics of that court decision argued that it created a burdensome new standard that would destroy the SEC’s ability to issue regulations.