The Increasingly Greater Use of the Data Quality Act by NGOs

From: Regulatory Pacesetters

The publication of the landmark treatise on the Data Quality Act (aka IQA) is timely because there is a substantial increase in its use by NGOs.

Future litigants, whether a plaintiff or a defendant, now have an arsenal previously unavailable to them.

One petitioner states the following:

The IQA has not been frequently litigated, but some courts have hinted at the possibility that judicial intervention may be appropriate to compel agencies to comply with its requirements. If any administration is likely to convince the courts that judicial enforcement of basic information quality standards is necessary, it is this one.

Infrastructure could benefit from Trump’s regulatory reforms

From: The Oklahoman

by The Oklahoman Editorial Board

DEREGULATION has been a major focus of the Trump administration, and those efforts have paid off in increased economic activity. So Americans should welcome news that President Trump has included regulatory streamlining in his infrastructure proposal.

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Trump calls for creating a “one agency, one decision” environmental review structure. The proposal notes that under current law, “project sponsors of infrastructure projects must navigate environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and permitting processes with multiple Federal agencies with separate decision-making authority and often counter-viewpoints. These many hoops affect the ability of project sponsors to construct projects in a timely and cost effective manner.”

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Regulatory reform to be a topic of next National Space Council meeting

From: Space News

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At the previous Council meeting in October, Vice President Mike Pence, chairman of the Council, directed the Secretaries of Commerce and Transportation, as well as the Office of Management and Budget, to carry out a “full review of our regulatory framework for commercial space” to identify potential reforms, and provide a report in 45 days.

The head of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) embraced that effort. “The great thing for us about tackling that assignment is that we are totally on board: no arm-twisting required,” George Nield, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, said at the conference Feb. 7. “Regulatory streamlining is something that is good for industry and good for the government.”