Archive for February, 2014
OMB Guidance for Providing and Using Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes: Reporting Requirements
Feb 27th
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from OMB Memorandum M-14-06, “Guidance for Providing and Using Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes.” The complete document is attached here.
VIII. Reporting Requirement
The goal of this Memorandum is to help both program and statistical agencies and components leverage administrative data more fully for statistical purposes, to the mutual benefit of both program agencies and statistical agencies and components. It will thereby promote burden reduction through the efficient use of information previously collected by Federal agencies while maintaining appropriate privacy and confidentiality protections.
OIRA chief’s buttoned-down image belies eccentric roots
Feb 19th
From: E&E Publishing/Greenwire
Emily Yehle and Robin Bravender, E&E reporters
Second of two stories on the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Click here to read the first story.
Before Howard Shelanski became the Obama administration’s regulatory czar, he was braving chickens strutting around a hotel room in Chile.
The occasion was a trip with his extended family, a close-knit brood whose unconventional adventures contrast Shelanski’s buttoned-down reputation.
“In our family, you’re more judged by your ability to enjoy yourself with chickens in the hotel room” more than by professional accolades, Shelanski’s father, Michael, offered in a recent interview. “The only thing I know for sure is he has a reputation everywhere he’s taught as a very good and amusing teacher.”
Wonks in embattled regulatory office are mysterious — but ‘not nefarious’
Feb 19th
From: E&E Publishing/Greenwire
Robin Bravender and Emily Yehle, E&E reporters
First of two stories about OIRA.
On the 10th floor of a red brick building with a leaky roof not far from the White House are offices and cubicles filled with some of the most influential people in Washington.
Most people have never heard of them.
They’re the cadre of wonky bureaucrats in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a division of the White House budget office.
OMB Seeking Comments: Revised Circular A-119 Voluntary Consensus Standards
Feb 10th
Editor’s Note: An advance copy of a OMB Federal Register notice seeking comment on the revision of Circular A-119, “Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities” is attached here. Below are three excerpts from the Notice.
From: OMB
The proposed revision to Circular A-119 includes the following elements:
Preference for voluntary consensus standards. The revised Circular would maintain a strong preference for using voluntary consensus standards in Federal regulation and procurement. It would also acknowledge, however, that there may be some standards not developed using a consensus-driven process that are in use in the market – particularly in the information technology space — and that may be relevant (and necessary) in meeting agency missions and priorities.
Applications Open for OMB Regulatory Studies Fellowship
Feb 4th
From: GW’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration Blog
By gwtberg
The George Washington University Regulatory Studies Fellowship offers a unique, cross-cutting perspective on how federal regulations are developed. Experience in the Office of Management and Budget is invaluable for anyone interested in working in or with the federal government, and the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within OMB is the key policy coordination office for federal regulatory, statistical, and information policy.
Recipients of the Regulatory Studies Summer OMB Fellowship will receive $5,000 in three installments and are expected to complete 35 hours per week for 12 weeks. Complete applications must be submitted by midnight on February 21 to RegulatoryStudies@gwu.edu.
Statistics on OIRA Regulatory Review
Feb 3rd
From: ACUS
Submitted by Susan E. Dudley
At its Plenary Session on December 6, 2013, the Administrative Conference adopted Statement #18 on Improving the Timeliness of OIRA Regulatory Review. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviews draft proposed and final regulations to ensure they comply with the regulatory principles stated in Presidential Executive Orders and reflect the President’s policies and priorities. During discussion of the Statement, the Assembly expressed an interest in statistics on the length and disposition of these reviews and accepted the GW Regulatory Studies Center’s offer to make them available on an annual basis. The Center’s RegStats page features new statistics and figures derived from data available on the government website, www.RegInfo.gov.