Archive for April, 2018
OMB Stresses Agency Compliance with Management Agenda
Apr 30th
Editor’s Note: OMB Memorandum M-18-15 2018 Strategic Review Guidance is attached here.
From: FEDWeek
OMB has told agencies that it will use this year’s strategic review meetings to monitor their progress on the recently issued President’s Management Agenda, and that the administration also will use other processes under the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act and the Program Management Improvement Accountability Act for that purpose.
Memo M-18-15 provides guidance to agencies on “implementation and accountability of key PMA priorities throughout 2018, and describes the administration’s plan for structuring OMB and agency engagements for monitoring the progress of agency performance using the 2018 strategic review meetings,” in its words. Those reviews, established in compliance with GPRAMA, assess agency progress on meeting strategic objectives in consultation with OMB.
States advance talks with federal officials on harmonizing regulations
Apr 26th
Editor’s Note: See Why OIRA Needs to Coordinate Federal Cyber Security Regulation.
From: State Scoop
NASCIO says what began as broad requests for the federal government to organize its regulatory environment for state IT is now on “more solid footing.”
By Colin Wood
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NASCIO and the National Governors Association followed up Reese’s visit to Capitol Hill with a letter last November asking the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to examine the issue. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, have also prodded GAO to look into federal regulations’ incompatibility with state IT.
U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) 2018 RCC Stakeholder Event: June 4-5, 2018
Apr 26th
From: U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council Stakeholder Group
I am pleased to inform you that as a stakeholder of the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC), the 2018 RCC Stakeholder Event will be held June 4-5, 2018 in Washington, D.C.
This event will bring together senior regulatory officials, industry, and other members of the public on both sides of the border to provide progress reports on existing RCC work plans and to discuss new opportunities for regulatory cooperation. The RCC supports a practical, working level approach to cooperation that aims to remove unnecessary and duplicative requirements, and reduce costs for businesses and consumers. This enhances economic competitiveness while maintaining high levels of protection for health, safety and the environment. You can find more information on the existing work plans and the RCC in general at trade.gov/rcc.
OIRA Administrator Rao to Speak at the American National Standards Institute’s joint Conformity Assessment Policy Committee and National Policy Committee meeting May 9
Apr 20th
Editor’s Note: OMB Circular A-119 is explained in An Updated Look at the Federal Policies Governing How Agencies Use Voluntary Consensus Standards in Regulatory, Procurement, and Science Documents.
From: ANSI
Neomi Rao, administrator of the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), will be the featured speaker at the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI’s) joint Conformity Assessment Policy Committee (CAPC) and National Policy Committee (NPC) meeting on May 9, 2018, at ANSI Headquarters in Washington, DC.
White House Budget Office Takes On Bigger Role In Writing Tax Regulations
Apr 18th
From: Daily Caller
Will Racke
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Some GOP lawmakers and conservative groups had been calling for OMB to exercise more oversight of tax rules and subject the regulations to a cost-benefit analysis. They argued that more OMB control would improve the tax rules by putting them through the same kind of review that other agencies face.
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The new agreement could have major implications for a wide range of tax policies that have yet to be settled by the GOP’s tax reform law. One of the most important is how to treat so-called “pass through” businesses, which aren’t C corporations but instead file taxes as individuals.
OIRA Working with EPA on Information Quality Best Practices
Apr 16th
Editor’s Note: Information Quality standards are the law, not a “secret science” plan.
From: Union of Concerned Scientists Blog
The White House Clearly Does Not Like the EPA’s “Secret Science” Plan
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Administrator Rao: The questions about information quality are very important to us, and that is something that my staff has been working with the EPA on to develop best practices in that area.
Senator Hassan: Do you think such a proposal as the one I just described, the one that is from the EPA that would limit the information agencies can use by preventing them from considering best available evidence makes sense?
Trump’s Budget Director Wins Push to Review IRS Tax Regulations
Apr 13th
Editor’s Note: Also see Jim Tozzi on OMB Review of IRS Regulations. The 2018 Treasury—OIRA Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which places IRS regulations under OIRA review is available here. The 1983 MOA and its 1993 reaffirmation are available here.
From: Bloomberg
By Alexis Leondis and Laura Davison
- Treasury officials say they’re pleased with the new framework
- IRS to consult with OMB on regs with effects over $100 million
White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney successfully won his push to weigh in as the Internal Revenue Services clarifies dozens of the new tax law’s provisions.
Gov’t starts making WH visitor logs public
Apr 12th
From: WRAL
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Visiting the OMB, for example, was Jim Tozzi, a lobbyist who founded the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness — an industry-supported, for-profit group that advocates for pushback against regulations. According to his bio, Tozzi worked for five presidents, starting with Lyndon B. Johnson, and was a senior official at OMB. Tozzi visited buildings on the complex on Feb. 2 this year, according to the records, which do not detail the meetings’ purpose.
Senate Subcommittee Hearing: Reviewing the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Apr 10th
From: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management
Location: SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses
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The Honorable Brent McIntosh, General Counsel, U.S. Department of the Treasury
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The Honorable Neomi Rao, Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget
President Donald J. Trump’s Administration Is Improving Inefficient Permitting Reviews
Apr 9th
From: The White House
No longer will we allow the infrastructure of our magnificent country to crumble and decay. While protecting the environment, we will build gleaming new roads, bridges, railways, waterways, tunnels, and highways.
President Donald J. Trump
IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS: President Trump’s Administration is working together to improve and streamline environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects.
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- The MOU will ensure interagency issues and disputes are elevated and resolved in a timely manner.
- Previously, interagency disputes could remain unresolved for years.