Making All Levels of Government More Efficient and Effective Through Retrospective Review

Since President Obama called on Federal agencies in 2011 to initiate an unprecedented government-wide review of rules on the books, agencies have achieved significant results by streamlining, revising, and eliminating many existing regulations. The regulatory lookback effort to date has achieved an estimated $28 billion in net 5-year savings. Moreover, these efforts significantly benefit States, local and tribal governments, businesses, and the American people by making all levels of government more efficient and effective.

Today, agencies released the first of their biannual lookback reports for 2016. These reports identify more than 50 new retrospective initiatives that focus efforts on four key areas: (1) reducing burdens for State and local government; (2) reducing burdens for industry, with a focus on flexibility for small and new businesses; (3) regulatory modernization; and (4) identifying regulatory gaps. Below are some of the highlights of the progress that agencies are reporting:

Reducing burdens for State, local, and tribal governments