Korean Ministry of Government Legislation Visits OIRA

From: The Korea Herald

By Ock Hyun-ju

***

Minister Kim Oe-sook visited the US Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the US House of Representatives from Dec. 20-24 to learn from the US in responding to legislative challenges in the face of the “fourth industrial revolution,” it said.

While visiting with Neomi Rao, the Administrator of the OIRA, on Dec. 21, the minister discussed whether deregulations are necessary in the wake of rapid technological innovation and learned about the US regulatory policies, according to the ministry.

Read Complete Article

OIRA: “We’re small but mighty”

From: Pacific Standard

Five Covert Techniques Used by Trump to Cut Government Oversight

How the Trump administration skirts the obstacles that make it hard for federal agencies to deregulate industries.

***

This use of the Paperwork Reduction Act may not be a one-off. Rao signaled recently that her staff was likely to continue to wield the law to limit agency initiatives to gather information.

***

Introduction to the Fall 2017 Regulatory Plan

From: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

***

OIRA also continues to respect and pursue longstanding principles and practices of centralized regulatory review. These principles, set out in President Clinton’s Executive Order 12866, emphasize that agencies should regulate only when necessary, when consistent with law, and in a manner that produces real net benefits for the American people.The Administration also takes seriously retrospective review and the imperative to evaluate the actual costs and benefits of existing regulations. The President’s two-for-one directive and the creation of a regulatory cap requires that agencies eliminate unnecessary or excessively burdensome rules as part of their regulatory planning.

White House Set to Update Growing List of Deregulation Targets

From: Bloomberg Daily Report for Executives

By Cheryl Bolen

The Trump administration is set to release within days its second government-wide report listing all the regulatory and deregulatory actions that agencies intend to take in the next 12 months, with more deregulatory actions expected than ever before.

Each fall, the Office of Management and Budget releases the Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which are mandatory reports to Congress on agency regulatory activity.

Read Complete Article

Pay Survey’s Rollback Draws Fire Against White House

From: Court House News

WASHINGTON (CN) — Fighting to keep employers from withholding vital data, two groups say in a federal complaint that recent interference by the Trump administration hurts their ability to close race and gender pay gaps.

The National Women’s Law Center and Labor Council for Latin American Advancement brought their Nov. 15 complaint in Washington less than three months after an abrupt policy reversal by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a subsidiary of the Office of Management and Budget.

Read Complete Article

OMB & OIRA Sued for Rejecting an Information Collection Request

Editor’s Note: The complaint filed by the National Women’s Law Center and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement is available here.

From: The National Law Journal

Trump Administration Unlawfully Blocked Pay Data Rule, New Suit Alleges

Joint Statement Between the Office of Management and Budget of the United States of America and the Ministry of Finance of the State of Israel

From: Ministry of Finance (Israel)

Recognizing the economic significance of lowering regulatory costs and excessive bureaucracy emphasized by the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the State of Israel;

***

The Office of Management and Budget of the United States of America and the Ministry of Finance of the State of Israel (together, the “Participants”) have decided to establish a Joint Task Force on Good Regulatory Practices, under the auspices of the Joint Economic Development Group, an annual strategic interagency policy dialogue, co-chaired by the Departments of State and Treasury of the United States and the Ministry of Finance of the State of Israel to address bilateral economic issues.

EPA’s new science advisers add more industry experts, conservatives to the mix

From: The Washington Post

***

John D. Graham, who worked to raise the bar for new federal regulations while heading the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under George W. Bush, said in an email he was “honored” to be tapped by Pruitt to serve on the Science Advisory Board “as EPA is an accomplished agency.”

“I join SAB with no predispositions as to what our priorities will be,” said Graham, who now serves as dean of Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. “I will look for guidance from the agency and veteran members of SAB.”

Distrust of Obama Administration Behind Drive to Deregulate

From: Bloomberg/BNA

By Cheryl Bolen

***

Public comments made by current and former administrators of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, an agency within the Office of Management and Budget that reviews all significant federal regulations, reveal their suspicions.

Agencies know that OMB leaders are laser-focused on costs, and that is going to lead to a reduction in the number and scope of rules emerging from agencies, said Howard Shelanski, former OIRA administrator during the Obama administration.

Read Complete Article

The United States is going back to space!

From:

***

Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mike Mulvaney, responded, “Noone understands this, which we kind of like, but we have the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. We touch every reg and de-reg effort within the government … If you folks could be specific to which regulations are impeding innovation and impeding investment, specifically identifying changes in laws, keep in mind there are some things we can do as an administration without Congress.”

Read Complete Article