In Praise of the ‘Deep State’
Jun 13th
From: Bloomberg
Trump’s nominee for the office that vets regulations says the right things about career civil servants.
by Cass R Sunstein
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A paragraph in Rao’s opening statements deserves sustained applause:
Reading through OIRA’s statutory authorities as well as Executive Orders and OMB Guidance, I have been struck by the consistency of the principles guiding the work of the office across administrations. Perhaps this is one reason so many talented professionals work at OIRA and often stay for many years serving presidents of different parties.
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White House Thinking on Regulatory Budget Still Developing
Jun 12th
Editor’s Note: See, A Website Dedicated to the Implementation of a Regulatory Budget.
From: BNA/Daily Report for Executives
By Cheryl Bolen
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Still Untested
Broadly, EO 13,771 requires agencies to take two deregulatory actions for every new rule they issue. The order also requires agencies in fiscal year 2017 to completely offset the cost of the new rule through cuts in existing rules.
The requirements of the executive order apply to rules finalized in this fiscal year that impose costs. It is unclear whether, or how many, rules currently pending at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) would do that.
Hatch Introduces Former Staffer for Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator
Jun 7th
From: United States Senator for Utah – Orrin Hatch
Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah—the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee—introduced his former staffer, Neomi Rao, to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Rao has been nominated by the President to serve as the next Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Senator Hatch expressed his strong support for Rao’s confirmation and also outlined his agenda to further regulatory reform.
Statement on Professor Neomi Rao and regulatory reform:
EPA, Energy Among Few Agencies Complying With Regulatory Order
May 30th
From: Bloomberg/BNA
By Madi Alexander and Cheryl Bolen
The environmental and energy agencies appear to be far ahead of other federal agencies in complying with executive orders signed months ago by President Donald Trump, aimed at repealing or streamlining regulations, according to data compiled by Bloomberg BNA.
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No Word From Most Regulators
Most agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, which is the top federal regulator, didn’t respond to requests for information from Bloomberg BNA. The Food and Drug Administration referred questions about its compliance to the White House. An EPA spokesperson confirmed its task force would meet the May 25 deadline for submitting its report to the administrator.
White House faces rough road to deregulation as its favorite tool, the Congressional Review Act, expires
May 10th
Editor’s Note: For an alternative deregulatory tool, see here.
From: The Washington Examiner
President Trump and his team have touted their extensive use of the Congressional Review Act to roll back Obama-era regulations as a major accomplishment of the president’s first 100 days in office. But their window for using this legislative tool is set to close, and Republicans must find new ways to erase rules put in place by Trump’s predecessor.
OIRA Memorandum For Regulatory Reform Officers and Regulatory Policy Officers at Executive Departments and Agencies
May 8th
From: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
May 8, 2017
MEMORANDUM FOR: REGULATORY REFORM OFFICERS AND
REGULATORY POLICY OFFICERS
AT EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
FROM: Dominic J. Mancini, Acting Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
SUBJECT: Guidance for Section 2 of Executive Order 13783, Titled “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth”
Section I. Background
This memorandum provides guidance regarding Section 2 of Executive Order (EO) 13783, titled “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth,” published on March 28, 2017.
As deadline nears, few agencies have the regulatory czars Trump requested
Apr 26th
From: CNBC
Stephanie Dhue | Kayla Tausche
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CNBC reached out to 20 government agencies to inquire about the status of the regulatory reform appointment and the progress of the corresponding task force. Just a handful of agencies responded with the names of their appointees.
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The Department of Education declined to comment, as did the Department of Health and Human Services. The Department of Veterans Affairs directed inquiries to the White House. The White House directed the question to the Office of Management and Budget. A spokesperson for the OMB told CNBC: “We are working with agencies and compiling information as we speak.”
Trump’s OIRA-Nominee Has Questioned Foundations Of Administrative State
Apr 21st
Fr0m: Inside Health Policy
Nicholas Florko
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Rao will now have oversight over Trump’s regulatory budgeting, Bruce Levinson, senior vice president of regulatory intervention at the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness, noted to IHP.
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Levinson pointed to two tools that Rao could use to rein in agencies: the Data Quality Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act. However, Levinson cautioned that there must be substantive basis for their use. “With the Paperwork Reduction Act, with the Data Quality Act, these are not tools for arbitrary and capricious decisions — just the opposite,” Levinson told IHP.
D.C. Circuit Review – Reviewed: Notice & Comment Blogger to OIRA Administrator
Apr 17th
From: Notice & Comment | A Blog from the Yale Journal on Regulation and the ABA Section of Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice
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All of that is well and good, but it also is incomplete. Professor Rao has also been a guest blogger here at the Yale Journal on Regulation!
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Professor Rao’s nomination got me thinking: OIRA is important, but how often is it mentioned in D.C. Circuit opinions? So I did a search for “Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.” Before conducting this search, I suspected a low number, but the answer surprised even me. It turns out OIRA has only been mentioned in six D.C. Circuit opinions:
White House orders spring cleaning at federal agencies
Apr 16th
From: WJLA
by Leandra Bernstein
In an off-camera briefing earlier this week, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney described the reorganization as a way to rebuild government “from scratch.” In the course of 240 years, the executive branch has never been rebuilt, he told reporters. “The President of the United States has asked all of us in the executive branch to start from scratch, a literal blank piece of paper and say, if you’re going to rebuild the executive branch, what would it look like?”
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