Active Choosing versus Default Rules
Mar 26th
From: RegBlog
Brian Ryoo
In the 1980s, the national school lunch program found itself stuck in a demoralizing quandary: not enough poor children were qualifying, or even applying, for the program because it was too difficult to apply. In response, the program administrators instituted a “direct certification” program through which school districts initially enrolled needy students in the program without requiring them to complete the application. Poor children were presumed qualified for the program by default unless shown otherwise – a policy change in the “default rule” that brought over a quarter-million additional poor students into the free lunch program.
President Obama Drops by a Meeting with Small Business Leaders
Mar 25th
From: The White House Blog
A $6 million manufacturer, a five-person carbon capture start-up, and a 70-person medical device company. On Monday, the President met with the leaders of these small businesses and 100 more like them to discuss the economy and the President’s commitment to small business success.
Organized by the National Small Business Association (NSBA), the group at the White House flew in from over 20 states and represented a broad cross-section of industries. The typical small business owner in the room employed 50 people, generating around $10 million in annual revenue.
The White House’s Enforcer: The Office of Management & Budget
Mar 20th
From: Center Forward
Overview
The U.S. federal government consists of over 450 different agencies — in total, employing 4.4 million people and spending over $6 trillion per year. While the Constitution authorizes the President to lead the Executive Branch, the sheer size of this task requires him to delegate his oversight authority. The White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) sits atop a complex bureaucracy, overseeing all federal government operations and implementing the President’s agenda government-wide. From monitoring day-to-day agency activities to crafting the President’s budget proposals, OMB operates as the ultimate enforcer of the White House’s priorities and vision.
OIRA Does Their Job
Mar 15th
From: Bloomberg/BNA
White House Returns Proposed Rule On Refineries to EPA for More Analysis
By Jessica Coomes
The White House Office of Management and Budget has sent back to the Environmental Protection Agency a proposed rule to revise air pollution standards for petroleum refineries, BNA has learned.
The proposed rule, which would affect about 150 refineries, was intended to address residual risk and technological developments related to air toxics emissions from the sector and to amend new source performance standards to control emissions of a number of pollutants.
“OMB returned the rule to the agency so EPA could complete additional analysis for the proposed rules,” EPA said in a statement to BNA March 13.
Career official takes over as Obama’s acting regulatory czar
Mar 14th
From: The Hill
By Ben Goad
A career official has taken over the influential agency that reviews federal regulations, the Obama administration revealed Wednesday.
The White House Office and Management and Budget (OMB) confirmed that attorney Boris Bershteyn is no longer in charge of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Instead, it is being led by Deputy Administrator Dominic Mancini, an OMB spokeswoman told The Hill.
Mancini is a veteran of the regulatory office, having spent at least a decade there, according to OMB records. He will likely hold the job until President Obama puts forward a nominee who is confirmed by the Senate.
U.S.-EU High Level Regulatory Cooperation Forum – Stakeholder Session
Mar 6th
Editor’s Note: OMB’s Federal Register notice, which contains information on how interested persons may request to present oral statements at the public meeting and otherwise provide information to the docket, is attached here. Below is the notice’s Summary.
SUMMARY: On September 28, 2012, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), together with the European Commission’s Enterprise and Trade Directorates-General, published a joint request for comments on “Promoting US EC Regulatory Compatibility” (see [HERE]) The notice was part of a joint effort by the United States and the European Union (EU) to obtain input from the public on how to promote greater transatlantic regulatory compatibility generally as well as in specific economic sectors. See also http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/09/07/eliminating-red-tape-boost-trade-economic-growth. On April 10th and 11th, OMB and the European Commission will hold a public meeting of the U.S.-EU High Level Regulatory Cooperation Forum (the “Forum”) in Washington, D.C., to provide interested persons with an opportunity to provide an oral statement.
An OIRA Administrator — Not A Rubber Stamp
Mar 5th
Editor’s Note: It will be a difficult task for the White House to fill adequately Cass Sunstein’s shoes. Nonetheless, the job of OIRA Administrator is too important to be left to anyone lacking the requisite commitment to enforcing the “Good Government” laws that regulate the regulators.
From: CPRBlog
It’s Past Time to Appoint an OIRA Administrator
by Rena Steinzor
Meet Cass Sunstein – Obama’s superego
Feb 22nd
From: CNN/Money
In Simpler: The Future of Government, former White House regulatory czar Cass Sunstein argues that government rules can encourage healthier behavior.
By Tory Newmyer
FORTUNE — It’s an article of faith among conservatives that President Obama scratches his itch for bigger government by imposing job-killing rules on businesses as fast as his administration can dream them up. Mitt Romney invoked it frequently on the campaign trial, asserting that regulations had quadrupled over the last four years. That’s not true: One recent tallyfound that through the first 42 months of his term, Obama approved slightly more rules than President George W. Bush did in his second term and slightly fewer than in his first.
Sunstein a University Professor
Feb 20th
From: Harvard Gazette
Legal scholar recognized for wide-ranging impact beyond field
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
Cass Sunstein, Harvard’s latest University Professor.
Cass Sunstein, widely regarded as one of the most influential legal scholars of his generation, has been named a University Professor, Harvard’s highest honor for a faculty member.
One of the nation’s most-cited legal scholars, and one of the world’s most prolific, Sunstein is the author of hundreds of publications whose impact has extended beyond law into the social sciences and the public sphere in many nations.
‘The Transformation of American Government’
Jan 3rd
From: The Weekly Standard
By DANIEL HALPER
The Hertog Young Professionals Program announces a new seminar:
The Hertog Young Professionals Program is now accepting applications for its Winter 2013 seminar, The Transformation of American Government, with Christopher DeMuth, distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute and former administrator of OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
Meeting at Hudson Institute for three hours on five Wednesday nights, from February 6 to March 13, 2013 (skipping Feb. 20), this seminar will explore two changes in American government: massive debt burdens at all levels of government and the transfer of legislative policy-making functions from the Congress to the Executive Branch and the Federal Reserve Board. The seminar will focus on the political roots of these changes, their effects in particular areas of current policy/regulation and political debate, and the prospects for institutional reform.