OMB POLICY STATEMENTS
OMB: Paperwork and Regulatory Improvement Act
The House has passed a law requiring OMB to do a number of new tasks under the new Paperwork and Regulatory Improvement Act. OMB will identify steps to reduce IRS paperwork which is estimated to be 80% of all government paperwork. OMB will also conduct cost-benefit analyses which will include the costs on the private sector as well as the general public. However, as of now, the bill does not have a single sponsor in the Senate.

"This is the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing," says Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy organization. "It is a thinly veiled attempt to prevent the government from protecting the public so corporations can save a buck."

“This administration has slowed the growth of burdensome new rules by at least 75 percent when compared to the previous administration," says John Graham, who heads OMB's regulatory reform office. But, he adds, "Actually shrinking the absolute burden of imposed regulatory cost is much more difficult than slowing its growth."”