President Biden’s nominee to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, wrapped up her second of two confirmation hearings today. Regulation was a topic in both hearings. When might we expect to see a nomination from President Biden for the Administrator of the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)? […]
I wrote last year about GAO’s assessment that OIRA violated the Anti-Deficiency Act when it worked on agencies’ rules during the last shutdown. GAO’s issued a similar letter today, this time finding that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) violated the law when it published rules in the Federal Register during that same shutdown. […]
Following up on our blog’s extensive coverage of the Trump administration’s recent executive orders on agency use of guidance, two recent pieces round up agency compliance with EO 13891. That EO (1) directs agencies to publicly catalog any existing guidance, with anything not in the catalog deemed rescinded, (2) directs agencies to promulgate rules about […]
If I taught a class called “Advanced Regulatory Maneuvers,” regulatory withdrawals would have to be on the syllabus. Withdrawing a proposed rule that an agency previously issued but has not yet finalized effectively erases the earlier proposal, requiring an agency to start over if it wants to proceed with a rule. A withdrawal communicates to […]
We’ve covered the issue of Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapprovals quite closely here on the blog, so readers might recall that Congress can use the CRA to disapprove federal agency rules using fast-track procedures during a special window of time following the rule’s issuance. What we’ve surely never talked about on the blog is how […]
As my fellow bloggers have mentioned, the General Services Administration is considering how to modernize the eRulemaking program. The second of two public meetings is coming up on April 30 from 2pm-4pm ET. It will be held entirely online and it’s got a great lineup that packs a lot into 2 hours. Registration is easy […]
Last April, the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) called for proposals for a new project on “Mass, Computer-Generated, and Fraudulent Comments in Agency Rulemaking.” The request for proposals (RFP) signaled that ACUS was looking for a team of research consultants to take on the work, in concert with the Conference’s Research Director. Assembling […]
The government might always struggle to determine, on its own, whether its regulatory choices reinforce racist structures and systems, such as those at work in the provision of health care. But the public need not passively wait for an agency to pay attention to these issues. The public comment process for rulemaking under the Administrative […]
In a letter issued yesterday, the general counsel of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) opined that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA) when it worked on Department of Labor rules during last winter’s government shutdown. Shutdowns happen when an agency does not have an appropriation from Congress. […]
Our blog exploded a couple of weeks ago when the president issued two new Executive Orders related to guidance. In about 24 hours we had four fine contributions, a testament to the blog’s deep bench: Breaking News: Two Major Executive Orders, Aaron Nielson The October 9 Executive Orders and Government Acquisition of Information, Bernard Bell […]
In their detailed history, Engineering Rules, Professors JoAnne Yates and Craig N. Murphy describe some of the people and processes that have featured prominently in standard-setting movements from the 1880s forward. The authors’ admiration for them is clear, as they describe the personal commitment of organizers and committee participants who travel, sometimes on their own […]
This week, we’re hosting a web symposium on Dr. Rachel A. Potter’s new book, Bending the Rules: Procedural Politicking in the Bureaucracy (University of Chicago Press). Dr. Potter is an Assistant Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia. Prior to her academic career, she worked for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in […]
This week I moderated a webinar at the Food & Drug Law Institute (FDLI) on the regulation of cannabis-derived products. This is a product & policy area that’s evolving as I type. Just this week, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb wrote an op-ed acknowledging the consumer “craze” for products with CBD in them and encouraging FDA […]
Following up on my post about a Congressional hearing on regulatory reform before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management (RAFM), two new bills were introduced on May 13. Both bills grew out of that hearing (video & written testimony available on the HSGAC website). The Early […]
The REINS Act would have required Congress to approve all new “major” rules before they could go into effect. A significant re-ordering of the regulatory process, it was one of many regulatory reform bills that was introduced but not enacted in the 115th Congress. The REINS Act reflected aspects of a larger movement to strengthen the […]