Addressing the Role of OMB/OIRA on Regulatory Matters

• Presidential oversight of federal regulation, primarily through the mechanism of reviews of agencies’ draft rules by OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OMB/OIRA), has become well-established under successive administrations over the past 30 years. However, views on how OMB/OIRA should carry out its role in the rule-making process, and how transparent that role should be, have varied.

  Highlights of GAO-05-939T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-03-929 (PDF)

• Some administrations have been more collaborative and consultative with agencies, while others have assumed more of a “gatekeeper” role when reviewing agencies’ draft regulations.


• Despite executive order requirements under successive administrations to improve the timeliness and documentation of OMB/OIRA’s regulatory review role, GAO identified significant gaps in the transparency of OMB/OIRA’s involvement in rule making.


• Recent OMB/OIRA regulatory initiatives have attempted to increase the analytic expectations for most agency rule makings, but at the same time, concerns have been raised about the extent to which the cumulative procedural and analytical requirements placed on rule making over the years add value or contribute to the “ossification” of the rule-making process.

  Highlights of GAO-07-791 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-05-939T (PDF), Highlights of GAO-09-205 (PDF)

• The regulatory oversight role and management style chosen by an administration therefore affects how OMB/OIRA will conduct oversight and interagency coordination of federal regulation, at what point in the process an administration believes that OMB/OIRA can add the greatest value, and the extent to which OMB/OIRA’s regulatory reviews will be made publicly available.

  Highlights of GAO-03-929 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-09-205 (PDF)

• In a memorandum of January 30, 2009, President Obama directed the Director of OMB, in consultation with representatives of regulatory agencies, to produce within 100 days a set of recommendations for a new executive order on federal regulatory review.  The memorandum stated that, among other things, the recommendations should offer suggestions for the relationship between OIRA and the agencies; provide guidance on disclosure and transparency; encourage public participation in agency regulatory processes; offer suggestions on the role of cost-benefit analysis; address the role of distributional considerations, fairness, and concern for the interest of future generations; identify methods of ensuring that regulatory review does not produce undue delay; clarify the role of the behavioral science in formulating regulatory policy; and identify the best tools for achieving public goals through the regulatory process.

^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done

• Several aspects of the OMB/OIRA regulatory review process could be more transparent to better allow the public to understand the effects of OMB/OIRA’s reviews. In particular, the transparency requirements in Executive Order 12866 applicable to agencies and OMB/OIRA could be redefined to include not only the formal review period, but also the informal review period when OMB/OIRA says it can have its most important effect on agencies’ rules.
• In light of overlapping and duplicative regulatory review requirements, OMB/OIRA should work with agencies to identify opportunities for Congress to revise the timing and scope of existing requirements or consolidate existing requirements.

^ Back to topKey Reports

Rulemaking

Regulatory Reform

Reexamining Regulations

Federal Rulemaking

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