The Economic Impact of Uncertainty About US Regulations of the Energy Sector
Article for the journal Economic Inquiry creates a monthly-frequency measure of regulatory uncertainty related to oil and gas production
All Publications
Ensuring Durability and Objectivity in Regulatory Analysis: Comments on OMB Circular A-4
Article for the Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis shares public comments filed by Susan Dudley in response to OMB draft Circular A-4 in 2023
First 100 Days: Deregulation Through Novel Uses of Old Tools
In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, both Congress and the White House have employed standard tools to enact quick deregulatory accomplishments.
When is an Independent Agency Independent?
A new executive order may eliminate the independence of independent regulatory agencies.
On Direct Exercises of Presidential Power
Myriad questions surround the role of Congress and the Supreme Court in checking presidential power.
Amid the Norm Smashing, Some Durability Remains
President Trump has issued dramatic deregulatory executive orders, but some normalcy remains.
First 100 Days: Energy Emergency Orders
President Trump has sought to use emergency powers to expedite energy and grid infrastructure development
No Comment: Reducing Opportunities for Public Engagement in Rulemaking
The Trump Administration is limiting opportunities for public engagement in rulemaking
Working paper examines CEQ's authority to issue binding National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rules.
How Many Are Too Few? Analyzing the Diversity of Regulatory Options Considered in Brazilian RIAs
In Brazil, Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIAs) may often serve as a mere procedural formality, used primarily to validate pre-determined decisions.
Reviewing the Biden Administration’s Last Year with Reg Stats
A review of several notable rulemaking patterns from Biden’s last year that compares them with those of previous administrations
The Congressional Review Act and the 118th Congress
Members of the 118th Congress introduced 208 resolutions of disapproval targeting 122 unique regulations using the Congressional Review Act
Designation of Critical Habitat for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee
Public comment in response to proposed rule by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Digesting the Federal Government’s Annual Report on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations
OMB report shows that federal regulations in FY2023 brought the nation an estimated $48 to $79 billion in benefits at an estimated cost of $15 to $19 billion
Biden’s Midnight Unified Agenda
Analyzing the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda, highlighting key “midnight regulations” the Biden administration aims to finalize before the presidential transition
Alumni Spotlight: Elizabeth Linderbaum
Trachtenberg graduate applies regulatory policy focus in health care and advocacy
Regulators’ Budget for a New Era
Proposed improvements to long-running data on the costs of regulation
After Midnight: Prospective Uses of the Congressional Review Act in the Second Trump Administration
A look at rules the Trump administration may target for recall in its second term
The Economic Impact of Uncertainty About US Regulations of the Energy Sector
An increase in regulatory uncertainty in the energy sector reduces oil production and has certain negative effects on economic outcomes
Lessons from the Past for Regulating AI
What can be learned about Artificial Intelligence by looking at regulation of past novel technologies?
How to Count: Congressional Day Counting & the CRA
The Congressional Research Service now predicts that the lookback date for revoking regulations under the CRA would fall on or around August 1, 2024
Regulatory Impact Analysis in Brazil: An Assessment of Exemptions and Ex Post Reviews
This commentary assesses actions taken by the Brazilian Health Risk Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) regarding RIA exemptions
Innovation, Costs, and Participation in Regulatory Policymaking: The View from Brazil
Brazil's regulatory officials explorestrategies for enhancing the country’s regulatory environment
Political Review of Agency Adjudication and Recommendations for Reform
As certain agencies accumulate power for their political leaders, they reserve less decision-making authority and discretion to their administrative law judges
The FTC’s Forthcoming Junk Fee Rule Could Be a Candidate for the Congressional Review Act
To be successful, the rule should focus on harmful fees used in short-term lodging and live-event ticketing
Biden’s Spring 2024 Unified Agenda
Overview of the Unified Agenda highlighting notable actions that agencies plan to take in the near term
Testimony for Hearing: An Examination of CARB's In Use Locomotive Regulation
Submitted testimony of Roger Nober for July 9, 2024 hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee
An SEC Commissioner’s Thoughts on Regulating Blockchain and Crypto
Summary of the fireside chat with Commissioner Hester Peirce, a session at the June 2024 event, Regulation by Enforcement: Blockchain and Crypto.
Regulating Blockchain and Crypto via Novel Legislation or Rulemaking
The second panel of “Regulation by Enforcement: Blockchain and Crypto” focused on the current state of crypto regulation and recent legislative developments.
Regulating Blockchain and Crypto Technology via Enforcement
Summary from panel discussion at the GW Regulatory Studies forum event: Regulation by Enforcement: Blockchain and Crypto
A Regulatory Surge in April 2024
In April 2024, federal agencies broke records by issuing an unprecedented number of significant final rules
Will History Repeat Itself? Forecasting CRA Use in a Second Trump Administration
What policy areas are most likely to be challenged if Trump wins a second term in the 2024 presidential election?
Biden’s Ambitious Executive Order Does More for Data Security than Banning TikTok
Biden's Executive Order 14117 is more tailored to producing meaningful protections on data security than the recent legislation banning TikTok
CARB Regulating In-Use Locomotives
Comment in response to permitting CARB to regulate in-use locomotives
Public interest comment by Mark Febrizio on DOJ data security proposal
Regulatory Advantages of the Administrative Law Court System
Recommendations for reform of the Administrative Law Court system
Comment on FinCEN's Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Residential Real Estate Transfers
Public interest comment by RSC Policy Analyst Sarah Hay
If the Supreme Court limits or overturns the Chevron Deference doctrine, it will likely lead to a phase of regulation by adjudication as agencies adapt
Technology and Public Commenting: Congress Takes Action
A new legislative proposal aims to implement ACUS recommendations to better handle mass campaigns in the public commenting process.
Summary: Discussing Agile Regulation
Agile regulation may enable agencies to respond to public needs to a greater extent than they could under rigid rulemaking procedures
Will Crypto Regulation Become a Partisan Issue?
With no clear mandate on crypto regulation from Congress or the public, crypto regulation has so far fallen mostly to executive branch agencies.
Summary: Is OIRA Still Fit for Purpose?
Participants discussed OIRA's function as a rational bureaucracy charged with producing regulations yielding net social benefits
Understanding the Demand-Side of an Illegal Market: Prohibition of Menthol Cigarettes
Working paper considers unintended consequences of the FDA's proposed ban on menthol cigarettes.
A Lookback at the Law: How Congress Uses the CRA
How the Congressional Review Act works and how Congress uses it.
Summary: Discussing Applications of Generative AI to Rule Development and Evaluation
In a wide-ranging discussion, breakout session participants highlighted potential risks and benefits of AI tools, particularly for the public commenting process
Summary: Discussion on Retrospective Review of Regulation
Participants attending a breakout session explored the potential for data collection and analysis to enable assessments of regulations after implementation.
Summary: The Role of Technology in Public Participation in the Regulatory Process
AI could help individuals shape their public comments into a format most useful to agencies
Event Highlights: Building On Regulatory Foundations and Bridging to the Future
November 2023 event celebrates anniversaries of Executive Order 12866 and Circular A-4
In deciding whether to overrule the Chevron doctrine, the Supreme Court should not be persuaded by mistaken invocations of a famous dictum.
On the FTC's Trade Regulation on Unfair or Deceptive Fees Proposed Rule
More research is needed to understand which types of "junk fees" warrant regulating
Our scholars and experts explored a wide range of topics last year and published leading insights on the regulatory developments that mattered most.
Biden's Fall 2023 Unified Agenda
Overview and highlights of notable actions in the Fall 2023 Unified Agenda
As the Biden Administration looks to improve public participation, are tools focused on the "supply" side of the equation enough?
Comparing the Draft and Final Circular A4
A comparison of the final OMB Circular A-4 to the draft proposed in April 2023
Structural Challenges Loom for Biden’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence
Biden’s Executive Order 14110 envisions a whole-of-government response to mitigating AI risks. As agencies work on implementation, several challenges lay ahead.
Congressionally Reviewed: A New Pattern in CRA Vetoes
President Biden has vetoed more CRA resolutions of disapproval than all other presidents, combined
Does the Constitution Require Agencies to Use Biased Judges?
The Supreme Court should uphold longstanding legislation protecting the neutrality of administrative law judges.
Looking Back at 30 Years of Executive Order 12866
Slide show highlights from the Center's extensive coverage of Regulatory Review provisions
Comment on FTC-DOJ Draft Merger Guidelines
The proper goal of merger enforcement policy is to prevent only those mergers that seem likely to reduce the welfare of consumers
Is Communications-Company Ownership of Video Content a Threat to Competition?
Evidence from the financial markets that carrier integration into video production has not redounded to the benefit of these companies’ stockholders
Letter to OIRA Administrator on Circular A4
Former SBCA presidents emphasize the importance of best practices for discounting and distributional impacts for making the new OMB Circular a durable guide
Draft Circular A4 Peer Review Comments: Joseph Cordes
As a peer reviewer selected by Office of Management and Budget, Joseph Cordes evaluated Draft Circular A-4: Guidance on regulatory analysis
Understanding the Call for an AM Radio Mandate
Would regulatory action to mandate AM radios in electronic vehicles be in the public interest?
What’s Your Problem? Building an Evidence-Based System of Regulatory Analysis from the Bottom-Up
If regulatory intervention is truly necessary, must it occur at the federal, as opposed to the state or local, level?
How to Engage the Public: OIRA's New Guidance to Agencies
OIRA published new public participation guidance for federal agencies, offering an important new framework for engaging the public in the regulatory process.
Care to Comment? Topics Discussed in Revised Circular A4 Public Comments
Overview of our analysis of the nearly 4,500 public comments received by OMB on its proposed revisions to Circular A-4 guidance on cost-benefit analysis
Insight by Brian Mannix submitted as a public interest comment to OMB in response to Draft Circular A-4
Using Distributional Weights in Circular A-4 Would Encourage Wasteful Rent-Seeking
Public interest comment by Visiting Scholar Brian Mannix argues for benefit-cost analysis as a check on administrative discretion
Biden’s Spring 2023 Unified Agenda
The new agenda largely follows the administration's previous iterations, but it does signal the initiation of rulemakings in several new areas
Simpler, More Transparent Analysis Will Make Circular A-4 More Valuable to the Regulatory Process
Public interest comment filed jointly by GW's Christopher Carrigan and Stuart Shapiro of Rutgers University
Circular A-4: A Comparison between the 2023 Draft and the 2003 Circular
Descriptive discussion of major changes in the 2023 Draft compared to the 2003 version
Public interest comment on the OMB Draft Circular A-4 by Susan Dudley, former Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Regulating Junk Fees May Harm Consumers
Attempts to eliminate junk fees may harm rather than help both consumers and businesses.
On Draft Circular A4, Behavioral Biases, and Discount Rates
Public Interest Comment on the Office of Management and Budget's Draft Circular A4 concerning benefit-cost analysis
Adding Public Engagement Upstream
Improving public participation in the rulemaking process by broadening engagement and expanding proactive outreach
Distributional Weights Should Be Dropped from the Draft Circular A-4
Weighting costs and benefits could result in large losses in efficiency
Evaluating the Draft Circular A-4 which guides regulatory impact analysis across federal agencies
The Durability of Governance Reform: A Two-Wave Audit of Notice and Comment Policymaking in China
Audits of the notice and comment rulemaking process in China show that as reforms are implemented, they can be sustained over time.
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
HUD’s proposed Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule should commit to retrospective review and to providing technical support to program participants
Public Interest Comment on HUD's Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing proposal
Recommendations for improving the framework around fair housing planning, assessment and engagement
Modernizing Regulatory Review Actions
The White House has announced substantive changes to federal regulatory practices
Regulatory Uncertainty Amid the Banking Crisis
Recent bank failures drove regulatory uncertainty around finance and banking regulation to its highest point in over a year.
Public Interest Comment on the DEA Proposed Rules on Telemedicine and Buprenorphine
Improving access to opioid use disorder treatments by making permanent pandemic-era flexibilities
Jimmy Carter, the Great Deregulator
The regulatory reforms of President Jimmy Carter set in motion a wave of deregulation that brought lower prices and better consumer choices to key industries
Beyond Republicans and the Disapproval of Regulations
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the Congressional Review Act has been used by both U.S. political parties to nullify regulations
Highlights from the SBCA 2023 Annual Conference
The Regulatory Studies Center team was delighted to participate in the SBCA annual conference, featuring perspectives and research on benefit-cost analysis.
Merger Law Is Dante’s Inferno Revisited
The shift by agencies away from the current guidelines on mergers and acquisitions has left firms in limbo.
Making State Level Regulation More Accountable
Virginia's new guidelines aim to streamline its state-level regulatory red tape by 25% and could serve as a useful model for other states.
Broadening Public Engagement in the Federal Regulatory Process
Public interest comment with input on public engagement initiatives by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Federal Railroad Administration has not identified a compelling public need for its proposed rule on minimum crew size
OIRA’s public engagement recommendations have the opportunity to expand engagement in the federal rulemaking process
FTC Commissioner Wilson’s Noisy Resignation
GW Law Professor Richard J. Pierce on accusations of unethical and unconstitutional behavior by the FTC Chair
Our scholars and experts explored a wide range of topics last year and published leading insights on the regulation developments that mattered most.
SAMHSA Proposed Rule on Medications for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
Public interest comment submitted in response to SAMHSA proposal to extend COVID-19 pandemic era flexibilities for accessing treatments for opioid use disorder
Building on a survey of agency rulemaking contacts and interviews, this empirical study provides a comprehensive account of contractors’ roles in rulemaking.
Transparency, Participation, and Responsiveness in Hong Kong Consultative Policymaking
Examining the notice and comment practice in Hong Kong, analyzing hundreds of consultations conducted over a 25-year period
Contractors fulfill many more functions in the rulemaking process than is commonly understood, with important implications for legality and public interest.
The Strange Case of United States v. Google
Google represents 29% of the market for online advertising. Does this amount to monopolization?
Timeline for OIRA Nominees in New Administrations
How long has it taken in the past for incoming presidents to confirm their OIRA administrator?
Will ChatGPT Break Notice and Comment for Regulations?
A new AI tool is making waves and could have an impact on public commenting at regulatory agencies
Biden’s Fall 2022 Unified Agenda
Specific agency actions reflect the Biden administration’s priorities on advancing equity, tackling the climate crisis, and a wide variety of policy areas.
ABA Recognizes Laura Stanley with Student Essay Award
Former Senior Policy Analyst Laura Stanley receives ABA award for best student essay in administrative law
CFIUS and the Pace of Technological Advancement
To keep pace with evolving technology and national security concerns, the scope of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is expanding
Working paper examines how extreme political polarization in the U.S. contributes to degraded effectiveness at all three branches of the federal government.
An examination of 1,000+ instances of notice and comment policymaking by government in China at the central, provincial, and municipal levels.
How do we measure success if we don’t know what we’re trying to accomplish? If we don’t know why we are spurred to action, how do we distinguish progress from h
Reorganization of Economists at the FCC
Key decisions of the FCC’s reorganization of its economists and lessons for managing specialists in a large and complex organization
A review of available literature on potential economic impacts of reducing regulatory compliance burdens on business.
Quantifying the Effects of Humane Society v. Department of Agriculture
This article uses data from two presidential transitions to quantify the number and types of public inspection documents that were withdrawn.
Avoiding Unduly Concentrated Clean Energy Markets
The IRS will need help to avoid unintended adverse effects in implementing the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy provisions.
What a Confirmation Hearing Might Reveal
Senate confirmation hearings represent an important check on presidential power: Know what to look for as the hearing unfolds.
Red Tape Literature in Public Administration
This Insight reviews an extensive public administration literature on the subject of “red tape.”
Agile Regulation for Auto Safety and Innovation
The automotive regulatory system designed decades ago offers an example of agile governance that can support both safety and innovation as technology evolves
The Trend and Fluctuations in News Attention to Regulation
Regulation has been drawing increasing media coverage in recent years alongside important regulatory developments and historical events.
Policymaking through Adjudication: DEA’s Red Flags
DEA's red flags policy has made some pharmacies reluctant to fill prescriptions for buprenorphine, a drug that can help tackle the opioid crisis.
A Vast and Discretionary Regime
Federal agencies have significant discretion to remove or alter regulatory barriers to methadone treatment.
Court Decision Extends the Period for Issuing Midnight Rules
A court decision found that agencies cannot withdraw a final rule that has appeared in the Federal Register for public inspection without notice and comment.
Factors Contributing to the Infant Formula Shortage
To reduce the risk of infant formula shortages in the future, the government should eliminate the barriers to entry under its control.
Nostalgia for Agency Expertise
Calls for more deference to agency expertise derive from an unrealistic view of executive policymaking.
Methadone Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
This report on the proceedings of a National Academies of Sciences workshop features research and commentary from Bridget Dooling and Laura Stanley.
Is Chevron Deference Still Alive?
Three takeaways follow from the Supreme Court’s recent opinions ignoring Chevron v. NRDC.
Biden's Spring 2022 Unified Agenda
The Spring 2022 Unified Agenda suggests the Biden administration is focusing on priorities related to the environment, health, immigration, and education.
Factors Contributing to the Infant Formula Shortage
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has solicited public comments on the factors that may have contributed to the recent infant formula shortage.
From Fragility to Agility: The Future of Regulation
The National Academy of Public Administration offers an agile regulatory framework to enhance government responsiveness to current and future challenges. The report includes tenets and practices that can improve public management and regulatory outcomes.
The Durability of Governance Reform
The notice and comment process, in which government organizations make public draft laws and regulations and solicit feedback on these proposals, is a prominent governance reform in contemporary China.
When activists took charge of FTC rulemaking in the 1970s, the agency barely survived the debacle.
Back to the Future: How Not to Write a Regulation
The new activists at the FTC are again seeking radical transformation of long-standing legal foundations of antitrust and consumer protection, to be implemented through a new wave of rulemaking.
The Unintended Consequences of Banking Regulations: Shadow Banking
Shadow banks are not subject to the stringent regulation that traditional banks are and can pose great risks to the financial system. Since the financial crisis, banking regulations have been tightened to reduce the fragility of the financial system.
FDA Struggles to Pinpoint Impacts of Proposed Rule
In February, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a long-awaited proposed rule creating national standards for companies in the prescription drug supply chain.
FDA & Wholesale Drug Distributors
Dylan Desjardins offers ways for the FDA to improve the underlying assumptions, examination of alternatives, and review of unintended consequences for this proposed rule.
Final Report on Contractors in Rulemaking
This report sheds light on the ways that federal agencies use contractors to support the rulemaking process.
In recent years, the Chinese government has increasingly flexed its economic, political, and military muscles around the world. Close to its mainland home has been no exception, as the Chinese government has taken actions to pressure officials in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Possibilities and Perils of Deepfake Technology
While the potential for deepfake technology to disrupt society has been clear for years, its growing accessibility and high-profile instances of use have increased concerns over their capabilities. In the first of a planned series discussing deepfake regulation, this post summarizes some of the most significant costs and benefits of the technology.
Responding to Mass, Computer-Generated, and Malattributed Comments
A number of technological and political forces have transformed the once staid and insider dominated notice-and-comment process into a forum for large scale, sometimes messy, participation in regulatory decision making.
Memos to the New OIRA Administrator
President Biden’s Modernizing Regulatory Review memorandum signals continuity in some regulatory practices and big shifts in others.
Supervising the Guantanamo Tribunal Supervisor after Arthrex
The Supreme Court held in United States v. Arthrex that administrative patent judges’ decisions must be subject to agency-head review because they were not appointed as principal officers.
Important Changes at the Intersection of Antitrust and Administrative Law
The Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice will soon publish new joint guidelines applicable to mergers that raise horizontal issues in the same market and to mergers that raise vertical issues in the same supply chain.
National Academies Workshop on Methadone Regulations
A recent National Academies workshop on the federal rules governing methadone treatment explored how these rules restrict patient access to life-saving treatment for opioid use disorder. As the overdose epidemic rages on, these regulations need an overhaul. Recent research from the Regulatory Studies Center, with support from the Pew Charitable Trusts, sheds light on promising pathways for reform.
EPA's New Science Advisory Process
EPA’s new process for engaging its science advisors would embed them in every step of the rulemaking process, which risks diminishing the independence of their review and possibly foreclosing consideration of important research, perspectives, and policy options.
Notice and Comment Policymaking During Uncertain Times
The notice and comment process—in which governments make public draft policies and solicit feedback on these proposals—is seen as a vehicle for promoting transparency, participation, and responsiveness in policymaking.
Comparing Regulatory Uncertainty with Other Policy Uncertainty Measures
Economic research shows that increased uncertainty can lead to significant reductions in hiring, investment, consumption, and output in the economy. Among many types of uncertainty, policy uncertainty has gained increased attention during recent years.
2021 was an...interesting year to say the least! The GW Regulatory Studies Center stayed busy producing dozens of essays on a wide array of topics in regulatory policy. This page highlights the top ten most viewed essays from our own website.
What the Supreme Court’s Rejection of the Employer Vaccinate-or-Test Rule Means for Biden’s Agenda
The Biden administration’s pandemic response strategy suffered a setback on Jan. 13. The Supreme Court handed down a rushed decision that stayed a workplace safety rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in November 2021.
Vaccine Mandates and Roads Not Taken
Earlier this month, a six-justice majority of the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the vaccinate-or-test mandate that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) imposed on employers that have more than 100 employees.
The first few days of the Biden administration were replete with regulatory news. Not only did the new president direct agencies to halt and undo Trump policy changes, he charted his own course with a series of ambitious regulatory goals.
Regulatory Policies and the Biden Administration
Last month, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs released its semiannual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The documents lay out a priority set for the Biden administration as it enters into its second year.
One Year On, a Critical Role Needs to Be Filled By the Administration
President Biden has made regulation a priority during his first year in office. On Day One, he carried through on campaign promises and signed several executive orders, memorandums and directives charging agencies to reverse much of his predecessor’s actions and to “modernize” regulatory review. Since then, he has also aggressively pursued new regulatory priorities, including those related to racial equity, climate change, employment, and the pandemic.
2021 Regulatory Year in Review
This Regulatory Insight recaps ten important developments related to federal regulations that occurred in 2021.
When Regulating An Appliance ... Follow The Science!
Read Susan Dudley's latest column for Forbes, "When Regulating An Appliance . . . Follow The Science!"
Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Clothes Washers
We served as members of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Review of Methods for Setting Building and Equipment Performance Standards, and offer these comments based on the peer review we conducted between the fall of 2019 and spring of 2021.
Setting Appliance and Equipment Standards
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions.
Joint Letter to the Dept. of Energy
We served as members of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Review of Methods for Setting Building and Equipment Performance Standards. We write to request that the Committee’s report and recommendations, “Review of Methods Used by the U.S. Department of Energy in Setting Appliance and Equipment Standards,”1 be placed on the rulemaking docket for rule EERE–2021–BT–STD–0003, “Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Procedures, Interpretations, and Policies for Consideration in New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Consumer Products and Commercial/Industrial Equipment.”
A Study To Evaluate OIRA Review of Treasury Regulations
In a new study, we aim to learn more about the effect of Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review of Treasury Department regulations interpreting the Internal Revenue Code. What contributions does OIRA review offer the tax regulatory process? What are its limitations?
Regulatory Reform: Tracking the Watchwords of a Movement
This commentary examines the history of the phrase “regulatory reform,” tracking the phrase from the early 20th century to its proliferation during the Ford administration to today.
Federal Agencies are Publishing Fewer but Larger Regulations
The pace of rulemaking has declined for several decades, with the number of final and proposed rules falling from 1995 to 2020. One plausible explanation for this trend is that federal agencies are crafting bigger rules over time, in terms of both page length and economic impact.
Jerry Ellig on Dynamic Competition and Rational Regulation
The works of Jerry Ellig represent a legacy rooted in rational regulation driven by benefit-cost analysis and greater societal benefits
On Friday, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs released its annual Regulatory Plan and semiannual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Most agencies echo the Biden administration’s desire to focus on equity concerns in rulemaking in their statements of regulatory priorities. Aside from routine rulemakings, most of the large rules published for the first time in the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda are regulatory actions related to the COVID-19 pandemic or environmental policy.
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) of 1946 celebrated a milestone birthday this year. Its requirements—that regulations be grounded in statutory law and an administrative record that includes public notice-and-comment—have guided executive branch rulemaking without significant amendment for 75 years. It is one of the most important and enduring pieces of legislation ever enacted, yet its passage wasn’t always assured. This commentary, excerpted from my recent Daedalus essay on “Milestones in the Evolution of the Administrative State,” reviews the contentious and messy, yet constructive, process that yielded this landmark act.
National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations
On October 7, 2021, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to revise its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations.
Increasing Early, Transparent Consideration of Regulatory Alternatives
In an article originally published by The Regulatory Review, Professors Carrigan and Shapiro summarize their research on studying agency consideration of alternatives during rulemakings.
ACUS Publishes Draft Recommendations to Improve the Congressional Review Act
A new project at the Administrative Conference of the United States will consider technical reforms to the Congressional Review Act. The recently-issued draft report is an excellent primer on the details of regulatory agency and congressional staff implementation of the CRA. It provides a deep dive analysis of several policy options available to Congress to improve the CRA. ACUS is going through its process to develop draft recommendations now.
Extending Pandemic Flexibilities for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
This Essay evaluates two specific flexibilities granted during the COVID-19 pandemic that made it easier for patients to access buprenorphine and methadone. First, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allowed practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine using telemedicine without first conducting an in-person medical exam.
Unpacking the OECD Recommendation on Agile Regulatory Governance
On October 6, the OECD Council adopted a Recommendation at the ministerial level related to agile regulatory governance. The Recommendation is designed to help governments consider regulatory structures that best bolster innovation in their countries. Overall, this Recommendation signals that the OECD sees regulation focused on promoting innovation as valuable—particularly in light of the rapidly-evolving nature of emerging technologies.
Benefits of a Rowdy Bureaucracy
Professor Andrew Rudalevige's book introduces us to a core idea: the executive branch matters to executive orders.
What’s the Status of the Biden Administration’s Workplace Vaccine Mandate?
The workplace vaccine mandate faces steep legal and practical challenges, but the president’s announcement may still help drive up vaccination rates.
Notice and Comment Policymaking in China
This commentary examines how the notice and comment process in Guangzhou has changed.
The notice and comment process is a prominent governance reform in contemporary China.
OIRA the Angel; OIRA the Devil
In their most recent book, Reviving Rationality, Mike Livermore and Ricky Revesz build on their record of support for the use of analytical tools, particularly cost-benefit analysis, to evaluate rules prior to their issuance.
Skipping Notice and Comment Over Time
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs makes regulatory review data on interim-final rules easily accessible. Analyzing interim-final rules that have gone through regulatory review over time can shed light on the success of agency efforts to bypass the notice-and-comment process.
A Midyear Review of Regulatory Sentiment and Uncertainty
This commentary provides a midyear review highlighting patterns in the news-based measures of regulatory sentiment and uncertainty during the past months of 2021. Regulatory sentiment reached a historically high point in May, and regulatory uncertainty rose in July.
Distributional Language in Regulatory Executive Orders
To achieve the goals outlined in Biden's Modernizing Regulatory Review Memorandum, federal agencies will likely build on the distributional language of the executive orders highlighted in this commentary.
Two Ideas to Improve Equity in Government Decisions
Updating what burdens paperwork requirements can impose and encouraging agencies to better engage the public can improve equity in government decisions.
Unsolicited Advice for FTC Chair Khan
New FTC Chair Lina Khan has not sought my advice, but here it is. In his July 9 Executive Order, President Biden described an antitrust agenda that he wants the FTC and the other agencies with antitrust responsibilities to implement. His agenda consists of 72 major changes in competition law. Any agency that attempts to implement an agenda that includes that many major changes in law at the same time is doomed to failure. No agency has the resources required to implement an agenda that ambitious. Chair Khan and her colleagues need to choose no more than half a dozen parts of the president’s agenda to pursue immediately.
President Biden's Competition Executive Order Breaks New Ground
President Biden's most recent E.O. on competition stands out in terms of its length, prescriptiveness, and application to independent regulatory agencies.
The Frequency of Regulatory Suspensions in the 21st Century
Regulatory suspensions are tools for presidents to delay the effective or compliance dates of the prior administration’s rules. Analyzing regulatory data from the Federal Register, we demonstrate how the use of regulatory suspensions has varied from the presidencies of George W. Bush to Joe Biden.
President Biden’s New Order: A Central Plan To Impose Competition
President Biden’s sweeping executive order aimed at promoting competition includes some promising actions but also many that will likely inhibit competition.
President Biden’s Antitrust Agenda
On July 9, President Biden issued an executive order in which he described a comprehensive 72-part agenda to improve competition in the United States.
Agencies are Rescinding Guidance Regulations at a Rapid Pace
To implement President Biden’s Executive Order 13992, executive branch agencies have begun to rescind the thirty-two regulations promulgated in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 13891 on agency guidance documents. The fast withdrawal rate suggests that soon all guidance regulations will be reversed.
This comment offers two specific suggestions in response to issues that OMB sought comment on: Area 2 (Barrier and Burden Reduction) and Area 5 (Stakeholder and Community Engagement).
Congress recently passed three bills targeting Trump administration regulations for elimination. President Biden is expected to sign them, marking another historic “first” for use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). To date, Democrats have yet to successfully use the oversight tool to strike regulations from the books.
DEA Lifts Moratorium on Methadone Vans
DEA released a final rule that lifts a ban on new methadone vans. The rule is expected to increase access to methadone in rural and underserved urban areas.
Sentiment and Uncertainty about Regulation
Regulatory policy can create economic and social benefits, but poorly designed or excessive regulation may generate substantial adverse effects on the economy.
The U.S. and Europe Are Embarking On Dramatically Different Paths To Better Regulation
Better regulation is a priority on both sides of the Atlantic, but recent directives from Europe and the U.S. reveal very different strategies for achieving it.
Bot-Generated Comments on Government Proposals Could Be Useful Someday
When the Federal Communication Commission asked the public what it thought about its net neutrality rules in 2017, the comments flooded in—including millions submitted under fake names by bot-comment-generators. These missives added no value and raised concerns that people’s identities were being stolen. Now everyone from Congressional Republicans to the New York State Attorney General have their sights set on shutting down the bots.
The Biden Administration’s First Unified Agenda
OIRA released its semiannual Unified Agenda, marking the first comprehensive look at the regulatory actions agencies are planning under President Biden.
Milestones in the Evolution of the Administrative State
The modern administrative state, as measured by several metrics, has grown significantly over the last hundred years.
Bridget Dooling & Rachel Potter to Study Use of Contracts in Rulemaking
Bridget C.E. Dooling, Research Professor at the GW Regulatory Studies Center, and Dr. Rachel A. Potter, Assistant Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, have been selected to serve as consultants to the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS). They will study the use of contractors in the rulemaking process.
When an agency fails to send a rule to Congress can private parties sue? The CRA has a special provision that bars court review that SCOTUS may review.
Engaging in the Rulemaking Process
The public has many opportunities to provide input as regulations are being developed.
Mass, Computer-Generated, and Fraudulent Comments
This report explores three forms of commenting in federal rulemaking that have been enabled by technological advances: mass, fraudulent, and computer-generated comments.
DHS: Do More than Just Reverse the Reversal
The recent decision from DHS to retain the international entrepreneur program is sensible, but the agency can do more.
Let’s Not Forget George Stigler’s Lessons about Regulatory Capture
George Stigler’s theory of economic regulation opened our eyes to the rent-seeking that undermines the public interest.
HHS Eases Requirements for Treating Opioid Patients with Buprenorphine
The Department of Health and Human Services recently released guidelines that make it easier to prescribe buprenorphine to patients with opioid use disorder.
Distributional Effects in Regulatory Impact Analysis
President Biden reinforced longstanding requirements for regulatory analysis and placed renewed emphasis on understanding distributional regulatory effects.
The effects of regulation on jobs have been a heated theme in contemporary political debate. Little attention has been paid to regulatory uncertainty, and yet its impact on employment has a basis in the economic theory.
The Consumer Protection and Recovery Act
An article co-authored by Howard Beales, professor emeritus of strategic management and public policy at the George Washington University School of Business and senior scholar at the GW Regulatory Studies Center, was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in a ruling issued earlier this month limiting the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to recover monetary relief for consumers defrauded by companies that use deceptive practices.
Unsupervised Use of Opioid Treatment Medications
Methadone, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, can only be dispensed to patients at federally regulated opioid treatment programs. This restriction grew out of concerns about diversion and overdose.
Biden is Using Multiple Mechanisms to Reverse Trump's Regulatory Agenda
Biden has been actively using several options to reverse Trump-era rules, including withdrawals, regulatory suspensions, strategic responses to litigation, etc.
Congress Targets Six Trump Administration Regulations for Elimination Under the CRA
The Democrat-led Congress has targeted six Trump-era regulations for elimination under the Congressional Review Act.
Developing Regulatory Alternatives Through Early Input
Agencies face a multitude of requirements instituted by Congress and the president to guide their rulemaking procedures. In some cases, these laws and orders, such as Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act, mandate that the agency consider a variety of regulatory approaches when developing a rule.
A Project Worth Watching at OIRA
Building up the ability for agencies to conduct effective benefit-cost analysis was difficult when President Clinton authored Executive Order 12866 in 1993, so too will be building out better distributional analysis under President Biden’s “Modernizing Regulatory Review” Memorandum. It was worth the effort then, and it will be worth the effort now.
Where are the Congressional Review Act Disapprovals?
The stars are aligned for Democrats to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to disapprove federal agency regulations from the end of the Trump administration. But will they? With an April 4 deadline looming, members of Congress are running out of time to get the process started with the introduction of a resolution to disapprove a rule.
Seismic Shift In The Regulatory Tide
The first two months of the Biden-Harris administration indicate a departure from the traditional regulatory review practices embraced by both parties.
Beyond Republicans and the Disapproval of Regulations
This article finds that the Congressional Review Act has become an institutionalized instrument of oversight of regulatory policymaking.
The General Services Administration updated the classic version of Regulations.gov, the primary website used for accepting public comments.
Regulatory Benefit-Cost Analysis—Advice for a New Presidential Term
SBCA organized a panel dispensing advice to the incoming Biden administration on improving and expanding the use of benefit-cost analysis.
Telemedicine & Initiating Buprenorphine Treatment
Federal regulators dramatically reduced the barriers to using telemedicine to treat opioid use disorder in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Public health experts have long argued that health care practitioners can provide high-quality treatment for opioid use disorder via telemedicine. Until now, federal regulation has limited the ability of practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine, one of the medications considered the gold standard for treatment of opioid use disorder, using telemedicine.
Regulatory Sentiment and Uncertainty under the Trump Administration
The impact of regulatory policy depends on how it is designed and implemented, but public perceptions and subjective attitudes about regulation can also play important roles in how it affects the economy. Using newspaper text, I track sentiment and uncertainty about regulation until January 31, 2021 and discuss how they changed during the Trump and previous administrations in this commentary.
Extending Executive Order 12866 to Independent Regulatory Agencies
A DOJ opinion means that the president can require the independent agencies to perform benefit-cost analyses of all significant regulations.
A Last-Minute Attempt to Partially X the X Waiver
Although HHS appears to have the legal authority to provide exemptions from buprenorphine requirements, taking time to ensure flexibilities are legally defensible will promote the uptake of the policies in the long term.
The Regulators' New Marching Orders
Biden's Inauguration Day actions foreshadow a move away from the bipartisan emphasis on evidence-based policy and signal a less humble approach to regulating.
The Regulatory Savvy of Biden’s Early Executive Actions
Just hours after his inauguration, President Joe Biden set in motion a series of executive actions that will shape his regulatory agenda. Taken together, they demonstrate that the incoming administration will be responsive to complaints about the regulatory system it is inheriting while still relying on time-tested and valuable analytical techniques and processes.
Two Rules President Biden Needs To Make His Ambitious Environmental Agenda Successful
Two Trump-era EPA rules President Biden is targeting for removal could help, not hinder, his ambitious regulatory goals.
The study of Congress largely focuses on its members, committees, and leaders. Meanwhile, the study of federal agencies tends to focus on those that fall within the executive branch. But many agencies and institutions exist to support Congress, and administrative law and political science scholarship has largely overlooked their internal operations.
2020 Regulatory Year in Review:
This Regulatory Insight recaps ten notable themes related to federal regulations that occurred in 2020. Regulatory policymaking frequently intersected with noteworthy challenges facing the country.
Bespoke regulatory review, fit to the particulars of each independent regulatory agency, could help remedy regulatory analysis deficiencies at independent regulatory agencies, while also addressing the long-standing legal and political stalemate of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review of independent regulatory agencies.
Advice for the Biden-Harris Administration
Time-tested regulatory practices can help ensure evidence-based policies take diverse perspectives and information into account.
Congressional Review Act Update
Based on procedures within the Congressional Review Act, all regulations issued since August 11, 2020 may be undone by the new Congress in January.
Civil service reform is important, but one has to wonder why the Trump administration is undertaking it with only a few weeks left in the administration.
President Trump’s Midnight Regulatory Agenda
OIRA released its Fall 2020 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, marking the last Agenda to be published under the Trump administration.
Midnight in the Garden of Rules and Regulations
Midnight regulation is upon us and it may be more chaotic than usual because his administrators may be more rushed than in previous transitions.
The Midnight Regulation Phenomenon
It’s officially midnight in Washington, when an outgoing presidential administration rushes to complete its priorities before a new administration takes office.
Milestones in the Evolution of the Administrative State
The modern administrative state, as measured by number of agencies, their budgets and staffing, and the number of regulations they issue, has grown significantly over the last hundred years. This essay reviews the origins of the administrative state, and identifies four milestone efforts to hold it accountable to the American people: passage of the Administrative Procedure Act in 1946, the economic deregulation of the 1970s and ‘80s, requirements for ex-ante regulatory impact analysis, and White House review.
Regulation in the Biden Administration
The Biden-Harris Administration will enjoy many important successes in its early days. The Executive Orders and Guidance Documents it will issue on or shortly after inauguration day will come close to restoring the regulatory environment that existed when President Trump took office. But the progressive agenda will be on hold, at least as long as Republicans control the Senate.
Craig Keats participated in our Delivering the Goods event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Staggers Rail Act and Motor Carrier Act.
Regulatory Impact Analysis in Brazil
The Federal government of Brazil issued an executive order that made regulatory impact analysis (RIA) mandatory for regulations.
DHS's Affidavit of Support on Behalf of Immigrants
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing to amend its regulations governing the affidavit of support requirements under section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The department estimates that the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) will produce direct net costs of up to $2.0 billion over 10 years.
Sophisticated Economics for Complex Regulatory Reform
aul Milgrom and Robert Wilson were selected for the 2020 Nobel prize in economic sciences in part because their work has been used “to design new auction formats for goods and services that are difficult to sell in a traditional way, such as radio frequencies.”
Effect of Deregulation on Labor Markets
James Peoples is a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. He participated in our recent webinar series, Delivering the Goods, that looked at how the Staggers Rail Act and Motor Carrier Act were passed, and what effect they had on the surface freight industry. Professor Peoples’ continues his reflections in this Commentary.
The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) from DHS would amend regulations on the use and collection of biometrics by USCIS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Effects of GDPR on the Digital Economy
We review the existing literature on privacy, particularly GDPR, from a policy perspective. The evidence outlines data regulation's effects on competition, innovation, marketing activities, and cross-border data flows. The discussion highlights the tradeoffs between increased regulation of data protection and its effects on the market.
A Model for Bipartisan Cooperation
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Motor Carrier Act and the Staggers Rail Act, which substantially deregulated prices, entry, and exit in surface freight transportation. These reforms are noteworthy because they produced enormous consumer benefits, there is a strong scholarly consensus about their effects, and they enjoyed significant bipartisan support. The Regulatory Studies Center will host an online symposium to commemorate these regulatory reforms and draw lessons for the future.
At 50 years old, the EPA is the focus of some bitter controversies, but the nature of its mission should be something that unites more than it divides us.
Regulations Teed Up at the DEA
Several of the regulations teed up at the Drug Enforcement Administration are long-awaited actions that seek to address the ongoing opioid epidemic.
Time to Give Bootleggers the Boot!
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has an important and well-defined mission with broad public support. Too often, however, the Agency has sought to strengthen its position by aligning itself with politically powerful rent-seeking interests. My wish for the Agency on its fiftieth birthday is that it stays focused on its own mission and remembers that old adage: “Dilution is not the solution to pollution.”
GSA unveiled a beta version of Regulations.gov, including a new API with a feature that allows users to submit comments on federal rulemakings through an API.
The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, enacted in 2019, allows several categories of federal employees to substitute up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for the unpaid leave they are entitled to under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The substitution is permitted in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child with the employee. OPM’s interim final rule implements the legislation.
The NTIA proposal includes several provisions that would narrow the scope of Internet intermediaries’ liability when they remove or restrict access to content provided by others. It would also require the intermediaries to disclose their content moderation policies in a form that is understandable by consumers and small businesses.
Unintended Consequences of GDPR
Recent studies explore the reasons for troubling and unintended consequence of GDPR on competition and market concentration.
Mass, Computer-Generated, and Fraudulent Comments
The Administrative Conference of the United States requested proposals for a new project on “Mass, Computer-Generated, and Fraudulent Comments."
Improvements in SEC Economic Analysis
Several D.C. Circuit decisions that remanded regulations to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) between 2005 and 2011 provide a natural experiment that permits researchers to identify the correlation between judicial review, the quality of regulatory agencies’ economic analysis, and its use in regulatory decisions. SEC economic analysis improved substantially following the issuance of new staff guidance on economic analysis in 2012.
Analyzing Agency Budgets for Regulatory Spending
This Regulatory Insight analyzes four Trump administration budget proposals to identify notable recurring trends in regulatory spending. Budget data indicate that spending on homeland security regulation has risen, while outlays for environment and energy regulation have fallen. Comparing the president’s budget proposals with actual outlays suggests where the administration has been largely successful in accomplishing its political goals and where Congress has hindered those goals.
The public comment process offers a way to place evidence in an agency’s record that it might not otherwise consider, such as race-related effects.
OMB's original guidance on discounting from 1988 can help to resolve many misunderstandings about discounting that have developed since then.
Benefit-Cost Analysis at the EPA
“The EPA is “soliciting comment on whether and how EPA should promulgate regulations that provide a consistent and transparent interpretation relating to the consideration of weighing costs and benefits in making regulatory decisions in a manner consistent with applicable authorizing statutes.” I will comment on three issues raised in the proposed EPA rule.
In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), EPA seeks to codify procedures that will ensure adequate consistency and transparency in applying Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) to rulemakings under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Regulators' Budget: Overall Spending and Staffing Remain Stable
This report is a joint effort of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis and the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center in Washington, DC. This report is one in a series designed to enhance the understanding of the impact of federal regulation on society and does not represent an official position of either the George Washington University or Washington University in St. Louis.
The Durability of Regulatory Oversight
This article reflects on OIRA's evolution over the almost 40 years since the Paperwork Reduction Act created it in 1980 to understand what has made it so durable. It finds that regardless of their philosophy, presidents need an entity like OIRA to address the principal‐agent problem they face in managing the disparate agencies within the executive branch.
What are People Saying About COVID-19-Related Regulations?
Government agencies have taken various regulatory actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. What are people saying about these regulatory responses? Which ones have prompted the most discussion? And, most importantly, which regulations should be most urgently addressed?
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) released its semiannual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The Agenda lists all regulatory actions currently being developed by federal agencies.
Parsing a Pair of Two-track Regulatory Actions: Part Two
This second part will look at two actions affecting compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Nudging the Nudger: Toward a Choice Architecture for Regulators
Behavioral research has shown that individuals do not always behave in ways that match textbook definitions of rationality but are subject to cognitive biases that may lead to systematic errors in judgments and decisions.
The Social Media Executive Order and the FCC
Trump's executive order on social media instructs the Secretary of Commerce to petition the FCC for a rulemaking to address viewpoint-based speech restrictions.
This article compares government transparency and public participation in policymaking across China and the United States. The analysis specifically focuses on the notice and comment process—government announcement of proposed policies and solicitation of public feedback—at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This article examines the institutionalization of online consultation, a prominent instrument of governance reform in contemporary China in which government organizations make public draft laws and regulations and solicit input from interested parties prior to finalizing decisions. The article specifically analyses the extent to which online consultation is a durable governance reform that enhances transparency and participation in policymaking. The analysis focuses on the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and Guangzhou Municipal Government (GMG), leading organizations in the implementation of online consultation.
This article examines agency responsiveness to mass comment campaigns – collections of identical and near‐duplicate comments sponsored by organizations and submitted by group members and supporters – in administrative rulemaking in the United States.
Retail Electric Competition and Natural Monopoly: The Shocking Truth
Regulated monopoly remains the dominant paradigm for electricity retailing in the United States. Scholarly research, however, clearly refutes the idea that monopoly is the most efficient market structure for retail electricity sales.
Agency Learning Agendas and Regulatory Research
As federal agencies scramble to respond to COVID-19, there’s another initiative rolling forward that you probably haven’t heard of, one that was built by data wonks and will influence regulation in ways we’re just now beginning to understand. As part of a new legal requirement, agencies are writing learning agendas to organize the way they approach research, including regulatory research.
DEA's Mobile Narcotic Treatment Program
Practitioners who want to administer methadone, a schedule II controlled substance, to treat opioid use disorder must first obtain a registration from DEA to operate as a Narcotic Treatment Program (NTP). The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) requires that each person registered with the DEA to dispense controlled substances must obtain a separate registration “at each principal place of business or professional practice.” This requirement generally extends to NTPs. However, the statute also gives DEA the authority to waive this requirement if “consistent with the public health and safety."
Using Public Comments to Identify Regulations for Retrospective Review
The difficulty of identifying which regulations to evaluate from the existing stock persists as a barrier to agencies in their efforts to implement retrospective review.
EPA Proposes to Accelerate Its Permit Appeal Process
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed a rule to streamline the process for appealing a permit to the agency’s Environmental Appeals Board.
DOT's Proposed Rule for Air Travel with Service Animals
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing amendments to its Air Carrier Access Act regulation on the transportation of service animals by air. Multiple parties from a variety of perspectives have called for greater regulatory clarity on what qualifies as a service animal, how airlines should classify emotional support animals (ESAs) for air travel, whether uncommon species should be allowed aboard planes, and how to mitigate health and safety risks caused by animal behavior.
FDA & USDA Food Identity Standards
Both FDA and USDA promulgate food identity standards that require foods sold under particular names to have certain characteristics or ingredients that consumers might expect. In 2005, the agencies jointly proposed a rule to establish general principles for evaluating food identity standards.
Reply Comment on Benefit-Cost Analysis at the STB
On November 4, 2019, the STB solicited further information from the public about specific methods that could be used for benefit-cost analysis of rules related to economic regulation of freight railroads.
Are Future Lives Worth More Than Our Own?
The Environmental Protection Agency has asked its Environmental Economics Advisory Committee (EEAC) for advice on how the Agency should adjust the value of statistical lives (VSL) in the future. Incomes in the future are expected to grow, and people with higher incomes tend to place a higher value on measures to reduce their own mortality risks. Does this mean that a benefit-cost analysis should place greater weight on lives saved in the future than it does on those saved today? In comments filed with the Committee and summarized here, Mannix argues that this is more than just a question of analytical technique.
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is proposing an update to its regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. The purposes of NEPA include establishing a national policy toward the environment and promoting “efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man.”
Statutory Delegation, Agency Authority, and the Asymmetry of Impact Analysis
This paper documents the diverse degrees of discretionary authority Congress grants US executive branch agencies. It then presents a case study that systematically compares the quality of impact analysis that informed legislative and regulatory decisions on positive train control, a technology mandated by statute in 2008.
OMB's Request for Comment on Marginal Excess Tax Burden & EO 13771
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has requested advice on incorporating a measure of “marginal excess tax burden” (METB) as a potential cost under the regulatory cost accounting system mandated by Executive Order (E.O.) 13771.
Scholars of regulation generally view the procedures that agencies must follow when promulgating rules as instruments by which political principals control bureaucratic agents. Much like political principals attempt to use procedural checks to constrain regulatory agencies’ actions, these same agencies employ various regulatory instruments to influence the decisions of private agents, especially firms.
OMB's Request for Comment on Marginal Excess Tax Burden and EO 13771
Executive Order (EO) 13771 of January 30, 2017 imposed new regulatory procedures on executive branch agencies by directing them to (1) eliminate two existing rules for each new rule issued and (2) offset costs imposed by new rules through compliance with an incremental regulatory budget.
GSA Moving to Deal with Mass and Fake Comments
On January 30, the General Services Administration (GSA) hosted a public meeting on mass and fake comments.
For the past several years, along with colleagues at GW, I have been conducting research on mass comment campaigns in agency rulemaking. By mass comment campaigns, we mean collections of identical and near-duplicate comments sponsored by organizations and submitted by group members and supporters
Epistemic Lessons from Economic Regulatory Reform
There are three related epistemic lessons from this major wave of regulatory reforms that relate to the role of knowledge in the policymaking process.
STB Petition to Consider Benefit-Cost Analysis
On July 8, 2019, the STB decided to delay consideration of a petition asking the board to adopt a procedural rule that would require benefit-cost analysis in certain board rulemakings. On November 4, 2019, the STB solicited further information from the public about specific methods that could be used for benefit-cost analysis of rules related to economic regulation of freight railroads. The STB is prudent to explore methods for improving its economic analysis of regulatory proposals—as several other independent agencies have done in recent years.
GSA's Mass and Fake Comments Meeting
Over the last few years, we've been, with a bunch of colleagues at George Washington University, working on a project on mass comment campaigns and agency rulemaking. And I want to spend a few minutes sharing what we've been up to, what we've found. And what we think some of the broader implications of the research are, but for the larger interests we're discussing today.
FDIC's Framework for Analyzing the Effects of Regulatory Actions
The FDIC is considering a more structured approach to economic analysis that informs regulatory decisions. The RFI seeks comment on an approach that is based on Circular A-4, the Office of Management and Budget’s peer-reviewed guidance for conducting regulatory impact analysis (RIA) under Executive Order 12,866, as well as economic analysis guidance issued by other financial regulators.
A wide range of areas—including administrative procedures, environment and energy, nutrition benefits, immigration, and healthcare—experienced important regulatory developments during the past year.
Regulatory Impact Analysis and Litigation Risk
This paper explores the role that the regulatory impact analyses (RIAs) that agencies are required to prepare for important proposed rules play in decisions by courts about whether these rules should be upheld when they are challenged after promulgation.
Designing a Choice Architecture for Regulators
The emergence of behavioral public administration has led to increasing calls for public managers and policy makers to consider predictable cognitive biases when regulating individual behaviors or market transactions.
Regulatory Oversight and Benefit-Cost Analysis: A Historical Perspective
This article examines the evolution of executive regulatory oversight and analysis from the 1970s to today, exploring the reasons for its durability and whether the current imposition of a regulatory budget challenges the bipartisan nature of regulatory practice.
STB's Railroad Revenue Adequacy
The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 deregulated most freight rail rates but left the Interstate Commerce Commission (and now the STB) with responsibility for ensuring that rail rates are “just and reasonable” for shippers who lack good transportation alternatives to a single railroad.
Regulatory Oversight and Benefit-Cost Analysis: A Historical Perspective
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Executive Office of the President coordinates the federal government’s regulatory agenda, reviews executive branch agencies’ draft regulations, and oversees government-wide information quality, peer review, privacy, and statistical policies.
STB's Rate Review and Market Dominance -- Reply Comment
In two related proceedings, the STB has proposed a streamlined approach to assessing whether a railroad has market dominance and a final offer process for small rate disputes.
Behavioral public administration (BPA) research aspires not only to draw on developments in behavioral science but also, importantly, to address central themes in public administration. By focusing a symposium on bureaucratic red tape, administrative burden, and regulation, we encouraged BPA scholarship to engage with fundamental public administration topics that are also relevant for the broader literature on organizations and management.
Better Economic Analysis Can Reduce Regulators’ Litigation Risks
Recent research sheds light on the relationship between the quality of an agency’s economic analysis and the risk that a regulation will be overturned in court.
OIRA’s Regulatory Reform Report for Fiscal Year 2019
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) released its annual Regulatory Reform Status Report on December 6, 2019. The report, which in the past has been published along with the Fall Unified Agenda, compiles executive branch agencies’ continued efforts to comply with Executive Order 13771.
Coproduction of Regulations Under the Administrative Procedure Act
Aligica et al. (2019) posit that a form of public administration founded in the classical liberal tradition should recognize value heterogeneity, which would create a need for coproduction of rules and polycentricity in the production of rules. Utilizing a dataset of 130 economically significant executive branch regulations proposed between 2008 and 2013, this paper assesses whether US regulators act in a manner consistent with the predictions of their theory.
Tracking Regulatory Activity through Trends in Federal Budgets
Comparing Regulators' Budget reports provides a way to analyze administrations' regulatory priorities and assess the extent to which they are realized.
Accounting for Regulatory Reform Under Executive Order 13771
Executive Order (EO) 13771, known as the “regulatory two-for-one” EO, imposed new constraints on executive branch regulatory agencies, directing them to: (1) to cut two existing rules for each new rule issued and (2) offset any costs imposed by new rules while operating under a regulatory cost cap.
STB's Market Dominance and Final Offer Rate Review
The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 deregulated most freight rail rates but left the Interstate Commerce Commission (and now the STB) with responsibility for ensuring that rail rates are “just and reasonable” for shippers who lack good transportation alternatives to a single railroad.
Are Agencies Responsive To Mass Comment Campaigns?
In this age of clicktivism, federal agencies sometimes receive a large number of public comments during rulemaking. High-profile rules such as greenhouse gas emissions and Restoring Internet Freedom garnered millions of public comments. Advocacy organizations orchestrate campaigns to encourage politically conscious citizens to send letters in favor or against proposed regulations.
This article examines the sponsorship and content of mass comment campaigns in administrative rulemaking in the United States. Mass comment campaigns consist of identical and near‐duplicate comments sponsored by organizations and submitted by group members and supporters to government agencies in response to proposed rules. Drawing from research on interest group lobbying, it is posited that organizations of all types sponsor mass comment campaigns, but that campaigns submitted by regulated entities (i.e., industries) are more substantive than campaigns generated by beneficiaries of stringent regulations (e.g., environmental advocacy groups).
Dynamic Benefit-Cost Analysis for Uncertain Futures
The diverse policy decisions confronting decision-makers today demand “dynamic BCA,” analytic frameworks that incorporate uncertainties and trade-offs across policy areas, recognizing that: perceptions of risks can be uninformed, misinformed, or inaccurate; risk characterization can suffer from ambiguity; and experts’ tendency to focus on one risk at a time may blind policymakers to important trade-offs.
Codifying the Cost-Benefit State
Benefit-cost balancing is now a dominant paradigm in administrative law for evaluating federal agencies’ exercise of delegated regulatory discretion. In response to increased scrutiny upon judicial review, agencies have taken steps to firm up their benefit-cost analyses. Despite multiple Executive Orders and supplementary guidance, neither executive nor legislative action has produced a clear set of justiciable standards against which courts can evaluate agency analyses for adequacy.
This report examines the relationship between the organization of economists in agencies and the robustness and integrity of economic analysis that is intended to inform decisions about the design and adoption of individual regulations.
10 Years of Going Back to School
The Fall 2019 semester marks an important milestone for the Regulatory Studies Center.
OIRA Wants You…To Schedule Meetings Online
People who wish to meet with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to discuss a draft regulation may now request to do so online. OIRA has recently moved to an online, automated meeting request process.
EPA's rules will face new legal challenges based on both the economic analysis and statutory authority. This Policy Insight reviews some of the major issues.
A Two-Year Lookback on Trump’s Deregulatory Record
How is the Trump administration’s deregulatory program going? That was the topic of a panel discussion hosted by the Regulatory Policy Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section on Administrative Law and Rulemaking last week.
IRS's Safe Harbor Notice on State and Local Tax Credits
On June 11, 2019, the IRS published a guidance notice stating that certain individuals who receive state or local tax credits in exchange for contributions to or for the use of a charity or other entity described in section 170(c) can treat the contribution as a state or local tax payment. The Treasury Department and IRS requested comments on this Notice by July 11, 2019.
FDA's Proposed Rule on Mammography Standards
Early detection of breast cancer can save lives. Mammography is one of the screening tools that has contributed to reductions in breast cancer mortality. FDA has a unique role in mammography and should be commended for proposing to update its rules, particularly for those updates that reflect new technologies, such as the provisions related to digital mammography that update old regulatory terms like “x-ray film.”
Research Brief: Why Should We Focus on the Form of Regulation?
This four-chapter, 154-page-long report details the research we conducted through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Although its major findings are derived from agriculture-related industries, the concept and framework for classifying regulations according to their forms have broader implications for examining the effects of regulation.
Proposed Revisions to DOE’s Process Rule Include Beneficial Changes and Areas for Improvement
The Energy Department issues proposed updates to its Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards
DOE's Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards
In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), DOE is proposing to “update and modernize the Department’s current rulemaking methodology titled, ‘Procedures, Interpretations, and Policies for Consideration of New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Products’ (‘Process Rule’).”
From Beginning to End: An Examination of Agencies' Early Public Engagement and Retrospective Review
My testimony reviews the problems necessitating the practices required by your legislation and addresses and examines each bill’s requirements and impacts. It concludes with some crosscutting comments and observations.
Early but Not Often: A Look into the Use of ANPRMs in Rulemaking
Agencies can use an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to engage the public early in the rulemaking process before a rule change is in motion.
Statutory Clarity and Judicial Review of Regulatory Impact Analysis
A key element throughout many of these recent legislative proposals for regulatory reform has been enhanced judicial review of agency rulemaking.
In this rulemaking, the EPA and Army Corps are attempting to bring clarity to the muddy debate over the scope of federal regulatory jurisdiction under the CWA.
IRS's Qualified Business Income Deduction
Section 199A of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 reduced the maximum corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.
Wasted Energy: DOE’s Inaction on Efficiency Standards and Its Impact on Consumers and the Climate
Testimony in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The Shutdown's Rulemaking Ramifications
The length and partial nature of this shutdown set the stage for novel legal and practical issues for the regulatory process.
Consultation, Participation, and the Institutionalization of Governance Reform in China
This article examines the institutionalization—persistence, substantive development, and standardization of best procedures—of online consultation in China, a prominent instrument of governance reform in which government officials provide interested parties with opportunities to comment on draft laws and regulations over the Internet.
Measuring Costs and Benefits of Privacy Controls
Considering public policies to balance the collection, sale, and use of personal data with individuals' right to privacy
Electric Utility Competition — In South Carolina?
Retail electric competition has recently become a hot issue in South Carolina.
Improving Regulatory Benefit-Cost Analysis
This article briefly reviews the process by which regulations are developed in the United States and the role for BCA. It then examines the institutional and technical factors limiting the use of BCA as a tool for improving regulatory policy. It concludes with some recommendations.
Measuring Energy Efficiency: Accounting for the Hidden Costs of Product Failure
DOE sets energy efficiency standards for a wide variety of consumer appliances to achieve a “significant conservation of energy.” Advocates for these standards claim that households have realized substantial cost savings with the existing standards. There is a substantial literature—although no consensus—on the effects of energy efficiency regulation, however.
Since 2018, Regulatory Studies Center scholars have co-authored the Rulemaking chapter of "Developments in Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice," an annual publication of the American Bar Association, Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section.
Transparency and Public Commenting Under EO 13771
Hearing features agency best practices for paring back rules
Enduring Principles of Sound Regulatory Analysis
The economic foundations of Executive Order 12866 underscore its continued importance in regulatory review.
FCC Clears Last Hurdles to Creation of Economics Office
The Federal Communications Commission announced that it has received “all necessary approvals” to reorganize economists into a single office.
Now Available: A Concise Explanation of the FCC’s Economic Analysis on Net Neutrality
Many people have sought a clear and concise explanation of the economic thinking behind the Restoring Internet Freedom order.
NTIA's Approach to Consumer Privacy
NTIA is requesting public comments on its proposed approach to guide federal policymaking related to consumer privacy.
Statutory Rulemaking Considerations and Judicial Review of Regulatory Impact Analysis
This paper examines the various statutory standards that require agencies to conduct some form of economic analysis and explores which standards correlate with more rigorous judicial review when a rule is challenged in court and with more rigorous regulatory analysis by the agency preparing the rule.
EPA's Proposed “Affordable Clean Energy” (ACE) Rule
EPA’s preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis (PRIA) calculates that, compared to the status quo ante (i.e., no CPP in effect), the ACE rule will reduce CO2 emissions in 2025 by between 13 and 30 million short tons, resulting in $1.6 billion in monetized domestic climate benefits.
The George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center improves regulatory policy through research, education, and outreach.
The Bright Future of Executive Order 12866
E.O. 12866 developed strong public and political support for centralized review as an essential tool for presidential management of the administrative state.
Altogether, the Fall 2018 Agenda indicates that regulatory agencies continue not only to meet but to exceed their goals to deregulate as directed by Executive Order 13771—which instructed agencies to remove two rules for every new one they issue and offset the additional cost imposed by new regulations by reducing costs elsewhere.
E.O. 12866 - A View from the House
Executive Order 12866 is the central executive order governing rulemaking by executive agencies.
IRS's Proposed Rule on SALT Credits
Many states offer full or partial state tax credits for charitable contributions to or investments in specific types of activities.
The Life and Times of Executive Order 12866
Neil Eisner notes four significant accomplishments under E.O. 12866.
E.O. 12866 - 25th Anniversary Remarks
Opening remarks by Professor Revesz from a panel discussing the future of the executive order and its principles in the rulemaking process.
The Future of E.O. 12866: Embracing Regulatory Humility
The last four presidents have held very different views on regulation yet have all embraced the principles and procedures embodied in Executive Order 12866.
Praising the Principles in Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 contains an underlying philosophy embodied in 12 principles of good regulation.
Reflections on the E.O. 12866 Anniversary Event from a Bureaucrat Turned Academic
Summarizing how this event panel started with the story of how E.O. 12866 came to be and moved forward from there.
Congressional Views on the Bipartisan Principles of E.O. 12866
Shawne McGibbon summarizes the panel she moderated, which captured the congressional perspective on the value of Executive Order 12866 and its future prospects.
Tracing Executive Order 12866’s Longevity to its Roots
After 25 years, some marvel at the fact that Executive Order 12866 has survived through Republican and Democratic administrations.
Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Principles Survive and Thrive for 25 Years
Experts discuss why the principles and processes of E.O. 12866 have withstood the test of time across changes in administrations and political parties.
ED's Student Assistance & Loan Programs
The Department published a final rule on November 1, 2016 which made substantive changes to its treatment of borrower defenses and other loan discharges (i.e., loan forgiveness for borrowers) related to its Federal Direct Loan Program.
“Behavioural Government:” Implications for Regulator Behavior
The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) in the UK published a new report titled Behavioural Government. Although we usually talk about “nudging” to correct irrational choices of individual citizens, this report focuses instead on the behavioral biases of policymakers. The report considers various forms of behavioral bias and proposes a set of strategies to mitigate them.
The EPA has proposed to repeal the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions guidelines for electric generating units issued on October 23, 2015
EPA Proposes Replacement for Obama’s Signature Climate Initiative
The Environmental Protection Agency announced the Trump administration's proposed replacement for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan.
Council on Environmental Quality - Implementing NEPA
For the first time in 30 years, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is considering an update to its regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969.
Increasing Transparency in Considering Costs and Benefits in the Rulemaking Process -- Update
Attached is a comment that I filed in response to a recent EPA ANPRM to increase transparency in considering costs and benefits in the rulemaking process. I am filing this same comment in the CEQ docket as well, because of the parallels between CEQ’s efforts to bring consistency and transparency to the NEPA process and EPA’s efforts to pursue the same goals with respect to rulemaking.
EPA's Benefit-Cost Analysis in the Rulemaking Process
The EPA is “soliciting comment on whether and how EPA should promulgate regulations that provide a consistent and transparent interpretation relating to the consideration of weighing costs
EPA's ANPRM on Increasing Transparency in Benefit-Cost Analysis
In this Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Environmental Protection Agency sets a worthwhile goal of improving the consistency and transparency of the agency’s use of economic analyses to inform its rulemaking decisions.
Benefit-Cost Analysis as a Check on Administrative Discretion
Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) continues to be the principal tool used by American presidents to guide the discretionary decisions of regulatory agencies under their supervision, and increasingly it is viewed by the courts as an important consideration for agencies to take into account in justifying their regulatory decisions. This paper argues that BCA is properly viewed, not simply as a technocratic planning tool, but as a solution to a principal-agent problem.
Improving Regulatory Science: A Case Study of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
This paper explores the motivations and institutional incentives of participants involved in the development of regulation aimed at reducing health risks, with a goal of understanding and identifying solutions to what the Bipartisan Policy Center has characterized as “a tendency to frame regulatory issues as debates solely about science, regardless of the actual subject in dispute, [that] is at the root of the stalemate and acrimony all too present in the regulatory system today.”
Trump Administration Picks up the Regulatory Pace in its Second Year
The first 6 months of the Trump administration’s second year reveal a quicker pace than its first, though still slower compared to the Obama administration.
FCC Process Reform Underscores Need for Economic Review at Independent Regulatory Agencies
At a June 2018 policy seminar, Chairman O’Rielly focused his remarks on the next steps in the FCC’s process reform efforts.
Agricultural Research and 2018 Farm Bill Implementation
On June 13, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released what it describes as a “Cost-Benefit Analysis” of the proposed relocation of NIFA and ERS from Washington DC to Kansas City.
Increasing Consistency and Transparency in EPA's Benefit Cost Analysis
In this ANPRM, EPA seeks comment on the appropriate role for regulatory analysis in decisions authorized by the different statutes EPA administers. It explicitly does not seek comment on “how best to conduct the underlying analysis of regulatory actions."
DHS Proposes Raising Barriers to Foreign Entrepreneurship in the U.S.
DHS recently proposed a rule to eliminate its international entrepreneur program, and the proposed removal would have negative economic effects.
Regulators’ Budget: OIRA’s Growth and the Future of Regulatory Reform
Sizing Up the Regulatory Landscape
DHS's Proposed Rule: Removal of International Entrepreneur Parole Program
The Department of Homeland Security’s proposed rule would eliminate its international entrepreneur (IE) program.
FDA's Proposal to Regulate Nicotine Levels
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration recently published an “Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Combusted Cigarettes1" to invite comments and submissions of information for it to consider as it plans to develop a maximum nicotine level for cigarettes. The agency hopes to establish a standard for nicotine levels in cigarettes so that they do not initiate or perpetuate addiction to cigarettes for some portion of potential smokers.
FSIS's Egg Products Inspection Regulations
The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to require official plants that process egg products to develop and implement Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (Sanitation SOPs).
FDA’s plan to restrict nicotine to very low levels in combusted cigarettes in order to reduce smokers’ addiction to cigarettes is a novel and creative approach
A Taxonomy of Regulatory Forms
There is a lot of interest in understanding what effects regulations have on economic growth and other macroeconomic measures, but measuring those impacts is challenging, in part because regulatory metrics themselves are rather blunt. Pages or even words in regulatory code may not tell the whole story. Intuitively, the form a regulation takes is relevant for predicting its impacts.
EPA’s Proposed Rule Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science
In this proposal, EPA aims to strengthen the transparency of the science it considers “pivotal” to its significant regulatory actions.
GDPR: Does it matter on this side of the Atlantic?
GDPR: Does it matter on this side of the Atlantic?
Better Data Collection Would Improve Analysis of NEPA Regulations
Better data collection and reporting are key to analyzing how NEPA implementation has evolved and investigating whether the Act is achieving its goals.
The Trump Administration’s regulatory budget constraint may help improve agency benefit-cost analyses.
Embracing Ossification: Trump and the Shifting Politics of Procedural Controls
Deregulatory efforts by the Trump Administration have shown that procedures have similar effects on both attempts to deregulate and regulate.
OMB's 2017 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations
Pursuant to the Regulatory Right-to-Know Act, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) submits to Congress each year an accounting statement and associated report
A Brief History of Regulation and Deregulation
Ever since Congress created the first federal regulatory body more than 130 years ago, people have debated the proper role for what has been called the “fourth branch” of government. This essay provides a brief history of regulation and deregulation, reviewing the key milestones that have shaped regulatory practices in the United States from the mid-1900s to the presidency of Donald J. Trump.
Organizing Agencies to Promulgate Rules
Rulemaking process can use hierarchical, team-based, or outside advisor models
DOE's "Process Rule" for Energy Efficiency Standards
The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking comment on potential modifications to its “Process Rule,” which outlines the Department’s approach to establishing new
OMB Report on Regulatory Costs & Benefits Leaves Room for Regulatory Reform
The Office of Management and Budget released its Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations (“the Report”), which provides a window into regulatory activity conducted by federal agencies toward the end of the Obama administration in Fiscal Year 2016.
EPA's State Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Electric Utility Generating Units
The EPA is considering whether and how to use the Clean Air Act (CAA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs)
A Proposed Framework for Evidence-Based Regulation
The systematic application of evidence-based approaches to improve policymaking has received serious treatment by both scholars and policymakers, but its successful implementation to improve regulatory outcomes requires a separate framework.
Quality, not Quantity, is Key to Effective Commenting
Fear over the impact of fake comments appears overblown
Benefit-Cost Analysis & Emerging Technologies
The Hastings Center has published “Benefit-Cost Analysis and Emerging Technologies,” by RSC’s Brian Mannix, as part of a special report funded by the National Science Foundation.
President Trump's State of the Union claim on Regulation: The 2017 Data are In
The administration is reducing regulatory actions, but to what extent?
International Regulatory Indexes at a Glance
Deregulation remains a significant part of President Trump’s agenda and some credit his deregulatory promises with improving economic indicators.
2017 Regulatory Year in Review
This Regulatory Insight highlights ten important regulatory and deregulatory themes that garnered attention—and changed the regulatory landscape—in 2017. Regulatory policy was a focal point of 2017, and notable executive orders, rulemaking, and legislation all contributed to this theme.
Fall Unified Agenda outlines Progress of "Two-for-One" Reforms
In addition to the Unified Agenda, OIRA released a status report on implementation of President Trump’s two-for-one regulatory requirement.
Leave Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication to Innovators, Not Regulators
Nixing a plan to mandate vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology in new vehicles may be the right call for technological progress and innovation.
President Trump’s Regulatory Budget Evaluated By Brookings
Report shows that regulators are subject to public choice incentives
Policy Shock examines how policy-makers in industrialized democracies respond to major crises. After the immediate challenges of disaster management, crises often reveal new evidence or frame new normative perspectives that drive reforms designed to prevent future events of a similar magnitude.
A Review of "Structured to Fail? Regulatory Performance under Competing Mandates"
In his new book, Structured to Fail? Regulatory Performance under Competing Mandates, Christopher Carrigan tackles a critical question for regulatory scholars and practitioners alike: how does organizational design matter for regulatory agency behavior and performance? To answer it, Carrigan employs a diverse combination of research methods including statistical analysis, case study, and theoretical modeling.
CPSC Hearing on Safety Standard Addressing Blade-Contact Injuries on Table Saws
Thank you to the Commission for the opportunity to present on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC’s) proposed performance standards for table saws. We are Sofie E. Miller and Jacob Yarborough of the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center.
A Glimpse of President Trump’s Deregulatory "Agenda"
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget released its biannual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The Unified Agenda, which law requires to be published once in the spring and once in the fall, provides the public with a first glimpse at upcoming regulations.
Missing Offsets: EPA and DOE Rules May not Comply with One-in-Two-out Executive Order
Agencies have managed to publish two significant rules in recent weeks without mentioning the requirements of EO 13771.
Bureaucracy & Democracy: Accountability & Performance
In this book, we focus on bureaucratic accountability and performance. We aim to lay out just how bureaucracy is accountable, as well as to whom, under what circumstances, and with what results. In presenting these issues, we draw on insights from four prominent social scientific theories—bounded rationality, principal-agent theory, interest group mobilization, and network theory.
Private Sector Solutions for an Outdated Government Website
A report on Regulations.gov details several of the platform’s outdated elements, and proposes the use of private sector innovations to fix these issues.
President Donald Trump is moving quickly to make good on his campaign promise to reduce regulation, which he called “one of the greatest job-killers of them all.” President Donald Trump, Remarks at the Republican National Convention. During his second week in office, he signed Executive Order 13771, requiring agencies to offset the costs of new regulations by removing existing burdens.
The Window on Low-Hanging Fruit in Regulatory Reform is Closing
Soon the expeditious route won't be an option
More Historic “Firsts” for Regulatory Disapprovals under the Congressional Review Act
Resolutions of Disapproval begin to be used to nullify regulations
Consumer’s Guide to Regulatory Impact Analysis
Regulatory impact analyses (RIAs) weigh the benefits of regulations against the burdens they impose and are invaluable tools for informing decision makers. We offer 10 tips for nonspecialist policymakers and interested stakeholders who will be reading RIAs as consumers.
Spinning Out of Control: The Hidden Costs of Appliance Efficiency Standards
In a recent presentation, Art Fraas and Sofie Miller used data on appliance defects from class action lawsuits to identify regulations that are ripe for review.
Is Consultation the New Normal?: Online Policymaking and Governance Reform in China
Governance reform has emerged as an element of the Chinese Communist Party’s development strategy in the era of the “new normal.” This article examines the implementation of online consultation, a prominent instrument of governance reform—institutionalized under Hu Jintao and championed by Xi Jinping—in which officials provide interested parties with opportunities to offer feedback on proposed public policies.
Examining How Small Businesses Confront and Shape Regulations
Prepared Statement for the Record for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship hearing on "Examining How Small Businesses Confront and Shape Regulations."
Retrospective Evaluation of Chemical Regulations
Ex-ante regulatory impact assessment has a long tradition in many OECD countries, with established analytical steps and oversight as well as opportunities for public engagement to hold governments accountable for conducting analysis before regulations are issued. But ex-ante analyses necessarily depend on unverifiable assumptions and models of how the world would look absent the regulation, and how responses to regulatory requirements will alter those conditions. This paper attempts to address the challenges to evaluating regulatory outcomes and learning from those evaluations.
Prepared Statement of Susan E. Dudley, U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs hearing on Agency Use of Science in the Rulemaking Process: Proposals for Improving Transparency and Accountability.
Latest Trump Executive Order Provides Guidance on “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda”
Additional clarification provides direction for implementing the Trump administration’s previous orders to reduce regulation
A Tumultuous Inaugural Week in Washington
Friday is Inauguration Day and things are busy here in Washington, DC. Venues are getting ready for inaugural festivities. Security is setting up around the parade route, and streets are closing as the city braces for the influx of people celebrating—and protesting—Donald Trump’s swearing in as the 45th President of the United States.
A Useful Measure of Regulatory Output
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently published its Exit Memo highlighting several aspects of the agency’s work under President Obama. The memo includes quantitative metrics of the administration’s regulatory output to draw comparisons with the numbers of regulations issued by agencies under Presidents Clinton and Bush.
As a Parting Gift, Obama Administration Releases Final Report on Regulation
OMB released its annual Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations, providing a window into regulatory activity in FY15.
Structured to Fail? Regulatory Performance under Competing Mandates
Carrigan's analysis demonstrates for policymakers and scholars why assigning competing non-regulatory missions to regulatory agencies can still be better than separating them in some cases.
President Obama’s Midnight Regulatory Agenda
This Unified Agenda outlines the regulatory actions that agencies are planning to undertake in the remaining months of the Obama administration.
NHTSA’s Federal Automated Vehicles Policy: Accelerating the Next Revolution In Roadway Safety
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Federal Automated Vehicles Policy establishes how the agency will address driverless car technology through its current regulatory framework and identifies new regulatory tools that could be used in the future.
EPA’s proposed rule sets state-by-state carbon intensity targets for the production of electricity. States are expected to adopt some form of economic incentive regulatory system to achieve these targets, but there has been a great deal of confusion about how, exactly, such a system should work.
Public Comment to the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking
Regulation may have a larger impact on society than any other single federal policymaking process. Regulations protect public health, promote economic growth, and help preserve our environment. Various estimates of regulation’s impact on society vary from over $260 billion to over $2 trillion. By comparison, the total of all federal funding for research and development, for instance, is less than $160 billion a year.
When Brookings economist Charles Schultze died in late September, the obituaries that I read largely focused on his activities related to macroeconomics. The only mention of activities related to regulation and regulatory reform that I was able to find was in Ed Cowan’s Washington Post piece in which he stated that Charlie’s “longest-lasting impact may have been on moving the government away from … command and control regulation.”
The Midnight Uptick: Hasty Turnaround for Costly Student Loan Rule
Fate of a Department of Education rule may hinge on the outcome of upcoming election
Taiwan: Taking Public Participation a Step Further
Yuan looks to strengthen the public comment process
One Standard to Rule Them All: The Disparate Impact of Energy Efficiency Regulations
This chapter explores the reasoning behind energy efficiency regulations and why these reasons are insufficient to support the large costs they impose on consumers, especially low-income consumers.
The Renewable Fuel Standard’s Contribution to National Security is Misconstrued by its Advocates
Are biofuels as important to energy security as claimed?
Improving Evaluation of Chemical Regulations
Ex ante evaluation would improve regulatory accountability
Since the inception of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), considerable emphasis has been placed on the use of prospective policy analysis tools...
Improving Benefit-Cost Analysis by Making It Simpler
Earlier and less burdensome regulatory impact analyses would lead to more transparent, better regulatory decisions.
Regulators' Budget Report: OIRA Shrinks as Responsibilities Grow
The 2017 Regulator’s Budget reveals a trend of staff and budgetary growth for most federal agencies while OIRA is left behind.
This paper offers a retrospective assessment of economist George Stigler’s classic article, The Theory of Economic Regulation.
Home Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards under the Department of Energy – Stakeholder Perspectives
Testimony before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing on Home Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards under the Department of Energy – Stakeholder Perspectives.
The FCC’s proposed rules governing privacy practices of broadband Internet access service would create artificial distinctions between competing firms and tech.
Prepared Statement of Sofie E. Miller for the House Judiciary Committee Task Force on Executive Overreach Hearing "The Federal Government on Autopilot: Delegation of Regulatory Authority to an Unaccountable Bureaucracy".
Protectionist Rhetoric Continues as U.S. and EU Wrap-Up 13th Round of Trade Talks
America's longstanding commitment to free trade is being questioned
Identifying Regulations Affecting International Trade and Investment
This paper quantifies how many of the thousands of rules published every year by U.S. agencies are likely to have a significant effect on international trade and investment and analyzes how well agencies are performing at flagging these rules. The results indicate that there is much room for improvement in notifying trade partners and expanding stakeholder participation to improve the outcomes of rulemaking.
President Obama’s Competition Executive Order Could Benefit from a History Lesson
Agencies directed to address undue burdens on competition
The Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act: An Opportunity for Improved Regulatory Assessment?
The Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act: An Opportunity for Improved Regulatory Assessment?
Senators: Put Politics Aside in Reforming America’s Regulatory System
While most of GW was quiet Thursday in the last days of spring break, two U.S. senators were addressing a crowd of more than 300 at the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis 8th Annual Conference at the University Student Center.
Pitching Retrospective Review as a Cure for Regulatory Accumulation
Retrospective review may be the best way to address this inevitable regulatory buildup, but the path to effective review of regulations has many obstacles.
Are Future Lives Worth More, Today, Than Our Own – Simply Because of Income Growth?
The charge questions that EPA has presented to the EEAC for consideration this week relate to the analytical foundations of a procedure for estimating the value of statistical lives saved in the future – possibly the distant future – as a result of regulations imposed today.
This study examines existing practices for communication and cooperation between regulators in the European Union (EU) and the United States (U.S.) responsible for transportation safety and other matters regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The study describes current procedures, identifies successes and challenges to effective regulator-to-regulator cooperation, and offers suggestions for improving regulatory outcomes through cooperation.
Oversight of the Renewable Fuel Standard
Prepared statement for the record for the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing on Oversight of the Renewable Fuel Standard
The Role of FDA Regulation in the Fight Against the Zika Virus
FDA's assessment of potential remedy remains unreleased
Space-Time Trading: Special Relativity and Financial Market Microstructure
High frequency traders attempt to exploit physics to gain an advantage
In a letter to the National Academy of Sciences on its project, "Assessing Approaches to Updating the Social Cost of Carbon," a group of prominent regulatory economists argues that federal regulatory analysis should compare domestic regulatory benefits to domestic costs.
Senate Shows Continuing Interest in Regulatory Reform
Regulation is one of the primary vehicles by which federal policy is formulated, and it affects every household, employee, and business in the United States. Recognizing the importance of the regulatory process, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee recently released a report, “Direct From the Source: Understanding Regulation From the Inside Out,” which features some practical solutions for regulatory reform submitted by the GW Regulatory Studies Center and other sources.
Looking Ahead to Regulation in 2016
Although Congress will not likely enact new legislation in President Obama’s final year in office, regulatory agencies are a different matter.
President Obama’s Regulatory Output: Looking Back at 2015 and Ahead to 2016
HHS leads the way in finalizing new economically significant rules
On May 3, 2011, EPA determined that regulation of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) from coal- and oil-fired electric utility steam generating units (EGUs) was appropriate and necessary, and proposed “mercury and air toxics standards” (MATS) pursuant to section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The agency issued final MATS on February 16, 2012.
Are Chemical Risk Assessment and Benefit-Cost Analysis Compatible?
Executive Order 12866 requires benefit-cost analyses for all regulations; in many cases these economic analyses rely upon risk assessment for critical inputs. Usually this is not a problem; in principle, risk assessment and benefit-cost analysis are perfectly compatible.
Herding Genetically Engineered Animals to Market
FDA’s decision to approve a genetically engineered salmon for human consumption bodes well for people interested in cheaper fish.
Missed Opportunity for EPA to Cut Back Renewable Fuel Standard
Congress and EPA should reevaluate whether the Renewable Fuel Standard is accomplishing its goals.
OMB's 2015 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations
Pursuant to the Regulatory Right-to-Know Act, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) submits to Congress each year an accounting statement and associated report providing estimates of the total annual benefits and costs of federal regulations; an analysis of impacts of Federal regulation on State, local, and tribal government, small business, wages, and economic growth; and recommendations for reform.
Midnight Rules: A Comparison of Regulatory Output Across Administrations
Understanding Midnight Regulatory Activity and how it's used
The public policy world is not exempt misunderstandings, and the renewed emphasis on retrospective regulatory review is a case in point.
Political Discourse Includes Regulatory Reform
This commentary provides a brief review of what the 2016 presidential candidates have to say about regulatory reform.
Early Notice from U.S. Agencies Could Help Avoid Creating Barriers to Trade
Early Notice from U.S. Agencies Could Help Avoid Creating Barriers to Trade
Evaluating Retrospective Review of Regulations in 2014
President Obama has encouraged agencies to review existing regulations and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them.
Salience, Complexity, and State Resistance to Federal Mandates
Although state resistance to federal mandates is a prevalent characteristic of contemporary American federalism, little is known about the factors that separate resisting states from states that do not oppose federal policy. This article examines state resistance through a framework that classifies public policies by salience and complexity and identifies societal interests and government officials who are hypothesized to influence policy making on issues of varying types.
OMB Reports Higher Costs and Lower Benefits in 2015 Draft Report
The Office Management and Budget (OMB) released its annual Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations (“the Report”), which provides a window into regulatory activity conducted by federal agencies in Fiscal Year 2014. The Report indicates that the new regulations issued last fiscal year have both higher costs and lower benefits than those issued in FY 2013, and that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remains by far the largest contributor to both regulatory costs and benefits in this Report.
Executive Order No. 12866, signed by President Clinton, directs agencies to analyze the benefits and costs of regulations, and to try to maximize the excess of the former over the latter. It is a sound principle, but it needs to be applied with an appropriate measure of humility.
EPA’s Ozone Rule and the Scientization of Policy
EPA standards on Clean Air Act reflect hidden policy choices
In response to a directive from President Obama, and using their respective statutory authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have jointly proposed a set of standards to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and (almost equivalently) fuel efficiency for medium and heavy-duty engines and vehicles.
A Review of Regulatory Reform Proposals
Testimony before the United States Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee.
Agencies could work more consistently to identify which regulations are likely to have a significant effect on international trade and investment.
The Role of Transparency in Regulatory Governance
This article examines the transparency of procedures in the US and the EU related to impact analysis and public comment. It examines the importance of transparency for ensuring the effectiveness of these two regulatory practices, summarizes regulatory procedures in the US and the EU, compares the different approaches, and highlights the relative merits of each.
Considering the Cumulative Effects of Regulation
Ex-ante regulation-by-regulation analysis may not account for the cumulative effect of regulations on society or specific sectors of the economy.
NRC's Financial Qualifications for Reactor Licensing
In June 2015, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission sought public comment on a draft regulatory basis for a proposed rulemaking to amend the financial qualifications standard for new reactor licensing from the current “reasonable assurance” to the proposed “appears to be financially qualified.” I appreciate the opportunity to comment and encourage NRC to proceed with the proposed rulemaking.
Learning from the Past: It's Time to Reevaluate the Renewable Fuel Standards
Congress should reevaluate whether the Renewable Fuel Standard is accomplishing its intended goals.
EPA's Proposed Renewable Fuel Standards for 2014, 2015, and 2016
As a part of its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing biofuel blending targets for 2014, 2015, and 2016. The RFS requires refiners to blend specific amounts of renewable fuels into transportation fuel, such as gasoline and diesel.
Regulatory Pay as you Go: Lessons from Other Countries
Different strategies and tools have been used to control the aggregate regulatory costs of new regulations and to reduce the burden of existing ones.
Hogan’s Had It with Burdensome Regulations
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced the establishment of a new Regulatory Reform Commission to combat regulatory burdens.
Senate Explores a Regulatory Budget to Increase Transparency, Oversight
On June 23, 2015, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and Committee on the Budget held a joint hearing to explore the possibility of a regulatory budget. Two GW Regulatory Studies Center Scholars participated in the hearing.
Escaping the "Smoke and Mirrors" in Benefit Cost Analysis
On June 18, five experts shared their views on the proper scope of BCA and the role that Congress and the Courts should play in the rulemaking process.
Supreme Court's EPA Mercury Ruling is a Victory for Common Sense Regulation
The ruling is a victory for common sense regulation, and for Americans who object to government agencies spending consumers' money as if it were free.
Accounting for the True Cost of Regulation: Exploring the Possibility of a Regulatory Budget
Testimony before the United States Senate Committee on the Budget and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs' hearing on Accounting for the True Cost of Regulation: Exploring the Possibility of a Regulatory Budget.
Accounting for the True Cost of Regulation
Testimony before the United States Senate Committee on the Budget and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs' hearing on Accounting for the True Cost of Regulation: Exploring the Possibility of a Regulatory Budget.
Making Regulation More Accountable
Senate bill would require independent regulatory agencies to follow same regulatory review principles long used in the executive branch agencies
Examining Practical Solutions to Improve the Federal Regulatory Process
Testimony before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management Roundtable Discussion hearing on Examining Practical Solutions to Improve the Federal Regulatory Process.
Regulatory organizations can be structured in different ways, and choices about their organizational structure can impact regulators’ behavior and performance, both overall as well as at the level of individual employees. This paper analyzes structural decisions about regulatory organizations along two dimensions: vertical structure and horizontal structure.
Regulatory Action Holding Steady in Spring 2015 Unified Agenda
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs released its semiannual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions for Spring 2015.
Regulators' Budget Increases Consistent with Growth in Fiscal Budget
This year’s “regulators’ budget” presents the President’s requested budget outlays and staffing in fiscal year (FY) 2016.
Point/Counterpoint: Valuing Internalities in Regulatory Impact Analysis
In this Point/Counterpoint series of 4 articles in the new issue of the Journal of Policy Analysis & Management, Brian Mannix & Susan Dudley engage in a back-and-forth with Hunt Allcott & Cass Sunstein on the advisability of regulatory interventions based solely on "internalities," which Allcott & Sunstein define as "costs we impose on ourselves by taking actions that are not in our own best interest."
State Funeral Regulations: Inside the Black Box
This study estimates the effects of state regulations affecting funeral markets. It accounts for multiple major categories of regulations and demand inducement as well as direct price effects. While concurring with prior studies that find ready-to-embalm regulations increase funeral costs and decrease the percentage of cremations, this study finds that several other state regulations are associated with significantly higher receipts per death.
The Limits of Irrationality as a Rationale for Regulation
James Madison was speaking of the structural checks on governmental power when he wrote those words, but it is worth recalling his advice when we contemplate the role of benefit-cost analysis as a check on the unconstrained exercise of the government's regulatory powers, and the implications of the reality that people's behavior, both in and out of government, sometimes falls short of what we might incorporate into an economic model or hope for in a perfect world.
Recommendations for Improving the Regulatory Process
The George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center is pleased to respond to the request by Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Carper, Subcommittee Chairman Lankford, and Ranking Member Heitkamp for recommendations for improving the regulatory process.
Why the Federal Government Struggles to Hire and Fire
Through evidence-based reforms, the government can foster a federal workforce that is even more productive and capable.
FAA's Proposed Rule: Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The FAA suggests that this rule will be the first step in a long, complex path of integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System. However, it will be a challenge for the Administration to ensure that this incremental approach occurs at a pace that closely mirrors market and technological changes.
Vague Net Neutrality Rule Impedes Innovation
FCC's recent order imposing common carrier and net neutrality obligations on broadband Internet access providers creates a complex new regulatory structure.
DOL's Proposed Rule: Discrimination on the Basis of Sex
The DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) enforces Executive Order 11,246 (Executive Order), a 1965 order that prohibits Federal contractors and subcontractors and federally assisted construction contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin and requires them to take affirmative action to prevent discrimination based on these protected categories.
Does Reducing Ozone Really Improve Human Health?
EPA recently concluded that current NAAQS standards do not fully suffice to protect public health. Does causal evidence support this conclusion?
CFPB Should Consider a More Dynamic Approach to Prepaid Debit Card Regulation
Little evidence suggests that CFPB's proposal will have desirable consequences, but it will likely increase compliance burdens.
Justices Debate Benefits and Costs of EPA Mercury Power Plant Rule
Supreme Court considers whether EPA factored costs properly in its 2012 case on Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
The Oxford Handbook of Classics in Public Policy and Administration
This Handbook brings together a collection of leading international authors to reflect on the influence of central contributions, or classics, that have shaped the development of the field of public policy and administration. The Handbook reflects on a wide range of key contributions to the field, selected on the basis of their international and wider disciplinary impact.
EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone
EPA’s proposed determination that existing ozone NAAQS are not requisite to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety is not justified by the evidence it presents.
Achieving Regulatory Policy Objectives: An Overview and Comparison of U.S. and EU Procedures
The quality and extent of government regulation is “a major determinant of prosperity." As the World Bank observes, “a thriving private sector—with new firms entering the market, creating jobs and developing innovative products—contributes to a more prosperous society,” “promotes growth and expands opportunities for poor people.”
Improving Regulatory Accountability: Lessons from the Past, Prospects for the Future
Bureaucracy has outgrown Congress' ability to exercise oversight
One-Size-Fits-All Regulations are a Bad Deal for Low-Income Americans
Long-term benefits may not add up for households at low end of the income distribution
2014: The Regulatory Year in Review
This commentary highlights ten important final rules U.S. federal agencies issued in 2014. Although the agencies predict each rule will offer substantial public benefits, each rule also has considerable expected costs, some of which outweigh the benefits.
Fundamental change in regulatory decisionmaking is needed, and the foundation for that change must be greater humility.
Reducing Regulatory Barriers to Transatlantic Trade
Well-designed regulatory approaches can support international trade and investment
DOE's Proposed Efficiency Standards for Commercial Heating and Cooling Equipment
The Department of Energy's proposed rule amends the existing energy efficiency standards for commercial unitary air conditioners (CUAC) and commercial unitary heat pumps (CUHP), which are used for space conditioning of commercial and industrial buildings.
EPA's CO2 Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources – Electric Utility Generating Units
EPA's proposed rule sets state-by-state carbon intensity targets for the production of electricity.
What's New in the Fall 2014 Regulatory Agenda?
The Fall 2014 Unified Agenda identifies 3,415 regulatory actions at different stages of development.
Are Internships the New 'Pathway' Into the Federal Government?
Thanks to the Pathways Programs, current students and recent graduates may now find it a little easier to land a full-time job in the federal government.
Stakeholder Participation and Regulatory Policymaking in the United States
Regulation is one of the most common and important ways in which public policy is made and implemented in the United States. Agencies of the federal government issue thousands of regulations on an annual basis. Although many of these actions deal with routine matters, impose minimal burdens, and in some instances reduce or eliminate existing regulatory requirements, agencies annually promulgate hundreds of new regulations with significant effects on the economy and political system.
In August 2014, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) and an accompanying technical report to initiate the rulemaking process to establish a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS No. 150) that would require vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capabilities in new passenger cars and light truck vehicles.
Interim Final Rules Over Time: A Brief Empirical Analysis
Interim final rules are an exception to the APA requirement that agencies use the notice-and-comment process before finalizing a rulemaking.
National Association of Manufacturers puts a price tag on regulatory compliance
A Retrospective Review of Regulatory Review Itself
An interesting new paper from the Mercatus Center, “The Legacy of the Council on Wage and Price Stability”,* takes an instructive look back at the origins of centralized review of federal regulations.
Disclosure as a Form of Market-based Regulation
A new working paper seeks to identify the underlying incentive problems that caused the global financial crisis and how they may be resolved.
Bank Disclosure and Incentives
Korok Ray proposes a microeconomic model of a bank that acts as a financial intermediary engaging in maturity transformation.
Administrative Procedures and Political Control of the Bureaucracy
Positive theorists have argued that administrative procedures enhance political control of the bureaucracy, in part by predisposing agencies toward policy choices preferred by legislators' favored constituents. Although this “deck-stacking” argument has been both influential and controversial, few scholars have subjected it to empirical examination. This article assesses the operation of a prominent administrative procedure—the notice and comment process—in the context of Medicare physician payment reform, a fundamental restructuring of the way in which the Medicare program pays for physician services.
How to Improve Retrospective Review and Reduce Regulatory Burdens
In response to a request for information, we filed a comment offering three recommendations to further DOE's retrospective review efforts.
Tight Budgets Constrain Some Regulatory Agencies, but Not All
Each year we examine the President’s proposed Budget of the United States to identify the outlays and staffing devoted to developing and enforcing federal regulations. This “regulators’ budget” report covers agencies whose regulations primarily affect private-sector activities, and expressly excludes budget and staffing associated with regulations that govern taxation, entitlement, procurement, subsidy, and credit functions.
Review Necessary to Ensure FDA’s Food Transport Rule Actually Drives Results
On February 5, 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a proposed rule regarding the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food, which it hopes will help to ensure that food will not become contaminated during the transportation process.
FDA's Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food
The proposed regulation would establish criteria for sanitary transportation practices, such as properly refrigerating food, adequately cleaning vehicles between loads, properly protecting food during transportation, and strengthening record-keeping standards.
A shift to a global benefit-cost perspective requires a much more rigorous and balanced evaluative structure.
OMB: Both Costs and Benefits of New Regulations Down in FY 2013
The Report indicates that the new regulations issued in FY 2013 involve lower annual costs and benefits than in FY 2012.
OMB released its Spring 2014 Unified Agenda listing ongoing and upcoming regulations planned by agencies.
DOT Should Incorporate Lookback Plans into Proposed Hours of Service Rule
The Department of Transportation recently extended the comment period on its proposal establishing standards for electronic logging devices and their use.
FMCSA Hours of Service for Trucking Industry
FMCSA is proposing a rule that would supplement and reinforce federal hours of service requirements in several ways.
EPA’s Unmeasurable Rule: Inadequate Analysis Obstructs Public Accountability
When outcomes and assumptions are both self-contradictory and unmeasurable, it is difficult for the agency and the public to assess a policy's effects.
EPA's GHG Emissions from Electric Utility Generating Units
The proposed rule would establish new standards of performance for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants, or electric generating units (EGUs).
EPA's Standards of Performance for Heaters
EPA proposes to amend the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for residential wood heaters and expand them to include types of wood-burning appliances not covered by the existing standards, which were set in 1988.
NHTSA's Safety Standards for Child Restraint Systems-Side Impact Protection
This public interest comment on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s proposed rule setting side-impact requirements for child restraint systems is part of a new project to evaluate how well agencies are preparing for retrospective review and analysis of regulations.
Retrospective Review: Do Agencies’ Proposals Measure Up?
As part of our continuing focus on retrospective review of regulations, the GW Regulatory Studies Center is commencing a new initiative, the Retrospective Review Comment Project. Through this project, we will examine significant proposed regulations to assess whether they include plans for conducting retrospective review, and submit comments to provide suggestions on how best to incorporate plans for retrospective review when new regulations are issued.
Flash Boys, the latest book from Michael Lewis (author of Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short, etc.), is a nonfictional account of the development of high-frequency trading (HFT) in U.S. equity markets, and of Brad Katsuyama’s quest to reform the system by creating a new trading platform, IEX, designed to resist the most damaging HFT strategies.
Measuring the Impact of Public Comments
How much affect on the substance of agency regulations do public comments have?
NLRB's Representation Case Procedures
In this NPRM, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) proposes to amend existing rules governing the procedures by which representation cases are conducted.
Timeliness of OIRA Reviews: A Snapshot in Time
To gain insight into ongoing reviews, we can turn to RegInfo.gov to get a snapshot of how long the regulations currently at OIRA have been under review.
Australia's Regulatory "Bonfire"
According to the World Economic Forum, Australia's labor regulations and red tape are major problems for doing business in the country.
Rulemaking Ossification Is Real: A Response to Testing the Ossification Thesis
Jason & Susan Yackee engage in an empirical study and claim to find relatively weak evidence that ossification is neither a serious or widespread problem. After a review of the Yackee’s methodology, dataset, time period, and suggestion of appropriate normative criteria, I conclude that nothing in the Yackee’s study contradicts or undermines the ossification hypothesis. In fact, ossification is a real problem that has a wide variety of serious adverse effects.
In May 2013, the White House released a revised Technical Support Document (TSD) with a new estimate of the “social cost of carbon” (SCC), to be used by various agencies when evaluating the benefits of emissions
Why Do Politicians Pursue Regulatory Reforms?
Scholars find considerable evidence that the state-level regulatory reforms are about political gain more than administrative efficiency or economic benefits.
IRS and SBA Office of Advocacy Spar over Affordable Care Act Implementation
The IRS published a final rule setting up a tax penalty for businesses whose employees purchase health insurance through an Exchange using a federal subsidy.
Regulatory Reform: What’s New in 2014?
The 113th Congress is considering various bills that would reform the way regulations are developed, analyzed, and reviewed.
Does Regulation Kills Jobs? tackles what has become a heated partisan issue with exactly the kind of careful analysis policymakers need in order to make better policy decisions, providing insights that will benefit both politicians and citizens who seek economic growth as well as the protection of public health and safety, financial security, environmental sustainability, and other civic goals.
Online Consultation and Citizen Feedback in Chinese Policymaking
In recent years, the Chinese government has increasingly utilised online consultation as a means of providing citizens with opportunities to offer feedback on draft laws and regulations. As little is known about the operation of online consultation, this article analyses the content of citizen feedback submitted on a revision to China's health system proposed by the National Development and Reform Commission.
FDA’s proposed Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption does not meet statutory and executive requirements
Drawing Inspiration from James Q. Wilson’s “Bureaucracy”
Few have had as much influence on my development as a researcher as Professor James Q. Wilson.
Regulatory Subsidies: A Primer
Regulatory subsidies should be used only when, and to the degree that, they serve a sound public purpose.
Review of In the Web of Politics: Three Decades of the U.S. Federal Executive
Aberbach and Rockman draw on more than two decades of research to support their argument that the quality, morale, and responsiveness of presidential appointees and senior civil servants have not declined in the manner suggested by some critics of the bureaucracy.
(Mis)Applications of Behavioral Economics to Regulation
In this paper, Smith evaluates the recent promotion of libertarian paternalism as a viable means of coordinating market activities. In doing so, Smith challenges the notion that “anti-antipaternalism” logically follows from the findings in behavioral economics.
Public Commenting on Federal Agency Regulations
This report, commissioned by the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), investigates agency practices in soliciting, circulating, and responding to public comments during the federal rulemaking process.
Since the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) was enacted in 1946, the technological landscape has changed dramatically, while the basic framework for notice and comment rulemaking has largely gone unchanged. Federal regulators, looking to embrace the benefits of e-Rulemaking, face considerable ambiguity about how established legal requirements apply to the web.
We examine the correlation between federal government activity and the performance of the D.C. area's National Football League team, the Washington Redskins. We find a significantly positive, non-spurious, and robust correlation between the Redskins' winning percentage and the amount of federal government bureaucratic activity as measured by the number of pages in the Federal Register.
eRulemaking Challenges in the United States
Over the past 15 years, various efforts have been undertaken by the U.S. government, think tanks, interest groups, and academia to advance eRulemaking. While some eRulemaking improvements have been made, substantial opportunities remain.
Regulatory Consultation in the United States
This paper provides an overview of the U.S. regulatory process to facilitate discussion of stakeholder consultation at the joint Bertelsmann Stiftung and George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center workshop on December 1, 2010.